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Pick of the Week: We Love Ping Pong

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MICHELLE: Seinen sports manga from Taiyo Matsumoto?! I mean, it’s gotta be Ping Pong this week for me!

SEAN: Ping? Pong!

ANNA: Totally psyched for Ping Pong!

KATE: Since the pandemic began we’ve been in virtual agreement about our pick of the week, so I thought I’d shake things up with a contrarian suggestion. Alas, this week’s pickings are mighty slim; I’m having a hard time imagining myself choosing Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight or Campfire Cooking in Another World over… well, just about anything, let alone one of the weirdest, coolest sports manga of the last twenty years. I guess that’s my long-winded way of saying put me down for a copy of Ping Pong, too.

ASH: Ping Pong is one of my most anticipated releases for the year, so it’s an easy pick of the week for me! (And for everyone else, too, it seems!)

MJ: My colleagues are very persuasive. What can I possibly say but Ping Pong?

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: The Arch-Wizard’s Little Sister

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I recently reviewed the third volume of Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, by the same author, and noted the difference between that series and KonoSuba is that KonoSuba has heart. Which is true, as the latter half of this book shows. But to get there we have to get through the first half of this book. And it’s a good reminder that, while the cast of KonoSuba are nice and sweet compared to the sociopaths of Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, they are still quite horrible people overall. No one exemplifies this more than Kazuma, who after the last volume is spending his days lazing around the castle being waited on by servants and corrupting the princess (no, not like that, fortunately – she’s just talking casually now). After finally being thrown out, he then has to get back into his own mansion, as he’s been locked out by a thoroughly pissed-off Aqua. It’s only when Megumin’s sister Komekko shows up that the cast remember that they’re badass and also not terrible.

In a nod to the overall plot, Komekko is brought to Axel because Megumin’s village is under attack by the Demon Lord’s forces, which has led to their home being destroyed. so “those two girls” (in a nod to the trope, Megumin can’t remember their names, and to be honest neither can I) drop Komekko off to be looked after by Megumin while the Crimson Magic Clan strikes back and also cleans up. Komekko’s quite happy with this, as everyone and their brother is feeding her. She’s also happy because Megumin has been writing her letters about how AWESOME she and everyone else in Axel is, and she wants to find out about this first-hand. Given that, for once, Kazuma and company are reasonably well-liked by the town, the other adventurers are willing to go along with Megumin’s exaggerated letters. In fact, the guild decides to take advantage of this. A lot.

Everyone here gets their moments to shine and also their moments to be humiliated, in the best KonoSuba way. The exception is Komekko, who plays everyone like a fiddle and will likely be far more powerful than Megumin when she grows up. Darkness comes off worst, as she’s still hamstrung by having to be the sensible one, with her perverse moments kept to a minimum. As for Megumin, much to the surprise of Kazuma (and the reader), she is not going to let him forget her confession from the end of the 9th book – she repeats it, and then says she’d like to be “more than friends but less than lovers”. It’s a great scene, and Kazuma responds to it (for him) relatively seriously. Of course, it’s then undercut immediately, because no one does that better than KonoSuba – Komekko heard this confession and tells everybody, leading to a hilarious final scene.

As this point Kazuma/Megumin seems to be set in stone… though the cliffhanger may bring fresh chaos. Darkness has a kid? Is she a child from the future? (Probably not). In any case, this was an enjoyable book, once I got past the obligatory “sixty or so pages of Kazuma being a scumbag” parts.

By the Grace of the Gods, Vol. 2

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By Roy and Ririnra. Released in Japan as “Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z.

It’s probably not a coincidence that while the genre of ‘Slow Life’ novels is very popular in Japan, we haven’t really seen that many straight examples of it here in the West. There have been a few that come close, but they tend to have a lot of things happening, or else they’re standard isekai only lackadaisical. By the Grace of the Gods really comes closest to the pure type (Ryoma does do some adventuring and goblin slaying, so it’s not 100% “no I will not be a isekai protagonist I am going to farm!” like the best of them), as Ryoma, over the course of the book, realizes that rather than hanging out with the rich family who “rescued” him and getting closer to their daughter who clearly has a crush on him, and rather than going on guild quests and monster hunting, he’s going o be… opening a laundry. Of course, given his slimes, this is not as big a jump as you might expect. The result is that the book is… pretty good but dull.

We don’t get the laundry till the end of the book, so for the most part this book involves Ryoma finding odd things to do with his ever increasing pile of slimes. He’s learning new magic, so that he can store them better and also teleport. He’s clearing abandoned mines of minor monster hordes, along with the occasional worse than expected monster horde. And he is getting involved in fights between a bunch of bully adventurers and the kids they’re taking advantage of… which not only leads Ryoma to kick their ass and make sure they’re punished, but also makes him realize that this sort of thing is exactly NOT what he wants to do. And that he’s not happy with this side of himself. So a laundry, given how hard it is to get monster guts off of clothing in this world, sounds fantastic.

This last part is the most interesting part of the book. Ryoma gets really pissed off when he sees the bullying adventurers, enough that it gets a color page. Given Ryoma’s default mood has been ‘stoic’, this merely involves escalating to ‘glower’, but it’s a start. That said, I really liked his attempts at self-analysis after the event – they make sense to him, but also feel a bit wrong to the reader and to everyone else around him. He decides to be “more independent” by breaking off with the duke’s family, convinced that being with them would “spoil” him. Honestly, I agree more with everyone that he tells this to: I think he needs more exposure to others, not less. He’s easily pegged as someone who will never ask for help. Even the Gods, when he prays to them and goes for a visit (remember the title), inform him that he’s not just a 40-old guy in an 11-year-old body – his emotional state is matching up with his age in THIS world. It’s a great conceit that’s the best part of the book.

That said, the REST of the book is a lot of monster hunts, slimes, and everyone praising Ryoma for being awesome… in other words, standard light novel. That said, I’m very interested to see where this goes nest.

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 19

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By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

It’s never a good sign when people keep asking why you’re still reading that series as you tweet about it, but that’s what’s been happening for me with this Smartphone, which seems to have worn out its welcome for everyone but the most hardcore of fans. It’s not a bad question, why do I read it? Especially given the beginning of the book, a reprehensible pile of crap that involves getting a unicorn horn, slutshaming the entire female cast while ALSO having them insist they’re all virgins, and finally ending with a “ha ha, he was gangraped by men and now he’s gay” joke. I recommend just skipping the whole chapter. After this, thankfully, it does improve, and indeed it feels like the author may have been told to wrap this up soon, as we’re resolving one of the remaining storylines, as everyone in the world, including Touya and his fiancees, battle the wicked god and the wicked Phrase that has allied with it.

The fiancees are getting a bit impatient, wanting to actually get married, but Touya has decided not to do that till the whole “evil from another world coming and killing people and destroying their souls” thing is dealt with. The first half of the book involves preparations for this, including the aforementioned horrible scene. They slowly purify the world with the help of a “puretree” (no worries, fans, this tree is a virgin too) and, unexpectedly, help from Luna Trieste, the Himiko Toga of Smartphone, who thankfully gets locked away for the rest of the book. The second half of the book is the battle against the Mutant Phrases, evil normal Phrases, the evil NEET god, and Yula, the Phrase who set this ball rolling in the first place. Even more unfortunately, Touya gets sealed off in a pocket dimension away from the battle. Can our heroes win without their OP husband-to-be?

Credit where credit is due, the plan that Touya has to counteract this sort of attack is very clever indeed, and I was impressed. It also helps that he tells Yula about the plan with a line that is so cheesy you cannot help but laugh out loud. I like this series when it’s being big dumb. That said, surrounding it is a lot of the same old same old. There are mecha battles, there are guns being fired, there are near misses… and, in the end, Touya does actually save the day. I mean, it’s his series. Aside from the battles, which do take up a good 2/3 of the book, we get Touya becoming more comfortable with being a god (which is why his initial attacks didn’t work well – he was too attached to humanity) and getting more comfortable with actual love and affection (he’s snuggling his fiancees without even turning red!).

So in the end, this is another volume of In Another World with My Smartphone. It has crappy and offensive rape jokes, but on the bright side, Touya doesn’t commit genocide here. If you’re reading it, keep going, you know what you’re getting. If you haven’t read the series but you’re thinking of reading it, Christ, no.

Manga the Week of 5/20/20

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SEAN: STILL no sign of land. How long is it?

Cross Infinite World has seen which way the trends are blowing and is here for you with The Weakest Manga Villainess Wants Her Freedom!. A light novel about a girl who discovers she’s been reincarnated into her favorite game as the weakest boss villain who dies early and everyone mocks after her death. Yeah, she’s not sticking around for that. She’s outta here! If you can’t wait for more Bakarina or I Refuse to Be Your Enemy, this should tide you over.

ASH: Definitely on trend there, but it sounds like it could be fun.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight 2 in print.

J-Novel Club has three novels: Banner of the Stars 3, Bibliophile Princess 2, and Campfire Cooking in Another World 6.

Kodansha’s website says we’re getting digital-first versions of Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 4, Knight of the Ice 2 (postponed from this week), Saiyuki 2, The Seven Deadly Sins 38, and Something’s Wrong With Us 2. I’m assuming they will hit other retail sites soon.

MICHELLE: Hm. I’m looking forward to more of Something’s Wrong with Us!

SEAN: Digital-only titles do seem to be up on other retail sites. There’s Cosplay Animal 12, Dolly Kill Kill 2, GE: Good Ending 5, I’ll Win You Over, Senpai! 4, Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition 3, Space Brothers 36, That Blue Summer 5, and Yozakura Quartet 26.

MICHELLE: I am really enjoying I’ll Win You Over, Senpai!, somewhat to my surprise.

SEAN: One Peace says that it has The Reprise of the Spear Hero’s 2nd manga volume out next week. As with other small publishers in these COVID times, actual shipment dates may vary.

Seven Seas has early digital releases for A Certain Scientific Railgun: Astral Buddy 3, New Game! 9, and Species Domain 8.

Vertical’s digital releases are now part of Kodansha’s, so I missed that CITY 8 came out digitally this week. By that logic, we should see Please Don’t Bully Me, Miss Nagotoro 3 next week.

Viz has the debut of the week, and it’s a big one. Ping Pong is an old series from Taiyo Matsumoto that ran in Big Comic Spirits back in the 1990s, and Viz is releasing it in two 500-page tomes. If you liked Sunny, or Tekkon Kinkreet, or what little we got of Number Five, you have to check this out. And yes, it really is about ping pong, it’s not a metaphor or something.

MICHELLE: I am so here for this.

ANNA: Me too, that sounds amazing.

ASH: Yes! I have been pining for a release of this series ever since Matsumoto was at TCAF back in 2013. I am so happy to finally get my hands on this.

MJ: I love that you had to explain that, though. “It really is about ping pong.”

SEAN: The other debut is The Kingdom of the Gods, which inspired a Netflix series called Kingdom. It’s a manwha, seems to be complete in one volume, and has a cover that looks terrifying.

ASH: I’ll be checking this one out! I’ve heard great things about the adaptation, so I’m curious about the original.

MJ: I’m always interested in manwha.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Beastars 6, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 2, Levius/est 4, No Guns Life 5, Ran and the Gray World 7 (the final volume), Urusei Yatsura omnibus 6, and The Way of the Househusband 3.

MICHELLE: Some good stuff here! I really need to catch up on BEASTARS.

ASH: It’s gone in some directions that I really didn’t expect, but I’ve certainly been enjoying the series. I liked the first volume of Hell’s Paradise, too, and I’m looking forward to more of The Way of the Househusband, as well!

SEAN: Are you planning to eat your manga? Or just read it?

The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious, Vol. 3

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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.

Though they share few similarities except for being comedies, I was reminded quite a bit of My Next Life As a Villainess while reading this 3rd volume of a series that was clearly designed to be two volumes long. Bakarina struggled for several volumes to try to find a way forward, and this volume of Cautious Hero does the same. That said, Cautious Hero has a lot more to walk back; at the end of the second volume Rista has been told who she is, and who Seiya is, and their destiny. Even better, when Seiya is called forth as a hero once more at the start of this book, he remembers what happened, and seems to actually return Rista’s feelings! Sure, they have to save the world, but he’s powerful, she’s a goddess, they’re in love, it’s great, right? Wrong. No one is reading the series for that. And so, sure enough, by the middle of the book, love has been trodden on and Seiya is using Rista as a comedic punching bag again. Know what your audience wants.

Those who read the first two books, or saw the anime (popular enough to get the two leads a cameo in Isekai Quartet’s second season) will be surprised at the cover art, showing a grinning, not-at-all-cautious Seiya charging forward. It’s the start of a long line of bad things happening to Rista. An enemy hits Seiya with an amnesia stat, meaning he’s back to his old reckless personality… and his love for Rista has gone down. Then, after more plot stuff happens, he loses the amnesia and is back to being Seiya… but thinks of Rista as an annoying weed. Yes, we’re back to baseline there. Honestly, it’s probably for the best, as this world is, as promised, much worse than the previous one. Humanity is not only enslaved but eaten, and the beastmen rule supreme. Seiya has to rescue the slaves in the old town they used to be fron, then he has to infiltrate the palace guard and take on the lion-headed big bad, Grandleon.

Does the book succeed at walking everything back? Partly, I’d say. Some of Seiya’s treatment of Rista, while horrible, does cross the line into funny, particularly his use of her as a periscope. The reader is, I think, meant to infer that his feelings for her are not rock bottom but that he’s faking that stat… but if so, he’s really good at it – even the old Queen at the end takes back her “he loves you deep down” speech after he’s appalling once more. Where the book does succeed, as always, is with Rista, who does not remember her life as Tiana, but that doesn’t stop it emotionally affecting her, particularly when she finds Tiana’s mother held prisoner and being tortured. Rista’s frustration and resolve waver constantly throughout the book, but at the end, her honest exhortation to Seiya actually gets through to him and makes him do the right thing. It was nice to see.

Of course the world’s not saved yet, and even stronger bad guys are on the way. Fans of this series had better be prepared for more of what the anime did best – comedy slapstick violence. That said, there’s enough character development in Rista to make this a series still well worth reading.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol 6

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Daytime Shooting Star Volume 6 by Mika Yamamori

As this series continues, I grow more and more conflicted because heroine Suzume is such a sweet girl, I want her to get everything she wants. Unfortunately the main thing she wants is her teacher Shishio, and as he progresses in dropping some boundaries he was not even all that great at maintaining before, I find him more and more unappealing as a romantic prospect for Suzume. As I tend to do in k-dramas, I’m now firmly rooting for the second lead guy, Suzume’s classmate Mamura. I’m still drawn in by Daytime Shooting Star’s combination of stylish art and teen soap opera plot. As a bonus, Mamura is on the cover of this volume.

In this volume, Suzume and Shishio continue to capture some stolen moments here and there, but she’s often frustrated that she can’t deepen her relationship with him, and she’s continually reminded of the need for distance. She gives him a birthday present that she earned the money for with her part-time job. She attempts to make him a lunch, but sees him turning down food from another student. Throughout all of these interactions Mamura hovers in the background either quietly observing or forcing himself to eat some of Suzume’s first attempts at rice balls. Mamura continues to be a good friend, even when Suzume finds herself stood up by Shishio when he’s tied up with work on Christmas. A little bit of awareness seems to be settling in with Suzume as she realizes that she can be herself around Mamura after spending more time with him. Shishio seems to be losing his grip on his professional ethics, so I’m growing concerned about that, and the fact that Suzume’s uncle is extremely clueless about this developing situation between one of his best friends and his niece.

I have to admit I’m impatient to see how all the slowly building romance in Daytime Shooting Star will pan out. There’s a bit of a train wreck quality to this manga, seeing a young girl invest in the possibility of a romantic relationship that doesn’t seem like it will work, but I’m hoping that Mamura’s flashes of insight and his evolution from a boy who could barely talk to a girl to a young man who will gallantly bestow a scarf on a girl when she’s cold will pan out somehow. Go Mamura!

Pick of the Week: Is It a Given?

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SEAN: There’s a few titles that interest me but not much that screams “pick of the week”, so I’ll go withWandering Witch, a series so interesting I’m double dipping on the LN and manga, something I don’t usually do.

MICHELLE: There’s a fair amount coming out that appeals to me, but I’m most eager to continue the story of Given. I only watched the first few episodes of the anime so soon the manga will be in new territory.

KATE: I’d completely forgotten about Rin-Ne, but the recent announcement of an InuYasha sequel made me feel like it was 2008 all over again, so why not? Even a B minus effort from Rumiko Takahashi is still 100% better than most of what’s licensed for the English-language market.

MICHELLE: With RIN-NE having recently concluded in Japan, I do find myself wanting to dip back into it to see how it ends.

ASH: I actually haven’t read any of RIN-NE yet! (I probably should.) But I did read and greatly enjoy the first volume of Given, so I’ll be making that my official pick of the week. Although debut-wise, I’m probably most curious to read Sarazanmai: Reo and Mabu.

MJ: I’m behind on everything, and I still haven’t read the first volume of Given. But it seems inevitable that I’d love it, so I’ll make the second volume my pick this week. then it’s up to me to catch up!

ANNA: I’m joining in with the love for Given, I thought that the first volume was adorable.

Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, Vol. 3

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By Natsume Akimoto and Kakao Lanthanum. Released in Japan as “Sentouin, Hakenshimasu!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Noboru Akimoto.

It can be hard reviewing these books because, much as I’m still finding them funny, there’s not as much to say about them that I haven’t said in my previous two reviews. The characters were reused and combined into the characters we love from KonoSuba – Snow is the most obvious, but in this book it really becomes apparent that if Wiz was a lot more pathetic she’d be Grimm from this series. The author is making a slight effort to try to give the characters depth – mostly with Grimm here, but a bit with Six as well. But it can be hard when you also have to fulfill a certain quota of over the top humor. Combatants is slave to its joke plot and characters, in a way that the author hasn’t quite figured out how to escape. They will in KonoSuba, but this isn’t that. So we’re left with the jokes. Which are excellent… provided you have sympathy for no one and don’t mind things getting quite crass.

Our heroes… sorry, our villains are busy trying to build an enemy base from which they can fulfill their plans to take over this world. Sadly, the bases keep blowing up. Not only that, the very world itself seems out to get them, as they’re attacked by monsters, sandstorms, and can’t even burn down the forest without it coming back to take revenge. In amongst this chaos, the kingdom is having its annual Undead Festival, where the souls of those departed are… put into stuffed animals via Grimm, and wander around helping loved ones to move on. Trust me when I say this is played for laughs, not heartstrings. Unfortunately, some of the undead don’t seem to be peacefully mingling. And a former enemy, killed by Six, may be taking advantage of the Festival to stage a comeback. Can our heroes be horrible enough to win this time? Oh, no sweat.

Grimm is the heroine of this volume, though as with Alice before her, that doesn’t mean she gets all the focus. She does get an attempt at actual depth, though, as we see how dedicated she is to her archbishop job, and she truly does want to help the undead to move on (sadly, this usually also involves sending HERSELF to the next life as well). Six even notes if she were the nice helpful archbishop rather than the desperate man-hungry woman, she’d have a husband by now. As for Six, well, he’s terrible as always, but he manages to be topped by another agent here, Ten, whose own tendencies towards gross and petty evil are far worse than what Six has been doing, and lead to the biggest “oh my God” moment in the book, involving doing something in the Princess’ room. Snow is also entertaining, though as the series goes on she’s shifted from “mostly Darkness with a bit of Aqua” to “Mostly Aqua with a bit of Darkness”. And Rose deciding “Screw it, I’m gonna be a pet dog for this book” is fantastic.

So again, this book is not recommended to anyone who wants warm fuzzies. But if you like your humor along the Beavis and Butthead end of the spectrum, Six and friends are here to entertain you.

Isekai Rebuilding Project, Vol. 2

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By Yukika Minamino and Kotokan. Released in Japan as “Isekai Saiken Keikaku” by Legend Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

I admit I was a bit worried about this one. The first book relied a heck of a lot on the really good twist near the end, and I also did not want to end up having a ‘loop’-style redo of the previous book. Fortunately, my worries proved to be mistaken. The ‘let’s fix the beriberi’ plot is still around, but rapidly takes a backseat to ‘let’s battle the monsters who are somehow far more well organized’ plot, which frankly is a lot more interesting. As for the twist no longer applying, much to my surprise it makes the book a lot better, because with context what was a somewhat annoying and frustrating relationship turns into something really fantastic. The book still suffers a bit from dry prose, and the new twist about 3/4 through this book is somewhat uncomfortable, but I suspect it’s designed to be that way. Put it all together, and you have a volume that manages to avoid a sophomore slump. Plus, that cover art!

Our hero Eiji, when we last saw him, had died. We briefly see how things went after he died in that world, and get the revelation that Tiamat is actually his fiancee from Japan, and he then asks to go back and try again. He ends up back at the “would you like to come to the castle and be poisoned?” part of the book, and this time says no. This works out well, and eventually the King comes to him begging for their help in fixing the beriberi. While it’s not fixed by any means, they get enough of a start to have our main group move on to another country – because it’s not just this one country that has issues. Noura is a seaport, but before they can settle in they have to deal with the huge monster horde attacking it. A very… organized monster horde. It’s almost as if the enemy has someone on their side who’s been transported from another world.

The new villain here is a high school girl, which is less surprising than the revelations from the first volume. What’s worse, she’s also come from an abused family, something that Tiamat reluctantly uses against her to stop her simply killing Eiji. I admit I’m not really sure where the book is going with the character of Rio Kodama, but it was refreshing to hear a discussion of abused children and the impact it has on their lives and emotions. It feels like something a third volume would expand on. More to the point, and much to my surprise, the banter between Eiji and Tiamat, which I honestly found a bit annoying in the first book, has transformed now that we – and Eiji – know who she is, and their banter is far more affectionate and fun. (There are still plenty of otaku references I just didn’t get, however). Their relationship is now the highlight of the book.

This looks like it’s going to wrap up in a third volume, judging by the webnovel contents, but that 3rd novel is not announced yet in Japan. Till then, though, this is a decent second volume which manages to improve on the first mostly through its main couple and their flirting. Even if one is a dragon.