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86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 1: The Reaper’s Occasional Adolescence

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

On the bright side, this is one of the short story volumes coming out in the same order it came out in Japan – this book was released after the 12th volume. So I don’t have to worry about events in this book spoiling future volumes of the main series that came out here first (Re: Zero, Index,. etc.). On the down side, I doubt I’ll have to worry about that anyway, as I think this is definitely one of the short story books you do NOT have to read in order to appreciate the main series. It’s made up of various stories that were released as bonuses when you purchased books at a specific bookstore, or a DVD/Blu-Ray release, etc. There are one or two stories new to this book, of course, but for the most part the ‘Alter.’ of the title is meant to show that this is a volume where we don’t have to worry about characters dying. That said, we do get a lot of dead characters in it. It’s just they’ve already died.

The book is largely divided into five chunks. The first bit deals with the cast back in the Republic, around the time of the first light novel. The second has events after getting to the Federation, both before and after Lena joins them. The third has a few stories set in the United Kingdom during those volumes, and the fourth has short stories that take place after that arc, basically filling in bits of Books 8-10 or so. The final story is a bonkers fourth-wall breaking paintball battle royale featuring every single character in all the novels, alive or dead, and can best be described as “what if Among Us relied on being able to pick out the right perfume?”

So this is fine, it’s just very hard to review. Leaving aside the final story, which is not meant to be taken remotely seriously and thank God for that, the stories can be divided into 1) Funny slice-of-life; 2) Sweet, heartwarming slice-of-life; 3) The 86 are just like this; and 4) Melancholic dream sequences involving the dead. The last of those probably hit the best for me. I really liked a story showing Shin celebrating a sakura festival by drinking sake, joined by Kaie and all the other comrades who were killed off over the course of the first book. It’s pointed out that if this had really happened while the team were alive, it could have been water, but in Shin’s imagination he can have a full-scale viewing party. And this is followed with a very funny scene where Lena, after drinking some of the sake, shows she’s a very bad and clingy drunk. The weakest part of the book was probably the birthday stories, which felt the most like they were being written to order.

Still, I would not mind a second one of these. Perhaps after the main series itself is over, though. Luckily, we’re back with 13 in a month or two, ominously titled The Deer Hunter. Please, let’s NOT have Lena and Shin playing Russian roulette.

Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1

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By Syuu and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Tefuda ga Ōme no Victoria” by MF Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight.

There is a commonly used expression that goes “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail”. That can apply to jobs as well. If you’ve been doing a job for almost twenty years, particularly if you’ve been doing it since you were eight years old, you get into certain habits. You look at people differently, you always check for easy exits and verify that no one has searched your room. And when problems crop up, even if they’re not necessarily problems you have to worry about, you try to solve those problems in the way you’re accustomed to. That’s the issue that Victoria, formerly Chloe, has in this book. She’s trying her hardest to turn over a new leaf, adapt to a peaceful life, and find happiness. But that pesky job of hers won’t let her alone… even when it’s in her own head.

Chloe has been a spy since the age of eight, sold by her parents, who needed money. She doesn’t hold that against them, though, and sends money and gifts back home to them and her sister for the next decade or two. But recently she discovered her family died in a fire, and that fact was kept from her so that it wouldn’t affect her spy work. Resolving to quit her job (impossible, as any spy will tell you), she fakes her death, moves two countries away, and takes on the identity of Victoria, a woman who’s been missing for ten years but whose appearance and age generally match our heroine. There she quickly gains a girl who was abandoned on the street by her mother and several jobs she takes on to make ends meet. Boy, she’s really good at those jobs. How did she learn all those talents while still being a commoner. Gosh, I hope she and the captain of the capital’s police force don’t fall for each other. Oh dear.

I always love it when I pick up a book I know little about and it blows me away, and this book did just that. I’m familiar with the author, who had two titles published earlier this year by Cross Infinite World. But this is another level better than both of those, in a genre that could almost be called “slice-of-life thriller”. Much of the book is watching Victoria gradually lower her guard and make friends with the denizens of this town, while still having to worry about getting caught by her old country, or anyone finding out what she used to do. The fact that she’s absolutely terrible at keeping a low profile is a selling point (the artwork finds all the best scenes to draw, usually involving her kicking a man in the head). And she and Jeffrey make an excellent couple. It’s just a book that’s fun to read, and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s also a book that really feels like it could end with this volume… were it not for one scene taking place back in Chloe’s homeland, which promises an ominous future threat from a spy who… well, honestly, is nowhere near Victoria’s level. She can handle it. But it’s definitely a sequel hook. In any case, very highly recommended to anyone who loves spy thrillers, cute romances, found family, and girls who beat the shit out of men.

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 4

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By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Once I’ve reviewed about two or three volumes in a series, I really should not have to worry about new readers when I write these things. New readers are not going to start a title like this with Vol. 4, it’s only going to be read by those who read the first three volumes. That said, I also know there are some folks who read my reviews just as a matter of habit, and may not know about this series. So, as such, fans of the series can skip to below the cut. Everyone else: Christ alive. This volume is absolutely drenched in “ha ha, pedophilia is funny!” humor, and you cannot escape it. There’s no actual pedophilia in the volume, the humor is all “a 12-year-old has a crush on the 19-year-old guy who saved her life, and the entire cast proceed to drag him for being a pedophile (and yes, the translation uses that rather than lolicon) over and over and over again, to the point of arresting him. But, again. This series is like that in general, about everything.

The humans and the demons, after the events of the last book, are holding a peace conference. This means the arrival of Princess Sylphonia’s siblings: older brother Anzel and younger sister Remiphinia. What’s more, Remiphinia is specifically there to meet Wolfe, who saved her life three years earlier when she was kidnapped by the demon forces. She’s fallen for him hard, and tries to get advice on how to make herself attractive to him (don’t be twelve, kid). Meanwhile, the main cast do a maid cafe… including Miter, who it turns out looks really good dressed in women’s clothing. Unfortunately, not everyone wants the humans and demons to make peace, and those who desire the extermination of all demonkind may be closer than the royal family thinks…

Liz is still, of course, the star of the show. For once she doesn’t get a late in the book power-up where she gains her memories briefly. Instead, throughout the book, her true self is just seeping through more and more, to the point where she’s unable to stop it most of the time. Taking photos of everyone as maids, giving salacious suggestions on how the young princess can get her man, or just using her forgotten hero training to perform superhuman acts and save the day, the line between the Liz who’s a student at the academy and the Liz who’s a horny succubus with insane power is growing thinner and thinner. That said, I’m not expecting her to be back for good until the end of the series, so it’s mostly just tease. As for the rest of the book, if you ignore everything about Remiphinia and Wolfe, it’s fun and funny, exactly what readers want. And, if I’m being honest, most readers of this series probably laugh at the pedophilia “wacky” humor as well.

The book has a cliffhanger that will presumably tie into the next in the series, which promises to have 100% more catgirls than this book. I the meantime, if you love maids or precocious twelve-year-olds, this is fine.

Pick of the Week: Suzuki, Snoopy and Porsches

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SEAN: I’ve loved Julietta Suzuki ever since the Karakuri Odette days, so my pick this week is definitely the debut of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite.

MICHELLE: “Big same!” to everything Sean said.

ANNA: I agree, a new Julietta Suzuki series is something to celebrate!

KATE: This week, I’m taking a chance on Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz, The Creator of Snoopy and Peanuts ; if nothing else, it will put me in the right frame of mind for my annual viewing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!.

ASH: I’ll have to admit, the release that I’m most interested in this week is probably KinnPorsche. Less because it’s a BL novel (granted, I really enjoy those!), but more because it’s being translated from Thai; very few Thai works of any genre have made it into English translation.

From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers, Vol. 1

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By Nekomata Nuko and Cut. Released in Japan as “Saikyō Death Beam o Uteru Salaryman, Isekai o Yuku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nolan Good.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I interest you in reviewing a fantastic debut light novel?”

“Aren’t you Aqua from KonoSuba?”

“Don’t be silly, sir, I’m nowhere close to being as well-written as Aqua!”

“…uh-huh. What do you have?”

“This is a new series about a young man who’s accidentally killed by a beautiful young goddess–”

“You?”

“(clearing throat)–and is transported to a new world with fantastic powers!”

“…what makes this different from 80 other books?”

“It has laser beams and beast people!”

“There are many other books with beast people, but I’ll grant you the laser beams. So he basically has a cool gun?”

“Oh no, his lasers can also be a shield, a broomstick so he can fly, they can heal, they can clean…”

“So it’s an “I can do anything I want” power.”

“But with laser beams!”

“And he struggles to get by and goes through character growth?”

“Oh hell no, he’s far too powerful for that! Everything is solved by the laser beams!”

“…and the beast girls?”

“Are totally in love with him, of course! One is plucky and one is tsundere!”

“Two girls.”

“Two girls SO FAR.”

“And he wins them over by…?”

“By being the only person who’s nice to them! And by stroking their ears and tails!”

“Which are erogenous zones, I’m gonna guess.”

“…only the tails?”

“How about slavery?”

“No slavery!… sort of.”

“?”

“OK, the beast people are treated like crap, and it’s legal to kill them, and they’re barely paid anything, and they are worked to death.”

“…so slavery without the actual slavery.”

“Oh, and there’s a bad guy! He’s horrible, a real loathsome person with no redeeming features!”

“Well, we know how much I love those guys.”

“Right?!”

“(stare)”

“(clearing throat) Anyway, you always talk about things you liked, what about it?”

“So we’re assuming that I read this while you were prattling on?”

“Yup!”

“The idea of a man that is so depressed about his current life that, when offered a new life, decides “no thanks”, is interesting…”

“Isn’t it?”

“…that is, until you brainwash him into only thinking of it occasionally because he’s too busy being obsessed with lasers and beast girls.”

“And collecting!”

“And collecting, yes, because apparently the whole book was based on the “pick three random words and write a story about it” meme.”

“Anything else?”

“The identity of the main villain – his actual identity, that is – made me smile for reasons that would spoil it, and his grand plan was grotesquely overblown to such an extent that I was briefly impressed, at least until our hero proved that there’s nothing he can’t defeat with the power of lasers.”

“And?”

“That’s it, really. I ended up being reminded of Rearguard, but Rearguard reveled in its ridiculousness, whereas this is content to merely be a run of the mill OP fantasy.”

“…really, that’s all you got?”

“I guess if pressed, I could say that reading it made me decide to write a review in this format. Will that do?”

“Hrmph. See if I bring you “The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters” in a month!”

“…yeah, I was planning on skipping that anyway.”

“Waaaaaaaaahhh! Kazuma, Sean’s being mean to me!”

“I thought you weren’t Aqua?!?!”

Matcha Made in Heaven, Vols 7-9

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Matcha Made in Heaven Volumes 7-9 by Umebachi Yamanaka

Time to check in on this low-key extremely slow-burn josei series! Chaco and Isshin are continuing with their faux marriage of convenience, which has of course led them to develop feelings for each other. Isshin is an intense, grumpy tea-making perfectionist, while Chaco is much more free spirited. Despite growing up in a family of tea producers, she’s been away for so long that she’s not super familiar with the business, so her support of Isshin also means that she’s connecting with her roots in a new way.

Matcha Made in Heaven 9

After a separation where Isshin is working in the corporate tea business, he returns home. Chaco is excited to take their relationship to the next level, but childhood friend Jin appears with a girl named Roa, who happens to be a tea social media influencer! The traditional craft of tea-making clashes with Roa’s approach, which seems to stir up some distressing sentiments against the small business that Chaco’s family is trying to take to the next level with Isshin’s help. The trash-talking is mild, and the stakes are fairly low in this extremely relaxing manga where one can always count on respect for tea to further bond the characters and see them through any crisis. While Roa ends up not be as terrible as Chaco originally assumed, she leads Isshin into accepting a challenge at a high stakes tea blending competition. With Isshin, Jin, and Chaco’s brother who is such a non-entity it is not really worth remembering his name as the main competitors things are surely not going to go very smoothly.

For fans of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, this series delivers. I find myself constantly rooting for Chaco and Isshin even though they cycle through excuses to not progress in their relationship. The latest barrier is Isshin’s nobility, as he doesn’t want to ask Chaco’s dead father for her hand in real marriage until he has proven himself as a tea master. As always, the illustrations are clear and dynamic. Chaco’s niece is reliable both for comic relief and expressing the readers’ point of view that Chaco and Isshin should just get together already.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 7

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by T. Burke.

Probably the most startling thing about this final volume of Raven of the Inner Palace is how little Jusetsu is in it, and when she appears, it’s not really her actions that save the day, just her actual presence. She’s spent her life being a vessel for a higher power, and being involved in a God vs. God battle is something that she has to get dragged into or else bad things will happen. But it’s not what she herself wants. Honestly, I think she’s still flailing around trying to figure out what she wants until this final volume, and it’s not saving the day and unleashing her inner raven. Nor is it headed back to the palace to deal with the unstated romantic feelings she and Koshun have dealt with since Book 1 – that ship has run aground already. That said, we do get to see the resolution of a ship, sort of – the trouble is that it’s Jusetsu/merchant marine life. Which, refreshingly, is not what anyone was expecting.

This book is essentially divided into two plotlines, one on and going to the island, and the other up in the mountains. They’re actually mostly completely separate. We already know about Jusetsu, who needs to somehow get past an underwater volcano exploding to get to the island so that she can reunite the two halves of the raven. She’s got to do this despite the turtle god resorting to threats, more threats, and possession in order to win the day. The other half of the book is still drenched in Saname family drama, which we already got a heaping helping of in the last book. Ko has been sent by his father to use the mountain tries to incite a rebellion, which won’t succeed, but will mean that they’ll have to kill Jusetsu in order to calm everyone down. If you think this makes no sense, well, it doesn’t make much sense to Ko either, but it’s hard to go against Daddy.

I’ll be honest, this book was not quite the big finale I was hoping for. As noted, Jusetsu is just present rather than active for the battle, which makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying. Likewise, there’s no rebellion, because in the end the stability of the country is more important than an old man trying one last time to exercise his power. And yes, Koshun has almost been the co-protagonist of the series, and so seeing him so uninvolved in the finale – he doesn’t leave the palace – makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying, the second time I’ve typed that. I did like Jusetsu’s career choice – she can’t stay in the palace, after all, especially not with an Empress and two kids from other wives – and so traveling the world and seeing other cultures makes sense. And I’m delighted she takes her entourage with her – I love Jiujiu.

So yes, something of a mixed bag finale, but overall this was a good series, and a worthy addition to “intrigue in the inner court of the emperor” genre.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 18

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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.

There is a moment in this book that initially made me roll my eyes at the stupidity, but upon reflection I realized it actually makes perfect sense in the context of the books. Zagan is reaching out to other archdemons, trying to ally with them before they ally with Marchosias, and Acheron is one of these powerful archdemons. He plans side side with Zagan, but then Eligor, an archdemon working for Marchosias, arrives to threaten him into joining the other side. Not to spoil too much, but Acheron is killed because it never occurred to him that she wouldn’t arrive without backup. But then I realized that at the start of the series a big deal was made about how none of the archdemons trusted each other, and that Zagan’s big change is actually forming partnerships and gaining allies. So yes, the enemy can now do that too, as our archdemon learns in his last moments. This has come down to just two sides.

Oh my God, cover, spoilers! I think the author knew what the cover would be, as we open with Zagan and Nephy in wedding outfits, blushing heavily at each other, and then flash back to try to show how we got here. As I said above, both sides are still trying to recruit the few remaining unallied powerful people to their side. We saw the fallout of one of those attempts last time, and now Zagan’s castle as additions of a porcelain robot girl trying to be human and her twitchy archangel minder. The most powerful of these people is Phenex, whose name might give an idea as to her powers, and she is (like most of the cast) deeply eccentric. She’s also lived longer than the rest of the cast, due to the nature of her existence, and Zagan might be able to do something that no one else ever has before.

I managed to get to this point without discussing the romance, go me! It’s still here, and the couples continue to be obvious, with the one exception of the love triangle between Lilith and her straight and gay options. Micca and Furfur are the newest at this, so they get the most focus, and they’re adorable. Shax and Kuroko are the old hands at this, and they also get to be adorable. Chastille and Barbatos… are still in denial, and aren’t really in this till the end, but yeah, they’re adorable in a way where you want to punch them both. As for that cover image, I admit I was expecting it to not amount to much. It’s signposted that this is a setup by Chastille as a petty revenge for Zagan broadcasting her own supposed relationship to the entire world. But for once, Zagan steps up when it comes to his love life rather than everything but his love life, and even if we don’t end up getting a wedding, we do get a punch the room, “Finally!” moment.

This is apparently Part 1 of a 2-part arc, and I expect the next one to have far more fighting. That said, it will still have schmoopy romance. The plotlines intertwine, they can’t be separated.

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 5

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By Shusui Hazuki and necomi. Released in Japan as “Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu! ” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Mari Koch.

I swear that the main villains of this series are not dedicating themselves to evil in order to destroy the royal family and ensure that the nobles have the power to crush commoners whenever they want. The villains are evil for the sole purpose of getting in the way of love confessions. We were so goddamned close! We finally resolved all the things that could possibly stand in the way, Noelle is finally in the frame of mind where she might possibly get it if given a direct confession at point blank range (which is more than I can say for Letitia), and Luke has invited her out to finally pop the question. So you know what happens? Yup, cliffhanger ending, love interest in peril, film at 11. Fortunately, it’s Luke in peril, so maybe Noelle can really kick ass and take names. But gosh darn it, I want my resolved love!

Luke is now the captain of a new Magicians’ Division, and Noelle is his lieutenant! She might even get an office! Well, no, she does not, because Luke is still a little too obsessed with being around her all the time. She does, however, get a bunch of new recruits, which are, surprisingly, not ALL eccentric misfits – just two of them. Fortunately, neither difficult recruit is able to hold up in the face of Noelle’s aggressive goodness and niceness. Unfortunately, the nobility is very angry at this new division. They think it’s a waste of money. They think Luke doesn’t deserve it. And boy, do they hate Noelle. Honestly, the nobility is acting a little TOO aggressively awful. Maybe they’re getting too close to finding out who’s been behind every bad thing that’s happened in the last five books? Time for a stakeout… OK,, that went badly. Time for another stakeout… OK, that went even more badly.

The subtitle of this series hasn’t been relevant since the start of the first book, but I do like how it manages to tie into one of the new recruits, somewhat, who also loves magic but was railroaded into an awful job and abused. Unlike Noelle’s Pollyanna personality, he gets broken down, and is now deliberately half-assing everything as a sort of petty whining. As for the other recruit, she’s the standard genius who’s never been beaten by anyone at anything, and her specialty is… magic! Yeah, you can see where this is going. Getting Noelle to mop the floor with her cures most of this. I also enjoyed how the first half, which was basically “train the new guys”, paid off near the end, which was basically a Police Academy ending only serious, as the new recruits fight for their lives and show they really can protect each other and fight back if they try.

Unfortunately, the author is still writing Volume 6 on the webnovel version, so expect a wait. Still, we get very close to a resolution here… but alas, no.

Manga the Week of 10/2/24

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SEAN: The end of September drifts into the start of October, which means it’s SPOOKY TIME.

MICHELLE: THE BEST TIME!

ANNA: Here for it!

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, which gives us Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 9 and You Can Have My Back 3 (the final volume).

And Yen Press has Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 10, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 15, Triage X 27, Uncle from Another World 10, and Yowamushi Pedal 26.

ANNA: Yowamushi Pedal is a favorite in my house.

ASH: I am so far behind, but I’ve been enjoying it.

SEAN: The debut for Viz Media is Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite (Oshi ni Amagami), a shoujo title from Hana to Yume, and from the creator of Kamisama Kiss. A vampire girl is a massive otaku, and has come to Japan to fuel her habits. Then she finds her next door neighbor looks just like her anime crush!

MICHELLE: I was just thinking fondly of Kamisama Kiss the other day. I’ll definitely be checking this out.

ANNA: OOOH, me too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 5 (the final volume), Blue Box 12, Kaiju No. 8 11, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate 3 (the final volume), Marriage Toxin 4, Moriarty the Patriot 17, My Hero Academia 39, Rainbow Days 12, Tamon’s B-Side 5, and Vampire Knight: Memories 9.

MICHELLE: I am so in the mood for more Tamon’s B-Side. And I may be in the minority, but I’ve been enjoying Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, as well.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a biography. Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz The Creator of Snoopy and Peanuts (Kadokawa Manga Gakushuu Series: Manga Jinbutsu-den Charles Schulz Snoopy no Umi no Oya). The biography series has, in the past, done Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, etc. None of those came out over here, but Sparky is different, and this is his (manga) life!

ASH: Interesting!

SEAN: Steamship has a 5th volume of GAME: Between the Suits and a 6th volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Square Enix gives us The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 10 and Victoria’s Electric Coffin 3 (the final volume).

Seven Seas debuts Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! (Zatsuyou Fuyojutsushi ga Jibun no Saikyou ni Kidzuku made), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, that runs in Futabasha’s Gaugau Monster. Let’s face it, you can guess the plot of this one.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 4, Dungeon Friends Forever 3, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8, The Great Snake’s Bride 4, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 4, Imaginary 2, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 8, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 6, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 8, My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop 5, My Wife Has No Emotion 7, Time Stop Hero 10, and The Valiant Must Fall 3.

ASH: I really should catch up with The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru.

Kodansha Manga has one print debut. Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island (Kidou Senshi Gundam The Origin – Cucuruz Doan no Shima) ran in Gundam Ace, and is an examination of the Cucuruz Doan’s Island events from the Zeon Soldier perspective.

Also in print: Bless 3, A Condition Called Love 10, and WIND BREAKER 8.

Digitally, we see Chihayafuru 46, Life 19, That Beauty Is a Tramp 3, and Those Snow White Notes 21.

MICHELLE: Just a few volumes left of Chihayafuru!

ANNA: I can’t believe it.

SEAN: I’ve been saying that Yen Press took over J-NC’s print release distribution, but that’s not quite true. Hachette, Yen’s parent company, took over distribution. So I’ll put them back with the other JNC titles. We get a print release for Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 4 (the manga version).

ASH: Ooooooh, okay. That makes sense.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 4th D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga volume, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 5, and An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 8.

From Hanashi Media we see Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 3.

No Ghost Ship next week, but we get a mature Seven Seas title. KinnPorsche is a Thai novel that inspired a live-action series, and, as you likely guessed, it’s BL. A college student gets caught up with a crime family.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ASH: A Thai novel! That’s not something you see everyday.

SEAN: From Denpa Books we see Under Ninja 4.

Cross Infinite World’s debut, Ayakashi and the Fairy Tales We Tell Ourselves, is another book from the pen of Kosuzu Kobato, author of Making Jam in the Woods, Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent, etc. Our heroine meets a young man who can see ayakashi.

ASH: I like the sound of the title, at least.

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 6, The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess! 4, and Fluffy Paradise 5.

In print, for Airship, we see the debut of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince (Higeki no Heroine Buru Imouto no Sei de Konyaku Hakishita no desu ga, Naze ka Seigikan no Tsuyoi Outaishi ni Karamareru you ni narimashita). A saint is rather stunned when her little sister says she’s being bullied by her sister, and even more stunned when this means her fiance breaks off the engagement to her. And now the Crown Prince is investigating her? Isn’t this all about her sister being a spoiled brat!?!

Also in print: I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 3 (the final volume) and A Tale of the Secret Saint 6.

The early digital debut is a one-shot light novel spinoff of the popular manga: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Secret Love Story is a short story collection that hopefully is as bonkers as the main series.

Also in early digital: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 8.

It’s fall, so the manga pages are turning colors! What are you buying?