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Durarara!! Side Stories?!

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Even more than the Index SS volumes, I’m surprised that this is coming out over here at all. With Index, at least, you can argue that the SS books genuinely affect the plot of future novels. This one is a collection mostly of stories that ran in one or more of Dengeki’s 87 million tie-in magazines, and half the book is a tie-in to either a Japanese video service or a Narita series that has not been licensed over here and likely will never be unless it gets an anime. That said… it’s still a fun volume, because this is Durarara!!, and it’s ridiculous, and I’m just happy to spend more time with these idiots. There are no short stories in here that made me annoyed, though I will note that two of them do accidentally feature the same sort of thing. As for Vamp!… yeah, can’t do anything about that. Hope that Vamp! gets an anime.

The stories: 1) While eating the hot pot as seen in the main novels, we get “what were Mikado and Masaomi like as kids?”, “how did Anri and Mika become twisted friends?”, and “how did Shizuo and Tom meet?”. 2) A goon decides to impersonate Shizuo, a decision so hilariously awful that the rest of the story coasts by on “watch him suffer”. 3) Some quick hit short-shorts starring Celty. 4) We hear about the coming-of-age ceremony of Shizuo, Izaya, Kadota and Shinra. You can imagine how well it goes. 5) A desperate Erika tries to get Celty to become a Niconico streaming star, as Erika is in a war with a rival streamer. The identity of this rival may surprise you. Or not. 6) In a crossover with Vamp!, an unnamed succubus comes to Japan to feed off the desires of victims, but quickly realizes that everyone in this series is dangerously unhinged.

There are, honestly, two short stories here that are head and shoulders above the others, and unsurprisingly they’re the two that feature information that we really should have gotten in the main series. Mika and Anri’s meeting and subsequent friendship is not only driven by Mika’s supposed “need to have someone around to make her look better”, but also the culture of high school bullying in Japan, and she’s fantastic in it. (Speaking of Mika, the succubus chapter points out that while she’s obsessed with Seiji, there is zero sexual desire involved.) The other really good story is Shizuo meeting Tom, who right away is absolutely the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Elsewhere, the fake Shizuo story was very silly and dumb, though I liked seeing Vorona again. The succubus story (I don’t think she’s a cast regular in Vamp!) mostly serves to show off how bonkers Walker is. And there’s honestly too much Erika here. Finally, the book’s surrounding interstitial material is basically “Shinra and Celty are adorable”, which we already know.

DRRR!! fans should feel happy reading this, and are now doubt asking Yen about Vamp! as we speak. It’s a nice look back.

Pick of the Week: Fragrant Flowers and Second Hand Loves

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MICHELLE: In a week with new Iruma-kun and Chihayafuru, not to mention a couple of shoujo debuts, I still think Second Hand Love looks the most appealing!

SEAN: Agreed, though I’m also definitely interested in The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity and Let’s Do It Already!.

ASH: Everything mentioned so far is of interest to me, too, but Second Hand Loveis the release I’m most excited about this week. Having previously enjoyed Talk to My Back, I’m really looking forward to the chance to read more of the creator’s work.

ANNA: I’m going to go all in on The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity just because I really like the cover. Feeling extra shallow this week.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Astrea Record, Vol. 2

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By Fujino Omori and Kakage. Released in Japan as “Astrea Record Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey.

I hate to break it to the author of this series, but the core readership are not 15-year-olds. They, I think, would get the most out of Lyu’s angsty rage and Erebus’ ridiculous trolley problems. The core audience of this series are the ones who have followed it since it began, which means my guess is most are in their thirties. And those folks might find Lyu’s emo teen phase just a little annoying. Or indeed a lot annoying. It’s very true to teenage life, I will admit, but I mean, having Lyu throw a shitfit is baked into her backstory already, do we really need for it to happen again, especially in a novel based on a game story that cannot actually affect canon? Fortunately, there are good parts to this book, including several rousing speeches. But honestly, if you want a light novel version of the “yet you participate in society! Curious. I am very intelligent!” cartoon by Matt Bors, you’re in the right place.

The cover shows Lyu looking down at the ground, despondent and despairing. Behind her is Ardee, who is smiling broadly, possibly as she’s dead and therefore doesn’t have to be in this book. Ardee’s death weighs heavily on a lot of people in this book, and she’s not the only one who’s died. The Evils are on the loose, and their goal is to make the adventurers give up. Lyu, being one of the shiniest and most idealistic of them, is the perfect breaking point, so Erebus is determined to break her. In the meantime there’s tons of fights, deaths,. gore and despair, but also some really cool life-saving, desperately never giving up, and some strong speeches by Finn, who has either been reading Churchill or Henry V. Who will win? (This is a prequel taking place 7 years before the series begins. We know who will win. And yet.)

There is one point in this volume that is easily the best by far, and it’s when Lyu, who is acting like a child, runs into 9-year-old Ais, a literal child, and the two of them have what is basically the sword version of a slapfight. I especially love Riveria, who stops the fight not by yelling at them, or by getting in between them, but by bonking Ais on the top of the head like she’s in Yotsuba&!. It was a lovely break from the rest of the volume, which is made up of half “Become vengeance, Lyu. Become wrath.” and half “I know you’re still in there so fight, damn you!” Astrea Familia gets a lot of time on the page, but I’d argue that the stronger moments go to the characters we know from the main series. There’s nothing wrong with Astrea’s folks, they’re just don’t have the raw impact of, say, Syr cheering them up while also handing out soup to everyone (a moment that works even better after the events of Book 18).

There’s one more to go, and hopefully we’ll get some answers about the Zeus and Hera bad guys, because let me tell you, I do not give two shits about any of the other villains. Still worth it for Danmachi fans, but prepare to be frustrated.

Spy Classroom: A Glint in Monika’s Eye

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By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Thrasher.

Generally speaking a large chunk of fiction, especially fiction written for drama and starring teenagers, revolves around one major problem: the entire plot would not happen if only the characters would communicate with each other. Talking solves the problem, so we have to prevent that, either by character flaw or by authorial fiat. Fortunately, this new volume of Spy Classroom does not have that problem. Oh, sure, things are very bad and Monika is very much not talking about it. But, as the volume goes on, we come to realize that, at least if Monika is going to act in a way that’s true to herself, she cannot talk about this. As it would involve sacrificing a friend. Or a team. Or a country. Unfortunately, that’s very bad news for literally everyone else in the cast. Including most of the bad guys. And Monika, who by the end of the book is not quite suicidal, but close. Wacky fun times are absent here.

We pick up right at the cliffhanger ending of Book 6, with Monika betraying Lamplight. She breaks Thea’s arm, beats up Erna, puts Annette in the hospital, and kidnaps Grete. She’s teamed up with Green Butterfly, who is, of course, blackmailing her something fierce. Monika, being very clever, quickly realizes that “fake traitor” is not going to work in this case – though that’s not to say that she just completely turns evil – there are plans within plans, as is always the case in these books. Meanwhile, the rest of Lamplight are devastated and upset, but also still dealing with the fallout of the last two books. Can they manage to find out why Monika has betrayed them? And does it even make a difference?

I try to avoid giving away the major surprises in these volumes, and I will in this review as well. But we gotta talk about one, as it’s been around almost since the start, and it goes from subtext to text: Monika is gay, and unfortunately in the suspicious, Cold War-esque world that this takes place in, homosexuality is illegal. And while we’ve been told before that she’s in love with one of the members of Lamplight, here we find out who it is. It’s not too much of a surprise, and of course the enemy uses her as a threat against Monika – which works very well, as the seemingly cold and emotionless Monika has far less experience with feelings of love than anyone else in the group. If you enjoy old-school lesbian angst, with sturm und drang, unwillingness to confess because they’re sure the other party doesn’t love them, and a last-minute “I love you” before Monika gets sent to Super Hell cliffhanger ending’d on us, this is right up your alley.

So the next book should, theoretically, wrap up this arc. Unfortunately, most of the cast is in prison, in the hospital, or presumed dead. The good news is that if you love Lily, Sybilla or Sara, you’re going to have a ball. Sara gets the cover at last, and for once we don’t have a SS volume breaking up up. That said… how are they gonna resolve this?

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 11

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I did not intentionally line up two books in a row where the plot is “the author tries to write a light and fluffy vacation volume, but cannot help hammering on the more serious plot”, it just turned out that way. So yes, if you read Seven Spellblades and this series, you may want to stick something else in between them. As for the book itself, it’s quite good, continuing to hammer on the main themes of this series (destiny vs. free will, fighting god, etc.) while also trying to let our heroes get in some swimming and beach volleyball. That said, when you have to remind yourself to make happy memories, there’s something going wrong, and it’s arrived in the form of the latest antagonist, who is (what a surprise) on a mission from God. The end of the series has been announced in Japan, but I think that Red and Rit will be battling till the end.

It’s the height of summer, and Zoltan is far too hot, meaning no one is shopping for apothecary items. Perfect time to take a vacation, right? They can also invite along Tanta, who we just discovered has the blessing of the Cardinal, which definitely gets in the way of following in his parents’ footsteps. Heading out to a remote island, they get in some swimming (and fighting sharks), some boat building, some fishing, and some barbecue. Unfortunately, also on the island is an ascetic woman who has blinded herself to better serve her faith for God, and she’s clearly very suspicious, and very eager to talk to Tanta. Can he really achieve his dream of being a carpenter? Or is he going to have to be indoctrinated by the Church, (and, it’s implied, have to fight Ruti and Red)?

There’s a lot of good stuff here. The series themes are handled very well, with some good discussion of how to work with your blessing without letting it control you, and Eremite is seen as someone whose family couldn’t do that, and she is course correcting far too much in the other direction. She makes a very good one-book antagonist, though she may come back. Tanta is the real winner here, being forced to use his skill points for healing (which puts him on the fast track to the Church, not the house building), but his response about what he thought when he saw the family in that collapsed house is wonderful. As for the “little things” in the series, Red and Rit are cute and flirty, Ruti is badass, Mister Crawly Wawly is fantastic, and there is, thankfully, zero incest subtext this time around.

There’s a prologue I skipped over, and now that we know we’re in the final third I’m sure it will be relevant in future books. For now, though, I’m still quite pleased with this slow life series that, like most of them, struggles for every relaxing moment.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 11

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Even when the author is trying to write a light, fluffy heartwarming volume to balance out the trauma and awfulness in Book 10, they can’t quite pull it off. Oh, there’s lots of fun stuff in here, especially at the start. Seeing the main six in the cast, with plus ones Marco and Teresa, going on boat journeys, getting completely hammered in a “fun drunk” way, seeing Katie’s family home, meeting Chela’s mother… this is all great stuff. There’s a scene with Katie forcing everyone into a deeply Nordic sauna experience that’s both heartwarming and hilarious. And yet at the same time there is the undercurrent of “how long until Katie finally turns and has to be put down like a dog”, as well as “I am already not going to live much longer than five years so I might as well continue to help you”. And that’s not even getting into the faculty trying to find their killers. That, said, this is genuinely fluffy compared to last time, I promise.

So we’re now three teachers down, and in the faculty meeting discussing things the voice of reason, new faculty member and Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams points out that there must be something they have in common, and it’s probably related to Chloe Halford. As for the students, well, it’s end of term, and for once everyone is actually going home. This includes Marco, who is coming with Katie to meet her folks and the local trolls, and Teresa, who Oliver has invited along so that she can experience the world outside of Kimberly. They’re beset by pirates (who are defeated ludicrously easily,), and then they meet Katie’s parents, who are very nice but also have some very pointed questions for Oliver Horn. They then meet Chela’s mother, the elf Mishakua, who wants to see how they measure up in terms of a potential match for Chela. (Oliver fails badly.) Sadly, the ongoing Tir incursion ruins our peaceful fluff of a book.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – this series is fantastic at showing a truly wonderful polycule, with six people who are all wonderful in their own way, while also making you understand that there is no way the series ends with them all graduating and moving into a big house to start their own detective agency or something. I especially appreciated Guy, who gets a bit more to do here, and is starting to shape up as the emotional center of the group, along with Chela. I especially liked his relationship with Katie, where he’s there to be her comfort hug for a while because she can’t bear being near Oliver when he and Nanao are, well, CLOSE, but he draws a line and says she has to actually confront him about it. (Which she… doesn’t quite do.) But, I mean, this series started as a grand revenge story, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to go out that way too, and grand revenge stories do not end well for the revenger. That said, he may live longer than Katie, who even has her parents thinking she’s going to need to be killed by her friends to prevent her turning towards the Tir side.

I’m not sure if we’ll continue the grand tour of everyone’s home in Book 12 or just cut back to the next year at school, but it doesn’t matter, because next up is a Side Story. We’re going to get a good look at the past of Alvin Godfrey, who just graduated in the main series. Till then, this is fluffy fun. Ish.

Manga the Week of 6/5/24

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SEAN: June manga, and the temperature is rising as I type this.

ASH: It’s been pretty warm here where I am already; I’m not looking forward to the additional heat.

SEAN: Airship, in print, debuts The Mimosa Confessions (Mimosa no Kokuhaku), an LGBT novel from the creator of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. A young man gradually drifts away from his more popular guy friend. In high school, he meets a cute girl, and falls for her. However, when he walks home one night, he sees his old friend… in a girls’ uniform and crying?

ASH: Now that it’s in print, I may need to check this one out.

SEAN: Also in print: Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 18 and Yes, No, or Maybe? 3.

The early digital title is Riku Can’t Be a Goddess (Riku-kun wa, Megami ni Narenai). The story of a girl who serves as a dress form for her crush who wants to cross-dress and uses her to see how to be feminine. Then he kisses her and she flees. This apparently is part of an anthology about their high school class and identity in general.

ASH: Hmmm. I am intrigued.

ANNA: Is she a dress form or a fit model? I was picturing sentient headless mannequins for a second.

SEAN: Drawn and Quarterly gives us Second Hand Love, a second collection by the late Yamada Murasaki. They did the author’s Talk to My Back earlier, and this is apparently just as good. A story about adultery that focuses on the ones who are involved in it and the ones that it affects.

ASH: Definitely looking forward to this. Talk to My Back was excellent.

ANNA: This reminds me that I should dig up and read my copy of Talk to My Back.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we get Parallel Paradise 18.

Three debuts from J-Novel Club. Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother (Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu) is a villainess title (the title likely told you that). An OL who loves the brother of the villainess in an otome game wakes up as that villainess. Now she has to not only stop her own villainous fate but also save her brother. I hear this leans into the brocon/siscon tropes but does not quite become incest.

There’s also the shoujo manga adaptation of the same title. It ran in Flos Comic.

The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon (Level 1 kara Hajimaru Shoukan Musou: Ore dake Tsukaeru Ura Dungeon de, Subete no Tenseisha wo Bucchigiru) seems to combine a few popular trends. Grinding up from Level 1, protecting a sibling from an abusive parent, and of course being reincarnated in a game world.

ASH: Of course.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 17, Black Summoner 17, Cooking with Wild Game 24, the 9th Cooking with Wild Game manga, Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer 3, and the 8th Rebuild World manga.

Debuting in print for Kodansha is The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku) is an ongoing romcom from Magazine Pocket. A boys’ school with thugs and layabouts is next door to a girls’ school for lovely young maidens. Naturally two of them fall in love.

ASH: I would read this.

ANNA: Me too!

MICHELLE: Its cover is cute, if nothing else.

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 10, A Condition Called Love 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 8, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 5, WIND BREAKER 6, and Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun! 8.

In digital land, we see Chihayafuru 44, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 10 (the final volume), Life 15, SHAMAN KING: THE SUPER STAR 8, and Those Snow White Notes 18.

MICHELLE: Really, really, really gotta catch up on Iruma-kun and Chihayafuru!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 4th volume of It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too.

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume; I should read more.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a debut, and it’s a danmei novel. Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu features the 8th son of a traitorous prince, who (of course) has the entire nation hating him for his father’s deeds… especially the hot young prince who wants him dead.

ASH: Hooray, for danmei!

MICHELLE: Indeed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Ideal Sponger Life 16, Kemono Jihen 11, Last Game 5, Lonely Castle in the Mirror 3, A Tale of the Secret Saint 6, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 12.

Square Enix gives us Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 11 and A Man and His Cat 11.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to both of these!

SEAN: Tokyopop has Acid Town 6 and Since I Could Die Tomorrow 3.

Viz’s debut is a shoujo title. Let’s Do It Already! (Hayaku Shitai Futari) is a Margaret title about two high school kids who have the same route to their schools. They’re falling in love, but… he’s from a prestigious family of politicians who don’t want any scandal… and she won’t stop flirting with him!

ANNA: Sounds cute.

MICHELLE: I always love Margaret titles, so…

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 4, Kaiju No. 8 10, The King’s Beast 13, My Hero Academia 38, Queen’s Quality 19, Rainbow Days 10, Sakamoto Days 12, and Snow White with the Red Hair 26.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Queen’s Quality.

MICHELLE: A lot of good stuff and then also Rainbow Days.

SEAN: And the only title from Yen Press is No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Arc (No Game No Life – Dai-Ni Shou – Toubu Rengou-hen), which adapts the second arc, as you might guess. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

There’s some great titles in this list. What attracts you?

A Certain Magical Index NT, Vol. 2

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By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Shinyaku To Aru Majutsu no Index” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

I’ve talked before about how much I don’t like Kamachi trying to be funny. His idea of good humor for the books is very much in the “whoops, I just fell into your boobs and you hit me so hard I became a star in the sky” sort of humor. That doesn’t happen here, but we do get about ten different love interest attaching themselves to Touma like lampreys, Itsuwa beating her superior officer to death in order to help him save face, seemingly every single female character grading themselves on breast size, etc. That said, it didn’t grate on me quite as much as usual. Maybe I’ve gotten used to it, but I think it’s more that it was needed in this book for a greater purpose. No, not to balance anything depressing. But rather, to balance out Leivinia Birdway Explains It All For You. She’s got an exposition hammer and she’s gonna use it, and even Index can only go along with her and chime in. Oh, hey, it’s Index! Hi, Index.

Introduced in this volume: Maria Kumokawa, Mjolnir. And by the end of the volume we know the next major antagonist group will be GREMLIN, and so no doubt they’ll start popping up as we go along. This takes place immediately after the first book in NT. As for the plot, well, Touma’s back in Academy City, and all his love interests are very relieved, though not above biting his head. (To be fair, Touma asked for it.) Eventually, he, Accelerator, and Hamazura end up back at Touma’s dorm room, where, as I noted above, Birdway (with occasional interruptions from Index) explains the differences and similarities between magic and science, the goals of each side, how World War III started, and what happens next. What happens next is the plot with Kaori Kanzaki, who is trying to stop a Colony Drop in the making.

I will admit, I left out a bit of humor in the list above, mainly because it was not “this is a wacky anime” style humor and also because it was genuinely funny. I laughed out loud, but also cringed. Mugino introducing herself to Fremea by saying “Hi, I’m the one who killed your sister” is jaw-droppingly awful but also deeply in character, and it was glorious. That said, the rest of ITEM, as well as Accelerator’s double Misaka combo and Touma’s own original flavor Misaka, take a back seat. Again, though at least Mikoto is trying to stop it in regards to the next book. Instead we get our three heroes coming together to save Academy City, each using their own strengths. And if it’s badass action you want, Kaori has it covered, with a fight against a Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. She is quite badass. Shame no one sees it.

It appears the next volume will head over to America. Will Mikoto manage to succeed in getting Touma to take her along while he tries to save people “for his own sake”? Will the cast get even more unwieldy? We’ll see. Till then, enjoy the humor that is the spoonful of sugar to help Birdway’s exposition go down.

Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 6

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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.

Over the course of this series, we’ve had the original book, with the plot of the otome game, where Mary has to try to avoid… pardon me, create… her own doom. Then we had the second book which brings in the plot of the sequel, where she has to figure out how to interfere in a plotline that never involved her at all. And of course there is the anime adaptation, which ended up bringing in a THIRD woman trying to change things who runs up against the force of nature that is Mary. But most of those have been along the same lines. The heroine (really the antagonist) is defeated, and ends up, mostly, being won over by Mary. But what if we had a guy end up in the world of the game? A guy who is a minor son of a minor house in another country, not interacting with the plot at all. And he sees Mary defying her fate, and gets really pissed. Is the world of this otome game tough for a mob?

Mary is suspicious. Supposedly her brothers have revealed to her a necessary part of becoming the next head of the family, which involves touring other countries and showing that you have the right stuff to be a leader of the nobility. She’s suspicious because their supposed book looks an awful lot like a sweet and fun “take a vacation with our beloved sister” plan instead. Still, whatever. She’s happy to go to the nation of Feydella and meet her aunt and uncle. That said, she’s slightly less happy with the customs of the country, which is fine with men and women having multiple lovers, and thus everyone is hitting on her. Constantly. Worst of all, a minor noble accosts her and says that he knows her secret – she remembers this is a game and has been using her prior knowledge to manipulate things for her benefit.

The climax of this book is not unexpected, but it is rather clever, as it relies on something that I’d forgotten about this series. In general, for “I remembered my past life” sort of books, either characters remember almost from birth or at a very young age, or they remember right before the plot of whatever main plot they’re the villainess for has begun. And Mary is the latter – she only remembered her past life right before Alicia started school. She’s been worried about what everyone might think of her if she tells them the truth about her past life, mostly as the mob guy knows how to prey on insecurities. But, as Patrick points out, if she got her memories when she met Alicia, that means that all the time before that she was the ‘real” Mary Albert… and she’s always been like this. There was no change of personality whatsoever. Past life or no, Mary is ultimately a kind and clever (if daffy) heroine who attracts good people to her like flies. Which also means the antagonists of the other game and anime. But does NOT mean mob boy, who I suspect we won’t see again unless it’s in a comedy stinger.

So yes, good book, very satisfying. I think we have two more to go in the series, and there’s a limit to what new plots we can come up with. We’ll see what’s next.

Pick of the Week: When in Doubt, Eat

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SEAN: A somewhat barren week for me, I think I’ll go with By a Twist of Fate, I’m Attending the Royal Academy in Disguise, as I’d like a nice revenge novel to wash the taste of the Livid Lady one out of my mouth.

MICHELLE: Ditto. But having just reread Antique Bakery, one of my very favorite series, I’m in the mood for more Fumi Yoshinaga, so I’ll cast my vote for What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ASH: Ah, such a good series! While none the debut releases this week tend to excite me, I am definitely looking forward to the next installment of What Did You Eat Yesterday? as well quite a few of the other ongoing manga like Usotoki Rhetoric and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

ANNA: Count me in for the general affection for What Did You Eat Yesterday?.