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Looks Like a Job for a Maid! The Tales of a Dismissed Supermaid, Vol. 4

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By Yasuaki Mikami and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Maid nara Touzen desu. Nureginu wo Kiserareta Bannou Maid-san wa Tabi ni Deru Koto ni Shimashita” by Earth Star Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

We’ve seen in this series that Nina tends to lack a sense of self, or rather that her sense of self is “maid” and nothing else. Certainly she has what amount to magical maid superpowers, which only she and her mentor seem to possess. But the question is, why does she have to be a maid? Why can she not use all of her various talents for something else? The most interesting scene in this book has merchant and yuri spoiler Firth showing Nina around a country that believes in equality to such an extent that the idea of servants is anathema to them. We see Nina use her maid superpowers as sort of a consultant, seeing how workers do things and then making them better and more efficient. You briefly think “maybe Nina could be a bureaucrat sort? Does she NEED to be a maid?”. And then she has a brief nervous breakdown, and you remember what this series is.

After a third volume that stayed in one place and told one story, we’re back to Maid & Co. traveling from city to city, and we’re also back to this functionally being a collection of four long short stories. In the first, they come to a city always rebuilding itself, and Astrid is fascinated by a complex water supply machine. They then hear a rumor of a lupalune arrested for poaching, and (since they always try to find any info on Tien’s parents at all) they try to investigate and get around a police chief who tries to do as little as possible to rock the boat. After this, they’re discovered by Myriad (the magic sage from the previous book), who wants to recruit Emily but is OK with recruiting the rest of them as well, and they try to take care of a new dungeon that’s pouring out undead. Finally, they arrive in the town of equality I mentioned in the previous paragraph, and Nina’s faith is shaken once again – as is that of the Queen, who discovers that when everyone’s equal it’s fine to treat the Queen like shit.

Firth appears throughout this book as well. He’s quit his family merchant company, determined to start a new company revolving around Astrid and Nina, even if they don’t really want to. He’s nice and sensible enough, but I was amused that the series literally points out the issue with him. When he’s traveling with Maid & Co., and they have to get an inn or food or what have you, it looks like it’s him and his women. It lessens the four of them. This doesn’t really happen with Myriad, who is also interested in recruiting them for their cool powers but also gives off strong “do not come near me” vibes to everyone around him, so it’s mostly Firth that we want to go away. And, to be fair, he does at the end of the book. As for Nina, I’m glad she got her groove back, and was able to help the Queen, but I am wondering if she is ever going to make it to her mentor, as Book 5 also appears to involve the journey, not the destination.

The 9th volume of this series, just announced in Japan, has big “final volume cover” vibes, so we might have an endpoint. In any case, if you love maids, this is still a must read.

A Wicked Lady’s Guide to Accidentally Saving the Kingdom, Vol. 1

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By Manzi Mazi and Yuuya. Released in Japan as “Gokuaku Reijou no Kanchigai Kyuukokuki” by PASH! Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amanogawa Tenri.

There is a running gag throughout this book where a character is screaming at the top of their lungs in the face of Lettie, the titular wicked lady, and she tells them “TOO LOUD!”. That’s sort of how I felt about the book. It’s a comedy, you see, and it makes sure you know that on every page. There aren’t any straight men here – or rather, because there aren’t, Lettie is frequently forced to be the straight man, which is annoying as it’s her own weird quirks that are supposed to be what this series is about. Her conceit is that she does wonderful things for everyone in her land while pretending that it’s all due to her selfish evilness, but we never really get a backstory about how she came to that idea, and it honestly reads, as many of the newest light novels read, like the author noticed a trend and decided to do a book with that trend. And, well, this has 4+ volumes, so I guess it worked?

Lettie Ungaria is a wicked, evil villainess. She’ll tell you so herself, as she walks through her fancy mansion, announcing to her strangely devoted and grateful servants that she will work them to the bone (for 8 hours, after which they get free time, and of course weekends off). She’s horrible! She buys slaves from a slave trader (who turn out to be the first prince and his loyal army, fleeing from a revolution). She’s wicked! She walks through her city denigrating passersby as she tells them about the potential skin cancer and dental issues that they really should get looked at. Sure, OK, she’s yet another sixteen-year-old who looks ten, but can’t have everything. Unfortunately, everyone keeps calling her really sweet and kind, and there’s a rumor she’s even nicknamed a saint! What’s a wicked lady to do?

So, aside from Lettie being forced to be the least eccentric person in this book about her eccentricities, what else annoyed me? I’m never going to like the pervert guy character, even if you do make him super powerful as well. The prince’s emotional reserve bordering on stoicism is meant to tie into a tragic backstory but, again, looks like the author just wanted that type. The revolution itself gets a brief look-in and it’s the only part of the book that’s not “wacky” – which is a problem because that means it’s a wacky comedy with a scene where a villain decapitates multiple women and talks the new King into murdering his vassals and engineering wars. Clearly we’re going to see more of him later, but since he only shows up in that one scene, it’s just off-putting. And while I do think Lettie’s excuses for handing out money like it’s candy are meant to be seen as flimsy, we still don’t have the backstory to make that work, so it just looks halfhearted.

While Livid Lady made me livid, Wicked Lady just makes me sad. Where are the villainesses of yesteryear?

The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods, Vol. 5

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By Yanagi and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Mori no Hashikko no Chibi Majo-san” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nathan Macklem.

As I was reading this fifth volume, I mentioned online that Misha almost dies, and was warned about spoilers. Is it a spoiler, though? Now, “Misha dies”, that would be a spoiler, and we’d have to find a different tiny witch to take over. But no, if there’s one thing this book shows us, it’s that Misha may have dramatic things happen to her, but she is blessed by the author, and therefore everything revolves around her as it should. She’s on a ship filled with salty old sailors, but she’s so shiny that they all love her. She fishes in the sea for the first time, and the fish all bite. She sees dolphins, they do a little dance for her. Even when bad things inevitably do happen to her, they are part of the action and designed to get her to the next place where the plot demands. Which, and again, this is not much of a spoiler, is not going to be the village of the People of the Forest after all.

Misha and Ryne, along with a seasick Ren, are on a boat headed towards their village. They had to choose between a dangerous land voyage and a dangerous sea voyage, and went with the faster one. For the first third of the book or so, things are great. Misha gets along with everyone, catches some tasty fish, helps out when a sailor falls and breaks a shoulder, and is generally a plucky young girl, in the cheerful sense. Then pirates attack, and she becomes a plucky young girl, in the stressful sense, as when the pirates fail, one tries to kidnap her as she looks rich, and she ends up falling in the sea. Fortunately, ridiculous things happen, and she ends up being helped by a young man in a fishing boat, who takes her to his village that is hidden away from the rest of the world. Which is… bad news for those trying to find her.

I suspect we’re going to be at this village for at least a book or two, and we get introduced to a lot of new regulars. I really liked Ella, the apprentice to the village doctor who is a whole bunch of quirks all at once. She’s a bit hyperactive and ADHD, she has a perfect photographic memory but hates studying, she was a mother at 15, and she both really likes and also feels a tiny bit jealous of Misha, who is a couple years younger than her but already an experienced apothecary. We also get introduced to the village gods, who, it should not surprise readers who recall the last time we met this world’s gods, are not what they seem. Misha, of course, can’t leave this alone, which I think will be both good and bad for her, and I hope she does not end up burned at the stake. And while I joked about it a bit, the village having magical “even homing birds can’t find us, you’re totally stuck” powers made me roll my eyes a bit. Not Deus ex Machina or Diabolus ex Machina, just a “Well, whatever” Machina.

Next time, no doubt, Misha will be plucky, get into trouble, and win people over by medicine and being really nice. Should be fun.

From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress!, Vol. 6

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By Masamune Okazaki and Hayase Jyun. Released in Japan as “Mob Dōzen no Akuyaku Reijō wa Dansō Shite Kōryaku Taishō no Za wo Nerau” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Caroline W.

Every so often with these Villainess books I have to double check the imprint to make sure if they’re a Heart title or not. You’d think with this one it would be obvious. The entire premise is that all the men in the series are in love with Elizabeth, and she is unaware that they are. And to be fair, the series does a good job of keeping a “balanced harem” so you’re not sure who the winning guy will be, or even if there will be a winning guy, as Elizabeth states multiple times that she has no real interest in marriage and doesn’t even know what being in love is like. But we’re six volumes in, and I admit that I’m probably biased towards the one yuri option, but still, I have to say: these guys are kinda dull? I really cannot imagine Elizabeth with any of them, and clearly neither can she. Isaac is her bestie. Robert is a loyal dog. It’s a bit sad.

We’re back at school, and Elizabeth has suddenly realized that what with all the stuff happening to her this summer, she never finished her homework. (Let’s be honest, she wasn’t going to do it anyway.) After attempting to copy off Isaac, she ends up having to do extra studying, which ends up with her and Isaac getting caught up in the Witch subplot from the last book, and Elizabeth accidentally being a bit dumber than usual (impressive given she’s not that bright) and giving away that she knows who her teacher really is. Oh yes, and her masochistic foreign stalker is worse than ever. Given all of this, it should probably come as a relief to her when she actually does get influenced by the ghost, but in fact it ends up being terrible for all concerned, because an Elizabeth with nothing holding her back is the most terrifying thing ever.

As always, the series is at its best when it’s deconstructing the otome games tropes it’s filled with. The identity of the witch appears to be something entirely out of left field (and, like Elizabeth, I had completely forgotten they existed), but if you remember the audience for this game, things make a bit more sense. I also like the fact that the second game was actually a bit of a failure, and they never made any more. For one thing, it helps make losers like Yoh a bit more tolerable. But yeah, sorry, once again it’s the chemistry between Elizabeth and Lilia that most interests me – mostly the fact that they have chemistry at all. The fact that Lilia has actually confessed means that she’s the only one Elizabeth consciously seduces in order to get her way, or to prove a smug point, or just for the hell of it – Elizabeth clearly loves being seductive. Which is good news for her, and whichever guy this series may end up choosing, but bad news for Lilia, who is quite rightly pissed off at all of this. Though admittedly her yandere tendencies are not helping at all. Also, Lilia, please decide if you are gay or just Liz-sexual.

There’s at least one more book in this series, but I must admit I find it far more interesting to see how Elizabeth’s mind works (notice how often she calls herself a villain in this book) than in who gets to marry her.

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 8

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

(This book, by necessity, goes into spoilery detail about what happens in this volume, bar the final scene.)

This is an ongoing series in Japan, and I think the 13th volume just came out. That said, I was starting to wonder if we were getting near the end of the “main plot”, as it were, especially after the revelations from the last volume. Not only was I correct, but I was very correct. If I can misuse the expression for a moment, this entire volume is busy taking all the rifles off of Anton Chekhov’s mantelpiece and firing them all at once. It’s thrilling, if also quite tragic, especially in the first half. And it leads up to what we’ve been waiting for since this series began. Monica has to decide which is more important to her, the leaps and bounds she’s made as Monica Norton, or her old life and secret mission as Monica Everett. Her choice is the cliffhanger ending of this book, and one the author says they’ve wanted to write since it began. I admit I’ve waited for it as well. Bravo.

We’re getting closer to the end of the school year, Felix graduating, and the end of Monica’s mission. We’re also getting closer to the throne war coming to an end, as Duke Clockford and Felix go around using and/or killing off various pawns at their disposal. And then there’s the Empire, who decide to threaten Monica. They end up reaching a deal. Either Monica stops the war, or she has to personally kill the entire royal family. We then get an extended flashback, which shows the backstory of Isaac Walker, as well as the fact that Monica doesn’t need to worry, one of the royal family is already long dead. Unfortunately, Felix misjudges how important he is to the Duke, and when one assassination attempt fails, finds himself accused of being an imposter, arrested, and locked up in preparation for execution. Given that all this is true, it’s gonna be hard to stop.

I will admit, apart from the dramatic climax of the book, it’s the tragic bits that stand out more here. Isaac’s memories of his past are just as depressing and horrifying as you’d expect, and pretty much tie in with everything we know about him. And when Monica gives him the name of her father, he also discovers that he is, technically, responsible for her father’s death as well. All this causes him to have a massive death complex, so things are not just going to be as easy as “let’s have you escape”. Monica too is not having a good time, though it’s quite noticeable how much better she’s gotten at communicating since she became Monica Norton. Cyril is also handled well here, though I have bad news for him, as Monica “senpaizones” him. Isaac probably has the best chance, though I still think the most likely romantic option for Monica is “none”. We also see the return of a character I never thought I’d see again, and it was wonderful to catch up with them.

The 9th book is not scheduled yet, and I hope it doesn’t take the 9 months it took to get from 7 to 8. Fantastic stuff.

Manga the Week of 9/30/26

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SEAN: Autumn, and an old man’s thoughts turn to manga.

No print releases for Airship, but we get early digital for My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone 3 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 11, and only digital for When a Clueless First-Person Shooter Player Falls into Another World 3 (the final volume).

Cross Infinite World debut From Bumbling Prodigy to Villainess: Will the Duke’s Love Go Unnoticed? (Munou Saijo wa Akujo ni Naritai ~Gimai no Migawari de Totsuida Reijou, Koushaku-sama no Dekiai ni Kizukanai~). A girl has an exceptional talent, but her family see her as useless. Now a Duke needs a fiancée he can dump in three years, and our heroine sees this as an opportunity for freedom.

ASH: That description seems oddly familiar.

SEAN: They also have How I Became King by Eating Monsters 6 and Fluffy Paradise 10.

Dark Horse Manga have the 8th volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

DK has a big artbook, The Art of Junji Ito Collection. Scary but well-packaged art!

ASH: Oh! That’s a nice surprise.

ANNA: Good for the holiday and spooky seasons!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 27th volume of Parallel Paradise.

Glacier Bay Books has Five Worms on a Line, a shoujo-horror shot story collection.

As well as Give Her Back to Me, by the same author, about a family curse.

ASH: Expect excellence from both of these. I love shoujo horror.

ANNA: I’m less of an aficionado, but absolutely agree that these are intriguing releases this week.

SEAN: Hanashi Media gives us The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made! 14, GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There 2-1, Reincarnated as a Poor Farmer in Another World: I’ll Use My Modern Knowledge to Build My Own Kingdom 2, and Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 20.

Two J-Novel Club digital debuts, both light novels. Sorry Darling, but You Won’t Kill Me Again! (Konse mo Todome o Sasareru no wa Gomen nanode, Saiai no Otto wa Mou Iranai) is a Heart title. A young queen is killed by her husband… then wakes up in the past! Now she can change her fate… assuming she’s the only one with memories of her old life.

A Wicked Lady’s Guide to Accidentally Saving the Kingdom (Gokuaku Reijou no Kanchigai Kyuukokuki) is a Club series, despite the “Wicked Lady” part, so expect less romance here. It stars another woman who thinks that “being a villainess” is more important than anything else, even if she keeps doing good deeds.

ASH: That’s a thing that happens sometimes.

SEAN: Other light novels: Looks like a Job for a Maid! The Tales of a Dismissed Supermaid 4, Pens Down, Swords Up: Throw Your Studies to the Wind 7, Rebuild World 8-2, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not 9.

For manga, we see A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires 9 and Rebuild World 15.

MICHELLE: First, wicked lady and now a livid one!

ANNA: Maybe the wicked and livid ladies need to team up!

SEAN: Kana debuts Jagaaan, a seinen manga from the author of Blue Lock. A cop has a good career, long-term girlfriend, things going well. Sure, he’s a bit UNSTABLE, but hey. Then he gets a supernatural monstrous power. What could go wrong? For fans of titles with lots of violence and death.

MICHELLE: The blurb says, “a superpower drama of carnal desires and primal violence.” So… a pass for me.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: They also have Blades of the Guardians 3.

Kodama has a 4th volume of Sun-Ken Rock Perfect Edition.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga. In print we get Dragon Head Omnibus 3, I Have a Crush at Work 7, Omega Megaera 6, Omega of the Divine 2, That’s Not Love 3, Whoever You Are, I Love You 2, and You Can’t Bluff the Sharp-Eyed Sister 5 (the final volume).

ASH: I should really revisit Dragon Head; I’m still glad to see it back in print.

SEAN: And digitally we get Am I Actually the Strongest? 19 and I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 11.

Manga Mavericks debuts The Pipe Machine, the story of a boy who ends up in weird adventures due to a time-traveling pipe. (It got bumped.)

ASH: Even with some bumps, Manga Mavericks releases some great stuff.

SEAN: They also have Vegetable Sandwich, which seems to ask what if Yu Yu Hakusho and Ranma 1/2 had a baby? Fans of old-school shonen will eat this up.

MICHELLE: This looks goofy and yet somehow appealing.

ASH: Agreed!

ANNA: I enjoy some old school shonen sometimes!

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. Can You Kiss Me First? (Omae no Hou kara Kiss shitekure yo) is a BL manga from Moment. Two co-workers are good friends. Then one says he’s gay… but it’s OK, the other guy isn’t his type. Wait, what? Why not?

MICHELLE: Hm.

SEAN: The Lord-Magear’s Apprentice (Lord Magear no Deshi) is a shonen series from Sunday Web Every. A boy is saved by a mage as a child. He grows up to be a powerful swordsman… whose ends up being the only survivor, and also rescued AGAIN by the SAME mage. Apprentice time?

Also from Seven Seas: the 5th and final volume of I Ship My Rival x Me.

Shueisha – and yes, it seems to be the Japanese publisher – releases Happiness Theories: A Manga Artist & An Art Historian Find Wisdom in 3,000 Years and in Life. A manga artist and art historian have a discussion about human history.

ASH: Oooooooh! I’m here for it.

ANNA: This does sound interesting!

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has a 3rd Otaku x Gal.

Titan Manga debut When I Was Reincarnated in Another World, I Was a Heroine and He Was a Hero (Tensei Shitara Ore ga Heroine de Aitsu ga Yuusha datta) is a… erm, genderbendy?… title from Comic Gardo. A guy dies and is reincarnated… as a heroine! And his friend from Japan is the hero! Can they defeat the demon lord? Will there be romance?

They also have Eko Eko Azarak Reborn 2 and Welcome to Ghost Mansion 3.

Tokyopop debuts The Devil’s in the Lunch Deals (Jashin no Bentouya-san), a slice-of-life fantasy from Comic Days. A goddess is banished to the human world, and decides to start a bento store. As one does.

But what of BL, you ask? No worries, that’s still Tokyopop’s bread and butter. Caught in Your Web (Kumo no Otoko) is a one-shot BL thriller that ran in… sigh… from RED. A man is happy being the boytoy of a mafia boss… till the boss dies. Now he’s left the mob, but meets a man who seems to be the old boss’s son!

My One-Sided Love (Shuraba no One Side Love) is also a manga in from RED. A manga artist and his editor are friends! Buds! Cuddly! Um, what’s going on here? There are content warnings on this one, so I suspect “sexual assault, but in a sexy way” is the answer.

MICHELLE: Great.

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Retailers say Udon Entertainment has Blue Archive: Comic Anthology 3 out next week.

And we end with Yen Press, which has some straggler manga. The Succubus Meets Her Match (Moteharu nee, Ashiya-kun) is a seinen comedy manga from Dra Dra Sharp #. A succubus has taken over as queen of her high school… except for that one dude. Who’s not into her. What’s worse, the other demi-humans want him too. This shall not stand!

And they have How to Love a Loser 2 and Nomi x Shiba 4.

Pretty packed for a 5th week. What interests you?

The Holy Grail of Eris, Vol. 5

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By Kujira Tokiwa and Yu-nagi. Released in Japan as “Eris no Seihai” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Amelia Imogen.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? This is a series that I thought ended with the third volume, and then we got a fourth, which at first was “digital-only” in Japan. Then the series changed publishers in Japan, and DRE Novels put out the first four books with new cover art, and I think a couple of bonus short stories. (No, Yen will not be redoing those.) Meanwhile in North America, we had a series that was contacted between Yen Press and GA Novels, now belonging to a different publisher that works exclusively with J-Novel Club. Talks had to be had. But here we are, with Book 5, and Book 6 is just around the corner! In between Books 4 and 5, we had the anime, which was received pretty well, though the reaction by fans felt a bit familiar, and this fifth book underlined the fan reaction with a highlighter. Namely, with the intense intimate female friendship between the two leads, why is the series het? The answer is, of course, that women are allowed to have intense intimate female friendships and still like men.

Connie is back from her vacation, and everything seems well. Unfortunately, the dregs of Daeg Gallus are still around, and they’re targeting the Kingdom’s important mythology. To help deal with this, a baron by the name of Camille Miller has decided to take steps to discredit them. This first involves, for some reason, framing Connie for the bombing of the statue of the hero in a town square, which goes about as well as you’d expect given her fiancee is head of the police and the king is in her debt. Changing tactics, he then decides to announce that she’s another Saint, just like the Saint Anastasia of old. Can Connie try to figure out what’s going on, stop the terrorist group that is still trying to destroy everything, *and* not punch Camille Miller in his smug face? Meanwhile, in the past, we see Scarlet’s grandmother and find out the real story of both Saint Anastasia and the Grail family.

So, for those who loved the anime and are curious, Randolph is technically in this, and he and Connie are still engaged. But even the author admits he’s not in the book very much. This isn’t, at its heart, a romance, it’s a mystery series with added thriller aspects. As such, Connie and Randolph aren’t the main “couple”, Connie and Scarlet are. Thematically, this series is about them. Likewise, in the past, we expect to see the story of a romance between Cornelia and her somewhat fanatically loyal friend Percival Grail, but that’s also pretty much a fakeout, and the important relationship is between Cornelia and her maid and best friend Asha. That said, again, the relationships take a back seat to the mysteries here. Fortunately, the mysteries are very good, and I found it amusing that most of the present-day sleuthing was just Connie reading old histories till she got bags under her eyes.

There is a short story volume after it, but the 6th book, with its incredibly bisexual cover (she has two hands!), does appear to finally wrap the series up after a couple of fakeouts. I’m delighted to see it continue. I hope we never see Camille Miller again, but I’m not optimistic about that last part.

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 13

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By Hitoma Iruma and raemz. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Molly Lee.

Glory be, we finally get a volume that isn’t just short stories, and takes place in the present day! After so many alternate universes, flash forwards to the future, and the terrifying vision of Adachi’s idea of heaven, we are back in a normal yuri romance. OK, yes, no series with Yashiro is normal, but you know what I mean. As always, Shimamura is the narrator. It’s amazing how far she’s come since the start. Adachi, when not dealing with Shimamura, is pretty much as she’s always been, introverted, uncommunicative, and giving off a strong “fuck off” aura. Shimamura, who I described as attempting to learn what human emotion is in prior books, is absolutely filled with them here, and a lot of the book is her suddenly breaking down as she once again deals with her childhood dog maybe dying (again, the dog does not die in this book), or her cutely realizing how much she’s in love with Adachi. A depressed teenager who barely interacted with life is now happy and content. It’s nice to see.

First bit of the book: Shimamura goes to see her grandparents, gets overcome with emotion at seeing that Gon is still tired and listless but not dead, unleashes Yashiro on a new set of folks, meets a “childhood friend” from another Iruma series (more on that later), and comes out to her grandma. The rest of the book: it’s school festival time! Honestly, Shimamura wasn’t aware they had one, and neither was Adachi – they likely skipped before now. But this is a new, dynamic Shimamura who does things, and so she comes over to help with their classes’ candied fruit cafe. And Adachi also comes, because Shimamura asks her, and that’s the only reason. The festival is cute – we see Adachi serving and Shimamura waitressing, they get to tour the sites together on a date, they go see Hino and Nagafuji in a class play that sounds like it was based on another work by the author, and they see a concert that I’m pretty sure is based off ANOTHER work by the author. Then, after the festival is over, Adachi invited Shimamura to her house for their own private festival. (No, not like that.)

I’m sure hardcore fans of Iruma are delighted at seeing all the cameos from their other series pop up in A&S. I did work out the girl making the ceramics is from a collection called End Blue, I think? And yes, the series can be read without knowing who the hell these people are. But man, for people like me, who want to track down references, it’s a pain in the ass, as 90% of Iruma’s work is never coming out here. (And, let’s face it, the crossover with My First Love’s Kiss was deeply unwelcome.) That singer and piano player are no doubt from another series, and I don’t know which one, and that just bugs me. And because Iruma doesn’t own the characters, I won’t even get Sayaka from Bloom Into You showing up. Other than that niggle, this is a strong volume, absolutely drenched in Shimamura’s feelings for Adachi, and I can mostly ignore Adachi’s obsessive “there is only one person in my world” feelings, which Shimamura sees as cute but a bit worrying. The “roleplay us ten years in the future” at the end is really sweet.

So yes, a nice, relaxed volume, with no child predators or possible heat deaths of the universe. Next up, a third short story collection, though that doesn’t count 99.9, or the other numbered volumes that have basically been short story collections in all but name.

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 7

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By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner.

One of these days we’ll have a nice relaxing book where Carmine is given a respite from constant chaos and attempts to take over the Empire, but that day is not today, and honestly probably we’ll never get that. That said, at least Carmine is finally starting to ditch the need to pretend to be a dumb puppet emperor… mostly. He’d like to do this, and he gets to demonstrate that he does know magic after all in a truly ludicrous sequence where he drops a magic nuke, but for the most part the conceit can still be useful. Especially when, following up on the cliffhanger from the last book, the old leader of the Imperium, the religious republic next door that is the Empire’s biggest threat, shows up seeking asylum. Along with his loser son and a terrified aide. So Carmine once again has to pretend to be kinda dumb while he figures out what to do, because every answer seems to be “but that will lead to war”.

Carmine is so caught off guard by the news of the asylum seekers that he has to fake a contagious illness for a few days to gain time to think and gather information. Then he heads back to the capital, meets the Imperium guys, and big surprise, they’re terrible. The former leader is the decadent Roman emperor sort, and his son is scheming and wants power, but doesn’t really have any smarts to back it up. They also clearly have spies in their entourage. In the meantime, of course, the Empire is still fighting a war on several fronts, so Carmine also has to head over to another front line to see how things are going… where, unfortunately, he arrives far too quickly thanks to Count Ethiac, who essentially drugs her horse to ride at top speed for hours to get there as fast as she can. Oops.

The author seems to be swapping out eccentric but unhinged women every book. At the end of this one Count Ethiac is dumped, mostly due to making everything more difficult. In her place we get Illumino, who is the granddaughter of the Gotiroir, who are the “Mongolian horde” equivalent in this series. She’s very strong and very good at being a bodyguard, but cares nothing about anyone around her, so is a terrible commander. She’s also interested in Carmine, and wants to marry him, mostly because he’s the only guy who’s NOT interested in her. Carmine has now found a third weirdo he doesn’t want, which is a shame, as I think Rosaria is dropping hints she would like a couple more wives, if only to build a power base. I apologize for only talking about the mostly non-existent harem in this series, but the alternative is discussing military maneuvers, and no.

Another cliffhanger, as someone is trying to assassinate Carmine! He’s framed as an old enemy we should remember, but this cast is so huge I don’t. I’m sure it’s dramatic. Will he live? Oh, probably. Decent read.

The Side Character Who Thought He Was the Protagonist Mistook the Real Hero for a Side Character and Accidentally Won Everything, Vol. 1

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By Yuyushita Sasuga and Tamago no Kimi. Released in Japan as “Jibun no Koto o Shujinkou da to Shinjite Yamanai Fumidai ga, Shujinkou o Fumidai da to Kanchigai Shite, Yuushou Shite Shimau Ohanashi desu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Hanashi Media. Translated by Harris Hayes.

Assuming that the average reader of this series gets past the title, which is a bit more ludicrous than usual, they’re going to run up against the lead. And assuming that they get past the lead’s tendency to talk about himself like he’s still a chuuni (which is half of the point of this series), we get to the other point of this series, which likely resonates with a lot of people. The idea that hard work will be rewarded is a good, idealistic one that unfortunately is not always true in the real world. As such, a lot of fiction, particularly shonen fiction, revolves around the fact that you can do absolutely anything provided that you do it often enough. Do you suck at something? Do it ten million times, and you will get better! (True.) And then all the good things in life will be yours (not necessarily true except in series like these).

Our nameless main character rescues a kid from the inevitable truck, dies, and ends up in front of a bored and amused Athena, the goddess currently in charge of reincarnating people. He grew up in Japan thinking he would be IMPORTANT, and idolizing shonen main characters. So she offers to put him in the world of Chronicle of the Round Table Heroes, a visual novel, as the Hero Fey. He immediately accepts! Unfortunately, she’s amusing herself. Not only is Fey the guy who bullies random people and gets the shit beaten out of him in the game itself (the real hero is named Tru), but the VN is also pretty damn dark, with most of the cast meeting Bad Ends. But that matters little to our guy. What is perhaps more concerning is that the game limits how much he’s able to change – the original Fey was an asshole, after all. So he has to train as hard as he can and join the Holy Knights… while still being kind of a jerk.

Clearly I finished this, so there were things I liked. It’s quite readable, as I’ve come to expect from TO Books, who usually do a good job selling their product. I really liked the main “heroine”, named Arthur (the names sometimes skew Arthurian due to the game’s title), who is incredibly beautiful and talented but has the social skills of a brick. Since Fey, as he is still very much “sullen asshole who simply trains constantly”, also has the social skills of a brick, they get on quite well. Other than that… while I did like the teacher’s backstory, and I appreciated that she was allowed to avoid her cruel and horrible fate (and I hope one days she avenges her family), describing her as the “busty loli” type and having her fall massively in love with Fey by the end made me sigh. Ah well, so goes life. the actual lead, Tru, also fades into the background as the series goes on. I’d have liked it more if he ended up an antagonist, but the author seems content to have him just be wary of Fey but still basically a hero. Which is nice, but duller.

So this wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible. I might read another. Recommended for fans of the genre.

The Petty Villain Plays by the Rules: Rewriting This Otome Game with Honest Work!, Vol. 3

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By MIZUNA and Ruki. Released in Japan as “Yarikonda Otome Game no Akuyaku desu ga, Danzai wa Iya nano de Mattou ni Ikimasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

Ah, we’ve hit that difficult third album, I see. It was inevitable, given that the first two volumes of this series basically ended up being “this is better than I thought”, that I’d run into one that was on a level of exactly what I thought. In practice, this means that while this volume is for the most part enjoyable, it has a subplot that actively grates on me and which I found interminable. What’s worse, I worry it will crop up again – this seems the sort of author who would try to think of other ways to use that subplot in the future for “comedy” reasons. Sigh. Other than that, this basically wraps up the two-volume arc from last time, shows Reid simultaneously behaving like a prodigy and also having the emotional capacity of the child he is, and also giving us a cute dwarf girl to go with its cute elf girl. Though the dwarf is an adult.

After last time, Reid has impressed the dark elf king and helped to take down an evil noble, but he also showed off a bit TOO much, so his dad forbids him from going into town. This is a problem, as he has to find the herb that’s used in the medicine needed to cure his mother, one that’s supposed to be in the neighboring evil forest (yes, it’s called the Evil Forest, really). That said, his fiancee is not prohibited from visiting the town. So clearly Reid has to dress up as a maid in order to get around this. Hijinks, as you might guess, ensue. They come across a skilled dwarf brother-and-sister blacksmith shop, though they’re currently being threatened by a different evil noble. They also come across a guy who does know of the herb in question under a different name. But he’s ALSO being threatened by that evil noble. man, how many evil nobles does this series have?

So yes, everything about Reid dressed as a maid, and (inevitably) Prince Rhesis falling for “her” made me wince like I was hearing nails on a blackboard. Every single “gag” paid off like a pie to the face, and that’s not a good thing. I have no doubt we’ll see Reid in disguise as a maid again, even if I don’t want it. Other than that, this was pretty good. Reid gains a new butler/intelligence officer, who has a better gag in that he’s one of those “I don’t know how to smile properly as I am stoic as hell” types. That’s fun. This also, oddly, causes the dwarf girl to fall for him – since I’m not getting the hot gay bodyguard romance I want (due to them tragically not being gay), I guess this one is OK. I was also amused to see that Reid’s father is essentially a pushover when it comes to his family, and I have no doubt that, if this series ever lets anyone age, Farah will be able to manipulate Reid the same way.

That said, future volumes imply that this is not going to be a “two years passed” kind of series, but more “Volume 12, 5 days after Vol. 4”. I’ll keep up, but less wacky crossdressing hilarity, please.

I’ll Become an Elegant Villainess! Time to Enjoy My Second Life to the Fullest, Vol. 1

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By Shisui Hazuki and kururi. Released in Japan as “Karei naru Akujo ni Naritai wa! ~Aisare Tensei Shoujo wa, Tanoshii Nidome no Jinsei o Okurimasu~” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Olivia Plowman.

We’ve started to see metatextual isekai with folks hit by Truck-kun who are delighted to be in another world, ready to eat up all those great tropes, get a harem of cute babes, and have a +1 sword new life. (Indeed, I have one in my queue for two days from now.) So it should not particularly be a surprise that we’re getting the shoujo equivalent, which is to say girls who are absolutely delighted to find that they’ve reincarnated and they’re now a villainess. For once it’s not due to love of the genre when they were Japanese – this particular girl is reincarnated from THIS world, she just remembers her past life. But it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that “villainess” has once again been twisted a bit to mean “incredibly cool and powerful girl who just ojou-sama laughs a lot”. There will be no evil here. Which is good, as this world is already filled with evil.

We open with Mitia Lumiol… no, she’s not having her engagement broken. Instead, it’s the usual “your magic isn’t what I wanted, so I hate you” from her father. We then get her telling us about her reincarnated memories, her love of romances with villainesses, and how getting exiled from home to a dying part of the country is perfect as this means she can put her master plan into effect. Her master plan… to be AWESOME! Coming with her are her maid, Ciel, who went from “wow, she’s suddenly become a different person” to “she is my literal daughter that I gave birth to only not literally” in a couple short years, and her butler, Vincent, who is actually a spy but who thinks that Mitia is secretly a genius, and decides to ally with her because of her goal. Which is to be AWESOME! … by healing the sick, repairing the land, lowering taxes, and essentially being a good person, unlike most other nobles in this book.

As you may have gathered, how much you enjoy this depends how much you are prepared to buy into the silliness of its lead. It’s basically a cross between Observation Records of My Fiancee (Mitia and Bertia are very, very similar) and The Eminence in Shadow (Mitia’s followers all adore her, and things she makes up later turn out to be 100% true). Her lowly Household Magic turns out to only be lowly if you don’t have all the mana she does, as she can essentially cast it on top of itself till it can do almost anything. She’s also very GOOD at being an evil villainess, which is to say that she’s not a ditz – she can use blackmail and cleverness with the best of them. It’s just that, despite her past memories, she acts like a six-year-old trying to be nineteen. Which is to say, she’s absolutely cute as hell. This is why she gets Ciel and Vincent, who by the end of the book basically admit they’re her new parents (there’s no romance between them yet, or indeed between anyone, but it is a Heart title). And her former village thugs turned crack secret agents. And the prince in disguise, who she… loathes, as she doesn’t see through the disguise at all.

So yeah, enjoyed that. Very silly. And there’s a second volume! Hooray! Surely that will be the start of a long run… what’s that ominous train in the distance?

Manga the Week of 9/23/26

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SEAN: Can’t talk, manga.

ASH: For real.

SEAN: Yen On moved about half its books to this week, including the debuts. Ayakashi à la Mode is a one-shot fantasy novel. A girl abandoned at a shrine is raised by the spirits that dwell around it, most of whom are quite nice. Sadly, this girl also needs to learn not all spirits are nice.

ASH: This absolutely sounds like something I would read.

SEAN: Scarlet is the latest book by Mamoru Hosoda, who wrote Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, etc. A princess trying to revenge her father fails, and ends up in the world of the dead. Can she get her revenge anyway?

ASH: I have enjoyed Hosoda’s previous works and I do appreciate a good revenge story.

SEAN: Why Run? My Summoned Beast Is Cute! (Naze Nigerundai? Boku no Shoukanjuu wa Kawaii yo) asks “what if the cute summoned familiar was actually a terrifying tentancled monstrosity? No one gets our hero’s aesthetic at all.

ASH: Awwwww.

SEAN: Also out in light novels: The Holy Grail of Eris 5 (the first volume since 2023, as the series switched publishers in Japan), I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 8, Secrets of the Silent Witch 8, Sentenced to Be a Hero 6, and Your Forma 7.

And now we get Yen Press and its 38 volumes of manga. Starting with How to Handle My Sassy Big Sis (Namaiki na Gyaru Ane wo Wakaraseru Hanashi), a seinen series from Tonari no Young Jump. A guy has an older stepsister who constantly disparages him. Then he’s told she may be the sort who’s secretly a tsundere, so he tries to actively cause that.

It’s Strictly Business (Eigyou desu kara) is a BL manga by the author of Cheeky Brat, Spring Storm & Monster, and Stray Cat & Wolf. No het romance this time, though! This runs in Hana to Yume’s BL spinoff Trifle. A guy tries to pick up the girls at his college, but fails miserably. Maybe if he contrasts himself with his cool clubmate? Or will that lead to something COMPLETELY different?

ASH: It just might!

SEAN: JUDGE Ultimate Verdict Edition is an omnibus of the previously released manga. Death game, creepy stuff, etc.

Let’s Go Nirvana! (Joubutsusasete yo!) stars a young yakuza trying to make a name for himself… till killers murder everyone in the family but him and the boss’ daughter! Now he has to hide by posing as a Buddhist monk! This runs in Kurage Bunch.

ANNA: OK, I find this premise amusing.

ASH: Right?! I am absolutely here for this.

SEAN: Mage of Leda (Leda no Majutsushi) is a fantasy manga from Aokishi. A pathetic orphan teen has had a terrible life. He knows the “I’ll teach you magic!” offer is shady. He takes it anyway.

ASH: Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.

SEAN: Pardon the Intrusion, I’m Home! (Tadaima, Ojamasaremasu!) is a shoujo manga from Koisuru Soiree. A young woman who tries to escape her OL life by otaku pursuits finds… her tiny apartment has been expanded, and now has two roommates! We have hot guy (kind ver.) and hot guy (annoying ver.) What’s a girl to do?

MICHELLE: Fall for the annoying one, I predict.

ANNA: I would like parts of my house to be magically expanded but do not need any more roommates.

ASH: Oooooooh.

SEAN: Servant Beasts is a Harta manga, meaning it’s sui generis. A beast man is bought by a witch who uses him like a servant, but his innate niceness gradually wears him down.

Spy Classroom 4th Period: Bonfire (Spy Kyoushitsu 4-bu: Kagaribi) starts adapting the next arc in the series. It runs in Comic Alive+.

Three Days of Happiness: The Complete Omnibus (Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de) collects all three volumes of the manga adapting the novel also released by Yen. It ran in Media Works Bunko. A young man sells thirty years of his life for a happy present day.

ASH: There is a sad logic to that.

SEAN: Thus Spoke the Rabbit (Usagi wa Kaku Katariki) is a fantasy manga from Comic Fuz. Man-eating rabbits have ravaged a city. Only a wolf girl and a bunny girl can save them now.

What Six Survivors Told… (Ikinokotta 6-nin ni Yoru to) is a horror manga from Harta. During a zombie crisis, six people hide in a mall.

MICHELLE: Intriguing.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: The Adventure of Black Cat Nyango 2 (the final volume), Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring 5, Assorted Entanglements 10 (the final volume), Blade & Bastard 5, Daughter of the Emperor 14 (the final volume), Dead Mount Death Play Side Story: Phantom Solitaire’s Art of Disguising Oneself as a Supernatural Being 3, The Eminence in Shadow 15, The Failure at God School 4, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 6, The Holy Grail of Eris 12, Land 3, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 8, Merit and the Egyptian God 2 (the final volume), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury—Vanadis Heart 2, Murciélago 27, My Lover Is Just Too Innocent to Handle 2, My Super-Cute Black Mage! 2, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 14, A Pen, Handcuffs, and a Common-Law Marriage 2, Scenes from Awajima 3, Sentenced to Be a Hero 2, Shino & Ren 2, The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School! 2, Unnamed Memory 8, Victoria of Many Faces 4, Void: No. Nine 2, and Yowamushi Pedal 29.

MICHELLE: I need to read Scenes from Awajima.

ASH: I’ve picked up my copies! (But haven’t actually read them yet…)

SEAN: Meanwhile, in non-Yen manga, There’s Viz, and the Black Torch Complete Box Set, collecting all five volumes.

And Pokémon: Sun & Moon Complete Manga Box Set, which has 12 volumes.

And in non-box sets, we get Dorohedoro Illustrations: Mud and Sludge, a 350-page hardcover guide to Dorohedoro.

ASH: I never expected this to be licensed here and so went out of my way to track down a copy of the Japanese edition when it was first released. Really good stuff.

And we also see JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run 9 and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 6 (the final volume).

Retailers say Udon Entertainment has Hidetaka Tenjin’s Artistry of Gundam, an artbook. They said this in April too.

ASH: Hmmm.

Tokyopop debuts Aoharu Once More, a BL title that’s from from Red (still the most annoyingly titled magazine ever). Two boys almost get together in high school, but don’t. Now they’re adults, can they finally fix things?

They also have Apprentice Nail Artist in a Foreign Land 2, Beneath the Falling Camellia Blooms 2, and My Contract With the Apothecary Monster 3.

Square Enix debuts Boyish Girlfriend (Boyish Kanojo ga Kawaisugiru). A guy is surprised to find his tomboyish, male clothes wearing girlfriend in cat ears and a maid outfit for the school festival. Now he’s hooked on her looking girly. This runs on the Manga Up! app.

ASH: I’m cautiously curious.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some danmei. Joyful Reunion 5 and Silent Reading: Mo Du 4.

They also have a non-Airship novel, Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea 2.

Give Me a Hug, Mr. Frog! (Hug Shite! Kaeru-san) is a one-shot BL manga from Kurofune Pixiv. A student council president falls for the mystery boy in the frog mascot costume at a local cafe.

ASH: No judgement here.

SEAN: The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat (Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou) runs in Kadocomi, and adapts the light novel also released by Seven Seas.

Uesugi-kun Wants to Quit Being a Girl (Uesugi-kun wa Onnanoko wo Yametai) is a shoujo manga from Ciao Plus. A short, cute boy finds girls don’t even see him as a male. He prays at a shrine… and wakes up transformed INTO a girl! This could go one of two ways, I’m hoping for the good way.

ANNA: I mean, it is good to be cautious.

ASH: Agreed on all points.

SEAN: Yuri Yuri Panic: A Case of Extreme Cuteness Has Occurred! (Yuri Yuri Panic: Toutosugiru Jian ga Hasseishiteimasu!) is a yuri manga from Monthly Web Action. An introverted, plain Jane girl suddenly finds the most popular girl in school… wants to marry her!

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: DEAR. DOOR 4, The Delinquent and the Transfer Student 2, Kageki Shojo!! 16, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! 7, Roses and Champagne 4, and What It Means to Be You 5.

One Peace Books has Teppeki Honeymoon 3, which they advertise, in the blurb, “Readers can enjoy a character-driven romance featuring exciting action, clean language, and content that remains free of sexual material, nudity, and fan service.” Which makes me wonder who is now paying for One Peace Books to stay alive, and if they’re Evangelicals or something. O_o

MICHELLE: Wow.

ANNA: Yikes. I dunno, anytime I see “clean” in the marketing I am dubious.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga’s print debut is another spinoff. Cells at Work! Cat (Hataraku Saibou Neko) seems to be half “blood cells inside a cat” and half the owners of the cat. It ran in Shonen Sirius.

ASH: I was not expecting Cells at Work to cross with a cat manga, but I am also not complaining.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 34, Cells at Work! Lady 5 (the final volume), Gachiakuta 12, Mushishi Collector’s Edition 3, and What If I Said, “I Love You”? 2.

ASH: I’m still ecstatic that Mushishi is back in print.

SEAN: And guess what got bumped? Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition 2 should be next week, maybe?

ANNA: I just got the first one a few days ago (not sure what the delay was) and it is gorgeous.

ASH: It really is!

SEAN: For digital we get A Couple of Cuckoos 30, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 23, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 13.

J-Novel Club has some print titles. We see The Misfit of Demon King Academy 8, Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 2 (manga version), and The Water Magician Arc 1 2.

The debut is a manga, seemingly a one-shot, but there’s definitely a sequel. Reset is a J-Novel Knight title, ergo BL, and ran in Chara. Two basketball players get into a relationship, but the codependency may be ruining everything.

ASH: Codependency does have that tendency.

Other manga out next week: Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow with My Cool Big Brother 2 (the final volume), Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 5, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13.

Digital light novels from JNC include By the Grace of the Gods 18, Cooking with Wild Game 35, EXP Is Golden 5, Finding My Way to (You) in This MMO World 2, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! 6, From Villainess to Healer 7, The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me 8, and The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods 5.

Hanashi Media also has a light novel: I’m Just a Villager, So What? 5.

Airship has one print light novel, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 3.

And for digital they have I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class 4 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 10.

Assuming you kept reading after the Yen Press stuff, what are you buying?

Father, Have You Sinned? An Assassin in Priest’s Robes, Vol. 1

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By Kennoji and Reita. Released in Japan as “Moto Saikyou Ansatsusha wa Inaka de Hissori Shinpu ni Naru ~Daishusse Shita Oshiego-tachi ni Shitawareru Ossan ga An’yaku Suru Hanashi~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jade Willis.

Boy, do I have mixed feelings about this one. I’ve read this author before – among their titles over here are The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend and Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin – and can’t help but notice that I eventually dropped both of those other series. The author enjoys dabbling in various genres, and it shows. I’d also argue the blurb is slightly false advertising – after spending the bulk of the first half focusing on Emilia, as promised, she promptly vanishes, as this book is not interested in her story. it’s all about the former assassin turned priest, his grim job now continuing in secret, and the crappy, crappy world he lives in. Things may be peaceful, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of terrible people around.

The world used to be at war, and needed people like Zach, a skilled assassin and master of disguise. Now that the world is, theoretically, at peace, Zach decides to retire and lead a humble life as a priest in an orphanage – helped out by his former contact Rebecca, who disguises herself as a nun to help him because she has a not-so-secret crush on him. For the next few years, things seem to go well, and one of his graduated orphans is even now a knight captain in the nearby city. Unfortunately, there’s still lazy, creepy nobles, there’s still arrogant bandits, and there’s still child slavers. Clearly it’s time for a former assassin to put on a fresh new disguise and go out to take care of business so his cute l’il orphans can grow up in peace. He may even have to stop a coup.

So, despite the cover that seems to suggest a slow-life, relaxed sort of book, content warning: this book has a child being raped until she is killed. We don’t see it, but we graphically hear it. It was a repugnant scene, and honestly it wasn’t needed to show off the bad guys were really bad. We also see more child slaves in other sections, mostly there to be rescued by Zach. And there’s also Emilia, a 19-year-old knight captain who doesn’t seem to understand why it’s a bad idea to have all the knights room in the same barracks together regardless of gender. Zach is, honestly, a bit overprotective about this. The book emphasizes the sexism in its universe while also being sexist itself, and that doesn’t sit very well. On the bright side, the prose is pretty zippy, and some of the interactions between clueless Zach and the various women who like him but he doesn’t see it are cute in a light novel way. But honestly, I wish this didn’t have the fluff. It’s meant to be grim, and reminds me a bit of titles like Secret Saint and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, which also had rape in their early volumes before gradually scrubbing it out.

So yeah, I continue to have issues with this author. But if you liked their other titles, and don’t mind the questionable content, it’s certainly readable.

A Young Maiden’s Growing Pains: I Reincarnated and All I Got Was This 100X Stat Buff!, Vol. 1

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By Yuno Yozakura and Nimoshi. Released in Japan as “Seichouritsu 100 Bai Cheat no Tensei Youjo ~Heion ni Kurashitai no ni, Mawari ga Sou Sasete Kuremasen~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kim Louise Davis.

I’ve mentioned before that a lot of light novels these days feel like eating stew. The author puts together various ingredients they have around the house, cooks it all up, and if you’re lucky it ends up being far tastier than you were expecting. Unfortunately, sometimes you aren’t so lucky. Sometimes you get what Japan calls “dark nabe”, where people throw deliberately bad ingredients in and the person eating it just ends up unhappy. This should have been a delicious stew. It’s a comedy – in fact, it verges on parody. It’s got a really strong girl who’s also kinda dumb. I normally eat these sort of titles up. Unfortunately, the book cannot quite get past… well, OK, there’s many things wrong with this book, but the biggest is that its heroine, Satie, is thoroughly unlikable. She’s not an airheaded ditz meathead who’s fun to read about, she’s just annoying.

Please count the cliched light novel tropes with me. Our heroine, Saki, is an overworked office lady (1) whose parents abandoned her (2) and who is far too small for her age (3). One day, she saves what she thinks is a cat from being run over by a car, only to die herself (4). She then meets a goddess (5), who explains that what she actually rescued was a plastic bag (6 – OK, so that’s only KonoSuba, but still). She’s offered reincarnation in Japan, or reincarnation in a world filled with fantasy tropes (7). Normally, for once, they don’t give out free stat buffs, but her death was so hilarious – erm, touching – that Hades offers her one cheat skill (8). She decides, having never had a boyfriend due to her small stature, to ask for a smoking hot body. But she words it ambiguously (9), and she ends up smaller than ever – in fact, she’s a perpetual seven-year-old (10) – but her strength is such that she can take down entire armies! (11).

Satie is a pain. Her buffed stats don’t kick in till she takes out a monster, so she doesn’t even realize what’s happened till she’s 13 years old and she kills a slime (12… OK, I’ll stop) that’s terrorizing a cute little puppy that turns out to be Cerberus, a hellhound. Instead, she’s spent most of her time sulking in her room. Her sister loves her, but also sort of regards her as useless, and her parents have given up on her. This is most as she’s given up on herself – she admits she’s not smart and hates to study, so this is not a “sure, my sibling got all the looks and talent but there’s still something I can do” sort of series. Once she gets her powers, she does do things like take on giant monsters, save her sister from a creep trying to use her as a hostage, and prevent a war between two kingdoms by taking one over in half a day. The whole thing is meant to be funny, but it barely raises a chuckle, mostly as Satie is just a whiny girl who doesn’t understand how life works. To be fair, she does manage to avoid breaking up the love between the prince and his childhood friend. Eventually.

This is a Drecom title, and so no doubt there will be one or two more, but they’re not out yet, and I feel comfortable abandoning Satie here. For folks who enjoyed I Shall Survive Using Potions! but figured a 12-year-old body was way too old.