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Sasaki and Peeps: An Unidentified Flying Object from Outer Space Arrives and Earth Is Under Attack! ~The Extraterrestrial Lifeform That Came to Announce Mankind’s End Appears to Be Dangerously Sensitive~

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By Buncololi and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Sasaki to Pi-chan” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

One of the tropes of this series, which is not exactly welcome but I’ve been able to deal with it, is that Sasaki is a main character, in his late 20s/early 30s, who accumulates either underage girls or girls who look like underage girls, some of whom are either in love or dangerously obsessed with him. This is brought home once more in this volume, when he shows up at Hoshizaki’s apartment and her younger sister notes that he now has ANOTHER underage girl with him, and, very sensibly, feels she cannot trust him around her sister. As such, I appreciate Sasaki’s narration spelling out that, even if he’s not explicitly asexual, that he is at least totally uninterested in sex with anyone right now. This is not going to reassure the younger sister, nor is it stopping Elsa from being engaged to him (which happens here), but it at least assures the READER. The author is here to jam pack this story with as many genres as possible, but harem is not near the top.

Picking up where the last book left off, there’s a UFO that the entire world are dealing with, and Sasaki, Hoshizaki and Futarishizuka are assigned to do something about it. As it turns out, a lot of groups have made their way to the alien, and are being quizzed – and then rejected. Unfortunately, thanks to Hoshizaki trying to define the word “lonely”, the alien realizes that she’s suddenly overcome with that feeling, and decides to try to destroy the Earth because she can’t handle it. Fortunately, this does not happen, mostly as the alien (who is basically “robot girl” for the sake of the tropes, and is called Type Twelve) gloms on to both Hoshizaki and Kurosu, the neighbor girl, who are trying to help her make friends and find happiness when she has no concept of such things. Boy, sure hope one of them doesn’t get kidnapped by bad guys, that would ruin everything…

Since my last review, we’ve had the anime of Sasaki and Peeps, and it was… OK, I guess. It’s getting a second series, though that’s mostly out of necessity given the nature of the plot. One complaint I saw was that the neighbor girl was pointless, and, well, yeah, none of her stuff becomes relevant till Book 3, so of course she is. Because Sasaki and Peeps is a genre mashup, in general the more genres it mashes the better. And this volume has almost everything, with the fantasy isekai aspect being the only one getting short shrift here. Alien robot girl searching for emotions and super powerful is not the most original of ideas, but originality is the opposite of what this series needs. Everyone gets to do cool things. Futarishizuka gets to be an adorable asshole. Hoshizaki is tsundere. Neighbor Girl (look, he doesn’t call her Kurosu so why should I?) is still terrible at social interaction. Sasaki is a bit of a narrative blank (Futarishizuka calls him “flaccid”, which, ouch), but I can deal with it. We want to see what crazy thing will happen next. That’s that point of the series.

Next time we might see the “island cut off from communication” trope, which should be fun. Till then, enjoy all the cute girls and be reassured Sasaki has no interest in any of them.

A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans, Vol. 2

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By Kurusu Natsume and Sai Izumi. Released in Japan as “Jingai Kyōshitsu no Ningen-girai Kyōshi: Hitoma-sensei, Watashi-tachi no Kibo o Mitsukete Kuremasu ka……?” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Linda Liu.

This is the sort of series where you can call the second volume “more of the same” and have it be a good thing. We’re here for very specific things. We want to see new students trying their best to become human, and we also want to see Hitoma, despite everything, be a really great teacher who is slowly regaining his faith in humanity. We’ve still got the three students from before, and now we add three, which gives us a lovely opportunity to dig into why these girls want to become human. Sometimes it’s pretty easy, like Minazuki and her desire to be a dancer (she’s still graduated, by the way, and doesn’t show up in this second book). Sometimes it’s harder, like Usami, whose goals have gotten so large that they’re almost impossible to achieve. And sometimes they’re… well, done to please someone else. And that forms the crux of the most interesting part of this book.

As noted, there are three new students in the classroom this year. Karin Ryuzaki is a dragon girl who has fallen in love with her teacher at first sight, and is determined to confess – despite the obvious issues with a student teacher romance. Machi Nezu is a mouse girl with an obsession with food and also an obsession with her little sister, who is in the lower grade of the school. And Neneko Kurosawa is a cat girl who seems to sleep most of the time and be relatively uninterested in class when she’s forced awake. When asked why she wants to be human, she replies at first that it’s a secret, then later that it’s someone else’s desire. But Neneko has a bigger secret, one that will severely impact her time at this school: she doesn’t actually want to become human at all.

The other girls do also get attention paid to them. We now know Haneda’s secret, of course, so she has a larger role than usual. Usami is trying harder than ever, but at least is allowed a bit of closure from her previous life. And Ohgami is… well, I hesitate to say that she’s the weak link. Her story is touching and feels earned. But I get the sense she graduated mostly as the author had run out of things to do with her. We don’t even see the “split” that is supposed to allow both aspects of her to pursue separate human lives, it’s all implied. Bit of a bummer. By contrast, Neneko’s story is the most interesting, being a companion of a witch who is at risk of becoming a yokai rather than a human. But she’d rather deal with that than deal with being separated from the one she cares for, and I like that she’s able to get that across and that they’re searching for a solution.

The book ends with a cliffhanger that makes me wonder if it will end in the next volume, as it certainly promises to wrap up Hitoma’s past trauma. But the 3rd book in the series only came out a few days ago in Japan, so it will be a while. Till then, this is good fun and heartwarming.

Manga the Week of 4/3/24

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SEAN: It’s time for April manga! The best month!

MICHELLE: All the cool people were born in it!

SEAN: We start off with Viz Media, who have a spinoff to debut. Sequel? One of those. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate (Kimi ni Todoke Bangai-hen – Unmei no hito) takes place after the main series, and focuses on Kurumi. It apparently also ties into Crazy for You by the same author. It ran in Betsuma.

ANNA: I should actually finish Kimi ni Todoke before I read a sequel.

MICHELLE: Ooooh.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 19, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 28 (the final volume), Marriage Toxin 2, Moriarty the Patriot 15, Neighborhood Story 2, Rainbow Days 9, Sakamoto Days 11, Skip Beat! 49, and Tamon’s B-Side 3.

ANNA: Skip Beat!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!

MICHELLE: And more Neighborhood Story! This is a good week!

ASH: It really is!

SEAN: Tokyopop has Acid Town 5, Is This the Kind of Love I Want? 2 (the final volume), and Since I Could Die Tomorrow 2.

Square Enix debuts Victoria’s Electric Coffin, a Shonen-ish title from GFantasy (hence the -ish). A prisoner on Death Row meets Victoria Frankenstein, a 13-year-old genius, who wants him to become her new experiment.

ANNA: OK, the concept for this sounds amusing to me.

SEAN: They also have By the Grace of the Gods 10.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Nagahama to Be, or Not to Be, a BL title from Cheri + (and yes, it uses the English in the Japanese title). Complete in one volume, it’s from the creator of Jackass!, Two boys bond over fish and possibly being gay.

ANNA: It sounds like that’s a strong possibility.

MICHELLE: The cover is cute!

ASH: I really enjoyed Jackass!, if I recall correctly, so I have hopes for this one, too.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 5, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 14, The Kingdoms of Ruin 8, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 6, MoMo -the blood taker- 8, Tokyo Revengers 19-20, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 2.

One Peace Books gives us It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too 3.

ASH: Did we skip over, It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too Two? I feel like I would have remembered that. Regardless, the first volume was enjoyable.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has a print debut. Bless is a fairly new series from Shonen Magazine Edge, and features a hot model who really wants to be a makeup artist, and the girl he discovers, who tends to hunch and has freckles, but with his help can be a fantastic model. This sounds great, to be honest.

ANNA: Hmmmmm.

MICHELLE: I like the synopsis!

ASH: It does sound like it could be intriguing.

SEAN: And more series getting omnibuses, this time it’s That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Omnibus. The first 3 books are out in one volume.

Also in print: Fairy Tail Omnibus 3, How I Met My Soulmate 2, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 4, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 7.

SEAN: Digitally, we see Chihayafuru 43, Those Snow White Notes 16, and The World is Dancing 5.

MICHELLE: So, let me get this straight. April 2nd has a Kimi ni Todoke sequel, Neighborhood Story, Skip Beat!, Iruma, *and* Chihayfuru?!?! It’s like a birthday present to meeeeee.

ASH: A happy birthday, indeed!

SEAN: Two debuts for J-Novel Club. I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic (Botsuraku Yotei no Kizoku dakedo, Hima datta kara Mahō wo Kiwamete Mita) is the light novel, and has a middle-aged commoner suddenly waking up in the body of a child noble. Sadly, his family is filled with pathetic people, and his house is about to fall.

The manga debut is The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival (Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival @COMIC), an adaptation of the light novel JNC already put out. It runs in Comic Corona.

They’ve also got Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 6, the 2nd D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 6 (the final volume), Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 10, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 10, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 5.

Ghost Ship has Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 5, Sundome!! Milky Way 9, and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 11.

And Airship, in print, has the debut of Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! (Ano Otome Game wa Ore-tachi ni Kibishii Sekai Desu) is an “alternate route” story featuring Marie.

And they also have Raven of the Inner Palace 5.

ASH: Still need to get around to reading that!

SEAN: In early digital Airship has Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 2 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 4.

Some tasty manga there!

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 4.5

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By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn.

I joked on Twitter that after Agents of the Four Seasons (which was terrific) and The Deer King (which was sublime), anything read after it would always suffer in comparison, so I’d have to “sacrifice” a series and it might as well be Alya. Honestly, though, I think I’d have been ‘meh’ about this volume even if it hadn’t come after books that are much better than it is. First of all, and most obviously, my least favorite part of the series to date was the horrible hypnosis subplot in the third book, and so it’s not surprising that I greeted a short story that’s basically a sequel to that with numb horror. More to the point, though, the last volume was relatively disconnected to begin with, showing the cast on summer break, so I’m not sure why we needed another volume that shows the summer break stories we missed the previous time. Can’t we just get on with the plot?

The stories: 1) Sayaka and Yuki bond over their love of otaku stuff, but that also means they’re rivals; 2) A day in the life of Nonoa, whose facade hides a whole lot, and her underlings she has picked up from the bottom; 3) Alya and Ayano both suffer trying to cure their fear of spicy ramen; 4) Masachika and Yuki’s father gets home from overseas, and realizes that his son and daughter are a bit weird; 5) The cast try to clear up the “seven mysteries of the school”, which involves wandering around the school late at night; 6) Part 2 of this, involving Alya and Masachika getting “locked” in a gym storeroom; 7) Part 3 of the story, where we deal with Maria and Alya’s fear of ghosts, and discover that ghosts can be punched; 8) The story of how Touya and Chisaki met; 9) more hypnosis; 10) Maria and Alya go shopping for swimsuits; 11) the cast has a “guess who cooked what meal” competition; 12) the girls, late at night at the summer event, talk about love; and 13) Masachika and Alya, on the subway, discuss the kiss that happened in Book 4.

As with most of these collections, some stories are better than others. I enjoyed the “guess who cooked what” chapter more than I expected, mostly as it did not fall into the trap of anime cliches. Sayaka and Yuki being giant nerds was also amusing, though honestly we get that from Yuki all the time. Masachika and Yuki’s own father worrying they’re a bit too incestuous helps to show why the two of them have gotten away with hiding their sibling relationship for so long – people don’t want to pick the creepy option. And the final chapter was sweet and quiet, and probably should have been in the fourth book to begin with. Aside from the one I mentioned above, none of these were bad, but they weren’t essential – even the author admits they’ll never be brought up in the main series. It is a quintessential .5 volume.

Fortunately, Vol. 5 is next. Let’s hope for plot.

The Deer King, Vol. 2

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By Nahoko Uehashi and Masaaki Yamamoto. Released in Japan as “Shika no Ō” by Kadokawa Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Cathy Hirano.

There’s a lot that happens in this book, and much of it is in the back half. But I’ll be honest, for me the book’s main purpose was achieved right before then. We spent the entirety of the first book going back and forth between two narrative strands, one with Van and his struggles, the other with the doctor, Hohsalle, and his attempts to fight the ongoing plague. There was a great deal of tension because we really wanted the two of them to meet, but they never did. The same could be said of this volume as well, though the narrative here is a lot more weighted on the Van side by the end. So when they finally meet, it’s the payoff we’ve been waiting for, and it’s easily my favorite part of the book. Which is odd, because this book is filled with action scenes, tragedy, political wrangling, and good old fashioned terrorism. But yeah, my favorite part is Hohsalle breaking down exactly how antibodies and vaccines work.

We pick up where we left off. Yuna has been kidnapped, and Van is trying to go after her, helped along the way by Sae, the woman who fell off that cliff and distressed Makokan so much. While trying to find her, he ends up meeting Ohfan, chief of the Ahfal Oma, who has big big plans for Van. Mostly as Ohfan’s father, Kemoi, is the Dog King, and can lead the infected dogs to do his bidding. Van, of course, is also able to do this. Now they finally have a way to destroy the invaders once and for all. There is just one slight problem: Van doesn’t want to do this at all, so they’re going to have to somehow trick, blackmail, and use underhanded ruses to get what they want. Meanwhile, Hohsalle continues to struggle to try to get a vaccine for the illness going around, but he might actually be helped by the missing Yuna, who turns out to be able to see the lichen that provide what he needs.

This book has too large a cast. Even the helpful cast list provided at the start is long and unwieldy. It doesn’t help that, because this is an immersive fantasy novel, all the names of fathers and sons look very similar except for a couple of letters. That makes it hard at times to follow along with the actual plot. That’s OK, though, as I’m not sure I was reading this book for the plot. This is a book you read for mood, and in that it excels. That said, there were as few plot-related things I was following. Van and Sae, both middle-aged and grieving, end up having a sort of slow-burn kinda romance that is sweet to see. I also wanted to see if this book was going to be a downer at the end, and the answer is, kinda but not really. Can has everyone he really needs.

If you like mature, serious fantasy, this is a winner. Just… have a good memory for names.

Agents of the Four Seasons, Vol. 2

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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.

This is very much the sort of series where I needed a “She does not get eaten by the sharks at this time” moment. In the book The Princess Bride (which is why it’s sharks, shut up movie fans), The father says this so as to make William Goldman less anxious about exactly how deadly this book is going to get. It’s OK, this says. This may be deadly, but it’s not THAT deadly. I needed a moment like that in this book. I did not get it. This is a book where I spent nearly the entire length of the book wondering if it was going to kill off some of the cast. Now, to be fair, I already said that the point of this arc is that the agents, who have been used and abused for their entire lives, are taking back control and saving things their way. It would undercut it quite a bit if they fail. But they don’t ALL have to succeed. Hence the worry.

The agent of Autumn has been kidnapped, and Hinagiku knows who’s done it. It’s the same organization that captured and tortured her, the terrorist group New Year, which theoretically wants the Agents to be more proactive and save the world a bit more with their cool new powers, but in reality it’s a far more personal sort of reason. Hinagiku knows exactly what the head of New Year is like, and really wants to stop Nadeshiko from sharing the same fate that the old Hinagiku did (I am trying to respect Hinagiku’s belief that the old Hinagiku died during captivity, since it’s still a big part of who she is right now). Towards that end, she rallies the forces to the headquarters of the Four Seasons. Unfortunately, there are traitors everywhere. New Year turns out to have infiltrated a lot more than everyone thought, and they have one goal: get Hinagiku back, and kill everyone else.

This is a long book, and has a lot going on. I’m actually going to skip talking about Summer’s agent here, as the next book looks like it’s going to focus on that, and I don’t want to spoil too much of what happens here. We do hear what happened to Hinagiku in the time she was in captivity, and it’s both sordidly bland (she was forced to make pot with her powers to help the terrorist organization make money) and also part of a cycle of abuse (the head of New Year had several traumatic experiences as a child and also lost her baby, so is determined to get a “replacement” daughter). The triumphant part of the book is seeing how she, Sakura, Rosei, and Itecho are all; still dealing with trauma but manage to gut past it and score a triumphant victory. The book honestly reads like one of those action movies that’s almost all climax. And that’s fine.

It’s not perfect – I was annoyed at the identity of some of the traitors, as I liked them (that’s the point, Sean), but it’s still hugely enjoyable, and I look forward to the next book, which apparently moves away from Hinagiku and Sakura for a bit. It’s fine. Let them rest.

Pick of the Week: Struggling a Bit

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MICHELLE: I am admittedly not terribly enthused about anything, but the first volume of A Man and His Cat was super cute, so I will take a gamble that the tenth volume will be likewise, and make that my pick for this week.

SEAN: Feeling the same, really. But since its anime was a reasonable success, I’ll pick the latest volume of 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!.

ASH: It isn’t manga, but I’m probably most looking forward to Stitches this week. I’ve had good success with J-horror in the past; Junji Ito illustrations are simply a bonus.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 6

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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.

(So yeah, spoilers for this volume right up top, warning in advance.)

I’m always a big sucker for the “what if everything in your life was perfect?” story. One of my favorite Urusei Yatsura episodes showed Lum going through alternate universes trying to find the correct one, and discovering a universe where everything is the same only Ataru loves her unconditionally. And she has to give it up, because that’s not the right one. That’s not the Ataru SHE loves. And here we see Anis being offered everything she’s always wanted. She still has her lover and her friends. She’s still making cool magical inventions. But she’s beloved by everyone, and she can use magic. And everyone – EVERYONE – knows she was reincarnated from Japan. It’s presented as the best thing ever. Look, you don’t need to struggle anymore. You don’t have to fight anymore. Here is everything you always wanted. And to the reader, and Anis, it’s horrible, as it eliminates everything she fought FOR.

Lainie has a favor to ask. She wants to find out more about her mother. So she, Anis, and Tilty (???) along with the usual male guards go off to an orphanage and an adventurer’s guild to try to track down the history of Tiris, who was also an adventurer but also, unbeknownst to most everyone, a vampire. While doing this they find that the nearby forest is cleaned out of monsters and normal animals both, and the reason is that there’s an even more powerful presence there, and they’re experimenting with horrible things. Meanwhile, back with Allie and Acryl, they too are having a similar encounter, and it becomes clear what it is: vampires. They’re here, they’re getting revenge on the country, and they… seem to be of one mind.

As I said last time, the series is trying to figure out what to do next, and in order to to that, Anis has to get over all of her hangups and take control of her future. She’s been worried about Euphie’s lifespan being so much longer than her own, and, not to spoil even more, but that mostly gets solved here. Anis may dislike a world in which no one suffers and therefore no one has to strive for anything, but that does not mean that she doesn’t want to live as long as possible while still doing that. Ilia is having similar worries, but hers are not resolved here, and will likely be a bubbling subplot. It’s hard when your core group is genius battle princess, genius royal mage, prodigy vampire, and… maid. Unfortunately, the story still struggles for focus at times, especially at the start. Tilty comes along with the group, I think, mostly as the author wanted us to remember she exists. And, given this is a very Anis-heavy book, Euphie does not get quite as many “let’s be really powerful and cool” moments.

And so now Anis is determined to transform the world, and has the extra power to do it. Where are we heading next? Hopefully the series now has a firm plan for the future.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 9

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Thankfully, after the start of this volume, things are allowed to calm down a bit, as we have the aftermath of what’s benn happening for the last two book. Unfortunately, that means that the start of this volume absolutely does not calm down at all. I hate that it happens to her, but one of the best plotlines I’ve seen so far in this series is Rozemyne being in the thick of the battlefield, and what it does to her psyche afterward. PTSD does not really seem to be a thing here, and indeed we are on Rozemyne’s side. Why the hell is everyone so used to war and slaughter? People turning into feystones when they die has been around for some time, but it’s still “this is a fantasy world with magic, not real”. It’s not till Sylvester does the equivalent of pulling Georgine’s corpse out of his robes and slamming it on the table in front of her that she really snaps.

As I noted above, the start of this book is the fight against Grausam, who actually turns out to be in several places at once… which leads to the conclusion that Georgine is as well. Moreover, the battle ends up having to involve ONLY Rozemyne and Matthias for plot reasons, and she not only sees many soldiers have limbs cut off, get poisoned and turn into multiple feystones hitting against her pandabus, but she has to turn the pandabus into a kaiju in order to finally take (the real) Grausam down. At the same time, they are told that Sylvester has managed to defend the foundation and kill Georgine, and they can all return to Ehrenfest (after paying off Dunkenfelger with some booze). Unfortunately, thanks to the battle, Rozemyne can’t even look at a feystone. What’s worse, she has to figure out what to do now – and how Ferdinand is going to be involved in whatever she does.

If there is a lighter side to this rather heavy book, it’s seeing Rozemyne continue to explain how what she feels for Ferdinand is not, in fact, love. Again, this is Rozemyne and her life in Japan, where she’d never had a boyfriend or lover, trying to apply romance-novel rules to love. Love is desire, love is sex, etc. She doesn’t have those feelings for Ferdinand. But every OTHER part of love is literally exactly what she describes her ideal life with Ferdinand to be, and it’s no wonder that Hannelore and the others stare at her as if she’s out of her mind. To their society, where almost everyone marries for political reasons and having a marriage based on love and sex is seen as really weird (see: Sylvester and Florencia), what this is is just Rozemyne saying “Sure, I love him, but it’s not love because I say so.” It’s amusing, but in a sort of dark way.

As with the previous book, the last quarter of it is devoted to filling in the war from the POV of people who are not Rozemyne. We see Charlotte’s attempts to administrate everything, and are reminded that, with Rozemyne leaving and Wilfried… being Wilfried, she’s the next Aub, at least for now. Judithe has to deal with the fact that she’s defending the temple, and not in a more important role. (Judithe is also the utter innocent of the book, assuming everyone is going out to look at flowers and not, y’know, “pick” them.) Gunther gets to PUNCH THE EVIL AWAY thanks to the power of the love his family has for him and his shonen dad power. Florencia gets to have a nice chat with Veronica and finally move on and forget about her. And Sylvester gets to narrowly escape being poisoned to death but, to the very end, still not understand the boiling rage and hatred that is making Georgine do this. It’s very well done.

So much going on here that I haven’t even touched on. I’m sure the 10th book in this arc will be fine and filled with tea and snacks.

Manga the Week of 3/27/24

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SEAN: As March ends, we should all sit back and take stock. Did we March enough this year?

ASH: How is it that it seems like March went by faster than February?

SEAN: Airship has no print releases next week, but they do have early digital releases for 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 5 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

Cross Infinite World has new volumes. We get Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin 6, Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind 6, and A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy 2 (the final volume).

Dark Horse Comics has the 7th omnibus edition of Oh My Goddess!.

ASH: I had forgotten these were coming out.

SEAN: Denpa’s twitter account says March Comes In Like a Lion 2 should be out next week.

MICHELLE: Cautiously optimistic?

ASH: March goes out like a lion?

SEAN: Ghost Ship has an 8th volume of How to Build a Dungeon: Book of the Demon King.

Hanashi Media debuts Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy (Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu), a long-running isekai light novel that also has an anime out. A guy is thrown into another world by his parents, but he’s too ugly to get cheats, then he tries to form bonds but only finds two perverts. I know this is popular.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Three debuts from J-Novel Club. After-School Dungeon Diver: Level Grinding in Another World (Hōkago no Dungeon Diver: Nihon to Isekai o Ikiki Dekiru Yō ni Natta Boku wa Level Up ni Isoshimimasu) is from the creator of The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!, which, to be honest, is the one reason I’m not ignoring it. A guy finds he can travel between worlds and back again, so goes isekai adventuring on the side when he’s free.

Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars (Sōsei no Tenken Tsukai) is from the creator of Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter, which, to be honest, is the one reason I’m not ignoring it. Our hero keeps trying to have a nice reincarnated slow life. Sadly, literally everything stops him from doing so. Guess he’s gotta save the world. Again.

ASH: Unfortunate job security is a thing.

SEAN: A Wild Last Boss Appeared! (Yasei no Last Boss ga Arawareta!) is a manga based on the light novel J-Novel Club has already released. It runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

Also from J-Novel Club: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 13, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 6, the 7th manga volume of Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World, My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! 3, and Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 8.

Kodansha has a debut, with I Got Reincarnated in a (BL) World of Big (Man) Boobs (Kyonyuu Suki nanoni BL Kai ni Tensei Shimashita), which runs in Shonen Magazine Edge. A man obsessed with breasts is reincarnated in a BL world. He looks for boobs… but all he sees are huge pecs. This is a comedy, but it is by the author of Adekan, a popular BL manga that ran in Wings but was never licensed in English.

MICHELLE: What a premise (and title).

ASH: Right?? We don’t get a ton of BL-related comedy; I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 6, Blue Period 14, A Condition Called Love 7, Flying Witch 12, The Great Cleric 8, The Moon on a Rainy Night 4, Super Morning Star 3, and Whisper Me a Love Song 8.

No digital debuts, but we do see Boss Bride Days 15 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 16, DAYS 40, Gamaran: Shura 18, and My Home Hero 14.

One Peace Books has a 10th volume of the Higehiro manga.

Seven Seas has Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 12, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 4, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid 14, Skeleton Knight in Another World 12, and Seaside Stranger: Harukaze no Étranger 6.

They also have the 2nd volume of Guardian: Zhen Hun.

ASH: I need to try to get around to reading the first volume sooner rather than later.

SEAN: From Square Enix we see A Man and His Cat 10.

MICHELLE: I really need to catch up on this.

SEAN: Two debuts for Steamship. Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way With You (Douse Suterareru no nara, Saigo ni Suki ni Sasete Itadakimasu) is a josei title from Zero Sum Online, based on a web novel. As you might guess, we have a noblewoman whose engagement has been broken off so the prince can marry a sweet young thing. Our heroine decides to fight back… in bed!

Healer for the Shadow Hero (Kage no Eiyuu no Chiyugakari) is also a josei title from Zero Sum Online, based on a web novel. A servant girl has been hiding a big secret: she has amazing healing powers, but they only activate when her virginity is taken. Now that her secret is exposed, she’s sent to a war hero with an incurable disease.

ASH: Smutty josei for the win!

SEAN: Tokyopop has another one-shot BL title, All You Want, Whenever You Want (Hoshii Toki Dake, Suki na Dake), which ran in LiQuille. Two coworkers who share a dorm get off on the wrong foot. That changes quickly.

MICHELLE: And now they just get off.

ASH: LOL!

SEAN: Udon Entertainment debuts Atelier Ryza: The Manga: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (Atelier Ryza: Tokoyami no Joō to Himitsu no Kakurega), a manga adaptation of the game that ran in Famitsu. I believe it’s complete in one volume.

Debuting from Viz is Stitches, a horror short-story collection which has internal illustrations by Junji Ito. The author is an ex-Ghibli writer, who worked on Castle in the Sky and Kiki’s Delivery Service. This, um, does not seem like those two titles.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this one!

SEAN: Viz Media also gives us Fist of the North Star 12 and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 3.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: Finally, Yen has some stragglers. Yen On has The Executioner and Her Way of Life 7, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 10 (the final volume), Ishura 6, and Orc Eroica 4.

And from Yen Press, one debut. The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life (Ikinokori Renkinjutsushi wa Machi de Shizuka ni Kurashitai) is the 2nd adaptation of the light novel we’ve seen here. This one runs in B’s-LOG Comic.

ASH: You don’t see that happening so often!

SEAN: Are your purchases a march? Or a slow foxtrot?