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Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 7

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By Saki and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Albert-ke no Reijō wa Botsuraku o Goshomō Desu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Ray Krycki.

Sometimes tropes are so omnipresent that I automatically assume they’ll be there, and I get tripped up when they don’t actually happen. This volume kicks off its plot when a young girl shows up, with red hair the color of Adi’s, and says that he’s her father. Naturally, my first thought was: girl from the future. This is despite the fact that she clearly doesn’t recognize Mary, Alicia, o the rest of the cast. But no, there is no time travel here. Instead we are once again dealing with a more common light novel subtrope, which is the idea that if you’re going to be a noble, you’d damn well better be a GOOD noble who cares about others. The actual backstory for this girl is more down to earth – she’s from a country that doesn’t give a crap about its poor, and it broke her family apart. This infuriates Mary and Alicia, who by their nature are shiny, honest people and can’t stand the idea of abusing power. Even if it’s justified in their head.

The other major plotline in this volume is that Mary Albert is pregnant. This is a happy surprise for her and Adi, but it’s also something they want to keep under wraps for the time being, as there are certain people who will make far too big a deal out of it. Like, new national holiday big. Fortunately, this strange little girl arrives and proceeds to distract everyone as they try to figure out whose child she is (I appreciate the fact that everyone knows Adi is so in love with mary that there’s no way it’s his secret child). Unfortunately, when they find out her exact circumstances, a field trip is in order. Which also consists of her brothers. And Patrick and Alicia. And Parfette and Gainas. And they all converge on one unfortunate lord who believes wholeheartedly that breeding is everything and poor people deserve to be abused. The odd thing is that he believes it to an extreme degree, rather than just being plain old evil about everything.

One thing I really appreciate about Mary Albert is that, despite being reincarnated in an otome game, etcetc., and being generally a very nice person, she is allowed to *behave* like an arrogant villainess, snikping and grumbling at people and acting like she’s going to let out with an OHOHOHOHOHO any moment – though she never does so. In a world with ditzy villainesses, acting villainesses, villainesses with PTSD, it’s nice to see one who doesn’t have a complete personality change even as she plots her doom. Actually, the plotting her doom thing seems to have gone well and truly tits up in this book, as her brothers renounce their claim to the head of the family, leaving it for her. This is unsurprising, but I think she’ll do a good job. I do appreciate how, even now that we’re close to the end, she still cares a lot about what happens to her fantasy fried chicken restaurants, and worries now that she’s given it to twisted friend 31 and twisted friend #2. (I worry as well.)

The next book is the last. I’ll miss this series, one of the first villainess books to come out in Japan. It was overshadowed by Bakarina, but Mary Albert accomplished a lot more. I wish her and her husband and her second and third wives well. What, they’re not her wives? I feel evidence suggests otherwise.

The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles, Vol. 2

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By Reia and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Akutoku Joo no Kokoroe” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Faye Cozy. Adapted by Abigail Clark.

I will admit, the direction of this second volume surprised me. I was expecting there to be a lot more struggle against the evil families who were behind her parents’ death. I was expecting at least one betrayal from a close ally I got none of that. If anything, her revenge was nearly pitch-perfect. But what I’d forgotten is that this second volume is also the final volume, which means that the revenge can’t be the point. The point is Luxeria’s own character growth, and also whether this book turns out to be a tragedy or not. It’s touch and go for a while, and you can argue that the resolution is a bit out of nowhere. But I think it’s thematically appropriate. A queen who has been unable to trust anyone, whose only friend was damaged because of her, whose true love she had to (supposedly) kill. The big question is here not will she get her revenge, the big question is whether she’ll survive it.

After the shocking coronation events, Luxeria is determined to continue investigating the other marquess houses to find out what skeletons they have in their closet, and also to prove what she already knows – that they killed her parents. That said, there are also more dangerous things going on. Children are getting kidnapped all over the land, and it might have something to do with the mysterious circus that’s always in town when it happens. Some of the marquesses are garden-variety assholes, one of whom is so banally evil that his own wife, on finding he’s been arrested, gives all the evidence they need to execute him, then drinks poison so she can end her terrible life. Worst of all,. there’s still the fact that Luxeria’s magic is slowly killing her, and all the allies that she has around her can’t save her because she’s mind controlling them into forgetting she has symptoms at all.

The title is not just for show here. The queen absolutely goes to town on everyone who was plotting against the royal family, be it actual assassination, or merely garden-variety apathy. The heads of family, and all their relatives, are executed. One or two folks turn evidence against their families, so she lets them live, but they have their identities magically changed, and they can’t even reveal their new self to their best friends. And this all weights heavily on her. Even as she is surrounded by people who are helping her, who share her hopes and dreams, who love her, she cannot help but see herself as walking a path to damnation. There are odd moments in this book where she just starts laughing maniacally out of nowhere, like a stereotypical “villainess”. But that’s what she thinks she is. She wants to feel exultation that she’s managed to avenge her parents, but she just feels empty. It’s all performative. Fortunately, thanks to the two people closest to her (and oh my GOD I wish we had an OT3 here, but alas), the worst case is avoided, but this book gets pretty dark.

It ends happily, though. Probably a little TOO happily. But hey, I’ll forgive it, since it’s the last book. Short and not-so-sweet.

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 5

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By FUNA and Keisuke Motoe. Released in Japan as “Rōgo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-Man-Mai no Kinka o Tamemasu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Kodansha Books. Translated by Luke Hutton.

(A reminder that the English Vol. 5 is the equivalent of the Japanese Vol. 6.)

I feel at this point that I need to apologize to Mile and Kaoru. I’ve talked before about how all three FUNA heroines are basically agents of chaos who have large body counts to their names, which is true on the face of it. However, Mile (very much so) and Kaoru (somewhat) have people who are around them most of the time, who are there to hear the worst of their atrocities and talk them down. Mitsuha, on the other hand, spends a great deal of these books by herself, wandering all over the land with her teleport powers and with no one to stop her but a tween girl who usually would rather be joining her in the chaos instead. Mitsuha may whine about looking perpetually twelve, but she’s by far the least mature of the FUNA three, and will happily throw intruders on her property onto a remote island for the rest of their lives just because. She’s fricking terrifying.

There’s a new artist, though one that may be familiar – it’s the manga artist, now pulling double duty. As for the “plot”, as usual with this author it’s essentially whatever they feel like doing. Mitsuha manages to get herself a ship to repair/study by posing as a goddess and rescuing sailors from a wrecked ship… which she then has “ascend to heaven”. She gets another teenager to run another company selling luxury goods for her, though at least this one is not an orphan. And she continues to avoid the king and prince on this new nation, who are by now desperate to meet her, and continue to use their secret identities to try to corner her. This goes about as well as you’d expect. People that try to force Mitsuha to do what they want end up longing for a quick and painless death.

There’s minimal gunplay in this book, despite the cover art. But that’s fine, as Mitsuha has shown that she can completely upend all of society without needing to bother with guns. There are so many scenes in this book that come down to “roaring rampage of revenge”, and while with Mile, and especially Kaoru, such displays only really get out of hand when they’re upset or emotionally compromised, Mitsuha doesn’t really have that. Mitsuha spends most of the book happy, making jokes and puns, and laying economic waste to everything around her. She cares about some of the people around her, mostly Colette, but she’s also very casual about “if things go south I’ll just abandon them” when she makes new alliances. I don’t think this is intentional, but I think that the death of Mitsuha’s family has arrested her development and also her moral sense (her brother’s teachings didn’t help). If this was a different series, I’d say it’s a setup for a massive amount of hubris and karma bringing Mitsuha down. But this is not that kind of series. She’s just like that.

This is light, frothy fun provided you don’t take it remotely seriously. As always.

Pick of the Week: Farewell, Alpha

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SEAN: My pick this week is the final volume of Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou, a series that I never thought would get licensed and I am delighted that it did.

MICHELLE: I’ve been playing a lot of Monster of the Week lately, so a story about a supernatural consultant who’s investigating a creepy house with a creepy room is right up my street. The Strange House for me!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou was on my radar for YEARS before it was licensed, and it’s better than I’d hope it would be. Like Station Eleven, this is a story about a post-apocalyptic world where the few survivors find meaning by hanging on to small but important rituals. I know I’m making it sound like a major downer, but Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou isn’t the least bit depressing; if anything, I find each new volume makes me feel just a little more hopeful about the future.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou is absolutely a solid choice. And now that the series has been fully released, I plan on spending some time with it. But I’m also going to second Michelle’s pick; The Strange House sounds like something I should be reading, too.

ANNA: I’m convinced to give Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou a try!

Agents of the Four Seasons, Vol. 3

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By Kana Akatsuki and Suoh. Released in Japan as “Shunka Shūtō Daikōsha” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

Boy, the world that this takes place in really sucks, doesn’t it? This is an alternate Japan where the world relies on people with special powers chosen by the Gods (supposedly) to bring about the seasons, and in this book we also find out that there are archers whose arrows bring about day and night every day. When the Agents can’t or don’t do their duty, the area suffers. If the archers miss a day or miss a shot, the area really suffers. Those responsible are chosen right after the previous one dies, get no choice in the matter, and are, as we see in this volume, blamed for almost everything wrong with the entire country. Oh, and because this book loves to pile on, almost all of them have some sort of tragedy and/or abuse in their life, or are currently having it. The premise of this series is being able to overcome that and live happily, but man, it does occasionally make for depressing reading.

After the events of the last two books, everything is… not back to normal. For one thing, there are now TWO agents of summer, something that makes the conservatives in charge of the town of summer furious. There are, in fact, rumors going around that every single bad thing that has happened recently has been because God is angry at the current agents, and they should all be replaced for the greater good. Unfortunately, “replaced” means “murdered”. What’s worse, Ruri and Ayame both have their engagements broken, which completely traumatizes Ayame, who was secretly in love with her fiance (who loved her back, but both are so repressed neither one noticed). Meanwhile, in case you thought we wouldn’t be seeing Hinagiku in this book, no worries. Unfortunately, she too is dealing with the rumors, which state that the two years she spent recovering from trauma are why all this happened at all. Scapegoats for all!

This is another two-parter, and focuses far more heavily on the twin sisters Ayame and Ruri. We get flashbacks to their childhoods, and see exactly how being chosen as an Agent can be completely traumatizing, and can also damage a family – the twins’ parents are on their side, but there’s still a lot of friction, mostly as Ruri is acting like a 10-year-old who is being torn away from her twin and being forced to be an agent of God. Ruri does not at all fit the bill for the ideal agent… but neither does Ayame, who is so stressed and guilty over all of this that at one point she attempts to run away from home. In the present, the scene with the Town of Summer yelling at Ayame for causing all this by not letting Ruri die, and telling Ruri “the dead don’t get to speak here”, is jaw-droppingly horrifying, especially as it hits on Ruri’s own trauma specifically (she uses asterisks for the word “died” at the start of the volume, a common Japanese trope for a person avoiding thinking of trauma). By the end of the volume they’re being manipulated by unseen forces, but frankly, if it makes them more proactive, I’m OK with it.

All this and I didn’t even mention their actual fiances (another abuse survivor, and a man who we know little about but seems to be “likeable sociopath”). The next volume will be highly anticipated. Though also dreaded a little, perhaps.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/3/24

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Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition, Vol. 2 | By Kei Itoi | Yen Press – This continues to be really well-written provided that you can deal with awkward introverts who don’t like talking trying to raise a ball of fun who is nevertheless far more clever than her father wants her to be. Now married, Fusako is trying to figure out what that means… though before she does that, she might want to invest in a GPS so she doesn’t walk over an hour to get home after work. Meanwhile, Kudou’s colleagues bring him gifts (that he doesn’t want) and also muse on his sexuality, which is still very ambiguous. He states he’s not gay, but it’s pretty clear he was in love with Jinno. The premise of this manga seems to be defining “normal”… or more accurately, asking why people have to try really hard to be normal at all. Fascinating. – Sean Gaffney

Bocchi the Rock!, Vol. 3 | By Aki Hamazi | Yen Press – Make no mistake, Bocchi is the main reason to read this series, but I do appreciate that the other three girls in the main cast are not just there to react to her. They’ve each got their own issues. Kita worries her voice isn’t conveying the song as well as it could, worries that don’t go away when the singer from a rival band confirms it for her. Nijika is the leader of the band, so of course wants it to go far, even if that means playing at bad venues and having to face up to the fact that she’s a drummer and can’t do a cool pose. Even Ryo gets stuff to do, though I admit of the four leads hers is the one that most often comes down to “the stoic but weird one” most often. As for Bocchi herself, she’s still a mess, but far less than volume one. She’s coming along. – Sean Gaffney

Captain Momo’s Secret Base, Vol. 1 | By Kenji Tsuruta | Dark Horse – It’s 3019 CE and Captain Momo and her first officer, a tuxedo cat named Grandpa John, are escorting a space freighter on a years-long journey. This manga chronicles their daily adventures, by which I mean the distinct lack of same. These include using the meal replicator to create a toy mouse for Grandpa John, napping, and dealing with massive piles of stuff everywhere. She’s also naked the whole time. It’s not salacious, unless you count the time she flashes her coworker, but it’s definitely inescapable. Towards the end, somewhat of a plot develops, in that Momo currently doesn’t have enough energy reserves to complete her journey successfully, and must find a way to make up the deficit. I’m just not sure I’m interested enough to see how that turns out for her. – Michelle Smith

Chasing Spica, Vol. 1 | By Chihiro Orihi | Seven Seas – I was looking at comments about this manga, and I saw someone asking whether it was really OK to be rooting for the blackmailer in this series? Well, are we supposed to? Honestly, both leads are damaged in some way, shape or form. The blackmailer, Serika, is the “protagonist” mostly as the story comes from her perspective in this book, and it’s her own struggles that kickstart the plot. That said, I can’t deny that I’m more interested in Reiko, who is seemingly the prim and proper opposite to Serika but in reality is something much more complex, and grounded in apparent past family trauma. Plus we get “I’m good at something too. Sex.”, which is one of those over-the-top lines that makes me hope this eventually sees an anime. I was intrigued. I’ll read more. – Sean Gaffney

I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl, Vol. 2 | By Kashikaze| Kodansha Manga – It’s always tricky when two girls are in love but one of them isn’t quite aware that’s what this is. Sora definitely knows what this is—she’s been in love with Ayaka from the moment she first saw her. Unfortunately, not only does Ayaka not remember that, but she’s also perhaps unaware of her own feelings—since she sees her relationship with Sora as being based around the request from the teacher (and explaining about her perfect older brother helps explain more why she took it), the burgeoning feelings inside her can’t be romantic—they’ve got to be the TRUE friendship that exists beyond the commodity that they had before! If this seems frustrating, welcome to yuri manga, but it’s cute and they’re great kids. They’ll work it out. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 38 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – A definite step up from the last volume, here we see the heroes starting to have a comeback. There is a bit of shonen eye-rolling to get through, as EVERYONE has to come back for one last appearance to help out. This includes Lady Nagant, whom we last saw exploded but with her death unconfirmed, sniping All for One despite her massive wounds. It also includes the cast of Shiketesu, leading to the best callback of the series, where Camie does her “shojo manga” duplicate of Hawks, which manages to fool AFO enough for the real, injured Hawks to get away. And yes, that means it’s also the chapter with the translated footnotes that a very annoying fandom thought were made up by the translator. No, you missed the joke. Try again, folks. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 19 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The danger of long-running suspense series, especially ones with a supernatural bent like QueQua, is that there needs to be escalation to keep the reader interested. Shonen does this too, of course, but there it’s bigger and stronger villains, whereas here it’s bigger and more personal villains. Fumi has struggled with past memories for the entirety of the series, even back when it was QQ Sweeper, and the revelations that come up here are less “oh my God, we had no idea” and more “oh my God, she’s going to be depressed even more now.” But Fumi is made of sterner stuff (well, she is in the hospital—again—in this book) and is prepared, if necessary, to make this fight even more personal than it’s already been. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World, Vol. 1 | By Be-Con | Yen Press – “Sister” is used here in the Maria-sama Ga Miteru vein—indeed, they seem to explicitly have the same uniforms. Sadly, the sisterly relationship we see seems to have gone sour, in a lethal way—not a truck, but a train. The “Giant,” however, is very real, a young woman who is belittled and abandoned by everyone else in her tribe, but finds this isekai’d girl with no powers (she explicitly rejected them) is her savior. Together the two of them struggle to do adventuring jobs, fight off evil rapists from (of course) the Church, and look for those who abandoned them. Unfortunately, the other girl who got hit by the train was not proud enough to reject cool powers, and I think that might come back to bite her. A good take on isekai. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 26 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s been a YEAR since the last volume, and I have, of course, forgotten everything. My last review notes Ryu’s character growth, and now we see why—he’s staying behind while Shirayuki moves on, and the new arc, whatever it may be, begins in earnest. At least she has Zen with her for now. We also get to see more of Kiki and Hisame, and I think the reader may finally be coming to terms with the fact that, now that they’ve both grown up a lot, they’re a very good couple. So are Shirayuki and Zen, but that has to advance at a snail’s pace due to the nature of this manga, and it doesn’t help that it’s on a yearly schedule in Japan now as well, so we’re going to wait just as long for the next book. I’ll always be buying it, though. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 19 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – The only teasing going on here is teasing the reader, as we get a chapter where newlyweds Takagi and Nishikata (yes, another flashforward) resolve to use each other’s first names… but WE don’t hear what they are. Other than that, this is the penultimate volume of the series, so it’s setting up for the ending… except I suspect the ending will be pretty vague, so instead it’s sort of meandering along with more heartwarming than funny, including the scene where Takagi gets sick and he visits her home, and more scenes showing that Nishikata and Takagi are basically dating, and would be making out every day if he could work up the nerve. (He can’t even touch her back without having a breakdown.) The next one’s the last, should be fun. – Sean Gaffney

This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Vol. 1 | By Sai Naekawa | Yen Press – I read this suspecting it would be a bit depressing, and it is a bit, but the overly of mystery and horror helps to distract you. Hinako lives alone in a seaside town, and dwells on her parents and brother, who were killed at some point in the past. As a word of warning, she pretty much as suicidal thoughts throughout this volume, and I don’t see that changing. She ends up meeting a girl who turns out to be a mermaid, who wants to eat Hinako… but not yet, as she’s not tasty enough. The implication seems to be Hinako is too depressed to taste good, so as metaphors go it’s not bad. I’m most intrigued by Hinako’s friend Miko, who is her bestest bestest friend and does not like this new girl (the mermaid transfers in) at all. This is a riveting title. – Sean Gaffney

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 15

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

There is not a single thing that happens in this book that the reader could not have predicted. If you finished Vol. 14 and someone asked “so how will it end”, you would probably say “well, Eve will try to break everything and go home, Lloyd will stop her by being Lloyd, and we’ll get a flashforward showing that everyone is older but otherwise resolving next to nothing”, you’d be absolutely correct. That said… is that really a bad thing? This is a wacky, goofy comedy with a bit of heart. If you were asked what you WANTED from the ending of this series, unless you’re a rabid shipper (and I assume any of those dropped this a while back), you’d probably say exactly what I just did above. It’s a chaotic action-packed fight against Eva, followed by Lloyd showing off how much he’s grown and also showing off that no one has gotten (or will ever get) in his pants.

Things aren’t looking good. Eve has a new body, and what’s more, she has access to the powers and attacks of ALL the demon lords. Everyone who tries to stop her is either distracted by her releasing a horde of monsters, beaten into a coma, or mind-controlled into obeying her will (yeah, sorry, Anzu, you’re mostly a comedy patsy this volume. It happens in this series). Rinko has an idea that might be able to take her down, but Eve has about 87 clever plans, and she does not seem in danger of running out anytime soon. Worst of all, Eve has a special spray bottle and, when hit with the contents, the residents of Kunlun become weak and unable to fight back. With all these advantages, even Lloyd won’t be able to stop her!…. right? Right?

So yeah, the “action climax” of this book happens a little over halfway through, and even Eve’s fate is not all that surprising given the type of series this is. The last chapter takes place a few years later, and is from the POV of Asako, who finally gets to be an actual character in this series now that she’s no longer being possessed by Eve. Fortunately she’s no longer dying, and she has cool teleportation powers. Unfortunately, she’s in love with Lloyd, which merely adds her to the pile. It turns out that the entire series has been written by her to tell Lloyd’s true story, a conceit I quite like. As for the others, well, they’ve all got jobs now, but everyone is reasonably happy, except for Marie, who is miserable and who no one can stand. I can’t believe Marie became the most annoying character in a series where Selen exists, but there it is.

This was never going to be a top-rated light novel series, but for something trying for the vibe of Urusei Yatsura (complete with one of those “chaos ensues” endings Takahashi loved to do), it was good. It always made me laugh, which is more than I can say for a lot of light novel authors.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 7

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By Piero Karasu and Yuri Kisaragi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

In the previous volume of MagiRevo, we saw Anis reject the “perfect world” offered to her, as it would render everything that she’s struggled to achieve meaningless. Now it’s one year later (the biggest time jump we’ve seen in this series so far), and she’s finally getting the chance to achieve her dreams… and is still feeling a bit guilty about it. Is it all right for her to do this? To go off and be a weirdo magical researcher coming up with gonzo ideas that will revolutionize the world? Shouldn’t she grow up and be mature, like Euphie is? Leaving aside Euphie’s maturity, which turns out to not be quite as strong as imagined, this makes sense. Anis spent years being the eccentric princess who rebelled, because if she stopped to face reality it would crush her. Now she’s given the opportunity to do the same thing without the same risk. Just one catch: Anis going it alone is a thing of the past.

Anis starts this book, having finally recovered from the events of Book 6, with a startling proposal. Since her magical research and inventions tend to, shall we say, annoy the aristocracy in the capital… why not just build a whole new city and make it a magical Alexandria? As noted above, Anis has to be talked into this, but eventually throws herself wholeheartedly into things, especially since she shocks people with the idea of building the city with both magical and… non-magical means! Me not use magic? That’s unpossible! Moreover, in the massive research that is the back half of this book (it’s OK, it’s interesting for once), we learn that not only might everyone have been learning magic incorrectly, but that there may be more than one KIND of magic. All this means that Anis has a LOT more to do, and is unfortunately going to have to learn to delegate and lead from behind… well, mostly.

Anis is not the only one undergoing crises in this book. Gark is struggling with the fact that everyone around him is a genius of some sort, and he’s just a guy who’s dependent on magic weapons to get anywhere. Tilty is a bit disturbed by Anis going in on making these magic weapons, and serves as her conscience reminding her of the dangers of putting weapons that anyone can use into a world where commoners have massive grudges against the nobility. And we get a new maid in this book, Priscilla, who is also the victim of a noble being terrible – her father – and wonders why Anis, with all the power that she has at her discretion, especially now that she’s a dragon hybrid, not take revenge on everyone who wronged her? The answer Anis has is not what Priscilla really wants, but it works. Anis grew up loved. And she has a wonderful partner. I like Anis sort of acknowledging her privilege here which allows her to be able to take the high road. It’s not as easy for others.

All this plus Anis and Euphie having such a wonderful night (offscreen, of course) that Anis has a hoarse throat the next day. This is the second book in a row with not quite as much Euphie, so the author promises Book 8 will focus more on her. Till then, this was one of the stronger books in the series, setting up the new arc and allowing Anis to feel confident once more in being the little freak we know and love.

Manga the Week of 8/7/24

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SEAN: The Dog Days and Cat Manga of August are here.

ASH: How? How is it August already??

MICHELLE: I truly do not know.

SEAN: No debuts for Viz Media, but we do see Blue Exorcist 29, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 20 (the final volume, though the continuation to this is still going), The Elusive Samurai 12, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 3, My Special One 7, Neighborhood Story 3, Rainbow Days 11, Spy x Family 12, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 2.

MICHELLE: I’ve really gotta read Neighborhood Story.

ASH: I’ve been collecting them, but I really need to read them at some point, too.

ANNA: I read the first volume! I’m glad it is coming out in English.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 4th and final volume of Since I Could Die Tomorrow.

And Square Enix Manga has Daemons of the Shadow Realm 5.

Debuting from Seven Seas next week is The Strange House (Hen na Ie), a horror/mystery manga based on a novel, that runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic HOWL. A supernatural consultant runs up against a creepy house with a very creepy room.

MICHELLE: Ooooh.

ASH: I’m very curious about this one.

ANNA: Sounds interesting!

SEAN: A spinoff also debuts, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji (Tokyo Revengers – Baji Keisuke kara no Tegami). This Magazine pocket title is, I’m going to guess, about one of the supporting cast of the main series.

On the danmei front, Seven Seas has The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish: Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong 2.

ASH: I am still very pleased by the danmei trend.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 10, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 9, Kemono Jihen 12, The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be 4 (the final volume), The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 7, and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 5 (the final volume).

ASH: Gotta get caught up with that one, as well!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 6th manga volume of The Death Mage.

One print debut for Kodansha Manga: Pupposites Attract (Seihantai na Watashitachi), a shoujo/josei title from Comic Pool that started as a Pixiv title. A man and a woman with opposite personalities meet when they walk their dogs… who also have opposite personalities! Will romance follow? (Hint: yes.)

MICHELLE: This title made me think it was going to be about puppet romance.

ASH: Haha! I’m sure there must be one of those out there somewhere.

ANNA: Maybe it will be on next month’s list!

SEAN: Also in print: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 2, My Lovesick Life as a ’90s Otaku 4 (the final volume), That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Omnibus 3, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 6, and WIND BREAKER 7.

MICHELLE: I definitely want to read the ’90s Otaku manga!

SEAN: On the digital side, we see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 13 (the final volume), Chihayafuru 45, Life 17, and Those Snow White Notes 20.

There’s only one debut for J-Novel Club, and it’s a manga adaptation of a light novel they already had. Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Loop kara Nukedasenai Akuyaku Reijou wa, Akiramete Suki Katte Ikiru Koto ni Kimemashita) is a Drecomi title about a villainess who’s also looping, and who finally decides “screw it” and takes charge.

ASH: Someone has to!

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has This Art Club Has a Problem! 4, Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- 4, the 4th Hell Mode manga, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 6, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 9-1, the 5th My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga, Record of Wortenia War 25, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 9, and Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom 2.

The debut from Ghost Ship is She’s the Strongest Bride, But I’m Stronger in Night Battles: A Harem Chronicle of Advancing Through Cunning Tactics (Isekai Saikyou no Yome desu ga, Yoru no Tatakai wa Ore no Hou ga Tsuyoi you desu – Chiryaku wo Ikashite Nariagaru Harem Senki), which runs in Futabasha’s Gaugau Monster. An isekai’d guy with a nerdy interest in military history is now the husband of the demon queen… and also terrific in bed, as this is a Ghost Ship series.

ASH: Well, of course.

ANNA: That’s some combo of interests and skills right there.

SEAN: Also from Ghost Ship: Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 8 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 12.

Denpa has three titles listed from retailers as coming out next week: Heavenly Delusion 7, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 6, and Vampeerz 5. (I suspect Emiya Family is wrong, but the other two are more likely).

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: And Airship gives us Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9 in print, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 11 in early digital.

Hey, there was no cat manga at all. Boo! Anything else interest you?

ASH: I was waiting for the cat manga!

ANNA: Me too!

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 12

by

By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

So yeah, let’s start with the elephant in the room, which is that this volume came out in Japan in September 2022, and there have been crickets since then. I don’t think we can blame the anime, which did a speedrun of the LNs but wasn’t terrible like some other recent LN adaptations I could mention. And no, I don’t think it’s “cancelled” or whatever it is fans say when there hasn’t been a new volume in over 8 months. I think it’s the author. That said, at the moment this is the final volume of the series. And man, if it was, what a nasty dark and tragic ending it would be. I’m not exactly spoiling. We’ve been waiting almost since the first book for everything in Natra to boil over, and it does now, thanks mostly to Caldmellia, who from the moment she first appeared has been ready to take on the mantle of the series’ main antagonist, and does so here. Everything is terrible.

Having helped Lowellmina become Empress, and leaving her to an Empire with far too many problems to deal with, Wein and Ninym return to Natra, where all is peaceful and happy. Unfortunately, the flahm are still gung ho about independence and getting their own country, mostly as they’re being fed information by a snake in their midst. Information like Ninym’s supposed heritage. Worse, Falanya has been growing by leaps and bounds, to the point where she realizes that Wein is perfectly happy to have peace and prosperity NOW, because he doesn’t care what happens to Natra after he dies. Since she loves her country, she vows to oppose him. And then Caldmellia shows up, asking Wein to ally with the West. She’ll even make him a Holy Elite… for real this time. Needless to say, she has another goal. Ninym is basically tortured this entire book, and it ends with the worst possible outcome.

Interspersed with all that tragic drama is the story of how Wein and Ninym first met, why she grew so attached to him (and he to her), and what led her to be his aide. It’s not happy and sweet, but it’s a much needed balm anyway, mostly as it’s not oppressively tragic. Young Ninym is dealing with everyone worshiping her, which is a tough burden for a little kid. Wein is so depressed and jaded that he’s willing to be assassinated because it’s what the majority of the people seem to want. The two of them need each other desperately, and you can see why he calls her his “heart” – and why he brutally murders people who directly threaten her. Alas, Caldmellia is more cunning. I don’t for one moment believe what we’re told in the cliffhanger, but I do think it will force Wein and Ninym to make a decision, and it’s not one that will be good for Natra.

This is definitely coming to an end soon, whenever it comes. Reading this was not what I’d call “fun”, but it was a great volume, which took all the bad things I didn’t want to have happen and has them all happen at once.