Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Features & Reviews

Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer), Vol. 1

by

By Tsukikage and bob. Released in Japan as “Darenidemo Dekiru Kage kara Tasukeru Maou Toubatsu” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alex Kerwin.

I write a column for Manga Bookshelf called Manga the Week of, where I point out the manga and light novels coming out next week, and briefly try to hype the debuts. Sometimes, though, this can lead to me being embarrassingly wrong about a title, because the cover art and blurb were vague, or even actively misleading. It’s especially true when there really isn’t much known about the new series. So, let me say up front: I was expecting Demon Lord Ringer (as I will call it for brevity’s sake) To be far more comedic in tone, something like Konosuba only with more of a straight man as the lead. Now, to be fair, Ares is definitely a straight man. But the book is not going for funny, instead being a crash course in how much we can take of its intensely serious, brimming with suppressed rage narrator until we beg for the demon lord to win after all. Make no mistake about it: the Ringer is a bit of a jerk.

As you can see by the cover image, as well as the blurb, this is not merely a case of me being too thick (which has also happened before): the premise is actively trying to mislead you. It is accurate, as far as it goes. A hero has been summoned to defeat the demon lord, but the hero’s level is far too low, and as for companions, we have a third princess as a mage who can only use fire magic (the entire book takes place in a forest, so she can’t do anything), a swordswoman who has recently changed her sword style away from her family specialty (so is learning a whole different skill set on the fly), and Ares, who is a priest who clearly is far more powerful than the Level 3 he suggests he is. (Yes, the usual fantasy RPG tropes apply here, as the characters discuss buffs and leveling as if they are real life fantasy terms.) The hero’s party, however, wants to get rid of Ares. And you can’t blame then, really.

There’s a reveal at the end of the book I was very impressed by, one that makes the entire party’s behavior around Ares make a lot more sense. It’s such a good reveal I won’t get into it. It actually made me want to read the second book, which I was on the edge about, to be honest. The book’s prose is good, and Ares is certainly a memorable character. But god, you want to throttle him. He’s given an assistant, Amelia, who seems to have some lingering affection for him (he doesn’t recall their ever meeting in person, which irritates her), and she keeps desperately trying to get him to slow down and not do absolutely everything on his own. And she fails. I was honestly wondering if the big reveal was going to be that he’s the villain after all, but it would seem that’s not the case. But so far, my interest in what happens next has won out over “my god, do I really need to listen to this guy’s simmering fury for another three+ volumes?”.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol 13

by

Yona of the Dawn Volume 13 by Mizuho Kusanagi

One of the many things that sets Yona of the Dawn apart from other fantasy shoujo series is Kusanagi’s great ability to portray characters with nuance, even those who are villains. This volume is a bit of a departure, as it focuses on Su-Won, who has taken control of the kingdom. Su-jin, the chief of the Fire Tribe has decided that he’s going to be the one to lead a rebellion and assume the mantle of the Crimson Dragon King. Su-jin is absolutely heedless of the suffering he’s going to cause with his actions, and he’s so committed to his vision of himself that he doesn’t realize that Su-Won is a Machivellian master of both statecraft and battle tactics until it is far to late.

As usual, Yona functions as the soul of her country. While she doesn’t engage in the battle directly, she leads her warriors in when the opportunity comes to prevent the suffering of ordinary civilians. While she confronts Su-jin with words he’s incapable of considering, her encounter with Su-Won is limited to a few searing panels as they gaze at each other across the battlefield. This is one of those scenes that can only best be done by sequential illustration, as Kusanagi cuts between their faces, showing Su-Jin’s shock and Yona’s absolute sense of resolution. Whatever someone things of Su-Won as a person, it is hard not to admire him as a leader after this volume, as he adroitly deals with the leadership vaccum for the Fire Tribe, appreciates the way Tae-Jun has changed for the better after Yona’s influence, and even takes measures to protect the rare grain that Yona secured that might actually help solve the humanitarian crisis that many people in the kingdom are suffering.

Some of my favorite moments in this series are when Yona and her warriors are able to relax a little bit, and there are a few pages that push forward her connection with Hak. This volume concludes with a triumphant scene as Hak pushes Yona to take part in an archery contest, and it is a nice way to wrap up this storyline, away from the battlefield. I’m always looking forward to the next volume with this series, which is strongly in the running for my favorite fantasy shoujo series of all time.

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 16

by

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

Given the events of the last volume, and the fact that the cover art looks for all the world like a fun romantic comedy, I imagine the average reader went into this book thinking it would be a nice, relaxing volume. And it is… for about the first quarter of the book. Then Acqua of the Back arrives, and everything pretty much goes to hell. But hey, at least this book has Touma and Index in it, right? Well, not so much. Index is once again relegated to comic relief (she even lampshades how useful she WOULD have been after everything has already happened), and Touma is removed from most of the fighting by, yet again, half-fatal injuries. No, this book is about the Amakusa Church, their guilt-driven Saint Kaori Kanzaki, and their #1 Touma fan Itsuwa, who can cook, clean, is pretty with a nice chest, wields a spear magnificently, and loves Touma. In fact, in a series filled with heroines with major faults, her main fault may be not having one.

Introduced in this book: Fiamma of the Right, the “Knight Leader”, and the Third English Princess, whose name I will hold off on till I see how Yen romanizes it. This takes place about three days after Touma and Index get back from France. Touma is starting to worry about his attendance credits, and well he should – he’s barely been in class this semester. We have basically passed all the Index spinoff titles in terms of chronology. There are, of course, several ongoing plot threads from previous books. Itsuwa is dispatched to be Touma’s bodyguard after the events of tBook 14 (and so that the Amakusa Church can try to get them together as a couple, something doomed to failure). Acqua’s threat to Touma a couple books ago is carried out here, and he very nearly succeeds. And Mikoto has found out about Touma’s amnesia, and it’s bothering her, mostly as she’s not sure when it happened.

This book, as with a lot of shonen titles, is about seeing people who are so much better, faster, and stronger than you, and then getting up and fighting anyway because it’s right. Acqua doesn’t care what Touma’s motivations or desires are – his hand is a weapon, and therefore he treats Touma the same way. (Honestly, given the last two members of God’s Right Seat, he’s the least villainous, but that’s only by degree.) Itsuwa and the rest of the Amakusa fight because they know Touma is a good person, right hand or no. And Kaori leaps in to fight because Acqua is about to kill the rest of the Amakusa, and she may be keeping her distance from them but she still wants to protect them. In fact, arguably it’s Kaori who learns the biggest lesson here – no, not Tsuchimikado’s stupid ero maid thing, which made my teeth grind. But you can’t protect the ones you love from the shadows and by pushing them away. It only hurts them more. Seeing Kaori and the Amakusa team up was absolutely the highlight of this book, and I like that for once Touma did not get in the final blow (or even break any illusions), though he certainly made it possible.

It appears we’re going to be focusing on England next time (and watch out for Fiamma describing how to bring the island nation down to its knees in a way that sounds suspiciously similar to a no-deal Brexit). Also, I worry my discussion of the lack of a role for Index and her desire to help more may change for the worse soon – it sounds like Fiamma’s big plan is basically to capture her. In any case, though Kamachi remains as bad as ever at wacky harem antics, this is still an excellent volume of Index.

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 1

by

By Okura and Coma Hashii. Released in Japan as “Sorairo Flutter” by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in the magazine Gangan Joker. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

When I first saw the cover for this manga on preordering it, my thought was “Boy, that guy sure is excited”. And that’s a pretty good description of the first volume. Noshiro, the guy punching the air on the cover, is just a big bundle of energetic, outgoing “HI THERE”, and you can’t help but be carried along in his wake. Even when he’s being introspective, angry, or doubting himself, it’s filled with big, energetic emotions and movements. This is, of course, to contrast him with the series’ other lead, Sanada, who is introverted, quiet, doesn’t smile much – at least at first – and is the very definition of standoffish. Most of the book is devoted to Noshiro’s arrival in Sanada’s life, and his reaction and actions on hearing the rumor going around the school, which is that Sanada is actually gay. A rumor that Sanada later confirms to Noshiro.

Most of the rest of the volume focuses on Noshiro’s developing reaction to this news, although honestly the book is as much about Sanada as an introvert as it is about Sanada as a young gay man. Sanada’s childhood friend Yamamoto has always come to eat with him (and might have a crush on him), but seems delighted that he’s finally making another friend, and tries to support Noshiro’s attempts to batter his way into Sanada’s life. But Sanada’s introversion and his sexuality aren’t easily separated either, and even being introverted isn’t always black and white. We see Sanada meet some old friends from junior high, and he’s smiling and laughing with them in a way he doesn’t seem to with Noshiro. This leads both Noshiro and Yamamoto to wonder if Sanada is “faking it” in front of them – something which Sanada rebuts, saying that both aspects of him are “real”.

We also meet Hidemitsu in this story, an older man who Sanada describes as “sort of an ex-boyfriend”. The fact that Sanada is still a high school boy is briefly brought up and then shunted aside, but I will hold off on objections till I see how close they actually were. For the moment Hidemitsu functions as an advisor and mentor to both Sanada and Noshiro, having a mature wisdom that both of them lack at this point. It also is fairly obvious that Hidemitsu and Noshiro look a whole lot alike, and that a lot of Sanada’s standoffishness may simply be attraction. Noshiro’s sexuality hasn’t come up much – he finds it difficult to name a specific girl he’s attracted to in a “guy conversation”, and has no romantic experience – but I suspect we may delve further into that in future volumes.

Honestly, the best thing about this ongoing coming-of-age story is simply how well-written it is. The characters are likeable, they have good depth, and you care about them. It feels very real. I absolutely recommend it.

Manga the Week of 8/29/18

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Last week of August. Should be small, right? Hah. So much Kodansha digital. So much Seven Seas. Yen Press runoff stuff. It’s huge.

ASH: Let’s jam!

We begin with Cross Infinite World, who have another light novel for us with The Eccentric Master and the Fake Lover. Despite the somewhat salacious copy about bodily fluids, I think this is a woman-oriented romance title.

Dark Horse has the 18th and final volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Don’t worry, the omnibuses are still going.

ASH: I’m glad that Dark Horse has found ways to keep things in print, but I’ll admit the publisher’s printing (and reprinting) schedule can be frustrating.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 6th volume of To-Love-Ru Darkness.

J-Novel Club has two debuts. Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles looks to combine both reincarnation isekai AND the magical academy sort of book.

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen may sound familiar to those with long memories – its anime adaptation aired exactly 20 years ago, and the novels are even older than that. It’s a big ol’ epic fantasy.

J-Novel Club also has a 7th If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, which I believe catches us up with Japan.

Kodansha does have a few print titles next week. There’s Again!! 4, Aho-Girl 8, and the 4th Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle.

MICHELLE: Yay for more Again!!.

ASH: I’m excited to read more, too!

ANNA: Triple yay!

SEAN: The majority of stuff is digital, though. Technically there’s no debut, but Kodansha is releasing digital versions of Peach Girl 1-18. These are the old Tokyopop editions ported over, I think, rather than a new translation, but that’s fine. Enjoy some classic overwrought shoujo!

MICHELLE: Oh, neat! I didn’t know they were doing that. That said, I have a big stack of TOKYOPOP editions that I never read, so… I would like to see them finish Ueda’s Papillon, which Del Rey had been publishing.

ANNA: Yeah, Papillon was good!

SEAN: And there’s Ace of the Diamond 14, Defying Kurosaki-kun 3, Hotaru’s Way 6, I Want to Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 3, Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? 2, Liar x Liar 5, and The Quintessential Quintuplets 3. Phew!

MICHELLE: I regret that I haven’t managed to read Is Kichijoji yet, but still, yay for more sports manga!

SEAN: But wait, here comes Seven Seas, and they’re burying us too. Debuts first. Cutey Honey: the Classic Collection is another deluxe hardcover which collects the original Cutey Honey manga from 1973. It should be complete in one omnibus, and is a must-read.

ASH: Cutie Honey A Go Go! was a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to reading the original.

SEAN: The other new title is Ultra Kaiju Humanization Project, which is a Young Champion series that imagines an alien invasion that needs Japanese monsters to save the day! There’s just one problem. The monsters are high school girls. This sounds fascinatingly wretched.

And we also have (deep breath) Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage 5, Citrus 8, Holy Corpse Rising 5, How to Build a Dungeon 4, Magical Girl Apocalypse 15, Monster Girl Doctor light novel 3, and My Monster Secret 12. There’s a lot of stuff in that list I hate, so I am pleased it ends with My Monster Secret, which is hilarious.

ASH: I need to catch up on Dimensional Voyage, especially since the original Captain Harlock is now being released, too.

SEAN: Vertical Comics has a 2nd Chi’s Sweet Adventures, for all your cute cat needs.

If you prefer snakes, why not read the latest Monogatari novel from Vertical, Inc? Otorimonogatari: Decoy Tale gives us the story of Nadeko Sengoku’s encounter with a snake aberration, but who’s controlling whom here?

Yen Press also has a few titles that didn’t come out last week. Digitally we have Corpse Princess 18, IM: Great Priest Imhotep 7, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 7.

Yen On has the 2nd novel of better-than-it-sounds fantasy Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon.

And lastly, Yen debuts Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger, where a Square Enix employee and his sister die and are reborn in the world of Final Fantasy. Yes, isekai has finally met Final Fantasy. Can we cope with this?

Are you coping with all this manga? What are you getting?

MICHELLE: SuBLime has a small number of digital-only series and my very favorite, The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, has a fifth volume coming out! I’m snagging that for sure.

MJ: Oh, hey! I need to catch up with that!!

ASH: One of the titles I really wish was getting a print release!

SEAN: Whoops! Pretend I mentioned that up above.

Baccano!: 1934 Alice in Jails: Prison

by

By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Having just finished a two-volume arc, we immediately jump into a THREE-volume arc, which consists of the two Alice in Jails book and a third called Peter Pan in Chains. As the names might indicate, Alice in Chains is the title quote, so to speak, but the book itself also revolves around jail, specifically Alcatrax, which in 1934 was still fairly new as a prison for hardcore felons (as opposed to a military prison). The description of the prison itself is quite good, showing it as an unpleasant place that can break a man, as well as being well-nigh impossible to escape from. After being blackmailed with Ennis’ safety, Firo is sent to infiltrate the prison to try to talk to its most infamous resident: Huey Laforet, who is kept in solitary confinement in the lowest of basements. But he’s not alone. Isaac has been sent there for some odd reason, and one of the prisoners already there is well known to us: Ladd Russo. Has he gotten any less violent and manic? No.

This book was, I believe, being written at the same time as the anime was being planned, and discusses certain events that the reader is unaware of but the characters aren’t, such as Graham Specter, who is introduced in this book but unseen, or the mention of a Mr. St. Germain at the Daily Days, who is also as yet unseen. The book also flits back and forth between Firo’s adventures in prison and the rest of the cast back in New York, who are dealing with Huey Laforet, despite being in prison, apparently planning a large scale terrorist attack. Narita enjoys setting up mystifying things only to have them pay off one or two books down the road, so we need to settle in here. There’s also some events from previous books intruding – the coverup of the Flying Pussyfoot murders is mentioned a few times, and we meet Gustavo, the pathetic villain from Drugs and the Dominoes, who is essentially here to be Ladd’s ticket to Alcatraz, and boy does he deserve it.

I want to talk about Isaac and Miria, though, as this is in some ways my favorite book with them, despite their not being major players in it. They’ve been wonderfully funny comic relief most of the time, but in the last arc we got some hints of deeper things – Miria’s monologue in the color pages. Now here we see that neither of them are as “stupid” as they may outwardly seem. Isaac’s ability to identify he’s talking to a cop and get Miria out of danger is masterful, and the rest of the Martillos rightly boggle at it. We also get into his head a little bit at the end, as it’s made clear he grew up in San Francisco right near Alcatraz… though he doesn’t want to see his family. As for Miria (whose head we don’t really get into), not only does she go to Ronny first to help her try to save Isaac, but she actually seems to know he’s a demon. But the best scene for Miria, in my opinion, is the one with Chane, where the two of them comfort each other over their most important person being in Alcatraz, and Miria shows off her empathy – I liked how she immediately knew how Chane communicated and wasn’t uncomfortable with it. Terrific character work here.

This is one of the better Baccano! books, including a great twist at the end I’ve tried not to spoil, and fans will absolutely want to get it. Next time we should actually meet Gustav St. Germain, as well as the much mentioned but unseen Graham, who I suspect may have been written with Norio Wakamoto and Tomokazu Sugita in mind.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 1

by

By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

This is a series that, when I first heard about the license, I was told was really sweet and adorable. And there’s no doubt: it is. The relationship between Zagan and Nephy is very reminiscent of young teenage love, and despite the obvious power imbalance going on throughout the story, by the end of this first book the two seem to have worked things out, although I suspect those looking for sex may be in for a long wait. That said, I tell a lie, because the FIRST thing I heard about this license was its original title with one extra word, and I was… not impressed. In fact, I may have actually avoided it. As such, I definitely approve of J-Novel Club removing ‘Slave’ from the title. But I can see why it was originally there: Nephy isn’t a bride in this at all, but she is definitely a slave, purchased by Zagan, with a collar that will blow up and all the works. What makes this different from, say, Lazy Dungeon Master is how the narrative and the characters handle this sort of thing.

Zagan is a teenage demon lord, who has his own castle (which he essentially inherited from its previous owner due to backstory that is carefully revealed throughout the book) and his excellent magical powers. He spends his day doing things like saving young knights from evil sorcerers while justifying in his head that he’s not doing it because he’s a nice guy or anything. He then hears that one of the archdemons (even higher than his position) has died and their legacy is being auctioned off. He arrives in time to see the last part of this, which is the elf Nephelia, who has giant stockpiles of mana and is also young and gorgeous. The young and gorgeous part attracts Zagan more than the mana part, and he falls in love instantly, spending his entire fortune to buy her. There’s just one problem: he’s an incredibly awkward speaker who can’t say what’s on his mind and doesn’t know how to deal with a girl. Which is fine, because as it turns out Nephy is very similar.

This is not a book I would recommend to someone looking only for sweet, cute romance. It still has all the trappings of the fantasy light novel, with slavery being a major plot point. There are no rapes, but there are several rape threats and mentions, and lots of demonic skulduggery. Indeed, Zagan gets in trouble throughout the book as the rule of thumb is that archdemons = evil, and given he won’t admit that he’s being a nice guy, he never gets the benefit of the doubt. But it’s what the book does with this that is interesting, as it shows the local village is far more accepting than you’d expect, and Zagan’s inner monologue aside, he uses power to defend himself and (later) those he loves, and has to emphasize time and time again that he did not buy Nephy to use her powers, but because he was smitten. Not that he can admit that either.

In the end, the reason I enjoyed this so much despite its settings and overall premise is that the characters were sympathetic and enjoyable, and the actual narrative pushes against the premise. If you don’t mind fantasy LN settings, and like sweet romance that’s probably a slow burner, you should absolutely pick this up.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/21/18

by , and Leave a Comment

Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 13 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Well, that escalated quickly. The end of this volume notes that this is the end of “Chapter One” of this series, and it’s certainly taking things in a different direction. It helps when you write out the main character, to be fair: Gunzou isn’t quite killed, but it seems pretty clear that he’s at least being written off the stage for a while. In his place we have Iona, who is forced to abandon him in order to save everyone else. And so now the entire cast seems to be shifting over to… I can’t believe I’m writing this… a school series, complete with cute school uniforms. It actually seems to be a Naval Academy, but I dunno. Are we really exchanging epic naval battles for this? I’m not really sure where this is going from here. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 8 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This is a second volume of short stories for this series, though it’s implied we’ll get a longer arc next time. The first story takes up most of it, and serves up a nice balance of mystery and horror, which is what we’ve come to expect from In/Spectre. Well, that and Kotoko going on and on about getting into Kuro’s pants. This time instead of the third wheel being Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, it’s a Cool Old Lady (TM),who helps the two of them deal with a wooden doll that is killing all the fish at a local seaport. The second story is lighter in tone, being about a tofu yokai who’s trying to get Kotoko to praise his tofu—this was actually interesting more for the discussion of taste than any mystery. Still enjoying this. Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – Aladdin and Alibaba haven’t had their reunion yet, but the day is drawing near. First, though, Aladdin must evade the clutches of Gyokuen, who isn’t dead and who is working along with Sinbad to try to take control of the world. Sinbad has convinced himself that only he can see the flow of fate and create a peaceful world, which of course Aladdin disagrees with. Meanwhile, Alibaba is hustling on behalf of the Kou Empire, making headway in their new business ventures before being torpedoed by Sinbad and coming back even stronger. It was hinted pretty heavily along the way that Sinbad would turn out to be the big bad of the series, and we’re starting to see that play out, even though neither Aladdin nor Alibaba thinks he’s a wholly terrible person. Six volumes left in this impressive shounen series! – Michelle Smith

Species Domain, Vol. 5 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I’m wondering if the series is wrapping up soon, as we get a lot more emphasis on who is going to pair up with whom in this volume. The most interesting, even if it goes nowhere for the moment, is Hanei and Mikasagi, which ends up being a very shonen sort of relationship—I love him and can admit it to myself, but want to wait till he knows he loves me too. As for Dowa and Tanaka, they may be insisting they aren’t a couple but Dowa’s family and the narrative is sure treating them as one, jokes about Tanaka dying aside. Still, the closest relationship may be between Kazamori and Ohki—sadly, this time around it’s the girl who’s oblivious. This is still an excellent “monster girl” series that’s not perverse and deft with the comedy. – Sean Gaffney

A Strange & Mystifying Story, Vol. 4 | By Tsuta Suzuki | SuBLime – A year has passed since Master Kurayori agreed to accept Tsumugi as his bride. In this time, Tsumugi has fallen in love with Kurayori, and his teenaged boy hormones lead him to plant a kiss on Kurayori when the latter doesn’t seem to understand his feelings, though at least Tsumugi is immediately mortified about what he did. In some ways, despite the fact that one of these characters is a supernatural being who was a sixty-year-old human spellcaster before becoming said supernatural being, this is basically your standard burgeoning romance boys’ love story. It’s got a pleasant atmosphere, and I enjoyed seeing a favorite couple from the previous volume. Perhaps the best part, though, was a very brief appearance by a mysterious couple in a bookstore. Could there be a darker subplot on the horizon? – Michelle Smith

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 1 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – Very few manga by openly gay creators have made their way into English translation. Most recently is That Blue Sky Feeling, an ongoing manga series illustrated by Coma Hashii based on a webcomic by Okura. Outgoing, earnest, and kindhearted by nature, high school transfer student Noshiro can’t stand by when he notices that his classmate Sanada generally keeps to himself and that most of the other students avoid him. The reason for that is a rumor going around that Sanada is gay–a rumor that turns out to be true. The characterization and personal development of both Sanada and Noshiro are highlights of That Blue Sky Feeling. There are some discomforting elements as well (such as the age difference between Sanada and his ex-boyfriend, who essentially becomes the manga’s adult role model), but overall it’s a sweet, thoughtful, and charming if somewhat subdued series about friendship and first love. – Ash Brown

UQ Holder, Vol. 14 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – A lot of UQ Holder is about history repeating itself from Negima, and so therefore it comes as no surprise that the Nodoka-alike gets shoved aside for Kuromaru, Setsuna’s expy, and then Kuromaru gets set aside for Kirie, who looks and acts like the loli-Chisame from the first series. Well, that’s not quite true—Chisame was never quite this over-the-top in terms of trying to deny her feelings. Kirie has to deal with being stuck in a body that’s too young for her mental state, as well as, well, being a massive tsundere. It is Ken Akamatsu after all. The first half of this series works better, because Ken has always been better at action than he has been at harem antics. But when will the series start using its new Japanese subtitle: Negima 2? – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – There’s hardly any drama in this volume, and what there is is decidedly adjacent to Shiro and Kenji. The boss of Kenji’s salon is oblivious to the fact that his wife is planning to divorce him, Shiro’s college classmate dies and he realizes that he’s old enough to have grandchildren, etc. Even seeing Mr. Kohinata again after he made a pass at Shiro goes smoothly. As ever, the best part here is the tasty food. Shiro seems to be getting a little more adventurous, incorporating more international dishes and modern ingredients into his cooking, while also making traditional hot pot and spring rolls, the latter of which look exceedingly tasty. This series will always be an immediate read for me whenever a new volume comes out. – Michelle Smith

The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!, Vol. 5

by

By Gamei Hitsuji and himesuz. Released in Japan by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

It stands to reason that, given this fantasy world is looking for strong heroes, and they’ve gathered three of them from Suimei’s “home” universe (albeit two of them by accident), that there would be other heroes here who hail from Japan. That said, having the hero be Suimei’s childhood friend is asking a bit much of the reader’s suspension of disbelief, methinks. She also has amnesia, which ends up helping the book to pad out its length, because a great deal of time is spent with Suimei trying to get her to trust him and also fending off attacks from her allies, who think that he’s some sort of villain. She is… an OK character, I suppose, but I have to be honest, an overly earnest swordswoman is not really something we need to add to Suimei’s party given that we already have Lefille. Given Hatsumi has her own party, much like Reiji, I’m hoping that when this arc ends she will head off on her own.

We also get a bit more information on our villains, if not their purpose just yet, and honestly I’m wondering if they’re more antagonists than villains. There is a sense that the religion in this world may be what’s actually holding it back, and while Suimei doesn’t dwell on it too much, given that he has some highly religious people in his party, I suspect it’s not something that will go away. This is also not too surprising for a Japanese fantasy light novel, where the Church has a tendency to be evil by default, but given this author’s habit of going deeply into magical theory, I’ll be interested to see if he also goes deeply into this in a way that’s not just “God bad. Grr!”. We also get a whole cadre of demons introduced, and they seem far more villainous – the one behind the battle at the end is a typical smug jerk who needs to get what’s coming to him. (Speaking of which, once again Suimei saves the girl multiple times but the author allows Hatsumi to get in the final blow. I’ll take what I can get, I suppose.)

I mentioned last time that Liliana’s depth suffered as she was essentially the victim in her introductory books. She does much better here, adding to Suimei’s party of white mage and swordswoman by being a top class spy. The scene where everyone comes up with no information whatsoever and she mentions she found “a little bit” and then rattles off every secret in the town is almost hilarious, and as Suimei notes speaks very well of her. Admittedly, you still get the sense that the girls are all doing this to get him to like them more, but given the nature of the genre I can’t really avoid that. This book ends with a cliffhanger, so it looks like another two-parter is in the works. I do wonder if Hatsumi will get her memory back in the next book or not – there’s good plot reasons why it may be best for her to stay amnesiac. Also, will Reiji and company (who have an unwanted addition now in the form of Evil Olivier Armstrong) find the ultimate weapon they’re seeking? Too Far Behind continues to stay just on the good side of “overpowered guy with harem” titles.

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 5

by

By Megumi Morino. Released in Japan as “Ohayou, Ibarahime” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Dessert. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley.

I reviewed the first volume of this shoujo series, and then the next three were reviewed as Bookshelf Briefs. This is common for the majority of the series I follow – there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and usually I don’t have 500+ words to say about a title even if I am enjoying it. But sometimes a volume comes along that I just can’t stop thinking about, and this penultimate volume of Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty is certainly that. I actually put it off for quite some time because I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be too depressing and also driven by Shizu’s antagonistic father. I was wrong on both counts – Tetsu fleeing with Shizu actually turns out to work out for a while, and Daddy Dearest doesn’t get to do much until near the end, because first we have to repair Shizu’s relationship with her mother.

Speaking of mothers, Tatsu’s mom manages to be the star of the show this volume, which is all the more impressive given that she spends the entire book in a coma. This is actually a major plot point, as it’s been eight years, and the family has been sacrificing everything they have to keep her going. Is it time to give up and pull the plug? The family has a difficult decision to make. The reader is not helped in making this easier when we find out who one of the spirits possessing Shizu really is. I’m not entirely sure if the final volume will have Aki waking up or dying, but I did appreciate the backstory given to both her and Sanae, Shizu’s mother – honestly it feels very much like a shoujo manga of its own, and one I’d want to read. It also helps Sanae repair her relationship with Shizu, and come to accept her despite the spirits.

That still leaves her father, who is seemingly a tougher nut to crack. In reality, I suspect this is when the author was told “you need to wrap this up by the next volume”, as this is perhaps a very rushed resolution. That said, it is quite dramatic, and we get to see the past of Shizu’s father as well, showing why he’s such a seemingly emotionless hardass. When you are starving for love, it can be wonderful to find the right person in your life. But if you then have children, you have to accept that this love is not going to be entirely the same anymore, and that can be difficult for many people. Fortunately, despite a dramatic fall, this is not resolved via convenient plot death, and hopefully the family can work things out. This is especially true given that clearly the spirits in Shizu are all, one by one, getting ready to move on. The cliffhanger suggests this will be the thrust of the final volume.

I wasn’t expecting much of this series, but it’s rapidly become one of my favorite shoujo manga this year. Fans of the genre should absolutely be buying it.

I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, Vol. 9

by

By Namekojirushi and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Ore ga Heroine o Tasukesugite Sekai ga Little Mokushiroku!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z.

Eventually this series is simply going to have to run out of stereotypical heroines to stack on to Rekka’s pile. We’re down to two – well, one, really, but I have my suspicions about the other – in this book, and the cracks are starting to show – I’m OK with beloved childhood friend, but beloved childhood PET? Yes, turns out the cat was a cat yokai of some sort, and now She Is All Grown Up and everything. Of course, she still acts like a cat. Her story is probably the weakest in the book, actually, as this is essentially a book of four short stories with a wraparound, and so it gets resolved quickly and easily. Possibly realizing that, the author gives us a little more depth to both heroines from the 6th book, who R wasn’t quite sure were heroines or not last time. They may not have crises to resolve, but they do both seem to like Rekka. And then there’s R.

I have been crying out for more character depth and insight into R and her future, and it looks like I’m finally starting to get it. The other “girl” in this volume is an assassin from the future, and the moment we hear she’s named L we know she’s connected to R in some way. As it turns out, she’s the prototype for what R is, and it was originally her mission to save the world… but things took too long, and R had better specs, so she was used instead, and L was sent to live her own life and, well, get corrupted by the forces of evil. As frequently happens in this sort of story. I’m not entirely certain if we’re going to add L to the harem list, but the door is open for her return. That said, I found R more fascinating here. For the most part she remains her dry, emotionless snarky self, but dealing with L finally forces some actual anger and rage out of her, mostly because she can’t be like Rekka.

Much as this series tries to have Rekka be a parody of the clueless harem guy, and he absolutely is, when it comes to saving the girl he’s really, really good at it. R has watched him save the day time and again against all odds, and it’s very frustrating to R that she is ultimately unable to talk any sense into L or save her. Unfortunately, the drawback of my enjoying her plotline is that the rest of the book feels off-balance, as if the other three stories aren’t up to the task of the final one. There’s nothing wrong with them – everyone goes to the pool and tries to flirt with Rekka, to no avail; they hold a “summer camp” at the school in an effort to give Midori a bit more depth, which… works a bit, but she still suffers from not really having had much impact in her debut. So in the end this volume of Little Apocalypse is just OK, but the best part is at the end, so it will leave you happy when you finish it.

Shortcake Cake, Vol. 1

by

Shortcake Cake, Volume 1 by suu Morishita

I’m always up for more shoujo series, and Shortcake Cake starts off with a very promising first volume. The story begins with Ten Serizawa dealing with her daily 2 hour commute to school. She gets up early and naps on the bus. But as she hangs out with her school friends, she begins to realize that her commitment to the commute means that she can’t take part in after school gatherings with her new classmates, as she has to keep checking the time to be sure she’s able to catch the last bus back to her more rural home. Ten’s friend Ageha points out how much easier it would be if Ten moved in to her boardinghouse. Ageha sneaks Ten in one day after school (the residents aren’t supposed to have outside guests), and Ten experiences the hazards of boardinghouse crashing, like avoiding the house mom, tiptoeing past the boys’ floor. In the process she has a brief encounter with the handsome bookworm Chiaki, who dazzles her with his good looks and quotes Turgenev at her.

Ten sees that the boardinghouse is much more spacious and nice than she was imagining and decides to move in. She meets another resident, the overly flirtatious Riku. As Ten gets settled in, she starts getting entwined in the lives of the residents. She sees Riku gently turning a girl down who asks him out and points out to him that if he would stop flirting with everyone, random girls wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Riku’s ingratiating manners are looked on as odd by most of the boardinghouse. Riku starts falling for Ten, and can’t act like his normal self around her anymore. The new friends go out on an outing, and Ten learns more about Chiaki’s bookish ways and his reactions to his looks-driven popularity. Finally, a third boy is introduced, Rei, who wears traditional clothing and is drawn to resemble a blond L from Death Note. He’s given to odd insulting outbursts.

So a romance being set up where many people slowly fall in love with a relatively ordinary girl is familiar shoujo manga territory, but the situation in Shortcake Cake doesn’t feel artificial or unearned, because Ten is objectively pretty adorable with her Sailor Moon style pigtails and her quirky hobby of following along with radio exercise programs. Morishita does a great job with character development in this volume, leaving just enough mystery for the reader to become invested in finding out why Chiaki is so withdrawn and wonder why Riku is overcompensating by acting superficially pleasant to most of the girls he meets. The volume ends on a cliffhanger which shows Ten forcing a confrontation about something that most shoujo heroines would leave unsaid for 5-6 volumes, which instantly got me onboard for the rest of the series!

Morishita’s art features a liberal amount of screen tone, and her characters quickly switch back and forth between regular and exaggerated facial expressions. Ten frequently shifts into cat face mode whenever she’s being mischievous or startled. The production for Shortcake Cake sets it apart from other Shojo Beat volumes, with matte covers and a cute strawberry on the spine. There are some additional black and white illustrations for chapter covers included as a bonus in the back of the book. I can see why this shoujo series was so highly anticipated, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 1

by

By Suki Umemiya and Reia. Released in Japan as “Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Ace Up. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Angela Liu. Adapted by Tracy Barnett.

There has been a bit of a backlash online about the constant flow of “isekai” stories into North America in the past few years. Of course, that’s because they’re incredibly popular in Japan. Indeed, they seem to be so popular in Japan that we’re starting to see authors who have an idea of a story that need not involve an isekai try to shoehorn it in anyway to get readers. This is a good example of it. Now, I may be wrong – it’s taken from a light novel that is itself taken from a webnovel, and future volumes may take more advantage of the fact that its heroine has been killed and reincarnated in another world. But honestly, if you removed the isekai aspect from this manga series, very little would change at all. Fortunately, the story is strong – which is probably why I’m complaining that an isekai wasn’t needed. I’m perfectly happy to watch Iris save the world.

As I mentioned earlier, it begins, as many series like this do, with a death by car accident. A young woman who works overtime at some company or other and spends her spare time playing otome games is killed, and suddenly finds herself in the climactic scene of the game she just cleared. Sadly… she’s the rival who’s just being taken to the cleaners. She knows what happens next – her character leaves the school and gets exiled to a nunnery for the rest of her life. Yeah, that’s not happening. Oh, she’ll leave the school, but she decides instead to confront her father with all the political machinations that have been going on in the game, pointing out that he had plans and backup plans. He’s impressed enough by this that he decides instead of exiling her to a nunnery to exile her to one of his fiefdoms, and basically tells her she’s in charge. So, with the help of a seeming army of orphans she’s picked up over the years, she sets out to make her country a better place.

I enjoyed this, but there are, let’s face it, a few moments that made me raise an eyebrow in disbelief. For a “villain” character who is seemingly an expert at verbal abuse in the game itself, Iris actually turns out to be a sweet girl who constantly wants to save everyone. Iris claims it’s “first love sickness”, and I guess we’ll go with that, but I’d have liked better use of the actual gimmick. Likewise, Iris immediately having a large force of bodyguards, maids, accountants and such that she can immediately marshal to the cause is a bit… easy? That said, honestly, if it’s going to lead to “let’s see how we’ve neglected the poor people and try to make it so they have a better life”, I’m fine with it. And the supporting cast seem fun, even though, as I noted, none of them seem to regard Iris as the villain type. Honestly, given this runs in a seinen magazine, the best audience for it may be those who enjoy the light novel How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. It has a similar vibe. In any case, I look forward to future volumes of this flawed but fun book, even if it did not have to be an isekai.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 7

by

By Ryo Shirakome and Takayaki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou” by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

I’ve talked before about Hajime as Christ figure, and Hajime as simply another example of the overpowered hero going after the kids that bullied the author in middle school, but in this book it’s also worth taking a look at something that has remained a core part of Hajime’s character despite every possible attempt to extract it: Hajime the nerd. (Yes, yes, I know, chuuni. I never saw that anime, so feel uncomfortable using the expression.) Hajime’s inner monologue has had the occasional taste of otaku culture throughout the series, but this volume really sees it in full flower. When he’s in the bar gathering information, and has to impress the bartender, you can almost hear him squeeing. And while the core purpose of his “arranging a distraction” was to humiliate and get a bit of revenge on Shizuku for laughing at him, the fact that he dresses them all as a sentai team also shows this off. Hajime is badass, but still a nerd.

We seem to have run out of cover girls, as we’re back to Yue. (Technically it should be Liliana, but honestly ignoring her in favor of Yue is perfectly in character.) That said, in terms of content, Shea should really be the one on the cover, as she and her rabbit tribe own this book. Considering that turning the rabbits into savage killers was a passing joke in the 2nd book, it’s become quite a large thing, and the best running gag of the volume was everyone giving Hajime the stink-eye as they realize how much he brainwashed everyone into being Rambo. (They also inherited his nerd tendencies, coming up with hilariously bad “names” for themselves.) Since the Empire is doubling down on Beastmen being enslaved, the rabbits take matters into their own hands – with a little help from Hajime, admittedly, but mostly entirely on their own – to convince the Emperor to change his mind. Again, those who like over the top battles will be very happy.

The demons also get their asses handed to them by the rabbits, but they have a much stronger response, coming up with 400 or so of the Angels that Hajime had a little trouble with in Book 6. I suspect the eighth volume will deal with the fallout from that. One last thing that impressed me, though, was the final extra story. Usually in light novels these extra stories are pure fanservice, but this one not only advances the plot but makes a nice refreshing change from the “all religion is evil” trope we’ve seen in Arifureta and other light novels. A new pope is appointed to fill the void caused by the events of Book 6, and he proves to be an excellent choice, coming across both Yuka (the girl Hajime saved in Book 1) and Aiko and helping them get over their dithering and try to move forward. It comes across as a confessional, and this is exactly the sort of thing that confessions should be about. I really liked it.

A very strong Arifureta book. Except for Tio. God, I hate Tio. More accurately, I hate the way the author writes Tio.

Manga the Week of 8/22/18

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Let’s face it, even without Yen Press this would be a really heavy week. With Yen it’s absolutely terrifying.

But first, the non-Yen offerings. Dark Horse gives us the first Gantz omnibus, in case you want to catch up on your lycra.

Haikasoru has the 7th volume of Legend of Galactic Heroes. If it’s the one I think it is, oh dear.

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read these. My intentions are good!

ANNA: I have good intentions about reading this as well.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, but I’ve been enjoying them!

J-Novel Club announced a bunch of stuff at Anime Expo, and this is what I was most excited about. I loved the Kokoro Connect manga when it came out years ago, and wished we could read the light novels. Now we can! The first one is out next week.

J-Novel Club also has the 3rd Infinite Stratos novel.

Kodansha has some print manga for all of you. Attack on Titan: Before the Fall 14, Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition 5, Love and Lies 7, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 7.

ASH: Oh, print manga! The deluxe edition Battle Angel Alita is really nice, and I’ve been enjoying That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime more than I expected.

SEAN: There’s five debuts in their digital lineup though, all one-volume BL titles. They seem to be from their Honey Milk magazine, and are: Intertwining Lives, Keeping His Whims in Check, Key Ring Lock, Stray Bullet Baby, and Trap in a Skirt. Looking askance at that last one, but kudos to Kodansha for reaching out to a new audience.

MICHELLE: Very much the same re: askance looks, but otherwise I’m fairly intrigued.

ANNA: Glad the BL fans are getting some content!

MJ: I’m looking askance, mostly at some of these titles. Trap in a Skirt?

SEAN: They also have many ongoing digital titles, with DAYS 9, Giant Killing 13, Kakafukaka 2, Karate Heat 2, and Perfect World 5.

MICHELLE: All of which I intend to read at some point, probably starting with the soccer titles.

ANNA: I wish there was more print sports manga in general, my kids love it.

SEAN: Seven Seas has no debuts this week, but they do have a 4th Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, a 13th Arpeggio of Blue Steel, and a 3rd Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho.

Vertical gives us an 11th Devils’ Line.

Oh boy, more titles I have nothing to say about. Viz has Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 8, the 2nd RWBY Anthology (which focuses on Weiss), and Tokyo Ghoul: re 6.

ASH: I haven’t gotten into Tokyo Ghoul to the same extent that a lot of people seem to have, but I’m glad to see it doing well enough to bring in the other related series.

SEAN: And Yen. So much Yen, particularly if you read their light novels. A debut and a one-shot this month. The debut is Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer). A hero is summoned to another world, and he and his party need to defeat the demon lord. Sadly, the hero and his party are useless, so it’s up to the priest trailing behind to save them from their own awfulness. Expect comedy here.

ASH: That does sound rather amusing.

SEAN: The one-shot is another novelization of a popular movie, this one called Fireworks: Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?. I’m thinking it’s your name-y.

But there’s more. So much more. The Asterisk War 7, Baccano! 8, A Certain Magical Index 16, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 11, KonoSuba 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 2, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers 5, Sword Art Online 14, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 3. That’s a lot of Yen On’s best-sellers. And also Index.

Believe it or not, Yen has some manga as well. Quite a bit, in fact. Debuts? Sure. Chio’s School Road is a Comic Flapper title showing our heroine walking to school every day and getting in the most amazing predicaments.

And deep breath, let’s pound through the ongoing titles out next week. ACCA 4, Angels of Death 4, Aoharu x Machinegun 12, Black Butler 26, BTOOOM! 22, The Case Study of Vanitas 4, Dimension W 11, Forbidden Scrollery 4, Hatsu*Haru 2, Re: Zero Arc 3 Volume 4, the 8th and final volume of Scum’s Wish (though there’s a sequel, as yet unlicensed), Silver Spoon 4, Tales of Wedding Rings 3, Today’s Cerberus 10, Trinity Seven 14, and Yowamushi Pedal 9. (breathes) In that list, Silver Spoon and Yowapeda are what excite me most.

MICHELLE: I share your enthusiasm for those particular titles, though I also want to get caught up on Hatsu*Haru and ACCA.

ASH: That is a lot! ACCA, Silver Spoon, and Yowamushi Pedal are mostly where I’m at.

MJ: Silver Spooooooooooon! I’ve fallen behind on The Case Study of Vanitas after being disappointed with its start, but I’ll always give Jun Mochizuki a chance, so I should get back to that.

SEAN: So, you reading anything? Or just giving up?

ANNA: I’m giving up! My to read manga pile got so big it toppled over the other day!