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Manga Giveaway: Oresama Teacher Giveaway

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The end of October is quickly approaching which means it’s time for another monthly giveaway at Experiments in Manga! For this month’s giveaway, everyone participating will have the chance to win Oresama Teacher, Volume 1 by Izumi Tsubaki as published in English by Viz Media. Oresama Teacher isn’t the newest series, but it is one that I recently started reading and quickly fell in love with. Since these giveaways are in part meant to help me spread my love of manga, it made since to me to include Oresama Teacher in the fun, too. Oh, and as usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Oresama Teacher, Volume 1

I’m not sure exactly why it is, but I really enjoy manga about delinquents. There’s just something about ruffians with hearts of gold that warms my own heart. Granted, not all delinquents in manga are so benevolent, and some series can be quite brutal, but I tend to enjoy those as well. Whether a manga takes a more comedic or more dramatic approach the the pervasive delinquent character type there’s usually some sort of well-deserved ass-kicking involved which, in general, is something that I can appreciate. All that being said, I’m a little uncertain why it took me so long to give Oresama Teacher a try considering the prominence of delinquents and ex-delinquents in the story, but now that I have I am completely hooked. And I am completely okay with that.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Oresama Teacher, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite manga delinquent. (If you don’t have a favorite, or haven’t encountered any, simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

It’s as easy as that. Giveaway participants can earn up to two entries and have one week to submit comments. If needed or preferred, comments can also be sent to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com which I will then post here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on November 1, 2017. Best of luck to you all!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Oresama Teacher Giveaway Winner

Yokai Rental Shop, Vol. 1

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By Shin Mashiba. Released in Japan as “Yokai Nii-san” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine GFantasy. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amanda Haley, Adapted by Julia Kinsman.

Those who are familiar with this author’s previous series, Nightmare Inspector (released by Viz, though I think Yen Press has the digital rights now), will be very familiar with the sort of series this is. There’s a mysterious shop where people come to have wishes granted that they can’t quite achieve using normal means. An eccentric shopkeeper hooks them up with a yokai monster that will theoretically give them what they want. In reality, of course, almost all the customers are selfish and warped individuals who need to get what’s coming to them instead, and karmic retribution is not all that far off. Into this fairly typical setup walks Hiiragi, a salaryman who’s just found he has a half-brother – who turns out to be the proprietor of said shop. His heartwarming meeting with his brother instead becomes a long stream of reaction takes as Hiiragi slowly realizes who that brother really is.

There are two very good reasons to read this series. The first, as with the artist’s other series, is the compelling artwork, which draws the eye in and entertains you even when the story being told is predictable. I especially liked Karasu’s overdramatic dynamic entry, as he drops into his shop from the ceiling for no apparent reason other than to look cool (which honestly, given he’s almost totally covered in bandages, I think he has going for him anyway). And the yokai look scary when they need yo, also important given this is at heart a horror sort of series. The other big plus is Hiiragi, who starts off somewhat nebbish but gets better as he reacts against the supernatural events going on around him. His inner tsundere comes out when he’s dealing with his brother, who he immediately tries to force to eat healthier, and it leads to some very funny situations. He also can drive the plot due to pigheaded stubbornness, always a valued trait in a straight man protagonist.

The downside is that there’s not much in these stories that you haven’t seen done elsewhere many times before. It’s an anthology of “be careful what you wish for” stories. I’d joked that this was something of a gender-reversed xxxHOLIC, and the two do share similarities, but unfortunately Karasu just isn’t as interesting or funny as Yuko was, though he tries. And the fact that all the customers have, for the most part, unlikeable and selfish motivations makes it pretty hard to root for anyone – even the bully who wants something to help him avoid getting beaten up breaks the rules the moment he gets a chance to. You’re left only caring about our heroes, which is not what you want to see in a horror anthology manga.

Still, overall the good outweighs the bad, and the series is only four volumes long, which is about right if you’re doing a shop with the customer-of-the-week. If you like hot supernatural guys who makes bad things happen to bad people, or just like cool art, Yokai Rental Shop is worth picking up.

Also, it gets bonus points for the “Fake news!” translation/adaptation.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/23/17

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Helvetica Standard: Bold | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – This is a classic example of “not essential but fun,” and comes in three parts. The first is the Helvetica Standard 4-komas, which are essentially Nichijou without the main cast (though we get a cameo or two). They’re funny and strange, not in that order. The second part is Nichijou 4-komas that Arawi wrote for bookstores to promote the series. They’re pretty much what you’d expect, and a few were even used for anime gags (Mai eating the soap bubble). The third part is some miscellaneous stories and some artwork, including a Nichijou Hanafuda set I’d desperately love to buy. If you loved Nichijou, this is a good purchase. Only get it if you did, though. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 15-16 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – Seirin vs. To-Oh is STILL the main thrust of this volume, and it’s STILL just as exciting as you might imagine. At least for the first half or so. After the end of the game, which features Kuroko (remember him? The title character?) coming up with a really clever reversal of his usual move and THE ZONE playing a major part, we see what you’d expect—some celebration from the winning team, and some introspection from the losers. We also get a cliched American Girl—the “Alex” that Kagami had mentioned training with earlier—who gives us some fanservice, which we apparently need every three volumes or so. On to the next game, which will be tough—the next opponent shut out their rivals, which is ludicrous but oh well. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 26 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – I was right: Alibaba and Harukyu clashed horribly in this volume. Alibaba is a nice guy, and that’s not going to change—you’re never going to see him be all cynical and bitter. As a result, he’s like antimatter to Harukyu, who’s filled with so much power AND anger that he can’t remotely control it anymore. Once Alibaba tells him he’s not here to start the killings against those who have wronged them, a battle is the only answer. We also see Judar and Aladdin fight, and Aladdin gets to show off some sweet moves. But it’s all about that cliffhanger—how crippled is Harukyu now, and is Alibaba actually going to be killed off? Well, no, it’s unlikely. But it makes for a nice cliffhanger, doesn’t it? – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 26 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – I know I frequenly congratulate Magi for being more complex than your average shounen manga, but seriously… when’s the last time you heard a shounen antagonist tell the hero “You are so calculating and hypocritical that it makes me sick!” A riveting battle between former friends Hakuryu and Alibaba ensues, with the tragedy of it all being that Hakuryu isn’t entirely wrong about Koen and could have still been a valuable ally against Al-Thamen if not for the pain and anger that has led him down a seemingly irredeemable path. Alibaba doesn’t want to fight, but learning that the people of Balbadd might soon be subjected to Hakuryu’s mind-controlling tactics leaves him little choice. It’s a dramatic confrontation with a cliffhanger ending, which makes me wonder just how intense the final ten volumes of the series will be! – Michelle Smith

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 3 | By Rei Toma | VIZ Media – Each volume of The Water Dragon’s Bride seems to flow past so quickly, thanks in particular to the clear and simple artwork, particularly in the scenes in which Asahi and the water dragon god are together. In this volume, we get glimpses of the three days per year they’ve spent together as Asahi has grown up, during which his opinion of humanity seems to have warmed. Or, at least, he’s willing to consider Asahi’s wishes when some men from another village attack, hoping to gain her supposed powers for themselves. There’s some low-key jealousy with Subaru, and the love triangle is poised to get more complicated going forward, but there’s just a special feel about this series that makes the scant plot seem more substantial. I’m optimistic they’ll be some satisfying payoff soon. – Michelle Smith

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 8 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Manga – While I could quibble with the anticlimactic arrival of the Yellow Dragon, it does lead to a really important question—what does Yona intend to do now that all of her dragon warriors have been assembled? Will she attempt to retake the throne? As Jaeha points out, she may see Su-Won as a traitor, but the rest of the nation might see things differently. And, indeed, after she decides that she won’t be able to help the people from within the walls of a palace, we get a story about Su-Won not only earning the loyalty of the Earth Tribe’s general but he also finding a couple of ways to boost the economy of the region. I like the idea that Su-Won might not really be an enemy, and that maybe Yona’s dad was a pretty lousy king after all! Looking forward to more, as always. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Sports vs. Supernatural

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SEAN: As regular readers know, I’m a sucker for NISIOISIN titles, and therefore my pick of the week is Vertical’s release of Imperfect Girl, which will no doubt be twisted yet fun.

MICHELLE: And I am a sucker for sports manga, so it’s the second volume of Shojo FIGHT! for me.

KATE: I’m torn between the second volume of Toppu GP and the second volume of Shojo FIGHT!, both of which I enjoyed immensely. I’m also looking forward to Yokai Rental Shop, if only because it seems like a seasonally appropriate debut.

ANNA: The first volume of Shojo FIGHT! had a unique art style and managed to pack an entire season’s soap opera plots into just one volume. It also served as more of a prequel, setting up the characters and plot areas as everyone moves on to high school at the end. I’m looking forward to the second volume.

ASH: The debut of Yokai Rental Shop is where it’s at for me! Although the basic premise of the manga isn’t especially novel, my love of yokai knows no bounds and I was rather fond Nightmare Inspector, one of the creator’s earlier series.

My Week in Manga: October 16-October 22, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Well, it was a very quiet week at Experiments in Manga last week. I was hoping to post my review of the first omnibus of Takako Shimura’s Sweet Blue Flowers, but a variety of things came up–little dude’s preschool open house, helping family members with their cross-country move, spending most of a day on the road for an out-of-state taiko performance, to name just a few. But never fear! I’ll almost certainly be posting the review later this week instead. I haven’t been online much recently either, but I did catch a couple of thing of interest last week. The first was an announcement from Dark Horse, which will be releasing Kentaro Miura’s official Berserk guidebook in March of next year. The second was Brigid Alverson’s discussion with Akira Himekawa, the two-person creative team behind most of the manga adaptations of The Legend of Zelda.

Quick Takes

Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 6Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 6-7 (equivalent to Volumes 11-13) by Inio Asano. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve read the fifth omnibus of Goodnight Punpun, but in reality it’s only been a few months. Perhaps it seems so long since Goodnight Punpun can be such a hard-hitting, exhausting experience which requires time to fully recover between volumes. (At least, that tends to be the case for me.) Goodnight Punpun is a surreal and extremely dark coming-of-age story. The series is intense, easily earning its explicit content warning with the manga’s portrayal of emotional, psychological, and physical violence. But while much of Goodnight Punpun is incredibly bleak, there are also moments of hope. Granted, that hope can also be extremely painful. Goodnight Punpun worked best for me when it was exploring the inner turmoil of its titular protagonist. I was actually frequently reminded of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human as the series approached its conclusion. The manga’s second major plot involving the cult wasn’t nearly as compelling or convincing, coming across as superfluous and tangential to me. But having now reached the end of Goodnight Punpun, I find that I want to read it again. The manga has multiple layers to it and I’m fairly certain there are elements that I either missed entirely or didn’t fully appreciate my first time through the series.

Waiting for Spring, Volume 1Waiting for Spring, Volume 1 by Anashin. Although the basic premise of Waiting for Spring makes it seem like the manga’s setup could easily slip into a reverse harem territory, after reading the first volume I don’t think that’s the direction Anashin will be taking with the series. However, it does still look like there will be at least some romantic rivalry involved. If there’s one thing that Mitsuki wants from high school, it’s to finally make some friends. She’s having a difficult time of it, though. The other young women in her class aren’t really hostile towards her, but she hasn’t been able to really connect with them, either. But things start to change when she gets mixed up with and is unexpectedly befriended by the four stars of the men’s basketball team. In general, most of the relationships in Waiting for Spring are very well done. The blossoming romance between Mitsuki and one of the basketball players is very sweet, but I’m particularly enjoying the friendships in the first volume. Mitsuki treats all of the guys like they’re real people. She isn’t blinded by their good looks and athletic talent (though she can still appreciate them) and doesn’t hesitate to give them what for when needed. This is actually something of a novelty for them, but it’s what allows their friendships with her to naturally develop. The already well-established relationships between the four young men are also very entertaining.

Attack on Titan Adventure: Year 850: Last Stand at Wall RoseAttack on Titan Adventure: Year 850: Last Stand at Wall Rose written by Tomoyuki Fujinami and illustrated by Ryosuke Fuji and Toru Yoshii. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure series and other types of gamebooks. (I’ve even held onto a few particularly well-loved volumes from my youth.) And so I was very curious about Last Stand at Wall Rose, an interactive novel set during the Battle of Trost which takes place early on in Hajime Isayama’s original Attack on Titan manga. The mechanics of Last Stand at Wall Rose are interesting, incorporating elements of roleplaying games. Since I’m used to standard branching-plot stories, the book wasn’t as linear as I was expecting and in some ways was even more interactive than I thought it would be. Keeping pencil and paper nearby while reading can be very useful. Last Stand at Wall Rose was fun, but I did find some of the formatting and gameplay to be annoying. The most egregious issue was the amount of unnecessary flipping of pages which made the narrative more disjointed than it otherwise would have been. I also almost wish that page numbers hadn’t been included since the novel’s navigation is based on a system of independently numbered story sections rather than pages. (Also of note: Readers of the first printing of Last Stand at Wall Rose will want to refer to the errata posted online.)

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 4

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

Realist Hero continues to keep my interest even as my teeth grind more and more at the mindset of the author and his characters, which is to its credit. Certainly there are similar isekais that did not hold my attention and have since been dropped (hi, Death March). It’s even more impressive given that, for the second volume in a row, this feels like a setup book, putting various things in place, introducing new technology that will no doubt be needed down the road, and (at last) finally answering one of the lingering questions of the series: why on Earth did the former King abdicate to Souma after merely having one conversation with him? And for fans of the romances, you not only get a new queen added to the mix, but Souma finally comes to terms with the fact that he is in this world for good, and that he is worthy of being loved, and is able to take that next step.

The girl on the cover is Roroa, who we’ve seen crop up in cameos before this book, here to save the day (despite Souma completely ruining her planned overdramatic entrance). Roroa is, in many ways, an Osaka stereotype transferred to the fantasy world: she not only has the sort-of-Southern accent, but is also far more of a merchant than she ever is a Princess. Yes, she’s the Princess in Amadonia, which is now fully incorporated into Elfrieden (which means the new name of the country is Friedonia, which I refuse to believe is by accident) and has presented herself as a prospective bride, Like other prospective brides we’ve seen in these sorts of series, she runs rings around Souma till he gives in. That said, she does look like a good addition, and it will be nice to see Souma try not to juggle economics quite as much. Oh yes, we also get a mad scientist girl, though she won’t be part of the harem. She is very much in the “ditzy teen genius” mode.

There is an extended plot here regarding slavery in this world, which I was less happy with. I accept that slavery in this fantasy world does not carry with it the baggage that it does in our own world, and that it seems to be more indentured servitude. But both Souma and the author seem to treat slavery as an intellectual problem to be solved, rather than as a monstrous evil. This is not unique to the isekai realm, of course, and I should be grateful that the protagonist doesn’t simply say “oh, slavery exists here” and shrug his shoulders like some others. It does add to my biggest beef with this series: it can be as dispassionate as its hero is, and as I’ve said before, seems like it’s one of those “dark/grey/independent” fics you always saw in Harry Potter written by teenagers who wondered what the world would be like if everything were more badass. (Hint: it involves hating Weasleys.) I like books to be fiction. I am less happy when they are thought experiments.

That said, when the book concentrates on its harem cliches, such as the relationship between Souma and Liscia, it may be less original, but it makes it more human. I hope we get a bit more of this going forward. I also hope the demon realm invades soon, as I really need Book 5 to not involve puttering around making new roads and discussing the Helsinki Accords. Mildly recommended to isekai fans.

Until Your Bones Rot, Vol. 1

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When Lois Duncan passed away in 2016, fans and critics alike fondly remembered her as the author of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the first great psychological thriller for teens. Duncan’s story took a tried-and-true plot and retooled it for younger readers, focusing on a quartet of teens who commit and conceal a crime, only to be stalked by an anonymous avenger. While the plot was pure potboiler, Duncan’s characterizations were remarkably realistic, convincingly depicting the confusion, uncertainty, and rashness of the teenage mind under extreme duress.

Until Your Bones Rot explores similar terrain as I Know What You Did Last Summer. Bones’ teen protagonists — Shintaro, Akira, Haruko, Ryu, and Tsubaki — are bound by a gruesome crime they committed when they were eleven years old. Artist Yae Utsumi doesn’t immediately reveal what, exactly, they did, though he plants tantalizing clues throughout volume one: a fleeting glimpse of a nighttime ritual, a nightmarish vision of a bloodied face. The plot is set in motion by an anonymous phone call threatening to expose the group unless they meet the caller’s demands. Though the five initially work together to protect their secret, fault lines soon develop within the group, particularly between Akira — the group’s alpha male — and Shintaro, the odd man out.

Utsumi handles the set-up with finesse, but his tone is less assured. Some passages feel like they’ve been ripped from Love Hina, with bikini-clad girls fawning over the nebbishy Shintaro; other passages read more like MPD Psycho, with characters doing disgusting things to dead bodies; and still other passages play out like a Very Special Episode of The OC in which one character silently copes with an abusive boyfriend. None of these scenes feel like they belong to the same story; about the only common thread that binds them is Utsumi’s fanservice, which gratuitously eroticizes a scene of sexual assault.

It’s a pity that the first volume is so uneven, as Utsumi makes a game attempt to create believable characters. Tsubaki and Shintaro, in particular, behave like real teenagers whose emotional and sexual attraction to one another is so overwhelming that they don’t know how to have a normal conversation or behave like friends; their one-on-one interactions suggest that both were deeply scarred by their participation in the murder, but lack the words — or the maturity — to say how it effected them, instead turning to each other for physical comfort. That’s a level of psychological nuance that Lois Duncan herself might have appreciated, even if Utsumi takes a few narrative shortcuts to establish the dynamic between Tsubaki and Shintaro.

And that, in a nutshell, is what makes Until Your Bones Rot so frustrating: Utsumi clearly understands the teenage mind, but can’t decide if he’s writing a finely observed psychological thriller or a junior-league Saw. The push-pull of these two different storytelling modes robs the most gory scenes of their horror and the most dramatic scenes of their poignancy, yielding a muddled stew of blood, boobs, and tears. Someone should make him read I Know What You Did Last Summer for a few pointers on how to walk the line between Grand Guignol and Afterschool Special more convincingly.

UNTIL YOUR BONES ROT, VOL. 1 • STORY AND ART BY YAE UTSUMI • TRANSLATION BY URSULA KU • KODANSHA COMICS • RATED 16+ (SEX, PARTIAL NUDITY, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE)

Manga the Week of 10/25/17

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SEAN: Honestly, thanks to Kodansha’s digital push, there are not even any medium weeks anymore. Every week is huge. Forever! Good news for manga fans, bad news for budgets.

ASH: So true!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 3rd Hatsune Miku:Rin-chan Now!, theoretically: the title’s been bumped 3 weeks in a row.

ASH: That’s not nearly as timely as the title might suggest.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a great deal out next week. We get the third volume of If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, which remains heartwarming and family-oriented… FOR NOW. (ominous thunder)

The polarizing light novel In Another World With My Smartphone just finished a polarizing anime just in time for Vol. 5. I’m hoping it stays laid-back and ridiculous.

And we’re almost done with My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World with the penultimate book, Vol. 6.

As you can guess, there’s a lot of Kodansha. Princess Resurrection has its 19th volume, on the Del Rey rescue front.

On the print front, we see a 3rd Aho-Girl, a 7th Heroic Legend of Arslan, a 3rd Land of the Lustrous (now with an anime), a 2nd Love & Lies, and a 2nd Toppu GP, for all your motocross needs.

MICHELLE: In real life, I’ve no interest in motocross, but Kate’s review convinced me I would probably enjoy Toppu GP. I’ll check it out soon, hopefully.

ANNA: It does sound interesting!

ASH: I need to catch up on so many of these!

SEAN: The print “debut” is Fairy Tail S, which collects some of the special “omake” chapters that have been released over the course of the series. Expect a lot of fanservice, meaning both nudity *and* ‘shout outs to fans”.

On the digital front, first off, Cosplay Animal 2 apparently came out already, though is not at all major online places. Next week, we have the 5th Altair: A Record of Battles, the 2nd Grand Blue Dreaming, the 4th Kounodori: Dr. Stork, the 5th Real Girl,, the 2nd Shojo Fight!, and the 4th Tsuredure Children.

MICHELLE: Yay for more Shojo Fight! Not that I’ve been able to read the first one yet…

ANNA: So behind, I bought the first couple volumes of Altair but haven’t read it yet. Maybe too much digital????

SEAN: There will also be a horror manga being debuted by Kodansha, but we don’t know what it is yet. Be prepared!

ASH: Always prepared for more horror manga.

SEAN: One Peace has everyone’s favorite girl and bear manga, Kuma Miko. This is the 6th volume.

Seven Seas has a plethora of titles as well. There’s a 2nd Alice & Zoroku, the third volume of Hatsune Miku spinoff Bad End Night, the 6th Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (always #1 on lists of “where is the light novel this was adapted from?), and a 4th Please Tell Me, Galko-chan!. That’s… quite a variety of genres there.

Their debut is Yokai Rental Shop (Yokai Nii-san), whose description makes it sound like xxxHOLIC with a gender-reversed Yuko. It runs in Square Enix’s GFantasy, and I think is that rare Seven Seas title that Michelle and MJwill want to check out.

MICHELLE: Interesting! I had been curious about the creator’s other licensed series, Nightmare Inspector, but never read any of it.

ASH: I’m very excited for this one; I really liked Nightmare Inspector!

MJ: Oooooooh, honestly I’ll check out anything from GFantasy. Okay, Seven Seas, you have intrigued me!

SEAN: The title that interests me the most this week is from Vertical Comics, who are debuting a manga series written by NISIOISIN. Imperfect Girl (Shoujo Fujuubun). Like a lot of Nisio titles, it has a supernatural bent, a twisted female lead, and lots of talking. The artist will also be familiar to North American readers for the series Sankarea. This series ran for 3 volumes in Young Magazine, so should be nice and compact.

ANNA: I’m cautiously intrigued.

ASH: I’m also rather curious about this one.

SEAN: Lastly, Viz has some digital-only titles as well, with the 3rd élDLIVE and the 2nd The Emperor and I.

Any of this interest you? Or are you saving up for MANGAGEDDON the week after next?

Chihayafuru, Vol. 4

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By Yuki Suetsugu. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Be Love. Released in North America digitally by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Ko Ransom.

The sign of a good series is that you care about the characters as if they were real people, and take joy in their triumphs and grieve at their setbacks. This can sometimes backfire, however, when you see the setbacks coming and think to yourself “Oh noooooo!”. The moment I saw Chihaya’s head throb, I knew immediately what was going to happen by the end of the volume, and it hurt. This is why this review is running somewhat late, because I really did not want to read what I knew was going to happen. It comes after a half volume of small triumphs and achievements, as they quality for the National Tournament, win over their faculty adviser, and slowly come together as a team, each character getting a little bit more to do and more for us to identify with. Then I saw that throbbing head. And I said “…she’s sick.” And yep. SO FRUSTRATING.

Arata gets the cover this time around, and fortunately also gets a chunk of the narrative, as we get to see the strong relationship he had with his grandfather from his POV, helping to explain why he was so devastated he abandoned Karuta. It’s portrayed very realistically: his grandfather is a vibrant, active guy who loves Karuta, but then he has a stroke, which brings memory loss and rehabilitation. And of course, this being a manga and thus obliged to observe the occasional cliche, he goes to the tournament and leaves his grandfather alone for a few hours. We all know how that’s going to turn out. It really helps bring Arata into focus and remind us that he is eventually going to be a major player in this series again, and I imagine seeing Chihaya and company here will act as a catalyst.

As for Chihaya, she does her best, and tries hard to hide her illness form everyone, but in the end they have to forfeit after she collapses. Naturally, after waking back up, she’s completely devastated, and I suspect Vol. 5 is going to have a lot of depression and self-hatred. We’ve been seeing a lot of sports titles over here lately, and usually when there’s something like this it’s a physical injury, such as a sprained ankle or somesuch. Of course, they usually deal with physical sports such as basketball or volleyball. When you have something like Karuta, which is a lot more physical than I expected but still played seated and relying primarily on memorization and strategy, a fever or nasty cold can be just as bad as that sprained ankle. It’s to the credit of the team that they kept playing after she had to forfeit, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll pick up after the tournament and deal with the fallout.

Chihayafuru remains one of the best digital titles Kodansha is releasing at the moment, and I hope my review of Vol. 5 (already out) will come sooner rather than later.

The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of the Rust Mountains

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By Kanata Yanagino and Kususaga Rin. Released in Japan as “Saihate no Paladin” by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by James Rushton.

I’m reviewing this as one giant book, but it actually came out as two books here, called ‘Primus’ and ‘Secundus’ – in fact, Amazon thinks that those are the titles, and forgot about the whole Rust Mountains thing. It works better to see them as one big book, though, which is what the author intended. The first volume simply stops, and the second picks up right where it left off – there’s no real attempt to separate them. As for the plot, our square-jawed hero and his elf friend are here to take down an ancient dragon, helped out by some old friends and some new dwarves, including one who becomes Williams’s squire, despite being of royal blood. He is told repeatedly that if he fights the dragon now he will die, and he should gain more power and influence by letting a few people be killed so he can take it down more easily. As you might imagine, that is not how William rolls.

William is the star of this series, and the narrative fits itself around him, meaning it too tends to be like he is – straightforward, a bit humorless, and painfully, PAINFULLY earnest. This is actually the main selling point of The Faraway Paladin, which is miles away from any other fantasy light novel we have out there – there’s not an ounce of cynicism or irony in it. William is Good and True, and he can do impossible things thanks to the help of his friends, the training of his parents, and MUSCLES, which he points out are awesome several times throughout the book. The closest we get to cynicism is the villain, who is a very well-done ancient dragon, and would very much like to tempt William into allying with him to that he can sow chaos. He should know better.

The book reads quickly, and the action sequences are very well done, with no confusion about what is happening at any time. I was a little annoyed with the introduction of a tsundere elf girl, whose sole purpose seems to be to get rid of the ho yay that existed between William and Menel (there’s a lot of teasing of William for not having found a girlfriend yet, further driving the point home). Al is a good addition to the cast – it fits that someone like William gets a squire that’s almost as serious-minded as he is, and the two work well together. The translation is also good, though the Kindle version I have has both the dragon and the Gods speaking in bold text, which can get very confusing when three of them are all speaking at once – perhaps one should have been italicized instead.

Again, if you want to read a light novel but are thoroughly sick of the cliches of the genre, this is an absolute must-read. It’s the Lord of the Rings starring Superman, basically. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.