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Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 2

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By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li.

I admit, I had expected the build-up to the imperial coup (literally, the Emperor is doing the couping) to be longer than this. In retrospect, though, this actually feels about right. The series knows that there’s only so much we can take of Carmine pretending to be a dumb little puppet while gradually gaining trusted allies and learning vital bits of information. Especially given that he’s also still having to fight off assassination attempts. But it does show, as Carmine reminds us in this book, that the battle against the Chancellor and the Minister of Ceremony is only the beginning, and that we end this book with an Emperor who may finally have revealed his true self but is also left with an Empire that is still on the verge of collapse. This is only the beginning, and he’s going to need more things – allies, military power, and most of all money – to avoid history coming down on him very hard indeed.

This book divides pretty neatly in two. The first part of the book shows him touring the Empire, where he has to fend off another attempted assassination, try to win over some potential allies, and also be exposed to the horrors of war, which he knows very well he bears responsibility for indirectly, puppet or no. He’s revealing his true self to more and more people at this point. In the second half he learns the truth behind the Illuminatus, and that he is not the first person to be reincarnated into this world. And finally, all his plans come together, as he manages to have a faction send their troops to take over the empire because of treason, and then demonstrates – as he’s being crowned – what the reward actually is for traitors.

The first book had a substantial role for Rosaria as Carmine’s love interest, but also teased two other girls who may also end up with him. Nadine gets more focus here, and at first seems to be a standard cliche – Carmine sees her at the start of this volume and thinks “so this is what tsunderes are like”. But she also has to be imprisoned in order for Carmine’s plot to not get discovered too early, and it becomes apparent that she’s the most “normal” of the three girls – and therefore the most vulnerable, especially as she’s not put in a gilded tower like Vera-Sylvie, but put in the traitor dungeon, which is exactly what you’d expect a cliched dungeon to be like. Carmine literally has to send an ally to help her so that she doesn’t kill herself in despair. But her simpleness is also her best quality – she’s determined to mold him into a good Emperor, and though she can’t spot the act consciously like Rosaria can, she does spot it unconsciously – and when the truth is revealed, seems overjoyed to be of use to him after all. These are good kids.

By the end of the book Carmine is 12, in power, and in trouble. We’ll see if he can age further in the third book. This can be dry at times, but is also rewarding for those who like OP politics light novels.

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 14

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joshua Douglass-Molloy.

This is one of the lengthier volumes in the series, as the author notes in their afterword. That said, by the end of it, there’s really only one new piece of information, and I’m not sure where we’re going to go with it. The rest of the book is made up of the usual romantic stasis (Jeord, having once again forced a kiss, ends up getting a fever and taking the rest of the volume off), with one exception that I’ll get to. And there’s also the continuing story of what’s going on with all the black magic and who’s behind it, which we get closer to, but have not quite arrived at an endgame. In other words, this volume is full of sound and fury. That said, Katarina’s clueless narration is always pleasant, and the book is definitely fun to read much of the time. But as always, anyone who came to this from the anime has likely dropped it ages ago.

Katarina and the others attend a palace ball, and given that Maria and her family were recently attacked, this includes extra bodyguarding in Cyrus, who is forced to have to deal with women. Katarina, meanwhile, is delighted to find a kindred spirit, as another woman is also eating far too much food and being chided by her brother for it. This is Haru and her brother Ryo, and as the names might have suggested, they’re from this world’s version of Japan. And, the two plots dovetailing nicely, it turns out that Haru is in love with Cyrus, and has been lurking around palace balls trying to pin him down. This all culminates in a visit to Cyrus’ lands, which are having a disturbingly familiar problem… animals are disappearing from the nearby forest. Is Katarina going to have to fight another dragon?

I try not to be a shipper in these reviews, but sorry, a great deal of this book is devoted to setting up Maria and Cyrus, which is naturally going to make my MariKata heart sad. Katarina, as ever, is very canny about everyone else’s romantic relationships but not her own – she even pegs Haru as the second’ otome game’s version of Mary, and she’s absolutely correct, right down to the rejection that inevitably comes. The key difference between Fortune Lover I and II in Katarina’s universe is that unlike the first book, where almost all the events were killed off by Katarina’s niceness, the second game’s events are actually happening, making it harder for her to avoid her doom. Though she’ll give it a try, as long as she can use her magical staff like a vacuum cleaner (the best part of the book).

The big revelation here is that Sarah, our increasingly distressed villain, is a childhood friend of Raphael’s “alter ego” Sirius. How that plays out will need to wait for the next book. For hardcore fans.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 10

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Just when you thought it was safe to forget about otome games… Yes, that’s right. We had the main game that Aileen needed to destroy. Then we had the sequel. Then we had the other sequel. Then we had the fandisk. But at last, they have run out of game to use, and Aileen and Claude can relax and get down to the important business of Aileen giving birth. Unfortunately, guess what? That’s right, it turns out there’s another game, seemingly unrelated, but in reality it ties into all the other games in a very “legal grey area” sort of way. And you know what that means. War with Ellmeyer, Claude being offered an out by marrying someone else, and Aileen being offered certain death. It’s a bit less “if I make one wrong move I’ll be executed” this time around – Aileen is an old hand at this sort of thing by now – but it’s nice to get back to the basics.

Claude is off to the Kilvas Empire, and for once, Aileen is not coming along. She’s pregnant, after all, and all the games that could destroy her life have been conquered, so what’s to worry about? Oh dear. As it turns out, as noted above, we’re headed into the plot of Valkyrie of the Magic Lance, and Lilia is DELIGHTED to tell Aileen all about it, gleefully noting all the ways that the entire country could be plunged into chaos. So naturally Aileen does have to come along, promising to be very careful, of course. They’re there to attend a wedding of Vica, a young man who looks a lot like Claude, and Diana, a military Valkyrie who seems a bit… obsessive? Aileen being Aileen, she decides to pretend she’s an airheaded trophy wife, and discovers that Diana has secret plans… which involve a military coup.

Diana is one of the more unpleasant women we’ve run into in this series, and since it’s a 2-parter that will conclude with the 11th (and final) volume, we get pretty much no softening of her at all. Instead, we get a few hints that she’s the same as Aileen and Lilia – that is, she’s a Japanese reincarnation. Sadly, she’s also a bit of an idiot, thinking that everyone will just move all the budget of her empire to the military with no arguments. Vica is far more interesting, as he’s Claude’s mirror in many ways, and the two can’t help but feel sympathetic towards each other. And then there’s Aileen, who promises to take it easy, and then does not remotely take it easy. Fortunately, the kid inside her seems of hardy stock. Those who read this book to see Aileen be clever, figure things out, and then leave it all for Claude to do the heavy work while she manages everything behind the scenes will be delighted.

The book ends with (of course) Aileen and Lilia giving birth at the exact same time to twin daughters. (Lilia literally says that she thinks of her child as the result of her relationship with Aileen. Poor Cedric.) Unfortunately, the bad guys got away at the end of this book. So I’m sure Book 11 will have Aileen fighting her fate again.

The Manga Review: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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As we celebrate another Pride Month, now is a good time to remember that books by queer creators are among the most challenged books in American libraries. There are a number of small things that you can do, however, to ensure that readers can continue accessing This One Summer, Flamer, Our Colours, and Gender Queer: A Memoir. One is to support the work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which has been helping schools and libraries challenge book bans since 1986. As the CBLDF’s latest newsletter points out, activists regularly target manga and graphic novels on the grounds that stories with images have a uniquely powerful effect on young readers. The American Library Association, which compiles data on banned books, is another organization worthy of your support. The ALA has created a number of resources for combatting censorship, offering advice on how to challenge a banned book, how to make a meaningful impact at a school or library board meeting, and how to report book censorship in your community. These tools aren’t just for librarians; anyone can use them to defend readers’ right to access books.

NEWS, VIEWS, AND INTERVIEWS

Lynzee Loveridge interviews Sumiko Arai, the creator of breakout hit The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All. [ANN]

UDON has joined a long list of companies that are no longer distributing comics through Diamond. Brigid Alverson has the details. [ICv2]

Josh Piedra has the skinny on the latest licensing announcements from Seven Seas. [The Outerhaven]

Wondering what’s new in stores this month? Katy Castillo has you covered with a comprehensive list of manga, books, and light novels slated for June release. [Yatta-Tachi]

The folks at Anime Feminist want to know: what’s the rarest manga in your collection? (FWIW, my answer would be Four Shojo Stories.) [Anime Feminist]

Muraktama Rodrigues explains why you should be reading Golden Kamuy. [How to Love Comics]

In honor of Pride Month, Anime UK News discusses “the anime and manga characters that break gender norms, the ones who do not conform to the binary, the ones who celebrate who they are and make us love them, regardless of how they choose to identify.” [Anime UK News]

Last but not least, the latest issue of the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics offers an in-depth essay by scholar Ashley Morningstar, who argues that “Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon helped spark a turning point in the shōjo genre, introducing a subversive trend of action-oriented narratives that featured fighting girl protagonists.” [Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics]

REVIEWS

Erica Friedman recommends Class X, an “obscure but wonderfully astonishing story”… Kara Dennison weighs in on Snowball Earth, a new VIZ title… and Jackson Brown is back with a fabulous review of The Great Snake’s Bride. “Don’t let the winking and nudging and giggling from us adult children fool you,” he notes. “The Great Snake’s Bride by Fushiashikumo is a brilliantly crafted story about family, trauma, healing, and how to find kinship in unlikely places. Alongside these themes is a salient commentary on womanhood and misogyny, which is expected from a gothic tale, and this manga is a fitting contribution to the genre.”

New and Noteworthy

Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series

* Complete series review

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 12

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By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andrew Schubauer.

Given that a large chunk of this series consists entirely of the same goddamn thing over and over again (Haruka going from level to level of a dungeon, battling monsters, and gaining new power-ups/items), I hope you won’t be too disappointed that I talk about things I’ve talked about in previous reviews. The series’ reputation, both here and in Japan – indeed, more in Japan than here – is that its writing is incoherent and obtuse. This is true. It’s also clear that the author is trying, and slightly succeeding, in making that deliberate. Haruka is so busy telling us about the stream of church guards that he and Nefertiri are slaughtering and the cool +30 Eccentric Item Set A he’s acquired that he glosses over the abused, mentally broken slaves they’re freeing as they do this, the sheer fury that they’ve got on their faces, and Haruka’s battle with trying to save everyone and not destroy his body. Oh, and his depression. Which he hints at briefly. Once.

Haruka and Nefertiri are sneaking into the Cathedral, there to essentially take down the church. On the way there, Haruka comes across a gorgeous woman in a coffin… but he’s just her dead body, there’s no soul. What’s more, seeing her makes Nefertiri start to cry, though she can’t quite remember why. They have to deal with a lot of goons, a lot of monsters (including the husband of his chickenatrice), and the mother of the bunny girl and wolf girl from the previous book, who was tricked by the church and is now in cursed armor. That said, killing the pope and the evil clergy only turns out to be part one of what they need to do, as there’s another dungeon emperor, and Haruka is pretty sure that if he finds them he’ll find the soul that belongs to the body he found earlier.

Haruka’s exterior face and tone when others see him talking don’t always match his narrative blather. Class Rep and the others are used to seeing when he’s actually serious and when he’s just being a loon, but the reader sees it less frequently. That’s why the highlight of the book, frankly, is his confrontation with Faleria, the aforementioned Dungeon Emperor and holy saint, who is drowning herself in guilt and asks Haruka to kill her. You can imagine how well he takes this, and for once it actually shows, as he literally slams her head against a wall multiple times to get her to accept that the people whose lives she is mourning would not want her to simply give up on her own life – indeed, the plot of this entire book was engineered centuries ago in the hopes that someone will come along to save her. Haruka’s not going to let anyone around him (especially a woman) be anything less than insanely happy. And yes, that’s why she falls in love with him.

There’s the usual character bio errors (what is it with these? It’s not just Seven Seas, all the publishers struggle immensely with matching a character bio with the picture), but otherwise this is well adapted… I’d say it reads smoothly but you know it doesn’t, and that’s by design. In any case, next time will likely be Haruka trying to fix his new body, which lacks all the stuff he learned before, so I expect *even more* dungeon crawling and *even more* sex. Recommended for masochists who like puzzles.

Manga the Week of 6/11/25

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SEAN: Summer is here, it’s getting too hot to read 800-page history books, but not too hot to read manga.

ASH: It’s getting close, some days.

SEAN: Yen On has a good 3/4 of the stuff it said was coming out today (though Yen Press itself got bumped). Secrets of the Silent Witch -another- (Silent Witch: Chinmoku no Majo no Kakushigoto -another-) is a spinoff of the main series, showing us the backstory of Monica’s minder and irritating smug colleague Louis.

This Is the Wizard’s Secret Weapon (Kore ga Mahoutsukai no Kirifuda) stars a swordsman tired of war. Despite having no magical aptitude, he decides to retire and go to a magic academy. Unfortunately, a) his sword skills mean he defeats everyone anyway, and b) the princess also attending wants him to get back to warring.

ASH: Poor guy.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Detective Is Already Dead 10, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 10, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Minor Myths and Legends 2, Ishura 9, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History 2, The Only Thing I’d Do in a No-Boys-Allowed Game World 2, Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend (the 14th book), Recommendations for Bad Children 2, and Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 8.

The debut for Viz Media is Girl Crush, a shoujo title from Comic Nicola. A young woman decides to be an idol, but though she’s technically perfect she lacks a certain something. Can she push past those barriers and become a star?

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ANNA: I don’t know!!!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 12, Call of the Night 20 (the final volume), I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 6, Komi Can’t Communicate 34, Minecraft: The Manga 2, Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet 2, and Rainbows After Storms 4.

Tokyopop has a BL one-shot, Sweet or Bitter Love (Ryouen to Akujiki). This from RED title is about a guy who seems to be down on himself, and goes to a marriage interview… only to find his chosen partner is his handsome, perfect co-worker!

ASH: Awkward!

SEAN: They also have Comic Party Wonder Love 3 (the final volume).

SuBLime have Black or White 2 and The World’s Greatest First Love 18

Square Enix Manga gives us My Isekai Life 19 and The Otaku Love Connection 2.

Seven Seas’ one debut is a sequel, I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love -double- (Koi wo Suru Tsumori wa Nakatta -double-). It ran in mellow kiss and is complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Oh! I really liked the first volume of this.

SEAN: They also have Berserk of Gluttony 12, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 10, Kageki Shojo!! 14, King the Land 2 (the final volume), My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files 3, Now That We Draw 2, Otonari Complex 4, Re:Monster 11, Rozen Maiden Collector’s Edition 2, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 16.

MICHELLE: A lot of good stuff here!

SEAN: And for danmei, we see Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 5 and Run Wild: Sa Ye 2.

One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of The Revenge of My Youth.

Kodansha’s print debut is an omnibus edition of Issak.

ASH: Oh! I’d somehow missed (or likely forgot) this was getting a print release. Pretty sure I need to read this.

ANNA: I’m curious about this.

SEAN: Also in print: The Darwin Incident 7, Dead Rock 2, The Fable Omnibus 8, Fall In Love, You False Angels 3, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 3, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 17, Sketchy 6 (the final volume), and Tank Chair 4.

For digital we get Gang King 30, Giant Killing 49, I Have a Crush at Work 10, Love, That’s an Understatement 6, and Nina the Starry Bride 15.

MICHELLE: Jeez, more good stuff!

ASH: Truth!

ANNA: Nina the Starry Bride, yay!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a pile of print. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga) Arc 3 Vol. 3, Black Summoner 5, Blade & Bastard 4, Hell Mode 8, the 6th omnibus of the Infinite Dendrogram manga, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Collector’s Edition 12, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13.

No debuts for J-Novel Club digitally. On the light novel side, we see Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 18, Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 6, and Pens Down, Swords Up 2.

On the manga side, we get Bibliophile Princess 9, Butareba 6, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 9, I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying 2, Mercedes and the Waning Moon 3, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 4, and Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! 5.

Ghost Ship has a 22nd volume of Parallel Paradise.

Airship, in print, has the 3rd and final volume of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince.

And for Early Digital, we see Failure Frame 12.

Lastly, ABLAZE has a PILE of titles, perhaps glaring at me given I tend to forget to add them to this list. We start with an Osamu Tezuka title, complete in one volume. Neo Faust is a late period Tezuka, and ran in Asahi Shinbun. A professor is trying to sort out his legacy. Unfortunately, so are others.

ASH: I do appreciate that Tezuka’s works seem to have been released from licensing purgatory.

SEAN: Petals of Reincarnation (Reincarnation no Kaben) is a horror manga that’s coming out in omnibus format here, and ran in Comic Blade. A young man who tends to be painfully average at anything he tries discovers there are people who borrow talents from their past lives…

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: ABLAZE also has Gannibal 4, Get Schooled 4, and Happyland 2.

There we go. What are you picking up?

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 19

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By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

Despite the cover art, which is meant to match with the previous volume, there is very little romance in this book, and there’s nothing resembling a wedding. Instead, for the most part, we get a half a book of talking and posturing, and then a half a book of a big shonen fight scene. We all know how much I love reviewing big shonen fight scenes. Did you know that these two really powerful characters fight, and for a while it looks like one is going to easily win, but then the other one pulls out some great moves and so it looks like he is going to win, but then the first guy says “I have told you before that all sorcery is useless against me!” and turns the tables again… etcetcetc. On the bright side, I definitely think we’re getting near the end of the series, as this volume ends very badly for our protagonists.

After letting the bad guys stew for a week or so while Zagan and Nephy admire their engagement rings, they finally go to meet with Marchiosas for the first meeting of all the Archdemons in a long, long time. While there, Marchiosas explains why he’s called the meeting: the entire world is going to be destroyed in about a year’s time, because Alshiera’s barrier is finally breaking down. They throw around ideas to try to fix things, but there really aren’t any good ones. After this goes on for a while, Marchiosas boots out Zagan and half the cast and talks to the most important one there, Furcas, who is the only one who actually CAN save the world. Unfortunately, Marchiosas and Furcas are talking at cross-purposes, because Marchiosas wants to save the world by rescuing Alshiera… and replacing her with Lilith, who will become the new living battery. Furcas does not find this an attractive offer.

So yeah, there’s a LITTLE bit of romance here, and it revolves around the only love triangle in this series. Selphy has been fighting a losing battle from the start, as the only gay character in a series that pairs everyone very heterosexually. She knows that Furcas is madly in love with Lilith. She also knows that Lilith, once she actually figures this out and examines her own feelings, will likely return those feelings. So she hates Furcas… but also knows he’s a good person, so is forced, here at the big penultimate battle, to use an “I want my beloved to be happy” move that leaves her half-dead. Good news, though, she’s far from alone. By the end of this book, Furcas, Zagan, Nephy, Foll, and several other people are heavily wounded, and Zagan is actually in a coma. Oh, and one of our heroines is also kidnapped. Basically, it’s a darkest before the dawn moment.

When is the dawn? Well, Book 20 is due out in Japan next month, so it will probably be a while. Fans of the series, especially if they like cool battles with magic powers and punching things, will enjoy this.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 10

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

With apologies to Dorothy Parker. At one point in this volume, Yoshin and Nanami are scuba diving in Hawaii, and as they are about to surface, a school of dolphins goes by next to them. And they see two dolphins who seem to be together, and who Nanami watches closely, and as she waves at the dolphins… they seem to be crying. And it is that point, my darlings, that makes the first place in the tenth volume of An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up. I realize that the entire PURPOSE of this series is to deliver overly cute, couple-y scenes that make the reader go “awwwwwww” and make everyone around this googly-eyed couple sick. But I fear that we have perhaps reached a bit too far when the scene near the end where they exchange promise rings and pretend to get married is, somehow less sugary sweet than this scene.

At last, we are on the long-rumored class trip volume, and it is in Hawaii, on the main island. Yoshin and Nanami have been told by their parents to use this trip to get even closer to each other, and have been told by their teachers that they’d better watch themselves because, as everyone seems to know (including them), the moment that these two give in and kiss with tongue they won’t be able to stop and she will get pregnant. Fortunately, there are other really adorable couple things to do, like a nighttime sneak to the hotel pool, the aforementioned scuba diving, a trip to the beach to show off new swimsuits, and a shopping trip to purchase rings that leads to the oldest church in Hawaii (yes, the author very clearly wrote this based on their own trip), where they exchange vows, to the amusement of the elderly priest who catches them in the act. But do they get any closer? Do they finally do it?

Of course not. This is not the final volume, after all. But they do have a bath together, and she does accidentally see him naked in the shower. And they sleep in the same bed two days in a row. That will have to do for these dorks. There’s also a lot more of the other token male classmate in this series, Hatsumi, who is a mild, friendlier version of the “horndog friend of the protagonist” we get in romcoms like this. We also get the beta couple of this series, Teshikaga and Shirishizu, wop become a couple on this trip, and (it is implied) have already gone further than our main couple. Let’s be honest, Yoshin and Nanami are both essentially perfect in every way, so we have to accept the fact that she can’t even let Yoshin touch her boobs without having an aneurysm and calling the whole thing off. C’est la vie.

Next up seems to be Christmas, with the obligatory sexy Santa cover outfit. Till then, recommended for everyone who likes sweeter than pie romcoms.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/3/25

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Detectives These Days Are Crazy!, Vol. 1 | By Masakuni Igarashi | One Peace Books – Back in the day, Keiichiro Nagumo was a renowned teen supersleuth. Unfortunately for him, his past successes didn’t follow him into his middle age, very few people remember who he is, and making ends meet is a struggle. Enter Mashiro, a high school girl who, seemingly out of nowhere, is determined to become his assistant whether he likes it or not. Although this doesn’t really help much with his finances, it does help him solve a case or two. Mashiro’s approach to life is incredibly chaotic and over-the-top, but she does prove to be surprisingly capable. I actually went into the series expecting it to be a little more serious than it turned out to be; Detectives These Days Are Crazy! is an unquestionably comedic work with running gags, ridiculous characters, and just enough plot to hold it all together. Realistic? Absolutely not. Amusingly absurd? Generally so. It’s silly fun. – Ash Brown

Kase-san and Yamada, Vol. 4 | By Hiromi Takashima | Seven Seas – There’s two main plots in this volume—or, rather, one plot which leads to the other. Kase and Yamada decide they’re going to move in together, and go looking for the perfect apartment. (Coincidentally, they eventually find it next to Yamada’s best friend, as this cast is small.) Unfortunately, this really upsets Kase’s roommate Fukami, who is in love with her but repressed about it, and thinks Kase is moving in with her boyfriend. This ends up turning into a big event, whose outcome is never in doubt, but which at least allows that romantic side street to be permanently closed off. Also, as has been the case ever since they moved magazines, these two are far more innocent than they were, sex-wise. But this is still adorable. – Sean Gaffney

Merry Witches’ Life: The Three Widows of Berlebagille, Vol. 1 | By Menota | Tokyopop – Although she’s a witch, Eliza has never been very good at the craft, ultimately leaving her secluded community of magic users to live among humans. But when her beloved (non-witch) husband Clive passes away and she meets another recent widow, she decides to return to her magical studies in an effort to become powerful enough to bring their husbands and the husband of another close friend back to life. While the underlying premise is rather morose and the series legitimately explores grief and sadness, overall Menota prioritizes gentle humor and the quirkiness of the characters. The appeal of the manga is found in its kindness and charm, the silly little details in the world- and character-building that prevent the series from becoming too bleak even when earnestly dealing with serious matters. It isn’t without drama and bittersweetness, but I don’t doubt that everything will turn out okay in the end. – Ash Brown

Rainbows After Storms, Vol. 3 | By Luka Kobachi | Viz Media – Nanoha and Chidori… are dating. But… they’re keeping it a secret from everyone. Yes, the tag line that would not die is present all throughout this third volume, which shows, at least in the case of Nanoha’s younger sister, how bad they are at actually hiding it from anyone who’s really watching. Honestly, I suspect their other three friends have figured things out as well, and were just trying to be polite. The back half of this book is a sleepover of the group of five girls, and it leans into the main reason to read this series, which is cute, cute, cute. We get Chidori with glasses (cute!), a karaoke session (cute!), etc. That said, if this tagline lasts the entire series, I may be ready to leap out a window by the end of it. – Sean Gaffney

Tamaki and Amane | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Yen Press – I had not actually realized this was a short story book. That said, it’s a linked short story book—each story focuses on the relationship between someone named Tamaki and someone named Amane. A married couple worry after the mother catches her daughter kissing another girl, and the husband thinks about (but doesn’t say out loud) about his own gay attraction in high school. The other stories are in different time periods, and some are more tragic than others, but all of them tend towards frustration and melancholy. Which is not surprising, as Yoshinaga is very, very good at this sort of thing—I was tearing up a couple of times while reading this. If you love the author it’s a must-buy, but it’s also good for LGBT fans or those who just like well-written drama. – Sean Gaffney

365 Days to the Wedding, Vol. 7 | By Tamiki Wakaki | Seven Seas Rika and Takuya are ready to get down and dirty, and you know what that means… arm touching. Yup, Rika’s still not remotely ready for anything further, and fortunately, the text insists that’s fine, even if the reader may be getting a little exasperated by now. The bulk of this book is taken up with visiting Takuya’s parents. (Rika’s mother is avoiding her, and this is clearly going to be a drama bomb in a later book.) There, we find that they’ve accepted Rika, but that things are not going very well at home—his grandmother has gotten to the point where she cannot run her farm any more, and so Takuya is asked to move home, as his dad has to take over the farm. What will this mean for his relationship with Rika… and will he even be able to bring it up with her? Cute. – Sean Gaffney

Virgin Marriage: A Maiden’s Voyage into Passion’s Embrace, Vol. 1 | By Chizu Aoi | Steamship – A couple have an arranged meeting and bond over the fact that they’re both nerds with specialized obsessions. They’re soon married, but a year after they wed they still haven’t had anything approaching sex, and both are starting to get frustrated. This first volume is about them trying to communicate this with each other, figure out what makes the other person feel good, and how far they can take things before they need to back away. There is a lot of nudity and sexual explicitness, but they’re definitely starting slowly, not helped by her getting a part-time job with a coworker who doesn’t know she’s married and shows interest. If you enjoy shoujo manga about two shy nerds but wish there was more … manual manipulation, this is for you. – Sean Gaffney

Wash It All Away, Vol. 1 | By Mitsuru Hattori | Square Enix Manga – This story, about a young woman who has lost most of her memories running a laundry service in a seaside town, feels like it is written almost entirely for those who want long, lingering looks at the heroine. Throughout the book, she makes… not sexy poses per se, but poses that show off to the reader how attractive and compelling she is. Honestly, at times it distracts me from the rest of the book, which is a fairly standard “girl is a breath of fresh air to all the townspeople who interact with her” title. There’s a brief hint that we may eventually find out what happened to her—she has a flashback to a far more depressed and run-down version of herself on a roof—but for the most part this is content to run on vibes. It’s OK. – Sean Gaffney

Welcome to Olivia’s Magic Jewelers, Vol. 1

by

By Rinrin Yuki and Suzaku. Released in Japan as “Olivia Maseki Houshokuten e Youkoso: Ka to Mise wo Oida Sareta no de, Outou ni Mise wo Kamaetara, Naze ka Moto Konyakusha to Gimai no Kekkonshiki ni Dero to Iwaremashita” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

The trouble with having so many light novels is that you cannot possibly read everything. This goes double for light novels written for women, because it used to be we never had those. The villainess craze may be annoying people as much as the isekai craze these days, but it has brought to English translation a solid number of series for young women. But you can’t read everything. And thus you have series like this one, which is a good book. Likable protagonist, the traditional evil stepparents and stepsisters are, for the moment, given short shrift, and the romantic lead is attractive and clearly likes Olivia, though I wish he’d tell her who he really is. The main trouble is – why should you read this when you can just read Dahlia in Bloom instead?

When we first meet Olivia’s she’s having a very bad year. Her parents died, and her father’s brother, who took her in, seems to be evil. her fiance started to be less interested in her and more interested in her stepsister. And now she’s being accused of stealing her stepsister’s designs, and thrown out of the house. She then remembers a letter her late father gave her, which turns out to say that if she’s ever in trouble, go to the capital and look up his old friend Gordon. So, after a brief cranky run-in with a nice young man who called her the wrong thing, she ends up at the capital… where the same nice young man directs her lost self to Gordon, who turns out to run a magic artifact shop. Which is good, as it turns out that’s what Olivia is brilliant at.

This is what I call a 4/4 book. Not meaning four points out of four, but rather that it’s in 4/4 time and every plot beat hits on the beat, with no variation. It’s a pure Cinderella story, with Olivia meeting a handsome young man who becomes her friend (and is clearly far more powerful than she knows), exchanging her evil stepmother and stepsister for a parental boss, impressed co-workers, and an older sister type who makes sure that she doesn’t overdo it… well, no, nothing can stop Olivia from overdoing it. Even in books where they’re NOT reincarnated after working to death in Japan (which this one is – no Japan whatsoever), our heroine is trying to impress dead parents, her mentor, and the entire world, which still apparently thinks she’s a thief. (It turns out no one who knows Olivia at all believes this, but that doesn’t really matter when it’s a rumor.) Basically, even if she’s perfect she can never quite match the perfection in her head, so she tends to run on insecurity, despite literally winning a legendary award that will revolutionize the industry by page 140 or so.

This has at least one more volume,l which promises (ugh) more of her evil stepparents and stepsister. It’s good. I liked it. But you don’t have to read it unless you read literally everything.