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The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles, Vol. 1

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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 Gigi Li. Adapted by Abigail Clark.

Even if it didn’t also have the same artist as well, I think that readers of this new series will quickly realize that the author is the same as Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter. In fact, the author straight up admits that the idea for this series came about when she thought “what if Iris’ world had magic?”. The book tries not to go along the same lines, and indeed Luxeria’s story is a lot darker and more tragic than Iris’ (well, at least Iris rewriting her own story). But after the time skip, you gradually see that this is another woman who likes to surround herself with super competent servants and colleagues who she has also, in adventures we hear about but do not see, “recruited” from various circumstances. And there’s also a lot of “how do we create a better, more equal kingdom” worldbuilding here, as everyone knows that things need to change but actually making those changes is difficult and takes a while. That said… yeah, this is darker than Duke’s Daughter.

We open with our protagonist, Luxeria, stabbing her groom with a sword on their wedding day in front of the rest of the wedding party. We then track back a bit to see how we got to that point. Young Luxeria is commanded by her family to go live in a tower by herself. She’s delighted by this, as her overpowered magic allows her to see into people’s hearts (and also mind control them a bit), and she dislikes how it makes others uncomfortable. She’s supplied with a maid, the one girl out there who seems to be immune to Luxeria’s powers, and the two settle in and become good friends. Unfortunately, this kingdom is a monarchy but also has five strong marquess houses that have a lot of power. This means that they make an attempt on her life, put the maid into a coma, and kill her parents, the king and queen. Kinda sucks. Oh yes, and she’s a Japanese reincarnation, because of course she is.

I was expecting this to be a typical villainess book where the evil is just a bunch of misunderstandings, but no, Luxeria is out for revenge on those who killed her family and is determined to exact it. Of course, she does not want to exact her revenge while also destroying the country, which is where all that worldbuilding I mentioned above comes in. Actually, I think a flaw in this volume is that I want things to go a bit more slowly. We meet several of her underlings here, but the story of how she got them to work for her instead of against her (her main spy was trying to kill her, in fact) is not told here, but instead we just get a “ha ha yeah those were the days”. The relationship between her and her tragic groom is… also not handled well, mostly as he’s barely in the book. The relationship between her and her maid Alicia is the best thing about the book, and I hope the trust the two have in each other is not broken in the second half.

This was apparently not as long as Duke’s Daughter, so will wrap up in the next volume. I’d recommend it for fans of the earlier series, or for those who want a complete set of villainess books featuring characters called Alicia, of which there are many.

The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival, Vol. 1

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By Harunori Biyori and Hitaki Yuu. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyō Survival” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Camilla L.

This is another one where I had a different idea of what it was going to be like before I read it. When I typed up the premise in Manga the Week of, I said it was an Otome Game Reincarnation Meets Survival Game. Which… is not inaccurate per se, but I think fans of both genres are going to find this a little less than what they were hoping for. For otome heroine fans, while there are multiple reincarations and a villainess to go with our heroine, it only becomes relevant at one point in the story. As for the survival game, that comes right at the start and then is mostly setup for future volumes. As for what this actually is, well, it’s an attempt to tell a “dark” otome heroine story, featuring a heroine who learns how to kill in order to survive. That said… it’s a stat head book. If you’re the sort who can’t get enough of people raising their STR stat +1, you’ll be in clover.

Alicia, an orphan who is trying to live like a plucky young girl despite the orphanage being a Pit Of Evil, is accosted one day by a madwoman. She says this is actually an otome game, and Alicia, the heroine, is destined to be the secret daughter of nobility and end up at a school with multiple men vying for her. The other woman tries to use a magic crystal to transplant her soul into Alicia’s… which only partly succeeds, then Alicia, being a desperate 7-year-old, kills her. Now that Alicia has the woman’s knowledge of this world… and, it’s hinted, a healthy dose of nihilism… she returns to the orphanage, where she was about to be sold to some pedophile, kills the old woman running it, and flees. As she walks through the forest and cities of this world, she gradually works out how magic really works in this world, self-trains, gets help from a few allies, and gradually grows incredibly overpowered. Despite this, she never loses her new personality.

As you can likely guess, someone’s been watching a lot of the “dark magical girl” shows and thinking “hey, I can do that”. And, to be fair, they can do it pretty well. The usual complaining about stats aside (and believe me, it’s very annoying), Alicia, later Alia, is an interesting protagonist, whose influx of memories from the woman who attacked her helps to ward off accusations of her being nothing like any other 7-year-old out there. The same applies to Elena, the future Villainess of this world, who is also, separately, trying her best to avoid her fate in the game. Frankly, the meeting between Alicia and Elena is the highlight of the book, and the final scene may not be yuri (they’re both too young, leaving aside their mental age), but it’s fraught with doomed Birdie Wing-style dramatics, as one pledges to do one (and only one) thing to help the other no matter what, and the other promises to kill one (and only one) person for the other no matter what. It was damn cool.

That said… again, hope you like stats. I’m definitely reading the 2nd book, though, which may have a new cast, given our heroine fakes her own death at the end of this one.

Manga the Week of 3/20/24

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SEAN: ALERT! ALERT! YEN PRESS HAS BREACHED THE CONTAINMENT SHIELD! AWOOGAH! AWOOGAH! ABANDON SHIP!

ASH: It’s happening!

ANNA: I’m going to run off and take cover!

SEAN: Yen On has several debuts, starting with Amalgam Hound: Criminal Investigation Bureau: Special Investigation Unit (Amalgam Hound Sōsakyoku Keijibu Tokusō Han), which possibly has one too many subtitles. Amalgams are war machines that can go rogue, and Theo is the one who has to take them out when they do. But now his new partner is an Amalgam! Can they get along?

ASH: I’m guessing yes, or at least well enough to last for more than a volume.

SEAN: Classroom For Heroes (Eiyū Kyōshitsu) had an anime come out in the summer of last year. An ex-hero who lost his powers defeating the Big Bad is now trying to fit in as a normal student at an academy. Aheh. Good luck.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant (Yōma to Geboku no Keiyaku Jōken) features a guy who keeps failing his exams, has lost his job, and has just been hit by a car, leaving him dying on the side of the road. Someone agrees to help him… because of the smell of his blood. Does he really WANT their help? This seems to be BL-ish?

MICHELLE: I wasn’t into this concept until I looked at the cover, which is really appealing. Now if only there were an adage about books and their covers…

ASH: That is a nice cover. I also love the plot twist that it isn’t isekai. (It was really close there!)

ANNA: Hmmmmm.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Agents of the Four Seasons 2, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 4.5, The Deer King 2, The Detective Is Already Dead 7, The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey 3, King’s Proposal 4, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 6, A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans 2, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 24, and Sasaki and Peeps 6.

Yen Press also has a few debuts. Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition (Otona no Zukan Kaiteiban) has our protagonist, Kudo, find a note along with a 4-year-old. The note is from his late friend, who asks him to take care of his daughter. Feeling pressured, he proceeds to propose to a woman he met that very day, and now he’s going to try to raise a family. This ran in Big Comic Spirits.

ASH: That was a quick development.

SEAN: I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me (Gyaru Gamer Homeraretai) is a Shonen Ace title that stars one of the hot new romantic pairings, hot beautiful gyaru girl who’s a sweetie pie and J. Random Normal Dude.

ASH: We have seen quite a few of those pairings lately, haven’t we?

SEAN: Sword Art Online Progressive Canon of the Golden Rule (Sword Art Online: Progressive – Kogane Ritsu no Kanon) adapts the “puzzle floor” arc, and runs in Dengeki G’s.

The Tiger Won’t Eat the Dragon Yet (Tora wa Ryuu wo Mada Tabenai) is from Harta. A tiger knows that eating the meat of a dragon will grant a great number of magical properties. She just has to eat the dragon. But he’s far too young and scrawny for her to eat, so she decides to raise him instead. Please do not be as “yikes” as this premise sounds.

ASH: Hmmm. This definitely has the potential to go to some uncomfortable places.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Black Summoner 1 (a print version of the J-NC manga), Coffee Moon 5, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 15, Delicious in Dungeon 13, The Eminence in Shadow 9, The Essence of Being a Muse 3 (the final volume), Game of Familia 3, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 6, Honey Lemon Soda 5, I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World 3, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 22, Love and Heart 10 (the final volume), Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 7, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 5, Minato’s Laundromat 2, Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord 2, Nights with a Cat 3, The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter 4, Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon 2, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 2 (print version of the J-NC manga), A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special 3, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 22, Shadows House 6, Slasher Maidens 10, and Val x Love 16 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: I routinely forget Honey Lemon Soda exists.

ASH: Oh! I think I saw Delicious in Dungeon somewhere in there, too!

ANNA: Need to get caught up on Honey Lemon Soda, it is cute.

SEAN: In other publisher news, Viz Media debuts Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. (Kabushiki Gaisha MagiLumiere), a Shonen Jump+ title based on a webcomic. A young woman trying to get a job finds her latest interview interrupted by a monster attack. When a magical girl shows up to defeat it, she finds herself… working for the magical girl organization?

Also from Viz, #DRCL midnight children 2, Alice in Borderland 9, Dark Gathering 6, Insomniacs After School 5, Love’s in Sight! 6, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 21, Seraph of the End 29, and Spy x Family 11.

ASH: I haven’t managed to actually read #DRCL yet, but I have looked at the impressive artwork.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment gives us Team Phoenix 3.

ASH: I feel like I should give this series a try at some point.

SEAN: From Tokyopop, we get three debuts, all one-shot BL titles. Heat x Beat: I May Be an Omega, but I’m Going to Be an Idol! (Heat x Beat – Omega Dakedo Idol Hajimemashita) combines idols with A/B/O, and it ran in Comic Marginal.

My Love Will Last Until the End of Time (Raise no Kimi ni Kuchizuke o) ran in from RED. A prince fell in love with a commoner, but their tragic love was doomed. Now a modern-day college student, the prince has found his love… but he doesn’t remember his past life!

Rooming With My Two Lovers (3P Lovers Shared House) also ran in from RED. There’s a Japanese adage, “never date a bartender, band member, or beautician”. What if the three of them date each other?

Tokyopop also has Mitsuka 2 and Sengoku Youko 6.

Square Enix has the 3rd volume of YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR:Automata Story.

Seven Seas debuts How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend? (Doushitara Osananajimi no Kanojo ni Naremasu ka!?), a yuri title from Manga Life STORIA Dash. Two girls who have grown up together are best friends. But when a guy confesses to one of them, the other realizes it’s more than that. This is by the author of Monologue Woven For You.

ASH: Uh-oh, drama!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 7, The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan 3 (the final volume), Homunculus 7-8, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 7, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 3-4, and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 4.

ASH: Orb is another series I’ve been meaning to try; better get on that!

SEAN: And for danmei fans, we see Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 4.

From One Peace Books, we get Multi-Mind Mayhem 9.

Two debuts from Kodansha Manga, sort of. I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl (Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai) is a Comic Yuri Hime title. An honor student is bribed by the teacher: he’ll write her a recommendation letter if she gets the truant girl to come to school. But the truant girl is more interested in kissing…

The sort of is Initial D Omnibus 1-2. Kodansha completed this 48-volume Young Magazine title digitally. But now it’s time to get it back in print.

ASH: I know some folks who are very excited about this.

ANNA: This does sound very nostalgic.

SEAN: Also in print: Gleipnir 14 (the final volume), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir 3, ORIGIN 3, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 7, Welcome Back, Alice 6.

And digitally we see Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 7, Don’t Tempt Me, VP! 4, Gamaran 19, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 19, Medalist 9, and Teppu 6.

Three debuts for J-Novel Club. The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases (Dekisokonai to Yobareta Moto Eiyū wa, Jikka Kara Tsuihōsareta node Suki Katte ni Ikiru Koto ni Shita) stars another of those protagonists born with low skills and levels so everyone despises them. But he’s actually a reincarnated hero, and is delighted that he can just bum around and do what he likes. OR CAN HE?

I Don’t Want to Be the Dragon Duke’s Maid! Serving My Ex-Fiancé from My Past Life (Ryū Taikō no Senzoku Jijo wa Goenryō Shitai! Tensei Saki no Okyūji Aite wa Zense no Moto Konyakusha Deshita) is, you guessed it, a reincarnated noble who was once married to a Dragon Duke – and also murdered. Now she’s happy she doesn’t have to have anything to do with him. OR DOES SHE?

And they have the first manga volume of A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life (Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi), which runs in Comic Walker and is based on the light novel, also released by J-NC. A salaryman has put aside two weeks of vacation to immerse himself in the new VR game just out. He’s determined he will have a fantastic gaming life with cute tamed monsters. OR WILL HE? (Yes. Yes, he will.)

Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 30, The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 2, the 2nd Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! manga volume, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 11, I Could Never Be a Succubus! 2, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 5.

Ghost Ship gives us Inside the Tentacle Cave 2 and Parallel Paradise 17.

Dark Horse has the 5th volume of the Hellsing re-release. (Dark Horse is releasing something at a fast pace. Are these the end times?)

ASH: I don’t know what to do in this sort of situation!

SEAN: In print from Airship, we see Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes (Maou to Yuusha no Tatakai no Ura de), about a normal guy who died in the battle by the Demon King’s Army. Now he’s a noble… and has memories of the fact that this is a game.

Also in print: Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 8.

And for early digital we see Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 8, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 5, and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 6.

I’m afraid Yen Press has annihilated us all, helped along by every other publisher. What manga remains?

Management of a Novice Alchemist, Vol. 1

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

It’s been a while since I’ve come at a light novel series from this direction. Lately, the Japanese companies are getting clever, and getting an English-language company to license a series several seasons before the anime is announced, so that the anime can drive up sales of the book. But when Management of a Novice Alchemist came out in the Fall of 2022, the novel and manga were both absent here, meaning the anime was many people’s first exposure, including mine. Well, “many people” in quotes. This is not exactly Chainsaw Man. There was a small following who enjoyed a mostly laid-back series with the occasional monster battle. And now, a year and a half later, we have the novels, and good news! The same vibe carries through to the books. That said, the anime either added a lot to the start of the series, or else it was brought in from future books. Sarasa’s past is not important here. The shop is all.

Sarasa Feed has just graduated from the Royal Alchemist Academy, and is now able to call herself one of that rare profession. Her master decides to give Sarasa a gift to celebrate her graduation (and also her saving and scrimping to buy the ludicrously expensive 10-volume Alchemy Encyclopedia) and gets her her very own shop at a low low price, where she can start selling potions and remedies. There is one slight snag – the shop is in the middle of a very remote village. And is a bit of a fixer-upper. That said, the core of it is still excellent, and Sarasa is an orphan girl who’s spent her entire life surviving on pluck and guts, so Sarasa settles in, cleans up, orders furniture, and opens shop. Soon she has a shop assistant, a girl two years younger than her 15 (the age of maturity here), and she’s able to find a nearby city where… well, at least one of the shops is not there to rip her off. Most importantly: Sarasa is a totally normal, ordinary garden-variety alchemist. And not an insanely talented terrifying prodigy at all.

Sarasa is pretty much THE main reason to read this. Her matter-of-fact, blase narration sucker punches the reader as well into underestimating her, but we do notice right off the bat that she spent her entire school life studying and making no friends, that her mentor is a Master Alchemist revered the world over, and that she’s not only terrific at alchemy but, when she physically strengthens herself, can easily lift huge logs and take out grizzly bear monsters. She is essentially Twilight Sparkle as a human light novel girl. Two warnings, though, which the anime watchers noticed as well. First, this is another series where the lead cares far more about breast size than I ever will (she’s relatively flat, of course), and it does not go away. More importantly, Sarasa believes everything has a cost, and she will be enforcing that, even if you bring in an adventurer who’s lost an arm and is on the verge of dying. We do not do things out of the goodness of our heart here. Well, mostly. She is a bit of a softy. But the girl still owes Sarasa a huge amount of money for saving her life.

If you liked the anime, you’ll like this. If you never tried it, this is a good one for girls who say they’re typical but are anything but, misers, and a slow life that really isn’t.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “Within Arm’s Reach”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

This is the first volume taking place after our main couple have gotten together… again… and as you can imagine, it’s leading up to one big scene. That said, it certainly does meander before it gets there. This series has always played with viewpoint – from the start, the main chapters alternated between Mizuto and Yume, usually with some variation on how they used to be in love but are older and wiser now. As the series went on, we got more and more viewpoints from the POV of other characters, such as the best friends of our lead couple, or the rest of the student council. And honestly, with this volume I think we may have finally gotten an answer to the question “how much is too much”. I think everyone in the entire cast with the exception of Isana gets a look in here, and it makes the book too scattered. It’s only in the final dramatic battle/love scene that it settles down – ironically, when the POV switch is at its worst.

Mizuto and Yume are now a couple once more, but there is a slight problem – they’re still stepsiblings. As a result, they have to hide their relationship from both their parents and from everyone at school. The latter is only slightly successful – Minami and Kawanami figure things out pretty fast – but it does mean that there are a certain amount of repressed feelings that are happening. And, of course, this book also takes place around Valentine’s Day and White Day, with all the plots that you’d expect with that. We get another couple getting together here, despite some truly amazing amounts of self-hatred and loathing to get through in order to accept it – and as for Minami and Kawanami… it may be a bit longer, but they’re making real prgress as well. As for Mizuto and Yume, their parents taking an extended away trip means that they may finally be able to go all the way this time… provided this does not turn into Kaguya-sama: Love Is War again.

I will admit, I was schnookered by the author. The moment the two of them decided that this was going to be some sort of contest to see who admitted to wanting to have sex first, I was fairly certain that they were going to end up just doing nothing till their parents came back. But no, for once the two have semi-matured enough – and are prepared enough to buy nice lingerie and condoms – that they actually do end up getting past the competitiveness and having their first time. The sex, as you can imagine, is elided rather than explicitly described, but the elision is actually very clever, relying on the swapping narrative POV to give us the rhythm of two lovers coming closer and closer to a climax. Also, as with the previous sex scene in this series, the first time is not necessarily “the best sex ever” – it’s typical first sex – but they’re both happy, which is all that matters.

That competitiveness may end up returning after the cliffhanger ending to this book, though thankfully it will be in the classroom rather than the bedroom. I just hope we can get back to primarily being Mizuto and Yume’s narration.

Pick of the Week: Galaxies, Alchemists, and Numbers

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MICHELLE: I really enjoyed *Sweetness & Lightning* and have been meaning to check out *A Galaxy Next Door* since its debut. And now it’s ending, so I had better get a move on!

SEAN: I’ll be picking Management of a Novice Alchemist, because I enjoy peaceful slow life people who reveal they’re secretly incredibly badass. And I can tolerate clumsy dojikkos, which this series also has in spades. They’re not the same person, thankfully.

ASH: Number Call is the debut that particularly caught my attention this week. Wordplay, BL, and complete in one volume, so I might actually be able to find time to read it.

Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad!, Vol. 4

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By kabedondaikou and Yunohito. Released in Japan as “Risō no Seijo? Zannen, Nise Seijo Deshita! Kuso of the Year to Yobareta Akuyaku ni Tensei Shitanda ga” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

It has gotten to the point where it’s rare that we get a modern light novel that is NOT based on a pre-existing web novel in some way, shape or form. Which makes sense – the light novel is still booming in Japan, and it’s much easier to take an author who’s gotten to the top of the rankings on Narou and edit their work into something for the mainstream than to rely on things like competitions and the like. And there’s nothing wrong with the end of this series. Fake Saint of the Year ends with this volume, and it’s a perfectly decent ending that makes thematic sense, gives a hint of romance for those who want to snatch at it while heavily implying it’s not happening, etc. It ticks the boxes. It’s just… the book ends at page 115, but the Afterword is not until page 278. That’s right. Get ready for Side Story Hell.

After dying at the end of the last volume, Ellize had expected that everyone would move on with their lives and enjoy the happily ever after. There are just two problems with that. First of all, everyone is so utterly devastated by her death that they’re in abject misery, and one or two have tried to kill themselves to “join” her. Meanwhile, guess what’s not quite as dead as expected? Well, all right, Ellize did foresee this, but she also thought that everyone would be able to take care of the remnants of the witch as they’d be on the top of their game. Instead, an entity that feels on negative feelings is facing off against grieving shells of what they used to be. Ellize sees this because, rather than going to the afterlife, she ended up back in the apartment of a dying Fudou Nito, who has to help Ellize come to terms with the fact that this isn’t a game, and that she is, in fact loved.

As said, the end of the book itself is fine. I thought it wrapped everything up nicely, had a couple sacrifices that made sense, and didn’t make Ellize wander too far out of her “I am a piece of shit” characterization beyond real character development. Unfortunately, we then get two lengthy side stories. The first has Ellize, post-ending, traveling to an alternate world… the one of the actual game, the one where Eterna dies. It’s the ending she always wished she could fix, which is why she made all those changes in her own timeline. Now she gets the chance to fix it. It’s like reading someone tagging AO3, only in real life. In the second story, Ellize discovers a rift that leads to modern-day Japan, and does eventually close it as it’s dangerous… but not before she goes back there, eats delicious food, buys modern bread so she can make French Toast back home, and meets up once more with Yamoto Tamaki… while also creating complete chaos, as she’s walking around looking like the most gorgeous woman in the world, and also a very recognizable video game icon. This was even more pointless than the previous story.

So yeah, I get that you can’t just release a book that’s Slayers-length these days, but sometimes side stories aren’t really needed, right? Overall, despite my issues with Ellize’s narrative voice and self-loathing (which ends up saving the day, to be fair), this was an OK villainess series.

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 9

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By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by A.M. Cola.

If you read this series to watch it tick boxes, this is a very good volume. As you can tell from the cover, we get to tick the box ‘beach episode’, as Yuto and his tamed monsters get to dress in swimsuits for the beach (though apparently the non-human ones have to wear one-piece suits, presumably so we don’t have to deal with penguins in bikinis) and also got to have their very own Jurassic Park event on an uncharted desert island (which, of course, he manages to complete by himself purely on instinct and luck, something which absolutely boggles the mods). Admittedly, he doesn’t come out unscathed, as there are two sacrifices for the cause… but this is a fluffy game, so when the tamed monster dies they just literally go back to the ranch. There’s no end goal to this series at all – it ends when Yuto’s two-week vacation finishes and he has to go back to being a salaryman again. The fluff is all there is.

It’s time for the Summer Event, which means Yuto and his crew get to hang out on beaches, go fishing, and try to fill up an encyclopedia of animals and insects. This is right up Yuto’s alley, as he is exactly the sort of nerd that went looking for rhinoceros beetles as a kid, though the rest of the tamed crew are a bit less enthusiastic. He also gets to (after many attempts to get past a strong current blocking the player from advancing) to an island that has prehistoric life, ranging from rare fossils to tyrannosaurus rexes to raptors straight out of that movie that dare not speak its name. (Sadly, it’s not WcRassic Park.) Unfortunately, Yuto is not really powerful enough to take on a t-rex, especially when they also come across a huge brachiosaurus. Nothing left to do but get killed… or is there a way to beat this using smarts? And what effects will accidentally streaming everything have on the event?

It’s getting increasingly hard not to call this series “the male Bofuri”, and if Maple kept to herself and got a few more animal friends, they’d basically be the same. Yuto is not trying to break the game, he just keeps doing it. It’s not just that he happened across the one way to actually win the dinosaur battle without a party wipe, it’s that he accidentally streamed it so that EVERYONE ELSE also knows. He didn’t even have to give the info to the increasingly despairing info brokers this time around (though rest assured, he still has plenty of info, and it’s still breaking their bank to buy it.) But Yuto is not really trying to get involved in major game stories. He’s here to try to catch a coelacanth, or get back to shore before he has to pay extra on his fishing boat. Like Maple, he’s simply a game-breaking force of nature, and if the teaser for the next book proves true (think sunken pirate gold), that won’t change. Looks like the head developer will have to get a divorce.

So yeah, this has no plot, and it’s never going to. It has no romance. Hell, it barely has friendships – Yuto doesn’t really hang out with other players this volume. But it’s fun. I like it.

Manga the Week of 3/13/24

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SEAN: Middlemarch, and no manga adapting George Eliot. Alas.

MICHELLE: That would be interesting!

ASH: Surely, this must exist somewhere already, right?

ANNA: I may be more curious about this hypothetical George Eliot manga than anything actually coming out this week.

SEAN: Airship has a print release of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 17, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 26 (the final volume, though sequels are coming), and Yes, No, or Maybe? 2.

The early digital debut is The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles (Akutoku Joō no Kokoroe), from the creative team behind Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter. A crown princess has been locked up for years, docile as a doll. Now she’s free… and suddenly her parents are murdered. This seems on the “serious” side of the genre.

ASH: It does seem that way.

SEAN: Also out in early digital: I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 2.

For Ghost Ship, we get The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 9, Ayakashi Triangle 8, Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 11-12, and the 7th and final volume of Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire?.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club, as we see Ascendance of a Bookworm 23, By the Grace of the Gods 12, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 7.

ASH: Yeah, Bookworm!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has three debuts for digital release. Management of a Novice Alchemist (Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei) is one of those series that’s coming out well after the anime aired. Also, I think I’m the only one who really loved this anime. As such, I may be the only one really happy to see this book. Sarasa is a newly-graduated alchemist who’s starting her Slow Life at a shop in the middle of nowhere… but as with a lot of Slow Life series, just how slow is it?

ASH: I haven’t seen the anime, but I have a soft spot for alchemists.

SEAN: The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival (Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyō Survival) combines two current trends, as we see “reincarnated into an otome game” matched up with “death game”. A young girl living a horrible life is suddenly shocked when a person tries to kill her, and she regains her memories of what this world is and who she is. Now she’s prepared to kick ass.

The Water Magician (Mizuzokusei no Mahōtsukai) has a very similar plot to the above, minus the otome game and death game parts. A young man is reincarnated into a world with water powers, and is delighted he can live a slow life learning to use them. Sure, he’s in danger all the time and everything’s trying to kill him, but that won’t stop his slow life.

ASH: Ha!

ANNA: I aspire to have a slow life that I could attempt to protect at any cost.

SEAN: We also get Black Summoner 16, the 5th A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! manga, Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 10, Earl and Fairy 5, Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer 2, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 6, Monster Tamer 16, the 7th Rebuild World manga, and Record of Wortenia War 23.

Kodansha Books has a 5th volume of Am I Actually the Strongest?.

Kodansha Manga has a print debut, complete in one volume. Number Call is a BL manga from Gateau about a boy named Eito who hates his name meeting a boy named Hachi (the Japanese for “eight).

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: I’m game.

SEAN: Also in print: Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 9 and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 7.

The digital debut is Because I, the True Saint, Was Banished, That Country Is Done For! (Shin no Seijo de aru Watashi wa Tsuihou Saremashita. Dakara Kono Kuni wa Mou Owari desu) a shoujo manga from Palcy. You’ve read this one before, basically. Saint, engaged to the prince, broken engagement, exiled, trying to live a quiet life in the next kingdom over, suddenly buried in hot men.

Also digital: Cells at Work! Lady 5 (the final volume), A Galaxy Next Door 6 (the final volume), Gang King 15, How I Met My Soulmate 2, I Have a Crush at Work 2, I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 3, Matcha Made in Heaven 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 10, and Ya Boy Kongming 15.

MICHELLE: I really should read A Galaxy Next Door, huh?

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us a 6th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Yay.

ASH: Indeed!

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas, but we get Cat on the Hero’s Lap 2, COLORLESS 6, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 3, The Duke of Death and His Maid 11, The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be 3, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 8, No Longer Allowed In Another World 5, the 4th and final volume of Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition, Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing 2, and Yakuza Reincarnation 9.

Square Enix debuts The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love (Akuyaku Reijou wa Dekiai Route ni Hairimashita!?), a manga based on an unlicensed light novel, and from the author of A Tale of the Secret Saint. An otome game isekai’d villainess is determined to stay alive by just avoiding all the men in the game. So why are they so fascinated with her? It runs in Manga Up!.

ASH: In theory, it’s a good strategy.

SEAN: Also from Square Enix: The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 17.

SuBLime has Candy Color Paradox Assorted Pack, a selection of bonus and side stories from the manga.

ASH: Sweet.

SEAN: And we get the 2nd and final volume of Pink Heart Jam, though there’s a sequel.

Tokyopop has the 5th volume of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke and the 4th volume of Hanger.

Two debuts from Viz, both One Piece spinoffs. One Piece: Ace’s Story—The Manga (One Piece Episode A) is an adaptation of the light novel that came out a while back, focusing on Ace. It ran in Shonen Jump +.

One Piece: Shokugeki no Sanji ran in Weekly Shonen Jump, is complete in one volume, and is not quite a Food Wars! crossover, but it’s by the creators of Food Wars!.

Viz also has Animal Crossing: New Horizons 6, Call of the Night 15, Disney Twisted-Wonderland 3, Fly Me to the Moon 22, Helck 8, Mao 16, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 15, One Piece 105, and Yakuza Lover 12 (the final volume).

And that’s it! What manga is marching towards you?

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 2

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By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

There’s almost a mini-genre now that can be summed up as “OP protagonist is excessively humble, does not realize their own OPness”. It can’t simply be that they’re constantly belittling themselves and saying anyone can do what they do with a little bit of effort, it’s that when we see them in action we know that this is demonstrably false, that they really are incredibly talented and special. Several times in these books we see Beryl fighting someone or something and thinking “huh, I guess they’re not all that strong, I wonder where the real fighters are” and it turning out that no, those are the real fighters. Heck, for the climax of this new volume the opposing soldiers of the church have to literally dope themselves to even try to be able to defeat him. The hotshot disciples of the title won’t leave him alone because he’s seriously hot stuff.

After the events of the last book, Beryl is in need of a new sword. What’s more, he finds that one of his ex-students, Kewlny, is using swords far too light for her muscular body, and needs to move to a much heavier sword. Fortunately, another one of his ex-students is a master blacksmith, who took a year to learn swordsmanship in order to better his craft. (He’s also not in love with Beryl, which reassures me that the “students” he taught are not all haremettes.) As he waits for his sword to be forged, he runs into a pickpocket who is, surprisingly, able to use magic. Unfortunately, the reason she’s picking pockets turns out to have a tragic origin, and of course Beryl gets involved. Could the reason for all this turn out to be an offshoot of the neighboring country’s religion?

Yeah, evil Church again, though at least we get a good priest to show that the evil church is mostly this one evil guy and his goons. It does, however, help us to codify what magic is in this world and what it can and cannot do. The reason that Mui (the pickpocket) using magic is so surprising is because people who are magic capable pretty much get snapped up and put into the academy, so the fact that she isn’t is surprising. We also hear why the folks who use magic are called Wizards and not Mages, and it makes sense in the context of this world. What’s more, there are things magic can’t do. From the moment “resurrection magic” came up, we knew that things were going to be headed down a dark path. I wasn’t sure if it would mean vampires or zombies, but I knew it would not lead to happy people back from the dead and fine. There *are* series that do that (Delicious in Dungeon comes to mind), but this one runs on stricter rules.

All this plus almost none of the silly romantic antics I was expecting this series to have. A look at the summary of the third book tells me that may change soon, but ah well. This has become a pleasant surprise.