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Short Takes: Museum and Phantom Tales of the Night

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I have a confession: I am a complete chicken when it comes to horror movies. I watched Alien through my fingers and made it to the end of Fright Night by staring at the ingredient list on a candy wrapper; even the hot vampires of The Lost Boys weren’t soulful or shirtless enough to fully hold my gaze. But horror manga is another story, as I count Mermaid Saga, Gyo, Tomie, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and PTSD Radio among my favorites series. I can’t explain why horror manga doesn’t affect me the same way that movies do–no soundtrack, perhaps?–but I’m glad that I’ve found the intestinal fortitude to read Junji Ito and Kazuo Umezu’s work. Alas, I had less patience with the two most recent horror series I read: Museum, a digital-only offering from Kodansha, and Phantom Tales of the Night, a cautionary tale about a mysterious innkeeper.

Museum, Vol. 1
Story and Art by Ryosuke Tomoe
Kodansha Comics
Rated M, for Mature (graphic violence)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a mask-wearing vigilante kidnaps and tortures his victims in grotesque fashion–feeding them to dogs, severing their ears, tying them to toilets–then leaves cryptic notes that characterize each act as a “punishment,” daring the authorities to catch him. The mystery of who the vigilante is and what motivates him is the main driving force behind Museum, but you might not want to soldier through the carnage for answers to those questions since Ryosuke Tomoe can’t decide if his vigilante is a hero or a monster. Tomoe depicts the violence with such fetishistic detail that the reader is invited to admire the killer’s technique rather than meditate on the true horror of what the character has done. The ugly, utilitarian artwork and  relentlessly dour tone are the nails in the proverbial coffin, underscoring just how unpleasantly banal Museum really is. Not recommended.

Phantom Tales of the Night, Vol. 1
Story and Art by Matsuri
Yen Press
Rated OT, for Older Teens (violence and sexual themes)

Phantom Tales of the Night is the kind of bad manga that’s difficult to review: it isn’t offensive or ineptly drawn, but it’s a chore to read thanks to its poor plotting, muddled characterizations, and maddeningly opaque dialogue. Ostensibly, the series focuses on the Murakamo Inn, where the demonic host cajoles his guests into revealing their secrets. The rules governing how the Murakamo Inn operates, however, are in a constant state of flux, making it hard to pin down what, exactly, Phantom Tales is about. In some chapters, characters share their secrets with the inn’s owner in exchange for having a wish fulfilled, while in others, characters learn a terrible secret about themselves. The later chapters hint at a potentially longer, more complex arc that will play out over several volumes, but the set-up is so abrupt and confusing that it robs the final pages of their full impact–a pity, since Matsuri has a flair for drawing genuinely creepy monsters. Perhaps the most damning thing about Phantom Tales of the Night is that the characters talk incessantly about “secrets” but lack a basic understanding of what a secret really is or why it holds such power—a key failing in a series that is predicated on the idea that secrets are a kind of supernatural currency. Not recommended.

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 20

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By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “To Aru Majutsu no Index” by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Prowse.

I talk a lot when reviewing Durarara!! that Narita likes to write books that set up plot guns on the mantelpiece than then books where the guns are all fired. To a certain extent, the next three volumes of Index are Kamachi doing the same thing, as all the back and forth of the last nineteen volumes between the Magic and Science sides has led to World War III, with Russia and Catholic Europe fighting against Academy City and Protestant England. Of course, the war is merely a front for Fiamma of the Right, but you could say that about a lot of real-life wars. This book is also notable for trying to feature the three male protagonists equally, all of them somewhere in Russia: Touma and Lesser are trying to find Sasha Kreutzev before Fiamma does; Hamazura is trying to get someone to help Takitsubo but ends up pinned down by a group of privateers; and Accelerator is trying to save Last Order but is hampered by the worst possible person coming to stop him. Literally.

There are an awful lot of folks introduced in this volume who are only in this arc. The two who seem to warrant mentioning further are Elizalina, a young woman who has an alliance of various states right next to Russia which are totally not the Baltics in the same way that the Roman Orthodox Church is totally not the Roman Catholic Church; and the “Femme Fatale”, who we know very little about from this book, but we’ll be seeing more of later. Ah yes, and Misaka Worst, of whom much more just below. Meanwhile, Lesser is attached to Touma here as the author knows that he works best when bouncing off someone else, and also that her type (the tease) hasn’t really been used around him before. Of course, she reckons without Touma’s complete lack of interest; I don’t think he’s ever really calmed down or had two days to run together since the start of the series to think about which girl who wants to bang, if any. In any case, Touma fails at his main objective, and is also guilt-tripped by Fiamma. Fortunately…

There’s Accelerator’s plot. I have to be honest, the concept of Misaka Worst is excellent. From the meta of describing herself as the “Third Season” of Misaka clones (though given how bad the anime’s Season 3 was handled, that joke gets a bit dark) to the concept of her being the repository of all the negative feelings the other clones have (which is why she gets to be something other than ‘deadpan’) to the scientists of Academy City creating her as the ultimate Accelerator-stopping weapon as they know he’s resolved to never kill another clone, so he has to other kill one and break or let himself be killed. He avoids killing her for the moment, but breaks anyway, in a truly epic primal screamfest of despair and fury. Fortunately, Touma shows up, not only to punch sense into Accelerator by telling him to stop getting hung up on “good and evil”, but also to stop himself from getting caught in in Fiamma’s bullshit and realizing it’s OK to save Index even if it means admitting he lied to her about his memory. Oh yes, and to reset Last Order’s fatal sickness with his right hand, though she’ll get worse again fast.

I didn’t mention Hamazura, but then he didn’t really get to do much except show how the “powerless” guy can also be cool and save the day. (Speaking of which, a mother and her kids are saved by Touma, and then later saved from a different crisis by Hamazura. I was bummed Accelerator didn’t save them as well.) That said, Vol. 21 promises he’ll get more to do; Academy City sent Misaka Worst to stop Accelerator, and now we get Mugino, who unsurprisingly is STILL not dead, being flown to Russia just to destroy Hamazura. Oh yes, and there’s the real Misaka as well, who is frustrated at Touma being in Russia saving the day without her and decides to hijack a plane so she can see what the fuss is about. If nothing else, this means we’ll get a lot more women in the next book… and also possibly a much higher casualty count.

If you’re interested in reading Index 20, the series is likely review-proof for you. But this was a good volume, light on the fanservice (Lessar’s pathetic attempts are pretty much it), heavy on the action, and filled with war being hell. The war continues next time.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/3/19

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Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 7 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Despite the wedding picture on the cover, don’t get too excited. The plot does revolve around an arranged marriage for Sisti, which Glenn interrupts at the last minute, but this an arc about Glenn’s past tragedy and his inability to save his previous partner. Naturally, the villain that killed her is back here, lording it all over Glenn, spreading killer drugs around and generally being a standard Japanese light novel villain, who never can be just a little bit evil. On the bright side, the class is still in Glenn’s corner, and that also means Sisti, who’s ready to get over her own fears and defend Glenn from certain death. This remains “pretty good.” – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 11 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – As predicted, the second volume of Chise Potter helps to flesh out the student cast a bit, including Chise’s roommate, Lucy, and we learn various secrets. Honestly, this is starting to feel a bit like Fruits Basket as well with everyone’s past trauma. The start of the book was a bit stronger, with a threat to Simon ending up showing us his extremely tragic past, filled with death and cookies. And we get a bit more insight into Elias’ character, or rather the fact that his character is cribbed from one of his teachers, who Chise meets in this book. And then there’s Stella, who makes what I suspect will be an unwise pact, though honestly she still has a few more to go to pass Chise. This remains excellent. – Sean Gaffney

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 7 | By Matoba | Yen Press -As long as you’re introducing a major new character in the previous volume, you may as well have another one here. Thus we get Mammon, a money-grubbing dojikko who fits in rather well with this dojikko-filled cast. Elsewhere, Mullin and Beelzebub continue to want to be closer to each other, and they continue to not be. Same with, well, everyone, really. This is the classic series filled with romantic pairings that never get anywhere—even the succubus wannabe can’t find it in herself to seduce poor Mullin. If you enjoy cute fluff, it’s more of the same, and picks up where the anime left off. If you like closure, on the other hand, look elsewhere. – Sean Gaffney

Cats of the Louvre | By Taiyo Matsumoto | VIZ Media – If you’re looking for a cute kitty book, this is not it. There are scenes of cat injury and cat death, the latter accompanied by grisly sound effects. If you can get past this, Cats of the Louvre is a rewarding read. It’s a largely melancholy tale of a dissatisfied tour guide who learns that an aging security guard’s sister disappeared into a painting 50 years ago and tries to help him contact her. This plan involves Snowbébé, a seven-year-old perma-kitten—part of a cat colony that has lived at the Louvre for generations—who can also travel into paintings. The art is truly gorgeous, with many pages that make one stop and marvel. My favorite is an all-black panel wherein tiny, white Snowbébé watches his spider friend munch on a meal, but many images will stick with me, for good and for ill, especially Matsumoto’s depiction of the cats. – Michelle Smith

Classmates, Vol. 2: Sotsu Gyo Sei: Winter | By Asumiko Nakamura | Seven Seas -This sequel to the one-volume original pretty much picks up where it left off: they still haven’t graduated but are thinking about it, and their relationship is still somewhat hidden but does involve quite a lot of making out, as well as dealing with their teacher, who remains the one part of this series I don’t like. Hikaru’s having trouble thinking about his future, and Rihito’s family is causing him quite a few issues, especially when his mother is diagnosed with cancer. How do you reach out to someone for comfort when you’re seriously bad at that sort of thing? That’s what this series lives to answer, and it’s emotionally dramatic but also quite compelling. Also several shows of ludicrous hands, arms and torsos, for BL fans who follow that. – Sean Gaffney

The Girl from the Other Side: Siuil, a Run, Vol. 7 | By Nagabe| Seven Seas – Last review I started with the good news that Shiva didn’t seem to be infected by touching Teacher. Welp. I joked on Twitter that by the tenth volume of this series it would just be 180 pages of black scratches and nothing else, and nothing so far leads me to change that hypothesis. There are actually a few action scenes here, though the mood still seems to keep that dreamlike, silent atmosphere the series specializes in. Everyone is angry or sad in this. It’s a really well-written series, and you long to see what will happen next, but it is a bit difficult to tune in next time to get punched in the face again. That said, it is an extremely beautiful and dignified facial beating. – Sean Gaffney

Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest, Vol. 2 | By Aki Irie| Vertical Comics – Having given us an odd combination of supernatural murder mystery and travelogue last time, the second volume comes down firmly on the “travelogue” side, as the plot barely advances till the very end. Kei’s friend Kiyoshi has arrived for a visit, and Kei is here to show him the wonder that is Iceland. Aki Irie’s last series lost me by combining gorgeous art with a sketchy premise, but this one doesn’t have that issue, and revels in its beautiful scenery and gorgeous women—mainly Lilja, whom Kiyoshi spots at a bookstore and gets a completely different impression of than Kei managed to get. If you love Iceland, this series is for you. If not, at least it’s super pretty, though it seems to have put aside its plot. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 17 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – We’re finally getting the details of Yozora’s past, and they’re not hideously tragic or anything, just emotionally devastating for a child. Kodaka’s solution involves playing a game together with both the club and the student council, involving choosing which player is a killer and which is a normal villager. It’s the bulk of the book, and is a lot of fun, allowing the characters who enjoy being nasty to let it all out. Meanwhile, Sena actually comes to some self-realization about herself, and Kodaka’s solution, although cribbed from Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, actually seems to work far better than expected. This leads Kodaka to make his own change, which… is a cliffhanger that’s both shocking and hilarious. Great volume. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 34 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Ugh. Another volume that’s all volleyball game. It’s a good volume, but as always I find it hard to pick out things to review. I did really like showing off the bond between Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and seeing that this isn’t going to be the usual shonen “our heroes start in a big hole and are always behind”—they’re really evenly matched. Kozume is also leveling up here, and we get a nice look at his mindset—he doesn’t care about the meaning of the game, or the rivalry, or that this could be the end of the season. He wants to stop Karasuno. Now. And by the end of the book he’s off to a good start, as Karasuno does indeed lose the first set. Will they pull it off? Probably, but my guess is not next volume. – Sean Gaffney

If I Could Reach You, Vol. 1 | By tMnR | Kodansha Comics – Reiichi and Kaoru are former childhood friends who fell in love and got married. Reiichi’s little sister, Uta, always adored Kaoru and only realized her feelings were romantic love the day she saw Kaoru marry her brother. Now, Uta is living with the newlyweds—some family turmoil is hinted at but not yet explained—and struggling to give up on her feelings for her sister-in-law. She knows it’s “a one-sided love… a too-late love,” but can’t help feeling occasional flashes of hope, which at the same time she knows are going to cause her pain later. This series reminded me a bit of Daytime Shooting Star, in that I don’t know if I’m supposed to root for Uta’s unrequited love for an out-of-reach adult to be reciprocated. I hope not, but we shall see! – Michelle Smith

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 7 | By Afro | Yen Press – Again, the author enjoys playing with Nadeshiko’s reputation as an airhead. Her solo camping jaunt goes fine, though it reminds her she enjoys group camping more. That said, both her sister and Rin worry that she’s going to somehow accidentally kill herself, so both sneak along separately to try to verify that she’s doing everything right. It’s pretty cute. That said, we might have to wait a bit for the next big camping trip, as a) exams are coming up (to some of the cast’s dismay) and they’re also somewhat broke after so many trips. This remains a series that runs on mood, and that mood is cute and relaxed. This volume is particularly good at it. Also, there’s some nice foodie stuff here as well, for those who enjoy that. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 9 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – When focused on its main couple, Love at Fourteen can’t go wrong. Said couple has a lot of troubles this volume, as a) Kanata sprains an ankle by not watching out for some ice, and b) Kazuki’s father is moving, and no, Kazuki can’t stay there just because he’s in love with Kanata. This actually causes a communication issue for most of the volume, and I wonder how it will resolve itself. Meanwhile, when Hinohara is trying to get her boy to sing like he wants to win, I smile. When it shows off the teacher-student romance still going strong, I don’t. Not all that find of Shota and his depressed office worker romance either. Basically, this is still a great manga, but only for the leads. – Sean Gaffney

Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 9 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Lovesick Ellie has evolved since the last time I wrote about it. Akira and Ellie are now dating openly and talking about having sex soon. Ellie’s enthusiastic consent continues to be refreshing, even though she doesn’t know a lot about the act to which she’s consenting. She gets the wrong idea from some classmates and avoids Akira for a bit as a result, but as usual, they end up being honest with each other before too long. While the “Akira is entered into a contest for hot guys” plotline that follows could be really lame in other hands, here it’s largely about how Akira is just an awkward kid at heart who gets burdened by the expectations of others. I like both these characters very much and look forward to seeing how their relationship develops from here. – Michelle Smith

Smile Down the Runway, Vol. 2 | By Kotoba Inoya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Chiyuki Fujito desperately wants to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Fortunately for her, her dad runs a modeling agency. Unfortunately, she stopped growing when she was ten and is only about 5’2″. Meanwhile, Ikuto Tsumura tells himself he’s content merely making clothes for his family, but through his association with Chiyuki, he has the opportunity to work for a temperamental designer who is about to stage an incredibly important debut show. In fact, when Chiyuki substitutes for an absent model and Ikuto hastily alters her (hideous) dress, they kind of save the day. I enjoy how these two encourage each other while simultaneously not wanting to lose to the other. The subject of bare bosoms backstage was also handled way better than anticipated. I reckon I’ll keep up with this one. – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 6 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – When you’re in a non-lethal game, it can be a lot easier to have a new ally turn out to betray you. Or double or triple betray you. Our girls may have stumbled upon such an ally here, who can tell a decent sob story but seems to be on the side of the villains… or is she? Meanwhile, the past data of SAO continues to seemingly be influencing ALO, including not only Kirito but also Lux’s deceased friend. Liz and Silica also get some good character scenes in this volume. (Sorry, Leafa. You’re basically comic relief here.) It’s not as compelling as its first arc was, and reads a bit like it’s continuing just because SAO is really popular. But I like reading about these girls, so I’ll continue on. – Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 10/9/19

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SEAN: A relatively light week? Could be.

Denpa gives us the 5th volume of Inside Mari.

ASH: Still a compelling read.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has no debuts, but we get the 2nd and final Middle-Aged Businessman, Arise in Another World!. There’s also Crest of the Stars 3, which wraps up that “arc”, though stay tuned for more “of the Stars”.

On the manga front, J-Novel Club has Infinite Dendrogram 2 and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 2.

Kodansha’s print lineup has the debut of Granblue Fantasy. Based on the game, this series runs in the obscure Cycomics, and should be fun for those who like fantasy manga.

ASH: Manga based on games can sometimes be hit-or-miss, but I’ve read some very good ones and I do like fantasy series…

SEAN: There’s also Boarding School Juliet 8 in print.

Digitally, it’s another Cells at Work! spinoff. Cells at Work and Friends, fittingly, runs in Betsufure (Bessatsu Friend), so is a shoujo take on the franchise. The plot involves a Killer T Cell who has an intimidating expression, and as a result… Doesn’t Have Many Friends. Where have I seen this plot before?

We also have new digital volumes of Farewell My Dear Cramer (3), The Knight Cartoonist and Her Orc Editor (3), My Pink Is Overflowing (4), Queen Bee (2), and Tokyo Revengers (12).

MICHELLE: I will at least be reading a couple of these.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts How to Train Your Devil (Maou no Mama ni Narundayo!). which runs in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade. Our heroine is tasked with defeating the Demon King… but he’s a baby. She resolves to reform him… and promptly gets named his primary caregiver. Hijinks, as they say, ensue.

Not technically manga but of interest to fans is Roadqueen: Eternal Roadtrip to Love. This yuri comic was funded by donors, and is apparently really good. I can think of one Manga Bookshelf peep who will be all over this.

ASH: Is it me? Because I’m really looking forward to this one!

MJ: I am interested in this as well!

SEAN: We also get the 11th Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash in print, If It’s for My Daughter I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord’s 4th manga volume, the 4th Mushoku Tensei novel digitally, and Plus-sized Elf 3.

SuBLime has an 8th volume of Don’t Be Cruel.

And Vertical gives us a 3rd Master Edition of Knights of Sidonia.

Viz has a good lineup for Week 2, aka the Shonen Sunday week. Case Closed 72, Komi Can’t Communicate 3, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 9, and That Blue-Sky Feeling 3.

MICHELLE: It’s the final volume of That Blue Sky Feeling, as well, and I’ll definitely be picking that up.

ASH: That Blue Sky Feeling has been such a lovely series so far; I’m very glad it got an English-language release.

MJ: What they said.

ANNA: I need to catch up on this!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen On gives us a 2nd volume of better-than-it-sounds light novel Torture Princess. (The writing is better than it sounds. The plot is still as dark and torture-y as you’d expect.)

Anything leap out at you here?

Durarara!!, Vol. 13

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

And so, in the end, so much of DRRR!! turns out to be about love. First and foremost we have the love of Shinra and Celty, which is twisted (as Shinra cheerfully admits, saying he values his love for Celty over her own happiness) but also romantic, with Celty continuing to be the most tsundere Dullahan ever. She also saves the day about ten times over here, making sure that Mikado doesn’t kill himself, stopping the zombie Saika outbreak for a bit, etc. There’s also the love Anri has for Mikado, which is still in its nascent form but at least she can now admit to herself that love is what it is. Mikado’s feelings are a bit more vague, but he did save her from being stabbed (and was apparently in a coma for a month afterwards!), so that counts for something. There’s Seiji and Mika, who have Celty’s head keeping them together, even if their motives are totally in opposition. And then there’s Haruna and her teacher, who get one of the more horrifying but also satisfying twisted ends. Love is everywhere.

And yes, let’s also talk about Shizuo and Izaya. I think if you told canonical Izaya that he was in love with Shizuo he’d have something nasty to say to you, but it is striking how dedicated he is to proving that Shizuo is a “monster”. Izaya, who loves humanity as an abstract whole but can’t be attached in any way to individuals, pales in comparison to Shizuo, who gets TOO emotional when confr4onted with individuals, and needs to learn restraint, something Vorona helps teach him a bit. (Basically, he needs people to be a good example for.) I would not say Izaya is jealous of this per se, but I think he does not want Shizuo, whose body is almost indestructible and who can throw vending machines with one hand, to be a normal human. Moreover, while Izaya needs to have Shizuo as his nemesis, Hark a Vagrant style, I’m, pretty sure Shizuo would be happy to never see Izaya again. They’re both dark mirrors of each other.

This was one of the few LNs where I’d watched the anime before I read the book, and I was surprised that the epilogue made a few changes. Aoba sitting himself down in front of Anri and Masaomi at the hospital and being smug reads oddly, and you wonder why Masaomi doesn’t slug him. I think the anime wondered this as well, adding in a scene with Akabayashi threatening him to replace it and make it clear that this isn’t Aoba’s win. That said, the epilogue does seem to wrap everything up, at least as far as the current plot points are. The afterword mentions the sequel LN Durarara!! SH, but it’s not clear if that will be licensed here, and Narita’s current erratic writing schedule means it’s somewhat stalled at the moment. Fortunately, DRRR!! works as a contained unit here. Celty comes to terms with herself, Mikado realizes that being a villain is not what he wants to be, and they all live happily ever after. Except Izaya.

Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 34

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By Kenjiro Hata. Released in Japan as “Hayate no Gotoku!” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by John Werry.

The history of Hayate the Combat Butler is an interesting one. Very much a funny gag sort of story for the first 16 or so volumes, it attracted that sort of audience, and the first couple of anime were of that nature as well. Then came the Athena arc, which was really good, and set up a far more serious backstory for the manga, which attracted fans who really wanted to know about that story. And so the last ten to fifteen volumes have made an attempt to still be light-hearted gag comedy while throwing out the occasional plot bone to keep readers here for the plot satisfied. It… hasn’t really worked. This will reach its apex about two volumes from now, in the series’ most infamous chapter, but for the moment readers who want more about castles and coffins will be delighted to find there’s an extended section here where Hayate discovers a hidden room in the boarding house, with something very familiar inside.

It is notable that everyone involved in the discovery of the hidden room is not one of the “normal” cast members, if such a word can be used to describe people like Hinagiku or Nagi. It’s Hayate, Tama the tiger, the ghost priest, Alice, who still doesn’t remember her past but is there because of who she is, and Isumi, who reminds us that this is still a comedy even in the dramatic plot sections by making an absolutely ridiculous entrance through the wall of the building, knowing full well how awesome she will look. Sadly, she looks less awesome when up against the series’ new minor villain, whose name I’m not sure of yet but she does enjoy wearing her Gurren Lagann cosplay shades. This doesn’t answer many questions… well, OK, any questions, except who shade-wearing woman is working for… but it does remind you that this plot exists, and it weighs on Hayate’s mind.

Elsewhere,the boardinghouse continues to fill up, first by adding Ruka, who has “run away from home” because they’re trying to make her stop being a doujinshi artist and stick to pop idoling, as well as Ayumu, who literally has a mom and dad to live with but scrapes up the money to live in the boarding house for a month because she senses how big a threat Ruka is in the Hayate sweepstakes. (This leads to the best gag in the volume, where Hinagiku is stunned to find that she isn’t a threat – after all, if she can’t confess, what good is she?) We also get more of Ruka’s backstory, which matches Hayate and Hinagiku’s on the “bad parents” front (the bad parents are always in silhouette). And Nagi’s manga continues to be the series’ achilles’ heel, as her attempts to get better at it are bad and she still remains pretty annoying.

Still, overall this was a very good volume for the 5-6 people still buying this series, and if anything else we got to see Isumi performing feats even an olympic gymnast might have trouble with.

Suspension: Kubitsuri High School – The Nonsense User’s Disciple

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By NISIOISIN, illustrations by take. Released in Japan as “Kubitsuri Hai Sukūru: Zaregoto Tsukai no Deshi” by Kodansha. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Daniel Joseph.

(This review was based on a copy provided by the publisher.)

It’s been a long time coming, my friends. We got the first two books of Zaregoto back in the Del Rey days, and they did not sell well at all. But Nisio’s reputation grew, and the Monogatari novels did better, and then Zaregoto got an anime, not to mention the constant fan begging on Twitter, and here we are: the third in the Zaregoto series, a mere nine years later. Was it worth the wait? I think so. It’s not as good as the second book, but that’s a very high bar to clear. More to the point, while it’s still invested in lampooning the mystery genre, Nisioisin is not as concerned with the intricacies of the Whodunnit anymore. Which is good, as it’s pretty obvious early on who the killer is. Instead we get what the Zaregoto series does best, which is a book that looks at what it means to be a normal human told through the story of people who aren’t remotely normal.

Ii-chan is abducted… erm, invited by Jun Aikawa to help her with an escape. There’s a certain girls’ academy that has a student that would like to leave it. And so Ii-chan dons a girls’ school uniform and goes to meet this girl, Ichihime Yukariki. Of course, things do not go quite as easy as that, as Ii-chan quickly finds that the school seems to be training up assassins. Needing to get rescued from the rescue by Jun, the three of them try holing up in the office of the Director, only to find that there’s no escaping a pile of corpses that keeps getting larger. In the meantime, Ii-chan continues to entertain the reader by being his usual self, deflecting, prevaricating, omitting, and outright lying most of the time. The question is, how is he going to deal with it when he runs into someone who’s a little bit like him? No, not Zerozaki, someone else.

This is a slim book, the shortest in the series (there was apparently a contest, which Nisio used as an excuse to add an extra book to his contracted amount), and it’s also far more action-filled than the previous two. Which is to be expected given that Jun plays a much larger role here. It’s also got a lot more corpses than the previous two, though to be fair most of those are offscreen. The reason to get the book, though, is the dialogue and conversations between Ii-chan and the cast. He still avoids saying his name, but does give a few hints to one of the students which might help narrow it down for those who might know Japanese and also be good at math. And Ichihime is also a fascinating new addition to the cast. I’m not sure if she’ll show up again, but I suspect that Ii-chan inviting her to live in the apartment complex he currently does is some fairly unsubtle foreshadowing. I also really liked the other two students we met here, but sadly this is the last we’re going to see of them, unless Nisioisin does something weird like write them into a prequel in his Zerozaki side series. Lastly, Jun calls Ii-chan out on being a mystery protagonist – like Jessica Fletcher, wherever he goes, murders follow.

This does not have the psychological fascination of the second book, as I said earlier. It’s a quick hit-and-run. But it’s still a really good read, and I certainly hope that it does well enough that we get the 4th and 5th books (a 2-parter) before 2029.

Pick of the Week: Ease on Down the Road

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MICHELLE: There’s a new volume of My Hero Academia plus a lot of VIZ shoujo coming out this week that I will absolutely be reading, including a particular favorite in Natsume’s Book of Friends, but my pick this week is The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms. I literally know nothing about it other than it’s by Nagabe, creator of The Girl from the Other Side, but that’s quite enough.

KATE: What Michelle said! I’d read just about anything by Nagabe, as he’s such a terrific artist and storyteller. If people buy The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms, maybe Seven Seas will get around to licensing Nagabe’s older work, too; this collection of short stories looks amazing.

SEAN: I am very interested in the new josei manga from Shojo Beat, but I have to go with Sexiled this week. The standard light novel fantasy is absolutely filled with tropes best described as problematic (read: misogynist), and I long to read a book pinning them to a wall and then stabbing them over and over.

ASH: As intrigued and delighted as I am by what I know about Sexiled, I’m with Michelle and Kate this week – The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms is without question my pick.

ANNA: I’m also intrigued by The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms and An Incurable Case of Love but I’m not going to pass up a chance to celebrate another volume of Kaze Hikaru which is by far one of my favorite historical shoujo series.

MJ: I’m jumping on what apparently is the majority pick this week: The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms. Everything about it—from the artist to the magical creatures to the magazine it runs in—screams that it’s for me. So what other choice do I have?

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 23

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

As we are at a particularly dramatic point in the main storyline, clearly it is time for another short story collection that takes place before everyone went off into space. These stories all seem to take place at some vague point between Vols. 14-20, and once again three of them were serialized online and one is original for this book. You can probably guess that the best of the four is the exclusive one, and you’d be correct, but they’re all pretty decent, showing off these characters we’ve come to enjoy. The first story continues a theme of Harumi being rather annoyed at Koutarou treating her like the sweet, fragile girl, so she asks Kiriha for advice on how to be a “bad girl”. This goes about as well as you’d expect, as Harumi is as sweet as pie. Likewise, Clan is noted for her awkward tsundere attitude around Koutarou, and that’s not going to change either, even if she does start working out with him and Shizuka.

Elfaria gets the cover art for once, as well as the third story, where she explains why she looks so young (genetics, she’s an alien) and allows Yurika, Maki and Sanae to give her a makeover to make her look even younger, at least for a time. This also allows Koutarou to see Elfaria as she was when he first met her, which throws him for a loop – no doubt her intention. This all leads to the final story, where the class goes on a trip to… well, the text if careful not to say where they go, except they have to fly, but it’s not Kyoto. A rather lonely Harumi and Clan end up tagging along, but the big plot point of this story is another girl in the class, Shiori, who has known Koutarou since he was little, has made up her mind to confess to him. (His basic standoffishness is why she put it off for so long.) Suddenly the girls are all worried – sure, they’re all close to Koutarou, but will this girl pass them all?

The answer isn’t surprising (no), but the key point comes when Kiriha realizes what’s been bugging her about this whole situation: the girls are feeling jealous of Shiori, but not of each other. No one in the group resents anyone else for being in love with Koutarou. It’s important setup given that this ISN’T one of those fantasy isekai worlds where polygamy is legal to solve everything. Kenji also helps underline this point by telling Koutarou he has to buckle down and pick one of the girls to date formally, and Koutarou absolutely cannot so it as he can’t imagine living without any of them. The feeling of family has to come first – they all love each other, but “romantic love” is still down the road. The story also helps to remind everyone how much the girls – and Koutarou – have grown sine the start of the series.

So overall a good short-story collection. That said, I’ll be glad to be back in the main action with Vol. 24. Good thing it’s already out.

Accel World: Pull of the Dark Nebula

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By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

It goes without saying that Sword Art Online is just SLIGHTLY more popular than Accel World, by a factor of about 100. This despite the fact that I think that in general Accel World is the better written title, mostly as Kawahara learned form the mistakes he made in SAO. It serves him well in this 19th volume, which is, once again, almost entirely setup for the next big series of battles. The subtitle sounds ominous, but is actually suggestive of the larger plot: Kuroyukihime’s group is going to storm the White Legion territory, but there just aren’t that many of them. What’s more, Kuroyukihime herself needs to stay behind. What’s the answer? More allies. We already have the new snack-based trio that joined last time. And we have Niko and Pard. Perhaps Ash Roller. But is that enough? Can we get some former enemies on our side? What’s more, perhaps we can even… merge two legions? The author makes this sound pretty dramatic and exciting, which is good, because more than any other AW book to date, this is all conversations.

The former enemy is Magenta Scissor, which is not too much of a surprise. The surprise is who comes to fight/debate her into switching sides. It’s not Haruyuki, and I like that the cast has grown large enough that we can have scenes like this not need to feature him. Instead it’s Chocolat Puppeter, who engages in a water-based battle with her partner Avoacdo Avoider before getting to the core of Magenta’s cynical philosophy, much of which stems from her real life watching Avocado (who, it is hinted, has a learning disability in real life) get bullied by the other kids in the hospital they were both in. She also has a condition I’d never heard of, but (like everyone in Accel World) helps to explain her avatar in general. Again, a reminder that a good core of Brain Burst is based on childhood traumas.

The start of the book finishes up the conversation in the Castle, with Graphite Edge (who is feeling less like a Kirito gag and more like a takeoff on the typical blockhead shonen hero, though he’s smarter than that) divvying out information as slowly and obliquely as he can, but we do get an awful lot of plot and background details here that feel important. Accel World is, as far as I know, not ending anytime soon, but the pieces of what needs to be done before the ending are still in place. And, much like its parent series, we are also dealing with “NPC” characters who nevertheless pass every test of sentience out there. I’m not sure if Metatron’s fate will mirror Alice’s, but it’s plain to see what sort of things Kawahara was interested in and researching as he wrote this.

So this is a solid volume in the series. The 20th book sounds like it will begin the next “books of mostly fighting” arc, but I’ve been fooled by that before. Till hen, enjoy this book of mostly talking.