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Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami: A Tale of Living Alongside Spirits

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By Yamori Mitikusa and Tokihito Saiga. Released in Japan as “Teito Kotogami Romantan Kinrou Otome to Oshikake Juusha” by Kotonoha Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

When I first saw that this title had been licensed, I thought that the synopsis sounded like one of Viz’s Shojo Beat supernatural titles. We’ve seen a lot of these “young human woman ends up caring for a number of yokai” series there – Kamisama Kiss, The Demon Prince of Momochi House, and Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits. This one is not quite like that – the yokai are definitely serving her rather than the other way around – but it has a similar vibe. That said, it’s not a copycat, and this is certainly a wide genre to pull from. It also deals with survivor guilt, abandonment issues, and even good old fashioned murderous jealousy. Also, despite the ‘romance’ in the title, this is very much a book using the original definition of that word. Which is good, as for most of the volume the power dynamics between our heroine and any potential partner are too vast to be comfortable, and the heroine is definitely not ready for that anyway.

Our story takes place in not-quite-Japan around the Taisho period – the names have been changed to make it a fantasy, as this is a world where yokai are quite active. To help, the world also has Narrators, whose who can “read the story” of a yokai and control their nature, making them a kotogami. (If you think this sounds like Natsume’s Book of Friends, you’re not far off.) Our heroine Akari, however, despises all fiction and anything resembling a story. She works at a company that, among other things, makes grandfather clocks, lives in the company dorm, and avoids men telling her that she really should get married and settle down. Then one day her apartment burns to the ground thanks to a yokai on the loose. In the chaos, she runs into a police inspector and a kotogami who seem to know more than they’re saying, and ends up staying at a manor house filled with books, all with kotogami in them. Can she recover a normal life? Can she learn to enjoy fiction again? And how is this connected to her tragic past?

As with most of the best novels for women, the heroine is the main reason to read this. Akari is grumpy, practical, clearly hurting but also determined to live life the way she wants, and does not take shit from anybody. She’s also very good at her job (which is not always a good thing… there’s an underlying sexist society here, of which Akari and the author do not approve) and, as it turns out, VERY good at being a Narrator, whether she wants to be or not. Tomohito, the kotogami that she first meets, is seemingly goofy, silly, and a bit pathetic, but readers will be completely unsurprised to see this masks a very different sort of being. The “mystery” of the book is handled quite well, with revelations coming in at just the right time, along with one or two dramatic action scenes. And the supporting cast are also fun.

This is a one-shot, and I think ends on just the right note. I’d like to read more by this author (they apparently have another series out from Earth Star, this one more isekai fantasy), but am content with having read this.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vols 11 and 12

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Daytime Shooting Star Volumes 11 and 12 by Mika Yamamori

There are so many Shojo Beat series wrapping up! I’m trying to catch up on my reading and get myself psyched for new series. Daytime Shooting Star is by far the most anxiety-provoking Shojo Beat series for me, just due to the situation where Suzume falls in love with her teacher Mr. Shishio. From the first volume, the thing I was most dreading was a “10 years later” epilogue ending where Suzume is out of college, meets Shishio again and they live happily ever after. In this case my worry was unfounded and my expectations built on years of shoujo plot tropes might have made me worry needlessly. It is a testament to Yamamori’s storytelling abilities that this series was regularly on the top of my to-read pile and I was so invested in the story that I kept reading despite my worries.

Daytime Shoting Star 11

I’ve been on team Mamura all along, and it was great seeing Suzume and Mamura actually start tentatively dating. Of course Shishio has an incredibly immature reaction to Suzume moving along is to reel her back in with a confession of his feelings. One of the reasons why I’m so invested in the Mamura/Suzume relationship is that Mamura is unusually insightful, and willing call out Suzume a bit when she’s pretending that everything is ok when something is clearly bothering her. Mamura is putting her peace of mind in getting some sort of resolution over his own desire to move ahead with their relationship. There’s a great and touching scene where Suzume just leans her head into Mamura’s chest to calm herself, thinking “I feel like he’s putting my heart back where it belongs”. What follows is a sports day full of emotional confrontation and drama, as Mamura and Shishio compete in a relay race, Suzume gets injured in her dogged pursuit of bread, and she and Shishio have another emotionally charged talk.

Daytime Shooting Star 12

As the final volume opens, Suzume and Mamura go on a trip to Okinawa with friends, but he pushes her to resolve her feelings for Mr. Shishio. Shishio’s evolution from charming but slightly sketchy to selfish and incredibly immature over the twelve volumes has been something fascinating to see. Yamamori manages to make all her characters charming no matter what emotional issues they’re dealing with, and by the time I finished this volume I was convinced that all the teenage characters were exhibiting a maturity of character and psychological insight that far outpaced any of their adult counterparts in this manga. Suzume has been a charming and irrepressible heroine who has been plagued by self-doubt as she struggled to make sense of her emotions. By the end of this volume, she has clarity and is truly happy, which was wonderful to see. Daytime Shooting Star featured some great humor, stylish character design, and characters who grew and changed, becoming more secure in themselves as the series concluded. Daytime Shooting Star was an extremely satisfying series to read.

The Reincarnated Prince and Felvolk’s Greatest Treasure

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By Nobiru Kusunoki and Arico. Released in Japan as “Herscherik” by M Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by afm.

After the end of the previous book, things are going pretty well for the Kingdom Formerly Known as In Woe. The King and his sons are running around trying to slowly fix everything that Barbosse broke, and also trying to track down the corrupt nobles who benefited from it (as opposed to those who were just threatened into obedience). Indeed, the previously unseen Sixth Prince has returned, as he was going all around to various countries trying to gain allies and also get enough evidence to get rid of the thorn in their side, only to find Hersch took care of everything first. Herscherik is buried under paperwork, because oh my god there’s SO MUCH potentially crooked stuff to review, but there’s still time to go out to his favorite outdoor market. While there, however, he runs into the grocer he likes, who asks him to talk to two clearly suspicious people – a young red-haired woman and a man disguising his huge wings. Disguising because being a beastman in Gracia is punishable by death.

Those who recall the events of the third book might be looking at the cover of the fifth book and saying “oh dear, I hope this isn’t a trend”, but no, I’d be a lot crankier in my review if it were. For the most part this book is very good, showing off how difficult it can be to take definitive action when you are running a kingdom and have to obey its laws… even when some of the laws have reasons that are lost to the mists of time. Both “Kurenai” and “Ao” (Hersch is still giving codenames to people, and is still terrible at the names) have suitably tragic backgrounds, are suitably broken and fatalistic, and are cheered immensely be Herscherik basically being himself. We also meet the sixth prince’s bodyguard, Tatsu, who comes from a land that sounds very much like ancient Japan… and he seems to know that Kuro is still hiding some secrets. But that’s future Herscherik’s problem. The current one has his hands full trying to stop another self-sacrifice that ends in death.

The book has several sequel hooks, and the afterword has the author hoping to see us again soon. Unfortunately, when series are licensed from Japanese publishers, we do not get guarantees that the series will go on until a proper ending, and rumor has it that the series has been cancelled by the publisher in Japan. This is a shame, as it has a lot of elements that I quite enjoyed, using just the right amount of “I have my memories as an office lady from Japan”, having Herscherik be ludicrously good at political intrigue but also ludicrously bad at physical and magical things, so he always needs allies to kick asses for him, and good guys you want to root for. Perhaps one day we can get more of this, but until then, I’m glad I read what I did. Plus, as the books have a bit of “and in later years” history text to them, at least we know the good guys won down the road.

Pick of the Week: Far Too Much Good Stuff

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SEAN: There’s a ludicrous amount of stuff I’m getting this week. The final Beelzebub and a new Takagi-san from Yen, Viz’s new shoujo title Yakuza Lover and Yona of the Dawn, Sweat and Soap from Kodansha, The Apothecary Diaries from J-Novel Club… that said, I have to pick SOMETHING, so after listing all those I will pick the early digital edition of I’m in Love with the Villainess 3. Because OMG, the first two were so good.

MICHELLE: I’ve recently started reading the first I’m in Love with the Villainess novel, and am enjoying it! Still, despite that and the heaps of great stuff from VIZ in particular, this week I’m going with the debut of My Summer of You. I love these sort of low-key, slice-of-life BL stories.

ASH: It is a very good week for manga and light novels! Most of the titles already mentioned are high on my list to read, but I’ll go ahead and add two more: ongoing series-wise, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is always a favorite of mine while another debut that I’m particularly curious about is The Tale of the Outcasts.

KATE: I’m hopelessly behind in my reading, but I always appreciate a series about a grown-ass woman getting her act together, so the latest installment of Wave, Listen to Me! is my top pick.

ANNA: I’m also hopelessly behind in my reading, but one series I’m not behind on is Yona of the Dawn. While I’m very much looking forward to that, I’m going to take the opportunity to highlight some spicy shoujo and make Yakuza Lover my pick.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Vol. 11

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By Wataru Watari and Ponkan 8. Released in Japan as “Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatte Iru” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected may not be exactly the sort of harem manga Hachiman’s read in manga or novels, but it’s still a romantic comedy in the end. It has most of the major things that these series have – Hachiman may be far more cynical and bitter than the old-school potato harem lead, but he still has two main love interests and several others who easily could also slot into that place, such as Iroha and Saki. What’s more, Hachiman has changed, much to everyone else’s relief and Haruno’s disgust. It’s gotten to the point where, even if he can’t even narrate it out loud, he knows how Yukino and Yui feel about him. Yukino knows he knows. Yui knows he knows. All three know how this is likely going to end. And Yui desperately wants to put it off as long as possible, to keep their strong three-person club bond. But we know what happens to anime characters who say “I wish this time could last forever”.

It’s Valentine’s Day! And, naturally, the Service Club are roped into it. There are several people wanting to give chocolate to Hayama, but he refuses to accept any, so they ask our heroes to come up with a way they (Miura and Iroha, of course) can give him some. They end up sponsoring a “how to make your own homemade chocolate” event at the community center, with several boys, including Hayama, invited along as “taste testers”. This is a sensible plan that does not involve Hachiman throwing himself under a bus, so I approve. Unfortunately, someone invited Haruno, and she is absolutely the wrong person to be here, especially on a day like this. What’s worse, Yukino’s mom shows up again, and makes it pretty clear that hanging out with Hachiman and Yui is going to be coming to an end – very soon. Can Yui manage to hold things together, even to the point of taking Yukino and Hachiman out on a… date a trois?

It’s interesting seeing Haruno and Shizuka getting along fairly well in this book, as they’re both trying to drag Hachiman in different directions. Haruno is the sort of person you see talking to the former assassin/soldier talking about how they’ve gone soft and lost the edge that made them cool. Shizuka is urging Hachiman to try to actually say out loud – if only to himself – everything he’s been avoiding in his head. And, of course, Yui (and, passively, Yukino) doesn’t want to give up the wonderful bond she has with the two of them. The date at the end is achingly bittersweet, especially the ferris wheel ride. But sorry, Yui, you are not in a fantasy world where the kingdom has declared polygamy legal, and this isn’t going to end with Hachiman choosing two girls. That said, if this keeps up Yukino may lose by default – Haruno may not be as evil as she’s playing, but I bet mom is.

So yeah, another book that is happy most of the way through with a bitter end. Fortunately, there are no more .5 volumes before the climax, so we’ll be back next time to see how much more things can fall apart.

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 9

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By Dachima Inaka and Iida Pochi. Released in Japan as “Tsujo Kogeki ga Zentai Kogeki de Ni-kai Kogeki no Okasan wa Suki desu ka?” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

I can see what this volume was trying to do – well, aside from make an entire volume about Christmas and how it applies to moms and children. Because the main cast are all in their teens (even Porta), we haven’t really had much excuse to delve into the way that moms have to deal with infants and small children, and this volume gives us an excuse to do that. In addition, because Mamako is that sort of mother, we haven’t really gone into what it means to be spoiled or not spoiled in great detail since the (rather comedic) story of Mone and her mother, and combining Masato’s inherent issues, Mone’s unresolved plot and the ongoing travails of Hahako and the Kings is thematically sound. Unfortunately, the need for comedy and fanservice actually serves to turn me a bit against the book this time. I can appreciate the thought behind the plot, but didn’t enjoy reading it.

The main problem with Hahako and the Three Kings is that they’re NPCs literally written to be anti-mom, so changing their minds and accepting Hahako as their parent is well-nigh impossible. Towards that end, Shiraaase and Mamako come up with a Christmas-themed event that will hopefully help things along… especially since a mischievous Shiraaase has made it so Masato and the three Kings are infants. As the events go on, they become toddlers, then young kinds, but unfortunately there’s still a wall that can’t really be broken down between the Kings and Hahako. Unfortunately, the whole situation has to be put on hold when Mone, who’s been quiet and withdrawn through this whole event, suddenly gains a massive hole in her chest that sucks up half the cast. There’s gonna be a whole lotta spoiling going on unless Masato and company can stop it.

There are, I think, two big problems I had with this book. The first is that I’d honestly forgotten about Mone and her “spoil me” tendencies, and so having her as the mini-boss of this volume came somewhat out of left field. The other is that, for once, the parody and humor aspects of Do You Love Your Mom? work against it. There’s a few exceptions – mind-controlled Wise, Mehdi and Porta were amusing, I grant you, as was Shiraaase’s verbal disparaging of Porta’s mother throughout – but everything about Masato as a baby made me want to simply stop reading the series right there and fly to Japan to berate the writer. It’s a small part of the book, only a few pages, but I kept simmering about it through to the end. The books have nudged their way closer to a vaguely serious ending over the ppast few, and this felt like backsliding.

We have two volumes to go, and there’s a hint that the final volumes may be a two-parter, as a “demon lord” who is the final boss is mentioned. (I can guess who this is, but we’ll see.) Those who’ve been reading the series will still want to pick this up, but I was tired reading it.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 1

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By Reia and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Alexander Keller-Nelson.

Seven Seas has been circling back a bit now that light novels actually sell and has picked up a few of the books they chose to only pick up the manga for earlier. The one that interested me most is this title, whose manga I had reviewed the first volume of in 2018. Since it’s come out, we’ve seen a boom in “villainess” works, mostly helped along by My Next Life As a Villainess but with a bit of help from this series as well. Unfortunately, the novel coming out now does sort of give the reader the feeling that they’ve read this all before, even though it was one of the first to pull off this plot. That said, the isekai aspect of it is barely touched on, and it’s clear that it’s more an excuse for the author to write political intrigue and worldbuilding. To be fair to the author, they are very good at that. As is Iris, though she’s helped along by a built-in support system.

An unnamed young woman, after being hit by a car in Japan, wakes up inside an otome game she enjoyed playing. Who she was is unimportant, because unlike other villainess books in this genre, Iris Armelia is still fully in charge here. Unfortunately, she’s about to get thrown out of school after bullying the “heroine”, and then exiled to a nunnery. Iris, whose influx of isekai memories has caused her jealous heart to come to its senses, is having none of that. She goes to negotiate with her father and, after proving that she’s no longer a lovestruck young lady, he puts her in charge of their local fiefdom. And it needs someone like her in charge – the economy is struggling, there’s a huge gap between rich and poor, and even basic needs such as medicine are hard to come by. Can a former villainess manage to turn things around? And introduce chocolate to the masses?

The biggest fault here is the same as I mentioned in my review of the manga – for a villainess, Iris certainly seems to have everyone on her side already. Her behavior towards Yuri is explained away by iris (and, indeed, the narrative) as basically a temporary lapse of reason, as for the most part she’s been a sensible and kind young noble, whose ENTIRE servant group comes from orphans she rescued from dying in the gutter. (Is this where all the other books get it from?) She has a capable butler, a doting and incredibly strong grandfather, and her savvy mother, who is such fun to read about you wish that she’d get a multi-volume prequel written about her past by the same author. (Good news on that front, though it’s not licensed here.) And of course there’s Dean, whose secret identity is not so secret to anybody but Iris, but that’s fine – he’s there to save her from literally working herself to death, and also setting himself up as the one non-problematic love interest in her life. Villainess? She’s loaded with allies, and did not even need to fall and whack her head to get them.

I definitely think this is a must for fans of the manga. That said, I suspect fans of “I’m in charge of a country and must reform the nobility” books, such as Realist Hero, might get more out of this than the standard Villainess reader. I’m definitely picking up more, though.

Manga the Week of 6/2/21

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SEAN: June’s busting manga out all over. Let’s see what’s fallen in front of us.

Airship has two print releases: Adachi and Shimamura 5 and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 3. They also have an early digital release of I’m in Love with the Villainess 3.

ASH: Oh, that means I still have some time to catch up before it’s released in print!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a new novel, Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami: A Tale of Living Alongside Spirits (Teito Kotogami Romantan Kinrо̄ Otome to Oshikake Jūsha), about a young woman living as a caretaker to a bunch of handsome yokai. This certainly sounds like a couple of recent Viz shoujo manga titles…

MICHELLE: Definitely conjures some Demon Prince of Momochi House vibes.

ASH: That it does, and thus intrigues me.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has several new digital releases, as we get The Apothecary Diaries 2, Discommunication’s 7th manga volume, Girls Kingdom 3, Marginal Operation’s 7th manga volume, My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 5, and The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman 6.

J-Novel Club also has print titles. We’ll see By the Grace of the Gods 4, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom’s 2nd manga omnibus, In Another World with My Smartphone 16, and Marginal Operation 6.

Kodansha sees the print debut of The Summer of You (Kimi wa Natsu no Naka), a BL story about two teenagers loving to hang out and watch movies, and the love that develops between them. The author is also known for The Two Lions, just licensed by Seven Seas, and about 70 billion Gintama doujinshi.

MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to this one!

ASH: I wasn’t previously aware of this series, but now that I am, so am I!

SEAN: Also out in print: Chi’s Sweet Adventures 4, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 14, Hitorijime My Hero 10, Rent-a-Girlfriend 6, Sweat and Soap 6, Wave, Listen to Me! 6, Weathering with You 3 (the final volume), and With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun 4.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Wave, Listen to Me! and With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun; I enjoyed both a lot for very different reasons.

ASH: I’m definitely here for Wave Listen to Me! . I’ve been meaning to give Sweat and Soap a try, too.

SEAN: Kodansha’s digital debut is Ya Boy Kongming (Papiri Koumei), a shonen title from Comic Days about a Three Kingdoms general reborn into modern Japan.

We also get Chihayafuru 26, Girlfriend Girlfriend 3, GTO Paradise Lost 14, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 5, and With the Sheikh in His Harem 2.

MICHELLE: Insert traditional “yay!” for Chihayafuru.

ANNA: Yay! Also I’m so far behind!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts The Tale of the Outcasts (Nokemono-tachi no Yoru), which ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This tale of a young orphan girl and a beast immortal should appeal to fans of Girl from the Other Side and similar titles.

ASH: Oooh, you have my attention.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has New Game! 11, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 5, Reincarnated As a Sword 6, and the 15th and final volume of Shomin Sample.

Viz debuts Yakuza Lover (Koi to Dangan – Dangerous Lover), a shoujo title from Cheese! spinoff Premium Cheese!. College girl meets yakuza boy, and despite trying to avoid “bad boys” she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Given it’s Cheese!, I suppose this is more in the “shousei” genre – expect a spicy story.

ANNA: I’m stoked for this and Cheese! spinoffs.

SEAN: There’s also a pile of other Viz. Chainsaw Man 5, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 22, Dragon Ball Super 13, Jujutsu Kaisen 10, My Hero Academia 28, One-Punch Man 22, Seraph of the End 21, Takane & Hana 17, Twin Star Exorcists 22, Vampire Knight: Memories 6, We Never Learn 16, and Yona of the Dawn 30.

MICHELLE: So much good stuff.

ANNA: Indeed.

ASH: A very good Viz week.

SEAN: Yen On has some May remainder titles that got bumped to June: the 10th Haruhi Suzumiya novel in paperback (it’s actually Books 10 and 11 in one big book), High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 4, Overlord 13, and Strike the Blood 18.

Yen Press likewise has a LOT of “this used to be May” titles. We get As Miss Beelzebub Likes 12 (the final volume), Eniale & Dewiela 3 (also a final volume), Happy Sugar Life 9, If Witch, Then Which? 2, IM: Great Priest Imhotep 9, Love of Kill 2, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 12, Overlord 13, Shibuya Goldfish 9, Teasing Master Takagi-san 11, The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 3, and A Witch’s Love at the End of the World 3 (another final volume).

ASH: Wait, did you say Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun?! Hooray!

SEAN: There’s a lot of series in this list I love to bits. What are you getting?

The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, Vol. 3

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By Yu Shimizu and Asagi Tosaka. Released in Japan as “Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lampert.

It’s always the same, isn’t it? You get a thousand-year-old powerful being with a desire to take over the world resurrected, and all of a sudden the bus arrives with ten more. Still, it keeps you busy. this series continues to feel like someone wrote a Shonen Jump manga and, instead of getting it published in Jump, decided to novelize it. Well, OK, this would fit Shonen Magazine better than Jump, especially given the large number of kickass women who like to take baths with our hero. (It’s OK, he’s 10! Right? It is somewhat odd to see the “she looks 8 years old but she’s really 600” cliche used to justify underage fanservice seen in the opposite direction… again, also to help with fanservice.) Fortunately, aside from said bath scenes, this third volume is much like the first two. It will never be anyone’s favorite, but I’m probably going to be reading the next book in the series. And it is starting to show off its plot, though that relies on Leonis being dim.

We’re briefly back in actual classes at the start of the book, as Riselia and Leonis are doing team battles against a top-standing rival. This mostly serves to show the school that Riselia is not “that girl with no holy Sword” anymore, and she can kick ass and take names. She’s also a vampire queen, but that’s still pretty much a secret. The main plot, however, starts when the Third Assault Garden, Riselia’s birthplace and last seen being totally destroyed by monsters, has now floated back into vision… and there’s a distress signal. As such, our team is sent out to see what’s happened. Will Riselia be OK with digging up her past? Who’s behind the distress signal? Can we really work an elf AND an evil priest into the same book and not smack our foreheads? And gosh, who is Roselia reincarnated as, anyway? It’s a mystery…

Again, this is a good book. The girls are likeable and also take on a majority of the combat. The combat scenes are well done, and the villains are also good at being villains. There are some things I was annoyed by. After a second book where a confrontation I was waiting for didn’t happen, the same thing happens here, as Riselia is definitely set up to have a big showdown… that does not actually occur. Instead, she grabs an ancient book. Secondly, it’s gone from amusing to vexing to really really annoying that Leonis is unable to understand, as everyone else who sees her manages to do, including anyone who might see their two names side by side, that Riselia is Roselia’s reincarnation. One of the villains literally dies of happiness on seeing this, but Leonis remains clinically thick about it. As a running gag, it drives me nuts, especially as I expect it’s only going to be drawn out more. (It has been pointed out to be the two don’t look alike, and OK, I can kind of accept that.)

Still, as with previous volumes, this was good enough to warrant my reading more. If you want a great light novel, look elsewhere. If you want a book for an afternoon’s read on the beach, this would be fine.

Durarara!!SH, Vol. 1

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s been a year and a half since the final volume of Durarara!! dropped in English, and coincidentally that’s also how much time has passed between that book and this sequel. That said, it does not really feel that all THAT much has changed. Some folks have left the city for various reasons, some others have graduated, and we have three new “main characters” to take the place of Mikado, Masaomi and Anri. Of course, “main character” in a Narita work is always a fluid title, and one could argue that this book stars Ikebukuro, in which case nothing has changed. That said, it’s definitely more story than can fit into this book, and the author apologizes for making this a multi-parter right off the bat. There’s a lot of stuff going on. A young man treated as a monster comes to the city to learn how to be human. Another young man is trying his best to be the next Izaya. And a young woman is searching for her missing sisters, both supposedly done away with … by the Headless Rider.

The first three books in the DRRR!! series proper each focused on one of the three high school students, and there’s a sign this sequel may do the same, as Yahiro is definitely the protagonist of this particular book. A young man from Akiba who has spent his life getting attacked and desperately fighting back, to the point where most people consider him to be a complete monster. He hears about Ikebukuro, a place which not only has the Headless Rider but also Shizuo (whose backstory is very similar to Yahiro’s, deliberately so) and decides to go to high school in Tokyo. But finding the Headless Rider is not recommended given the string of disappearances involved with everyone who looks for her. As for Shizuo, well, Yahiro has spent his entire life accidentally beating the crap out of people, so there may be no avoiding it. But who’s gonna win?

As noted, a lot of the “main cast” of the earlier series isn’t here or only shows up later. Shinra and Celty are on a long vacation, Izaya is still AWOL (though he does get a cameo, setting things in motion towards chaos as always), Kadota, Erika and Walker are only mentioned, etc. That said, the new characters blend seamlessly into the cast herd, and there’s so many minor characters in this series that it doesn’t feel like there’s a gaping hole missing. Yahiro is highly likeable in just the sort of way that Mikado never quite managed to be, and Kuon and Himeka also look to have promising, if twisted, stories in the future. It’s clear the city has been in stasis since Izaya left. We see Akane has grown older and is in middle school now, but Shizuo and Tom are still doing the same old thing, as is Simon, as are the Orihara twins and Aoba (he’s still not dating them, mostly as he’s just not into Mairu). Peace is good, but makes for dull storylines. In that sense, I’m grateful to Izaya for siccing Yahiro on the place.

This is a typical DRRR!! multi-parter, in that the cliffhanger ending is fairly mild, but also definitely makes you want to read more. Good news! There are three more books in the series to date. And the next one should be out soon. DRRR!! fans will definitely want to pick this up: it’s like welcoming an old friend back into your life (and then having them destroy your house again).