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Strike the Blood, Vol. 15

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By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque.

I’ve often talked with this series about how it feels slightly fake, how it’s written by a computer, and how it was written not as a story in and of itself but a story to become an anime. All these are still true. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad, and sometimes, when the computer writing it has a particularly good bunch of data to work with, it ends up with a really, really good book. Such a book is the 15th volume, which might as well be called Strike The Blood: The Movie. It’s the longest book in the series to date by far, and that seems appropriate given the subject matter: the secret cabal that runs the world (yeah, I know, I know…) has decided that too many dangerous things are going on on Itogami Island and, more importantly, too many dangerous people are there, including Kojou. So they’ve sent in a fleet of magic battleships and airships to destroy the island and everyone on it.

The author calls this book the “end of Part One”, and you can see why. There’s a lot of big, plot moving things going on here. Nagisa finally discovers the truth about her brother, though her reaction to all of this will have to wait for next time, as she’s also nearly killed due to the other soul inside her. Kojou finally manages to control his beast vassals and also get all of them, meaning he’s now come into his own as the Fourth Primogenitor. He also publicly declares that Itogami Island is his “territory”, putting it in a class of nations that cannot simply be wiped off the map because they’re inconvenient. And oh yes, Asagi and Vattler join forces to declare war on the people declaring war on them, a pairing so unlikely that everyone and their brother boggles at it.

Why is Asagi doing this? Well, we find out in a great fight scene between her and Yukina, which I wish had been longer. Yukina is fighting to protect Kojou, the Fourth Primogenitor who is using his great power to save others and will one day be the most powerful force in the world. Asagi is fighting to protect Kojou, the high school kid and her friend/crush, who she wants to continue to have SOME semblance of a normal life. As you might expect, they both have valid points but Yukina’s are more valid. You can’t walk back what Kojou is now (though we do get an amusing epilogue where he’s forced to do makeup homework because he missed a month of class negotiating peace treaties). As for Vattler, it will come as no surprise to regular readers to find out he was behind all this, but I was surprised at the eventual outcome of his fight with Kojou. Which is about the 13th major fight Kojou gets into in this book, which is filled with old cast members returning once more.

The series just ended in Japan at 22 volumes, so Part Two, whatever it is, is not going to be as long as Part One was. And for those waiting to see who wins the “harem” wars, La Folia points out what is likely going to be the obvious solution, though that may simply be because it benefits her most. In the meantime, Strike the Blood remains shallow fun, and this book is particularly fun.

Owarimonogatari: End Tale, Part 02

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By NISIOISIN and VOFAN. Released in Japan by Kodansha BOX. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Ko Ransom.

We saw Nisioisin in the last book begin to get ready to wrap the series up (which, spoiling you, he absolutely did not do) and tell the stories that he’d been skipping around and only hinting at: the first appearance of Ogi Oshino and the story of why Araragi got so broken before the start of the series, i.e. the story of Oikura Sodachi. He’s just about ready to finish up by telling us what happened after Gaen literally killed Araragi and sent him to hell at the end of Koyomimonogatari. However, there’s another story that got too big to tell – he says in the afterword it was supposed to be part of the other two “August” Araragi-narrated books, Kabukimonogatari and Onimonogatari, but there simply wasn’t room. And so we get Shinobu Mail, a story big enough to get a volume to itself. It’s ‘mail’ as in armor, and is Shinobu-focused, but also has a heaping helping of Kanbaru, who’s had very little to do since her own narrated book.

Gaen is on the cover along with Shinobu, and she’s also in this book a fair amount. Which may be surprising, given it’s also loaded with Kanbaru, but Gaen solves the problem by simply lying through her teeth about who she is, and Kanbaru, while not dumb, is straightforward enough not to question it. Gaen is here – along with Episode, who hasn’t really had much of a role in the series since Kizumonogatari – to deal with a part of Shinobu’s past that has shown up. Her first thrall, Seishiro, who we had been told (by her) had killed himself rather than be a vampire with here, has managed, after 400 years, to reconstitute himself – killing yourself when you’re Kissshot’s thrall is HARD – and wants to roam the world with Shinobu again. And if that means killing Araragi by fair means or foul, welp, those are the breaks.

This is a particularly well-written book in the series. Araragi and Kanbaru’s long, long, LONG dialogue at the start shows how much she was missed, and also how close the series gets to lowbrow humor. Things aren’t helped by Araragi, in what is meant to be the coolest line in the book, tell Gaen that he knows that both Senjogahara and Hanekawa would understand – he’ll happily leave them to save themselves to rescue a little girl. On the bright side, though she doesn’t actually appear in person, we get another terrific conversation between Araragi and Senjogahara, this one meant to parallel the thoughts that he’s been having about him and Shinobu. Senjogahara, despite admitting that if a man better than him came along she would absolutely dump him, knows exactly what he wants to hear, and it’s actually very romantic. As for the resolution, it’s very appropriate to Araragi.

The whole book is framed as a conversation Araragi has with Ogi right before he leaves for his exams – a trip we already know ends in his death. It feels like all the dots have now been connected. Is his death permanent? Well, we’ll find out next time with the last of the End Tales. Till then, this is a strong volume in the series, especially for Shinobu and Kanbaru fans.

Restaurant to Another World, Vol. 4

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By Junpei Inuzuka and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan as “Isekai Shokudou” by Shufunotomosha. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Elliot Ryouga. Adapted by Nino Cipri.

This sat in my queue for a while, not because I don’t enjoy it, but because I know reviewing it will always be hard, as it’s 75% loving descriptions of food. We get rice burgers, French onion soup, Oyakodon, Peperoncino and potato chips, and trust me, they’re all described so that you immediately want to make the meal yourself. Sadly, there aren’t recipes included in these books the way you see with a lot of cooking manga (perhaps the manga version will add them?). In terms of the restaurant itself, the biggest development is that Aletta gets a raise, as she’s now been there for one year. That said, there’s a lot of development on the other side of the door in terms of worldbuilding. Indeed, we finally get the origin story for the doors, and it shows a tie between both worlds that is both surprising and obvious at the same time. Turns out it runs in the family.

This isn’t to say that we don’t get glimpses of the future as well. One of the book’;s more annoying but tolerable habits is to show a character won over by something the restaurant is serving and think about how to create it in their world, followed by a caption talking about how in a hundred years’ time, their names would be legendary in terms of achieving the objective. The fantasy world may lack preservatives, but it’s making do, and finding ways to at least come close to things that the restaurant can serve. There’s also more discussion of half-elf prejudice – we’ve seen this discussed before, but here we get it starkly laid out, as by chance one girl in a village born to two half-elfs is a “changeling” – essentially meaning she develops in elf terms. This leads to her being abandoned by the village for being “slow”, when in reality it’s more she’s still a baby. Fortunately, she gets rescued and apprenticed.

The book jumps around more than usual – there’s several chapters with the previous generation at the restaurant, and the prologue and final chapters deal with the generation before that. It turns out that Yomi, one of the saviors of the world from ancient times, was essentially blown up into our dimension, and ended up being found by the current manager’s grandfather. Them marrying is what led to the restaurant and the special relationship it has with her old world. Her husband has passed on, but she’s still around, and shows up at the final chapter to give her grandson the “master key” – in essence, showing she trusts that he can handle everything going forward. It’s not a “I’m about to die” sort of scene, but reads more as a passing of the torch – indeed, she reads like a tough old grandma, and even meets up with one of her old compatriots, now also an old man.

So another solid entry in the series, though as noted you’d better love descriptions of food. Fans should be quite hungry – I mean, happy.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/20

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A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 18 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – If you enjoy the way that the series can turn on a dime and drop you into any genre, this volume may disappoint. There’s very little of the weird sci-fi horror aspects of it, and they’re mostly gathered towards the end. Instead, we get the kids, and a lot of the kids. They’re cute! They’re bratty! They’re learning how to be better centaurs and sheep people and other types. We get to see Himeno be impressive and yet also a bit of a dimbulb, there’s more yuri text and boob jokes, and there’s some other fun gags. It’s sweet, but it also feels rather sparse. After taking the series into dark places, it now feels wrong when the series isn’t going there half the time. Balance it better in the next book. – Sean Gaffney

Faded Picture Scroll | By Fujitobi | Futekiya (digital only) – I have no clue how this earned a rating of two chili peppers (Futekiya’s system for indicating a title’s steaminess) because it is one of the cutest, most wholesome boys’ love stories I’ve ever read. When Ryuta was little, he was saved by a young exorcist named Izumo who promised to take him adventuring when he got older. When they meet again, Izumo regrets his promise but Ryuta proves he can be useful by helping to save an incredibly adorable fox spirit named Yamabuki. Over time, these two lonely guys grow closer and ultimately fall in love. Their journey to domestic bliss is sweet and the many comedic moments (mostly Yamabuki, but not always) have a distinct Rumiko Takahashi feel to them. I was utterly charmed and am looking forward to reading the other Fujitobi title on the site. Very much recommended! – Michelle Smith

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 7 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Romance is not particularly important in this series right now—we’d need a strong rival character for that to happen, and we don’t have that at this point. Plus Komi, while she has improved tremendously, still has issues just communicating with others from day to day, so it would feel mean to throw a love life on top of that. That said, while we can see all of her newfound friends do their best to get her involved in their fun (even Yamai… ugh), it’s Tadano who clearly understands her the best, knowing her likes and dislikes, and also clearly having a crush on her but knowing not to push at it too hard. This series can be quite funny (Komi’s mom is a stitch), but works even better when it’s heartwarming. – Sean Gaffney

Let’s Kiss in Secret Tomorrow, Vol. 3 | By Uri Sugata | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I was expecting this series to end with Saya and Yuto’s secret relationship coming to light amongst big drama, but instead, that moment is treated as almost an afterthought, as Sugata-sensei is more interested in delivering a moral about learning to love yourself, forgiving yourself for past mistakes, and having the courage to try again. The end result is optimistic rather than preachy, and I loved that the final image is not some swoony embrace between our two leads (who are, it is gratifyingly emphasized, also each other’s best friend) but a smile from the girl who instigated some shit and whom Saya has opted to befriend. This series surprised me and I would definitely be interested to read more from this mangaka! – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 7 | By Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court | Viz Media – Long time since the last volume, and therefore I was initially a little grumpy that it focused on Captain Celebrity, who’s basically a shallow American All Might. But then we get to see his past, showing that while he’s a ‘dumb jock’ he’s still good at heart, and his ex-wife, who’s terrific (and also, as it turns out, pregnant). We also see, after his farewell event is hijacked by terrorist bad guys and their raptor monsters, that he can be a good guy even if it’s not winning him fame and fortune. Unfortunately, he may not survive into the next volume, though given that’s he’s currently with our hero, I think he’ll be OK. This remains a good, somewhat darker prequel to the main series. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – This volume is a gift to me. I’ve long said that I love the friendship between Natsume, Tanuma and Taki (OK, yes, I ship it too), and here we get a Taki-centric story followed by a Tanuma-centric story. The Taki one involves her college-age brother returning home. He’s more of a skeptic, but is also avoiding their house for some reason. And there’s an “I entrust you with my sister’s safety” gag that’s great. The Tanuma chapter is a bit more serious, and involves possession, but it also touches on one of the running themes of this series: two yokai who want to talk to each other and are unable to do so due to death, separation, or what have you. This comes out infrequently, but I always adore it. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 9 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The arc wraps up here, with those who have died going to a more peaceful rest and those who have not died going back to cleaning really hard. The best part of the book is where Fumi is given the choice: she can save the girl Kyutaro loved as a girl, but lose her memories of everything since then… or she can save herself, and kill the memories of the girl Kyutaro loved. It’s one of those choices that seems hard until you think about it, which is why it’s slightly frustrating that most others before Fumi made the wrong choice. Fortunately, Fumi makes the right choice, and doesn’t even need the help of her boyfriend. Oh yes, they’re dating now, and get in some good kisses. An excellent shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 10 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume is a LOT. Ichika is still being amazingly aggressive, Miku is being aggressive whether she wants to be or not, and Yotsuba just wants everyone to get along like they used to. But that’s not going to happen, as Futaro points out—picking one thing means not picking the others, and that applies to life as well as romance. The romance ends up with Miku as the seeming winner here, though there’s minimal forward progression, and Futaro revealing he’s not as ignorant of everyone’s feelings as he pretends. That said, the reason this volume is a lot is the cliffhanger, where we finally found out which of the quints has been dressing up as Rena… and which one was Rena from the past. This is terrific romantic comedy. – Sean Gaffney

Sweet Time | By Weng Pixin | Drawn & Quarterly – Collecting comics that were originally created between 2008 and 2017, Sweet Time is Weng “Pix” Pixin’s graphic novel debut. Pix is an artist from Singapore who utilizes a variety of media and methods of expression. The fifteen comics in Sweet Time demonstrate Pix’s striking colorwork, providing examples of both drawings and paintings. While the individual works aren’t necessarily directly related to one another (although there are several series of diary comics), the collection as a whole explores themes of longing, desire, and impermanence. Some of the narratives are more abstract while others are more linear in their portrayal of changing relationships and human connection. Many of the selections included incorporate autobiographical elements, providing the collection with additional layers of realism and reflection. Pervading Sweet Time is a sense of intimacy and melancholy, beautifully rendered in colors that are sometimes surprising but never jarring. – Ash Brown

Banner of the Stars: Dinner With Family

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By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

This volume takes us right back to the start of the series… and also cuts its ties with it, making it clear that whatever future Jint might have, it’s not going to be on the planet he was born on, or even with the guys he hung out with in college (or its equivalent). Unfortunately, it’s hard to get past the fact that he is taking on the sins of his father in many ways. That and his future lies with Lafier, but everyone and their brother knows that, from his former crew (who he reunites with in this book) to the people who raised him (who at least reconcile with him), the latter going to far as to essentially give Lafier their blessing. As for Lafier herself, even she admits that she’s just hanging around in this book – she’s here because Jint is, but her future absolutely lies in space, and just thinking about how she would want to do things she can’t is making her envious.

The cover art has the two of them looking quite cute, and that fits with the tone of this volume. After the prison drama and watching Jint suffer last time, here there’s a breather, as he has to deal with his world, which is in rebellion once more, and harboring soldiers from the enemy. He’s also trying to accrue some staff so that he can start earning money to pay back the massive debt he’s increasing – Lafier is just fine with him borrowing more and more, but then Lafier seems to be just fine with most everything in this book. This actually becomes a bit of a character point, as when Jint tries to recruit his old friend Durin, who rejects the offer because, frankly, he finds Abh creepy. He’s not wrong, to be honest – we’ve gotten used to the Abh’s tendency to banter in the face of danger in previous books, but to those on the outside, the fact that there’s a total lack of anger or rage can be unsettling.

The other half of the book sees Sobash and the rest of Lafier’s former crew take part in a mock battle which, coincidentally, involves getting to Jint’s home system and having the battle there – its remoteness from everything being a plus. Unfortunately, Martinh decides to fire at one of the ships – which does basically no damage – and the other ship fires back what they assume s also a shot that will cause no damage – it in fact causes a fair bit, though we’re not told how much. The reason we’re not told is that the planet makes it very clear that, in exchange for returning nominally to the Empire, Jint himself has to vow to never even go near the star system again. It’s total rejection, and the fact that it’s coming from the couple who brought him up hurts a bit.

Still, by now Jint, who’s always been a bit weird, is a lot more Abh than he’d perhaps like to think – and his future is definitely in space, with Lafier, though they’re still no closer to being a real couple except that everyone except them knows they are. This also brings this ‘arc’ to an end, though we’re not getting a ‘________ of the Stars’ title change this time. As for when we’ll get the next book here… not sure. I suspect they were licensed in chunks of three, so sales may need to tick up a bit. Till then, this is a good, if low on action, volume.

Manga the Week of 6/24/20

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SEAN: Look out, folks. The danger of COVID-19 may still be here, but the dam has broken. There are SO MANY BOOKS next week.

ASH: Woo!

SEAN: We’ll start with Dark Horse, who have a 5th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: I’ll be picking this up.

SEAN: J-Novel Club’s debut is Deathbound Duke’s Daughter, which is another in the “I’ve been reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” genre. Really nice artwork for this novel series. It’s from Futabasha’s M Novels.

Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s Dilemma 10, Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 (which finishes the 2nd arc, the one currently being animated), the 2nd Sorcerous Stabber Orphen manga, and a 4th Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!

Kodansha has a lot. Debuts? We have three. One even is in print: the first volume of The Ghost in the Shell: Human Algorithm, a spinoff of the legendary manga/anime franchise.

ASH: It’s always interesting to see how various creators envision Ghost in the Shell.

SEAN: A new digital-only title is Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! (Abe-kun ni Nerawaretemasu), a shoujo title from the online replacement for Aria, Palcy. A comedy manga about a girl who finds the school’s karate champ confessing to her… and he’s not going to take no for an answer.

Also digital (at least for now) is Sue & Tai-chan, another cat manga from the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. This one runs in Be Love magazine, so seems more for housewives than kids. But… I mean, it’s still a cute cat manga.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Scheduled (at the moment) for Digital next week and print later, we see Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition 5 (along with 3 and 4, whose print are out already), Fire Force 19, Love and Lies 9, O Maidens in Your Savage Season 7, and Yuri Is My Job! 6.

ASH: As usual, I’ll be waiting for the print release, but O Maidens in Your Savage Season is really good.

SEAN: Digital-only titles out next week? Altair: A Record of Battles 19 (I swear this is now weekly), Asahi-sempai’s Favorite 7 (the final volume), Hotaru’s Way 14, I Fell in Love After School 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 15, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 7 (which also feels like it’s out every week).

MICHELLE: Of these, I’m only currently reading I Fell in Love After School, but I do enjoy it.

SEAN: KUMA has a digital-first, print later debut: Canis: Dear Mr. Rain. This BL title originally ran in Opera a few years back, but is now in Takeshobo’s Reijin. It’s about picking up a stray on the side of the road, only this is a human, not a dog.

MJ: Maybe?

SEAN: One Peace has a 13th Rising of the Shield Hero (manga version).

Seven Seas, in print, has New Game! 9.

Seven Seas, digitally, has a bit more. We have two debuts. Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time (Peter Grill to Kenja no Jikan) runs in Futabasha’s Manga Action, which means it can’t be full-on porn, but it sounds like it. Peter Grill has a lovely fiancee and has just won a tournament pronouncing him the World’s Strongest. Unfortunately, this means all the women in the world – elves, ogres – want to bone him. Poor guy, can he escape his horrible fate?

MJ: …wow.

SEAN: The other digital debut is Syrup, another yuri anthology of short stories – this one from Futabasha – and featuring the creators of I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up and Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossom Pink.

ASH: Oh! That sounds like it has promise!

MJ: This might be good!

SEAN: There’s also the 3rd Arifureta manga, Gal Gohan 3, GIGANT 2, a 2nd Magic User: Reborn in Another World as a Max Level Wizard light novel, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 3, Non Non Biyori 13, the 3rd Reincarnated As a Sword manga, and the 10th and final Toradora! light novel. (Yes, I know there are short story volumes. No, they aren’t. No, it’s unlikely they will be.)

Square Enix has – digital first – the 3nd Hi Score Girl manga and the 2nd Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town manga.

Tokyopop has two new series. Don’t Call Me Daddy (Daddy Darlin’) is a BL manga, sequel to Don’t Call Me Dirty.

The other is No Vampire, No Happy Ending (Ringo to Bara to Kyuuketsuki (Kari)), a goofy Mag Garden comedy about a vampire enthusiast who finally meets one and discovers they’re not up to snuff.

MJ: This actually sounds fun, maybe in a What We Do in the Shadows kind of way, but …Tokyopop. Not sure I’m ready.

Vertical has (digitally) Bakemonogatari’s 4th manga, APOSIMZ 5, and Kino’s Journey 6.

MJ: I’ve been kind of out of it and have lost touch with the Kino’s Journey manga adaptation. I should try to fix that.

SEAN: That’s it! We’re done! Wait… (giant pile of Yen Press falls on Sean) Riiiiiight. Yen’s back in town.

ASH: Whoa! Hang on for the ride!

SEAN: All of the light novel debuts got moved to July. But there’s still a lot of Yen On. We get The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 3, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 7, Last Round Arthurs 2, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 6.5 (yes, the numbering is deliberate), Overlord 12, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 7, A Sister’s All You Need 7, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 8, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 2, Woof Woof Story 4, and World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 3. Guh. So many books, so many long titles.

ASH: For sure!

SEAN: Manga? Well, there we have a few debuts. Bestia is a fantasy series about magical beasts, looks cute, and runs in Kadokawa’s Shonen Ace.

Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World (Sekai de Ichiban Oppai Ga Suki!) is sort of Knight of the Ice if the knight was a girl and instead of wanting to hear magical girl songs she had to fondle huge breasts in order to do well in competitions. It looks… a bit over the top. This runs in Media Factory’s Comic Cune.

MJ: What is happening??

SEAN: Lust Geass is from the creator of Evangelion spinoff The Shinji Ikari Raising Project, runs in Kadokawa’s Young Ace, and seems to be Death Note only with sex instead of death.

MJ: Yen Press is really losing me lately.

SEAN: And there’s Restaurant in Another World, the manga version of the light novel. Old-school Crunchyroll manga readers may recall this title.

ASH: Oh, I may need to check this one out.

SEAN: Lastly, Sekiro Side Story: Hanbei the Undying seems to be a side story to something I don’t know (it’s certainly not Sekirei), and I guess is based off a game.

Ongoing titles? Well, Umineko: When They Cry comes to an end with the 3rd and final omnibus of Twilight of the Golden Witch. We’ve figured out by now that most everyone in the cast is really, genuinely dead. But did ANYONE other than Ange survive? Read to find out.

And… Bungo Stray Dogs 15, Chio’s School Road 9, Dead Mount Death Play 4, Divine Raiment Magical Girl Howling Moon 2, Do You Love Your Mom (and Her Two-Hit, Multi-Target Attacks?) 3 (manga version), Eclair Bleau (another yuri anthology volume) Goblin Slayer 8 (manga version), KonoSuba Explosion 5 (manga version, technically a final volume but there’s a sequel), Little Miss P: The Second Day, Phantom Tales of the Night 4, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 10 (manga version), and A Witch’s Printing Office 3.

MICHELLE: So many paragraphs of things I’m not reading, with the probable exception of Eclair Bleue.

ANNA: I’m going to have a hard time doing pick of the week this week, despite this deluge of manga.

ASH: I’m glad to see publishers getting their books out there, but that is certainly a lot all at once!

MJ: A lot of… what?

SEAN: Stay masked even though all the manga is back! What are you getting?

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 24

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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.

It can be very hard to stop something once it’s gotten started, and when that something is “war”, it becomes ten times as hard. At the end of the last volume I thought we’d get a long section of Yona and Su-Won debating the subject, but no, Su-Won knows that now is not the time to have Yona whisper sweet words of peace in his ear. Instead we get some very clever tactical maneuvering on both sides, relying on Hak’s reputation with the Wind tribe, Yona’s ability to make Tae-Jun do anything she says (though at least there is a bit of “it’s not because I like you or anything” to the logic), and Su-Won figuring BOTH of these things out and making his own move to ensure that yes, there is going to be a war with a lot of dead people. Because sometimes that’s how you king, especially given the previous king.

The cliffhanger implies that the next volume may be different, but this volume reminded me how good the author is at maneuvering things so that expected events do not take place, or go in different directions. It’s a good skill to have, especially as the reader does not feel manipulated. Despite negotiating with Ogi, the meeting with Su-Won does not happen, and instead we get retainer Min-Su, who sympathizes heavily with Yona but also serves the King, and explains that this war can only end in a bloody battle. And yet we don’t get that battle here either, though we come close. (We also don’t get much of Kouren, and I hope that there is some focus on her soon.) As ever, Yona is trying to solve things by being an idealist who can back her ideals up, sometimes with violence, but here through negotiating attempts. It’s hard to negotiate when the other side avoids you, though…that said, more and more people are discovering she is alive.

As you would expect, there’s not really a lot of humor in this book, although the reaction to Jaeha’s leg may be the high point there. This also brings me to Mizari, who is probably the most fascinating part of this book. Let’s face it, it’s rare that ‘the guy with the slasher smile who’s clearly not all there’ gets deep character development. He’s fascinated with the dragon warrior captives (this is why we see Jaeha’s leg), and when he sees the soldiers that are going against Su-Won’s forces, he kills one just because he realizes how weak they are. His logic – he would have died immediately on the battlefield anyway – is twisted but also shows that he too is thinking about how this war is going to go for Kouren’s side. Badly. And that’s why he wants the power of the Dragon Warriors, because he wants to protect her. I don’t like Mizari as a person, but as a character he’s fantastic.

The cliffhanger implies we’ll finally be getting the confrontation that we didn’t get this time, but honestly I suspect that despite all of Yona and Hak’s maneuvering that we’re going to end up going to war anyway. In the meantime, please keep reading one of the best shoujo series out there.

Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! ~A Sign-on-the-Line Wedding Story~, Vol. 2

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By Tsuredurebana and Rin Hagiwara. Released in Japan as “Dareka Kono Joukyou wo Setsumei Shite Kudasai! ~Keiyaku Kara Hajimaru Wedding~” by ArianRose. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mattias Hirsch.

Despite everything seemingly being resolved at the end of the last book in terms of their marriage, the title of this series still fits, as Viola continues to not really believe it. A combination of her own low self-worth and the guy who’s now trying to win her love being astonishingly bad at it means that any romantic progression we see here is minimal at best. To Viola’s credit, she does actually blush near the end of the book when Cercis gets in her face and says he wants them to be a real couple. But even then, there’s no real sign that she’s fallen for him, more that she’s taken aback by his actions. In order to win the girl, Cercis is not only going to have to get a lot better at not being a rich playboy type, he’s also going to have to hammer into her again and again that he loves her. Fortunately, he has several more volumes to do this.

We begin where the last book left off, with Cercis’ Mistress moving out after dumping his sorry ass. I appreciated the fact that, although she was clearly the “other woman”, the story treated her with respect anyway, and I wonder if we’ll see her again. After that, there’s various events that Cercis uses to try to get closer to his wife who just wants to hang around the mansion and pretend to be a maid. There’s balls (where Viola completely trashes a stereotypical “princess curl” rich girl by simply using her low self-image as a weapon), there’s dates (where Viola continues to be appalled at how much rich people spend, and Cercis begins to vaguely catch a clue), there’s visits back home (where we see a lot of what made Viola who she is today… her mother certainly didn’t go out of her way to praise her), and in the end there’s yet ANOTHER rumor that Cercis has taken a mistress, showing that it’s hard to reform when everyone already thinks the worst of you. Through all this, Viola blithely glides along, with her inner narration providing the snark and her outer face being mostly the perfect duchess.

I praised the translation on Twitter, as Viola’s narrative voice is the main reason to buy this. There is a caveat, though: if you’re bothered by the use of ‘modern’ language in a series with horse and carriages, you may find some of Viola’s remarks jar – at one point she uses the term “helicopter parent”, for example. But honestly it didn’t really bother me, and I found it gave Viola a snap to her lines that was perfectly in character. I do hope that future books work a bit more on her self-loathing… there’s a point where she (having slept poorly the night before) accidentally breaks a vase and she immediately loses it. She’s sent back to her earldom to recuperate for the day, but is convinced in her sleepiness that Cercis will divorce her now. The fact that this isn’t really panicked or upset but just as matter of fact as her other thoughts makes it hurt all the more. Someone needs to teach this girl confidence.

That said, right now it’s Cercis who needs to be learning lessons more, as he starts to figure out that expensive food and presents is not going to win him jack shit, and he slowly begins to see what Viola actually likes. If he continues to be a better person, and someone kick start’s Viola’s self-image, we could see this couple on paper become a real couple soon. In the meantime, I enjoy Viola’s snark a whole lot.

Oh yes, and the entire book is made even better by Cercis’ trio of drunken lady knights, who are a stitch.

Pick of the Week: Picks Galore

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KATE: Holy smokes–that’s a lot of good manga heading our way this week! I’d be hard-pressed to limit my pick of the week to just two titles, let alone one. But if I had to choose just one book–and death was not an option–I’d pick Satoko and Nada, a sometimes gentle, sometimes sharp comedy about two international students making sense of the United States together.

SEAN: As I said in Manga the Week of, I love both Satoko and Nada and Tomo-chan Is a Girl. But if I’m going for a pick this week, I think I’ll go with – once again – Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Inio Asano’s K-On! gone horribly wrong series.

ASH: There really is an abundance of great manga being released this week! I’ll third the Satoko and Nada recommendation, but the manga I’m probably most looking forward to is Nagabe’s collection of short manga Love on the Other Side, so I’ll make that my official pick.

MICHELLE: I am going to pick still another option by going with the fifth and final volume of I’ll Win You Over, Sempai!. It’s a Kodansha digital exclusive and is about one of those pretty boys who’s actually kind of awkward but has been put on a pedestal and the pesky girl who does, indeed, eventually win him over. I have enjoyed it a lot.

ANNA: Out of everything coming out this week I’m most excited about Blue Flag 2, the first volume was wonderful.

MJ: Wow, the pressure is on! There’s a lot of exciting stuff to look forward to this week. And since my colleagues have already named most of them, I’ll put in a shout-out for The Weirn Books: Be Wary of the Silent Woods, which appears to be a continuation of her beloved (by me) Nightschool series for middle-grade readers. I’m excited to pick it up!

Kobold King, Vol. 2

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By Syousa. and sime. Released in Japan by Legend Novels (Kodansha). Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amy Osteraas.

First things first: aside from the very start of this book, it is entirely devoted to warfare, with a large group of adventurers, mercenaries and soldiers marching to wipe out the Kobolds and their allies, and our heroes essentially turning into a jungle-based terrorist group to stop them. If this doesn’t interest you, you are not going to get much out of this book, as the brief characterization we had in Book 1 is left behind for the most part in favor of battle scenes. The good news is that the battle scenes are quite well written, and there’s a definite sense of tension to the whole book. Having killed off one of the main characters in the first volume, the reader is under the assumption that no one is safe. Indeed, while I wasn’t expecting the bad guys to win, I did start to suspect it would be a pyrrhic victory where most of the main cast sacrifice themselves. It comes close. That said, this is marked the end of the first “arc”, so presumably more books are coming.

On one side we have the evil obsessed Wyatt and his suit of magical armor, determined to destroy absolutely everyone on the Kobold side, especially Gaius. He’s attracted most of his force by offer of a large reward, but some others (the ones who were there the first time) he has to blackmail. The force itself is quite well divided between men and women, actually, which surprised and pleased me. Of course, this means that both men and women get their skulls caved in, hearts torn out and heads chopped off, because the mercenary force runs into Gaius and Sashalia’s Kobold guerrilla fighters. They have a force far, far smaller than the army’s, but are fighting for both survival and to make the other side give up and say it’s not worth the trouble. To that end, the Kobolds put out endless dangerous traps, use dirty and underhanded fighting tactics, and also have Gaius, who can kill dozens on his own. All this coordinated by Sashalia, who can no longer fight but can still be a tactician.

While I enjoyed this book, there’s not really much to say about it because it’s almost all action. I was thankful that the whole “I want to be the one to take Gaius’ virginity!” plotline was given barely a passing mention, and indeed there’s no love triangle here as was hinted in the last book, mostly as everyone is too busy fighting. Most of the cast ends up coming pretty close to dying – indeed, I was fairly certain that when Darke was hurled against a tree at full speed that she was dead. I was also certain that Emon was dead when Wyatt basically started hacking him to bits. And I certainly expected Gaius and Wyatt to kill each other in the final battle. Instead, the day is saved by a spirit from the dead returning and giving Gaius one final weapon. It’s unrealistic, but hey, we’ve had realism the whole battle, so I was fine with it.

As with other series from this label, we’re not sure when there will be more of it – it’s only two volumes in Japan for now. Still, if you want to know what Vietnam would have been like with kobolds, elves, dwarves and giant lizard creatures, this is a strong read.