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Outbreak Company, Vol. 9

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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.

Honestly, returning to Japan for a visit was an obvious plotline. So obvious, in fact, that the anime (which I haven’t seen) apparently also used it in an original story. This time Shinichi hears that his light novel author dad is hospitalized and worries, so he asks if he can return to Japan, despite the fact that the Japanese government recently tried to kill him. But there’s been a regime change since the series began, and maybe he’s not quite as wanted? So he returns, with Minori as his guard, Myusel and Elvia also has his bodyguards (and disguised), and Petralka hiding in the luggage so she can come too. Fortunately, his dad is fine. Unfortunately, that leaked soccer game footage has led to everyone in it being wanted by most major world governments. As a result, Minori is captured by the Russians, while Shinichi and the others are menaced by Chinese and Americans. And worst of all, his sister has turned into a tsundere!

The first three-quarters of this book is set up for comedy, and it’s decent comedy, with only one of two instances of “dur… boobs!” from our hero. Shinichi’s parents are just as over the top as they were in the first novel, and his dad in particular is amusing and reminds me very much of Shinichi himself. As for the little sister, you can see why she’s frustrated with her entire family, but also why “Shinichi’s gone to India to find himself” did not really fly. Not sure how much more we’ll see of her, but she’s cute. The sections in Akiba are also fun, with Petralkas getting lured in by gatcha games, Myusel maid fangirling, and Elvia really REALLY wanting some expensive artbooks. It’s only as they get surrounded by more and more people who recognize them that you realize how foolish it was to return (and really, Minori should have realized this would happen) and things get very serious very fast.

We are unlikely to see more Outbreak Company animated, which is a shame, as the car chase that is towards the end of the book is top tier, and shows Elvia, Myusel and Shinichi all being pretty damn badass. The book ends on a cliffhanger as, having returned home for lack of other safe havens, they are surrounded by more bad guys. There are also a few other odd hints here and there that Japan and Eldant may be meshing together a bit as, while magic mostly does not seem to work here as it does there, there are moments where that does not seem to be the case – in particular, moments where the girls who can’t speak Japanese are acting like action heroes. Also, how much of an international incident is everyone going to make of this? And is Minori OK? We never saw her after she was captured. It’s a good thing this series is light-heated in nature…

Outbreak Company is a fast-paced comedy that also has some really good character beats. I still enjoy it.

Pick of the Week: So Much To Pick From

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MICHELLE: In an unprecedented move for me, I’m picking a light novel this week! Restaurant to Another World has spawned various adaptations but I’ve experienced none of them. Still, it seems rather low-key and charming, which sounds lovely.

SEAN: So much I want to talk about… new Silver Spoon, new Hatsu*Haru, another silly isekai debut… for my pick, I’ll go with Animeta!. I’m a sucker for “manga/anime about breaking into the manga/anime industry”.

KATE: I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug Again!! and Silver Spoon, two of my favorite series, but this week, my heart belongs to Saint Young Men. Show some love for Kodansha and read it, since no one ever thought this one would be available in the US.

ASH: Hoo, boy, there’s so much coming out this week that I’m actively reading! Again!!, Gangsta, Golden Kamuy, and Silver Spoon are definite priorities for me, but I’ll be joining Michelle with the print debut of Restaurant to Another World as my official pick.

ANNA: I’m so far behind, but I’m gonna go with Gangsta as my pick!

MJ: Okay, I’ll go ahead and be the one to throw my whole heart at Silver Spoon. SILVER SPOON. SIIIIILVER SPOOOOOOOOON. What I’m saying is Silver Spoon.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 9

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By Ryo Shirakome and Takayaki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou” by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

The last few Arifureta reviews have begun with me discussing some aspect of Hajime’s personality, but for the most part, after realizing he now has a way to return to Japan, Hajime’s character arc seems to be coming to an end. There is discussion here about how he can possibly fit in back home after all the changes he’s gone though, but Hajime’s attitude to this is basically “can’t do anything about it now, so will see what happens when it happens”. There’s also a side story towards the end of the book that shows that he’s not really as changed as everyone may think, as we see much of his core character even as a bullied high school student. Instead of discussing Hajime, I’d like to focus on the two characters who get the most attention during this volume (the first of a two-parter), and that’s Kouki and Shizuka. Who are suffering from the same problem but going in two very different directions.

The function of this final dungeon, aside from the snow and ice and a bunch of bigfoot monsters, is to make those who try to conquer it confront their negative traits. This starts as whispers in the ear, and ends with a full on “my evil twin” confrontation. We don’t actually see Kouki’s battle in this volume, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he’s not going to pass. In fact, I’ll even go further: I don’t think Kouki as an antagonist is going to be resolved in the series. I’m not sure it will get to the point where he’s an outright villain like Eri, but Kouki sees the world, and those around him, in black and white, and as long as he keeps doing that he’s never going to accept that Hajime isn’t “bad” in some way. It can be very frustrating to the reader – and indeed the other cast members, all of whom know exactly what his inner turmoil is but refuse to bring it up as they know once they do he’ll snap and that will be it. Expect snapping next book.

As for Shizuku, who is getting yet another picture on the cover, she not only has to confront her repressed love for Hajime, which has been bubbling up for some time, but also her repression of everything else in her life. We see her backstory as a girl who wants to do feminine things but has an amazing talent for kendo, and as a result is slotted in as ‘tomboy’ by almost everyone. Her friendship with Kouki’s who’s more an annoying little brother than anything else, also causes her to be ostracized, and it’s only Kaori who’s able to save her. (This also gives insight as to why she’s so willing to put up with Kaori’s eccentric behavior bordering on stalking towards Hajime – and why she refuses to admit her own feelings.) In the end, Shizuku’s main issue is that she needs to be more selfish. She takes a good first step at the end.

As noted, this turns out to be a two-parter, and the author says he’ll show the other cast members confronting their dark selves, including Kouki. I suspect they’ll conquer the dungeon, but the question is what will they do about the rest of the plot, which takes a back seat here aside from occasional mentions of Eri. The latest volume comes out in Japan next week, so we may need to wait a few months to find out.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 10

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By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

We’ve seen this series go back and forth between “all the demons are monsters who want to eat brains” and “not ALL demons”, and as a result it’s not really a surprise that you see Emma here, always the most idealistic of any group she’s in, attempting to reason with Leuvis towards the end of this volume. I mean, it makes sense. The demons don’t do this because they are required t or they’ll die. It’s hunting, which Emma admits that she has done as well. And what’s more, while she may loathe Leuvis for killing some of her new-found friends, she is not driven by a desire to end his life. So… can they come to an agreement. There are, however, a few flashbacks that help to show us that the answer is no, at least here at Goldy Pond. Reason and pluck will win the day elsewhere, but not for Leuvis, who spouts something about needing to be in conflict but we see what it really is is that he does this for the thrill.

For all that TPN has a reputation of existing on “will they die or not?”, there really aren’t TOO many deaths if you look at the course of the series. And we just had two more a volume or two ago. So I wasn’t really expecting any of the child soldiers here to get killed off, but the art made me wonder a lot of the time. In general, I don’t recommend breaking out the “monster is holding someone up by their head” pose unless you really plan to go through with crushing that head. That said, thanks to Flashbacks we do still get a few deaths – this is not a series for little kids. But we also do see their brief triumphs, and also taking care of the wounded back at home base. These kids are just as much of a family as the Grace Field kids are, despite the fact that it’s still coming down to Emma to fight the big bad.

Fortunately, reinforcements are on the way, as Ray and “that geezer” have finally caught up to Emma, and can help her just when it seems there’s no hope. I do wonder how this is going to play out. We’ve had a few volumes now with Emma on her own, but she’s best balanced with Ray and Norman beside her. We know Norman is alive now, but he’s nowhere near them. Ray is now there, though, and I think will be the first to point out that when a psychopath who loves to kill children for the sport of it taunts you, it’s OK to perhaps not give him one more chance. (He may then find out that he missed Emma doing exactly this – I mean, Emma may be badass, but it’s a very shiny sort of badass.) So, as we finish up this very well done Promised Neverland, one question is in my mind above all others: will the “geezer” guy finally be officially named in story?

Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 4

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By Hyougetsu and Nishi(E)da. Released in Japan by Earth Star Entertainment. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

One of the things that Veight has been lacking as we travel through these books is a strong enemy on the opposite side. The Hero was sort of a generic type, brought to life to have a climax to the book. The Senate are, as we see in this book, pathetic and ineffectual, trapped in political backstabbing and vituperation. Most of the ‘antagonists’ Veight goes up against in battle are either cannon fodder or won over to his side fairly quickly. He needs someone to fight against who’s actually good at what they do. Not TOO good, of course – the basic premise of the book still has Veight being super awesome while insisting he’s just a mild-mannered vice commander. But enough to force him to actually think out a couple of different plans – especially necessary given that his subordinates are trying harder and harder to make sure that he does not try to do everything himself. (They almost succeed. Almost.)

Conveniently, we’re starting to learn about countries and territories outside of “the northern parts of the country” and “the southern parts of the country”. There’s apparently nations past the demon forest, and on the other side of the dry desert. And there’s also a nation over the mountains up north, a nation who we see in this book really wants to get a fingerhold into Meraldia. To that end, they’ve joined forces with a few of the north’s cities who don’t like the Senate too much, and also sent over Eleora, their sixth princess, who is Veight’s distaff counterpart. She’s crafty, good at military matters, and also has a crack brigade of mages who reminded me quite a bit of Tanya the Evil much of the time. (She even has her own Visha, this one named Natalia.) Her nation, Rolmund, has succession issues, and this is very much a succeed or die sort of mission. Too bad there’s Veight.

There’s a lot of fun here. Every time Veight denies that he’s really strong or impulsive is wonderful, if only as it’s getting harder to believe he’s not doing it on purpose. Speaking of which, the funniest parts of the book involve coming up with a series of plays that will serve as propaganda. In reality, they’re basically bodice rippers, with each play involving a handsome actor playing Veight winning handily and causing his actress of the moment (playing Airia, Melaine, Firnir, etc.) to swoon and coo. Veight is rather embarrassed by all this, though the others (who no doubt hope Veight will catch a clue sometimes) have no issues. The final play we see involves Eleora and her own attack on Meraldia. I’m not sure whether she’ll join the list of women in love with Veight yet (honestly, I suspect it will be Airia if anyone), but the afterword definitely says the next book will involve Rolmund, so I’m sure we’ll see more of her.

I sometimes feel like I’m overpraising things, but I really can’t get enough of this series. Each volume is fun, easy to read, not too short or too long, has good characters and great humor, and makes Veight overpowered and harem lead-ey without him feeling like a stock light novel guy. Really, start reading these books.

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 1

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By Tomohito Oda. Originally released in Japan as “Komi-san wa Komyushou Desu” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by John Werry.

When you get a basic description of this series, it sort of sounds like a few other “aloof beautiful girl at school is really just super shy” titles. But Komi is a bit more complicated than that. The Japanese title can translate as “Komi Has a Communication Disorder”, and we certainly see that here, as she finds it nearly impossible to speak in front of others, let alone interact with them. And that’s a shame, as she really wants to have friends – 100 friends, in fact, like the Japanese children’s song. Fortunately, she has some help when starting high school. Tadano is an average, nondescript guy – in fact, that’s what he’s aiming for – but he’s seated next to Komi, not only earning him the hatred of all the other guys in the room, but also meaning he’s able to notice that she’s trying hard but not succeeding. And so he vows to be her first friend – and help her make more.

It’s not easy. Not only is Komi unable to properly communicate beyond writing on chalkboards, talking over the phone and the occasional babbling attempt to speak, but the school that they’re in is deliberately filled with “characters”, priding itself on individuality. This means even other introverts have a few eccentricities here and there. I’ll admit sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn’t. I liked Agari, who is a normal shy wallflower type, whose difficulties in talking to the class pale in comparison to Komi’s, but could have done without the “I’ll be your pet” gag ending to her storyline. Likewise one of the minor characters in this book, Yamai, reads like a worryingly stereotypical psycho lesbian, and I really hope it doesn’t go down that road.

There is also, however, Tadano’s childhood friend Najimi Osana. The most obvious of the pun-based names the cast all have, they are Tadano’s childhood friend. They are also non-binary. Najimi wore a man’s uniform and acted like a guy in middle school, is wearing a girls’ uniform and acting girly in high school, and is perfectly okay with this – and so is the rest of the cast so far, though Tadano has a few tsukkomi reactions to the whole thing. I’ve seen this sort of character in manga and anime before, but usually we the reader know what they gender assignment at birth is – not in this case. And that’s fine, as Najimi’s real role here is to be the super popular one with piles and piles of friends. This eventually includes Komi, though they get off on the wrong foot as Najimi finds Komi’s intense stare a bit terrifying.

In the end, though, this manga is about Komi. She’s moved a little further forward by the end of the first volume, but only a little – speaking to someone in person is still beyond her. I also love the way the art changes her face when she’s distressed or shy – she’s normally the gorgeous beauty, but her face turns wide and superdeformed when overwhelmed – which is nearly all the time. This was a fun series, and I look forward to following Komi’s growth.

Manga the Week of 6/19/19

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SEAN: OK, I double checked the Kodansha list this time, so we should be good to go.

We’ll start off with Dark Horse, who has the 10th I Am A Hero omnibus. I think the 11th is the last.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind in my reading so I’m not sure how things have progressed, but the series started out very strongly.

SEAN: Apologies to J-Novel Club, who have a bunch of digital manga debuts, including ones I missed that came out this week. First what I missed: An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! and Seirei Gensouki all have Vol. 1s drop this week. (They’re not on Kindle or Nook because of various reasons, but are on all other digital platforms.)

Next week the big digital debut is Animeta!, a Morning Two title (always a good thing) that isn’t based on a light novel (even better) about a girl trying to be an animator. I want to read this.

MICHELLE: That sounds potentially good! I await your review!

SEAN: They also do have more manga adaptations of light novels, as we also see Ascendance of a Bookworm, Infinite Dendrogram, and The Master of Ragnarok and Blesser of Einherjar get Vol. 1s digitally.

And lest you think they’ve abandoned light novels, we see I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse 14, Infinite Dendrogram 9, and Outbreak Company 9.

Kodansha has no debuts, but has a lot of stuff. That is coming out next week. I promise. Print? We’ve got Again!! 9, Happiness 9, and O Maidens in Your Savage Season 2.

ASH: Oh, hey! I’m reading all those series.

SEAN: Digitally there is Are You Lost? 4, DAYS 14, Defying Kurosaki-kun 10, Heaven’s Design Team 3, Mikami-sensei’s Way of Love 5, Saint Young Men 2, and Starving Anonymous 7.

MICHELLE: Again!! and DAYS for sure. I hang my head in shame that I haven’t yet managed to read the first volume of Saint Young Men. I really will, I swear!

ANNA: I am sad that I am behind on Again!! and Saint Young Men.

MJ: Saint Young Men!!

SEAN: Seven Seas has the print debut of Restaurant to Another World, which is very good but you’d better be a foodie.

ASH: I’ll be picking this up now that it’s coming out in print. It seems like it’ll be right up my alley.

SEAN: There’s also A Certain Scientific Accelerator 9, Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary 9, and (digitally) the 2nd Skeleton Knight in Another World.

Tokyopop has the 2nd Aria the Masterpiece omnibus and Yuri Bear Storm 3. You may have seen both these volumes in prior lists. Kodansha’s not the only one with surprise last-minute delays.

Vertical gives us a 3rd APOSIMZ. And the Inc. side has the 2nd omnibus (Vol. 4-6) of Katanagatari’s novels.

Viz has a 4th 20th Century Boys: Perfect Edition, the 5th Gangsta: Cursed (as well as a digital catch-up), Golden Kamuy 10, Tokyo Ghoul: re 11, and Ultraman 12.

ANNA: Need to get caught up on Gangsta too!

ASH: Since I read the first edition of 20th Century Boys, it’s Gangsta and Golden Kamuy that have most of my attention from this list.

SEAN: Yen Press moved all but one of its manga debuts to the last week of June, but we do have one light novel debut. The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious is one of those “the title is the plot” books, but at least has a novel twist by having the hero not be the narrator – from what I understand it’s the summoner.

Also coming out on the novel side: Accel World 18, The Asterisk War 10, A Certain Magical Index 19, The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria 6, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria 9, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 7.5 (a short story collection), Re: ZERO 10, and Woof Woof Story 2.

On the manga side… let’s start with the news that not only do we get the 11th My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected manga, but we also get Vols. 1-11 digitally. The Shogakukan dam is breaking!

There’s also a yuri one-shot: Whenever Our Eyes Meet: A Women’s Love Anthology. The gimmick here being that the romances are office and workplace rather than middle and high school.

MICHELLE: Hooray for grown-ups.

ASH: Indeed!

MJ: That does sound wonderful!

SEAN: And lastly (well, sort of… there’s a lot of lastly), we get As Miss Beelzebub Likes 6, Bungo Stray Dogs 11, Dead Mount Death Play 2, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 2, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 2, Hakumei & Mikochi 6, Hatsu*Haru 7, Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler 10, One Week Friends 7, Prison School omnibus 13, Silver Spoon 9, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 7, and The Witch’s House: the Diary of Ellen 2.

MICHELLE: Insert obligatory Silver Spoon deliquency admission and apology here.

ASH: You’re going to have a great time ahead of you once you get a chance to catch up! Silver Spoon is terrific.

MJ: Oh, hi, Silver Spoon, you own my heart and soul.

SEAN: Years ago I used to break these down one line per book. I am so glad I don’t do that anymore. What’re you drowning yourself in?

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Vol. 2

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By Rifuin Na Magonote and Shirotaka. Released in Japan as “Mushoku Tensei – Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Alyssa Orton-Niioka. Adapted by JY Yang.

The second book in this series covers about three years time, going from when Rudeus is 7 to just after his 10th birthday. It’s striking that we still haven’t really hit the teenage/adult years that most “in another world” titles skip to, although the ending to this volume may indicate a change is on the horizon. It does allow us to see Rudeus both mature as a child growing up, and also attempt to fix his mindset from his previous life that got him into trouble there as well. We also get a new female lead, since Rudeus was forcibly separated from his childhood elf friend (who gets one mention briefly here in an “oh, right, her” sort of way… which is typical for children who move, to be honest). Instead we have Eris, who is a giant ball of violence disguised as a child, and has driven away countless tutors both by being unteachable and also by beating the crap out of them. Naturally, Rudy is made of sterner stuff.

First of all, Rudy’s plan to pretend to get kidnapped so that he can show Eris the value of reading, magic and ‘rithmatic is astonishingly dumb, and it will come as no surprise that it immediately turns into a real kidnapping. The fact that it achieves its aims (Eris is willing to settle down a bit and learn) does not make it less dumb. Most of the rest of the book is devoted to The Taming of the Shrew, essentially, as Rudy slowly but surely gets Eris to learn how to read, write, do sums, practice magic and also dance in his spare time. Naturally, she falls for him hard. I’d say nothing happens as they’re 10 and 12 respectively, but something almost happens. It’s portrayed as overtly wrong and that’s fine, but I’m still thinking “wtf?” a bit. That said, Eris clearly states the fact that they’re too young is the only thing stopping her. Despite being a bit of a cliched angry tsundere, I like Eris. Well, I like Eris when she’s not adding “mew” to her sentences, another reminder that the author’s idea of fanservice is “just add it wherever and don’t worry if it makes sense character-wise”.

Then there’s that ending, which comes as a surprise. I’m not entirely sure yet what it means for Rudy and Eris (who I’m guessing are still together), but its devastation to the country that we’ve been in since the start of the series is pointed. The style had been very much relaxed and fun before this, but the final scene is done seriously and tragically, and works very well. It also shows us that Roxy will be getting back into the series soon, which pleases me, especially since it turns out that her tutoring royalty was a disaster as he was a royal brat. Given the sheer nature of what happened, I’m not sure this is easily fixed at all. That said, it’s certainly a great way to tell readers to get the next book, as I very much want to find out what happens and verify who is dead and who isn’t. As for the book itself, aside from the author sometimes being weirdly otaku, it’s still a very good reincarnation isekai. I can see why it has its reputation.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/11/19

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Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 6 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – There’s an extra metatextual level of weird at the start of this volume of Arakawa. Did Rec really go to Venus and meet with Nino’s parents, in scenes that are bizarre even for this super-bizarre series? Or did Rec merely go to Hawaii and is putting up an act? Elsewhere, Santa is coming, provided we can stop Sister burning everything down to stop him, P-Ko may literally be some sort of vegetable, the Mayor is pregnant, possibly to inspire some fanfics about him, and we learn the hilariously tragic(?) story of Rec’s birth. For a series that was supposedly ending soon in the last volume, things are back to their normal silly and somewhat nonsensical ways. I still say this works better in a magazine as short chapters. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 19 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Having endured a rather harrowing experience for the last few books, we’re still not ready to go back to villains just yet. Also, Eri’s still recovering, and can’t smile. What better way to fix this than a school festival arc! Jirou can sing! Bakugou can play the angriest drums ever! Mina can dance! And Izuku can be a gofer, which as always leads him to run into the actual plot, in this case with a group of mild-mannered villains who are determined to ruin the festival (which, the principal has explained will be totally shut down if there’s even one suggestion of an attack). Can he stop them? Can he make it back to the show in time? And can Eri learn to actually enjoy things again? I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 10 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – Emma and the other human occupants of Goldy Pond continue their rebellion against the demon quintet that regularly hunts them for sport. Three teams of kids are tackling four of the demons while Emma is tasked with stalling the most ruthless one who is actually kind of, God help me, elegant. Certainly the most fascinating demon character we’ve seen so far, even if he is bloodthirsty. Predictably, things don’t go according to plan and it’s looking like some of the humans aren’t going to make it. It’s too bad that I don’t care more, really, but Emma hasn’t been there long and we don’t really know these kids. The few flashbacks to their backstory don’t help much. That said, it’s very action-packed and exciting with a really satisfying final scene that still manages to be a cliffhanger. Looking forward to volume eleven! – Michelle Smith

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 7 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – This may be the best volume yet. At the start we’re still going with the premise of Syalis trying to get a good night’s sleep (even if it means her death), but the bulk of it has her returning home in order to get her woolen underwear, with the Demon Lord and associate coming with in vain hopes that this will be simple and that they won’t be discovered. The most wonderful hijinks ensue. We also meet Syalis’ mother, who is (as the manga spells out) a mellow version of her daughter, and she sees what’s going on but is perfectly happy to let Syalis return with the demons if that’s what she wants. For a gag comic that’s supposed to have one joke, this was really well-developed. – Sean Gaffney

10 Dance, Vol. 3 | By Inouesatoh | Kodansha Comics – 10 Dance is really shaping up to be one of the best BL manga I’ve ever read. Did you enjoy Future Lovers? Read this series. Sugiki and Suzuki have developed a routine of dancing all night in a snowy park, each time learning more about each other until Sugiki reveals something unflattering about himself and realizes how much he doesn’t want Suzuki to hate him just as Suzuki realizes how worried Sugiki is about that, culminating with super dramatic big smoochies on a train. They’re falling in love slowly and still confused about what it all means, and man, I’m here for it. Plus, there’s all sorts of dance training going on, with Suzuki getting fired up to compete internationally and Sugiki arranging for him to get instruction from another standard master, all the while thinking, “I don’t want to give him away to anyone.” It’s so good! – Michelle Smith

We Never Learn, Vol. 4 | By Taishi Tsutsui | Viz Media -The series continues to be well-crafted and likeable but as predictable as anything, with not one but two reset buttons to assure that the status quo continues. This isn’t too surprising—fourth volumes are always hard for Jump series, as it’s the first volume past the “you’re cancelled” risk—but it can make things a little trying if you don’t like pure harem comedy hilarity. We also get a new cast member, as Nariyuki runs into a short, cute girl at his cram school who turns out to be older than him—and she has the same situation as the other female leads, trying to get into medical school despite her talents being elsewhere. Certainly I prefer the teasing she gives him to the ongoing attempts to add the teacher to the harem, which bleah. – Sean Gaffney

Yuri Is My Job!, Vol. 3 | By miman | Kodansha Comics – Well, the volume didn’t QUITE end with Kanoko knifing someone, but it’s not for lack of trying. She is obsessed to a terrifying degree, and is thus at odds with Sumika, who is trying to point out that the yuri cafe does not need to get actual romantic feelings involved in it… something she knows from past bitter experience. There’s also the whole fact of her being a “gyaru” type outside the cafe, which creeps Kanoko out. It’s all heading to a climax, but that climax is not in this book, so instead we get a lot of simmering. Actually, I’m finding these two more interesting than the main leads, who are dealing with a somewhat rigged popularity contest, as well as still being uncomfortable around each other. Potboiler, but good. – Sean Gaffney

Crest of the Stars: Princess of the Empire

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

I was excited when I heard that this got picked up by J-Novel Club. I’d read the Tokyopop so long ago that I’d forgotten almost everything about it, but I definitely remember enjoying it. It’s old-school science fiction, the sort that not only introduces you to the main characters but also builds an entire political galaxy, delves deeply into engineering and battle terms, and also invents an entire alien language for the reader to immerse themselves in, complete with not only translations but phonetic pronunciation. It’s also a novel rather than a light novel, so aside from the cover, don’t expect any interior illustrations. As for the story itself, it takes a while to get going, but once Lafier shows up and meets Jinto, things really start to take off, and the last quarter of the book is fantastic. It also leaves you on a cliffhanger, so I’m grateful more is coming.

The book opens on the planet Martin, where the seemingly arrogant and ruthless Abh Empire has just invaded. They basically have a choice – get taken over peacefully or not peacefully. Jinto, the 10-year-old son of the planet’s leader, rapidly discovers that his father not only chooses “peacefully” but also decides to become an Abh noble and leaves the planet… which means everyone suddenly hates Jinto by association. Seven years later and a far calmer and mellower Jinto has been going to schools to learn about his new status as an Abh (albeit not by genetics) and is ready to begin life as a quartermaster. He’s met by a young woman who is, like all people born Abh, gorgeous, and who also seems stunned he doesn’t recognize her. As a result, she asks him to call her Lafier, and they get on like a house on fire. Of course, this assumes that he can make it to his new position, as suddenly the Abh are under attack by the Human Empire.

I will get a few things out of the way here. First of all, it’s Lafier with an r, which is not what I’m used to from prior releases. It didn’t take too long to get used to it, through. The same cannot be said for the vocab peppered throughout the book, which is a LOT. At the start of the book every third word seems to get its own alien term, pronunciation guide, and English equivalent, and after a while it can verge on annoying. That said, it really does help to sell the Abh as a different culture. Plus as the book goes on previous alien terms are merely put in bold type, so you don’t actually have to deal with learning the words too much. The main reason to read the book, as I said, is Jinto and Lafier. They’re both great, immediately likeable personalities, and they bounce off each other well. The last quarter of the book has them dealing with a self-serving baron (who has his own harem, something that is NOT painted as a good thing) and I can’t wait to see him get his comeuppance.

There’s also some good, moving writing here as well, particularly in the doomed space battle 2/3 in. If you want some nice chunky sci-fi with lots of alien terminology, it’s absolutely worth checking out. Just don’t let the vocab lessons get you down.