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I Was Reborn as a Refugee Girl, So I’m Working Toward Citizenship from Scratch, Vol. 1

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By Torisuke and nyanya. Released in Japan as “Tensei Nanmin Shoujo wa Shiminken o 0 kara Mezashite Hatarakimasu!” by TO Books Novel. Released in North America by Hanashi Media. Translated by Bianca Darcy.

It’s always amusing when you spend most of a book thinking that the plot and characters are going in a direction you very much did not expect, only to get to the author’s afterword and have them lay out exactly why this is the case. When I was reading this book, I could not help but think that it was a lot… fluffier than I was expecting from the premise. The main character spent most of the book worried about how she’ll be treated, but she ended up almost entirely fine. Then I read the afterword, and it turns out the webnovel version of this was much darker, with people treating her like crap, mugging her, etc. And the author took one look at that and thought “isn’t this a bit mean?”. And so we end up with what we have here, which is very much a slow life book about an earnest 11-year-old being hardworking and everyone around her – with one exception – looking at her and thinking “how cute!”.

Lil wakes up one day with memories of her old life in Japan, where she was a boring office worker. Now she’s an 11-year-old refugee girl living outside the city with abusive parents. Previously apathetic to it all, her new memories show her that there’s a much better life than this, and she sets out to try to better herself, first by fetching water from the river, killing rats that eat the stored food, fishing… then finally she’s allowed to go into town and join an adventurer’s guild! She’s just an F-rank, so goes on quests like “collect garbage” and “clean the guild rooms” while also learning how to read and write, because it turns out the only thing in this world that is not a stock light novel cliche is that the language isn’t Japanese. Her goal is to leave the city and become an adventurer!… but let’s start with “baker’s helper”.

So yeah, this is so optimistic and shiny it’s almost too bright to look at. Lil’s parents are scum, and it’s implied they’ll eventually be expelled from the refugee camp, but as she works her little butt off to help the others, everyone’s heart grows three sizes and they accept that the daughter is different. In the town, she’s constantly assuming she’ll be subject to prejudice and abuse, and that just… doesn’t happen, mostly as she uses polite language and is a really hard worker. The memories of her past life mostly come into play to let her do math fast, putting her a cut above other girls her age and allowing her to end up at a job where she has to calculate change. It’s just very, very NICE. I enjoyed that. It’s also a bit dull, frankly. I do hope the entire series isn’t this nice.

Will she leave the town and go dungeon crawling? Will she learn the magic that she’s said to have? Will she be cute and industrious? One of those things is guaranteed.

The Devil Princess, Vol. 5

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By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I had some worries when I began this 5th book that it would be difficult. After all, we’ve basically abandoned the world of the first four books to go back to Japan (albeit a Japan with a lot more magical-powered shamen and spiritualists than I suspect are really around). And this does start a bit slowly as we get used to the new background. That said, not THAT much has changed. Yulucia may be Yuzu now, but she’s a spoiled rich kid here just like she was back home, she’s beloved by all despite being pretty creepy just like she was back home, and the entire climax of the book is her snapping and just going full horror movie, just as in previous volumes. Rest assured, this is still the Devil Princess you know. We even get her servants popping in and being hilarious and disturbing again. Honestly, “hilarious and disturbing” is a good summary of the series as a whole.

This series began with a young teenager with health problems dying and being reincarnated as a demon, then being reborn as Yulucia, the Devil Princess we all know and love. Now, after the events of the 4th book, she’s back in Japan, and back to her old life – a decade before she died. She’s still sickly, but for some reason that only the readers really know, has become terrifyingly beautiful for a little girl. There’s also other oddities. People keep trying to kidnap her, and it’s not *just* because she’s from a rich family (though some of it is that). People keep going crazy around her and trying to murder her. And for some reason when she comes across obviously bad people, with hearts as black as coal, she cannot help but think how incredibly TASTY they look.

As with previous books, Yuzu manages to be thoroughly evil without actually doing many bad things… except to those who deserve it. The climax, not to spoil too much, is basically a yakuza massacre, and there are several pieces of excellent art in this showing her as basically Your Worst Nightmare(tm). But she also makes friends with other children, loves her family, and helps her best friend and potential marriage partner lose weight so he becomes a bit more bishonen. It’s just that because the narrative is presented through her “I don’t really care that much” narration, it can be hard to pick up on. There’s also plenty of humor here – special points to the otome game heroine who shows up a decade early as well, tries to warp the narrative, and immediately gets arrested for her troubles. I wonder if we’ll see her again.

This “arc” finishes in Book 6, so don’t go thinking that we’re back for good. The author says all our questions will be answered, but I don’t have too many. As long as I can see a little girl gleefully murdering bad guys and eating their souls like jelly donuts, I am content.

Genius in the Library: This Bookish Rookie Will Save the Day!, Vol. 1

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By Misa Aoi and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Toshokan no Tensai Shoujo ~Honzuki no Shinjin Kanri wa Boudai na Chishiki de Kuni o Sukuimasu!~” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Dawson Chen.

I’ve written several times about “sometimes you want McDonald’s”. This is not quite that. This is going to a place that you heard was pretty high-end, that served elite, expensive food. The sort of restaurant you’d dress up for. And it does look just like that. Nice ambiance, fancy waiters, impeccable service. And then you get your meal, and it’s… chicken fingers and fries. Now, don’t get me wrong. These are some of the best chicken fingers you’ve ever had, just the right amount of crispiness. And the fries are not only perfectly done, but just the style you prefer. You couldn’t ask for a tastier meal. But come on. You were expecting fancy French food in a wine sauce, eight courses, food for the elite. And you get freaking CHICKEN FINGERS? That’s sort of what reading Genius in the Library was like for me. It has Chicken Fingers at its center, and their name is Martina.

Martina is delighted. She’s passed the civil service exam, and is going to be one of the rare commoners who is allowed to work for the Crown. She is incredibly happy as this gives her access to MORE BOOKS. You see, Martina is a voracious reader, and has already read every single book in the commoner’s library, now she will be able to get to the Royal Library. And things go well, mostly! Her co-workers are mostly nice, except for That One Guy. She gets to be in the library whenever she’s not at work. And they don’t really find her photographic, perfect memory weird at all! Well, OK, yes they do, but in a good way. And frankly, it’s very good for the kingdom that Martina is there, as the monsters, which had been quieter recently, have been getting worse. A dark miasma is spewing them out. They may need to…

Well, that’s a spoiler, but one I was quite amused to see. It’s nice to come to this kind of book from the preparatory side. I really liked this book. The cast are nice, the pacing is good, and… well, OK, let’s talk Martina. I don’t like using a word that rhymes with Barry Blue, but yeah, Martina is pretty much perfect here. She’s not overly shy like, say, Monica Everett, she’s nice to everyone, her book learning translates perfectly to applied learning, she’s a natural born leader, even if she doesn’t realize it, and she rapidly has at least three guys (and one girl?) who seem into her. Hell, even the prejudiced guy who sneers at her does a 180 so fast in the middle of the book your head will spin. This plot is driven by one thing alone, to make Monica the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you hate that sort of thing, you’ll want to read another book. If you don’t mind it as long as it’s well written, enjoy your chicken fingers.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that I’m very interested to read. I presume we will not be changing main characters in Book 2, but you never know. For fans of Bookworms without any real flaws.

Manga the Week of 10/28/26

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SEAN: Happy Halloween. Have a deluge of manga.

ASH: Tricks and treats!

SEAN: Airship’s print titles next week are Adachi and Shimamura 13, Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! 7, and Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women 4.

And in early digital we see Space Orc: Barbarian Raider of the Stars, Aiming for the Queen! 2 and The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits 4.

And in ONLY digital, we see Al the Adventurer: That Magic Shouldn’t Work! 2.

ASH: I’ll admit, I initially read that as A.I. the Adventurer, which would be a different type of story, I think.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts The Villainess’ Journal: Newlywed Life of an Obsessive Researcher (Akujo Nisshi -Otaku na Akujo (?) no Shinkon Seikatsu-). A young woman who lives for research and being a scientist finds an “icy count” wants to marry her… because she’s known as a villainess. But that’s just her sister using her name! Didn’t I see this plot from CIW last month?

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: They also have From Bumbling Prodigy to Villainess: Will the Duke’s Love Go Unnoticed? 2, which tells me that yes, I did. Also, wow, this series is fast tracked.

Dark Horse Manga has a 3rd omnibus of Innocent Rouge.

ASH: I haven’t made it to Innocent Rouge yet, but the artwork is is stunning.

SEAN: Denpa, according to retailers, have Nana & Kaoru: Last Year (Nana to Kaoru: Last Year), the final series in the erotic comedy-drama showing them about to graduate high school. It ran in Harem (yes, that’s the magazine name). (It got bumped.)

Drawn & Quarterly debut A Lullaby From Hell (Jigoku no Komoriuta), the first of two collections compiling the horror works of Hideshi Hino, one of the masters of the art. Gross, grim, and unsettling stuff.

ASH: And also very powerful. Hideshi Hino’s work is definitely not for everyone, but I’m very glad to see more of it being released in English.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has A Reincarnated Carrier’s Strategy for Another World 3.

Hanashi Media have a few light novels. I Saved Myself with a Potion! 3, A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring 3, An Observation Log of My Wife Who Calls Herself a Villainess 5, and Reincarnated Onmyoji: Empowered by the King of Hell, I’ll Never Return to the Underworld 2.

J-Novel Club are putting out An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride in an omnibus format now. Get light novels 1-3 in print.

Also in print, The Young Lady Is the Substitute Harvest Goddess is another JNC contest winner. A young gamer is sent to a different world by a goddess, who wants her to take over as harvest goddess. Fortunately, this world runs along the lines of her beloved farming games.

ASH: I’m actually kind of amused by this premise.

SEAN: And there’s some print manga. The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! 3, Black Summoner 9, and The Water Magician 2.

J-Novel Club has a debut in its Knight line. Fraudulent Fiancés Roll Out the Red Carpet (Tamanokoshi Goyoui Shimashita) is the first in the “Fraudulent Fiancés” series. A man tries to scam another man who turns out to be a hot-shot CEO, and is offered a choice: go to jail or be his fake boyfriend.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Other light novels out next week: The Fearsome Witch Teaches in Another World 5, The Isle of Paramounts: Reborn into a Slow Life Among the Strongest in the World 4, Knight’s & Magic 10, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 11, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 17 (the final volume), and Repeated Vice: I Refuse to Be Important Enough to Die 5.

And the only manga out next week is Scooped Up by an S-Rank Adventurer! This White Mage Is One Heck of a Healer 6.

Kodansha Manga debut in print Erin the Beast Player (Kemono no Souja), which was released digitally as just The Beast Player and is now getting an omnibus of the first two books. It’s a Shonen Sirius title from the creator of Seirei no Moribito, and based on her novel. A girl who adores her mother is cast adrift when her mother is blamed for a mysterious illness affecting their clan’s giant serpent mounts.

ASH: I’m so glad this is being released in print! The original novels are great.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock Omnibus 5, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 8 (the final volume), I Have a Crush at Work 8, Love Out on a Limb 4, Phantom of the Idol 9, and Rent-a-Girlfriend 39.

MICHELLE: I kinda forgot Phantom of the Idol existed. I did enjoy what I read.

SEAN: And digitally we get Nina the Starry Bride 19, Shangri-La Frontier 27, and the 46th and final volume of Space Brothers.

ANNA: I always enjoy seeing new volumes of Nina the Starry Bride pop up even though I’m behind on the series.

SEAN: Retailers say Mahjong Pros has a 2nd volume of Reform with No Wasted Draws: The Legend of Koizumi.

ASH: I did manage to finally get my hands on the first!

SEAN: One Peace Books has a rare light novel: The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic 6.

Three debuts from Seven Seas. The Apology of Noumi-Senpai (Noumi-senpai no Benmei) runs in the magazine Vinyl. A confident young man joins his university’s book club, and meets an easygoing guy – who’s openly gay, to boot. What will happen between them?

ASH: I’m here for BL book clubs.

SEAN: Phenomenon X: Paranormal Crime Files (Phenomenon X: Paranormal Crime Files) is a mystery series from Harta. A practical cat-eared female detective. An FBI agents with secrets in his past. They fight crime!

MICHELLE: This looks kinda fun.

ANNA: It does sound cute!

SEAN: Reluctant Space Commander: From Death Wish to Galactic Hero! (“Koko wa Makasete Saki ni Ike!” wo Shitai Shinitagari no Nozomanu Uchuu Gekokujou) is based on the light novel coming out digitally from Seven Seas, and runs in Comic Corona. It stars a guy who wants to end it all after his girlfriend dumps him. He’ll join the Space Corps and have a noble death! The trouble is, he’s too good at Space Corps!

ASH: Whoops.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Collected Fragments 2, The Beast King: Master of Medicines 3, Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex 4, The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 7, Dungeon Friends Forever 7, The Dungeon of Black Company 14, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 13, Get Married So I Can Curse Your Firstborn and Finally Be Free! 3, Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent 8, I Have a Secret: The Complete Manga Collection 2 (the final volume), Magic Repo Man: Dumped by My Party, I’ll Cash In With a Cute Support Fairy to Become the Strongest! 2, My Girlfriend’s Not Here Today 7, The Scum Laugh 2, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 10, Someone’s Girlfriend 7, A Tale of the Secret Saint 12, Workin’ the Night Shift at Akumart 2, and Yakuza Reincarnation 16.

ASH: That is quite the list.

SEAN: Takumigraphics debuts Wandering Cat’s Cage (Mandarin Gypsy Cat no Roujou), a 2-volume complete in one omnibus that ran in Comic Bridge. It’s a future sci-fi dystopia genderqueer manga from the creator of Sensei’s Pious Lie.

MICHELLE: Well, that sounds pretty fabulous!

ANNA: Alright!!!

ASH: Very much looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Titan Manga debut Tojima wants to be a Kamen Rider (Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai), a comedy sentai manga from Hero’s. It had an anime recently. A guy decides to fight for justice, despite no call to action and no powers. This is also technically a sequel to Air Master.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: They also have the second volume of The one. Later on… and the third and final volume of Farewell, My Odin.

ASH: I feel like I ought to read Farewell, My Odin.

SEAN: Viz Media releases Horror Picture Book: A Bad Book, another of their 32-page scares. This is from the author of Brave Story.

ASH: It should be excellent, then.

Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set is a complete box set of Jujutsu Kaisen. It has a poster. It’s over 6000 pages.

ASH: So many pages.

SEAN: Kiki’s Delivery Service: The Official Cookbook is what it sounds like.

Takumi: A Little Japanese Bakery is also a cookbook.

And they also have one normal manga, Boy’s Abyss 15.

Yen Press! Let’s start with Defying Expectations with Gravity Magic to Be Unparalleled (Noroma Mahou to Yobareta Mahoutsukai wa Juuryoku Mahou de Musou suru: Mada Juuryoku no Gainen no Nai Sekai Nite, Shounen wa Banyuu Inryoku Ou to Naru), a Comptiq title based off a webnovel. A guy gets gravity magic… what is gravity? Then he remembers his life in Japan, and now he knows!

The Dragon School Is Atop the Mountain (Ryuu no Gakkou wa Yama no Ue) is a collection of short stories from the author of Delicious in Dungeon.

MICHELLE: This also looks pretty great.

ASH: It really does!

SEAN: Fate Rewinder: All Great Achievements Require Time (Unmei no Makimodoshi) is a sci-fi manga with an anime coming soon. It runs in Monthly Corocoro Comic, so likely is for young boys. These young detectives have to solve every case – even if it means time looping till they do!

ASH: Oooooooh, time loops!

SEAN: Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver runs in Type Moon Ace. It’s the “pilot” that eventually became Fate/Stay Night, only with a female master and a male servant.

How to Keep a Human (Ningen no Kaikata) is serialized on Twitter. Humans are hard to keep as pets – they’re so fragile they easily die – but this monster really wants one.

ASH: Awwwww.

SEAN: N, and yes, that’s the title, is a horror title, and ran in Dengeki Comic Regulus. Various mass murders and disappearances are happening, all with the letter ‘N’ left at the scene.

MICHELLE: Also potentially cool!

ANNA: Good to have some spooky stuff come out during spooky season!

SEAN: The Record of Fantastical Nomenclature (Gensou Meimeiki) is a supernatural title from Comic Gene. A man who can see spirits is hired by another man to catalog them. But what’s the reason behind this?

ANNA: More spookiness!

ASH: And cataloging! That’s one of my favorites.

SEAN: Tokujo-chan: The Girls Who Brighten Your Day (Tokujo-chan: The Girls Who Brighten Your Day) is a manga based on a doujinshi, and seems to be about young women who brighten a man’s day in various ways. It’s marked ecchi. It’s also done in one.

Also from Yen Press: Black Butler 35, Cheeky Brat 17, Dara-san of Reiwa 4, Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku? 3, Game of Familia 9, The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All 4, Honey Lemon Soda 12, Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 3, Love Bullet 2, mono 5, My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman 4, Redeem: Only One Forever 2, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 8, Reincarnation Coliseum: The Weakest Skill Conquers the Strongest Women and Creates a Harem 4, Sasaki and Peeps 5, Slasher Maidens 14, The Summer Hikaru Died 8, A Timid Lady Was Turned into an Ugly Cat, but on the Verge of Fainting Is Picked Up by the Most Fearsome Military Duke 2, The Villainess Stans the Heroes: Playing the Antagonist to Support Her Faves! 6 (the final volume), A Witch’s Life in Mongol 4, and You Can’t Escape from Mizudako-chan! 2.

MICHELLE: I didn’t know Black Butler was still going!

SEAN: Save money on candy, buy manga!

The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place, Vol. 6

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By Toryuu and hamm. Released in Japan as “Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru” by Overlap Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Josh DM.

The highlight of each volume of this series continues to be John vs. the plot. The plot has John involved in major battles, John being highly desired by everyone around him, both professionally and personally, John being colleagues with most of the movers and shakers in the galaxy, John is the star of this book. John, meanwhile, considers himself “just a guy”, makes sure to be one of the nameless mercs involved in battles, avoids interaction with other women as much as he possibly can, with the exception of his friend Gonzalez, who is a man in a woman’s body. John resolutely regards getting recruited as being a huge hassle and a mistake. And, as we see at the end of this volume, John is right. I wish that it didn’t come down to “I hate him because he is fat” as much as it does, but it’s also because, while the Empire is trying its best, nobles still think commoners are there to get glory for the nobles and then be sacrificed. No thanks.

What was implied in the last book becomes reality here: the Empire is at war with another Kingdom, who are very much on the “nobles rule, commoners drool” side of things. As such, John and most of the cast are corralled up to be part of the army fighting them, which mostly goes well until the kingdom shows off that they have a literal planet destroying weapon. John eventually does have to subtly ask for help there. The rest of the book involves the aftershocks of this war, as John’s “mind the store” mission goes south due to a sandstorm and robot dogs, and escorting a corporate group goes very badly as the group ends up killed, which leaves a bad taste in John’s mouth – he may be an NPC but he hates failure. Heck, even seemingly kind old men turn out to secretly be watching him very closely. As are the many women in this series.

Last time I avoided mentioning it, but I will briefly discuss the elephant in the room here, which is Scuna’s subplot. She’d been seen the least of the main girls, mostly as it’s just harder to find excuses to get her in John’s orbit. This works very well. It will probably also have repercussions down the line, and I’d worry about her chances of surviving if this weren’t a series with cover art like what we have. I also liked Shiora, and the fact that she was straightforward and earnest because, as the author says in the afterword, he already had a tsundere in the group with Fialka. John’s advice on how to be a great pilot like him amounts to “do it over and over and over again”, and I hope we see more of her. I also liked the Mei Hatsume addition to the cast. Every light novel seems to get its own Mei Hatsume these days.

The next volume in the series came out in Japan literally two days ago, so we’ll be waiting a bit. Till then, assuming you don’t mind a harem that goes nowhere due to the lead’s total lack of interest, this is great fun.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? On The Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 15

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By Fujino Omori and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka? Gaiden – Sword Oratoria” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

This series, as well as the main one it’s spun off from, really requires the reader to remember who everyone is, which is tricky as there are eleventy billion characters in it. So you either get a spreadsheet going or you hope that the series comes out every three months like it used to. Well, bad news and good news on that front. The bad news is that it’s been a year since the last Sword Oratoria, and even worse, that was a prequel. The good news is that Japan had a “year of Danmachi” a while back, with books galore, and we are starting to see the output of all that over here. We had the main series volume two months ago, which ended with the same cliffhanger we see here, only from Bell’s side. And now we get to find out what led to that cliffhanger… well, after half a volume of comparative fluff. The author has to save the pain for the end.

Loki Familia are headed back into the Dungeon, down to the 60th floor to take care of the plot that’s been driving this spinoff once and for all. They know that they’re plenty strong, but are they strong ENOUGH? So they grab Tsubaki, and a powerful healer, and even some Freya Familia folks who reluctantly come along, mostly to protect Riveria. Notably absent is Bell, who they want to take along but the plot of the main Book 20 will explain why he doesn’t. They head on down, and the second half of the book is basically pure horror – and I mean that literally. There’s spider monsters who do some nasty things to two of the party members, there’s souls trapped in anguish, there’s souls fractured into multiple pieces. And there’s the corrupted spirit, who has one goal and one goal only: Aiz.

This series has ping-ponged back and forth with its central character. Lefiya was so much a parallel to Bell that it was hard for the author to resist. The Big Three of the Loki Familia all get to be very cool. And frankly it’s more fun to write the comedic, air-headed side of Aiz, which works better when she’s not the focus. But this spinoff is meant to be about her, and so when the big danger comes Aiz is the one who has to take the brunt of it. Along with, well, most everyone else. And that leaves, oddly, Raul. He’s been a supporting presence throughout this series, being the guy who’s always scared – of adventuring, of expectations, of confessing to his best friend – and now that cowardice is his best weapon… and I hope that everyone eventually realizes that, because boy, everyone in Orario really really hates him right about now.

So yeah, things are VERY VERY bad right now. Fortunately, the next book in the main series should help, and it’s out in 5 months. Also fortunately, the spinoffs keep coming! Did you enjoy Astraea Record? Did you wish there were more novelizations of that game? Do you like the Bell/Lefiya crack pairing but wish it was also incest? Great news on all counts! See you in a month.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End ~Prelude~, Vol. 2

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By Mei Hachimoku and Tsukasa Abe, based on the manga by Kanehito Yamada. Released in Japan as “Sousou no Frieren: Zensou” by Shogakukan. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

I wasn’t expecting a second volume of these short stories, and it’s interesting to see what we get. Frieren is the obvious one who gets a story devoted to her in both books – it’s her series, after all – but Fern and Stark only appear briefly at the end of that story, and are not otherwise in this book. And while I’d love to get more of Methode, she too only has a small supporting role here. Still, there are a few things the author can do. The stories involving Ubel and Serie are clearly heavy hitters, ones that will automatically get in readers who just like them – especially Ubel. But the other thing the author can do is pick out a very minor character and flesh them out as they know the manga creators won’t be doing that. We get that here as well, and the results are heartwarming and horrific, respectively. Horrific in the horror way, not in the bad way. Frieren still has demons.

As with the first volume, we get five stories. 1) The receptionist for the Magic Exams, whose name apparently is Uhu, is asked to deliver something to Serie, and along the way asks everyone else connected with the exams why the world needs strong mages, and what that even means; 2) Ubel, after killing her exam proctor, leaves the city for a bit until they cool off, and comes across a kidnapped young boy who wants to be a mage; 3) That really upbeat demon girl we saw in the Divine Revolte arc doesn’t get a name, but they get a backstory, and this is it. It involves impersonating humans and killing humans; 4) We see Frieren, before she left her village, bored and at a loss for what to do with her life. She gets advice from other elves around her, who all have hyperfixations of some kind; 5) Serie trains a young Flamme, but the two of them, get in a fight over who should be learning magic.

There aren’t really any bad stories in this book, though the demon girl one was so grim I didn’t really enjoy it. The first one plays with Uhu’s role as “faceless minor character”, with the running gag that almost no one can remember her name – except, notably, Serie. Ubel’s story was fun, and reminds us that while she’s amoral and quick to kill, she’s not evil or psychopathic – and she also knows mages need to be able to kill in this world. Frieren’s story is sweet and touching until it gets tragic and we are reminded why Frieren bothered to start traveling in the first place… till it rolls around to heartwarming again at the end. The best story is the final one, as Serie gradually realizes she’s become a mom, and is not really sure how to deal with it. Flamme breaking off with her is handled well, and leads to my favorite bit of the book. “Attacking me out of nowhere, eh? How barbaric. Don’t you even know how to have a conversation?” “I’m afraid you only taught me how to use magic.”

As with the first book, don’t read this if you’re not caught up on the manga. But if you are, this is well worth the buy.

Pick of the Week: Mid-October Picks

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MICHELLE: I really liked what I read of Wave, Listen to Me, admittedly years ago, so I am going with the new volume of that for my pick this week!

SEAN: I found the description of Fan/Girl X Call/Boy pretty cute, and it runs in Morning Two, which always has my attention. I’ll go with that this week.

ASH: It’s not exactly manga, but I am immensely curious about the new Horror Picture Book series from Viz. The creators involved in the various installments are anything but unknown; it should be interesting to see the different context for their work.

ANNA: Since the last volume of the Red River reprint is coming out this week, I want to pick that to highlight a great series. I hope some other early translated manga gets back in print again!

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 15

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades is one of those rare light novel series that has, if not a huge fan wiki, at least a relatively up to date wiki, which is very useful when you have dramatic tragic deaths and you cannot actually remember who these people are. At one point I paused, looked up a name, went “ah, right, from Book 8!”, and moved on. That said, this is the final volume of the big Kimberly invasion arc, and we’re fifteen books is, so the author is finally killing off, permanently, actual people who have been around a long while and who we care about. I’ll get into the details of that a bit below, so spoiler warning. But I also need to emphasize that, even though this is a book filled with war, death and grieving, it never quite hits despair, and the overall theme is triumph, even if it’s at a painful cost. This book is optimistic. Well, as optimistic that a book about a boy killing off all the faculty can be.

Summarizing this is hard, as it’s mostly 250 pages of fight goes one way, then the other way. Bad guys die tragically. A few good guys die tragically. A lot of people we’ve never heard of die tragically. We also do find out why the bad guys are doing this, or at least why they’re saying they are. And we get some flashbacks that remind me that, much as I’m enjoying our main cast working their way through magic college, all their parents did the same thing a generation before, and they were all equally eccentric/bonkers. (The book is mostly serious, but the funniest bit has the students asking Katie if she’s all right and then having to clarify they mean “not possessed or consumed, we know you’re completely bananas”). In the end, the school is saved… just barely.

So, first of all, none of the six main characters die. (I have to be careful not to say “main six” because I know one day I’ll mistype it and this will become My Little Pony.) Katie, aside from the comedy bit I mention above, is entirely absent. Chela is mostly there to be support, the author clearly didn’t have anything for her to do. Nanao too is mostly absent aside from the very end. But if you like Oliver, Pete, and Guy you’re gonna be happy. Certainly happier than they are. Rita Appleton has been around since the 4th book and her crush on Guy has been around almost as long, and she gets to do what a lot of teenage girls with a crush would fantasize about, die to save her beloved. Richard Andrews has been around since the very start, the definition of the “arrogant rival guy turned reluctant ally turned reliable ally”, and it’s that reliability, as well as compassion, that leads to him saving Oliver, Nanao and Chela. Now a few characters I was sure would die somehow did not (there is more than one teacher given a backstory that is literally “I want to die”, and yet…), but this victory came at a cost. Still, it was damn cool as a fictional story.

Next time I assume we will be back to Oliver’s vengeance… whenever next time is. The 15th book came out in Japan over a year ago, and the series is now caught up. We wait for the author, and remember the fallen.

Agents of the Four Seasons, Vol. 7

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By Kana Akatsuki and Suoh. Released in Japan as “Shunka Shūtō Daikōsha” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

My friend Erica Friedman has talked before about an annoying characteristic of many light novels, manga and anime, which is the “emotional torment of children for plot purposes”. It’s relatively easy to win over the reader by doing this, and lets the main characters being abused be sympathetic – you really want them to have a nice blanket and a hot cup of cocoa. But as the author said in the afterword to Book 6, that is just not happening in Agents of the Four Seasons. These kids (and we’re introduced to more kids in this new book, all of whom are in some way, shape, or form broken by the adults they trust and by their peers) are broken down, beaten, and occasionally killed and resurrected – and this includes their guardians, who are either also children or in their late teens at most. The narrative says that while sometimes the abusers will be brought to justice, there will always be new ones ready to manipulate you, and the only thing you can do is get mentally stronger to withstand it all and grasp what happiness you can. Kinda depressing.

We pick up where we left off last time, with Jude seemingly betraying his agent and forcing Nadeshiko to make an impossible decision on who gets to live and who gets to die. The way Nadeshiko handles this will surprise no one, but it does lead to her and Liam ending up kidnapped – this makes how many times Nadeshiko has been kidnapped? – and everyone else having to try to track them down. After she wakes up, Jude explains what’s going on – turns out that not-America is using the Agents as a cash cow in order to line the pockets of the rich and powerful, which is technically a spoiler but is so thuddingly obvious that I am happy just mentioning it here. Jude wants to expose the man in charge of it all, and this kidnapping attempt was the best way to do it. Unfortunately for Jude, he doesn’t bother to explain this to Liam.

On the bright side, this is very well written. The thriller and action aspects are impeccably done, and you want to keep turning the pages as fast as you can. Nadeshiko’s powers, when they are inevitably explained as being different from what everyone thought, make a lot of the book lighter than expected… but look, that’s only a matter of degree. It is astonishing how literally EVERYONE in this series hates themselves with a passion. Even the arrogant, obnoxious Agent of Winter that not-America has proves to be an insecure child who is deeply upset that her mentor turns out to be a bad guy, and whose attempts at “making friends” with their agent of Spring have traumatized the other girl. Rindo and Nadeshiko are the highlight of this, and past, present and future collide to let us see a confession that we don’t really want but is inevitable anyway. I’ve joked before about how this book is Codependency: The Light Novel, but it’s no joke here – everyone knows the relationships between Agents and their Guards are totally fucked up, and yet they can’t do anything about it except say “that’s the way it is, I guess”.

The next book in the series is not scheduled in North America yet, and that’s probably for the best, because I’m exhausted. If you love the emotional torment of children for plot purposes, this will be like catnip for you. For everyone else, just endure, like the cast has to.