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To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You, Vol. 1

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By Kori Hisakawa and Airumu. Released in Japan as “Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu” by Media Works Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Carley Radford.

This sure went places. Judging by the cover art and title, I was expecting a certain type of book, and I definitely got it, but it went to some odd and spiky areas. Speaking of which, I will put in a brief content warning that this book has what might be framed as a “reluctant” first time, and there is also discussion of an (off-screen) rape of a man by another woman. There is also an abusive husband and father, though he is very quickly “reformed”, by which I mean he gets the crap beaten out of him. We see, throughout the book, the rumors swirling around our main character that she is a loose cannon, and also a loose woman. She shrugs off the rumors because they suit her purposes, but once they no longer do that they become the toxic nastiness they’ve always been. And, as always, our two leads don’t talk to each other at all, so have to guess what the other is thinking, and it always goes badly.

Byletta Holland is horrified to find that her parents have engaged her to some soldier. After an Academy life where she gained a horrible reputation, all she wants is to start her own business and make a name for herself. However, as a noble’s daughter, she has to marry, and she’s now headed off to the Swagwan estate, where she will marry Arnald, the eldest son. She arrives… to find that war has gone badly, so Arnald went off to the front, leaving a message that his wife can do what she wants. Realizing that this could work in her favor, she accepts the marriage and decides to stay… and quickly finds that her father in law is a drunken lout who beats his second wife and menaces his 6-year-old daughter and the servants. Something will have to be done.

Byletta is the main reason to read this book. She’s smart, does not suffer fools gladly, and can beat her father in law so badly in a sword fight that he actually sobers up and stops hitting his family. (This is probably unrealistic, but given the alternative I handwaved it. He remains a jerk, though.) In the eight years between her wedding and her husband returning home, she does start a highly successful business, she has connections all over the city, and she is ready to be divorced. Sadly, her husband is one of those “what are these things called emotions” types, and when he hears the rumors about her, he assumes she’s sleeping with half the town. After their first night together, he realizes he was wrong, and starts to actually observe his wife more closely… and realizes that she’s his ideal woman. Unfortunately, these two don’t talk to each other, and it’s frustrating. They also have enemies, who set up the cliffhanger of this book. It’s definitely on the “potboiler” end of the spectrum.

This is nine volumes and counting in Japan, and it appears it will have a lot more drama in the future. If you like the genre, and don’t mind a bit more non-con than these books usually get into, this is a very good read.

The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero, Vol. 1

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By Inori and Akamoku. Released in Japan as “Yuusha ni Naritai Boku to, Yuusha ni Narubeki Kimi” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Genevieve Hill-Kaminishi.

I do love a good title, and this one is very good. Especially because the double meaning of the English word wrong-footed me about what was going to happen in the book. I had assumed this was about our protagonist, who wants to be a hero, and the love interest, who is the one who SHOULD be a hero instead of our protagonist. But that’s not it at all. Well, the first part is, Ruchika definitely wants to be a hero, at least at first. But Leonie’s “ought” is that she’s the daughter of the late, great hero, the one who sacrificed her life to defeat the demons and bring peace… well, peace between humans and demons, at least. Leonie ought to be just as good if not better than her, right? So when Leonie is seen to be good but not fantastic, well, there’s quite a few people who don’t like that. And that leads to the strongest part of the book, showing how damaging education can be when done badly.

Ruchika arrives at Kars Kingdom, ready to be a hero, which of course requires going to the hero institute that you get in these sorts of books. Unfortunately, she underestimates how far it is from home and how much things cost, so by the time she gets there she’s lying on the street starving to death. She’s saved by Leonie and her friend Nur, who feed her – and on seeing Leonie, and getting food from her, Ruchika decides immediately that she’s in love and proposes to her on the spot. This is apparently how demons do things, but Leonie is human. As it turns out, they’re all going for the exams to get into the institute, which are notoriously hard. Ruchika aces the practical and scrapes through on the written. Leonie aces the written, and… does okay on the practical, not great. Still, it’s nothing a good teacher can’t fix… oh, dear.

There’s lots of good stuff here, especially the relationship between Ruchika and Leonie, but allow me to talk about the way people learn to be heroes here. Everyone gets a device called a Gear, which is sort of mildly predictive AI, and it tells you who you’re most compatible with, what style of fighting you should do, and what moves to make when you fight. Everyone abides by what the gear says, it’s a rule. Ruchika hates the idea of gear in general (with the possible exception of her gear, which has big Homunculus Tears vibes if you’ve read that Inori book), since she runs on instinct, and really begins to hate them more when it’s apparent that trying to do what the gear wants is slowly destroying Leonie… helped along by a teacher, who has a grudge against her mother, out to get Leonie expelled. It is very hard to learn how to do things and be a good person when the person teaching you belittles, mocks, and hurts you, and encourages others to do the same. It’s even worse when you add AI learning to the mix. This hit very hard for me. Fortunately, Ruchika is exactly the sort of protagonist this book needs, and helps Leonie to find out what she really wants to be doing.

Now, this is a book that came out in 2023, with one volume to date in Japan, so I know what some folks are going to say. That said, Dengeki Bunko do have a larger history than most publishers of giving Vol. 2s or later volumes out of the blue if something changes. And this is a very good book to try to see that change happen. Buy it, you’ll like it.

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates, Vol. 3

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By Choko and kaworu. Released in Japan as “Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru” by Dragon Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sasha Schiller.

It has to be said, if you’re going to have a family consisting entirely of airheads, it’s best to have them not only incredibly overpowered but also on the side of the angels. And make no mistake about it, the whole family are wacky. Emma is the poster child and the worst one, but her father is right behind her, followed by her two brothers. Melsa is easily the most sensible in the family, and we see that here in a book where she gets far more focus than the previous two, but at the end of the day she too is basically saving the world so that they can eat rice and miso again. That said, airheaded does not mean dumb, and all of these folks are rather brilliant, which is also why they know it’s a bad idea to get so many honors from royalty. Emma grasping at straws and asking for the rights to the slum district as her reward is a way of showing off the family’s compassion and observation, and the fact that they’re not going to be “normal” nobles.

We pick up from where we left off at the end of the last book, as Emma has accidentally revealed that she can speak the foreign language that no one else seems to be able to. Indeed, this becomes a more important plot point than I thought, as it’s suggested that it’s not just the diplomats being lazy but some inherent world thing that makes the language incredibly difficult to grasp. This also makes Emma phenomenally valuable. And so the rest of the family have to admit that they can also speak it, which causes even more of a fuss. (Fortunately there’s an in-world handwave they can use so they don’t have to pull out the isekai card.) Now, while Emma continues to socialize, be so kind and caring that she has people thinking she’s a literal saint, and getting bullied in a way that she’s gonna love, her mother is off to the Eastern Empire, where she discovers this is not just a simple famine, and that if something is not done fast the entire nation may be wiped out, people and all.

I usually enjoy a story where everyone is misinterpreting what’s going on, and the Tanaka Family makes that its bread and butter. Everyone except her family assumes Emma is this fragile maiden who is at death’s door after her tragic accident, when really most of the time she’s just overworking herself and avoiding reality. When petty nobles Robert and Brian decide they’re going to get revenge on her, I immediately knew exactly what was going to happen, but that does not diminish the humor of it, and it helps that it also ties in with a more serious plot. Most of all, Emma can get it together, usually when she’s not being stared at by hundreds of nobles. Her forced engagement of the tailor and seamstress was a thing of beauty. (I could have done without another “fantasy worlds don’t know about scurvy” plot, though.)

I assume the next volume will send our family off to the Eastern Empire to battle plant monsters, and I beg them to avoid the obvious fanservice. The fetishes of the leads are bad enough. Still, this remains an absolute hoot, and I can’t wait for the next book.

Manga the Week of 7/16/25

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SEAN: Can mid-July manga save us from the summer doldrums?

ASH: I’m at least willing to give it a chance.

SEAN: Airship has print books for The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 5 and I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 3.

And for early digital, they have Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 5 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 9.

Fantagraphics are releasing Brain Damage, a new collection of short stories from guro manga author Shintaro Kago. These ran in Web Comic Gum, and while not for the faint of heart, are guaranteed to be visually arresting.

ASH: That is a very apt description of much of Shintaro Kago’s work.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us Imaizumi Brings All the Gals to His House 3 and Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 11.

ASH: Surely something must be known by the eleventh volume?

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some print volumes, including the manga debut of The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows (Isshun de Chiryou shiteita no ni Yakudatazu to Tsuihousareta Tensai Chiyushi, Yami Healer to shite Tanoshiku Ikiru), based on the LN also by JNC, which runs in Piccoma.

They also debut Gushing Over Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), a manga that runs in Manga Life STORIA Dash, and got a hit anime recently. A shy girl who adores magical girls ends up working for the villains… and ends up dominating the girls she loves. This one’s infamous.

ASH: Oh, my.

SEAN: There’s also print volumes for Ascendance of a Bookworm 31, Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 4, the 6th omnibus volume of The Faraway Paladin’s manga, and Full Metal Panic!: Short Stories 3.

ASH: Yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: It’s a quieter week next week for JNC digitally. We get I Could Never Be a Succubus! 7, I Parry Everything 9, My Fiancé Cheated, But a New Love Rings! 2, Survival Strategies of a Corrupt Aristocrat 3, The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a Noblewoman 2-1, and The Villainess Is Dead! Long Live the Empress! 2 for light novels.

And I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 3 for manga.

Kodansha Manga debuts Tower Dungeon, the latest series from Tsutomu Nihei. It runs in Shonen Sirius. A princess is kidnapped and taken to a tower. In order to rescue her, folks will have to get past the tower’s UNTOLD HORRORS.

MICHELLE: Hm. I can’t say the premise really excites me, but I do love Nihei’s art.

ASH: As do I.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Kodansha also has the first Magic Knight Rayearth Part 2, where the girls return to find their work is not yet done.

ASH: That does happen sometimes.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 4, The Blue Wolves of Mibu 6, Gazing at the Star Next Door 6, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 7, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 8, and Tune In to the Midnight Heart 2.

And digitally we see Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 8, Issak 13, MF Ghost 22, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 17, My Home Hero 21, and TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 12.

One Peace Books has a 4th volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, but My Power Level Is off the Charts.

Just one debut for Seven Seas. Contrast is a BL manga that ran in Canna, and is complete in one volume. A handsome popular guy. A quiet honor student. Secret meetings at the stairwell. And… love?

MICHELLE: Looks potentially cute!

ASH: I have enjoyed other manga from Canna.

SEAN: We also get I’m in Love with the Older Girl Next Door 2, IDOL x IDOL STORY! 2, Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary 2, Kemono Jihen 17, The Lady and Her Butler 4, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 9, My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Being Courted by a Beastly Prince 4 (the final volume), and The Titan’s Bride 7.

Square Enix Manga gives us The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 25 and The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 4.

Steamship has Guilty Smile 3 (the final volume) and Seduced by the Demon King: A Sensual Rebirth 2.

Titan Manga has the 7th and final volume of Alpi the Soul Sender.

Viz Media debuts Tokyo Fears Rhapsody (Tokyo Kaijin Rhapsody), an action comedy that runs in Comiplex. It’s from the author of Momo – The Blood Taker. A monster hides his identity while working various jobs. Then he sees the cops have mecha now! He wants to ride a mecha! But he’s a monster, can he really do that?

ASH: I’m not sure I’m sold on the premise, but I am absolutely sold on that cover.

SEAN: Viz also has After God 5, The Climber 2, One-Punch Man 31, Record of Ragnarok 15, Red River 3-in-1 4, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 7, Tokyo Alien Bros. 3, Trillion Game 6, Twin Star Exorcists 34, and Vagabond Deluxe Edition 3.

ASH: So far I’ve resisted upgrading to the deluxe edition, but I suspect it’s just a matter of time…

ANNA: I have been considering it…

SEAN: Yen On has three ongoing series. Bride of the Barrier Master 4, Even a Replica Can Fall in Love 3, and The Irregular at Magic High School 25.

And Yen Press has The 13th Footprint (13-kaime no Ashiato). It got bumped, in case it seems familiar. It’s the latest from the creator of Erased and The Kid I Saw in My Dreams. A teacher living a happy life with his family finds that coming to an end when he begins receiving anonymous postcards that foretell the future. This gets a swank hardcover, also like the author’s other titles.

MICHELLE: Still interested!

ASH: Yup!

SEAN: A thankfully smaller week than last time. What interests you?

In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 1

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By Rika and HIROKAZU. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

This is the definition of “Fine, I guess”. It doesn’t really do anything wrong, apart from one thing I’ll mention later. The heroine is a classic “I just want a quiet life where I can earn money to help my family” type who does not realize that every single thing that she does draws a tremendous amount of attention to herself. She’s seriously OP, but not in a flashy way. She doesn’t invent mayonnaise, but she does pretend that Mozart and Bach compositions are her own. There’s a royal family, but they’re pretty nice, and the prince her age clearly has a crush on her that is coming out as “you’d better watch your step!”. But there is nothing here to make someone who has read large amounts of “woman is reincarnated as a noble girl and attends a magic academy” books want to add another one to the pile. It feels like the bulk of the book was written to keep up with the trends.

One day Kaoru Aoyama is working her office job and living in her apartment, the next she wakes up as Patience Granger, a ten-year-old noble girl. She wasn’t even hit by a truck! Patience is, unfortunately, recovering from near death. In fact, it appears the real Patience DID die, and now Kaoru is in her body, with a sort of soul of the real Patience insider her yelling when she does things that are not appropriate for nobility. Unfortunately, their family is flat broke, as her father was fired from his royal position for reasons that we never actually find out in this volume. Fortunately, after recovering, she’s taken to the church and told she has “household spells” for magic, one of the most common types. That’s fine with her, though, and like so many other protagonists in these books, she experiments without knowing what not to do and winds up really overpowered.

First off, I understand that it’s in the original, and that there’s not really a Western alternative, but man, when the heroine talks about being a shotacon all the time, I don’t care if she insists “but not in a pervy way!”, it reads wrong and makes you like her less. There has be be a way around the word. Patience’s main trait, besides being oblivious to her own misguided attempts to not stand out, is her adoration of her two cute younger brothers, as well as the kids her own age, who her 25-year-old self sees as cute little ‘uns. If you can get past that steep hurdle… I did like her relationship with the first ;princess, who she is clearly rehabilitating. It’s implied that her late mother and the Queen had some history, and everyone and their brother talks about how their family is supposed to be filled with genius scholars, so there’s clearly a lot of backstory still to dole out. As for romance… she’s ten. Let’s table that for a while.

I’ll read the next volume of this – I do want to see what’s up with her otherwise nebbish dad. But for those who have to much to read already, there’s no reason to add this as well.

Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta, Vol. 4

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By Toshizou and Kuro Shina. Released in Japan as “Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tristan K. Hill.

Two years is too long between volumes, and the author apologized but it was still a wrench to remind myself exactly what was going on. Fortunately, the author’s self-awareness bleeds into the work – indeed, this is a book that you have to read with your tongue in your cheek. I think I’ve already talked about how insufferable this series would be if Yotsuba were a guy, but apparently some people are finding Yotsuba insufferable anyway. And sure, I get it. This is a giant failwhale of a teenager, who cannot go for half a page without talking about herself like she’s a food wrapper on the side of the road, and yet for some reason she has two woman in love with her and agreeing to both date her at the same time, a childhood friend who’s a famous idol who confesses to her, and she cannot walk ten feet without another girl going “well, maybe”. She’s a chad.

Oh no, Yotsuba’s in a big pinch! She’s already secretly dating the two hottest girls in the school, but now her childhood friend and celebrity idol has transferred into her class! And she and her two girlfriends are getting all passive aggressive! Worst of all, it’s time for the culture festival, and the class comes up with an idea for a concert! Makina is fine with this… provided she’s not the focus, so Rinka and Yuna get roped into being an idol trio! But wait, even worse, Mai is so stressed out by Makina upsetting the balance of power among the hotties that she’s skipping school, and Yotsuba has to dress in a maid outfit and bathe/massage her to help! And… really, Yotsuba should actually resolve this love square thing and go back to her love triangle! Yotsuba’s in a pinch!

There are some things here that aren’t ridiculous. We get Mai’s backstory at last, and it turns out to be Maria-sama Ga Miteru gone wrong, as she was Yotsuba at her old girls’ private school, but fumbled it and left everyone full of anger and resentment. As such, seeing Yotsuba somehow manage to always manage to do the right thing while at the same time being a giant goofball irks her greatly. Yuna and Rinka’s “dates” with Yotsuba are sweet, and as for Makina… well, Yotsuba still has to do something about her, and having her meet the parents is not helping. Best of all is the finale, where Yotsuba works out why she’s been so worried and stressed since this book began and manages to work up her gumption and do something about it, which also inspires the rest of the class. Once a volume there’s an amazing point where you understand exactly why everyone falls for Yotsuba, and this is the one this time.

That said, this is half a book, even though it’s 250 pages. The author assures us there will be a Book 5 with the actual festival, and the good news is that it is already out in Japan, so hopefully it won’t be two more years. This grows on me more with each book.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 3

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By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tiffany Lim and Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

I must admit, I used to get upset when I saw this sort of thing in Japanese light novels, but now I just laugh. is there some meme picture that is the opposite of the guy sweating over which button to push? Because I think if you presented two buttons to a light novel author, one of which said ‘tragic and nuanced villain who the audience empathizes but does not sympathize with’, and the other of which said ‘villain who will happily destroy the world for petty spite and also drinks puppies’, the average light novel author would not think twice before slamming Button #2. And needless to say Fuyutsuki Koki is exactly the same. Heck, we’re introduced to the villain and given a legitimate sympathetic reason for their villainy, but then it turns out to not be enough, they have to go full ham. Fortunately, the heroine of this series also goes full ham, albeit stoically.

All is well. The evil from Book Two has been defeated, Philia and Osvalt are engaged and planning their wedding, and the anime managed to fix a lot of the problems the second book had with pacing. Surely nothing could go wrong now… oh, what’s this missive from the Church? It turns out that the Pope is dead, and Philia has supposedly been chosen as the new Pope in his will, surprising everyone, not least of all Philia herself, as a Saint has never been made Pope before. But everyone agrees that she has to obey the declaration that she is Pope or risk being excommunicated and starting a Holy War in Parnacorta. It’s fine! She can even still marry Osvalt! But she has to live in Dalbert now, this world’s Vatican City. Philia, though, starts to smell a rat, especially when she hears about Archbishop Henry, who everyone THOUGHT would be the next Pope…

As with so many light novels, this is not a series to read if you like subtlety. Leaving aside the villain, who has an epic revenge that involves destroying Philia’s happiness and ruining the country of Parnacorta, and has plans to resurrect the dead and also command an ancient God to do his bidding, there’s also Philia herself, who hears about a divine spell that can let someone talk to the dead, hears that no one has ever done it as divine spells are lethal if done slightly wrong, and just does it anyway, in an Ace-Attorney style finale that has her calling the dead back to testify TWICE. The good news is that Mia, who was mostly sidelined in book 2, gets things to do here, and she also gets to show off that she is not only as OP as her sister, but can also get a prince to propose to her. If there’s a flaw in this book, it’s that no one ever really feels in danger when these sisters are around.

You’d think this was the last in the series, but no, we’ve got a long way to go. Next volume is the wedding picture cover art one, though. Fans of the anime can happily start here.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 7

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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.

Last time I wrote a review of this, the anime was just starting, and as I write this one, the anime has just ended. Most people agree that it was stolid, unremarkable, did not really do anything wrong but was nothing to write home about except the fight scenes were very well done. Folks also agree that the Japanese voice of Beryl really nailed the part, that sort of world-weary “I am forty years old, sigh” quality that he has a lot of the time. I thought the voice was excellent, and it also helps as I read this seventh volume in the series, where Beryl’s soul-searching monologues are at an all-time high. And while it’s just a coincidence, the fact that folks who finished the anime and decided to buy this new book get a volume that is almost a direct sequel to the end of the anime is very nice.

Beryl has been asked to help provide security for the wedding of Princess Salacia to Prince Glenn of Sphenedyardvania, a wedding that, of course, takes place in that country, which also recently resurrected the dead, including Mewi’s sister, and is in the middle of a holy war. So, extra protection is recommended. After stopping off in Flumvelk to rest and so that Beryl can get seduced (spoiler: he does not get seduced), they arrive there to find everything seemingly going well… until the wedding is invaded by undead, and the city outside is invaded by horrible chimera. Fortunately, Beryl and Allucia have help, including a mysterious masked woman, as well as… the enemies from the last book?

As always, it can be very hard to take Beryl’s aw shucks attitude in large doses, and there’s an extra helping of that in this book. I am hoping that it’s because he’s actually trying to figure out how to live going forward beyond “be best at sword”. He loves being a dad, and I think would be happy for Mewi to have a mother, he has no real concept of what a wife would be like. This is most obvious in the scenes with Shueste, who does everything short of lying naked on his bed and saying “take me now, big boy”. He clearly GETS it, but the idea of another woman liking him, be it student, noble, or anyone, makes him deeply uncomfortable. Which is a decent ongoing dilemma for a harem series to have, but dragging it out too long loses readers, who won’t always be happy with 100 pages of cool fights. I’m honestly rooting for Shueste, but I suspect first girl Allucia still has the advantage right now. We’ll see how shopping for swords goes next time.

If you enjoyed the anime, you know what you’re getting with Beryl. So as long as you’re not the sort who asks if there is snu-snu, this should make you perfectly happy.

The Twelve Kingdoms, Book One: Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea, Part 1

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By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan.

There’s isekai, and then there’s ISEKAI. This is one of the OG isekai, back before it was a genre, and around the same time as the other majorly influential OG isekai, Fushigi Yuugi. Almost twenty years ago, Tokyopop published the first half of the series, but it then got cancelled due to poor sales, as happened a lot back then. Now it’s back, with a new translation and a spiffy looking cover. And after reading this first volume, I cannot help but feel a sneering contempt for those modern wannabe isekai. Oh, the poor guy who gets truck-kun’d into another world, and all he has its a cool sword, a bunch of catgirls, and a guild that lets him explore all the dungeons he wants for money. Or he’s summoned to be the savior of the world… well, actually, that is SORT OF how Twelve Kingdoms starts. But things go very bad very quickly. This book is dark as hell.

Youko Nakajima has been having bad dreams. Dreams of being trapped in darkness, unable to move, while hungry killer beasts are running towards her. They are making life difficult for her at her private all-girls’ school,. where she tries to keep up good grades, be a nice girl that’s easy to get along with, and ignore the bullying of other girls lower on the totem pole. Then one day, while in the teacher’s office where they’re getting annoyed about her red hair – again – suddenly a man shows up, says she needs to come with him, and tries to drag her off. Then she’s attacked by the same animals that were in her dream, who burst through the window and injure the faculty. Then she’s being told to kill then with a sword that is handed to her. Then she is possessed by a creature that can manipulate her body so she can swing the sword. Then… she’s flown to another world.

For those who saw the anime when it came out in 2002 and wonder where the other two Japanese kids are, they’re not here. (OK, Sugimoto is here to get bullied, but she doesn’t get isekai’d). Youko is all alone – indeed, very much all alone, as she quickly loses the handsome guy insisting that she come with him to fulfill her destiny and ends up in a hostile country. The book is very well written, with evocative descriptions, and Youko’s descent from terror into confusion into anger into just giving up is incredibly well done. That said… in Japan, the next volume came out one month later, and I’m going to assume that things get better for her in that. That does leave this volume, which is just unrelenting. She’s torn from Japan and told she can never return. She’s imprisoned, and told she’ll likely be executed. She meets one or two nice people… who immediately turn out to be not-so-nice. By the end of the book she can’t accept that anyone being nice to her isn’t secretly evil, and is on the verge of starvation, exhaustion, and death because she’s also having to battle countless youma every single night. This is a MISERABLE isekai for her.

That said, this is a 30+-year-old series, so I know things get better for her. Eventually. Till then, this is gorgeous trauma.

The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival, Vol. 5

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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.

Apparently, according to the afterword, having a volume that LOOKS like it’s going to be a typical otome game “nobles at the academy” book and then not having it be that at all is a habit with this author. In my last review I mentioned that I would like some academy hijinks and a few less stat screens, and I absolutely did not get my wish. In fact, there was apparently more academy content in the webnovel version that was cut out, in order that we could add more fights. Because, rest assured, this series still knows what its readers really wants, and that’s – no, not stat screens – pages and pages of Alia fighting and brutally murdering many, many, many bad guys. They can be traitorous knights, zombie villagers, or vampire demons, and none of that matters. If they are threatening Elena, they are going to die. That said, there really are an awful lot of them, and worst of all, they seem to have a plan…

We are now finally at the start of the game. Elena is there, with Alia as her aide and bodyguard. Clara is there, destroying her life and health in order to try to figure out a way to be with the man she loves (surviving has become secondary). Karla is there, and she’s still trying to live her best life, which is to say having a double-murder with Alia in the smoking remains of the world. Elvan is there, and boy, he’s a wet rag, isn’t he? And Alicia is there, which might be surprising, given Alia *is* Alicia. But another Alicia is there, and even though she’s not quite the right one, she’s still doing her best to get with all those otome game hotties. And if that means that she ends up destroying the actual game plot, oh well! As for the kingdom itself, well, political assassinations, kidnapping, and upheaval. You know how it is.

There is not quite a “the bad guys win” ending at the end of this volume, but the good guys certainly are having a tough time. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that the fake Alicia was not one of the hundred or so people that Alia slaughters in this book, because my god, not only is she annoying, but she’s unintentionally doing what the kingdom’s enemies are trying to do deliberately – weaken the crown prince and make him a wussy puppet they can control. Elena has been emboldened by her encounters with Alia, and cares deeply about the kingdom, so all those who want to manipulate everything for their own ends think she’s a horrible potential ruler. As such, they send assassins, they send kidnappers, and even the demons are in on the fun. Half this book may just be Alia cutting folks, but there’s a good reason for it.

So Elena and Alia are not dead, but they’re not in a great place right now! This remains a fun series, though folks who want standard otome game villainess stuff might look elsewhere. Alia has murdered the typical story in its sleep.

Who Killed the Hero?, Vol. 1

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By Daken and toi8. Released in Japan as “Dare ga Yuusha wo Koroshita ka” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kim Morrissy.

It’s always hard to try to review a book whose very nature requires that the reader is surprised as it goes along. It’s even harder to do this when the book is excellent, as your review essentially amounts to “You’ve got to read this, it’s great!” “Why?” “I can’t tell you, spoilers!”. But here we are, and this book is great, so let’s settle down and try to do this. At its heart this book takes a long look at the fantasy standard “hero’s party goes to defeat the demon lord” cliche. There’s a prophecy, there’s the hero/swordsman/mage/healer party composition, there’s a promised reward of a royal daughter, and, inevitably, there’s a death. Because the book is called “Who Killed the Hero?”, I can at least talk about that. The death, in turn, leads the book and its cast to ask about the nature of the hero, why they have to defeat the demon lord when others cannot, and how a story can be turned on its ear by a simple investigation.

Four years earlier, the hero, Ares, led an elite team to defeat the demon lord. There was noble swordsman Leon, beautiful priestess Maria, and intelligent yet cynical mage Solon. They succeed… and yet, when they return, Ares did not come back with them, and they said that he perished on the return visit. Now someone is going around, getting the word on the street, talking to the other members of the hero’s party, as well as the prophet who made the prophecy about the hero in the first place, to try to figure out what happened. Because no one’s quite sure. Some say Ares was killed by a rogue demon. Some say the other members of the party killed him as there was a love triangle going on. And even the person who is going all around the capital trying to figure things out has their own agenda. What happened?

This is, by necessity, not a book with a large cast, and I enjoyed all the characters tremendously. My favorite was undoubtedly Maria, theoretically a girl devoted to God but in reality someone who will have a boy go and get her the “best” bread every day because it amuses her… only to be stunned when he actually manages to learn the things she was theoretically teaching him. I also was fond of the young princess, who listens to the hero say that he’ll defeat the demon lord, but he’s not coming back, and refuses to accept that. There are a lot of cynical people in this book, and it’s dealing, through almost its entirety, with a death. Despite that, I was amazed at how life-affirming and happy it is, and that once you get all the answers in the end even the one person whose life you assumed would end here ends up being forced into happiness.

There’s two more volumes of this, which seem to have a similar premise but a different cast. Similar to Brunhild the Dragonslayer, I think. In any case, despite not being able to give much away, this is a very rewarding book. Seek it out.

Manga the Week of 7/9/25

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SEAN: Are you forced to do summer school this year? Why not read some manga inside your textbook? That sure worked during the school year!

MICHELLE: What could go wrong?

ASH: Seems like a solid plan, to me!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, who have a huge number of debuts. The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero (Yuusha ni Naritai Boku to, Yuusha ni Narubeki Kimi) is from the creator of I’m in Love with the Villainess, and is also yuri. A young demon girl travels to a hero academy in hopes of joining the school. There she meets the daughter of the current Hero… and immediately proposes to her!

ASH: I’m not so sure about the “immediately” part, but I did enjoy I’m in Love with the Villainess.

SEAN: How to Eat Life (Inochi no Tabekata) stars a young man who just wants to quietly live his life talking to his friend Baku, a backpack. Then he realizes that a girl in his class can see him doing this, even though no one else can.

ASH: It must be destiny!

ANNA: I’m still a little caught up on the backpack friend part.

SEAN: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Collector’s Edition collects the first ten volumes of the series in a deluxe hardcover (and, judging by the fact that it’s 10 volumes in 992 pages, minuscule print).

ASH: Enormous and yet so small at the same time.

SEAN: [Oshi No Ko] Spica the First Star is a spinoff novel of the popular manga series.

Sword of the Stallion (Sword of Stallion: Taneuma to Yobareta Saikyou Kishi, Ringoku no Oujo wo Netore to Meijirareru) stars a knight gone to seed after the death of his fiancee. He spends his nights in brothels, earning the title nickname. Then… his not-quite-dead fiancee shows up, and demands he seduce the princess of another kingdom. This is from the creator of Strike the Blood, and looks amazingly trashy. I might give it a try.

ASH: That premise really is amazing.

ANNA: It does sound amazingly trashy!

SEAN: To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You (Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu) stars a noblewoman whose husband went off to war on their wedding day. Eight years later, he returns, but she wants a divorce, as she has her own life now. (Given the genre, odds are they will not be getting divorced.)

ASH: I can understand where she’s coming from.

ANNA: I’m in favor of noblewomen divorces!

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Sword Art Online 28, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 21, and The Theater of Haruhi Suzumiya (the 12th novel in the series, which came out digitally last year).

Yen Press debuts Convenient Semi-Friend (Koutsugou Semi-Friend), a yuri title from Manga Time Kirara. A shy girl hopes to make friends, and so goes off to college… to find her roommate groping another girl. This sounds like it’s for those who enjoy heroines blushing on every frame of every page.

Sword Art Online Unital Ring is the latest manga arc adapting the latest light novel , and it runs in Shonen Ace. Are they trapped in another game? Sorta kinda?

There’s also a third volume of K-ON! Shuffle.

Viz also has a few debuts. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Octavinelle is the latest “we’re Alice in the Country of Hearts but without the legal battles” title. It runs in GFantasy.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Spider-Man: Kizuna runs in the kids manga Saikyou Jump. A young Japanese boy accidentally ends up merged with Spider-Man after a villain attack.

ASH: This looks fun. And gives me hope other Spider-Man manga might someday be released?

ANNA: I might check this out!

SEAN: Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life (Ogami Tsumiki to Kinichijou) is the story of an awkward boy and a sweet girl. The girl is a werewolf, but that’s no issue. This runs in Weekly Shonen Sunday.

Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man runs in Corocoro Comic, and is exactly what you’d expect from that title. Pure crossover.

ASH: Other, other Spider-Man manga, that is.

ANNA: Is this the summer of Spider-Man manga???

SEAN: Yaiba: Samurai Legend (YⱯIBA) is a 1990s era manga from the creator of Detective Conan… erm, sorry, Case Closed, we love Jimmy Kudo, please put down those lawyers. It ran in Shonen Sunday, and we seem to be getting the omnibus bumko edition. A boy and his search for an enchanted sword. From what I hear, this is like Dragon Ball in that it starts silly and gets more serious as it goes on.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of the anime!

ANNA: Cool!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Beyblade X 3, Case Closed 95, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga 4, Firefly Wedding 3, Kirby Manga Mania 8, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 28.

Tokyopop debuts You Can’t Live All on Your Own! (Hitori de Ikiru wa Mamanaranu), a josei manga from Comic Qurie. The adventures of four women living in a shared house in Tokyo.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ANNA: Oooh, I might have to get this.

SEAN: Titan Manga has a 3rd volume of Corpse Blade.

SuBLime has Ask and You Will Receive 2 and Therapy Game Restart 5.

MICHELLE: I really need to catch up on Therapy Game Restart! I love it very much.

SEAN: Steamship debuts SEX DRIVE – My Listless Instructor (Sex Drive Watashi no Kedarui Kyoikugakari). A young woman develops a condition that makes her go into heat and emit pheromones. Naturally, she’s fired. Her only chance to survive is to join an espionage agency. This runs in Choco Live, one of Libre Shuppan’s few non-BL magazines.

ASH: I was not expecting espionage.

ANNA: Maybe she can make friends with a spy’s backpack.

SEAN: Also from Steamship: The Trapped Former Villainess Wants to Escape from the Sadistic Prince 2.

Square Enix Manga gives us The Emperor’s Caretaker 3 and Just Like Mona Lisa 6.

Seven Seas has two debuts, both BL. My Younger Knight Takes Care of Me in Another World (Isekai de Toshishita Kishi ni Sewa wo Yakareteimasu) stars an office worker who accidentally gets isekai’d to another world along with a young woman. She’s the one they wanted, he’s excess baggage. Fortunately, a knight takes a shine to him.

ASH: Awww.

SEAN: The Feisty Omega and His Twin Mates (Tsuyogari Omega wa Bokura no Ban) runs in Be x Boy Omegaverse. Usual omegaverse stuff. Omega pretends to be a beta. Is attacked one day when he goes into heat. Rescued by his destined alpha. Unfortunately, his destined alpha is… twins?

Seven Seas, danmei: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun 9.

Seven Seas, manga and manga-related byproducts: At 25:00 in Akasaka 4, The Big Apple 3, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 7, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds 5, The Long Summer of August 31 2, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 11, and My New Life as a Cat 10.

One Piece books debut Teppeki Honeymoon, the latest shoujo title from Meca Tanaka. A high school girl famed for her ludicrous strength but also in debt suddenly finds her debts will be cleared… if she marries this handsome smug guy with an agenda. She does so, but what if the smug guy with the agenda turns out to be the love interest? This ran in Hana to Yume Ai, so yes, he is the love interest.

MICHELLE: I really like this cover and find the fluffy shoujo premise appealing!

ASH: It’s nice to have fluffy options.

ANNA: I enjoy Meca Tanaka manga.

SEAN: Retailers say KUMA is debuting Haberdashery Ginmokusei (Ginmokusei no Shitateya), a BL title from Chara. A man inherits his grandfather’s tailoring store, but business is terrible. Suddenly a handsome young man offers to turn the shop around.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially fun!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has one debut, 23:45 Re;, a sequel to the earlier 23:45. More doomed BL ghosts. This ran in Gateau, and is also done in one.

ASH: I’ll admit to enjoying doomed BL ghosts.

SEAN: Also in print: Medalist 9, My Noisy Roommate 3, and A Sign of Affection Omnibus 3.

ANNA: I need to get caught up with both Medalist and A Sign of Affection.

SEAN: Digitally there is Gang King 31, Manchuria Opium Squad 7, and Ya Boy Kongming! 20.

One debut for J-Novel Club, a light novel. In Another World with Household Spells (Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen) stars an office lady who does not even get a considerate truck-kun hitting her, she just wakes up as a destitute 10-year-old noble. Can she turn her family’s fortunates around at the magic academy despite only knowing minor household spells?

ASH: I hate just waking up to things like that.

SEAN: Other light novels: Dimension Wave 4, Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration 2, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 9, The Hero-Killing Bride 3 (the final volume), The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess 5, The Poison King 5, Rebuild World 6-2, Record of Wortenia War 29, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 5, The Tanaka Family Reincarnates 3, and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 10.

Other manga titles: Housekeeping Mage from Another World 8, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 7, The Invincible Little Lady 9, and The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power 4.

Ghost Ship has a 16th and final volume of Ayakashi Triangle.

Digital Manga Publishing has a 2nd edition of the BL title Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly.

ASH: I’m still giving DMP the side-eye, but am glad to see this back in print.

SEAN: Retailers say Denpa Books has the 6th and final omnibus of Nana & Kaoru.

ASH: Perhaps!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 11th volume of Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 and the 12th volume of Loner Life in Another World.

And for early digital we see Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 10 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 10.

Lastly, ABLAZE reminds folks again they have the Tezuka license by boxing up four recent releases of theirs: One Hundred Tales, Shakespeare Manga Theater, Tomorrow the Birds, and Neo Faust.

ASH: Oh! I’ve been meaning to get around to most of those. Maybe it’s time.

SEAN: They also have a Horror Manga Box Set, which collects the first volumes of Gannibal, Happyland, and Crueler Than Dead.

This week proved much bigger than expected. Maybe the manga artists all had summer school?

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor, Vol. 7

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By Sasara Nagase and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoshi Reijō wa Ryūtei Heika o Kōryaku-chū” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

It’s sometimes very hard to separate this series, where a young woman decides to get engaged to the man who may one day try to destroy the world in order to change her own fate, and at every single turn of the page worry that she’s going to fail and the book will end with most of the cast dead and a BAD END screen, and not compare it to I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, by the same author, which has the exact same plot. And both series also have an antagonist, someone who sets herself diametrically opposite our protagonist and does everything they can do fix things. It’s just been harder to spot it in Do-Over Damsel, as Faris just hasn’t shown us much. Fortunately, in this book we get to see her dealing with a very, very useless goddess (no, not that one), and also bond with Jill over a mutual enemy. It’s sweet. Also, it makes her evil at the end hit even harder.

Jill is headed off to the Lehrsatz Duchy for a meeting with Faris, the queen of Kratos. Hadis is staying behind, with one of the candidates to be his wife handling things on his end, and being better at it than Jill, much to her chagrin. Unfortunately, when they’re flying to the duchy, Jill decides to investigate a mysterious village that may be home to the Order of the Ark, a group of religious terrorists who wants the Gods dead. As it turns out, she then manages to get accidentally abducted by those same terrorists – accidentally as the ones they really want to abduct are Raw, presumably so they can control dragons… and Faris, who they have already abducted and who is near unconscious due to the anti-magic barriers surrounding her. Can Jill break them out and manage to get to the conference? And what will Hadis do when he hears about this?

This was supposed to be the short story volume. CIW says that it is still coming, but they did this volume first. I’m assuming that, unlike, say, Re: Zero or Index, this is not causing us to miss all sorts of nuance in this current volume. Not that nuance is something Jill is good at. Her strength is indeed her strength, as well as her temper, as she realizes the best solution is to simply punch everything until it stops. Again. Her weakness is that this isn’t good enough this time, and Faris, who seems to only have the strength to break her ditzy goddess spear, is much better at crafty plans that you cannot punch your way out of. Hence the cliffhanger. There’s also the usual “Jill gets jealous and mad, Hadis panics and feeds her to make up for it” wackiness – these two know each other really well by now. That was fun.

Will we get Vol. 8 next? Or short stories? And yes, I did deliberately leave out all the reveals near the end. A great series, assuming you can get past the premise, which is still hard to get past.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/30/25

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Choking on Love, Vol. 2 | By Keiko Iwashita| Seven Seas – The title continues to be very apt for this shoujo series, as Hibari has fallen for Gaku hard, but is unaware of her own feelings and very uncomfortable with the idea that she could love a free-spirited bad boy like him. He, on the other hand, is 100% fine with loving a girl like her, even to the point of injuring himself because he really wants to see her as soon as possible. That said, I do wish there was a bit more of her college design stuff and a bit less boy band. I sense the third volume won’t help there, as our heroes have met their competition, and not only does it crush them but one of them may know Hibari better than Gaku does. Good solid shoujo. – Sean Gaffney

Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 3 | By Alto Yukimura| Viz Media – I’m continuing to love this old-school shoujo series which screams Tokyopop circa 2008. In this omnibus, which is Vols. 5-6 of the original, we meet new gods (drunken layabout Dionysus and airheaded Demeter); Colette’s old mentor comes to help and has to fend off the fact that he is Available ™; and Those Two Apothecaries continue to exist, with Pola getting a spotlight chapter that tries (and fails, mostly) to have her be anything other than black-haired Colette, Jr. But it’s Colette and Hades that are the reason to read this, especially Colette, who will be the perfect partner for Hades if they can get over the human/god thing and she can stop working so hard she runs her body ragged… literally. Everyone needs to read this. – Sean Gaffney

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 13 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe | Viz Media – The joy and tragedy of Frieren is that she has realized how she and Himmel are on the same wavelength, and perfect for each other, only now that Himmel is dead. As such, it’s great to see that, even in the past with a Himmel who you would think would be less experienced than his companion, they still work perfectly together. We then get to start up the NEXT arc, which looks like a “prevent an assassination” plotline, but more importantly, gives us more of everyone’s favorite crack pairing, Ubel and Land. He can’t stand her, she’s fascinated by him, and their chemistry is off the charts. Best of all, they’re totally different from Fern and Stark. Let’s now hope they can survive till the end of this arc. Always recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 8 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – The fact that this series only comes out once a year can be a real problem, as I just cannot keep up with its monstrous cast. Things are not helped by the fact that this book is mostly an action manga, as a huge spirit monster invades the city… and sits there, a distraction while someone tries to steal the book Theo has been taking care of, and a quirky masked guy is wandering around the city insisting the entire world belongs to him. Always a dangerous thing to say in a shonen manga, and his cynical take on caring for the old people in the world (his take: don’t, let them die) is contrasted by Theo’s sunny optimism. All this plus a hypnotic possession of one of the cuter members of the cast, which doesn’t sound good. I hope I remember who she is by next year. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 41 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – When we were getting the chapters week by week on the Jump app, the chapters in this volume, or at least the first half, really made a lot of fans furious. We suspected it might happen—it’s kind of thematically appropriate—but everything in this volume points to Izuku losing One for All at the end of this fight and being quirkless again. Now, I admit that is kind of a bummer, but as we see in the last half of this book, at least he’s not alone, and has friends and allies who are there to save him. Well, those friends and allies who aren’t in a coma and near death. If you had forgotten who Sato and Sero were, as most of us had, here’s the chance to see them have one last cool thing. Next time is the finale. – Sean Gaffney

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 14 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship – There’s a new girlfriend in this volume, who has a great “gimmick” (violins/violence), but it’s also great to see how quickly everyone accepts her love of blood and gore and welcomes her into the group, to the point where she gets to be part of a group of four battling some jerks at a gaming/toy store. I also loved the chapter where Naddy is accused of talking in incoherent Americanisms, where it turns out that not only do Rentaro and his girlfriends understand her perfectly, but when she talks in normal Japanese, the class does WORSE. All this and lines like “take me on an oral rodeo” are why 100GF works as both a heartwarming, progressive polycule and a funny ecchi manga. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 50 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – I have been an ardent fan of Skip Beat! since 2008, so it pains me to say that this volume was boring. I assign most of the blame to the fact that we have caught up with Japan, so new releases are infrequent. In this one, Kanae travels to America to appear in a film with Cedric D. Bennett, big star whom I had entirely forgotten about, with Kyoko along as her personal assistant. We encounter Cedric’s famous grandfather, whom I had entirely forgotten about. There are possible sightings of Ren’s parents, but I’ve almost entirely forgotten about them, too. And even some of the other Japanese actors that we see more often are pretty much indistinguishable to me. It’s a bummer. However, I’m hopeful this setting might spur some revelations for Kyoko about Corn’s true identity and Ren’s past in general. We shall see. – Michelle Smith

I Want to Be a Saint, But I Can Only Use Attack Magic!, Vol. 1

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By Fuyu Aoki and Bodax. Released in Japan as “Seijo-sama ni Naritai no ni Kougeki Mahou shika Tsukaenain desu kedo!?” by GC Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

As I was about three minutes into the book, I joked that it should be called “Bocchi the Mage!”. Little did I know. There is a scene, with art to match, where Yuffie, the heroine of this novel, wears a party outfit to what turns out to be a standard noble’s ballroom party. It consists of big sunglasses, one a heart and one a star, and a T-Shirt saying Let’s Party. When you combine this with her hideous social anxiety and desire to abase herself, it’s really hard NOT to think of Bocchi. Or Monica, because she also gets invited to the student council, which feels very much like the one from Silent Witch. Unlike Monica, she’s only here to go to school and make a friend or two, if that’s possible for someone like her. Unfortunately for her, she lives in a world where magic is gender-binaried… and she’s just broken that binary.

Yuffie is a girl who lives in the middle of nowhere with her family, who aren’t abusive per se, but seem to be of the “why can’t you be like the normal children?” sort. She’s got crippling social anxiety, and her attempts to make friends have been laughably bad. When they team up for school activities, she’s always with the teacher. But she has a secret. When she was seven, she saw a saint using magic, and realized that’s what she wanted to be when she grew up. So she practiced magic. Every day. For seven years. By teaching herself. She manages to learn some healing magic… slow healing magic, but it’s there… and shows her parents, who say she should go to the magic academy! She’s delighted. Or horrified. One of those. See, she has a secret. She has immensely powerful attack spells like fireballs and lightning blasts. But… only men can use that sort of magic. It’s in their religion. Not good.

If seeing girls having a panic attack and debasing themselves constantly is not your thing… well, don’t skip the book, but you’ll need patience. Yuffie does get better by the end of the book, but it’s a long, painful road. She accidentally makes friends with most of the current student council. She’s trying to hide her attack magic, so the rest of the students and her teachers hate her. Oh yes, and it turns out that the demons are trying to attack humanity, starting with this school, and the only thing powerful enough to wipe them out is Yuffie. She self-taught herself magic so well she’s the most powerful attack magician in the country, and that means that it’s not – for once – just her paranoid fantasies,. she really COULD be imprisoned and experimented on. Fortunately, this school seems to mostly have good, if eccentric nobles. One seems to be a predatory lesbian, but it’s more of an “I’m taking her home with me!” cute fetish than anything sordid. Heck, even the bullying ojou-sama is almost immediately tamed by Yuffie’s apologies and delicious burdock roots.

This is not a must-read, but if you can get past Yuffie’s complete mess of a self-image, it’s a decent power fantasy, though it’s not so much a trans allegory as just another “what if I were OP as hell?” fantasy.