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Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Axis Church vs. Eris Church

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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.

I was expecting more comedy this time around, and I was right. There are lots of very funny moments in this volume, sure to please the fan of KonOSuba. Chris’ secret is now known, but that doesn’t mean that she and Kazuma are not playing Robin Hood on the sly, burgling evil noble estates in order to acquire sentient armor that proves to be far more trouble than it’s worth. Meanwhile, the Eris Festival is upon us, and a jealous Aqua wants to have a festival dedicated to her as well. The result is the subtitle, a parody of Pokemon Red vs. Blue, in which the traditional religious festival gets turned (mostly thanks to Kazuma) into more of a giant blowout, complete with food stalls, beauty contests, and giant killer cicadas. However, just because it’s a full-blown comedy does not mean we can’t have character development.

It feels odd to be talking about character development in a series like KonoSuba, but it’s true. Megumin has come a long way from the start of the series, and despite the occasional explosion has become the most sensible of the group (Kazuma forfeits this title enough that you can’t use it for him anymore). Meanwhile, Darkness, after the events of the last volume, is acting Governor of their town, and is thus drowning in responsibilities (including having to police Kazuma and Aqua). The gag here is that, for a moment, you think the same thing might be happening with Aqua, who spends much of the book actually being sensible and responsible. But of course it can’t last – Megumin and Darkness have room built into their characters for growth, but Aqua’s “useless goddess” properties are much harder to move on from. She’s too funny not to keep it up.

And then there’s the love triangle. It’s clear from this book that both Megumin and Darkness have come to terms with their love for Kazuma and want to take things to the next level. It’s also clear that Kazuma knows this… the question is whether he’s too immature to actually be able to take their feelings seriously, as he brags to Chris about harem ends and the like. Of course, his words are bravado for the most part, and by the end of the book, where the cliffhanger seems to imply Megumin wants to confess properly, he seems almost terrified. I do wonder if a series like KonoSuba can bake an actual relationship into its premise. Can Kazuma answer either Megumin or Darkness properly, or will there be wacky comedy confessions and then back to the status quo? As for “harem” ends, the series thankfully still seems to be avoiding that sort of thing… Chris/Eris’ relationship with Kazuma is not the “bratty siblings” that he and Aqua have, but it doesn’t feel romantic, which is a good thing.

For all the romantic potential, at the end of the day KonoSuba still runs on its comedy, and there’s lots of that here. Fans of the series will get a kick out of this book.

Redefining the Meta at VRMMO Academy, Vol. 1

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By Hayaken and Hika Akita. Released in Japan by Hobby Japan. Released in North America by Sol Press. Translated by Benjamin Daughety.

I have lost track of the number of times, in writing reviews of light novels, that I have said “I’m not a gamer, but…”. So many LNs these days are built about RPG builds, RPG worlds, RPG fights, and the like. Most of them try to make at least a token effort towards appealing to non-gamer fans. Sometimes, like with stat-heavy series like Reincarnated As a Slime or Spider So What, it’s a very token effort. But we may have run across a series that I think is impossible to read if you aren’t very familiar with gaming. While reading this first volume, pages and pages of text went by with my staring at my phone and blinking. “What the hell?”, I would say, as the heroes would go on about tanks and getting your HP to the right level to trigger some event or attack. Far from the first volume of a light novel, this feels like a group just took their RPG log and put it on the page. And not even the main log. This would be the side log with all the chatter.

Our hero is Ren, who’s just arrived at a virtual high school that is entirely devoted to teaching game-obsessed students through the medium. Ren is already somewhat well-known for picking the lamest, weakest class in any game and finding ways to make it awesome. He’s done that here as well, as he’s a Symbologist, which has awful attack abilities and the support isn’t great either. He’s here because he promised his gaming pal Akira they’d go to high school together. But when they finally arrive, he’s startled to find that Akira, who played as a buff, burly dude, is actually a cute, busty girl! Together with her, the class president-ish Maeda, and extroverted “gal” Yuuna, they are here to level up, take out bosses, and also take classes when they have the time.

The series is… not without its good points. I was pleased to see that after the initial “Eeeeeeeh, Akira’s a girl?” reaction, Ren and Akira settled quickly into their old friendship (though he is not above taking advantage of her assets – he asks her to take the Sword Dancer class, which most girl gamers avoid as the costume is skimpy) and there’s no tension or fighting between them. When the four main characters aren’t gaming, the dialogue can be amusing and fun. Ren likes the female form, but does not openly perv on his companions or fall into them the way a typical shonen protagonist might. But man, 85% of this book is lines like “this class combines offensive and healing magic, but right now she can’t hit multiple enemies, and doesn’t have area-of-effect healing…” and I start to flip pages till I get to something actually happening.

If you’re a gamer who reads LNs, this is right up your alley, and the premise may interest you more than it does me. As for me, I liked the characters, but as long as they’re debuffing their hit points with MP sword equips, I think I’m going to have to pass.

Umineko: When They Cry, Vol. 19

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Story by Ryukishi07; Art by Kei Natsumi. Released in Japan in three separate volumes as “Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Twilight of the Golden Witch” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Gangan Joker. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Stephen Paul.

I have made no secret on Twitter and in my previous review that there are aspects of this omnibus (and the original VN) that I dislike intensely. Basically, I’m not sure how much the reader (i.e. you and I, not Ange-as-Reader) is meant to side with Battler here. I get what Battler is trying to do. Ange at the start of this book is desperate to reunite with her family, to be there in 1986 when everything happened. Ange is suicidal. As such, Battler’s game is there for a very specific reason: he wants to show her that she’s been poisoned, to an extent, by what everyone now says about the “real story” in 1986. He wants to show her that the Ushiromiyas were not the most toxic family ever, that there were times they were happy and even (gasp!) got along. Which is fine. Happy Halloween Kinzo, though, really really makes me angry. We’re not Ange. We’re a reader who has just seen it shown that this is a man who abused his children, raped his daughter, and everything else. I don’t want Battler to be saying “no, Ange, he really loved his grandkids and you’re just remembering it wrong”, because that’s gaslighting, as he readily admits later. I hate it.

This is not to say that the omnibus is overall terrible – it’s actually overall very good. I just dislike that choice A LOT. But – Battler is up against Bernkastel, who presents her own game. Her own game is designed to be “what would make Ange suffer as much as possible”, so, leaving aside all the red truths and purple truths (yes, there’s purple now), readers who read Umineko for the character beats are not going to be fooled. Battler, of course, is. Even as a Game Master who knows the truth, he’s shockingly naive when it comes to Bernkastel, and Beatrice should know better as well. Of course, we now have even morre witches being added to the games willy nilly. There’s Erika Furudo, returned from being in Bern’s doghouse to be Ange’s guiding light. And there Eva-Beatrice, who we hadn’t seen in forever, there to protect Ange from those badmouthing her family. Which is what the real Eva did too. She just sort of also abused Ange while doing it.

Other good things. After all of the “yay, we’re all sweet and nice and no one fights ever!” crap, the party is a lot of fun. The visual novel had a quiz game, which could be somewhat tedious, and winning unlocked various scenes. Here we don’t need to unlock things, so it becomes a game of hide and seek. Unlike Kinzo’s frivolity, I felt these were well-handled, particularly Natsuhi’s torment over Beatrice and Beatrice’s acceptance of it, and Rudolf finally – FINALLY – telling Kyrie the truth about Battler’s parentage. The second “party”, which allows for all the fantasy characters to attend, is riotous, and also lets Lion and Will return, having been rescued from certain death by Lambdadelta, who wanted to see the look on Bern’s face when she found out. (Note Lambda is once again happy to hang out with Battler and Beatrice, but also happy to be on Bern’s side during the game. She’ll need to make a real choice sooner or later.)

As a manga, this is very good, making the visual novel more interesting and adding things that weren’t there originally for greater depth (Rosa’s recollection of her own doll being destroyed – though I note even in the happiest, most idealized of worlds Rosa is still hitting her daughter). The issues I have are with Ryukishi07’s choices to present this to Ange as “this is true, you just remembered it wrong”, which leaves a foul taste in the mouth. In any case, next time, can Battler and the rest stop Ange from finding Eva’s diary? Will Ange learn the truth in the game world or from Hachijo? And will Erika ever stop being smug? (OK, we know the answer to that last one.) Tune in next time to see.

Tsukimonogatari: Possession Tale

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By NISIOISIN and VOFAN. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Daniel Joseph.

I am occasionally asked by those who have seen the Monogatari Series anime if it is worth getting the novels. SHAFT has done a decent job of adapting the series, and many of its eccentricities are more beloved than the original book (lampshaded here, as Araragi notes that the bathroom in their house is not nearly as grand as the anime made it out to be). In fact, as this was being written, Nisemonogatari had just finished, and Nisioisin’s self-deprecation comes into play here, as there are many “the anime’s over now” comments, and he asks for alarm clocks to wake him with the sounds of Karen and Tsukihi’s voice actors. The anime, of course, was nowhere near over. But back to my original question… You should read the books if you like words. Playing with words, extemporizing endlessly, dancing around what you really want to say, and hitting the fourth wall with a sledgehammer. The Monogatari novels do not let the reader simply coast along and take in the plot. Which is good, as the plot in this particular book is almost absent.

Yotsugi and her master are on the cover of this book, and technically Yotsugi is the “star”. It’s worth noting, though, that the book begins with what might be termed a “sequel” to Nekomonogatari Black, as Araragi and Tsukihi spend about fifty pages trying to verbally one-up each other as they compete to see who takes the bath first, then compromise and bathe together. As I said earlier, Nisemonogatari had just aired its anime, and I imagine the “toothbrush” scene had become the meme that it still is today. So there’s lots of “I don’t love my sister that way, but” stuff here, which would be far more annoying if the two involved weren’t bantering up a storm throughout. The main thrust of the plot, though, comes when Araragi looks in a mirror while bathing and notices… he doesn’t have a reflection. He seeks out advice form Kagenui, who informs him that he’s been abusing his “sorta vampire” powers so much – especially when he let Sengoku kill him over and over again for a month – that he’s almost a full vampire again.

This is not a problem that’s easily resolved, which is good as this is the first book of the “Final Season”, which is meant to wrap up the series as a whole. (It does not remotely do this.) By the end of the book, Araragi is not magically “cured”, and the one thing he can do going forward is simply stop using said powers as a crutch. Naturally, the moment he resolves to do this, his sisters and Kanbaru are kidnapped by a villain with so little presence that he even comments on the fact, saying that he and Araragi have been set up to have a villainous confrontation. Could there be someone pulling the strings? Readers who have been following the last three books have pretty much thought “it’s Ogi, isn’t it?”, and it certainly looks so here too, as she confronts Araragi just before he goes to save the day and talks about her own nature a bit. There’s also a rather dark and startling solution to the problem, meant to drive a wedge between Araragi and Yotsugi.

Even for a series as wordy as Monogatari, this was pretty damn wordy, and you should obviously only read it after the other books. As for what happens next, we’ll have to wait till the fall to find out, as over the summer we have the traditional short story volume – or volumes, as the case may be.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/8/19

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DIVE!!, Vol. 2 | By Eto Mori and Ruzuru Akashiba | Yen Press – DIVE!! is not a bad series, but it really needs to slow down and breathe a bit. If we just had more time to get to know these characters, then Tomoki reconciling with his friends, or losing his girlfriend to his younger brother, or making peace with the sacrifices he’s got to make in order to get better at diving would probably mean something. But as it is, everything just moves on too briskly. Tomoki mopes for a couple of weeks across the span of a few pages, and then before you know it, it’s time for the meet that decides which three competitors get to attend a training camp in Beijing. Unfortunately, unlike most sports manga, this one is extremely short. It ends in the next volume, in fact, so we’re likely never going to feel anything for this story that might’ve been so much better. Too bad. – Michelle Smith

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 9 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – Golden Kamuy honestly requires a reread every time there’s a new volume, and I found myself getting lost at times. The funny part of the book involves Shiraishi’s backstory of escaping from prisons, which is truly ludicrous in the best Golden Kamuy way. More serious involves our heroes arriving at an Ainu village that may not be as Ainu as they’d like to pretend, and it has Asirpa being clever (and unfortunately getting captured) and Sugimoto getting angry, though not as angry as the caged bear that gets loose right near the end. Golden Kamuy tends to run on mood as much as plot, and so I continue to enjoy the series even as I wonder how long it’s going to stretch out its main plotline. – Sean Gaffney

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 5 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – While Hakumei may deny that she’s married to Mikochi as they’re both girls, the series remains quite content to treat them as a couple anyway, as we see Mikochi trying to endure fishing even though she doesn’t like it because Hakumei loves it, and the two of them going on a long trip to try to meet Hakumei’s old mentor. I also really liked the Halloween episode, with everyone trying to scare the kids and lots of fake vampire teeth. There’s never going to be much of a plot to this, so it helps that all the characters are so much fun to read about, even when they’re just doing normal everyday tasks—which is most of the time. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 6 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – Last time I mentioned that Takaya did not seem to be all that into Ayumi, despite their fake relationship, and in this volume we see why, and as a word of warming it might annoy some people. Stepsibling love is a thing in Japan, and to the manga’s credit, it seems unlikely to consummate that love. Plus Ayumi is awesome—I could read about her all day. In the meantime, we have our main couple… or are they a couple? There are still some mixed signals going on, but it looks like Kai and Riko are finally a couple, and can go on adorable dates with each other. This is the shoujiest of shoujo manga, but I’m loving it more with each ongoing volume, and am happy there’s a lot more to go. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 35 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The majority of this volume of Magi involves a lot of debating about the nature of fate vs. freedom of choice, and how we can allow humanity to choose when they might choose evil. It’s given art that’s filled with cool pew pew light show battles, but if you’re not interested in philosophy, this volume might bore you. The highlight is showing us the immediate aftermath of Alibaba getting killed a few books back, and how he managed to come back from that. The motion of “heaven” served up here may not appeal to everyone, but as the series speeds towards its climax, it’s still holding my interest. That said, I hope for a bit less debate club next time around. – Sean Gaffney

Nyankees, Vol. 2 | By Atsushi Okada | Yen Press – I didn’t want to give up on Nyankees so I came back for one more volume. And I do think it has improved. It’s true that the basic plot is still pretty boring: Ryuusei, the tough new tabby in town, is searching for a calico tom who used to be his closest buddy before suddenly turning on him. Intel leads to one tough calico boss, who turns out to be female. She’s so impressed with Ryuusei that she offers to bear him a litter, causing her subordinates to immediately begin grooming themselves in agitation, and it’s this sort of thing that has improved. Cat jokes. Another fun moment is when they have a fish scraps and catnip spree in the park that turns into a kitty dance party in the moonlight. I can forgive a lot if there’s sufficient whimsy, so I’ll be back for volume three. – Michelle Smith

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 5 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – As you might gather by the cover, there’s a lot of backstory for our chief “villain” here, showing us how he got to be so close to the King and why he’s so dead set against Sariphi. Meanwhile, a ceremony is in danger because the King is in his human form… and can’t change back! This could spell disaster, but luckily, we have the power of Sariphi’s shininess, which even begins to thaw Anubis by the end of this book, though he’s still determined to find some sort of fault with her eventually. If you’re looking for shoujo fantasy, this remains a highly underrated series. Plus His Majesty looks pretty glorious in all his naked beast form posing. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 6 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – This was another strong volume in this very funny series, and my joy these days comes from seeing the expression on Syalis’ face every time she tries something amazingly stupid, and the minion’s looks of horror. Here we see her escaping to the human world so that she can get another fancy sleeping pillow, and the chaos that follows then the main demons escort her. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the Princess has no desire whatsoever to return, if only as she can continue to torture everyone as much as she likes in the Demon Castle. This remains hilarious fun, though it’s best not to take any of it too seriously, or you may find Syalis appalling. – Sean Gaffney

Species Domain, Vol. 6 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I like Dowa better with the beard, but dwarf beards (and mustaches) make up a large part of this volume of the series, where we see how far Dowa will go to try to stay attractive in her not-quite-boyfriend’s eyes. Meanwhile, the current sort-of-student council is looking for replacements, and comes across our main cast. That said, the roles they’ll be filling are… not quite what you’d expect. I admit I was not thrilled with the new character Kuroki, who hits a few tropes that I’m not particularly fond of. But for the most part this is still fun and goofy, and a good recommendation of a monster people series that doesn’t rely on fanservice. – Sean Gaffney

Wandering Island, Vol. 2 | By Kenji Tsuruta | Dark Horse Comics – For a series with relatively little plot, Wandering Island still has plenty of mystery. It’s a very atmospheric work almost entirely carried by the strength of Tsuruta’s art. In fact, there’s barely any dialogue at all in the second volume. Mikura manages to relocate Electric Island and, after more or less getting herself stranded there, begins to explore the island and its less than welcoming community. It’s peculiar, but engaging, and Tsuruta’s illustrations are striking, conveying a marvelous sense of wonder and place. The volume concludes with a lengthy essay by Dark Horse editor Carl Gustav Horn describing the history of manga publishing practices in North America, comparing them to those of the Japanese manga industry—included mostly, it seems, to explain why it will probably be a while before the next installment of Wandering Island will be released in English. Whenever that is, I’ll definitely be picking it up. – Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 5/15/19

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SEAN: This is… a relatively light week, at least compared to the rest of May.

Dark Horse has the 3rd Gantz Omnibus.

J-Novel Club has another debut, with The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan. A teen prodigy retires from the military, but is still the greatest magician in the land, so winds up teaching his gorgeous young successors at a magic school. I’m getting Bastard Magical Instructor vibes here.

They also have Amagi Brilliant Park 5 and In Another World with My Smartphone 14.

Kodansha has, believe it or not, no debuts. They have Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 4 (which has been on this list before, it keeps getting delayed) and The Seven Deadly Sins 32 in print.

And in digital, we have Kira-kun Today 7, Love Massage: Melting Beauty Treatment 3, Ran the Peerless Beauty 3, and Tokyo Revengers 7. Definitely getting more Ran.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts the Sorcerous Stabber Orphen manga, based on the recently licensed light novels. No, this isn’t the manga ADV put out eons ago. It’s a 2016 version that runs in Famitsu Comic Clear.

They’ve also got Classroom of the Elite’s 2nd novel digitally, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord’s 4th manga volume, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 6, and the 5th Toradora! novel.

Sol Press has a 3rd volume of Battle Divas, reassuring readers it will not be a full year between each book.

SuBLime has a debut with Love in Limbo, about an ex-soldier who’s not a shikigami in limbo. It runs in Frontier Works’ Daria, which may be the most unintentionally hilarious title for a BL magazine I’ve ever seen.

And there’s also Vol. 7 of A Strange and Mystifying Story.

MICHELLE: It’s also the final volume.

ASH: I’m still happy that the license for this series was rescued, though I am a couple volumes behind in my reading.

SEAN: Vertical has a 2nd manga volume of Kino’s Journey.

MJ: Hello, THIS.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely reading this one.

SEAN: Viz has no debuts, but who cares, because Requiem of the Rose King 10, baby. There’s also the 5th Fullmetal Edition of Fullmetal Alchemist, Radiant 5, Record of Grancest War 3, and YO-KAI WATCH 11, whose title doesn’t know not to use all caps.

MJ: REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING FOREVER because I apparently also have an all caps problem. Also, totally into any edition of Fullmetal Alchemist, anytime, so there’s that.

MICHELLE: I haven’t read volume nine yet so now I get to have a fun little mini-marathon.

ANNA: Me too, it is such a great series!

ASH: I’m always happy to see more Requiem of the Rose King!

SEAN: I believe MB will breath a sigh of relief, Pick of the Week-wise, to see Rose King. But what are you getting?

Full Metal Panic!: Fighting Boy Meets Girl

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By Shouji Gatou and Shikidouji. Released in Japan by Fujimi Shobo. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

I am, of course, very familiar with this series already. I even read this book many years ago, back when it was first released by Tokyopop. But that doesn’t really matter, because about 1/4 into the book I felt like I was reuniting with an old friend. The story of “average” high school girl Kaname Chidori and her encounter with mercenary and socially inept goober Sousuke Sagara has already had five novels out in North America (before Tokyopop dropped it), several manga adaptations (all of which are very out of print), and several anime series, which I think are actually still available to watch on Funimation and the like. All this for a series whose first book came out twenty-one years ago. It’s not the best thing ever, but it’s fun and makes you smile, and (as always with this author) the action scenes are first-rate. And of course it has Kaname, one of the top three ‘angry girls’ of the Golden Age of Fandom, and the only one fans eventually forgave.

Yes, that’s right, we get all-new cover art too, as J-Novel Club is using the updated Japanese release. For those who don’t know of this series, Sousuke is, as I noted, a mercenary with a group called MITHRIL, who is not affiliated with anyone but basically rides around in a cool submarine and fights terrorists. One day he and his two fellow mercs are given a mission to protect Kaname, a seemingly ordinary high school student, though they don’t know why they’re protecting her. Sousuke thus has to infiltrate the high school as a new transfer student. Sadly, he’s been a soldier his entire life, starting as a young child, and so… well, let’s just say hijinks ensue. Things turn serious when their field trip plane is hijacked by the enemy, though, and Kaname is taken away to have experiments run on her that show she’s not as normal as everyone thought. Can Sousuke rescue her? And will she ever stop yelling at him?

The thing that struck me on this reread was, despite Sousuke’s ineptness when it comes to being a high school student, how quickly Kaname was drawn to him. She’s clearly attracted right away, and despite his being… well, Sousuke, seems to be gradually falling for him, to the point that the author has to put up an obstacle to make sure she’s lost all respect for him by the time the books gets to the serious bits. The subtitle of the novel shows it’s as much a romance as an action movie, and since Tessa only has a minor role in this first volume, there’s nothing stopping the two of them from growing closer through being under fire. The other thing that struck me was how much military jargon was in this book. The author says he changed a few named and made things a bit more “futuristic”, but that doesn’t stop many descriptions of Labors… erm, Arm Slaves as they rampage through the jungle and beat each other up.

To sum up, this is a fun action series with two interesting lead characters. Kaname gets mad at Sousuke constantly but the author is very careful to show exactly why he deserves it (intentionally or no), and Sousuke’s stoicism was (at the time) a nice change from the typical male harem schlub. This is a series worth revisiting, and I’m very happy it was rescued.

SPY x FAMILY

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By Tatsuya Endo. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the online magazine Shonen Jump +. Released in North America by Shueisha on the Manga PLUS platform. Translated by Colin Milliken.

Over the last few years, North America and Japan have been trying to do something about piracy in various different ways, one of which has been simulpublishing. Putting out chapters at the same time as they’re released in Japan, for either a nominal charge, a yearly fee, or just plain for free. This means that we’re not merely getting popular new series from Japan after they’ve taken off, but we’re also getting potential hits – or bombs – as they debut. Shueisha, a few months ago, stuck their feet in the water with their Manga PLUS app/website, which gives readers a pile of series to read for free, from older titles like Naruto and Assassination Classroom to the newest chapters of current Jump series. Most of these are, I assume, done in conjunction with Viz Media. But they also had a bunch of debuts that run either in Jump Square or in Jump +, their online magazine, that are translated by the Media Do people. And none have quite hit the manga readership quite as hard or fast as Spy x Family.

Lloyd (aka Twilight) is a brilliant, if somewhat emotionally stoic, young spy, who is known for success. He is asked by his superiors to infiltrate a private school, the only location where a reclusive enemy is known to appear, and take him out. Unfortunately, the school has rigorous rules that are set in place, so in order to infiltrate, he’ll need a wife and child. The child is Anya, who he finds at an orphanage and snaps up when he sees she can read and write. The wife is Yoru, an office lady who is at that age where she really needs to have a man in her life (mostly as the Berlin Wall-esque world they’re living in tends to arrest unmarried older women as security risks). Together they can infiltrate the school. Oh, yes, there are a few more things. Yoru is actually Thorn Princess, a powerful hitman/assassin. And Anya is an esper, and can read the thoughts of everyone around her. The key to the series is that Lloyd and Yoru do not know each other’s secrets, and neither one of them know Anya’s. Anya can read minds, so knows both their secrets, but that’s OK, as they’re SO COOL!

If you’re wondering why this series has gotten so much buzz after a mere four chapters, well, it does nearly everything right. The characters are cool yet flawed, and each also have the opportunity to be funny. The future plotline will, I hope, have Lloyd and Yoru falling for each other for real, and that will be terrific, because they’re perfect for each other. And we all await with baited breath the moment that they find out about each other (though really, Yoru should likely have guessed when she was proposed to using a grenade pin as a ring). The series runs on cool and funny, and carries both off, from the sleek action moves when we see Yoru killing any number of bad guys, running after purse snatchers, or even judo flipping an enraged bull, to the ‘this is ridiculous’ savvy of Lloyd and Yoru packing multiple different outfits just in case their clothing is damaged and they have to change. And then there’s Anya, who is adorable and cute to the nth degree, and you just want to pick her up and hug her forever. Seeing Lloyd trying to open up to her, and her attempts to manipulate things so that he doesn’t abandon her like everyone else has (being a young esper is not a fun life) is incredibly sweet.

To sum up, this is a well-written, cool and hilarious series that you can read legally for free. And it’s only four chapters long (the first chapter is about 85 pages, so there’s a lot of content here), so you aren’t trying to catch up but are getting in on the ground floor. How long will it last? Well, I suspect that’s up to Japanese readers. I will say that it’s currently the 6th most popular series on the Manga PLUS site. Which, given it’s up against most of the current and past Shonen Jump lineup, is quite a feat. Go read it and make it even more popular.

My Next Life As a Villainess! All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 3

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan by Ichijinsha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Shirley Yeung.

The author admits in the afterword that the series was supposed to end with the second volume, which was pretty obvious (see my review of said volume), but presumably the series did well enough for more. As such, this is the “difficult second album” for Bakarina, with the first half of the book in particular spinning its wheels and showing us the same sort of thing that we’ve seen before. Katarina goes around the school festival with her classmates, eating lots of food, and coming across her friends one by one as they attempt to either flirt with her or cut off others flirting with her, which Katarina herself remains blithely oblivious. And, of course, we then get to read it again, because one of the conceits of the book (which I sometimes quite enjoy – see the second half of the volume) is that we see Katarina’s POV followed by other POVs of the same scene. It can be exhausting.

The best part of the first half of the book is the play, where one of the actresses falls ill and Katarina has to take on the role of the wicked stepsister. (I thought this was a ploy by Jeord, but apparently not.) Since she blanks on her lines, she just decides to act the part on instinct, and everyone is amazed at how well Katarina can play a villain! It’s metatextually delicious, frankly. The meat of the book, though, is in the second half, as Katarina is kidnapped as part of a plot to get Jeord to give up his claim to the throne. This is supposedly engineered by the second price’s fiancee Selena, but she’s more an easily led dupe. (Her idolization of Katarina also shows that our heroine is not the only one in the cast to completely misinterpret everything.) In reality, it is the smiling “butler” Rufus who is doing this, theoretically on behalf of the eldest son.

There are no real surprises in Bakarina, to be honest – even the secret identity of one of the characters was easily guessed once I saw their reaction to Katarina being Katarina (hysterical laughter – she’s clearly a reader stand-in). You read this series because you enjoy seeing Katarina being dense, and also because you enjoy seeing Katarina converting everyone around her with the sheer power of her niceness. This world, as it’s an otome game, runs on tropes, and this gives Katarina, who has memories from the real world, an advantage at times in dealing with people unable to understand why in God’s name she’d go this far for someone. That said, we may have finally hit a turning point regarding the main relationship, as after being scared out of his wits by Katarina’s kidnapping, and also seeing that Rufus (who now loves her, of course) bit her on the neck, responds by kissing her, and explicitly stating his love. Even Katarina can’t ignore this. Right?

There is some setup for future books here, as graduation is coming soon and we’;re clearly going to have Katarina working for the Ministry with Maria… and no doubt the rest of the cast. Still, this was an enjoyable book despite all its flaws, and got better as it went along. It’s definitely a book where you see the smoke pouring out of the author’s brain as they write, though.

Dr. Stone, vols 3 and 4

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Dr. Stone Volumes 3 and 4 by Riicharo Inagaki and Boichi

Dr. Stone’s premise of a post apocalyptic world where the heroes have to invent their way back to human civilization while battling factions of Luddites is much more of a higher concept than one tends to get in shone series, and so far I’ve been enjoying seeing how Senku attempts to invent his way out of sticky situations. In volume 3, the cast of characters for Dr. Stone expands as Senku stumbles across a small village of people who are to him, the missing manpower ingredient need to power even more ambitious science experiments.

He meets Kohaku, the daughter of the village chief who promptly becomes an ally when she realizes that the power of science might save her sister and tribe shamaness Ruri from a terminal illness. Chrome is another villager who is a self-styled sorcerer due to knowledge gained from his own scientific experiments and rudimentary mineral and chemical gathering. With allies in place, Senku decides to build a new “Kingdom of Science” and power his inventions even further out of the stone age, in an attempt to get in a better place to deal with threat posed by the anti-science Tsukasa. The villagers are naturally extremely suspicious of the newcomer, but Senku has a unique solution in the form of food science. He decides to reinvent ramen in order to woo people to his side.

The village brings with it extra drama, as Senku races through inventing electricity, iron, and glass in order to have a functional chemistry lab to produce medicine, Kokaku has to worry about the battle for Riri’s hand in marriage that will determine the next village chief. Her friends prepare to fight to save Riri from the thuggish Magma. Even Senku’s ability to synthesize energy drinks might not be much of a help in a bracket-style fighting tournament that will decide Riri’s future. These two volumes were plenty diverting with the struggles of recreating inventions full of dynamic adventures, but I can’t help but wonder what on earth Taiju is up to! Hopefully in the next few volumes Senku’s expanded science team will come together again.

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 1

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By FUNA and Touzai. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by Sol Press. Translated by Lukas Ruplys.

This is the third of FUNA’s series to be brought over to the West, but it was apparently the first one serialized (though they do say this and Potions debuted almost at the same time). Having now read all three, there’s no question why Make My Abilities Average! got the attention and the forthcoming anime adaptation: it’s the best of then. Potions gets by on Kaoru being somewhat terrifying rather than cute and plucky, and both it and MMAA have the heroines having to deal with situations where they’re dealing with permanently being in another world, even if they’re loaded up with ridiculous cheats. Mitsuha, though she appears to “die” and be reborn in a fantasy world, in fact has it the best of all of them. As a result, the danger level in this first book is fairly low, and it’s not as interesting as a result. That said, if you enjoy FUNA’s ridiculously OP heroines, there’s a lot to like here.

Mitsuha starts off the book pretty badly, to be honest. She’s not dead like Mile or Kaoru, but her parents and older brother are, leaving her alone and dealing with the fallout. One day at a lookout point, she’s attacked by some young creeps (she’s 18 but looks 12, in the best anime cliche tradition) and they accidentally push her off the edge onto the rocky cliffs below. She wakes up in a forest, and after walking herself to collapse finds herself in a rustic cabin… indeed, in a rustic world. Eventually she discovers that she can transport herself between this world and Japan, and, thanks to some friendly deus ex machinas who explain why she isn’t dead, she also can speak any language and has a healing factor. So what’s a young, recently orphaned young woman to do? Why, earn a pile of gold coins in the fantasy world, convert it over in Japan, and live a life of ease! Except she’s a FUNA heroine, so adventure and ridiculousness is bound to follow.

As with Mile, and especially Kaoru, there is a risk of Mitsuha coming off as uber-smug, especially when she’s doing things like bribing mercenaries to teach her how to use knives and guns, or showing off her general store with amazing inventions such as store-bought shampoo. (There’s also FAR more intrustive fourth-wall breaking in this book.) This being the case, I thought the best scene in the book is when she’s ingratiating herself with the local noble family, all of whom are taken in by her sob story (adapted for the fantasy world), and she gets carried away and calls the patriach “Father”… then starts to unconsciously cry. It’s a reminder that the author really does remember the character backstories, and this is a young woman who recently lost her entire family, who appeared to be pretty loving from what we hear (though the brother was a bit of an otaku). It’s a nice bit of grounding that helps you smile and nod when you see Mitsuha use dry ice and the power of FISH to wow everyone at a debutante ball.

This is my first Sol Press purchase. The translation was good, but the digital formatting was merely eh. They need to figure out how to make the interstitial pictures be one page on their own, rather than having text on the same page. That said, if you’re looking for silly heroines, and have run out of Make My Abilities Average!, this is a pretty good purchase.

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 1

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

I had heard a great deal of buzz about this title when it was licensed and before, but hadn’t really experienced it beyond people on Tumblr posting pictures of some of the stunning artistic concepts that form part of its story. Having now read the first volume, I remain deeply impressed with the art, but also drawn in by the story and characters. Our Dreams at Dusk gives us a look at LGBT people in Japan and their attempts to deal with these feelings that society – and their own family and peers – tell them is shameful. At its heard is a community founded by the very mysterious “Someone-san”, whose name we don’t know but who has brought together people who need to be able to confess their feelings to, well, someone. It can’t keep being bottled up and repressed. As we see in this first volume, some are more successful than others. And just because you “come out” doesn’t mean your problems are over.

Tasuku is our protagonist, who is high school kid who we fist meet when he’s debating whether he should leap to his death from a high wall. Flashbacks show that someone at high school grabbed his phone and found his browser history, and now are asking if he’s into “gay porn”. He denies it, using a slur he detests, but the truth is that he is gay, though he hasn’t – and feels he cannot – tell anyone or his life will be over. Just the thought of having to return to school the next day drives him to the brink. Before he can do anything, though, he sees a person leap out of a window much higher than where he is. Rushing to the building they were in, he doesn’t find the jumper, but his blurting out that “someone fell” leads him to Someone-san and the group there. Over the course of the book, he opens up to some of them, clashes with others, and continues to go to school, where his crush is on the volleyball team.

Of course, the ensemble cast is important as well. We meet an older man who seems to love Tchaikovsky, a tween-ish child who seems to dislike Tasuku on sight, the friendly and hard-working Utsumi, and Haruko and Saki, a lesbian couple who are still having some issues – Haruko has come out to her family and friends, and dealt with the fallout, while Saki still hasn’t said anything to her family. We also see that the group is not a perfect, all-loving conclave – Saki trying to drag Tasuku into her argument with Haruko shatters the mood a bit. And there is, as I noted, the art, which for the most part is elegant and expressive, but every once in a while shows us a two-page spread of artistic abandon trying to show the torment and desires in the main characters’ hearts. It’d be worth reading the series just for that – but we’re fortunate yo have much more to it.

There’s certainly more to this story, which recently ended in Japan at its fourth volume. I suspect the second one will deal with the kid who clearly does not like Tasuku at all. In the meantime, believe the hype – this is definitely worth your time and money.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 13

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

I’ve said for a while now that this series does a good job of having romantic interests in it but sort of keeping it on the back burner rather than being a full-blown romantic comedy. Well, that changes with this volume, which devotes a large chunk to our heroines and how they feel – in this case, Chiho, who has now confessed to Maou TWICE but still hasn’t gotten much of anything from him, and Rika, who is in love with Ashiya and decides to do something about it when he invites her out for dinner and cellphone buying. Things arguably don’t go well for either of them, but in Chiho’s case there’s a larger issue, which is that she worries that soon she’s going to have to do other human stuff – study for exams, go to college, etc. – and will not see her supernatural friends anymore. Especially given Laila is still trying to get them on board with her big project, which could take a month to complete… or a hundred years.

There are a lot of confrontations in this book, and it’s interesting that some of them we only hear about secondhand. We see a teary Chiho run into Suzuno, but their conversation is heard second-hand later on, and Maou being “punished” for upsetting Chiho is also off screen (well, the setup, anyway). I’m not sure if this is just because the author is trying to keep the books to a certain length, but it is somewhat odd. We do get a great conversation between Chiho and Rika, two characters who are both best friends with Emilia but rarely interact. I worried that Rika and Ashiya’s date would also be off screen, but we do see that, and also Ashiya rejecting her… in fact, he tries to do the “I am too scary, please never see me again” thing, but Rika’s too smart to fall for that, though he is pretty damn scary. I did enjoy seeing Rika tell Chiho that she could possibly be the exception to the “demons don’t have human lovers” thing.

As for the main plot, Laila provides most of the humor in this volume in her desperate attempts to explain why she needs Maou and Emilia’s help. We first hear about the issues via a term paper (no, really, that’s how it reads), and it helps us to understand why everyone is so wary of her – she’s been living on Earth, but is she just an angel in disguise, or is she actively trying to fit in and be human like the others? We eventually find out it’s the latter, and why she’s been so wary of taking anyone to her apartment, in a joke that you can see a mile away but is no less satisfying. It does, however, lead to the big reveal, which is that what Laila is asking will take forever, and some of the people involved are normal humans who will grow old and die. But Maou isn’t… and neither, it turns out, is Emilia, whose half-Angel background means she could live a lot longer than anticipated.

In the end, Maou tries to be nicer about it, but still hasn’t responded to Chiho’s resolve. He can’t keep avoiding it forever, and it’s not as if the answer is “I like Emilia instead”, as he doesnt. If anything, he’s in love with his work. Which is appropriate for this series. What happens next? Can’t wait to find out. Sure hope the next volume isn’t a collection of short stories or something.

Manga the Week of 5/8/19

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SEAN: Sometimes one book sort of takes all the attention, like a black hole. We’ll do our best to mention everything else as well, though.

Dark Horse debuts Emanon, by the artist of Spirit of Wonder (anyone remember that series?) and based on an award-winning novel. It looks quiet and mysterious. It runs in Comic Ryu, so that may not be the case, but…

MJ: Hm. Interested.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Wandering Island, the creator’s other series in English, so I’ll likely be giving this one a look.

SEAN: They also have a World Guide for the NieR: Automata series.

J-Novel Club debuts Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, another in a series of light novels whose plot is in its title.

They also give us I Shall Survive Using Potions! 2, Kokoro Connect 5, and Lazy Dungeon Master 5.

Kodansha does not have a debut, though the first week of the month is always dangerous to say that about – apologies if they announce something after I post this. In the meantime, in print we get Hitorijime My Hero 3.

And digitally there is Blissful Land 3, Can You Just Die, My Darling? 8, Momo’s Iron Will 2, and World’s End and Apricot Jam 4.

Seven Seas has, technically, other things out next week. Let’s actually mention those first. There’s the print debut of Classroom of the Elite, The Dungeon of Black Company 3, High-Rise Invasion 7-8, and Mononoke Sharing 4.

But no one cares at all, because they are debuting Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare. One of the most highly anticipated manga debuts since I don’t know when (well, OK, since Saint Young Men two weeks ago), this manga deals seriously with LGBTA themes, contains superb writing and character work, and is highly recommended by everyone I know. I can’t wait to start it.

MJ: Okay, want, want, WANT. WANT. WANT.

MICHELLE: SAME.

ASH: YUP!

SEAN: Tokyopop has a third Yuri Bear Storm, which… is not quite the same sort of series.

Vertical has a 12th volume of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

I feel badly for Viz, as any other week I’d be falling over myself praising them for picking up Snow White with the Red Hair (Akagami no Shirayukihime), which has similar plot and characters as Yona of the Dawn but is its own delightful series. (And honestly, who wouldn’t want to be compared to Yona of the Dawn?). It runs in LaLa.

MJ: I’m in!

MICHELLE: Same again!

ANNA: Me too!!!

ASH: I’m also looking forward to this!

SEAN: Other shoujo? Anonymous Noise 14, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast 3, and Shortcake Cake 4.

MICHELLE: I’ll read all of these eventually!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: On the shonen end we debut the new arc for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. Unlike other new arcs for JoJo’s, this has the same cast as the previous arc.

ASH: I am incredibly pleased that this is being released, especially since it’s a fancy hardcover edition.

SEAN: There’s Black Clover 15, Black Torch 4, Demon Slayer 6, Dr. STONE 5, Dragon Ball Super 5, Haikyu!! 32, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 8 (I’m giving in and making it shonen, as that’s how it’s marketed here), One Piece 90 (Christ, ONE PIECE NINETY!!!), One-Punch Man 16, and Twin Star Exorcists 15.

Seriously, buy Shimanami Tasogare. I want to see it sell like hotcakes. What are you getting besides that?

Penguin Highway

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By Tomihiko Morimi. Released in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

For once, the book came first here. Yen has started a side business of publishing novelizations based on famous anime movies, but Penguin Highway was a novel turned into a movie. The prose is one of the best reasons to pick it up, as its narrator may be ten years old but he thinks that he’s a precise, logical scientist, and the book has fun with him sounding like this most of the time but sometimes letting the child come through. To Aoyama’s credit, he is pretty damn smart, though his two friends are no slouches either. I don’t remember doing quite as much scientific experimentation when I was their age, but then I was always more arts than sciences. The book helpfully is both, as the basic premise involves things such as eddies in the space-time continuum, but also has the sheer beauty, which must have looked great animated, of a can of Coke transforming into a penguin bit by bit.

As noted, Aoyama is smart and knows it, and tries not to get too egotistical but frequently fails, especially in his narrative headspace. He spends the days hanging out with best friend Uchida and fellow intellectual Hamamoto, avoiding the bullying of Suzuki and his two minions (why is it always one bully and two minions?), and getting his teeth cleaned as much as possible because he has a massive crush on the dental assistant, who is never named but is called “The Lady” throughout. Things are normal till one day, a bunch of penguins suddenly appear in a vacant lot. They don’t seem too bothered by being in Japan rather than Antarctica. Even more disturbing, a clearing in a local forest has The Sea, a giant sphere of water that seems to be influencing local topography. More things to analyze and write down, but also dangerous. And there are blue whales? And creatures that The Lady/Aoyama are calling Jabberwocks. Why is all this happening/ And how does it tie in with The Lady?

The plot is good, but Aoyama’s narrative is the best reason to read it. I started off the book laughing at him, as he sounded very much like a snooty fourth-grader, but as the book went on I really started to be drawn into his world. He is very smart about logical and scientific things, though when it comes to matters of the heart he’s lagging way behind, as even his best friend Uchida is able to see why Hamamoto is mad at him. For much of the book The Lady remains something of an enigma to us, and there are a few red herrings thrown around that are brushed off when the truth comes out (The Lady’s memories of her past, in particular). Also, loved Aoyama and Hamamoto’s dads, who both do their best to fully support their children so long as they don’t run into danger (which they do here, repeatedly).

The story ends on a somewhat bittersweet note, as with the best Japanese novels. It also has an afterword by famous manga author Moto Hagio discussing Aoyama and his tendency to be too clever by half. In the end, I don’t really have much to say about Penguin Highway except it was a really good book, and I’m glad I read it.