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Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 29

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

I’ve been saying for a while now that the “harem total” in this series is not going to get larger or smaller, and in this volume I am proved wrong. That said, if you’re going to add someone to a pile of girls who are as much a found family as romantic rivals, go big or go home. God joins the party here, in the presence of the being who greeted Koutarou in Volume 1. For a while it was thought to be Harumi/Alaia in some way, but now we know that that wasn’t thinking quite grandiose enough. Before we get to that point, though, we continue the theme of the previous books, as one by one the cast vanish from Koutarou’s life, essentially his worst fear, and he has to deal with it. He doesn’t deal with it very well. Fortunately, the dwindling group of women in his life are able to figure out what is going on long enough for him to go back to the place it all began… and also set up some intriguing alternate universes.

The cover art… and the plot… and every single thing about the book, really… might make you assume this is the last book in the series. It’s certainly the final part of the “main” plot that the author originally came up with – this is where he envisioned it ending, no matter how many books it turned out to be. But the cast are becoming third-years (except for the graduated Harumi), and we’re going to be seeing what happens next starting with Vol. 30. As for this book, there’s not much to it aside from emotional beats. They’re very good emotional beats, don’t get me wrong, but I do wish Koutarou had sort of figured out that when he is standing next to a girl and reminiscing about all the good times they’ve had since book 1, she’s going to be the next to go. There is a bit of a “memory reset” at the end, but it’s entirely voluntary, and you understand why they did it.

The interesting thing, to me, was the concept of the alternate universes brought up by Nalfalaren. The one we’ve been reading is the only one in like 5 billion or so where Koutarou revives her with all nine girls who are “part of her” at his side. In other words, this is the only harem end universe. We see one of the alternate universes towards the end of this book, as Koutarou has to deal with a world where none of the cast ever showed up in Room 106 and he ended up dating Shiori Kashiwagi, who readers may recall as having a crush on him a few books back, and is entirely a normal girl. It’s good to know someone is there to help Koutarou get over the tragedies in his life regardless, but it’s still nice to see the ending I think readers wanted, which is ambiguous but also feels right.

Next time we’re getting a continuation, but we’re also going to start to see some of those “alternate universes” where Koutarou was able to settle on one of the girls. Either way, you don’t have to worry about the cast vanishing from your lives anytime soon.

Manga the Week of 1/29/20

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SEAN: The end of the month, and it’s time for lots and lots of stuff. What have we got?

First of all, jumping to the front of the queue because of what it is, we have Udon’s debut of The Rose of Versailles. You should know this one. One of the most influential manga ever. It’s hardcover. It’s almost 500 pages. You will all read it. It’s definitely Pick of the Week, so you’ll have to pardon the double pictures.

MICHELLE: *Kermit flailing*

ANNA: Back before there was an actual industry for translated manga in the United States, I read the excerptr of The Rose of Versailles that was translated in Frederik R. Schodt’s Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. I am so excited to read this.

ASH: I’ve read that excerpt, too! (It’s a great book.) I am absolutely thrilled The Rose of Versailles is finally becoming a reality in English.

MJ: I’m so excited, I can barely type. This release has taken a while, and I have no doubt it will be worth the wait!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has another shoujo light novel, this one called The Misfortune Devouring Witch is Actually a Vampire?! (Ijippari na Majo Dono e). You can tell the title has been Westernized as it’s a ?!, not a !?.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 3rd Elfen Lied omnibus.

Ghost Ship has three titles, one a debut. Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight (Saki-chan wa Konya mo Peko Peko) runs in Houbunsha’s Weekly Manga Times, and features a young and innocent succubus who is trying to get… male bodily fluids from a guy without doing anything really dirty. It’s sort of cute in a “not quite porn” way.

MJ: This is… not what I’m looking for in manga. Or really anything at all. I kind of regret reading this description.

SEAN: They’ve also got Yokai Girls 9 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 8.

J-Novel Club has two new light novel series debuting. By the Grace of the Gods (Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko) is another reincarnation isekai series from Hobby Japan, but this one seems to involve very nice people. The hero is nice, the gods are nice, the slimes are nice… it seems nice. Expect “slice of life”.

The other title comes from the PASH! Books imprint, and is The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman (Jimi na Kensei wa Soredemo Saikyou desu). The plot really, really sounds like One-Punch Man to me… a reincarnated guy who swings his sword to get stronger… for 500 years… suddenly finds he’s super strong. But his swordsmanship is boring. I suspect this one will live and die by the supporting cast.

Also from J-Novel Club is How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 12, Kokoro Connect 8, and Record of Wortenia War 4.

On the manga side, J-Novel Club has a 2nd Discommunication and the 3rd How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.

Kodansha’s print debut has already come out digitally: Living-Room Matsunaga-san, a shoujo series from Dessert. A young woman moves into a boarding house filled with oddballs, and finds herself looked after by an older man.

MICHELLE: I’d been meaning to read this one!

ASH: I’m curious, too.

MJ: This sounds interesting! Or possibly creepy? It seems like it could go either way!

SEAN: Also out in print is The Quintessential Quintuplets 7.

No digital debuts for Kodansha, but we do get Altair: A Record of Battles 14, Boarding School Juliet 14, DAYS 16, Drowning Love 16, Guilty 4, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 2.

MICHELLE: Huzzah for more DAYS!

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debut light novels, one print and one digital. The print we saw before digitally: SCP Foundation: Iris Through the Looking Glass. It tied into the SCP Foundation universe.

The digital-first debut is At Night, I Become a Monster (Yoru no Bakemono). It’s from the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, so expect good writing and melancholy. A boy turns into a monster during the evenings, and runs into a classmate.

MICHELLE: Hm, interesting!

ASH: I’m waiting for the print, but I am intrigued.

MJ: Interested.

SEAN: Also out from Seven Seas: The Dungeon of Black Company 4, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 12, My Monster Secret 19, and Toradora! light novel 9.

For Udon, see The Rose of Versailles above. Just thought I’d mention it again. The Rose of Versailles. Officially out in English. And looking amazing.

MICHELLE: I still can’t really believe it, honestly. I’ll believe it when I’m holding it in my hands.

ANNA: I’m trying to mentally prepare.

ASH: One of my most anticipated releases of the current and past several years.

MJ: What everyone else said. I mean. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

SEAN: Vertical has a 4th APOSIMZ.

The rest of Yen Press, but we’re not close to done. Yen On’s debut is Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina (Majo no Tabitabi). A Softbank Creative series about, well, a wandering witch. The premise makes it sound like a happier, more positive version of Kino’s Journey.

Yen On also has A Sister’s All You Need 6, Goblin Slayer 9, and Torture Princess 3.

Also, in an effort to make all their books available digitally, Yen On now has digital debuts of two older series that were print-only. Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vols. 1-6, and the standalone The Hero and His Elf Bride Open a Pizza Parlor in Another World.

Three debuts… sort of… in the manga department. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is a digital-only series now making its print debut. It also has an anime running now. It runs in GFantasy, so expect it to be a shonen series for girls.

ASH: I’m here for it! Looking forward to giving the series a try.

MJ: Did you say GFantasy? You know I’m here for that.

SEAN: The other debuts are adaptations of light novels. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years (and Maxed Out My Level) runs in Gangan Online, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard runs in Kadokawa’s Comic Walker. The former is cute fluff, the latter is bad but fun.

We also get Aoharu x Machinegun 16, Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World 6, Horimiya 13, Murcielago 13, No Matter How I Look at It It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 15, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil 9.

Again, and I cannot emphasize it enough, Rose of Versailles. Anything apart from that?

Kitaro: The Trial of Kitaro

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By Shigeru Mizuki. Released in Japan as “Gegege no Kitaro” by Kodansha and Shogakukan, serialized in various magazines. Released in North America by Drawn & Quarterly. Translated by Zack Davisson.

This is the final volume of D&Q’s Kitaro collections, and, while Kitaro has never really been serialized in a plot or characterization way, it picks an apt final story to end on. The largest story in the book is the titular Trial, where Kitaro is brought up against the Yokai Supreme Court and charged with helping humans at the cost of yokai. Which, admittedly, there’s a grain of truth to. A number of Kitaro’s adventures have featured him helping hapless humans who are being used and/or outright tortured by yokai – indeed, we’ll see some later in this collection. That said, no surprises for guessing who’s really gotten Kitaro into this mess. After much foofaraw, the trial ends with Kitaro agreeing that he will not only help innocent humans beset by yokai, but also the reverse – such as not helping the shady TV producers who are manipulated by Nezumi Otoko into the documentary stat starts this all off.

As this is the final Kitaro review I’m writing up (presumably), I’d like to expound once again on Nezumi Otoko, the Donald Duck to Kitaro’s Mickey Mouse. The trial story features perhaps Nezumi Otoko at his most iconic – setting up the entire situation in the first place for cash, teaming up with an even worse yokai, framing Kitaro and testifying against him, and then quickly rolling over when things turn against him. Of all the many and varied yokai we’ve seen over the course of the series, Nezumi Otoko’s actions are perhaps the most jaw-dropping – even the evil yokai are more consistent in what they do day to day. But of course Kitaro gives the reason why Nezumi Otoko is who he is – he’s half human, and it’s the humanity in him that makes him crafty and a bit of a complete snake. That said, for Kitaro to continually hang out with him after everything shows he has the patience of a saint… or that Nezumi Otoko has the love of the author.

The rest of the stories in the volume are more typical, featuring the classic Kitaro way of doing things… get devoured and killed by the enemy, then come back and do something about it. The most interesting story other than the trial episode has to deal with a cursed toilet in the middle of the woods (yes, really) and Kitaro also losing all his hair… which, as is pointed out by Nezumi Otoko, is one of the sources of his strength. Honestly, without it he’s almost unrecognizable. I also liked the story of the merman who blackmails/tortures Kitaro into getting him fish, and actually ends up living in a mansion as a human. This leads to the dark punchline where Kitaro agrees to turn him INTO a human, and then the merman finding out that life as a human is not all that greater after all. Also, watch out for the cute maid working in the merman’s mansion who walks off with Kitaro in the end – Mizuki rarely drew cute girls in this series.

The seven volumes of Kitaro released over here, as well as the compilation that came first, do so much to show off the strengths of Shigeru Mizumi as an artist and storyteller. They’re a must for any library. Ge! Ge! Ge-ge-ge-no-geeeeee…

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 18

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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.

Any Smartphone book that manages to put Touya in actual danger is automatically more interesting than most. This one actually does it twice. Not that anything actually happens to him… remember what you’re reading. But the Mutant Phrase descend with an anti-God weapon that is so poisonous that it takes Touya out for three days, and later on an inadvisable attempt at waking an ancient weapon results in time literally being rewritten to make sure it didn’t happen… something Touya is aware of but no one else is. Unfortunately, neither of these crises serve to move Touya beyond his typical bland facade… generally the only thing that can do that these days is mentioning love, as per most awkward overpowered male leads in isekai. Sadly, the weddings are still a fair ways away, but at least we’re seeing a number of other plots starting to come together. Could the end be in sight? (Probably not.)

At the start of the book, the regular Touya world and the Reverse World finally merge together, and much of the rest of the volume is spent dealing with the political fallout from that. It does not help that the bad guys choose this moment to launch their ‘anti-Touya’ poison attack, which destroys one of the kingdoms we’d seen previously. (Not Touya’s own hand this time, so that’s good.) We actually get a few Phrase battles this time around, including Ende getting his revenge against the evil twins who mopped the floor with him last time. And we finally get an idea of what happened back in ancient times when the Phrase first invaded, and hopefully a way to avoid it happening again. In between there’s the usual wacky slice-of-life stuff… a young idiot prince comes by to show how strong he is and gets his ass kicked; Hilde’s sister fights a dragon; Sakura sings Freddie Mercury songs. The usual.

I admit, much as I grouse about the series when it’s doing things wrong like having Touya be history’s greatest monster, when it doesn’t happen there’s very little TO talk about in a review of Smartphone. Touya is bland. His fiancees, though they have more emotional range, are equally bland. There’s the royalty of the neighboring kingdoms… they’re pretty bland as well. This is sort of like a “slow life” series without the slow life part. The author says that we’re going to be fighting the Evil God next time, which is good, because when there are fights at least something is happening on the page. The wedding might also help, but that’s still a few books away. That leaves us with Touya wandering around doing Touya things, which is… boring. Dull. Nearly getting killed was the best thing to happen to him all book.

The series is still worth reading for the tiny little things that make it bearable – Sue’s Hammer Throw was great – but I suspect most readers, like me, are waiting for Touya to get married and simply paddling along ill that happens. 2 out of 5 Smartphones this time around.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 4

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Daytime Shooting Star Volume 4 by Mika Yamamori

This volume of Daytime Shooting Star is focused on summer vacation. I really like the way the matte cover sets off the powdery pink blossoms used in the cover illustration for this volume. I’m so curious as to how this student-teacher romance manga will conclude, I’m guessing a giant time skip picking up with the high school characters post-college graduation. The volume opens as Suzume uses her intense knowledge of fish and extra cash to help out a strange but somewhat familiar man in the grocery store who has difficulty both shopping for seafood and remembering his wallet. When she drops by his house to get repaid for his groceries, she realizes that he’s Mamura’s father! Suzume gets a glimpse of Mamura’s very loud little brother, and she and Mamura are able to talk to each other again like friends.

Tsubomi ends up blowing out of town leaving a tornado of emotional devastation in her wake, as she seems to think it is appropriate to leave a note for her ex-boyfriend Shishio with the teenage girl who has a crush on him. Susume can’t resist the impulse to deliver it, and when she meets Shishio again, they decide to go on a group outing with her classmates to the aquarium, since Tsubomi enclosed an aquarium gift certificate. Of course, the day of the outing no-one else shows up, so the student and teacher are on a full-on solo date where Suzume gets to indulge in all the fish trivia questions she has ever dreamed of. Shishio continues to be fairly inappropriate but not doing anything physical beyond resting his head on Suzume’s shoulder. Even though he rejected Suzume’s love confession, it is clear that he’s still looking out for Suzume at school and in general acting protective and awkward at various moments. Suzume sees all this happening and becomes confused yet again. Fortunately there’s the school festival coming up that will provide a welcome distraction from all these romantic foibles, or amp everything up even more?

I continue to enjoy Yamamori’s stylish character designs. Suzume’s moments of introspection and insight as she’s attempting to get a handle on the world around her keeps Daytime Shooting Star interesting. It is easy to see how she’ll eventually grow up to be a formidable adult.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 12

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I feel that I’ve said a lot when reviewing Outbreak Company that the book starts off badly and gets better as it goes along till a good climax, and that holds true here as well. That said, the annoying parts of the book are very annoying. I haven’t used the word ‘queerbaiting’ when reviewing this series, mostly as it’s highly unlikely the author is doing it deliberately to bring in BL fans. (Then again, given that afterword, I may be wrong.) But for the most part the book is content to view Garius the way that Minori does – as a product of BL fantasy that she can ship with either Shinichi or newcomer Rubert – without ever explicitly having Garius say that he’s gay or state he is gay. It may sound like it’s so implied that they don’t have to, but that’s the point – the BL subtext is slathered on with Minori-vision, making it hard to take seriously. There’s no gay characters here, just a bunch of heavy breathing.

I may be more annoyed than usual as Garius and his supposed homosexuality are front and center in the plot this time. The prince of a neighboring country that is on good terms with Eldant has arrived to propose marriage to Petralka. He apparently knew Garius when they were younger, and it is heavily hinted they were lovers in college – again, with just enough plausible deniability that, should the author want, he can satisfy fans that might be put off by that – and the implication is he’s doing this to get close to Garius. The other half of the plot, which works MUCH better, is that Rubert’s country are very much prejudiced against non-humans, and an alliance between the two countries is bad news for most of the cast. Plus there’s the fact that Petralka loves someone else. Can Shinichi get over his obliviousness and self-hatred long enough to solve this new problem? And will Minori ever shut up?

Shinichi’s low self-worth – still stemming, he says, from getting rejected by the girl he likes for being a creepy otaku – has hovered over the entire series. You’d think, after saving the world multiple times and having at least three different women, and possibly more, in love with him that he might be gaining more self-confidence, but the lack of communication about his real feelings – which is the same reason that he can’t recognize the girls are in love with him – has kept him from seeing that he’s changed. This is frustrating to the reader, and also to Hikari and Matoba, who see him as a standard harem lead and want to kick him in the balls. Fortunately, his opening up to Petralka about his past may have helped to trigger something – she and Myusel are far more open about the love triangle they’re in (sorry, Elvia, you were never going to win this one) and the cliffhanger ending is that Shinichi finally figures this out.

Will this affect the plot going forward? Well, we’ve still got 6 more volumes and an ‘after story’ volume to go, so I suspect not all that much. Till then, please enjoy a new Outbreak Company, irritating and teeth-grinding as it still is.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 28

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

The author admits that this was supposed to be the last book but it got too big, so it’s split into a two-parter with a cliffhanger ending. It also gives some extra attention to Clan and Maki, two of the last to join in the Koutarou sweepstakes, and therefore the ones with the least development with him. That said, Clan going with Koutarou to the past gave her a leg up on the others, and Maki got a book of her own as well. The plot machinations involved mean we get a “greatest hits” compilation with those two, which is sweet and reminds you of why you like them, and also writes them out… at least for now. Because the girls are disappearing, starting with those two, and no doubt that feeds into the final book of the “main” series. Fortunately for the reader, they seem to know what’s going on, even if Koutarou doesn’t. It’s probably connected to the ancient ruins he fell into in the first book.

The main thrust of the book is not the disappearances, though, but Forthothe going public. After spending so much time trying to cover up the existence of alien worlds, and parallel magical worlds, and underground dwellers, they’re all coming out at once, and Earth is trying to deal with the fallout. And I do mean all of Earth – the fact that all this cool stuff is centered on Japan means that other countries are upset, and are not going to simply smile and nod. As a result, we have spies following our heroes around trying to prove their connections to everyone. Mostly this happens because, well, Theia used Forthothe’s own past as part of her drama club show, so it has everything written down. Koutarou, Maki and Clan’s job is to make the spies think the girls – particularly Kiriha and Yurika – are normal. They do a good job.

Though the book has not explicitly made this a “everybody wins” sort of series, that’s clearly the way that it’s heading, and the books have set this up very well, emphasizing the close bond everyone has with each other. That said, I do also appreciate that everyone is not magically OK with everything – when, in the classroom, Koutarou and Maki have a telepathic conversation, we see the other girls jealous of their closeness. One of the running themes of the series is that each of the girls desires what the other one has – Harumi wants to be roughhoused with, Clan wants to be cared for, everyone wants the closeness that Koutarou and Yurika or Theia have… they’re not a hive mind. Or at least not yet… if the disappearances and the “globes” that we see at the very end are anything to go by, Koutarou may have to handle this final crisis by himself.

The 29th volume (31st in the series – remember the .5s!) has the original “main” cast on the cover, as befits an ending volume. Of course, it’s not ending. But this is a good setup for a sort of finale. Fans of the series should enjoy it. Also, it’s quite short.

Pick of the Week: Househusbands

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SEAN: This week I’m torn between small children and yakuza husbands, so my pick is split between the 5th Ascendance of a Bookworm light novel and the second volume of The Way of the Househusband.

MICHELLE: I’m all in for The Way of the Househusband, personally, though I’m also intrigued by MabuSasa, the latest digital shoujo from Kodansha.

KATE: My pick is also The Way of the Househusband, a classic fish-out-of-water comedy that finds fresh ways to mine the gangster-goes-straight concept for laughs. Read it… or else!

ANNA: Way of the Househusband for me as well. The first volume was hilarious, looking forward to more of the same.

ASH: Who am I to argue with everyone else? The Way of the Househusband is unquestionably my pick this week, too.

MJ: Well, I’m certainly not going to be the one to destroy the consensus this week. The Way of the Househusband it is!

Kobold King, Vol. 1

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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 Fatuma Muhamed.

I find myself saying “this is a book of two halves” quite often, but it fits with this one as well, so I’m going to stick with it. Our hero is Gaius, a huge ex-soldier who has left his position in the kingdom for reasons that are hinted at but never quite fully explained, and gone back to his home village… which was destroyed long before. He’s come to put his relative’s ashes to rest. Then he comes across a monster trying to kill what sounds like a child in the woods, but turns out to be a Kobold, which is to say a cute puppy that walks on two legs and talks. She takes him to her village, which is recovering from an attack by humans, and he starts off as a prisoner. But gradually he endears himself to everyone there, and life is wonderful… at least until humanity reinserts itself into his life. From there, the book takes a much darker and more tragic turn.

Frankly, Gaius fits in much better with the kobolds than he does with other humans, and not just because he’s one-quarter troll. He’s a huge bear of a man, really sweet and nice but also tends to act without thinking and does not do well with politics or tactics… you can sense why he left the kingdom, in the middle of a tactical war, without really being given the gist. He’s also one of those “I smile but it looks scary” types. The best part of the book is the first third or so, which is just him and the kobolds, as he ingratiates himself and proves indispensable to them. The middle sags a little by adding a few “this is more like anime” sort of characters – his ex-adjutant is a half-elf who’s in love with him, something which everyone can see except him. There’s also his adopted daughter Darke, whose backstory is not revealed till the end, which means mostly she irritates, as she wants to be Gaius’ first lover. And there is a teenage dwarf, Emon (his name is a pun on Doraemon), who wants to be a strong and brave warrior.

After a middle third of these three joining the cast, the humans (who had already driven the kobolds from their first village and killed a great number of them) return to finish the job. I knew there would be another battle, but I wasn’t expecting it to get so dark – Gaius’ attempt at negotiation is an utter failure, and characters we’ve come to care about die or are permanently disabled. That said, it serves to emphasize the aims of the book, which is “war is hell” and “humans are bastards”. There’s a battle for a throne between two royal family members, and though we never see either royal, both sides look pretty bad to me. The kobolds are dismissed as “monsters” and therefore creatures to be exterminated. We meet a band of evil adventurers (an excellent part of the book that shows off the dark side of adventuring after reading all those isekais) and see how each one is individually the worst.

So in the end this is a good book in getting Gaius to stand up and fight again, rather than simply retreating, but it’s a downer, frankly. Fortunately, it does not seem like the sort of series that’s going to run and run, so things should resolve soon. Worth a read.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 14

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

This was long. Hideously long. Even by the standards of DanMachi, which has had some very long books, it’s long. It’s longer than Book 8, the previous record holder. It’s longer than almost all the Tanya the Evil books. Arguably, it uses its length wisely, which may come as a surprise given how much of it is just straight up monster fights. But it doesn’t just have fight after fight with no purpose. Each of the fights is meant to develop the character of one of the regulars, mostly Bell and Lyu, who do the heavy lifting in the book, but also Welf, Cassandra, and the rest of the other party who are desperately trying to find them. It earns its length. That said, I do think it could have bee a BIT shorter. I love the way the author writes fights, but by the end of the book I felt like Bell and Lyu do, i.e. mostly dead.

The book is divided into two halves, or rather one third and two thirds. The first third features the rest of the cast down in the dungeon on the 26th floor trying to survive without Bell, and finding strength beyond simply supporting him in his own dream. Welf in particular comes off well here, making an even more magic sword than his others, but Cassandra has perhaps the best emotional arc of the section, even if I’d have liked a bit more payoff where everyone actually admits she was right. Which, yes, goes against her character name. The second part of the book features Bell and Lyu down on the 37th floor, where Bell has to battle Killer Sheep Skeletons, The Juggernaut that he thought they’d killed off earlier back for revenge, a battle arena filled with infinitely spawning monsters, and perhaps most dangerous of all, Lyu’s suicidal tendencies.

Lyu’s backstory is finally given in full here, and it’s pretty much what I expected. It’s broken her to such an extend that, experiencing almost the same events as well as Bell seemingly trying to throw his own life away to save her (which happens… I lost count, but a LOT in this book) is making her want to give up, and the only reason she keeps trying is she wants to save Bell and see him safely off before she allows herself to be destroyed. It’s heartbreaking, and those who wanted Lyu to be a bit more emotional will be happy but also sad. (That said, I could have done without the comedy epilogue with her losing her top… but I guess after the emotional wringer you needed SOME comedy.) As for Bell, he’s had other books that have helped to show off his development more, and this is more Lyu’s. Here he’s just the almost indestructible rabbit that will save everyone in the world. Of course, this also means that Lyu has fallen in love with him. Honestly, given the sheer amount of focus she’s gotten in this series, she may be second only to Aiz in the “what if it’s not Hestia?” love interest sweepstakes.

Thankfully, the next book in the series looks to be much shorter than this, and also less emotionally devastating. Unfortunately, it’s not scheduled yet for North American release, so it may be a bit. Till then, this is one of the best books in the series, assuming you survive the read.