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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

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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.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 25

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

And so another arc bites the dust, as the 6th Arc of Re: Zero ends with this volume. There are more returns by deaths, there are lots of surprises, there are absolute PILES of cool fights, and there’s even a bit of tragedy. That said, there’s still a whole lot of stuff we don’t really know. Some folks who had their identity eaten by Gluttony are restored, some are not. Gluttony, who of course is three siblings, gets sealed away/killed/we have no clue. As for Subaru, well, he didn’t get a 100% victory, but he did his best. And he did it by knowing his strengths, which is cheering people on, taking their own pain as his own, and knowing that everyone else in his party is ludicrously stronger than him. Emilia gets amazing things to do, Ram is awesome, Julius is fantastic. It’s a pump the air sort of book… at least till that cliffhanger. Whoops, new arc.

Subaru may have decided that now is the time for his counterattack, but about 15 more deaths show that he himself cannot actually affect anything. As such, the one thing that helps him out is spotting his OWN book of the dead in the library… or rather the multiple, multiple volumes of books of each of his deaths. The outcome of reading all these books I won’t spoil, but by the end of it Louis is taken care of and Subaru has all his memories back. Now he’s ready to figure out what should be done to win: give Julius the cheerleader he’s dedicated himself to (who it turns out has not so much been in danger of dying as curling up and sulking), give Emilia a huge morale boost that allows her to pretty much be damn near invincible, let Rem fight with her sister in a very real way to take out Lye, and then go with Beatrice to help Meili to try to hold off Shaula till all this can be done. Oh yes, and can anyone pass the test?

This is a long book, with a lot going on. Emilia fans will eat VERY well in this book, though I get the feeling that the next arc may flip the heroines again. By the end of the book, they have won a bittersweet victory, one that is perhaps more bitter for them than it is for me: I can appreciate the tragedy of Shaula’s existence waiting for her master, but her death doesn’t quite land as tragically as I think the author wants it to. The other really good bit in the book was the climax, where they have Roy captured but not dead, and when Subaru suggests killing him to try to get everyone’s memories back, Anastasia is quick to point out that is a very UN-Subaru thing to say. As for Rem, having had a moment of triumph from within a book of the dead last time, she’s still comatose here, though that does not stop her from unconsciously helping Ram to get more power to defeat Lye. the cliffhanger suggests her fate will change very soon, though, so Rem fans, your long wait is almost over.

The next arc is not only the longest in the series, eight books, but it’s also far less popular than the last two. Get ready for almost an entirely new supporting cast. And go back and read Re: Zero EX 4 and 5, you’ll need them. Till then, this was a mostly very satisfying finale to this round of Re: Zero…. oh wait, we’re finally getting the Short Story volumes! See you next month, back in the Arc 2 days of yore.

Pick of the Week: Vampires and Villainessin’

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MICHELLE: I don’t have the best track record in terms of actually reading the danmei titles that interest me, but Peerless is really appealing. Bonus points if it has a satisfying mystery element.

SEAN: I’m going to go with a rare pick I know absolutely nothing about. But the cover is just so darn cute! Noss and Zakuro is my vampire mom and daughter pick.

ASH: I’m with you both… and for many of the same reasons. But if I have to pick only one, the cuteness of the Noss and Zakuro cover has me slightly more interested in vampires this week.

ANNA: I’m going to pick Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner just because I like the word Villainessin’.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Fall Down

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

First of all, big props to the author for actually keeping my attention through the first half of this volume. I’ve talked before about how the first half of these recent books have all been dire, so this is a definite step up. More seriously, I also noticed while reading this volume how compact the cast list is. This is basically a variation of shonen battle manga, in a sci-fi sort of vein, and each volume needs to escalate the danger because our heroes need a bigger threat. But the threats we’re seeing have been around since the start, they’re just coming back because everyone in this series is damn near impossible to permanently kill. Hell, even one of the cast from a thousand years ago is a supporting character in this book due to (handwaves) reasons. The “new” antagonist who threatens our heroines with bigger and bigger guns turns out to have been accidentally stifled by Sahara four books ago, and she doesn’t even remember it. So sad.

Menou, Abbie, Sahara and Maya have arrives in the wilds of the north, where they come across the stunning city of ruins, which is not only still intact after so long but is also technically TWO cities… there’s a second one upside down above the first. Unfortunately, they can’t simply sit around and watch terrible movies about sharks in space – not only is one of the biggest mobster bad guys around trying to kill the woman who killed off Flare, for tragic backstory reasons, but also Pandaemonium is here somewhere as well, and Maya, for obvious reasons, wants to try to stop her. Fortunately, the four of them have some help in the form of an ally thought long dead. UN-fortunately, Momo is there as well, and she’s got her own agenda, one that Menou really isn’t going to like.

As usual, I loved Sahara here, who continues to be forced to care and be heroic against her will. The final scene where she takes out one of the big bads because, among many other reasons, she never got breakfast OR lunch today is hilarious but also dead on. Sometimes you’ve got to let compassion fall by the wayside because you’re too cranky. More impressively, I really enjoyed reading Menou in this book. I’ve made no secret about the fact that Menou is my least favorite of the many “good guys” in this series, but here she’s given subtext that makes you pay attention to her – she’s losing more and more of her self. She’s already forgotten everything about Momo, which does not bode well for when the two inevitably meet up again, but seeing her casually take a scripture because she can’t remember why she wouldn’t be using one is chilling because she REMINDS us why earlier in the book. She’s falling to bits. Still not optimistic this will end with any of the main cast alive.

The yuri may be thin on the ground these days, but it IS driving most of the character motivation deep down, so that’s fine. This was good. I look forward to the 9th book. Which only came out in Japan 6 months ago, so we may have to wait more.

The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 5

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By Daisuke Aizawa and Touzai. Released in Japan as “Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

I really did not need there to be a two-year gap in between volumes, and I don’t really care that the author said they were doing a lot of other stuff. I don’t have any time to reread series, and when it’s been over two years since the last book we’re going to be lucky if I remember anything, especially as I found written word Cid much easier to take than anime Cid. Fortunately, the author is apologizing for the back half of Book 4 (Akane is pretty much absent from this book, no surprise there) by having us go back to the beginning – this volume takes place at school, and there’s a heaping helping of Alexia and Claire, though unfortunately both of them have a very bad time. Actually, no one really has a good time in this volume… except for Cid, who is hilarious when he’s treating everyone as helping him with his dramatic posing but slightly less hilarious when he’s ignoring a subordinate using those he cares about in a demonic ritual… wait, does Cid care about anyone?

Cid returns to his normal class life and tries his hardest to be a generic schlub while also lurking on rooftops and practicing looking edgy. Unfortunately, this world takes itself seriously even if Cid does not. Students are disappearing, including Claire, though she quickly reappears. Rose, who is now the Queen of the Oriana Kingdom, finds that every other country in the land, who does not know the secret bad stuff that forced her to do all this, regards her as evil and are uniting against her. And the fact that there really are a large number of conspiracies all working against each other, and Shadow Garden’s willingness to just be “ominously evil”… well, Cid, in any case… means everyone just lumps them in with the other terrorists. Worst, one of the Seven Shadows may actually be summoning an ancient horror. Oh well, at least she told him and got permission first.

Yes I know, I take these books too seriously. But so does everyone else. Leaving Cid aside, there is a lot of very basic trauma here, with lots of dead students, most of them gruesomely dying by exploding bomb collars. Alexia now has her sister thinking she’s a fool, mostly as her sister is being fed false information. Claire is possessed by an ancient witch, who may or may not be evil. Oh yes, and then there’s Zeta, who we meet in this volume (the anime introduced her much earlier). She’s a therianthrope (beast person), and her backstory is, as with the rest of the Seven Shadows, incredibly awful. Unlike the rest of the Seven Shadows, however, she’s not content to simply pine after Cid and do whatever he wants, and she’s decided that the best thing to do is to revive Diablos’ right arm. This is the first of two volumes, so I’m not sure if Cid will notice what she’s doing or care, but I fear caring is a high bar for Cid to clear.

This is still interesting, and funny in many parts, so I’ll keep reading it. But get used to me whining about it too.