Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Blog

I Refuse to Be Your Enemy!, Vol. 5

by

By Kanata Satsuki and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!” by PASH! Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

It will come as no particular surprise to learn that, in this volume, Kiara is captured by the enemy for a section. That is going to happen with this type of romantic heroine in this type of book. It’s handled pretty well, though there is a sexual assault warning fro the book, as Credias pretty much attempts to molest Kiara the moment she’s in his grasp. We also get not one, not two, but THREE times where I thought “ah, this is it, that character is gonna die” and then turned out to be wrong, which again is mostly related to the fact that Kiara, when it comes right down to it, does not like killing anyone she’s gotten to know – though she’s perfectly OK with killing faceless mooks she doesn’t know, as we see here. That said, more important than all of these things, Kiara finally clues in to her own feelings and realizes that she’s in love with Reggie. It may not shock the reader, but it shocks her.

As noted above, despite the best efforts of Cain and the other soldiers, Kiara is captured by Isaac. And unfortunately that also means Credias, who is perfectly happy to kill everyone in the way of his raping, torturing, and killing Kiara, possibly not in that order. Fortunately, Isaac is wise enough to realize that, in order to get what he needs, he cannot have Kiara be taken by Credias at all. Also fortunately, Reggie and company are coming to the rescue, which is cool and involves several giant mice. After this, there’s still a lot of war to be fought, trust me. The enemy seem to have endless piles of reinforcements, and are very happy to convert anyone who comes near them into a defective spellcaster. Fortunately our side has Kiara, who is strong, Reggie, who is learning how to use magic at last, and the Thorn Princess, who is… ???

I said last time that the series did not really lean too hard on the reincarnated from Japan into an otome game part of this plot, but that starts to change here, in several interesting ways. Some I won’t spoil, but I did find it very telling that Reggie and others worry that Kiara’s utter disregard for her own life and tendency to take daring risks stems from a fact that she thinks this is not a “real” world and that she might just wake up back there after she dies. That proves to… not quite be the case? Indeed, there’s a certain sentence in the book that made me say “Oh my GOD”, as we might actually be smooshing reincarnation isekai and otome game villainesses together with another stock plot. That said, for those who are reading this romance title for the romance, be assured there are love confessions, cute possessiveness, and a heck of a lot of attention paid to Kiara’s legs and feet in this book as well.

The next volume is the last, and the cover art has a wedding dress for Kiara, so no prizes guessing how it ends. Still, there’s a war to end, and one last pesky (or should I say thorny) plotline to wrap up. Another enjoyable volume of this military romance isekai villainess redemption fantasy.

Last Round Arthurs, Vol. 4: The Weakest Knight & The Exceptional One

by

By Taro Hitsuji and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Cash.

I have to admit a certain sense of relief. I kept telling myself that eventually the novels would HAVE to get to Sir Kay and make them more than a simply butt monkey fanservice generator, but so far the author had not lived up to my expectations. Even the start of this book, which has Sir Kay and Emma dressed up in flashy fetish outfits as part of Luna’s plan to make her potential voters too horny to vote for anyone but her in the student elections, there was a temptation to sigh. But no, Kay actually gets a thing to do here, and it fits in quite well with her character, which, let’s face it, has been “loyal but weak’, as the subtitle says. That said, it’s a good thing Sir Kay was around for this battle, as Luna and Rintarou are faced with one of their biggest challenges… one that comes after one of Rintarou’s greatest losses. Will he be able to keep his head and not get tempted? (Signs point to no.)

As our story opens, as most of these books do, with Luna being doing her best “Haruhi Suzumiya in Book 2” impersonation, Nayuki is still trying to fess up to Rintarou about who she really is – he knows she’s a Dame du Lac, but has not really figured out she’s actually Nimue, or at least not consciously. Unfortunately, Nayuki’s own cowardice plus Luna being obnoxious means that instead of a confession, we get a brutal execution by Vivian, who would appear to be, if not the final boss, at least the second to last one. Despite Rintarou’s Roaring Rampage of Revenge, there’s not really much he can do about that… well, unless he convinces Luna to go completely off the map of the test for the next King Arthur and instead go on a Quest foe the Holy Grail… a test that everyone admits is impossible. Can he, Luna and Kay survive what appears to be a trip to the underworld? Why is Rintarou so manic? And why is Luna so depressed?

Despite the way that I phrased that last sentence, this is not a bodyswap sort of problem, but instead a very good example of Rintarou completely 100% screwing up. For once, you want to strangle HIM instead of Luna, who as always improves throughout the book, especially once she starts dwelling on her not-very-tragic backstory, something she clearly remembers better than the other person in it. As it turns out, capturing the Holy Grail is REALLY HARD to do, and only Galahad had ever successfully done it before, and they immediately took it to Heaven, which is definitely not where this Grail search takes place. Fortunately, even with Rintarou essentially being stupid, Luna has two big weapons at her disposal: a) her ludicrous determination, and b) the only Knight of the Round Table who’s as pure as Galahad was. Sir Kay finally steps up, and it’s very satisfying.

The next volume is the last one, and that seems about right, to be honest. Certainly the cliffhanger does not bode well. But now that Rintarou is back to normal, and with Luna’s bullheaded pure courage and kindness, they should be OK. If you like stories about blonde King Arthurs seeking a Holy Grail, this is at least the third best.

Manga the Week of 4/7/21

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: April! Maple! Let’s do the list backwards this time!

This means starting with Yen Press, who have precisely one manga out, but it is a debut. Please Put Them On, Takamine-san! (Haite Kudasai, Takamine-san) is a bizarre high school comedy with SF elements, about a girl who can redo her past actions to achieve the best result… but only by taking off her underwear. This runs in Gangan Joker, and is by the author of the delightfully titled Is a Zombie Bitch Considered a Bitch?, which thankfully is not licensed.

MICHELLE: Pass!

MJ: I. No. Yen Press, why is this your brand now? Seriously, why?

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Yen On has two debuts. First off we have Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin (Hazure Skill “Kage ga Usui” o Motsu Guild Shokuin ga, Jitsuha Densetsu no Ansatsusha), which I’ve heard is better than it sounds, but I’m trying to avoid taking on any new “my skill everyone hates is actually the best” sort of books.

ASH: I feel that.

SEAN: The other debut… at long last… is Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense (Itai no wa Iya nano de Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu), the light novel that inspired the popular anime. Kaede is ready to play the new game her friend recommends… but has no real gaming experience, and also it’s a VR game, meaning she could feel pain! As such, she sinks ALL her points into defense. Playing as “Maple” (a pun on her name), she rapidly gets ludicrously overpowered in the most adorable way possible. I suspect these books will be a bit more gamer-talk than I’d really like, but… Maple.

MJ: This actually sounds kind of fun.

ASH: It does!

SEAN: No debuts for Viz, just some heavy hitters. There’s Yona of the Dawn 29, We Never Learn 15, One Piece 96, Natsume’s Book of Friends 25, My Hero Academia 27, Moriarty the Patriot 4, Jujutsu Kaisen 9, the 7th and final volume of An Incurable Case of Love, Dr. STONE 16, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 21, and Chainsaw Man 4.

ASH: I’m reading quite a few of these series, but I’m especially glad to see Natsume’s Book of Friends in the list.

ANNA: Some good stuff here for sure.

SEAN: Udon should – for real this time – have The Rose of Versailles 4.

MJ: 🎉

ASH: Hooray!

ANNA: Yay!!!!

SEAN: Three titles for Seven Seas: Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary 12, Magical Girl Site 14, and The Kingdoms of Ruin 2. They also have the last 3 volumes of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game.

Kodansha Manga debuts A School Frozen in Time (Tsumetai Kousha no Toki wa Todomaru), which seems to combine an eerie high school tragedy with a death game atmosphere. It ran in Monthly Shonen Magazine.

MICHELLE: I’m really looking forward to this one!

MJ: I think I am, too!

ASH: I wasn’t previously aware of this one, but now I’m looking forward to it, too!

SEAN: Also in print: Orient 2 and Fire Force 22.

Debuting digitally is Girlfriend, Girlfriend (Kanojo mo Kanojo), a comedy from Weekly Shonen Magazine and the creator of Aho Girl. It’s about a boy who is confessed to by two girls, so asks if he can date both of them. Expect a lot of hyperactive silliness.

There’s also Vampire Dormitory 5, Those Snow-White Notes 2, Our Fake Marriage 6, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 4, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 3, the 5th and final volume of The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu, and Chihayafuru 25.

MICHELLE: I better get on Those Snow-White Notes before I fall too far behind.

ASH: It’s likely a futile wish, but I’d love to see Those Snow-White Notes released in print.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has no debuts, but oodles of titles. In print, there’s the 2nd Infinite Dendrogram manga omnibus, In Another World with My Smartphone 15, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 3 (manga version), By the Grace of the Gods 3, Ascendance of a Bookworm 8, Ascendance of a Bookworm 4 (manga version), and Animeta! 5.

ASH: I need to catch up on Ascendance of a Bookworm, but I’ve really been enjoying the series.

SEAN: Digital titles are A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 4, Outbreak Company 17, Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 4, Infinite Dendrogram 7 (manga), I Love Yuri and Got Bodyswapped with a Fujoshi 2, and Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 3.

Dark Horse has a 3rd volume of Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles.

Lastly, Airship has 3 print titles: Berserk of Gluttony 2, Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average 12, and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 11. They’ve also got a digital-first version of Reincarnated As a Sword 8.

Are you maxing out your defense with manga?

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 5

by

By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

This is not the final volume of this series – not even remotely, as Vol. 12 just came out in Japan last month – but you might be forgiven for thinking this after reading the volume itself, which has the feel of an “and the adventure continues” sort of ending. Our heroes go to visit the Last Dungeon Boonies themselves, Lloyd’s hometown, and find it’s just as ridiculous as you’d expect. We not only get the return of the minor villain of the 4th book, still brainwashed, but also the return of the minor villain of the second book, who is recovering nicely from being evil. Our two major villains show up, joined by a third, and we get all their backstories and reasons for what they’re doing. And we get hints of the real background of Alka, and it’s… surprising. There’s also a big ol’ melee battle at the end, with Lloyd arriving in the Nick of Time. But again, not the last volume.

As noted above, the main cast all decide to go back to Kunlun, mostly to do something about fixing Vritra, still in cursed belt form. Of course, some folks may have alternate reasons to go there, be it to get valuable materials and sell them for cash (Riho), meet Lloyd’s family, get their blessing, marry him, have children, and have more children (Selen), or finding new and exciting ways to GET STRONGER! (Phyllo). After making their way there via the magic portal of Alka’s friend Eug, a dwarf who’s been around as long as Alka has. Once there, they find their old military instructor and the minor villain of the FIRST book, who was exiled there as punishment and is now very strong and also very weird. It’s all pretty muuch fun and games, with lots of laughs. Then we get to the second half of the book…

I’ve always been somewhat suspicious of Lloyd’s “at home, I’m the weakest” claim, and despite the townsfolk showing off such things as being shot out of a cannon to go to the nearby mountaintop, I’m even more suspicious after this book. Both the good guys and the bad guys see Lloyd has a destiny, though how they want to shape that destiny is another story. Fortunately, Lloyd is as innocent as a lamb, and thus unlikely to really be seriously manipulated by bad guys. I’m also impressed with Riho, who honestly should get a spinoff series where she’s the detective, and Selen, who shows that when she drops her yandere act she too can be quite clever and courageous. Phyllo doesn’t get quite as much, mostly as she’s the stoic type, but I was amused at her finding out exactly how much she needs to train… and then discovering that the Kunlun folks use that training for morning calisthenics. Oh yes, and Allan gets to be the butt monkey of the series AND also get everyone thinking – again – that he’s the real hero here. Honestly, he sort of is. We can’t all be Lloyd.

This was probably the strongest volume in the series to date, tying together a bunch of storylines and also leaving room for more to be developed. That said, there’s still one main reason to follow this series – everyone is a wacky parody. For those who love laffs, spelled exactly that way.

Bookshelf Briefs 3/31/21

by and Leave a Comment

Black Clover, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – New arc, new villains, new desperate fighting, new nameless characters being killed to give our named leads resolve and fury, and the same old fighting. I’ve said before that, in ripping off every shonen series around it, Black Clover is not really doing a bad job. That said, it’s also not standing out—by definition, this is gonna be pretty generic. Asta shouts and beats up bad guys, Noelle snarks at him, Charmy is back to being superdeformed and eating far too much, etc. You can easily see why this is now the third-longest-running series in Shonen Jump. But you can also see why it’s roundly mocked, and is never going to be at a point where it amazes the readers with its clever surprises. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 9 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – I forgot to brief the last volume of this, which means it’s been almost a year and a half. This “caught up with Japan” series, however, is always worth a deep read, and this time around, after some amusing but goofy stuff involving succubuses, we get to the core of the volume, which is Laios and Kabru’s contrasting viewpoints. Laios’ desire to have a community in the dungeon where everyone can live in peace and harmony… and also eat animals, which theoretically would be happier dying like this than with their current circumstance, contrasts with Kabru still seeing Laios as a dangerously unhinged madman who won’t stop going on about eating the things that kill everyone in the dungeon. Must read, still. – Sean Gaffney

Fiancee of the Wizard, Vol. 2 | By Syuri Nakamura and Masaki Kazuka | Yen Press -This volume moved a lot faster than I was expecting. It also leaves the titular fiancee on the sidelines for most of the book—there’s a battle to defeat the demon lord, but given she doesn’t have much magic or fighting skill, she’s not involved. The wizard IS involved, and we get quite a few scenes from the POV of his party, featuring a hero who I will politely call “naive” and two more savvy characters, including a princess who Filimena assumes is exactly the sort of person he will immediately fall for. She’s wrong, and as always Edy’s inability to not be an awkward jerk masks his true feelings. This ends with a wedding, but there are apparently more volumes. – Sean Gaffney

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 6 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – The series ends with the seventh volume, which is good, because this is the one where I started to get a bit annoyed with the characters—Dr. Tendo is usually very good at understanding Nanase, but he’s very bad at communicating his own wants, needs, and desires. The sister of the woman he was unable to save is now in the hospital, reminding him that he really does want to do this research—but he also loves Nanase, and does not want to be separated from her. If he managed to communicate this properly to Nanase… well, OK, the series would likely then be six volumes instead of seven. Miscommunication is the lifeblood of most shoujo and josei romance titles, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 4 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – Word of warning for this volume: you will meet about 25 new cast members, complete with character bios. Fortunately, I don’t think we will have to remember them all at once. In any case, most of this volume is a standard “first days at school” sort of story, complete with the stern teacher, our hero stressing out about which path he will be taking, and a reunion with the person who was the biggest influence on his life. Now comes the question of where the story will be going as there’s a bit of an implication that the mentor is going to be kicking down a few pillars of society. Oh yes, and there is also the gorgeous art, which is still probably the main reason to read this series. – Sean Gaffney

Our Teachers Are Dating!, Vol. 2 | By Pikachi Ohi | Seven Seas – We continue to read the Pixie Stix of yuri manga, and it certainly delivers, being so sweet you may want to read Inio Asano afterwards for balance. There are a few “new couple” problems here, mostly as they haven’t really opened up to each other yet because they’re still in the first bloom of love. Most of this volume revolves around the school festival, so we get to see them compete in a three-legged race, walk around buying things from their students, dress in each other’s work outfits (and, later in an omake, in each other’s old high school uniforms). They are also still very physically attracted to each other—sex is plentiful here. Still a must-read for those who like sweet yuri manga but without the high schoolers. – Sean Gaffney

Penguin Gentlemen | By Kishi Ueno | Yen Press – Sometimes something magical can happen when a manga creator throws seemingly random and disparate interests together in a work. In the case of Penguin Gentleman, that oddly compelling combination consists of good-looking clothes, good-looking men, and good-looking… penguins?? At its heart, Penguin Gentleman is an informational and educational manga about these aquatic, flightless birds. Ueno’s enthusiasm for them is catching; I felt like I had to share all of the interesting things I was learning with others. However, it’s the manga’s ridiculous conceit that makes it so entertaining. For whatever reason (a reason actually is given, but it’s not at all important), the main characters of Penguin Gentleman are penguins who have taken on human form. And dress in tuxedos, of course. And work together at a bar, because why not? There’s not really much of a story, just the humor resulting from translating penguin behaviour into a human setting. – Ash Brown

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 12 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – There’s a celebratory parade at the start of this volume… one which Sariphi is not participating in, despite the feelings of the king. Now, to be fair, this allows her to have an adorable adventure with a platypus who is trying to grow stronger (and also see the King), but it does not change the central problem, which is that even though Sariphi has managed to win over most of the court by now, the relationship between beastmen and humans is still fractured almost beyond repair. So she decides to act as an envoy to bring a peace offering… with results that are amusing but also a little alarming. We’re clearly coming close to the endgame here, and I like that this volume has Sariphi taking control. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 11 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – At long last, Zen and Shiroyuki are taking that important step—they’re moving in together… well, OK, not quite. Zen is having Shiroyuki moved into his section of the palace, with the rest of his aides such as Mitsuhide and Kiki, who are still… kind of teased? You get the sense the author knows folks really want them to be a couple, but also doesn’t really want to go there given their regular interaction is so much fun. Speaking of Kiki, she also gets to pose as Zen’s supposed bridal candidate, mostly to get the rumors off his back, because he is NOT ready to go full public with his herbalist just yet. That said, the cliffhanger promises a sea change in this story. Still must-read shoujo manga. – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 4 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics – Thank goodness the author realizes that they could not have a young, horny married couple who are constantly turned on by each other be virgins for TOO long. Yes, at last, our leads have consummated, oddly as a result of the normally steady Sumika forgetting tickets to a concert they were going to. This is framed with a flashback showing her stern, unforgiving father yelling at her, and contrasting this with the far more easygoing Ikuma forgiving her. This is really good, as it gives good character background, explaining a lot of why Sumika is the way she is, and also allows for a good reason that they finally can move past embarrassment or overexcitement and show how much they love each other. Oh yes, and still funny. – Sean Gaffney

The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker, Vol. 5

by

By Tôwa and Huuka Kazabana. Released in Japan as “Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alexandra McCullough-Garcia.

This was, in all honestly, probably the strongest volume of Rearguard to date. It still features everything that you’ve come to expect from Rearguard: lots of people praising Arihito and his party (but mostly Arihito) endlessly, lots of “which level up should I take” talk that goes on for 10-15 pages, lots of everyone being 100% in love with Arihito and his not getting it at all, etc. There are some nice relaxing moments, as they do actually try to take a day off and stay at a beach resort. There are thrilling battles, as they manage to find the one hidden dungeon in the middle of said resort. There is, believe it or not, development of the ongoing plot. There is a battle towards the end where I actually wondered if they’d be able to pull it off without fatalities, as I briefly forgot what series I was reading. And there are giant electric penguins, twenty feet high, as Rearguard manages to cross over with Scott of the Sahara, of all things. It’s quite a book.

As always with this series (the book helpfully reminds us it’s only been EIGHT DAYS since the start of Book 1), we pick up right where we left off, with Arihito and Seraphina getting details on the aftermath of their big fight – oh yes, and saving the life of the guy who lost his soul, which was considered nearly impossible but, Arihito. He also finds out more about their two biggest goals, and needless to say, they’re both very, very difficult: Elitia’s former party is wracked with internal strife and possible evilness, and rescuing her friend seems unlikely. And we find that it requires a lot of sacrifice to try to restore a demi-human to their former selves, and they’ll always be marked by it – literally. Arihito, of course, cares not a fig about how hard it is. He has resolve. He has his strong companions. He has the protection of a God. And he has his OP powers, which are causing even those on the highest level to watch him.

Despite three deadly battles, lots of discussion of possible death of party members and friends, and an ending that implies trying to rescue the person who tries to destroy them, this book remains jovial, relaxed, and easy-going. Arihito’s badassery is balanced out quite nicely by the badassery of everyone else in his party, and he does not have to always get in the final hit a la Kirito. Even the harem aspect boggles the mind – this book, like many of the others, talks about the fact that when Arihito sleeps behind his party, they all get aroused, to the point where they all try to bid on an item that puts a cone of silence around a person so they that can quietly take care of themselves. And yet… it’s never explicit, and it’s not even really done to titillate. Even when they fight the 20-foot-high electric penguin, they befriend it and take it to their zoo, as it was lonely and can now play with other penguins. The whole series is just so… NICE.

The next volume is not scheduled yet as I write this, and we’re almost caught up with Japan. Still, I enjoyed this even more than usual. If you can stomach the premise, it’s definitely worth a read.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 6

by

By Yuki Yaku and Fly. Released in Japan as “Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

Despite what some people may think, particularly those who watch the opening of the recent anime adaptation, these light novels are not meant to be a romantic comedy. That is not to say they don’t have elements of it – they certainly do, and that’s the subject of much of this book. Tomozaki has been kicking the dating can down the road, at first simply as he didn’t want “get a girlfriend” to be a goal Hinami sets for him to tick off, but, as she correctly points out, he needs to start examining his own feelings and ask himself if there is a girl he really likes. Because there’s certainly someone who likes him… in fact, is there more than one? This isn’t a harem comedy, but it may be a love triangle, as, after several scenes showing Tomozaki accidentally being seductive (we see it, she sees it, he does not), he gets an honest to God confession. There’s just one problem – he needs to actually have some love for himself first.

Having seemingly run out of heroines to put on the cover (sorry, Tsugumi, maybe next time), Mimimi gets a second appearance, and she gets a lot to do. The school festival is coming up, which is right in her wheelhouse, even if she doesn’t actually want to be in charge of it. Meanwhile, in addition to being on the festival committee (which he volunteered for even before Hinami assigned it to him), Tomozaki is getting into social media! Yes, he has an Instagram account now, and his job is to fill it with specific photos Hinami asks him to get. This, of course, involves him getting into situations where he can easily get those photos… some more easily than others. It’s a good lesson for Tomozaki, who needs to be reminded “this is what normal teens do, and I am a normal teen”. Meanwhile, he reads Kikuchi’s stories… and suddenly knows that they should do for the festival. A play, written by her.

The whole book is filled with great scenes (as you can see by my devoting two paragraphs to a summary of it), but two particularly stand out to me. The first is when Hinami talks to him about which girls he likes, and says the idea of “I must only love one woman and be steadfast and true” is, to put it bluntly, virgin thinking. Real life is not like manga and anime (or even light novels), and high school romance does not have to be a deep commitment. Given how earnest Tomozaki is in general, I’m not sure how much he’ll take this to heart, but hey. The other scene is near the end, after Tomozaki has gone with Mizusawa to Tsugumi’s school’s festival, with Mizusawa taking on the role of teacher this time. As with Hinami, he points out that dating someone else does not have to be a OTP commitment. But after Tomozaki gets confessed to, and tries to do his usual “but I’m just a loser” waffling, Mizusawa tears him apart, pointing out (accurately) how rude that is to the girl who likes him. I actually cheered.

We may have a long wait to resolve the cliffhanger of Tomozaki responding to this confession – the next volume is a short story collection. But honestly, I think the reader can intuit the way that it’s going to go anyway. In any case, light novel readers, particularly ones who enjoyed the anime, will love this.

Pick of the Week: BL, Shamisen, and Railway Stations

by , , and Leave a Comment

KATE: I only have eyes for one series this week: BL Metamorphosis, a series that’s rueful, funny, and heart-warming without ever being sappy. One of the things I love most about BL Metamorphosis is that Kaori Tsurutani treats the main characters’ interest in BL with respect; there are no cheap jokes at either heroine’s expense, just a thoughtful and loving exploration of what it means to be a dedicated manga reader at any age.

SEAN: BL Metamorphosis is definitely on my list, and I agree with everything Kate said. My pick this week is Those Snow-White Notes, a series getting an anime soon, which is probably the only reason it got a digital release here at all, as it’s about the shamisen – no, not Kyon’s cat from Haruhi Suzumiya, but the traditional Japanese stringed instrument. This is, honestly, what “digital-only” releases were meant for.

ASH: As far as continuing series goes, BL Metamorphosis is at the top of my list this week – it’s a truly wonderful series. If Those Snow-White Notes is ever released in print, it will absolutely be my pick. (That being said, I might make an exception and read it even though I usually avoid digital releases.) While it’s not manga, my official pick this week actually goes to the novel Yokohama Station SF as I’ve been on a speculative fiction prose kick lately.

ANNA: I find the idea of shoujo horror intriguing and we haven’t had a ton of that genre translated, so I’m going to pick Love and Heart (Koi to Shinzou).

Unnamed Memory, Vol. 2

by

By Kuji Furumiya and chibi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Tangney.

This is a highly enjoyable volume of Unnamed Memory, although the story placement felt very odd. I joked when I was halfway through the book that I’d reached the end and the other 150 pages would just be light music. That’s because the story that covers the first part of the novel feels very much like a climax, the sort of thing you’d have to wrap things up with a bang. Instead, after that blockbuster we get a few lighter in tone short stories of varying length, followed by another longer story for the last fifth or so that gets serious and dramatic once again. Fortunately the stories all read well, and at its core the book is about the relationship between impulsive, outgoing Oscar and cool and calculating (except when it comes to Oscar) Tinasha. We’re still in the time promised in their contract, but that time is rapidly coming to a close. Can Oscar win her over? Will he even be able to, given her own past and the threats of other witches?

The book starts off in a disturbing fashion, as our heroes find a wannabe mage who killed most of a family and imprisoned their souls in daggers. This leads indirectly into the main plot of the first half, as Tinasha abandons Oscar after meeting a man from her past long thought dead – Lanak, who wants her back… well, “wants’ may given him more agency than he really has here. What’s worse, as this happens, towns across the land are having everyone in them suddenly vanish – seemingly dead. Is Tinasha behind this? Has she gone to the dark side? (No. Come on, you guessed that.) After this crisis, Tinasha fights a kraken, shows Oscar a very pretty lagoon, battles against time to stop her getting hit by an aphrodisiac, watches Oscar go behind her back to stop a brothel that allegedly uses a song that can kill you, and, in the last, more serious story, fights a god.

As with the first book, the novel’s main strength is that it lacks any of the gimmicks that light novels are littered with today. It’s a simple fantasy, with no one from Japan, no game worlds or stats, and none of the usual anime shtick. I particularly liked the story about the killer song (clearly, I suspect, meant to be based around the song “Gloomy Sunday”, which has indeed been banned a few times for supposedly making people suicidal) as it has more than one good fakeout, and also gives us a chance to see Tinasha at her most furious. She and Oscar are clearly a great couple, and he knows it, and I think she does too, but it’s going to take a lot more to get her to actually commit to it than what we have now. She does NOT want to be tied down that closely. Still, when you trust a man enough to disembowel you in the most careful way possible, that’s a keeper.

The third book ends with a brief cliffhanger showing us one of the witches is working to destroy the bond between Oscar and Tinasha, which should not be surprising – there are five witches for a reason – but also makes me wonder if the next book will actually feature their contract running out at last. In any case, those bored with isekai and harems should definitely add this to their must-read list.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 11

by

By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

Ever since the start of the entire series, there has been a certain disconnect between what the fans want to get out of these books and what the author is giving to them. Let’s face it, if the fans of the series were in charge, we’d be seeing a lot more spider and a lot less of the human side of things. And those folks are really going to hate this book, because it’s entirely on the human side of things. Yes, White gets one or two appearances here and there, but this is the first book she gets no scenes as a narrator. Instead this book fleshes out Julius, the hero of humanity and Shun’s older brother, showing his hero’s journey, his doubts, his weaknesses, and his resolve, along with giving greater depth to the rest of his party. Of course, we’re still in the past, so we know what happens to that party. But that’s probably Book 12’s problem – this one is here to remind you that the humans are also in this narrative.

The book, as with most previous books, flits back and forth between several viewpoints. The primary one is Julius’, as he starts off, despite being the hero, being dismissed and protected by the soldiers around him, who are not all that thrilled with a 12-year-old being their chosen savior. Despite this, he ends up getting involved anyway as they try to figure out why children all over the land are getting kidnapped and who is behind it. (We, as the reader, know all these answers, of course.) He has a beloved mentor figure, who gets brutally murdered halfway through the book, in the best beloved mentor tradition. He has his best friend as snarky sidekick, and a priestess who is clearly head over heels in love with him, but he’s ignoring that for now. Things are going quite well… if only the world was not gearing up for a new war, started by the Demon Lord, who is apparently so awful demons are fleeing their own lands to get away from her.

Again, it takes an entire volume that is mostly away from their perspective to remind us that this is a “rooting for the Empire” sort of story, and that White, Ariel and company are the bad guys to most of the rest of the world. This isn’t really a funny volume in the series – the comedy comes from Sophia’s diary of her life in boarding school, which is, if I’m honest, not really that funny. We get various points of view of other characters in Julius’ party, giving them depth and backstories, and showing how they view Julius as opposed to his own mostly negative thoughts. I will admit, it’s hard to deny that this book is trying to flesh out what is otherwise going to be a bunch of “who cares?’ corpses in the next book, which promises to giver Julius’ last moments from his own perspective. It’s a necessary thing, though, to give the writing better depth.

This is not to say it isn’t frustrating, and I’m sure a lot of fans really, really want the past to catch up with the present (which we last saw in Vol. 6) pretty darn quick. Till then, enjoy this look at the evil spider and her evil demon friends from a different viewpoint.