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Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 28

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

As many have noticed, this has gradually become a light novel review site, with the manga that I read generally being reviewed in Manga Bookshelf’s Briefs columns. There are one or two exceptions, though, the most obvious of which is Yona of the dawn, a series I keep finding new things to say about (even though I’m still one volume behind in my reviews). This volume is an excellent example of why I keep coming back to it. There’s really big goofy comedy, as Kyo-Ga is knocked unconscious due to Happy Hungry Bunch antics and essentially becomes a giant comedy prop for a while. There’s romance, as we see in the scene where Yona and Hak take comfort in being each other’s strength. There’s politics, as Keishuk has arrived at the absolute worst time, and we get more of “what is Yona’s goal”. There’s cool action sequences. And there’s intrigue, as the cliffhanger makes you wonder if Ogi is going to be selling Yona out. There’s SO MUCH GOING ON.

Yona of the Dawn sometimes has a Shakespearean feel to it, particularly with everyone being worried about where Yona is and what she’s doing. Su-Won’s position as leader is fairly secure, and yet… everyone assumes that as long as Yona is alive, she can easily lead a rebellion to take over. This is very Richard II/Henry IV stuff here. It does not help that Yona is wandering around the land with a bunch of superheroes/monsters (delete where applicable), who could and have taken out entire armies on their own when at full power. But no one knows what Yona’s real goal is. Well, the reader might have a clue. The highlight of the volume is Yona’s big speech where she talks about how everyone is expecting her to get revenge for the death of her father, and… she doesn’t have to? She doesn’t have to forgive Su-Won, and won’t, but she can simply go around doing good things? Sadly, I suspect forces will continue to stop her doing that.

We also get a glimpse of Kyo-Ga and Tae-Jun’s mother here, and I enjoyed her showing off another classic comedy stereotype, the regal woman with the fan over her face who (almost) never speaks… until she does, as her fury at how Keishuk treats her son forces her to complete entire sentences, to the surprise of her attendants. She’s a very different kind of powerful woman from Yona, and doesn’t exactly clash with her, but she does worry that Yona is not doing what the traditional woman should. Putting herself in danger every day, after all, is dangerous. But this is what Yona has chosen to do, and she’s not backing down now. (Yona in general is filled with women wielding power in very different and varied ways, and I really appreciate that. This is not to say that Yona is not vulnerable, but for the most part that’s a side of herself that she tries to show only to Hak.

As you can see, there are always new things to discover about one of the best shoujo manga currently being published in English. Always a must-read.

Manga the Week of 4/14/21

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SEAN: There certainly is a lot of manga coming out. Remember years ago when some weeks had three or four titles?

ASH: It’s almost unimaginable any more.

SEAN: Airship has the 11th Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest in print, and the 4th volume of The Invincible Shovel in early digital.

Cross Infinite World has another villainess reincarnation story with Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook with My Fluffy Friends: the Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace (Tenseisaki de Suterareta no de, Mofumofu-tachi to Oryouri Shimasu: Okazari Ouhi wa My Pace ni Saikyou desu). A woman newly shunned by her fiance, the prince, finds herself now married to a different prince – one who hates women! But… his kingdom is filled with adorable creatures, and she doesn’t have to do anything but her hobby – cooking! No death flags here, just fluff.

ASH: I mean, I do like cooking stories?

SEAN: Denpa’s website lists femme fatale: The Art of Shuzo Oshimi for next week. An artbook dedicated to the creator of Flowers of Evil, Blood on the Tracks and more.

J-Novel Club has a veritable plethora of digital releases. Are You Okay with a Slightly Older Girlfriend? 2, Banner of the Stars 6, Black Summoner 4, Der Werwolf 11, The Ideal Sponger Life 2, Slayers 7, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: the Wayward Journey 11, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 6, and Tearmoon Empire 4.

Kodansha Manga has one print release, which is Witchcraft Works 15. Kodansha Books also has the 3rd volume in the Pretty Boy Detectives Club series. Thus all the Kodansha print releases next week are ex-Vertical.

MICHELLE: I didn’t love the first Pretty Boy Detective Club as a novel, but I’m still looking forward to the forthcoming anime!

SEAN: The digital debut next week is a full-blown josei title. It even runs in Be Love! Nina the Starry Bride (Hoshi Furu Oukoku no Nina) is an orphan girl who ends up being sold as a slave… to the royal family? Turns out she looks a lot like the recently deceased princess. Now she has to live her new princess life… no matter how much she does NOT want to. I’m interested in this, despite the well-worn premise.

ANNA: I am too, but I have a very poor track record with digital titles.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: Also out digitally: the final 16th volume of GE: Good Ending, Peach Boy Riverside 6, Shojo FIGHT! 16, Tokyo Revengers 20, and the 27th and final volume of Yozakura Quartet, whose first volume was put out by Del Rey in 2008.

ASH: Oh, wow, Yozakura Quartet is a series I haven’t thought about in a long while.

SEAN: One Peace has the third and final volume of I Hear the Sunspot: Limit.

MICHELLE: Oooh.

ASH: It’s a big one, too! (I got my hands on an early copy.)

SEAN: Seven Seas has some debuts, both based on light novels they’ve also released. Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells (Hazure Waku no [Joutai Ijou Skill] de Saikyou ni Natta Ore ga Subete wo Juurin Suru Made) runs in Overlap’s Comic Gardo, and Muscles Are Better Than Magic (Mahou? Sonna Koto Yori Kinniku da!) runs in Kadokawa’s Comic Walker.

ASH: For some reason I was expecting Failure Frame to be about windows and defenestration.

SEAN: We also get Gal Gohan 7, The Girl from the Other Side 10, Harukana Receive 7, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 6, Love Me for Who I Am 3, My Next Life As a Villainess! 5 (manga version), and Reincarnated As a Sword 5 (also manga version).

ASH: Always glad to see a new volume of The Girl from the Other Side (although I will admit to being behind in my reading).

SEAN: And there’s three more Alice books – Nightmare, The Lizard Aide, and Toy Box – that get digital releases.

SuBLime has a 5th Candy Colored Paradox and The World’s Greatest First Love 14.

ASH: I’ve largely been enjoying Candy Colored Paradox.

SEAN: Viz debuts a new Shonen Sunday series, a phrase not heard often these days. Call of the Night (Yofukashi no Uta) seems to combine romcom and vampire stories together, and looks fun.

ANNA: Always up for more manga vampires.

SEAN: Viz also has more Shonen Sunday! Case Closed 78, Komi Can’t Communicate 12, Persona 5 6, Pokemon Adventures Collector’s Edition 7, Pokemon Adventures: Black 2 and White 2 3 (that title hurts me to type), Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 14, and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 3.

ASH: Yay, Sleepy Princess!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press debuts the manga version of the beloved light novel In Another World with My Smartphone. This early in the series there’s far less genocide to worry about, so I will cautiously recommend it. It runs in Kadokawa Shoten’s Comp Ace.

What manga will you read while waiting for your vaccination appointment?

The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious, Vol. 6

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By Light Tuchihi and Saori Toyota. Released in Japan as “Kono Yuusha Ga Ore TUEEE Kuse Ni Shinchou Sugiru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matt Rutsohn.

And so the series that really should have ended after Book 2, and then had another perfectly good stopping place with Book 5, continues with a new arc. So we get the usual sense of the author taking stock and continuing with what works while throwing out what doesn’t. Somewhat vexingly, this means that the romance, such as it is, between Seiya and Ristarte is at an all-time low in this book – on both sides! Ristarte has one or two brief fantasies about Seiya here, but for the most part has simply grown used to his treatment of her, and he is (as its typical at the start of these arcs when we don’t have all the information we need) being rather rude to her. On the bright side, there’s less actual physical abuse, as we bring along a different God for that, but that does not mean that there are not moments that are literally designed to humiliate her. The book can be frustrating.

Last time I wondered if we’d have a Civil War in Heaven, and we come close, though it’s more of a one-sided battle. Yes, Mersais and their allies are back, and they’re here to destroy everything. Now Ristarte, along with Cerceus, is seemingly the only survivor and must try to salvage something from this and restore the spirit world… which means summoning Seiya again, of course. He’s got to train in the Underworld now, but that doesn’t make his training… or attitude… any less bananas. Then we find out what’s happened to the actual worlds they usually save – they’ve become dark, twisted versions of themselves. So we need to go back to the beginning, as Seiya and Rista return to Gaeabrande, the world of the first two books, which is now ruled by the Dragon Lord, as humans and demons alike forge an alliance to stop his dreadful reign of terror. Wait… isn’t the Dragon Lord a bit familiar?

As always with this series, what interests me most is Rista’s character development. The very fact that we have to being the God of Cakes… erm, Swords along with her and Seiya is a sign that she’s moved past the punching bag that she used to be, and for the most part has settled into realizing that when Seiya says he’s going to do something ludicrous, it’s usually necessary. That said, she and Seiya are still clashing. Because these are twisted, dark worlds that will theoretically be fixed and restored once they defeat the Big Bad, Seiya is seemingly of the opinion that it doesn’t really matter if they have to kill people to solve the problem, as they won’t really be dead. Rista, as she herself points out, can’t have that callous a viewpoint – seeing people suffer in front of her causes her pain and distress. I’m inclined to be on Rista’s side here, and thus am annoyed at Seiya right now. Still, he’s always had a good reason before, and this arc isn’t over, so I’m sure we’ll get another one soon.

We’re almost caught up with Japan, so I suspect these books will come out far slower soon. Still, if you’ve been enjoying the series for its goofy comedy and seeing Rista get humiliated, there’s plenty of that here, including her having to imitate a gorilla. I will cautiously read the next volume.

Penguin Gentlemen

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Penguin Gentlemen by Kishi Ueno

The premise of this manga – penguins who happen to run a cafe where they are all very buff men wearing tuxedos – seemed so ridiculous I couldn’t help wanting to check it out. This single volume manga certainly gets the deluxe treatment, with a hardcover edition and plenty of color pages. Now and then I really enjoy a didactic manga, and that’s what Ueno delivers. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a storyline focusing on penguin cafe work, because I enjoy a good food manga as well, but for readers who want to dramatically up their knowledge of penguin behavior, species variants, and random facts about penguin habitats this is the book for you!

Penguin Gentlemen

The character designs are one of the most amusing aspects of the book, as Ueno showcases differences in penguin markings and size into the hair styles and tuxedo uniforms of all the waiters. The main boss of the cafe is the King penguin, who is dwarfed in size by the stoic Emperor penguin who looms over everyone. The penguin gentlemen discuss their characteristics in the setting of the cafe, with plenty of comedic bits. The characters switch back and forth often between their anthropomorphic human forms and their natural states as penguins, but Ueno is great at rendering the heightened emotions of the characters even when they are in bird form. I read this book in several sittings, simply because I was not able to absorb all the information about penguin egg hatching, body language, and markings without a break here and there. The last section of the book that focuses on penguin courtship rituals is particularly hilarious. If someone wants to learn many scientific facts about penguins and be entertained along the way, Penguin Gentlemen certainly delivers.

Moriarty the Patriot Vols 1 and 2

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Moriarty the Patriot Volume 1 by Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi

I was intrigued by the concept of Moriarty the Patriot, because I was curious how the manga would flip Moriarty from being the antagonist into being the protagonist of his own story. It turns out that Moriarty has an intrinsically sympathetic goal – full scale class warfare! This first volume details how the evil mastermind Moriarty is adopted into a family of nobles, with a slightly sociopathic older brother named Albert who is determined to wage war against the nobility with the benefit of his younger brother’s genius.

The chapters in this first volume often involve an episodic approach to plot, with Moriarty intervening in the lives of people who’ve been taken advantage of by so-called nobility. His focus on revenge is certainly satisfying, and by the end of the volume, he’s surrounded himself with a core group of companions who are similarly bent on striking back against the British class system.

Moriarty the Patriot Volume 2 Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi

I found this second volume a little less interesting because it had more of the expected story beats that I’d assume would show up in a Holmes adaptation. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more Moriarty in this volume. Here the reader sees Takeuchi’s version of Holmes meet Watson and figure out how to deal with his landlady Mrs Hudson. While it was enjoyable, there wasn’t as much dramatic tension because other than his lower class affectation, Holmes is pretty much what one would expect. As Holmes hurdles into his next case, I’m curious to see if he’s going to be at odds with Moriarty once more, and I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen when they start clashing over cases involving spectacularly murdered noblemen.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 1

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By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve read a light novel that’s come out long AFTER the anime adaptation, as opposed to before. Unlike other licenses where the Japanese publisher is clearly pushing it because they know they’ve got a surprise coming in the next year or so, the Bofuri light novels remained untouched until well after the series had already finished. And so we’re left with a flipped sort of question, as instead of being grumpy about whatever vital scenes the anime cut from the book, we can read the book and see what extra content we get. The answer, honestly, is “not much”: this book is covered by the first three anime episodes, and that seems about right. You will notice where the anime added or changed things (Frederica does not show up early to direct Maple in the book), but you won’t be getting details about Kaede’s home life or things like that. Which is fine, we’re here for the game.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, Kaede is a teenage girl who’s not all that into gaming, but her gamer friend Risa has convinced her to try the hot new virtual reality game, New World Online. Sadly, Risa can’t game right away as she got a bad test score, so Kaede starts the game on her own. It’s a VR game, so Kaede (who calls herself “Maple” in game, a pun on her name and probably a reference to Maple Story) thinks that if she’s attacked she’ll feel actual pain. As such, she chooses the strongest shield, and sinks all her points into Vitality. ALL of them. As Maple slowly (very slowly… she can’t walk fast as she only has points in defense) starts to play the game, her offbeat way of thinking leads her to make choices that, almost by accident, cause her to level up and gain cool powers. Indeed, she is rapidly becoming a bit of a monster…

While reading this, I’d mentioned on Twitter it felt a bit different from the anime in terms of mood. Don’t get me wrong, Maple is still absolutely OP and broken as a character, but the anime really wants to show that off, while the book is more about Maple’s experiences and interaction with New World Online than its reaction to her. The anime seems like it takes place over only a couple of days in these first three episodes, while the book makes it clear that weeks and months are passing. There’s also more gamer chatter – Maple is “not a gamer” the way that I am “not a gamer”, which is to say she knows the lingo simply by being around Risa. Overall, I’d say the book feels relaxed – the author states they wrote it as a downtime change of pace sort of story, and it feels that way. Some story bits are seemingly dropped halfway, like the chat group full of players talking about Maple, which disappears around when Sally and Maple team up, though if the anime is accurate it will be back. Oh yes, most importantly, this is, so far, a game free of all the Gamergate nonsense you would likely find in real life – the players all seem nice and helpful.

I will note that if you’re on the fence about picking this up because you’ve seen the anime… it’s not essential? It doesn’t add anything major to what you already know. But if you loved the anime and want to read the original’s slightly more relaxed, meandering take, then Maple is here for you.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Siscon Idol

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By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Last time I said that the book felt a bit quieter than the first two, and that goes double for this one, which I definitely enjoyed but which feels a little bit insubstantial compared to the previous books. Part of this could be that there does not seem to be any sort of danger of things being catastrophic if things don’t work out as with previous books. Nodoka’s issues do matter, don’t get me wrong, and I feel for her, but you are 100% not surprised at the solution to this particular adolescence syndrome, and honestly I feel it might have been able to be solved even earlier. That said, having it drag on does help to really hammer home the crux of those issues, and the fact that if there’s going to be any changing and growing being done, it’s going to have to be on Nodoka’s side – Mai, despite being as blunt as her boyfriend at times, is doing just fine.

As with most of this series, the book picks up where the previous one left off, with Sakuta confronted with a Mai who isn’t. When “Nodoka” also shows up, clearly with Mai’s personality, it rapidly becomes clear what’s happened. The issues involved are fairly straightforward – Nodoka and Mai have different mothers, and Nodoka’s mother wants her to be a top idol just as Mai is a top actress, which has led to stress. So Nodoka has run away and swapped bodies. Turning to Mai for comfort is not really working out for her, as Mai is not a comfort sort of girl. Plus this means she has to hang around with Sakuta all the time, who is… well, see the previous three books. She’s astonished Mai is going out with him. Unfortunately, as with prior “syndromes”, knowing the issues doesn’t solve the problem. What’s worse, they each have to take on each other’s career, and, well, one of them is much better at it than the other.

This book emphasizes that family is not something you can narrow down to “I love them” or “I hate them” in absolute terms, and that’s the book’s highlight, as I think it does a good job showing that. Midway through, Sakuta has a very awkward dinner with his father, and we get to see exactly why he feels rather ambiguous about him. At the same time, he’s also searching for thoughts on what being a parent is like to help Nodoka, and gets good, if oblique, advice. Nodoka, fitting with the “annoying little sister” box she sort of falls into, can be sympathetic, especially watching Mai in Nodoka’s body being an even better idol than she normally is, but I 100% agree with Sakuta that her over the top reaction of walking into the ocean to “drown” herself, knowing he’ll stop her, is really irritating. Fortunately, the resolution is cute. That said, one thing this book does do that won’t snap back is Mai and Sakuta’s relationship, which is now public. Fortunately, Mai is very good at damage control.

The next book’s title implies we’re going to focus on Sakuta’s own little sister next time, as she seems to be wanting to return to school… maybe. I get the feeling it will be a bit less relaxed than this book. Still, this is a decent enough volume, especially if you love Sakuta simply saying whatever he’s thinking at the time, no matter how bad it will be for him.

Pick of the Week: Oscar, Oscar, Oscar…

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SEAN: There’s a veritable buffet of picks this week. I could go with Yona, or Natsume, or Versailles. But let’s face it, I want my Maple! This week’s pick for me is Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense.

MICHELLE: I’m also happy for more Yona and Natsume and hopeful the fourth volume of Versailles will come out, but the most intriguing title for me this week is A School Frozen in Time. Kids trapped within an “eerily empty” campus? Sign me up!

ANNA: I’m team Rose of Versailles all the way!

ASH: Likewise! If Rose of Versailles is a choice, it will almost invariably be my pick. That being said, I’m looking forward to reading all of the titles that have been mentioned so far.

KATE: C’mon, you know what I’m going to pick… Rose of Versailles! I gotta stay on brand here; you’d be suspicious if I shilled for Fire Force or Please Put Them On, Takamine-san!

MJ: It’s gotta be Rose of Versailles!

I Was a Bottom-Tier Bureaucrat for 1,500 Years, and the Demon King Made Me a Minister

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Hira Yakunin Yatte 1500-nen, Maō no Chikara de Daijin ni Sarechaimashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jasmine Bernhardt and Sarah Neufeld.

Theoretically this is a Vol. 1, but I’ll be honest, I suspect this is a one-off. Those reading along with the parent series, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, will know of demon administrator Beelzebub and her assistants, as well as the Demon Lord Pecora. Three of the volumes featured side stories that talked about Beelzebub’s past and how she ended up where she is today. This volume collects those stories, as well as adding six others. So yes, you’ve read some of this before. That said, reading the stories in order does help to give Beelzebub’s transformation from office schlub to the grandiose demon we know a bit more impact. There are added cameos from most of the rest of the cast, though they have to be carefully done given most of the cast “meet” for the first time in the main series. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect in a spinoff.

In the six stories we’ve read previously, we see how Beelzebub got promoted about 11 steps up by a mischievous Pecora; how she copes with her aides, one of whom is less of an aide than she’s really like; how she gets to grips with audits and is here to show that the days of bribery and corruption are over; how she beats up her predecessor (who has tried to kill her multiple times), thus showing her strength; how she first meets Laika on a hot spring trip with her staff; and how Pecora leads her all around the area on a “date”, where she meets a certain witch, though neither will remember it. New stories have Beelzebub’s parents showing up; Pecora showing Beelzebub the wonder of travel the hard way; Vania shows that when it comes to food she becomes an entirely different character; Beelzebub meets Flatorte, who is exactly like you’d expect; Pecora stays over at Beelzebub’s place despite having a bad cold; and we learn the dangers of too many office plants.

Like its parent series, this is basically fun and fluffy. The only conflict in the entire book is when Beelzebub faces off against the now disgraced noble who was in line to be the next Minister, and there’s never any sense there’s danger to her or the others. The stories help to further develop Beelzebub’s character, with the most amusing ones being her amazingly embarrassing parents (where we essentially lean about Beelzebub’s redneck past) and the story about the ministry’s pathetic cafeteria, which upsets Vania so much that she goes on a veritable crusade to make it better in every possible way. The addition of Flatorte also helps to round out the “I actually met the entire cast years ago and have simply forgotten” gag we’ve seen in previous stories. And the relationship between Beelzebub and Pecora is amusing but also sweet.

In the end, this is pretty inessential, especially if you have Killing Smiles Vol. 5-7 already. But if you really love the universe, this is a decent volume to read more about it.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 7: Mist

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

The good news for this volume is that, after several promises from the author that did not quite pan out, we finally get a volume that is a breather and relatively lighthearted. The bad news is that this means that Lena falls to pieces, knowing she wants to confess to Shin but being tormented by her own self-loathing… which is something I accused Shin of in the previous volume, so it’s nice to see they have something in common. Things are not helped by a Republic officer showing up and basically being the worst thing ever, reminding her that she was one of the “white pigs” that everyone so rightly despises, and unable to see past that to her own growth. I mention this because it will last the entire volume, and you may find it wearying. Certainly everyone else in the cast does, as (with the exception of Kurena and Frederica) they all really, really want the two to finally get off their asses and confess. Fortunately, they’re in not-Switzerland at a resort, so have the time.

Our heroes are there because, despite a fakeout prologue that tries too hard, they have been on the battlefield FAR too many months in a row, and are entitled to some R&R in order to relax and not have to worry about the Legion attacking at any moment. That means going to a different country altogether, where they can enjoy bathing scenes (with all the fanservice you might expect, including literally lining up in order of breast size), delicious food… well, ersatz food, but some of it is real, spelunking in the nearby mountains, and, perhaps highest on the agenda for the top brass, questioning the Merciless queen, who was captured in the last volume but who doesn’t want to talk to anyone… except Shin. That said, she’s not very happy with the answers that Shin gives to her. But then, her own answers are seemingly not good news for anyone… except Shin knows they have a secret weapon.

Again, this is the closest we’re ever likely to get to 86: the Romcom, and it is very willing to hammer on those buttons – there’s even a pillow fight, fer chrissakes. We do get resolution at the end, I’m happy to say, though if I were the reader I’d avoid reading the Afterword, which has a sort of Monster at the End of This Book “YOU TURNED THE PAGE!” feel to it. There’s some interesting teasing regarding the other characters – I was going to grump about some heteronormative dialogue going on, but later on this is flipped around, and it’s implied we have at least one Eighty-Six who’s a lesbian. The serious stuff is good, I will grant you, and promises some interesting future crises. But I think the author was trying hard for a certain mood here, and mostly succeeds – heck, there’s even one of those “whoops, I walked in on your confession, don’t mind me” (leaves and gets beaten up by everyone else) scenes.

Next volume should resume normal service, I’m sure. Till then, enjoy Shin and Lena being big ol’ dorks and not spitting it out.