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Banner of the Stars: The Ties That Bind

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By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

These are novels rather than light novels, so you don’t get cute interstitial artwork. This may be why we get this cover, with Lafier trying to look cool and captainlike while a cat is climbing on top of her. The cat is Jint’s (it’s Jint now. Don’t ask. Or rather, ask Hayakawa Publishing.), and spends much of the book wandering around places where it shouldn’t be and basically being a cat. That said, after the massive firefight that dominates the second half of the book, it’s probably for the best that the cat ends up being given a permanent home on planet. The cat also provides a different source of humor from the usual in this book, which is banter. Everyone in Banter… erm, Banner of the Stars is in a two-person team of back and forth dialogue as if they’re Nick and Nora Charles – indeed, Jint and Lafier are not nearly as caustic about it as many of the others, perhaps showing the feelings they have for each other. It’s almost Moonlighting in space.

This book takes place three years after the events of Crest of the Stars, with Jint now reunited with Lafier as her Clerk and right-hand man on her brand new ship. She’s just one of many ships that are setting out to fight the enemy, though, and we get a large amount of time devoted to space combat, things blowing up, and last-minute escapes. We meet Lafier’s crew, with Number Two Sobash, stoic Ecryua (stoic may be the wrong term given her love on Jint’s cat) and lovable drunk Samson. There’s also her Assault Unit Commander, who happens to be the sister of the guy that Lafier killed in Crest of the Stars. Sporr is still hanging around and being fabulous. And we also see Neleth and Nefeh, two twin brothers (unusual among the Abh) with a propensity towards being exceptionally weird. Everyone talks back and forth at each other like it’s His Girl Friday. Oh yes, and there’s the planet they’re fighting to conquer, which irritatingly hasn’t surrendered yet.

As I said, Jint and Lafier are also part of this, and we do get some choice banter (the thing about Lafier thinking her mother was a cat is brought up by Jint multiple times, to her displeasure). At the same time, there is a certain fatalistic quality to Jint that the reader, and Lafier, may find disturbing. Atosryua invites Lafier and Jint to a dinner to commemorate the life of her brother… the one Lafier killed… but it’s all very polite and no hard feelings. Afterwards, Jint remarks how he doesn’t have anyone who would miss him after he died anyway, and the look that Lafier gives him burns through the page and onto your fingers. She makes it more explicit later that she would miss him, dammit, but it’s fairly clear that if there is any romance going on between the two, she will need to break through a bit of his self-debasement first.

The author notes that each book in this series will be self-contained, which is probably a good thing given the first came out in 1996 and the 6th in 2018. As with Crest of the Stars, it will bury you in vocabulary, and some of the eccentricities of the characters feel like the author is being cute rather than letting it develop naturally. Still, this is a good solid start to the “second season” of Jint and Lafier.

Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!: Megumin’s Turn

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

If you were going to suggest an obvious choice for a side-story spinoff in the Konosuba universe, Megumin immediately comes to mind. She’s the most popular of the cast, and her backstory could use some fleshing out beyond what we got in the 5th novel. Indeed, in Japan, this volume came out before the 5th novel, and the first thing I wanted to do after it was released was to reread that book to see if more of it made sense. It also allows us to get a sense of Megumin’s headspace – through most of this, she’s the narrative voice, and we can see her eccentricities filtered through a coating of relatively sedate and logical thought. Well, logical for the Crimson Magic Clan, of course, whose one truly eccentric member is Yunyun, she who gets embarrassed by the whole thing. If you wanted a book filled with Megumin and Yunyun being funny, good news, this volume delivers, while also fleshing out the overall story.

The book takes place two years before the main series starts, and shows us Megumin and Yunyun in magic school, learning the finer points of saying cool lines and practicing your awesome poses. Both have almost earned enough points to learn Advanced Magic – indeed, Megumin secretly already has the points to do it, but is saving up even more to get enough to learn Explosion, the spell that she’s been obsessed with since she was a little girl. Everyday life for Megumin consists of conning Yunyun out of her lunch every day, looking after her younger sister Komekko, and generally getting into trouble, particularly after picking up an odd cat, nicknamed “Ink” by Yunyun, who Komekko wants to eat but most everyone else wants to snuggle. Unfortunately, more and more monsters are coming to their village, and seem to be after Komekko! Will Megumin be forced to abandon her dream of Explosion to save her sister?

The main reason to get this solid first volume is the relationship between Megumin and Yunyun. Megumin tends to worry about Yunyun as the sort who would get suckered by the first person who called her friend, and she’s not wrong, as we later see two other classmates seemingly conning Yunyun out of money so they can help a sick younger brother, something Megumin regards with more than a little scorn. Despite Megumin’s constant bullying, it’s clear that the two are close – indeed, at least one girl thinks they’re lovers, and when Yunyun is dragged off by her other friends, accuses Megumin of being cuckolded. Despite that, there’s no yuri subtext here, but it is heartwarming to see Megumin look after Yunyun even while she makes her life miserable. The weakest part of the book involved the irritating NEET Bukkororii and his stalker crush on the girl he likes. Megumin and Yunyun think he’s a massive creep, yes, but so does the reader.

Aside from humorous foreshadowing, the other main cast is absent from this book, which is fine. It’s Megumin’s Turn, as the subtitle suggests. The next volume is supposedly Yunyun’s Turn, but I’m not all that optimistic about her achieving much – she’s funnier when suffering. In the meantime, Konosuba fans will definitely enjoy this.

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 21

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

As with the previous volume, and likely the next one, this is a giant action movie brought to the page. As such, there’s not quite as much development of Index’s main themes, though once again if you are religious you should drop this work like a hot potato if you haven’t already done so. That said, the ex-Pope showing up here and being the baddest ass who ever badassed just by kindly talking to everyone shows that it’s not just a binary “everyone with the Church is evil” thing. This also applies, oddly enough, to Accelerator, who seems to finally be getting over his “I am a horrible villain who must be punished” mentality now that he’s had his battle with Misaka Worst. In fact, he and Worst team up here, because a) he needs help in saving Last Order, and b) she finds the idea of his asking her for help hilarious. She too is an example of a bad guy who changes sides. And then there’s Touma, our theoretical hero, who just wants to punch Fiamma. A whole lot.

Kamachi said in the afterword that this was meant to be (along with 22) one book, which is likely why Mugino is menacing Hamazura on he cover despite the fact that she literally only shows up to be the cliffhanger. Also, given this is the second to last book in the first “series” of Index, there’s no major new character introduced here, though we do get a reappearance from a few older characters I wasn’t expecting – indeed, you could argue that without Kazakiri showing up, Accelerator and Touma would both be very dead right now. The plot is divided basically as follows: 1) Touma trying to catch up to Fiamma, starting with Lesser, then losing her but gaining Sasha, who fills a similar function; 2) Hamazura looking out for the forgotten and ignored, as always, while (finally) succeeding in helping Takitsubo; 3) Accelerator trying to help Last Order (this is less easy than helping Takitsubo); 4) Misaka arriving in Russia but mostly standing around, thus summing up her position in the novels since Book 3; and 5) Stiyl trying not to get killed by a still-possessed Index.

The action scenes are nice and solid here, and while I still find a lot of the magic discussion a bit boring, it at least doesn’t last as long this time. Everyone knows their function. Fiamma’s is to be smug, and he succeeds admirably, and you really do want Touma to punch him in the face, even though Touma does not achieve this (or really anything) in this book. Arguably that also applies to Accelerator, who is nudging closer to knowing how to save Last Order (magic) but can’t get to the next step. Again, only Hamazura succeeds while looking at the small picture… which also allows him to succeed when he ends up in the larger picture as well, pointing out to a dying Acqua of the Back that the REAL heroes are those who get up and return home to loved ones rather than those who accept death. It’s a really good scene, and you can easily see why he’s been added as a third protagonist, especially give that you get the sense Kamachi doesn’t know what to do with Touma at this point.

The next volume is important, as it will not only wrap up World War III, but may be the final volume of Index in North America. It’s unclear if New Testament is considered a new license or a continuing one, but in any case Yen On has not made it clear if they’re doing it. (That said, the back cover copy for 22 does not say ‘Final Volume’, so that’s a good sign.) Till then, enjoy an action-packed volume, and sorry, Mugino fans, I’m sure she’ll be in 22 more.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 15

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

We’re back to the main storyline, but the devil is almost entirely absent from this book, not showing up till the end. Instead we get some of the other characters getting a section of plot, including Chiho (who is still dealing with “Maou hasn’t answered my confession and I know the moment Emilia realizes she loves him I lose”, while Emeralda is trying to drag out her time in Japan as long as possible, both because she likes it there more and also to make sure that Emilia is really doing OK. And, of course, there’s the choice that Emi and Maou have to make – help Laila and save Enta Isla, or stay in Japan and keep seeking their own future? Perhaps most importantly, it’s Christmastime, which ties in with Chiho’s woes – Maou’s working the entire holiday. All of these subplots end up coming together when we center on what to get Alas Ramus for a Christmas Present… a decision that ends up shaking up everyone and everything.

It’s fairly rare to have a Christmas-themed light novel come out in North America close to Christmas – owing to when a book is licensed here, we get far more “Christmas in July” series. It handles the Christmas plot well, and the concept of what Alas Ramus really wants for Christmas is a strong story beat. I also really like everyone thinking about their future going forward in Japan – Maou is absent from most of the book as he’s doing training to become a full-time McRonald’s employee (given the title of the series, I suspect this won’t go well), and both Emi and Chiho are studying to get into university. We see most of this from the POV of Emeralda, who is quite happy to see it as she’s been against Emilia sacrificing her life for some time now, and would be delighted if she actually did things for herself, be this a new career or romance.

That said, there are a few big flaws with this book. This series has never shied away from long expodumps, and I’ve criticized it before. Well, I’m going to do it again, as so much of this volume was characters sitting around listening to Angels and Demons explaining the backstory. I get the sense that the author wanted to put this into a side-story or a spinoff, but was told no, so instead we get to see it secondhand from other people. Sadly, that just makes things boring. The other issue I had was a “one fakeout too many” problem. The book begins with Chiho and Rika arriving at a deserted apartment complex, with Chiho telling Rika everyone connected to Enta Isla has now left. Then we get the book proper. When we return, we get the setup for what feels like another “sorry, humans, you have to stay behind” bit… only for Chiho to pitch an absolute fit, use a magical portal device, grab Rika, and leap into Enta Isla. I loved this. The problem I had was later, when Chiho’s rage, which I loved so much, was handwaved away as being Rika misreading the situation and Chiho being tired. I get they don’t want her to confront Maou yet, but I’d rather she’d have been angry.

Still, provided you don’t mind having the plot spoonfed to you, this is a reasonable solid volume of the series, and I liked one big revelation at the end, which made me think of the Doctor Who story State of Decay. Expect things to stay on the Enta Isla side for the next book.

Accel World: The Rivalry of White and Black

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By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

Last time I said that this volume would likely finally get to the fight with the White Legion, and that is technically true, but it takes almost 4/5 of the book for us to get to that point. If Sword Art Online’s biggest fault is that it doesn’t flesh out its world or characters enough, and that the pace is too breakneck, Accel World has the opposite problem: the worldbuilding is excellent, but at the expense of the pace, which leads to readers wanting to skin through things to finally get to the fights. There is a minor battle here between Silver Crow and a bottle of Isodine – sorry, Povidone-iodine, but even that feels rather shallow as Iodine Sterilizer feels like an expy of Ash Roller. It is, frankly, a relief that a big villain finally appears to take on our heroes towards the end – and indeed, he’s the biggest villain we’ve seen, towering over the landscape, and might be a little more terrifying if he wasn’t depicted in the illustrations as looking like a giant Snow Bunny.

(The fanservice covers we’ve seen lately are also starting to irritate me – the illustrator’s always had that issue, I know, but this one in particular promises an attention to little girls that the text thankfully does not have.)

The first chunk of the book deals with Nega Nebulus and Prominence uniting to form a single legion, as promised. There is a bit of grumbling on the red side, both from folks who are a bit annoyed given that Black Lotus is the one who killed their former leader and also by the aforementioned iodine bottle, who just really wants to fight Silver Crow. On the Nega Nebulus side we have Cyan Pile and Magenta Scissor, both of whom are feeling guilt over the part they’ve played in past events and are looking for a chance to repent. After this, we get a relatively fluffy chapter which has the twins we met a while back from the Blue legion discovering what they think is a spy… only for it to turn out to be Trilead Trioxide, who is meeting secretly with Crow and Lotus. Some good character work here, and also more “TRILEAD IS THE IMPERIAL PRINCE OF JAPAN!” without actually saying this out loud.

The best part of the book is the final section, which once again gives the chocolate trio some heavy lifting to do as they find themselves first on the scene of battle, and therefore being forced to face off against a foe much bigger than they can really handle – but they try their best. I also liked that by now everyone knows that Haruyuki’s big flaw is that he frets too much, and that he does so much better when he forgets how difficult this is supposed to be and just plunges right in. And I admit I laughed out loud at Magenta Scissor asking if Bel and Pile were going out, which is followed by Bell asking “huh, are we?”. What was one of the bigger plot points in early books has fallen so much by the wayside that half the main couple doesn’t even seem to care anymore, and it almost feels like Kawahara mocking himself (while, of course, keeping Chiyuri free to be part of the potential harem pile).

So things have inched forward to the point where we’re actually fighting, and there is yet another cliffhanger promising things will get worse for our heroes. Still, I admit that after reading most of Accel World 20 my overall feel was “GET ON WITH IT!”.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/21/19

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Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 3 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – There’s less humor and more romantic drama in this volume, but that’s OK as the romantic drama seems to be slightly better. It helps that the teacher rejects the student, though I’m sure that’s not the end of it, and that scene manages to be the best in the volume. That said, Suzume is not the only one Shishio’s having issues with, and a lot of this book amounts to “sometimes you really do break up for the right reasons even if it doesn’t feel like it.” Honestly, the best relationship in the series so far may be Suzume and Yuyuka, who aren’t a romantic pairing but have the potential to be great friends provided they get past the love quadrangle. This is shaping up to be decent shoujo. – Sean Gaffney

Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 | By Gege Akutami | VIZ Media – Yuji Itadori is a member of his school’s Occult Research Club and when he finds a cursed object (a mummified finger that he eventually eats – ew!) he gets involved with a group of jujutsu sorcerers aiming to collect all the fragments of a powerful demon before they fall into the wrong hands. Spurred on by his dying grandfather’s words that he should help people, and by the realization that he’s the only person who can nullify the demon fragments before they cause more harm, Yuji joins up with their cause. This first volume was intriguing, if a bit gross at times, but Yuji feels really flat as a protagonist so far. I’ll keep reading for a bit in hopes that it all becomes more compelling. – Michelle Smith

Missions of Love, Vol. 19 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – This has always been a fairly saucy manga for Nakayoshi, and it feels appropriate that the final volume has Yukina and Shigure, now a couple (if you’re surprised perhaps you should look at the cover), snowed in and Yukina being far too forward… at least till she’s taught that sex really is a step too far for someone still brand new to her feelings of loving someone else. Elsewhere, the manga is somewhat satisfying—I just don’t like Hisame, and even though the triangle with him and Mami is left unresolved it feels like he’s going to win, which doesn’t make me happy. But Yukina is cute, and we even get a callback to the glasses/social awkwardness thing. This was VERY up and down, but worth the ride. – Sean Gaffney

Monster and the Beast, Vol. 2 | By Renji | Yen Press – I enjoyed and was greatly intrigued by the first volume of Monster and the Beast, a somewhat unusual BL manga, so I’ve been looking forward to reading the series’ second volume. As the plot continues to develop, it’s revealed that Liam’s natural charm isn’t entirely natural. He puts it to honorable use in this volume, but it seems it’s gotten him into trouble more than once in the past. While Liam and Cavo travel together, Liam softens and opens up a bit towards his companion, making it clear that he actually does care for him and isn’t just taking advantage of the demon (something Liam would be completely capable of). As for Cavo, he becomes a little more daring in expressing his feelings and desires, although he still gets delightfully flustered. Monster and the Beast has its cute moments as well as some deadly serious ones. – Ash Brown

Our Fake Marriage, Vol. 2 | By Kiwi Tokina | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Yae Sendo is living with her chidhood friend Takumi Natsume, now a famous architect, and posing as his wife to act as a buffer for all the chicks who want to bone him. Of course, he immediately starts putting the moves on her. Where are Yae’s family and friends to question this arrangement? Nonexistent. This premise was not the best to start with, but things take a downhill turn in volume two when Takumi tells her, “Resist if you want to. But I got no intention of stopping tonight.” By this point, she’s into it, but still.. this man basically said “I am fine with raping you” and it sends up no red flags! I assume readers were supposed to find story this sexy and/or romantic, given the implication that Yae was Takumi’s first love, but I find it icky and problematic. I shan’t be reading any more. – Michelle Smith

PENGUINDRUM, Vol. 1 | By Isuzu Shibata and ikunichawder | Seven Seas – Once again, I have not seen the anime this is based on, and I get the sense that a lot of the imagery probably works better when watched rather than read. Two brothers are dealing with a sister who’s dying, only to find her corpse possessed by the spirit of… something. Now they have to find a Penguindrum… and are not told what that is. And, on top of everything else, they run into a girl who’s very, very obsessed with her teacher. There are tidbits of a very interesting story here, and the possessed Himari can be quite funny (SURVIVAL! TACTIC!), but as with a lot of Ikuhara series that aren’t named Utena, I find it very difficult to get emotionally involved with it. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 12 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – I asked for more of Takane and Hana smirking at each other, and instead I get to what amounts to Takane losing his mind. He finally admits his feelings to Hana, who’s a bit poleaxed, and then proceeds to be an absolute ass for almost the entire rest of the book. He still has no idea how to properly interact with a girl he likes, and I hate to break it to him, but the solution to a relationship between a rich heir and an underage schoolgirl is not “well, whatever.” Hana spends much of the book simply exhausted, and I felt like that as well. Hopefully the next volume will get back on a more even keel, as I just don’t like Takane when he’s like this, and I don’t think Hana does either. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 18 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – MORE Negima flashbacks, as the author tries to sell me on a Negi/Eva romance I still really don’t want, and essentially finishes giving us the backstory related to how things got this way. Next it’s time for more romantic stuff, as Chamo wants Pactios. Kirie isn’t able to do it because of her power, but Kuromaru can… and finally works up the nerve to confess about their future gender choices. Tota, of course,l takes everything in stride, but still it feels as if, as with Negima, any romance in the series moves at the speed of a slug. We also add in Karin towards the end, who wants to pactio with Eva but is steered towards Tota, and confesses some of her past as Judas Iscariot to him. If you’ve read all of both series, this was OK. – Sean Gaffney

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 11 | By Rei Toma | VIZ Media – I never doubted for a minute that this series would have a happy ending, but man, Toma-sensei really nailed the Water Dragon’s God’s terror in the face of mortality as well as Asahi’s abject despair when she believes he has died. It’s heartbreaking (and relatable). I also loved that Subaru’s confession prompts Asahi to take the initiative and get her smooch on with the Water Dragon God, and that he cries from his happiness. I will try not to think about how they’re going to navigate their future together and just be happy that they’re together. Looking forward to more Toma-sensei in the future! – Michelle Smith

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 4 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – Another of the quartet of young apprentices takes the spotlight: Richeh, who wants to make her own magic and hates compromising. Sadly, that makes it hard to take tests, and she’s doing the next one, along with Agott and a third apprentice, a young man who seems to be abused and belittled by his instructor, but has a wealth of knowledge once he gets over his self-hatred. As always half the reason to read this is the art, which gives us the snake-like path that the test-takers travel down. And of course there’s Coco, who may not be taking the test but still finds a way to get herself into trouble, though more accurately trouble comes to her. This is still gorgeous and compelling. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 1

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By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash and Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Jenny McKeon.

Bloom Into You is one of the bigger runaway yuri hits of the past few years, so the fact that it’s getting a series of light novel side-stories, particularly given it’s by the prolific Hitomi Iruma, author of Adachi and Shimamura (also coming soon from Seven Seas) should not really surprise me. But I admit I am surprised. Every time there’s a shift in the marketplace I always seem to be blown away. All the old chestnuts: “yuri won’t sell”, “light novels won’t sell”, “tie-in novels never get licensed” – all these are long since dead. Seriously, appreciate the market we live in now. You should especially appreciate it because it gives us this, the first in a projected three-volume series of novels about Sayaka, Touko’s best friend and winner of the “I absolutely want to read more about her” poll that I’m sure was taken internally at ASCII Mediaworks. This book serves as a prequel to the manga, showing us Sayaka’s early life – and, more importantly, her inner monologue.

The book is divided into two sections. The first introduces us to Sayaka at 11 years old, busily taking part in endless activities and trying to give off the impression of being a mature, serious person – even to herself. Her swimming lessons are part of this, but are broken up every time by an unnamed girl (I called her Uruka after a while, after the BokuBen girl with similar looks and personality) who wants to be Sayaka’s friend and find out more about her… and also about the heat that she feels within her body whenever she’s around Sayaka. This story was bittersweet and painful, ending with Sayaka literally fleeing the scene but also learning more about herself. The second, longer story takes place when Sayaka is 14 or so, and is about her relationship – touched in the manga – with her sempai (who does have a name, but Sayaka chooses to stick with sempai even when they are dating.) Sayaka does not initiate this affair, but certainly is the most deeply affected by it, something she slowly goes to realize as time passes.

The best reason to get this is Sayaka, who is captured perfectly here, showing off a serious, mature for her age girl who nevertheless still has a great deal of growing up and discovery to do about herself. We see this captured in the stories, as the reader is usually well ahead of her in terms of what’s actually happening in the other character’s heads – Sayaka has trouble figuring out what the other girl is thinking, but we do not. Frequently this an be, as I noted, very painful – seeing swimming girl’s nascent excitement and frustration around Sayaka is very identifiable, and I was upset as it became clear that, as this book is from Sayaka’s POV, we’d never find out what happened to her after the story. As for Yuzuki, Sayaka’s senpai, it’s clear to the reader almost immediate that she’s in love with the idea of a love affair more than anything about Sayaka herself. Still, she’s not a pure villain in this book, and her awkward “oh crap what have I done” moments are also squirm-inducing.

The book closes with Sayaka determined to move on and never fall in love again, a determination that doesn’t even last five minutes into high school as she meets Touko and is shot through the heart. The second book promises to show us Sayaka’s POV of events during the manga proper. Till then, this is essential for Bloom Into You fans, as well as anyone who likes well-told coming of age stories.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 21

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Yona of the Dawn Volume 21 by Mizuho Kusanagi

This is the last volume of the Sei story arc, and it has plenty of action interspersed with great quiet moments where bonds between the characters are affirmed. Everyone joins together to rescue Riri, leading to some surprising alliances. One of the highlights for me was seeing Hak’s reunion with the Wind Tribe, especially his adoptive grandfather Mundok. As Zeno and Jaeha search for Yona and find her cornered in the woods by enemy soldiers, Zeno comes to the rescue by literally dropping out of the sky to defend her. Su-Won is also inspecting the area and getting a full picture of the atrocities being committed. Riri shows her strength of character by being defiant even as the evil Lord Kushibi orders her execution. The attack begins as Su-Won’s group and Yona’s companions both stage parallel rescue missions, and the old bond between Su-Won and Hak is reactivated as they are able to wordlessly communicate across the battlefield in support of a single objective.

Kusanagi’s skills with drawing action are particularly showcased in this volume, as the dynamic paneling for the action scenes ramps up the tension of the battle, with pauses that highlight the emotional stakes for everything that Yona and her friends are fighting for. I also appreciated all the battlefield banter between enemies as Hak and Guen-Tae get snarky with each other. As Kushibi realizes the full extent of his hubris, a shadow is cast over his face that mirrors the dark tones used in portraying the body count of the fight. As everyone recovers from the battle, Zeno has a hilariously off-kilter encounter with Su-Won, and Yona and Hak have a random encounter in the middle of the night that is equal parts hilarious and touching. As always, this was an extremely satisfying volume of Yona of the Dawn. It sets such a high standard, it almost seems impossible for it to keep getting better with each volume, but it does.

Manga the Week of 12/25/19

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SEAN: Yes, yes, I know almost none of these are actually coming out 12/25. But I’ve always used Wednesday’s date before, and have no desire to stop now! In any case, ‘Tis Christmas, and still no offers of pantomime. What have we got?

We start with J-Novel Club’s debut of Beatless. This sci-fi series is only two volumes long, but I hear each volume is really, REALLY long. Artificial humans, AIs that have passed humanity… but can it be bleaker than Alita? We shall see. It’s a co-production with Tokyo Otaku Mode.

ASH: Hmm… I do like a good artificial humans story…

SEAN: They also give us Campfire Cooking in Another World 4 and The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress 3.

Kodansha’s sole print volume is the 10th and final volume of Happiness.

ASH: Oshimi’s work remains consistently engaging and disconcerting.

SEAN: No digital debut, as the title that was coming out got bumped. But we do see Altair: A Record of Battles 13, Drowning Love 15, Guilty 3, Heaven’s Design Team 4, and Princess Resurrection Nightmare 5.

MICHELLE: I thought volume one of Guilty was pretty good, even if none of the characters was sympathetic. I plan to read more.

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas either, but there’s a 10th Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage, a 4th How to Treat Magical Beasts, a 3rd Little Devils, Species Domain 7, and Toradora! 8 (the light novel).

The rest is all Yen Press. On the light novel side, we get two debuts, both spinoffs. Kingdom Hearts X: Your Keyblade, Your Story is another in the infinite Kingdom Hearts novels out lately.

The other arrival, after a few delays, is KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! This light novel spinoff is a prequel, showing us Megumin’s life pre-Kazuma.

Also from Yen On we get Baccano! 12, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 2, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 6, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 7. Baccano! feels very very tiny compared to those other LN titles.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: There’s also two debuts on the Yen Press end. The one most interesting to me is A Witch’s Printing Office (Mahoutsukai no Insatsujo), an isekai about a women transported to another world who has to try to find the means to get home. It runs in ASCII Mediaworks’ Dengeki G’s.

ASH: I’m curious about this one.

MJ: Intrigued.

SEAN: And there’s Shadow Student Council Vice President Gives Her All (Fukukaichou Ganbaru), complete in one volume. Given that cover art, thank God. A sequel to Prison School, it ran in Young Magazine the 3rd.

And there’s a plethora of Yen Press Christmas Eve titles. As Miss Beelzebub Likes 8, Bungo Stray Dogs 13, The Case Study of Vanitas 6, Dead Mount Death Play 3, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 3 (manga version), KonoSuba Explosion 3 (manga version), Plunderer 3, Shibuya Goldfish 6, Silver Spoon 12 (and Vols. 1-11 are out now digitally!), Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization 5, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 8, Ubel Blatt 11 (the 12th and final volume, and the last chance for me to point out the irritating number scheme), Val x Love 7, and your name: Another Side Earthbound 2 (manga version).

MICHELLE: I have recently started and am enjoying the anime of Bungo Stray Dogs, which makes me wonder what I’ve been missing in the manga all this time.

ASH: Wow, that’s a lot of Yen! (Also, hooray, as always, for Silver Spoon!!)

MJ: (echos: Silver Spoooooooooon!)

SEAN: Happy holidays to all from Manga Bookshelf! What are you getting next week?

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Gamble Scramble

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

As expected, the relationship upgrade between Kazuma and Megumin we saw in the last book takes a step back here, with one or two exceptions – indeed, it’s a very ensemble cast-led work this time around. Continuing where the last book left off, Kazuma and company are asked to escort Princess Iris to another country, where she is supposed to meet her fiance, and also ask why they’re cutting off the money that they given them to help exterminate the demon lord. The country they go to is a gambling casino-style country, which is good news for everyone but Aqua, but they’re also cutting off funding because… they’ve made a deal with the demon lord? Can Kazuma help his “little sister” get the money her country needs and also avoid getting arrested? And what about the engagement?

There’s an excellent conceit behind the main plot, as it’s pointed out that Kazuma and company have already defeated so many of the Demon Lord’s generals that the rest of his forces are starting to panic. While it has its individual moments of failure and humiliation, KonoSuba has always made sure that our heroes win out in the end, and we’re seeing the fruits of that. That said, it also makes the enemy more desperate, as we see here with the nation of Elroad seemingly deciding to throw in with the Demon Lord to avoid getting wipes out in the war that is no doubt imminent. The other major plus in this book is seeing Princess Iris in action. While her personality is seemingly that of the typical “oniichan-worshipping younger sister”, Kazuma being the oniichan in question, she’s also from a long line of heroes, and has “borrowed” a legendary sword. As such, expect the action scenes in this book to be minimal – Iris is just THAT good.

As for the regulars, Aqua is back to her normal self after her high point of the previous book. Darkness gets a lot to do, and has a few good “masochism” moments, but continues to be hamstrung by the Dustiness side of her character requiring her to be the “straight woman” of the group. Megumin is, like Kazuma, taking their recent understanding in stride, with it only coming up when it needs to, but otherwise continues to show the growth and maturity (yes, really) that we’ve seen recently. Again I like the fact that, with one or two brief exceptions, Kazuma is really only into two women in the cast – Megumin (compatibility-wise) and Darkness (physically). We again get a few scenes showing he’s just not attracted to Aqua, despite her somewhat frustrated denial of this, and he really does seem to see Iris as a younger sister figure, to the point where he does not really get the fact that giving her a cheap plastic ring he bought in the country might be seen by her as something more than just a “a toy for my little sister”.

This is another solid volume in the series, with a few good laughs and fun times all round. It also helps advertise the side novels again – apparently Iris becoming Megumin’s “minion” and taking instruction from her comes from one of the Explosion books. Still, that series begins here soon as well, so hopefully we’ll see it one day.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Sunset

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By Yoshiki Tanaka. Released in Japan as “Ginga Eiyū Densetsu” by Tokuma Shoten. Released in North America by Haikasoru. Translated by Matt Treyvaud.

And so the Legend of the Galactic Heroes comes to a close. (There are five volumes of short story collections also out in Japan, but they don’t seem essential to the narrative.) The story ends because the two sides finally come together and try to negotiate a compromise between Empire and Federation – Parliamentary Democracy, which is presented as the best of both worlds, mostly. But you could also argue that the series is ending as the author is running out of characters to kill off. This is a doom-laden book, with a bunch of the main cast given their final moments. Some go out fighting, like von Schönkopf and Merkatz, nobly in battle. Some die like villains, taking out swathes of others as they succumb to a brain tumor (Rubinsky). Some appear to die almost because the author forgot to kill them off and they were running out of pages, like von Oberstein. Hell, even von Oberstein’s DOG, the one thing that made him vaguely human, is dying. And then there is Reinhard.

I’m not really spoiling anything by talking about these deaths, as the book is still written like a history textbook from the future, so frequently talks about “this was the last time he would visit this planet”, etc. That said, you’d have to be reading the series with very narrow vision not to realize that Reinhard wasn’t going to make it to the end of it. Honestly, he hasn’t been the same since the death of Yang Wen-Li, and he knows it. What’s more, it may be his fatal flaw that finally kills him off. No, not the disease that he’s had for ages that finally gets a name but might as well be “Love Story disease”. Instead it’s his leaping off to battle against Julian’s forces one last time, despite knowing that he’s running a fever and choosing to hide it from everyone. The end of the war means peace, which means no more battles, which means that Reinhard is pretty much going to be out of his depth – something he admits at his deathbed, as he notes Hilda will be a much better leader as she’s the politician.

There are several cool space battles, including one where Julian and company essentially storm Reinhard’s ship as if it were a boat to try to get to him and negotiate, and another where we see Annerose, Reinhard’s sister, protect Hilda from terrorists (don’t worry, she doesn’t die). But for the most part the best moments are the speeches and dialogues, as with most of this series. A lot of the book discusses von Oberstein, whose methods continue to sacrifice the few to save the many, but in the worst, least honorable way possible, to the point where other Admirals try to punch him. He’s an unpleasant person but a great character, and I wish his death had more impact – perhaps the anime improves on this. Oh yes, and Julian and Katerose hook up, though her lack of presence in the final big scenes reminds me that LOGH tries to give us some good female representation but struggles at it.

I’m very happy that we were able to get the entire series out here in North America. It’s a classic, though admittedly more known here for the epic 80s anime, and worth reading to see how authors who aren’t Leiji Matsumoto handle a Wagnerian space opera sort of story, albeit one with a dry historical filter. A noble finale.

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 4

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By Yuhki Kamatani. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Hibana. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Adapted by Ysabet MacFarlane.

After three volumes that are brilliantly written but also somewhat fraught and filled with frustration, it was wonderful to see how this final volume of Our Dreams at Dusk has so much acceptance in it. It’s in Tchaiko’s present, when he finds that the distance he’s been deliberately keeping between himself and his dying partner’s family doesn’t have to be that way. It’s in the past, where we get Someone-san’s feelings of wanting to be alone and “unlabeled”. And of course it’s in Daichi and Saki’s wedding, as Saki is accidentally outed to her parents and they both have to deal with the fallout… which is not as bad as initially feared. In the end even Misora is able to make peace with Tasuku after getting an apology, and then an apology for apologizing (which I really liked), and shows up at the wedding dressed to the nines. And, of course, there’s still the amazing artwork as well. It’s a conclusion that should satisfy almost everyone.

Tchaiko gets the majority of the focus in this volume. We learn about his partner, who’s dying an in a hospital, and see some of their life together, which looks wonderfully happy. Despite that, Tchaiko goes to visit him only when his family isn’t there, as he doesn’t want to insert himself into their lives – Seichiro has a son from a previous marriage (he had broken up with Tchaiko at that time) and they’re finally talking to each other again, so Tchaiko doesn’t want to get in the middle of that. But that’s not what Seichiro wants, and (as it turns out) not what his son wants either. Through Tchaiko, we also get a better handle on Someone-san, who (appropriately, as it turns out) has been around the periphery of this manga but never seemed to be a main cast member. In a flashback, she admits to Tchaiko and Seichiro that she’s asexual, but doesn’t want to be explaining that every minute of every day, which leads Seichiro to suggest she “wants to be no one, someone from who-knows-where”. It’s a great moment.

Speaking of Someone-san, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about how far Tsubaki has come over the course of this manga. From being the remote object of Tasuku’s attraction to a somewhat uncomfortable participant in Cat Clutter’s world, he’s also the one able to point out crucial insights, such as when Someone-san makes cafe au lait for the group, and they’re all startled to see her getting involved. Tsubaki points out that she’s still a human being, a label that is both correct and as broad as possible. This leads to Tasuku inviting her to Daichi and Saki’s wedding despite knowing she won’t be there, and saying that her being someone is enough for him – and so is the distance, which doesn’t have to be less OR more. As for Tsubaki, at the end of the book he feels far more comfortable being Tasuku’s friend, and Tasuku’s acceptance by others and acceptance of himself has led him to grow enormously as well.

The book ends with a death and a wedding (and I didn’t even get into the reaction of Saki’s dad, which once again plays into “I know intellectually what my reaction should be, but it’s much harder when it’s my daughter we’re talking about”, but is really heartwarming), and it feels an appropriate place for the story to stop. It was an incredible journey, and this may be my choice for the manga title of 2019. Everyone who loves manga should be reading it.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!, Vol. 2

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By Ameko Kaeruda and Kazutomo Miya. Released in Japan as “Onna dakara, to Party wo Tsuihou Sareta no de Densetsu no Majo to Saikyou Tag wo Kumimashita” by Overlap Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Molly Lee.

As we start the second volume of Sexiled, things are looking good for Tanya and company. They’re celebrities now, heralded by the women in the city for what they did. They’re now guiding other parties to grow and learn. But, of course, there’s still the inherent sexism of everyday life. Some of the parties they’re guiding just want to show off in front of them. Sexual assault is framed as “she was asking for it by wearing that outfit.” Promises of marriage are extorted by drugging a girl. Even fashion is against them, as Tanya is told that only men can wear swords at the palace ball… even though Tanya is there as a bodyguard. And then of course there is Laplace’s behavior, as lately she’s seem distracted or even depressed at times. Why was she sealed up in the first place? And is is possible for her to also get revenge?

As with the first book, the writing here reminds you of the sort of thing that women deal with every day. The first half is filled with frustrating assumptions and casual misogyny that makes our heroine’s brains burn. Katherine, the fox-sorceress who was a minor antagonist in the first book, has joined Lilium, and she proves to be an excellent addition to the party, gaining confidence, inventing popcorn chicken, and also helping save the day so that things don’t have to end with a lot more deaths. Because the back half of this book is a lot more serious than the first one. Many of the relationships in this book are abusive, including the princess of the realm, as well as Laplace, whose determination to stand up against her abuser is very well done. I also liked how the kissing was reframed as plot-relevant (and Tanya noting that it was non-consensual at first, even if she ended up not minding it), and this leads to an excellent callback at the climax of the book.

The book is still a light novel fantasy, of course. We briefly see Tanya and Laplace fighting goblins, and there is much discussion of mana and its ability in helping to attain immortality. The fight scenes are relatively simply but breezy, never getting too bogged down in spell creation or other pitfalls. There’s also a healthy dose of humor – I quite liked Nadine yelling “POW POW” in Tanya’s ear, and the smarmy tone of one of the jerks dealt with in the book is mocked by criticizing the very typography of his lines. There’s also a nice scene at the very end of the book which shows a young palace guard who was also inspired by Tanya’s party to chase after his own dreams, and his genuine gratitude and admiration of her feels like a “not all men” that’s actually earned for once. I will admit I think the art that comes with the book is merely adequate – there are some nice scenes of Tanya and Laplace in the middle of the book where the illustrations feel very flat. I wonder if we’ll get some fanart from others.

I’m not sure where the series goes from here – we’re caught up with the Japanese release – but I will definitely be devouring the next book in the series. Still an excellent takedown of misogyny as well as a good light novel fantasy.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 7

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

(Note: This review, especially towards the end, gets more spoilery than usual as you can’t not talk about the end.)

I have to admit that “they battle a bunch of fighter jets in order to infiltrate a UFO with tanks and robots” was not really the plot I was expecting when I picked up the seventh volume of Spider So What. But, having finished the volume, I can’t say I’m too disappointed in it. We’ve seen robots and cyborgs in this series before, of course. It also helps to show off the true arrogant brokenness of Potimas, who manages to be an evil elf while at the same time being an embarrassed chuuni who can’t bear to see people using his old design specs that he made back in the day. There is not one moment in this book where you like him, and the relationship between him, White, and the Demon Lord helps to remind us that the “truce” between the later two is miles and miles ahead of the loathing and antipathy they feel for Potimas. They might even be… friends?

After accidentally freeing two world-killing pieces of tech from an underground bunker simply because of her insatiable curiosity, White and the rest of her merry band have to join forces to destroy it. Unfortunately, this means joining forces with Potimas, whose designs they’re based on, as well as the Pontiff and a group of local dragons. Most of the book is spent on the battle, with White’s chatterbox narrative voice, constantly belittling and mocking herself and showing self-doubt at every confrontation contrasting with how everyone ELSE sees her, which is to say an emotionless, morally ambiguous nightmare who is STILL GETTING STRONGER. There’s a lovely moment where White is in a fury and the Demon Lord wraps her in thread to stop her. White immediately teleports out of it, and while she’s calm again, she notes offhandedly the Demon Lord looks super surprised but doesn’t get why. This push and pull on her character is one reason this series works.

Then we get to the climax of the book, where the Demon Lord, Potimas, and White are faced with a bomb that is about to explode. There are really very few options that are available. Still, I suspect only White could come up with “swallow the bomb”, which causes a Daffy Duck-esque explosion but does not, remarkably, kill her off. Good thing too, as Vol. 8 is due in the spring. What’s more, she has now leveled up to the point where the “game system” part cannot help her anymore… she’s a god. “D” helpfully explains this, and decides to give her another name: Shiraori, which I will start using in future. (Notably, “D” does not suggest calling her “Wakaba”, supposedly her old name from Earth, and refers to her as “nameless spider”. This feels very much like ominous foreshadowing.) As a God, Shiraori as all the power she used to and more… but has to learn how to do everything without the “game world” help. Including walking on her new human legs. To her, this is very much “restarting from zero”.

So overall, a solid book of fighting, but the last fifth or so is dynamite (literally), with one revelation after the other. I can’t wait to see where things go next. (Also, when will we catch up to the other kids?)

Bookshelf Briefs 12/13/19

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Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 1 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This pretty much delivery exactly what it promises, going through the first three Arifureta light novels in the style of a gag comic. There’s lots of Hajime and Yui being sickeningly in love, Shea getting beaten up, Tio being a pervert, etc. We even get golem-Miledi advertising Arifureta Zero, on sale in all good stores. It’s actually pretty fun, and keeps a good balance, not being too perverse while still staying true to the original, which is pretty perverse, and not hitting the same one-note gags—or if it does, pointing that out. Fans of the original should have a lot of fun with this spinoff. – Sean Gaffney

Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 15 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – The flashbacks continue here, but some of them are actually engineered, which is an excellent conceit. Haruna and Kirishima are shown the memories of how Kyouhei and Iori are invited to join the crew… and in the case of Iori, expand her backstory a great deal, as she’s a rich daughter who’s rebelling not just against her father, but everyone who sees the Fog as forbidden tech. After coming out of it (and Kirishima being sad she’s back to being a bear), they’re able to tell the others about what they experienced but can’t have them access the memories like a ship would. It’s just like being human! The second half of the book is not as interesting, but this remains the top of the line for girls-as-objects manga. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 18 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – We continue this long arc of humans vs. humans-possessed-by-elves, and there’s a lot of “I know you’re in there somewhere now fight dammit” to this book. Luck gets the brunt of the front end, and honestly, it reminds me of Black Clover‘s greatest strength AND biggest flaw: it’s so straightforward it verges on predictable. One bit I really liked was seeing Asta confront a somewhat dazed Sally (who’s lost her glasses) and convince her, perhaps, to be a mad scientist for GOOD instead of evil. Given that Sally is very much amoral rather than immoral, she can be swayed by this pitch. Oh yes, and the battle against Charlotte was probably the most interesting of the giant fight scenes we see. This probably worked better animated. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 4 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – A great deal of this fourth volume is dedicated to making it a bit more isekai-ish than it has been, as the forest is under attack by monsters, and the Kingdom has to figure out the best way to stop them. Fortunately, they don’t seem to have adventurers or dungeons here, so it’s back to good old-fashioned politics, as we need to see whose reputation would be helped or hindered by being the one to save the day or fail miserably. In other news, they’re getting better at making glass, Zenjiro is getting more proficient with magic, and we’re about to get two new characters… one of whom definitely seems like a new romantic rival. One of the better isekais out there. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 12 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – The solution to the person going around killing master swordsmen turns out to be very family-oriented, and also has a lot of possession involved. That said, the most entertaining part of this book may have been seeing Kuroko really struggling to win here—she admits several times that she’s having difficulties, whereas in past books you never really got a sense she was in danger. The final fight of the volume, leading to the cliffhanger, is especially good. That said, it looks like it will wrap up quick next time, if the preview is anything to judge by. In the meantime, you can also enjoy Reiko shamelessly showing off outfits for the reader and then having Kuroko pay for them because, well, she’s a cute girl. – Sean Gaffney

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, Vol. 1 | By Asaya Miyanaga | Seven Seas – There are now several manga translated into English with a similar underlying premise—a young woman or girl who is under the care of a non-human guardian. The execution in each can differ dramatically, however. (Apparently this is a sub-genre that I particularly enjoy, as I’ve loved all variations.) In the case of Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, Miyanaga has created an exceedingly charming, delightful, and even joyful series. The title mostly sums up the work. Nicola is a young witch who has entered the demons’ world hoping to improve her magic. She’s not really supposed to be there, though, so a kind-hearted traveling salesman (and devil) named Simon has taken it upon himself to watch out for her. With each chapter being fairly episodic there’s not much of an overarching plot, but the magic and wonder of Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World builds and is consistently heartwarming. – Ash Brown