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The Royal Hostage Has Vanished: The Black Wolf Knight Yearns for the Persecuted Princess, Vol. 1

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By Ajigozen and Yura Chujo. Released in Japan as “Hitojichi Hime ga, Shōsoku wo Tatta. Kuro Ōkami no Kishi wa Rinkoku no Shiitagerareta Hime wo Zenryoku de Aishimasu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Emily Hemphill.

This is another in the Heart imprint that is primarily narrated by the male love interest, though the princess does get several POV scenes throughout. It’s important in this story because it helps drive the narrative more if we’re following the Knight gradually realizing what has happened to the princess and the circumstances she’s had to live with before we move to her side and get her own thoughts on this. It also helps sell the love a bit better, which is good, as this is a series that very, very much runs on “love at first sight”, and if that’s not a favorite of yours you should be very aware. But it’s fine, they’re both good kids, and frankly it’s a lot less terrifying than the power couple that may have happened if the royal hostage had not vanished. Sonia and Alphonse are, at their core, far too similar to work in a series like this.

Brigandia and Sylvario were at war, and Brigandia has won. Now it’s time for reparation, but Sylvario suggests that in return for less of those, they offer their fourth princess in marriage to Brigandia’s third prince. Which is fine… but the princess leaves Sylvario and never turns up in her new country. Ark, the head of the knights, goes to figure out how in God’s name a princess’ carriage with full guards and accoutrements could have been waylaid by bandits or other such reasons for “vanishing”. Unfortunately, he rapidly finds that no one in the towns along the way even noticed a royal carriage. And when he gets to the royal residence, he finds to his horror that Princess Sonia was an unwanted child who was abused by everyone around her. The reason she vanished… is she left in an unmarked carriage with two servants and zero guards.

This book assumes that you are familiar with and enjoy the tropes associated with this sort of series, and therefore does not need to go into great detail about them. Sonia’s only loyal servants, Laura and Tom, are both clearly far more than they seem and trained as spies/fighters/etc., but that never comes up in the actual narrative because “battle maid/butler” is just what you’d expect from the only loyal servants of an abused princess. I also appreciated Sonia’s intellect and craftiness, with possibly the best scene in the book having her take on a rival love interest in what amounts to a rapid-fire quiz game. She’s a sweet girl, and the dorky love that she and Ark fall into is cute, assuming you like dorks who blush a lot, but I also appreciate that she’s not the usual “nice and forgiving” trope we tend to see, and that she really does want to see her abusive family destroyed, and will happily do what it takes to help that along.

This will not set any originality records, but it hit all the right buttons for me. I greatly look forward to the second book (which is apparently the final book).

Anime NYC 2024, Friday

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I am back at Anime NYC in person! And you know what that means… I have horrible muscle pain and can barely move. But I have so much to talk about for you, my readers. This was a day where I pretty much did entirely fan-oriented panels, saving the bulk of the industry stuff for tomorrow, as Anime NYC stacked most of those in a row. So the first panel I went to was Love and Friendship through Sailor Moon.

Moderated by Erica and featuring Moonie, Erica (yes, two Ericas), Kristen, and Rebecca. It was a fun pamel which really showed off how much they all love Sailor Moon and how much it has impacted their lives. (The other varieties of Sailor Moon came up, and everyone is looking forward to Cosmos, but for the most part it limited itself to the 1990s anime. The words “Crystal” were not uttered.) The second Erica and Kristen are also sisters, and frequently cosplay together.

They discussed favorite characters – as you can imagine, Usagi was first, showing off her good and bad points and feeling very human. For Rei it was her fierceness and ability to “tell it like it is”, but also the isolation that she feels as a shrine maiden. Ami was also one where identifying with her came up, as a “quiet overachiever”. And of course Haruka, the cool one. (Everyone loves the cool girl.) One of the panelists mentioned Hotaru as well, because they, like Hotaru, were sick a lot as a young person.

They talked about what Sailor Moon taught them, including how love can take many forms – romantic, deep friendships, familial, etc. The “cousins” thing was brought up, and it was noted that Japanese fans were horrified when they heard about the change. Perseverance and pushing through a problem even when you’re failing badly comes up all the time in the series. Also, not everyone immediately bonds as friends, and sometimes it can take time to really get to know a person and become friends with them. The power of bonds, how so many of the characters were lonely before they met Usagi, and how they are stronger together. It was a really heartwarming discussion.

Then they discussed how their lives were impacted by Sailor Moon, and all of them admitted it has completely changed their lives. They are all involved in cosplaying and craft-related stuff via the series. The two sisters said that even though they fought as kids, they ended up bonding over watching Sailor Moon. Meeting friends in the fanbase years and years ago who you are still friends with today thanks to Sailor Moon. (I can attest to this, as I am the same.) And of course the LGBT fanbase and its love for the series resonates with the panelists as well. The word “Passion!” was used a lot in this panel, and I think it really described all of the panelists – the love for the series and its fans came through loud and clear.

The second panel I went to was about The Rise of Queer Manga. Moderated by Erica Friedman (yes, this is the 3rd Erica of the con), the panel also had Also on the panel are TJ Ferentini, an editor for Kodansha; Jacqueline Fung, a translator for Kodansha, Seven Seas, and KUMA; and Nicole Roderick, who is a letterer with most of the major publishers. They started by discussing the sort of queer manga that we had since the late 80s/early 90s. Zetsuai/Bronze 1989 for BL, and Sailor Moon for yuri. The cliches that both of those series had in terms of how they defined how publishers would use queer narratives, and how little it changed for a long time after that. What changed? We demanded better representation, and eventually our voices were heard. Publishers were reluctant, they wanted to make sure there was a readership.

The panelists then discussed what their first queer manga was. Gravitation came up twice (and probably should not have been read at the age they read it!). TJ also talked about how much Revolutionary Girl Utena resonated with them, and how the realization hit that they CAN want to be a prince. Nicole wasn’t as fond of all the forced drama in a lot of the BL series of the time, and she enjoyed series with a more real, adult situation such as “I can’t get a job due to my sexual orientation”, which also resonated for her as she is black. Jacqueline talked about the BL series Only the Ring Finger Knows, which hit her with its discussion of having to hide when you’re in love. Erica said hers was Sailor Moon, and particularly Haruka and Michiru, which ended up taking up all her time and money for a long time to come.

The panelists had all chosen queer manga they wanted to discuss. TJ started with Boys Run the Riot, a monumental trans series from a few years ago, made even more important by the fact that the entire localization team was trans. A transgender boy finds happiness in the world of street fashion. The author, Keito Gaku, was at a convention in Columbus and was blown away by the fan reaction they received. Is Love the Answer? is a one-volume title that examines a college-aged woman who wonders why she doesn’t really get love the way all her friends do, and learns about asexuality. The author used their own experiences to write this series. Two other series, Sasaki & Miyano and Whisper Me a Love Song, both show off the normalization of BL and yuri in their respective worlds. There isn’t the big “wait,you mean you like boys/girls???” that you get in other series, instead you get the same reactions that you’d get in straight romance titles.

Jacqueline has a fondness for trauma manga, and started off with A Home Far Away, a tragedy about a religious gay boy in Texas who decides to leave home and go, well, to a home far away. The author has won awards for other titles. Our Dreams at Dusk is a huge title, being absolutely filled with queer representation of all types, and featuring a cast of various ages, including older queer characters, a rarity in a genre that tends to focus on high school students. Lastly there was a brand new title just out, Hate Me But Let Me Stay, which is an omegaverse title, but we are assured it’s a really GOOD omegaverse title, with an omega single mother and a young alpha who has to learn how to be a dad.

Nicole really loved Until I Met My Husband, a historical memoir from an activist and gay man who was in the first same-sex marriage (religious, not political) in Japan. This also has a manga version. Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher pretty much tells you its premise in the title, it’s a sweet title about reconnecting with past loves. The kid is smarter than everyone else in the series. Twilight Out of Focus blends its BL with a film club, and the activities of the club and their love of film is equally important. It has an ongoing anime right now. It also has multiple couples, so allows for (ironically) multiple focuses). This series also lacks one of the cliches of the genre we’ve seen too often in the past, which is the “I can fix him” trope.

Erica discusses She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat, which is also an award nominee and has a live-action series in Japan as well. It’s a great example of two women who had not really considered their sexuality before meeting each other and immediately going “…oh!”. Otherside Picnic is great because it’s not romance focused – it’s sci-fi horror. It’s an incredibly weird story about how everything is NOT normal, and it forces you to think about that. Even Thought We’re Adults is a series Erica called “Ahakaijin Yuri”, which is to say that it’s about grownups. It’s a messy series, and does not have any obvious bad guys – you want to dislike the husband, but he’s sympathetic as well. I’m in Love with the Villainess is an isekai fantasy with piles of queer representation (and revolution), and the spinoff She’s So Cheeky for a Commoner features an original character for the spinoff who is disabled, so that is represented as well. Lastly, The Moon on a Rainy Night has both queer and disability representation, and features two girls who meet, become friends, and help each other to become better people.

They were then asked what title “moved the bar” when it came to queer visibility? A surprising but also obvious answer from Jacqueline was Ranma 1/2. It was a lot of folks first exposure to “someone who can be, and behave, as both a boy AND a girl”. Nicole mentioned Banana Fish, a shoujo title whose BL was not obvious or blatant, but very natural and believable. TJ mentioned Boys Run the Riot again, also talked about My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which also opened the door for a number of queer “memoir” manga. And the huge seller My Summer of You, which has two high school boys falling for each other and bonding over movies.

So many series were recommended for the “what unlicensed series do you want to see” that I could not keep up with them all. Highlights included the new subgenre of “cake manga”, where instead of alpha and omega you have “cakes and forks”; Super Seme-Sama to Toki wo Kakeru Ore, a gag manga whose cover alone made me laugh out loud, and will delight those familiar with the BL tropes of very long faces and very big hands; Kawaii Kimi ni, Nedarasetai, a shoujo title about a boy who hates being called girly… unless it’s HIM doing that; Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, a yuri series about ballroom dancing and body dysphoria; And Boyish² – Butch x Butch Yuri Anthology, which spotlights titles that avoid the classic yuri trope of “butch/femme” or the popular modern yuri “two femmes”.

The final panel I went to was Gender, Genre and Games in Sports Manga. Liz and Alix were our panelists, and they watched over 400 hours of sports anime to prepare for this. Which s why they apologize if they don’t mention a beloved sports MANGA that they could not get to (and indeed, at the end of the panel, someone mentioned the recent Dogsred, which does not have an anime). They define a sports anime as an anime about sports (duh) where characters bond through teamwork, rivalry and competition.

They started off with a shoujo title, Attack No. 1, which stated in 1969 and ran for 104 episodes. Most of the cliches that we associate with sports anime – the big rival, teeth-clenched teamwork, etc. – stem from this series. There is an earlier show they watched – the shonen baseball series Star of the Giants; however, this one is more tragic, ending when the protagonists injures his arm and is forced to retire. Its plotlines are not something future sports anime followed. Likewise, Ashita no Joe is brutal, also tragic, and its “cross counter” punch is pastiched and imitated across all anime, not just sports.

They divided the typical sports anime into two types: Good at Sport and Bad at Sport. Good at sport features either well-trained athletes who love and are good at what they do, or untrained athletes who nevertheless have an immediate affinity for the sport. A lot of these types feature family drama, as usually there’s a sense of keeping up the family tradition. (Aoi from Birdie Wing is a good example.) They then discussed the Love Interest vs. The Rival, and how the Love Interest, in the typical sports anime, is not nearly as important as The Rival. Rivals to Besties is essentially Enemies to Lovers: Sports Edition. And yes, this is even more true when the rival dies.

The classic “bad at sport” anime is Aim for the Ace!, a 1973 tennis anime (shoujo again) where a girl starts off bad at the sport but is driven to improve herself and eventually does. It was mentioned (more than once) that Haikyu! owes a hell of a lot more to shoujo sports anime tropes than it does typical shonen like, say, Hajime no Ippo (another brutal boxing manga). Aim for the Ace! Also introduces the ojou-sama rival, the sempai everyone adores who inevitably is paired with the heroine in doubles. This is another trope that we’ll see again and again in more modern titles.

Attack on Tomorrow!, from 1977, another shoujo title, is the first example of the “getting the band back together” sports title, where something bad happened in the past (in this case, the death of another player), the club is on the verge of being disbanded, and everyone has to rally around and rediscover their love of the sport. But it’s not all shoujo. Captain Tsubasa may be the most influential sports anime in the entire world, and Tsubasa himself was referred to as the “Goku of soccer” in terms of his abilities.

Yawara! Fashionable Judo Girl is a 1989 series that starts a genre that can best be described as “anime about women in sports, but the intended audience is men”. Bamboo Blade, Saki, Minami-ke, etc. There’s also (theoretically, the creators won’t confirm this for reasons that should be obvious) “anime about men in sports where the audience is women”, such as Free!, Salaryman’s Club, and Fanfare of Adolescence. But what, you may ask, about sports series about girls in sports, for a female audience? Does karuta count? If so, then 2011’s Chihayafuru would slot in there. Before that? You have to go back to 1998, and Princess Nine.

And you can’t really discuss sports anime, especially not at an anime con, without discussing the homoerotic subtext. Naturally, Prince of Tennis was the big example here. Since sports tend to divide by gender, a lot of the rivalries, friendships, and battles tend to be homoerotically charged as a function of the cast. Prince of Tennis is essentially a samurai story with lords, only… it’s tennis-based. The BL subtext is also unintentional. What happens when the subtext IS intentional? Well, you get Saki, whose fanservice verges on the ridiculous. Or Keijo!!, whose fanservice is so ridiculous it’s not that sexy. Or Free!, whose one main female character is there to ogle the hot guys and tell you, the viewer, that it’s OK to do the same.

Yuri on Ice, in 2016, of course, changed everything… or did it? It was canonically queer, and had a kiss. Yet when Sk8 the Infinity, in 2021, did a scene that beat for beat almost matches the iconic one in Yuri On Ice… there’s just a hug, no kiss. Birdie Wing, a series that features golf eugenics and the golf mafia, revolves around Aoi and Eve betting over a kiss… which Eve never has to give Aoi. It’s a bit of a step back. On the other hand, Eve does combine her rainbow shot with Aoi’s rainbow shot to make a golf shot baby. The panelists agreed that Birdie Wing was a lot more explicitly queer than Sk8 the Infinity. But… they don’t kiss.

The panel wrapped up with Q&A, which included sports that haven’t been done yet (Skiing! Women’s fencing!… no, Utena doesn’t count.), whether Food Wars! is a sports anime (yes), whether Beauty Pop, about competitive hairdressing, is a sports manga (yes), and the fact that, amazingly, no one mentioned Hikaru no Go. They also discussed the biggest surprises of their watching all this sports anime, which included the brutality of the boxing anime, especially Ashita no Joe, and the brutality of the shoujo sports anime as well, with Attack No. 1 having abusive coaches and abuse by getting hit with volleyballs. It’s not all sparkles and tears.

Honestly, these were all great fan-run panels today, and I was thrilled with each of them. Which is why I spent so long tying this up. Time to sleep – tomorrow will be a bear.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!, Vol. 6

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By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

I actually had to go back and double check to make sure that this plotline had not been done before. “Trying to catch pirates who have been kidnapping noble women to sell as ‘merchandise’ to other customers” is a plotline that so obviously fits in with the sort of series 7th Time Loop is. No one is more well-suited to having a sword fight on board a pirate ship than Arnold and Rishe. And, as usual with this series, one of the better examples of its genre, it sticks the landing with ease. This gives us a lot of what we’ve come to love from this series. Another figure from Rishe’s past lives who clearly was in love with her and who makes Arnold jealous. Rishe getting far, far more involved than she has any right to be. Rishe getting intensely embarrassed and blushy whenever the idea of genuinely being in love with Arnold comes up. It’s all just adorable.

Rishe tells Arnold that she needs to go to the country’s main port city to get last-minute alterations on her wedding dress. But, of course, she has an ulterior motive. She knows that at some point around this time, Prince Arnold “kidnapped” shipbuilders from the naval country of Siarga, but kept it secret, so that when he inevitably went to war with them, they would be unaware that they actually have a real Navy. She wants to stop this in order to prevent the war, but she and Arnold also come across the kidnappers mentioned above, who are doing a trade in young, virginal noble ladies with few family attachments that can be sold to *those* sorts of buyers. The odd thing is that this sort of piracy and kidnapping is very high-risk, and would not remotely justify the sort of reward they could expect from selling off the women. If there something else going on here?

We get a few more details about Arnold’s past here, and see how his mother was killed by his own hand. Needless to say, it’s even more tragic than was hinted at previously. I honestly kind of wish that we were getting more. The series is clearly leading slowly up to its climax, especially given the cliffhanger with Rishe wanting to speak to Arnold’s father. But for all that Arnold clearly has fallen for Rishe, and you would expect that everything Rishe has done has managed to change the future, the plot requires that we worry that it will all be for naught. So every once in a while, usually when he’s looking at Rishe’s sleeping face, we get the occasional narration showing that his eyes are cold and unfeeling, just in case you didn’t think he could still start a war and kill everyone. It’s meant to keep the tension up, but… I would like a bit more insight into what’s in his head, to be honest.

Despite that, this is still another excellent volume in the series. Fans of the anime who were waiting for more will be delighted. Unfortunately, the 7th volume is not out in Japan yet, so be prepared for a long wait to see what Rishe has to say to the king.

Manga the Week of 8/28/24

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SEAN: This is the way the August ends.

ASH: Not with a bang, but still plenty of manga. (And light novels.)

SEAN: Four print titles from Airship, with two debuts. I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! (Atashi wa Seikan Kokka no Eiyū Kishi!) is a spinoff of I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!. It seems to star a knight? I suspect things will go badly for her, given the parent series.

ASH: Seems accurate.

SEAN: Ripping Someone Open Only Makes Them Bleed (Hara o Wattara Chi ga Deru Dakesa) is the latest trauma from the creator of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. A high school girl has what seems to be the perfect life… and she’s made sure her every move and utterance is done to help that along. Then a boy shows up who looks just like the main character of her favorite book, and bad things start to follow.

ASH: That title sounds intense.

ANNA: Yikes!

SEAN: And we also see the 2nd and final volume of The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 6.

Early digital volumes, meanwhile, give us I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 3 (the final volume) and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 2.

A debut from Cross Infinite World, as we see Too Strong to Belong! Banished to Another World! (Saikyou Joshi, Isekai e Iku!). A girl is simply TOO STRONG TO DIE in her original world, so God banishes her to another world where she can supposedly be a weak love interest and get a hot boyfriend. But… will that REALLY be how it goes?

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Also from CIW: By a Twist of Fate, I’m Attending the Royal Academy in Disguise 2, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 5, and So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds 4.

Denpa Books has a 5th omnibus of Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI.

ASH: Definitely reading this whenever it ends up being released. Could it really be next week?

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Ero Ninja Scrolls 6, Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His S-Rank Cat Girl 4, and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 6.

There’s also a mature Seven Seas debut, which I slot in here. This is a new danmei title, You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post – Fei Ge Jiao You Xu Jin Shen. How did gay men in 400 AD exchange dick pics, you ask? Via an ancient singles’ club and some really good art! This is a “raunchy romantic comedy”.

MICHELLE: Huh. Somehow, I hadn’t heard of this one.

ASH: I am absolutely delighted by this premise.

SEAN: There’s one debut from J-Novel Club: The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! (Liefe no Shukufuku: Muzokusei Mahou shika Tsukaenai Oochikobore Toshite Hottoite Kudasai). A girl is born with the abilities of Liefe… which means she can only cast really difficult spells that are mostly useless. Naturally, she and her mother are banished and she is laughed at by all. Can a magical academy for arrogant young nobles help her?

ASH: What a problem to have!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Black Summoner 18, Earl and Fairy 7, Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother 2, Knight’s & Magic 4, Rebuild World 5, the 9th Rebuild World manga, and Tearmoon Empire 13.

Kodansha Manga has a debut, but it’s a box set. Fire Force has its first six volumes in a box.

Also in print from Kodansha: Am I Actually the Strongest? 7, Blue Lock 14, The Blue Wolves of Mibu 3, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 17, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 11, In/Spectre 20, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 2, and Shangri-La Frontier 13.

And for digital we see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 14, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 28, Gamaran: Shura 23, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 7, and The World is Dancing 6 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of Tales of the Tendo Family.

MICHELLE: Another title that is getting away from me.

ASH: I enjoyed the debut volume; I really should read more.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts. Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Tsureneko – Maruru to Hachi) is a seinen title from Comic Days. A spoiled family cat gets lost one day, and meets up with a stray who doesn’t need anyone. Can the two become pals? Or… more than pals? (No, just pals. This is a freaking cat manga.)

ASH: Lol! I’m game for some cat manga. Look how cute they are together!

SEAN: Someone’s Girlfriend (Aitsu no Kanojo) is a dark romance from Sunday Web Every about a boy who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend… only to find that she’s now coming on to him.

ASH: Uh-oh.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 6, Dai Dark 7, Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 2, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 3, I Married My Female Friend 3, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 7, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 10, and Tokyo Revengers 23-24.

Tokyopop has A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 8 and I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! 5.

Viz has a novel based on the mobile game, with art by the Black Butler artist. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: Rose-Red Tyrant makes us all nostalgic for last decade, when you could not read a single Manga the Week of without one or two Alice titles.

And for fans of bulky hardcovers, we see My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition, 584 pages of pure, undiluted Totoro.

And we get Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 220409-0625, which is a guide to the first 12 episodes of the super popular series.

They also have How Do We Relationship? 11.

ASH: I really need to get caught up with this series; I really enjoyed the early volumes.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press still has some stuff. Including some stuff I told you about last time, because they split the digital and print titles. I’ll skip repeating myself.

Riviere and the Land of Prayer (Inori no Kuni wo Lilliere – Majo no Tabitabi Gaiden) is a manga adaptation of the light novel, which Yen also has. It’s a spinoff of Wandering Witch as well. A shop assistant learns about curses and prayers from a mysterious shop owner.

Also from Yen: Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 6, Bocchi the Rock! 4, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess: Short Story Collection, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 4, Gahi-chan! 3, Glitch 4 (the final volume), Handyman Saitou in Another World 5, Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI 3, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 8, Maiden of the Needle 4, Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord 3, [Oshi No Ko] 7, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 5, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 6, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 6.

MICHELLE: Definitely gotta read Glitch. I enjoyed Lost Lad London by the same creator so much.

ANNA: Oh, this is on my radar now then!

SEAN: This is a big week given that it’s AFTER a Yen Week. Are Yen Weeks a thing of the past?

A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady, Vol. 2

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By Mashimesa Emoto and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Slime Taikō to Botsuraku Reijō no Angai Shiawase na Konyaku” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Minna Lin.

Oh dear, Slime Duke is going through that Difficult Second Album. I get the sense the author was unaware of exactly why we liked the first volume so much. First of all, there is far, far less attack duck, with Alexandrine only getting to appear at the very beginning and the very end. Unfortunately, the lack of a duck around her also makes Francette far more conventional in this book, which feels at times like the writer bought a connect the dots with a light novel as the picture. There’s “communication is important if you’re going to be in a relationship!”, complete with a side of “I misheard a conversation and now believe my loving fiancee is still in love with someone else”. We get an adorable crown princess who likes to run away from her minders and get into less adorable danger. And when Francette returns to noble society, there are Evil Noble Girl 1, 2, and 3, all lined up to ojou at her in unison. It’s… predictable.

Francette and Gabriel are visited one day by one of the other Dukes, this one the Siren Duke. Who, much to the surprise of everyone, has the kingdom’s princess with her. It turns out this is all related to Francette’s duck bakery sweets-making enterprise, which has everyone demanding more of these delicious treats. The Slime Duke and the Siren Duke seem to get on well. A bit too well, maybe. But there’s no time to dwell, as they need to go to the capitol for the meeting of the seven dukes, and Francette wants to make sure that they have a unique gift for everyone. This ends up involving trying to un-grump the grumpy local porcelain maker, and take out the slime that’s been stopping him mining for the exact stuff with which to make it. With all this going on before they even get to the capital, will Francette and Gabriel ever get a chance to really talk to each other?

The best part of the book was probably the porcelain stuff. I do appreciate a grumpy old widower whose heart can be melted by nostalgic sweets (honestly, sweets in this book seem to solve almost every problem that does not require extreme violence). And I really enjoyed Gabriel taking Francette with her as he goes to fight this dangerous slime ina cave, mostly as it gives her a chance to think outside the box, which everyone admits in this book is her best feature. Given the genre of this series, it’s no surprise that a great deal of time is spent telling the self-deprecating Francette that she needs to have more confidence in herself. I would also like to see more of Constance, the steward who dresses in butler clothes but, as we see here, can wear a nice dress if the situation requires it. I need her tragic backstory, dangit.

I had thought this was the final volume, but apparently not. The third has a wedding picture on the cover, though, so that should be it. More duck, please.

Management of a Novice Alchemist, Vol. 2

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By Mizuho Itsuki and fuumi. Released in Japan as “Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

It has to be said, either you are reading this series because you cannot get enough of Sarasa, or you dropped the series in disgust after this volume because of what Sarasa does in it. There’s not really a happy medium here, you’re not going to find anyone who mildly likes Sarasa but has some issues. The issues are the reason to read this. She is, on the surface, a brilliant young alchemist whose odd sense of modesty manages to somewhat hide the fact that she’s a huge powerhouse who (to the shock of everyone in the cast) is apprenticed to the most famous alchemist in the country. In the first volume, we saw her overpoweredness, and also her ruthlessness with money. Here we also see her merchant side. We still don’t get that anime flashback, but we know her parents are dead, and were merchants. This is why, towards the end, when she is accosted by bandits, she beats the shit out of them. And then, when they beg for their lives, she murders them all. And takes their stuff. This is your heroine, please get used to it.

After spending the first part of this book fixing up her shop after the damage from the hellflame grizzlies, she decides to add a few necessities to the house, such a a magic stove, a fridge/freezer, etc. To Sarasa, these are sensible items. To everyone else, they’re mind-boggling luxury, and the inn owner they know is absolutely willing to pay through the nose for a magic stove if it means she and her husband don’t have to constantly get new wood all the time. Sarasa is also after frostbite bat fangs, which she can essentially use to make portable fans for hats. This involves going to a very smelly cave and killing a lot of bats, some hilarious but dangerous consequences. Unfortunately, Sarasa looks like she stepped out of the pages of a Kirara manga. Which means a rival merchant is in town, and is treating her like a sucker. But it’s fine. Sarasa’s not the type to crush someone. Oh, wait, he’s actually a louse who’s blackmailing others. OK, yeah, destroy his ass.

Lest people think that this title is filled with nothing but Sarasa being ruthless, rest assured the bulk of it is still cute girls doing cute things. Lorea firmly sets herself up as not only Sarasa’s shop assistant but also her conscience, and we get a crash course in why shop assistants tend to stick with alchemists forever (along with a smidge of no homo, which I will blithely ignore for the moment, the one potential marriage partner we meet in this book spends his entire page count getting emasculated b y his childhood friend). Kate is cool, Iris is goofy, and the two of them are absolutely not from a suspicious background that they’re not talking about right now, nope. There’s also a lot of talk of how alchemy works, how business pricing works, and how the two combine. It’s pretty nerdy, actually, but very readable.

If a cute 15-year-old girl killing ten bandits because they tried to rob her and they may prey on others bothers you, this is not the series for you. On the other hand, I know it’s fiction, and frankly, I find Sarasa too delightfully weird (in a good way) to worry too much.

Guardian: Zhen Hun, Vol. 3

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By Priest and Marmaladica. Released in China on the JJWXC website. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Yuka, Shry, amixy. Adapted by Ealasaid Weaver.

After finishing this series, I do feel vaguely guilty. This is an epic tale of reincarnation romance, with gods, demons, battles for souls, and huge fantasy action set pieces, and they’re really quite well told. It’s also the story of two incredibly hot guys being in love and having massive amounts of sexual tension, and that’s also terrific. But when it comes right down to it, the thing I will always love most about Guardian is the police procedural aspect of it. Show me Zhao Yunlan doing detective work as he tries to figure out which of Shan Wei’s lies about his own past memories are true and which are lies in order to throw him off the track. Show me Lin Jing investigating what looks like a minor live-extending case that turns out to be the end of the world. Show me Gup Changcheng finally coming into his own as a cop by doing what he does best: help people without any thought of reward. Guardian is at its best when it’s Barney Miller.

The bulk of the first half of this book, as I noted, involves Zhao Yunlan trying to figure out how much of himself is tied up in the world’s past. This involves, among other things, realizing that an ancient stone mortar of Shennong’s is possessing his father, which is a real subplot that I actually just typed out. As for Shen Wei, well, he’s doing pretty much what he did in the first two books, which is torturing himself with guilt and hatred, being incredibly powerful, incredibly tricky, and incredibly dickish, and trying to hold on to his lover for as long as he can while at the same time arranging their separation forever. It all comes to a head at a resort where a mysterious death had occurred, which turns out to have its entire staff and customers turned into both8ing more than bone ash. Bad things are afoot.

I mentioned on social media that in the first book the character of Guo Changcheng baffled me, but I rolled with it, and that by this third book, he had become my favorite. I think the author loves him too. We learn who he really is towards the end here, but as it’s totally irrelevant to him for the most part, I won’t get into it. He’s absolutely terrified when dealing with anything remotely supernatural, to the point where he needs an auto-firing anti-spirit taser because he keeps running into them. But when he sees the families of everyone who (unbeknownst to him) has been vaporized at the resort, he comes into hsi own, getting everyone to listen to him, getting all the little details he needs to save their relatives, and generally just being a really NICE cop. And it works out for him. No, he doesn’t get the cynical Chu Shuzhi, at least not explicitly, though the subtext it hot like burning. But he gets the spirits of those he went around what is essentially a radioactive zone to save literally making a net to save his life, in what is probably my favorite scene in the entire book. He rocks.

I may give the live action drama a try, though I’ve heard its “faithfulness” is laughable. But I definitely recommend this to not only danmei fans but to those who love cops on the edge and fluffy cops and goofy cops and lovelorn cops. In supernatural fantasy China, you’re allowed to like them.

Pick of the Week: Calling it Mystery Again

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SEAN: My pick this week is the final manga volume of Bakemonogatari. Starting off as an impossible attempt to have a manga version live up to NISIOISIN’s prose and SHAFT’s anime style, the author and Oh!Great managed to make a unique story that, especially in the last half of the series, carved out its own path, trying to show the fates of almost everyone in the series (it would be very hard to show all of Nadeko’s fate, can’t blame it there) since it can’t go on for 40 more books. Oh, and kept it absolutely filled with blatant fanservice. I really loved this series.

MICHELLE: Of course I am happy about Don’t Call It Mystery, but the most intriguing release this week is Even If There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow. The retro vibes of its cover are lovely, too.

KATE: I’m torn between two titles this week: The Summer Hikaru Died, an atmospheric blend of body horror, BL, and fantasy with fabulous artwork, and Don’t Call It a Mystery, a series that defies easy description, but reminds me a little of Columbo (with better hair).

ASH: All excellent choices, for sure! (As well as some excellent descriptions.) I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention Oba Electroplating Factory since I had somehow forgot about it until my comic shop let me know it was in my box to pick up. But as for this week’s debuts, I’m most intrigued by the prospect of reading Hell Is Dark with No Flowers. A horror novel series featuring yokai? Yup, that one has my name on it.

ANNA: I’m going to make Don’t Call It Mystery my pick, in the hope that will prompt me to get caught up on it!

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord, Vol. 6

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By Satori Tanabata and Tea. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō Level 99: Watashi wa Ura Boss Desu ga Maō dewa Arimasen” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

This may be my favorite volume of Villainess Level 99 since the first one. Which makes sense, given that it ties back to the plot of the first quite a bit, but that’s not why I love it. I love it because the basic idea that kicks off this volume is completely, totally bananas in every way. I have no idea how the author came up with it. I do know exactly why Yumiella came up with it, it’s because she’s Yumiella, and everything is about being the strongest. But I mean, if I told you “Yumiella imagines her left side and right side fighting each other, and wonders who would win, and the idea causes her to think *so* hard that her left side *dies* and goes to purgatory, where she is literally shown as only her left half in the illustration”, you might think that this is either a dream sequence or a minor subplot. Nope. this is what kicks off the majority of the book.

While listening to Eleanora tell her about a legendary perfume maker, Yumiella, as I noted above, thinks about her separate halves fighting. Her left side wakes up the next “morning” in the “Kingdom of Twilight”, a place for souls of the dead who still have unfinished business. Meanwhile, Yumiella *also* wakes up back in her own bed, but her left side has no feeling whatsoever… in fact, as a particularly obnoxious Lemn points out, her left side is literally dead. Now Yumiella, Patrick and Eleanora have to research the Kingdom of Twilight and that means going back to the very origins of the kingdom… which is appropriate, as the left side of Yumiella discovers that among those with regrets in the Kingdom of Twilight are the Hero, aka the first king of Valschein, and the Demon Lord… who definitely remembers Yumiella.

This book, like the last, continues the trend of “Yumiella is slightly more sensible except when the author needs her to be over the top”, and unlike the last, it succeeds. Leaving aside the actual premise, the way that they resolve the Kingdom of Twilight thing is so funny I laughed for a good 30 seconds, and also definitely falls into the category of “Only Yumiella could do this”. As for Yumiella’s relationship with Patrick, well, they’re still not quite married, but this is the strongest I’ve felt about the two of them as a loving couple. Well, OK, a loving couple and Eleanora. The three of them have fallen into being a throuple without really realizing it, and while the attraction is more friendly/familial on Yumiella and Patrick’s part, I think they both realize that they can’t really be together without her there. Eleanora, by the way, also shows off her more mature side we saw in the 5th book. (Patrick has always been mature.)

We’re caught up with Japan, so that wedding may be a while off. Till then, I was pleased to see this book give me exactly the sort of Yumiella, Patrick and Eleanora that I want.

The Former Assassin Who Got Reincarnated As a Noble Girl, Vol. 1

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By Satsuki Otonashi and MiRea. Released in Japan as “Moto Ansatsusha, Tenseishite Kizoku no Reijou ni Narimashita” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

This one is definitely a slow starter. It’s taking a while to make its point, and in order to make it effectively we need to get deep into the mind of its heroine, whose reincarnation has not changed her mindset all that much, and who tends to regard almost everyone in this new world as a terrible person. Unfortunately, she’s not wrong. The main reason this is such a slog to begin with is that the only other characters in the book who are not Selena are either people she’s saved who are now devoted to her, her absent father, and terrible, terrible nobles. If this is meant to be a critique of villainess books, good job, as it felt like it was mashing together quite a few of them, with terrible adopted “heroines”, frivolous princes, arrogant ojous, etc. Even the love interest, the first prince, is in the “everything bores me except you, you’re fascinating” camp. Fortunately, things do eventually pick up once Selena is faced with something where she has to protect.

Our protagonist is 9956, a nameless assassin who dies trying to kill a prince, and ends up reincarnated as the daughter of a duke, Selena Violette. Unfortunately, she was reborn with her old memories, so she acts, as a child, like… well, like a former assassin (she tries to kill a dog with a cake knife). As a result, while her husband is away (something that happens a lot), her mother adopts a commoner girl into the family, Rosemary, who is far nicer ans sweeter and nothing like Selena at all. Unfortunately, Rosemary proves to be a holy terror, being a spoiled brat who uses tears to get her way, and if that doesn’t work she’ll order servants to attack Selena. Selena is fairly blase about this, and in fact keeps trying to hammer home to the adopted daughter that she actually needs to behave like a noble and actually study. This does no good at all. Then the nation’s two princes get involved…

So yes, the first 2/3 of this is a drag, as everyone is SO unpleasant, and also because the narrative is filtered through Selena, who has to force herself not to kill people. This is what fascinates Evan, the first prince, who had her investigated as he found it impossible to imagine someone with her background behaving the way she does. He’s clearly smitten, but also realizes that she, at the moment, is not capable of feeling much of anything, much less love. Unfortunately, before he can slowly show her what love is, one of the terrible nobles who Selena has been destroying over the past hundred pages decides to incite a monster rampage at their hunting party, forcing Selena to fight for her life… and also, much to her surprise, fight to protect the other nobles. Yes, even the nasty ones. I will admit, I wish this had been a single volume. There’s a point near the end where you can hear the author stop and add the number 1 to the cover in their head, and it makes the end a bit less dramatic than I’d like. But oh well.

So yeah, this was eventually a very good read. Just be prepared for some of the world nobles in the world before you get there.