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Manga the Week of 10/16/24

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SEAN: The leaves are all colors here, and everything is magical. (Note: some leaves may not be available outside New England.)

ASH: I am so happy for fall; it’s my favorite.

SEAN: We start off with Yen On, which had its debuts delayed to later in the month. But we do get Babel 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 14, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 22, Demon Lord 2099 3, The Kept Man of the Princess Knight 3, Orc Eroica 5, and Secrets of the Silent Witch 5.

ASH: Soon every week will be a Yen week.

SEAN: Yen Press does have debuts. Blade & Bastard is the manga adaptation of the light novels being released by J-Novel Club. It’s by the author of Goblin Slayer, and runs in Drecomics. Also, Garbage looks much cuter on that manga cover than she ever does in the LN.

Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?) is a title that would have sold like gangbusters if it were licensed in 2013, but it is late 2024, so hey. This runs in Manga Time Kirara Max, and spawned a popular anime. It’s a cute girls run a cafe story.

ASH: The timing does seem a bit off, doesn’t it.

SEAN: I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning Into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck (Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo – Akuyaku Reijou ni Naru Hodo Ouji no Dekiai wa Kasoku Suru you desu!) is based off a light novel that Yen will release next year, and has an anime airing as we speak. This is another “villainess as the good person, heroine is subsequently awful” story. It runs in B’s-Log Comic.

Lethal Dose of Love (Koi no Chishiryou) is a one-shot BL title from the magazine B’s-Lovey Recottia. A young man confessed to our protagonist, then ran off. Now, years later, he’s back… with another man at his side!

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince (Shoudoubutsu-kei Reijou wa Koori no Ouji ni Dekiai Sareru) is a manga adaptation of an as yet unlicensed light novel. Our heroine, a shy fluffy sort of girl, is engaged to the cold, forbidding prince. She’s got to break off the engagement, royalty isn’t for her. Wait, he’s starting to dote on her? This runs in Flos Comic.

Also out next week: 15 Minutes Before We Really Date 4 (the final volume), Assorted Entanglements 6, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 9, A Certain Magical Index 29, Chained Soldier 9, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 7, Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 4, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 10, holoX MEETing! 2 (the final volume), Honey Lemon Soda 7, Honey Trap Shared House 4, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 10, Interspecies Reviewers 9, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 24, Kakegurui Twin 14, Laid-Back Camp 15, Mint Chocolate 12, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 24, Overlord 19, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 8, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 24, Shy 8, Slasher Maidens 11, Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly 2, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: Second Stall (a box set of Vol. 11-20), Trinity Seven 30, Whoever Steals This Book 3 (the final volume, and The Witch and the Knight Will Survive 3 (the final volume).

ASH: So. Many. Words. But I did see Toilet-bound Hanako-kun! Those box sets look really nice.

SEAN: Viz has two debuts, though only one is new. We’re getting a 3-in-1 omnibus release of Red River (Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori), the classic shoujo manga that ran in Sho-Comi. If you missed the Viz release of this title (checks dates)… two decades ago, or the digital-only release in 2013, it’s a perfect time to get it again.

ANNA: RED RIVER! Red River has everything – modern girls from Japan sent back to the Hittite Empire. Evil Stepmothers! Evil Water! Warriors! Clashes of armies! Horseback riding! Archery! People thrown into prison! Evil Water! Eclipses! Assassins! Romance! Dark Magic!

SEAN: Is there Good Water to balance out the Evil Water?

ANNA: I mean, there’s some normal water, but a lot of wells or pools of water that end up being Evil!

MICHELLE: I never did finish Red River, but I own all of the original release!

ASH: I’ve been meaning to read this one for what seems like ages! And now I will have no excuse.

SEAN: The other debut is Uncanny: The Origins of Fear, Junji Ito’s memoir where he discusses his history with horror.

ASH: Definitely interested in this one.

SEAN: And we also get Dandadan 9, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 4, Mission: Yozakura Family 13, Record of Ragnarok 12, Snowball Earth 3, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 4, and Undead Unluck 17.

Square Enix Manga has A Man and His Cat 12.

The debut from Seven Seas is The Barbarian’s Bride (Hime Kishi wa Barbaroi no Yome) is from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and stars a knight who is told to capture the barbaric tribes of the East… and then, when she fails, is married off to their leader!

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Lonely Castle in the Mirror 4, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 12, My New Life as a Cat 7, and Mysterious Disappearances 3.

One Peace Books has the 9th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

ASH: I’m behind, but enjoying this series.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the 6th (really the 7th) volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

ANNA: I did not realize there was a multi-volume series about retirement planning, but maybe being in Another World and saving gold is the solution to the horrors of capitalism.

SEAN: I am sorry to say that this series is vigorously pro-capitalism (and pro-gun, for that matter). But it’s fun in a “please turn your brain off” sort of way.

Kodansha Manga debuts Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, a spinoff manga showing the Blue Lock series from Nagi’s POV.

Also debuting is Versus, from the creator of One-Punch Man. The demons are taking over the world. 47 heroes resolve to fight and defeat them. But in order to do so, they will have to go down a bad path. This runs in Shonen Sirius.

ASH: I’m curious, mainly due to One’s involvement.

SEAN: Also in print: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 3, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 3, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 6, Sketchy 4, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 17 (the final volume.

For digital we see Manchuria Opium Squad 2, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 14, and WIND BREAKER 17.

J-Novel Club has, for print, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 6.

And digitally, we see The Apothecary Diaries 12, the 7th Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers manga volume, The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon 3, The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me 2, and Seventh 9.

Ghost Ship debuts The Hungry Succubus Wants to Consume Him (Harapeko Succubus wa Ikasetai no ni!), which runs in Young Magazine Web. A succubus who’s had almost 1000 men finds she’s met her match when she can’t seduce a monk-in-training. But she’ll keep trying!

ANNA: I guess it is good to be persistent about things like this.

SEAN: Also in “mature” titles, we see Succubus and Hitman 7.

From Dark Horse, we get H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu (Cthulhu no Yobigoe – Lovecraft Kessakushuu), another in the series of Lovecraft adaptations by Gou Tanabe. This ran in Comic Beam.

ASH: Tanabe’s adaptations have been excellent, so far.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 10.

And for early digital we see The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Loner Life in Another World 10, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 2.

Do you ever color in the black and white pages in your manga? Also, what are you getting?

ANNA: RED RIVER! (I already have it in multiple formats!)

Ayakashi and the Fairy Tales We Tell Ourselves

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By Kosuzu Kobato and Meij. Released in Japan on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Dawson Chen.

This is one of those books that I probably would not have picked up if I didn’t already know the author. Kosuzu Kobato has basically never written anything I’d dislike, This is also complete in one volume, so it’s a good book to take a flyer on. And, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it. The plot, though, actually ended up being a lot quieter than I expected. There were dark hints in this book that the heroine has bad ayakashi causing her harm (which leads to a reputation of being clumsy). There’s the heroine’s tragic past, as well as the hero’s tragic past. And there’s these weird ayakashi showing up away from the main house and acting, seemingly, menacing. It felt like it was building up to a big confrontation, or perhaps a kidnapping and rescue, or that sort of thing. But that’s not what happens here, and it’s not the point of the book. This book is about accepting your past, and it’s also about accepting that you don’t need to have your entire future mapped out by the time you’re fourteen years old.

Haruka has recently moved to the town, and is still settling in at school, though she has made two best friends. She’s a relatively shy, reserved person, and despite being exceptional at ballet and cooking she seems to regard herself as lacking in something. Then one day she runs into (literally) Ayako, a woman who was biking and not watching where she was going. Going back to her home to bandage Haruka’s scraped leg, she then runs into Takumi, who she doesn’t know but who clearly goes to her school. As the book goes on, and she stops by Ayako’s house more and more, it becomes apparent that she can see ayakashi, the mysterious spirits that litter the house. Takumi can see them too, and that fact has caused him grief throughout his life. Can these two damaged middle-schoolers be the best things that happened to each other?

This book sneaks up on you – it doesn’t really get into anything supernatural until about a quarter of the way in, and even then, the ayakashi end up being more of a spice than anything else – the book is solely about its two leads. Honestly, there were times when it felt like we were going to get more – Haruka’s childhood featured her being hospitalized, and the description of how it happened made me wonder if it was going to tie in with malevolent ayakashi impulsively seeking to harm her or something. But no, it was just a garden-variety horrible human thing. But that’s fine, as the book really excels in the two kids slowly recovering and looking forward to the future again. Haruka recalls her past, accepts it, and is able to move forward in being a blushing girl in love. Takumi realizes that despite everything that happened with his family, his father is trying to support him the best he can – he’s just horrible at emoting. The end of the book has them essentially becoming a couple without naming it as that, which fits the reserved tone.

It’s just a sweet little book. I wish there were more of it, but there isn’t. It’s a good read about some serious kids.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor, Vol. 6

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

As I write this, we are less than a day away from the premiere of the anime version of this series. As such, I wish to make it clear that I am well aware of the problematic nature of this series. We’ve discussed it before. The series opens with incest, and then it ends up hitting “I’m going to marry a ten-year-old”. It is the definition of “oh dear”. And I am here to tell you that the author is absolutely reveling in it. Given a chance to, say, have a timeskip, or perhaps move away from the incestuous kingdom, she instead insists on doubling down on everything. This volume in particular talks about how awkward it is for Jill to be eleven years old multiple times, and it also manages somehow to double the incest! Unfortunately… or, well, fortunately, to be honest… that does not double the fun. I can tell you that both plotlines are for plot-related reasons, and the plot is insidious, and REALLY wants war.

After the relative light-heartedness of the last volume, we’re bundled back into political intrigue at Jill and Hadis’ home base in this volume. There’s been a poor harvest, and the three dukes whose support Hadis need are 100% ready to throw Jill under the bus at a moment’s notice. They propose an impossible task – revive the Dragon Flower Crown Festival, something which will require the help of all the other consorts who stay at the Empress’ palace. Unfortunately, they’re all (well, almost all) trying to sabotage Jill – clearly at the behest of some mysterious party. Oh yes, and Jill has been getting mysterious love letters confessing to her and urging that she meet in the Garden of Resting Dragons… a place well known for adulterous affairs. There’s a mad old man setting traps in the Dragon Consort’s Palace (a place Jill didn’t even realize was there). Oh yes, and Minerd’s back, and totally not planning something evil.

It’s refreshing to see this series come back to “at any moment, history will revert and Jill will die” territory again. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re one step closer to war, thanks to the events near the end of this book, which lean heavily on the squickiest of the series’ plotlines and rub it in our faces. it’s chilling. As for the actual bad guy, well, they’re rather pathetic and sad, but that’s the point, and fits pretty well with everything that we’ve heard bfeore. Much better are the other consorts, who theoretically present an enemy that Jill simply can’t beat to submission with her fists. She is being forced to actually think politically and scheme… and then, when that doesn’t work, she beats them to submission with her fists. Jill does not quite shout “IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME!” once a volume, but it’s not for lack of trying.

After that nasty cliffhanger, it’s a good thing we’ve got the next volume coming s–what’s that? Short story volume? Sigh. Of course. In any case, please enjoy this series, which rampages through its problematic aspects with TINY FISTS.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 45

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

After the events of Vol. 43 (44 being a SS volume), you will not be surprised to hear that this is a very serious affair. There’s almost no humor to be found, and even the romance, with the exception of Elfaria (who joins everyone else in the cast in trying to make it clear, but not TOO clear, that he’s the only one for her) is absent. The reason for this is that after the events of the last book, Koutarou is depressed and uncertain how to go forward. It’s a good reminder how little time this series has taken place in – we’re only about two years later here, and much as the girls are all cognizant of their own feelings and able to support each other, when it comes to the man they love they don’t have the fortitude to kick him in the ass, and have to leave it to Kenji, who of course can baseball it out of him. No one is quite mature enough to confidently be in a polycule revolving around one man just yet. Least of all the man.

We pick up just before the cliffhanger of the last book, as we see Ralgwin’s final moments before his soul is overwritten by Maxfern’s. He seems rather calm and accepting of this, and is apparently assuming that Koutarou will somehow save the day. Unfortunately, that point is not this volume. Koutarou, as I said before, starts off in a big funk, especially once Maxfern goes on live TV to declare war on the royal family and ask allies to join him. Now they need to avoid another war, and in order to do this have to infiltrate the enemy… which is a lot easier given that they’re bringing in a lot of new troops and staff. Unfortunately, they all fail to realize that Maxfern is, unlike every other villain we’ve seen in this book, someone who does not care about ANYONE. And that troops don’t necessarily have to be alive.

So yeah, I hate to break it to you, but once you take zombies out of the box, you really can’t put them back. That said, this is part of a new theme with this book. All our previous villains, be they Ralgwin, or Elexis, or even Darkness Rainbow, have all had someone that they care about and want to protect, in some way, shape or form. Their goals are not 100% genocidal. Maxfern is different. He died swearing vengeance, and he will get vengeance, no matter who dies or is left unhappy. The second half of the book sees our heroes infiltrate the e3nemy for clues, and they barely escape with their lives, because the villain doesn’t care about just throwing death at a problem until it goes away. It’s genuinely scary.

We get a cliffhanger suggesting Maxfern is going to attack the “smart girls” in the group – Clan, Kiriha, and Ruth – next time. Till then, this is still good, but it’s a bit less “fun”, per se.

The Villainess and the Demon Knight, Vol. 1

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By Nekota and Asahiko. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō to Kichiku Kishi” by Ichijinsha Melissa. Released in North America by Steamship. Translated by Christina Chesterfield. Adapted by Arisia Santiago.

A word of warning before we begin: this is a sexually explicit book – in fact, that’s pretty much the book’s main purpose. That said, I’m not going to be reviewing the sex writing. It’s fine, particularly if you are a fan of what I believe the kids today call “dubcon”. I will say that there is, in my opinion, a bit too much of it, though honestly there’s also a bit too much of the book in general. This book is 413 pages. It’s Loner Life sized. it’s Tanya the Evil sized. That’s possibly too much, especially since I’d estimate the writing of sex scenes by themselves take up one-third of that. That said, I enjoyed almost everything about the book when it wasn’t talking sex. The exception I’ll get to, but for the most part this is a fun and amusing cast, and has a “villainess” who is having trouble just keeping up with everything.

(Don’t like the cover, which is true to the way Cecelia is described, but also makes her look like she’s been broken.) You’ve seen this plot before. Cecelia Cline has been reincarnated in an otome game as the villainess. Unlike Catarina Claes (surely a coincidence those names are so similar), she barely has time to realize who she is before her fiance the second prince is publicly shaming her and announcing he now loves Mia, a girl of much lower station. And then suddenly Cecelia is sold off to a brothel! That was fast. What’s worse, her first customer is Lucas Herbst, a duke’s son and bodyguard for the Imperial Family. Lucas has purchased her for the entire night, and proceeds to spend it… well, you can guess how he spends it. Once we get through the sex, which starts on page 20 and goes to page 58, we start to get the actual plot, and learn – surprise – that not all is as it seems, and that Lucas and Cecelia may be a couple who have more between them than just really good sex.

The weakest part of this book is Lucas – even if I did like yandere guys, which I don’t really, he’s just less interesting in general, and doesn’t have enough soft, sweet moments to balance it out. Cecelia is pretty good – most of the book is her POV, and while a lot of it is “I am freaking out in my inner monologue” style narration, we do see that she’s working hard to become a good partner for Lucas – b oth in bed and outside it. The main thing I liked, though, was the rest of the Herbst household. Lucas’ siblings are all basic variations on “smug sarcastic asshole”, only they’re both good guys, so it’s fun. Best of all are the maids, who were also my favorite part of the manga when I read it. I love assassin-style maids, and these three are also firmly in Cecelia’s corner, and not afraid to remonstrate with Lucas when he goes too far. I hope for more of them if we see a second volume.

Yes, there are at least three more volumes to this, and it was decent enough for me to pick it up. I won’t be reading it for the sex, but the sex isn’t a reason not to get it, either. Just be aware that you’d better like that “Non-Consensual/Reluctance” tag.

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 11

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By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by A.M. Cola.

I’ve mostly given up on trying to make sure these reviews don’t repeat themselves. I can manage it with books where the plot is “awkward teens in love” or “Guy with a +2 Sword of Awesome and His Catgirl Maid Harem”, but this is one of those slow life books that genuinely IS a slow life book, and it doesn’t even have the decency of being a reincarnation or an isekai. This is a game, and the only reason we know that the series will eventually end is that Yuno took two weeks off his job just to play it all the time, and eventually those two weeks are gonna end and he will presumably go back to being a salaryman. The goal here is to find new awesome things to use in the game and cute things to gawk at in the game. Well, that and to rubberneck as Yuno ends up doing ridiculous bullshit without realizing it. Let’s face it, most light novels have the reader imagine they’re the hero. We can’t even. We’re one of the schlubs gushing about the hero.

Yes, that’s a new tamed monster on the cover. After leveling up the bit of the sacred tree that he planted at his farm, he finds it summons a demon… a demon who is immediately, and really easily, tamed. She’s called (of course) Lilith, and she’s just as goofy as she looks, but she also helps Yuno with some fairly useful skills. He also manages to figure out a really obscure way of evolving his olive treant, who now becomes another wood nymph, which is to say a cute… well, a cute non-binary child. (There is a literal debate about Olea’s gender on the series’ equivalent of Reddit.) He manages to traumatize Alyssa even more just by telling her about the completely ordinary things that he’s done, which of course are anything but. And he has five of his tamed monsters create things to put up for an auction… not realizing that they will sell for ludicrous amounts to fans of Yuno and his crew.

There is a cliche in light novels that all a romantic lead has to do is be nice to a girl once and she will immediately fall madly in love with him. Here, in a series with no romance at all, we see how it actually works when you have a genuinely nice, selfless hero. At one point Yuno triggers an event where he’s thanked by the Gnome Chief for being so good to Olto, and that they should help each other grow. No one else got this event ending, and we find that’s because no one has raised the affection level of their tamed anything more than Yuno has. And he does this by involving everyone in his daily life, helping them when they need it, helping them fight, and caring about their opinions more than his own (except when they try to dress him in tacky yukatas). He cares about his tamed monsters and sees them as a family, not as cute NPCs, not as pets, and not as glorified fetishes. It makes a difference.

So yeah, still enjoying this series that is nothing but watching a guy game real good the only way he knows how.

Brunhild the Dragon Princess

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By Yuiko Agarizaki and Aoaso. Released in Japan as “Ryu no Hime Brunhild” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

No, this isn’t a direct sequel to Brunhild the Dragonslayer, and thank the Lord that the author decided against the weird “Brunhild wanders through Hell” plot they mentioned in the afterword. In fact, this takes place long before the first book. That said, you will find the cast of characters familiar. As if this was a Tezuka series, we see the main characters of the first book recast in the second book, as if they’re a company of actors. That said, there’s a totally different plot for the characters, and a lot of the thing that we thought we understood from the first book are upended here. The first book was about Brunhild’s revenge against humans. This definitely isn’t. Also, while the first book was more a Wagnerian tragedy, I think this one swings more Greek. It’s still a tragedy, though, believe me. Brunhild was voted the series least likely to get a 4-koma spinoff manga. That said, it is, like the first in the series, a VERY well written tragedy.

Brunhild is a priestess whose family works closely with the royal family. She lives in a kingdom that is protected by the Divine Dragon, who will keep everything peaceful and happy provided that a) no one leaves the kingdom, and b) he gets sacrifices every month. This is a problem, as the current priestess, Brunhild, is an all-loving sort who will even pick up dying children on the street and nurse them back to health, so the fact that she has to give seven people a month, mostly orphans that no one will cry over, to the dragon is a bit upsetting. She tries to talk the dragon out of the sacrifice, but he absolutely does not agree. Then she makes the mistake of staying behind to see what happens. Something if going to have to be done. And all Brunhild has is her manservant (who she picked up when he was dying on the street), her bestie Sigurd (the royal prince), and Sigurd’s good but kinda stolid guard Sven.

It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling some very good things, but I will do my best. It’s divided into four chapters, and each of them essentially ends up upending everything we thought we knew about where this story was headed. There’s also a lot of great themes here, such as the desire to be able to trust allies and friends versus the feat that they will betray you in the end (which, trust me, gets zigzagged throughout this book), what love is and how someone can be deeply in love and never realize it just because they don’t understand what trauma is, and how sometimes you need to try to achieve an impossible dream, even if you fail badly and end up regretting everything. This book is just as dark as he last book, but it reads very easily. You’re really rooting for them to defeat evil and save everyone and… well, there is more to this series, I guess.

Yes, next time we get another book in the timeline of this country with more Brunhild. Just not this Brunhild, or the one from the first book. I’ll still be looking forward to reading it, though.

Duchess in the Attic, Vol. 1

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By Mori and Huyuko Aoi. Released in Japan as “Yane Urabeya no Kōshaku Fujin” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by piyo.

This is the sort of book that I call an “eat your veggies first” book. You know there’s good stuff coming. You want to get to the cool, good stuff. But you have to get the setup for all the cool, good stuff. And sometimes, even though it’s good for the book, it just tastes horrible. The first quarter of this book made me grind my teeth – which is entirely intentional on the part of the author, I assure you. This book has a message, and that message is “the sexist patriarchy is awful”. This is a message, by the way, that resonates through the entire book. Yes, our heroine manages to turn the tables and be incredible and badass and make us proud, but every step reminds us that she is limited in what she can do because she is a woman. So even the dessert is, like, carrot cake or something. But it still tastes good.

When the book opens, Opal, an earl’s daughter, is sexually assaulted at a party when some random dude kisses her, pushes her to the ground, and runs away. This destroys her reputation, infuriates her father, who thinks she should never have let it happen to her, and results, a couple of years later after the fuss has died down a bit, in her being married off to a duke who is trying to clear his sizeable debts with her family’s money. This despite the fact that she clearly has a thing for her childhood friend. But he’s a baron, so oh well. What’s worse, Hubert, her new husband, clearly despises her, seeming to only have eyes for the wheelchair bound and frail Stella, a women who lives in his mansion with everyone doting on her. As for Opal? She lives in the attic. In fact, she chooses to live in the attic.

Folks who read my reviews know that I take a dim view of the “evil beyond all reason” noble, the sort who rapes servants and kicks puppies, and the best thing about this volume is that there’s no one like that here. This may puzzle readers who are just starting the book, as it looks as if everyone in this book except Opal and her childhood friend Claude is vile. And they’re not nice people. But then you get a few POV from Hubert showing off his naivete, bluster, and trauma from a past tragedy, and you also see him trying to become a better person for Opal. You also realize, as the book goes on, that Opal is a lot more like her father than she’s comfortable with, and that a lot of all the terrible things he did was because he expected her to clean house and stand tall, and he’s mostly flummoxed that she’s done it in a totally different way than he thought. I also loved the fakeout that we get over the second half of the narrative, where it appears that then book is going for a cliched, annoying ending, and then kicks it in the face. Sorry, please be content with being a better person.

This book takes place over the course of an entire decade, and ends with all its plotlines wrapped up. I am thus very surprised to see there’s a second book. But I’ll happily read it. It may go down with difficulty at first, though.

Manga the Week of 10/9/24

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SEAN: As we creep closer to Halloween, what manner of manga awaits us? (Await us?)

Airship has a print debut for Witch and Mercenary (Majo to Yōhei). Everyone knows witches are evil. Witches should be dead. Everyone but the witch, who’s wondering why everyone seems to hate her. So she hires a mercenary to go with her on adventures.

ASH: I mean, that’s fair.

SEAN: And they also have the 2nd volume of The Mimosa Confessions.

While early digital has the 15th volume of Reincarnated as a Sword.

Dark Horse has the first of the deluxe hardcover editions for Trigun Maximum. This has the first 3 volumes.

Debuting from Ghost Ship is Monster Marriage Shop (Monster no Konkatsuya-san), a Monthly Action title. A matchmaking advisor not only handles humans, but also vampires, succubi, and all kinds of monsters!

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Ghost Ship also debuts Yandere Dark Elf: She Chased Me All the Way From Another World! (Chotto Dake Ai ga Omoi Dark Elf ga Isekai Kara Oikakete Kita), which runs in Web Comic Gamma Plus. A high school boy is isekai’d to another world, becomes a hero, defeats the demon lord, then returns to Japan. Unfortunately, there’s a woman who just can’t give him up.

Ghost Ship has the 3rd and final volume of Cat in a Hot Girls’ Dorm, How to Build a Dungeon: Book of the Demon King 9, and Parallel Paradise 19.

And in non-Ghost Ship but mature-rated titles, we see How My Daddies Became Mates (Shima-chan Chi no Tsugai Jijou), an omegaverse BL title from Be x Boy Omegaverse where two married guys explain to their cute daughter how they started off hating each other.

ASH: Well, then.

SEAN: And there’s a one-shot BL title as well, How to Repair a Broken Cup (Wareta Cup wo Modosu ni wa), which ran in Byō de Wakaru BL. A couple are still having trouble communicating, even after being together for a decade. Then one day they wake up to find their partner replaced with his ten-year-younger self…

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: I’m not sure what to think about this.

ASH: Ummm…

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club has the 5th omnibus of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom’s manga, as well as Infinite Dendrogram 20 and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 12.

J-Novel Club has one light novel debut, The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess (Shiitagerareta Tsuhō Ōjo wa, Tensei Shita Densetsu no Majo deshita). When a young girl is pushed out a window by her uncle one day (you know, like normal families), she recalls her past life as a powerful witch! And she can use that power… except it makes her sleepy. Better get a reliable minion.

Also from JNC: the 5th I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! manga, Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness 2, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 4, the 3rd A Wild Last Boss Appeared! manga, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 8 (the final volume).

Kodansha has some print out next week. We see A Brief Moment of Ichika 3 (the final volume), The Fable Omnibus 4, Pupposites Attract 2, Quality Assurance in Another World 10, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 18, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 7, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 10.

The digital debut is Parasyte Reversi, a “parallel story” to the main Parasyte manga from the creator of Teppu. This ran in Comic Days.

ASH: Interesting. The original Parasyte is still one of my favorites.

SEAN: Also digital: Bootsleg 4, Gang King 22, Giant Killing 45, He’s Expecting 4 (the final volume), I Have a Crush at Work 6, and Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 14.

One Peace Books has a debut, as they give us I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts (Class Saiyasune de Urareta Ore wa, Jitsu wa Saikyou Parameter), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. It runs in Young ace Up. The plot… sigh… our hero and his class are isekai’d, they all have cool powers, he seemingly has none, so he’s sold as a slave. BUT WAIT.

ANNA: Is there an amazing twist where his power levels are off the charts????????

ASH: Anna! Spoilers!

SEAN: The debut from Seven Seas is My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files (Kimi wa Nazotoki no Ma Cherie), a Manga Action title about Japan’s first female detective, who fights against sexism and tries to solve crimes, in that order.

ANNA: I enjoy detectives and fights against sexism.

ASH: I’m here for it.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 7, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 9, How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend? 2, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 5 (the final volume), Kemono Jihen 13, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 7.

Square Enix Books has The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 7 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 15.

ANNA: Need to check in on Ice Guy, it is cute.

ASH: It really is.

SEAN: SuBLime has a BL title called Stigmata: Love Bites (Stigmata – Aikon), which runs in Bloom. It honestly sounds more like a dark police procedural, as our protagonists can sense the lingering thoughts of the dead.

MICHELLE: I am kind of into BL that sounds like a dark police procedural!

ASH: I could be convinced to read it pretty easily.

SEAN: And they also have My Dearest Patrolman 2.

Two debuts from Tokyopop. Bite Marks and Fluorite (Kamiato to Fluorite) is a BL oneshot from Chara Selection. A young man is bitten by a vampire, but his own transformation will take time, so he’s determined to live as a human till that happens.

Wails of the Bound (Kurui Naku no wa Boku no Ban) is an omegaverse series that runs in Ameiro. An alpha who can’t stand omegas moves to a new office… you’ll never guess what his new boss is like.

ANNA: Could he be…..an OMEGA??????

SEAN: Viz also has debuts! We get Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga (Subete no Jinrui o Hakai suru. Sorera wa Saisei dekinai), which, well, is a manga based on a MTG card. It runs in Shonen Ace, and is 15 volumes and counting, which seems a bit ridiculous given its source is a CARD, but whatever.

ANNA: That’s amazing.

ASH: I’m duly impressed.

SEAN: Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a short-story collection from the creator of the famous (infamous?) manga. They’re mostly unrelated, but one is basically a pilot for the Demon Slayer series.

Spider-Man: Octo-Girl is a Shonen Jump Plus title from the creators of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Anyone who read Vigilantes knows the creators *really* wanted to write Spider-Man instead, and now they can.

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 8, Case Closed 92, I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 31, Naruto: Konoha’s Story—The Steam Ninja Scrolls: The Manga 2 (the final volume), Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 26, and Spy x Family: The Official Coloring Book.

ASH: I really need to read more of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. And actually start reading Akane-banashi.

SEAN: Debuting from Yen Press is When the Villainess Seduces the Main Heroine (Akuyaku Reijou ga Sei Heroine o Kudoki Otosu Hanashi), a manga based on a popular Pixiv title about a villainess who, when dumped by her fiance for the heroine, points out how awful he is in bed, and that the heroine would be much better off with a woman who knows how to have sex. This is a deeply silly title.

ANNA: I mean, it sounds like a reasonable argument.

ASH: It really does.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II 5.

There are no small weeks anymore. What are you buying?

86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 1: The Reaper’s Occasional Adolescence

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

On the bright side, this is one of the short story volumes coming out in the same order it came out in Japan – this book was released after the 12th volume. So I don’t have to worry about events in this book spoiling future volumes of the main series that came out here first (Re: Zero, Index,. etc.). On the down side, I doubt I’ll have to worry about that anyway, as I think this is definitely one of the short story books you do NOT have to read in order to appreciate the main series. It’s made up of various stories that were released as bonuses when you purchased books at a specific bookstore, or a DVD/Blu-Ray release, etc. There are one or two stories new to this book, of course, but for the most part the ‘Alter.’ of the title is meant to show that this is a volume where we don’t have to worry about characters dying. That said, we do get a lot of dead characters in it. It’s just they’ve already died.

The book is largely divided into five chunks. The first bit deals with the cast back in the Republic, around the time of the first light novel. The second has events after getting to the Federation, both before and after Lena joins them. The third has a few stories set in the United Kingdom during those volumes, and the fourth has short stories that take place after that arc, basically filling in bits of Books 8-10 or so. The final story is a bonkers fourth-wall breaking paintball battle royale featuring every single character in all the novels, alive or dead, and can best be described as “what if Among Us relied on being able to pick out the right perfume?”

So this is fine, it’s just very hard to review. Leaving aside the final story, which is not meant to be taken remotely seriously and thank God for that, the stories can be divided into 1) Funny slice-of-life; 2) Sweet, heartwarming slice-of-life; 3) The 86 are just like this; and 4) Melancholic dream sequences involving the dead. The last of those probably hit the best for me. I really liked a story showing Shin celebrating a sakura festival by drinking sake, joined by Kaie and all the other comrades who were killed off over the course of the first book. It’s pointed out that if this had really happened while the team were alive, it could have been water, but in Shin’s imagination he can have a full-scale viewing party. And this is followed with a very funny scene where Lena, after drinking some of the sake, shows she’s a very bad and clingy drunk. The weakest part of the book was probably the birthday stories, which felt the most like they were being written to order.

Still, I would not mind a second one of these. Perhaps after the main series itself is over, though. Luckily, we’re back with 13 in a month or two, ominously titled The Deer Hunter. Please, let’s NOT have Lena and Shin playing Russian roulette.

Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1

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By Syuu and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Tefuda ga Ōme no Victoria” by MF Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight.

There is a commonly used expression that goes “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail”. That can apply to jobs as well. If you’ve been doing a job for almost twenty years, particularly if you’ve been doing it since you were eight years old, you get into certain habits. You look at people differently, you always check for easy exits and verify that no one has searched your room. And when problems crop up, even if they’re not necessarily problems you have to worry about, you try to solve those problems in the way you’re accustomed to. That’s the issue that Victoria, formerly Chloe, has in this book. She’s trying her hardest to turn over a new leaf, adapt to a peaceful life, and find happiness. But that pesky job of hers won’t let her alone… even when it’s in her own head.

Chloe has been a spy since the age of eight, sold by her parents, who needed money. She doesn’t hold that against them, though, and sends money and gifts back home to them and her sister for the next decade or two. But recently she discovered her family died in a fire, and that fact was kept from her so that it wouldn’t affect her spy work. Resolving to quit her job (impossible, as any spy will tell you), she fakes her death, moves two countries away, and takes on the identity of Victoria, a woman who’s been missing for ten years but whose appearance and age generally match our heroine. There she quickly gains a girl who was abandoned on the street by her mother and several jobs she takes on to make ends meet. Boy, she’s really good at those jobs. How did she learn all those talents while still being a commoner. Gosh, I hope she and the captain of the capital’s police force don’t fall for each other. Oh dear.

I always love it when I pick up a book I know little about and it blows me away, and this book did just that. I’m familiar with the author, who had two titles published earlier this year by Cross Infinite World. But this is another level better than both of those, in a genre that could almost be called “slice-of-life thriller”. Much of the book is watching Victoria gradually lower her guard and make friends with the denizens of this town, while still having to worry about getting caught by her old country, or anyone finding out what she used to do. The fact that she’s absolutely terrible at keeping a low profile is a selling point (the artwork finds all the best scenes to draw, usually involving her kicking a man in the head). And she and Jeffrey make an excellent couple. It’s just a book that’s fun to read, and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s also a book that really feels like it could end with this volume… were it not for one scene taking place back in Chloe’s homeland, which promises an ominous future threat from a spy who… well, honestly, is nowhere near Victoria’s level. She can handle it. But it’s definitely a sequel hook. In any case, very highly recommended to anyone who loves spy thrillers, cute romances, found family, and girls who beat the shit out of men.

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 4

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By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Once I’ve reviewed about two or three volumes in a series, I really should not have to worry about new readers when I write these things. New readers are not going to start a title like this with Vol. 4, it’s only going to be read by those who read the first three volumes. That said, I also know there are some folks who read my reviews just as a matter of habit, and may not know about this series. So, as such, fans of the series can skip to below the cut. Everyone else: Christ alive. This volume is absolutely drenched in “ha ha, pedophilia is funny!” humor, and you cannot escape it. There’s no actual pedophilia in the volume, the humor is all “a 12-year-old has a crush on the 19-year-old guy who saved her life, and the entire cast proceed to drag him for being a pedophile (and yes, the translation uses that rather than lolicon) over and over and over again, to the point of arresting him. But, again. This series is like that in general, about everything.

The humans and the demons, after the events of the last book, are holding a peace conference. This means the arrival of Princess Sylphonia’s siblings: older brother Anzel and younger sister Remiphinia. What’s more, Remiphinia is specifically there to meet Wolfe, who saved her life three years earlier when she was kidnapped by the demon forces. She’s fallen for him hard, and tries to get advice on how to make herself attractive to him (don’t be twelve, kid). Meanwhile, the main cast do a maid cafe… including Miter, who it turns out looks really good dressed in women’s clothing. Unfortunately, not everyone wants the humans and demons to make peace, and those who desire the extermination of all demonkind may be closer than the royal family thinks…

Liz is still, of course, the star of the show. For once she doesn’t get a late in the book power-up where she gains her memories briefly. Instead, throughout the book, her true self is just seeping through more and more, to the point where she’s unable to stop it most of the time. Taking photos of everyone as maids, giving salacious suggestions on how the young princess can get her man, or just using her forgotten hero training to perform superhuman acts and save the day, the line between the Liz who’s a student at the academy and the Liz who’s a horny succubus with insane power is growing thinner and thinner. That said, I’m not expecting her to be back for good until the end of the series, so it’s mostly just tease. As for the rest of the book, if you ignore everything about Remiphinia and Wolfe, it’s fun and funny, exactly what readers want. And, if I’m being honest, most readers of this series probably laugh at the pedophilia “wacky” humor as well.

The book has a cliffhanger that will presumably tie into the next in the series, which promises to have 100% more catgirls than this book. I the meantime, if you love maids or precocious twelve-year-olds, this is fine.

From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers, Vol. 1

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By Nekomata Nuko and Cut. Released in Japan as “Saikyō Death Beam o Uteru Salaryman, Isekai o Yuku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nolan Good.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I interest you in reviewing a fantastic debut light novel?”

“Aren’t you Aqua from KonoSuba?”

“Don’t be silly, sir, I’m nowhere close to being as well-written as Aqua!”

“…uh-huh. What do you have?”

“This is a new series about a young man who’s accidentally killed by a beautiful young goddess–”

“You?”

“(clearing throat)–and is transported to a new world with fantastic powers!”

“…what makes this different from 80 other books?”

“It has laser beams and beast people!”

“There are many other books with beast people, but I’ll grant you the laser beams. So he basically has a cool gun?”

“Oh no, his lasers can also be a shield, a broomstick so he can fly, they can heal, they can clean…”

“So it’s an “I can do anything I want” power.”

“But with laser beams!”

“And he struggles to get by and goes through character growth?”

“Oh hell no, he’s far too powerful for that! Everything is solved by the laser beams!”

“…and the beast girls?”

“Are totally in love with him, of course! One is plucky and one is tsundere!”

“Two girls.”

“Two girls SO FAR.”

“And he wins them over by…?”

“By being the only person who’s nice to them! And by stroking their ears and tails!”

“Which are erogenous zones, I’m gonna guess.”

“…only the tails?”

“How about slavery?”

“No slavery!… sort of.”

“?”

“OK, the beast people are treated like crap, and it’s legal to kill them, and they’re barely paid anything, and they are worked to death.”

“…so slavery without the actual slavery.”

“Oh, and there’s a bad guy! He’s horrible, a real loathsome person with no redeeming features!”

“Well, we know how much I love those guys.”

“Right?!”

“(stare)”

“(clearing throat) Anyway, you always talk about things you liked, what about it?”

“So we’re assuming that I read this while you were prattling on?”

“Yup!”

“The idea of a man that is so depressed about his current life that, when offered a new life, decides “no thanks”, is interesting…”

“Isn’t it?”

“…that is, until you brainwash him into only thinking of it occasionally because he’s too busy being obsessed with lasers and beast girls.”

“And collecting!”

“And collecting, yes, because apparently the whole book was based on the “pick three random words and write a story about it” meme.”

“Anything else?”

“The identity of the main villain – his actual identity, that is – made me smile for reasons that would spoil it, and his grand plan was grotesquely overblown to such an extent that I was briefly impressed, at least until our hero proved that there’s nothing he can’t defeat with the power of lasers.”

“And?”

“That’s it, really. I ended up being reminded of Rearguard, but Rearguard reveled in its ridiculousness, whereas this is content to merely be a run of the mill OP fantasy.”

“…really, that’s all you got?”

“I guess if pressed, I could say that reading it made me decide to write a review in this format. Will that do?”

“Hrmph. See if I bring you “The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters” in a month!”

“…yeah, I was planning on skipping that anyway.”

“Waaaaaaaaahhh! Kazuma, Sean’s being mean to me!”

“I thought you weren’t Aqua?!?!”

Matcha Made in Heaven, Vols 7-9

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Matcha Made in Heaven Volumes 7-9 by Umebachi Yamanaka

Time to check in on this low-key extremely slow-burn josei series! Chaco and Isshin are continuing with their faux marriage of convenience, which has of course led them to develop feelings for each other. Isshin is an intense, grumpy tea-making perfectionist, while Chaco is much more free spirited. Despite growing up in a family of tea producers, she’s been away for so long that she’s not super familiar with the business, so her support of Isshin also means that she’s connecting with her roots in a new way.

Matcha Made in Heaven 9

After a separation where Isshin is working in the corporate tea business, he returns home. Chaco is excited to take their relationship to the next level, but childhood friend Jin appears with a girl named Roa, who happens to be a tea social media influencer! The traditional craft of tea-making clashes with Roa’s approach, which seems to stir up some distressing sentiments against the small business that Chaco’s family is trying to take to the next level with Isshin’s help. The trash-talking is mild, and the stakes are fairly low in this extremely relaxing manga where one can always count on respect for tea to further bond the characters and see them through any crisis. While Roa ends up not be as terrible as Chaco originally assumed, she leads Isshin into accepting a challenge at a high stakes tea blending competition. With Isshin, Jin, and Chaco’s brother who is such a non-entity it is not really worth remembering his name as the main competitors things are surely not going to go very smoothly.

For fans of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, this series delivers. I find myself constantly rooting for Chaco and Isshin even though they cycle through excuses to not progress in their relationship. The latest barrier is Isshin’s nobility, as he doesn’t want to ask Chaco’s dead father for her hand in real marriage until he has proven himself as a tea master. As always, the illustrations are clear and dynamic. Chaco’s niece is reliable both for comic relief and expressing the readers’ point of view that Chaco and Isshin should just get together already.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 7

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by T. Burke.

Probably the most startling thing about this final volume of Raven of the Inner Palace is how little Jusetsu is in it, and when she appears, it’s not really her actions that save the day, just her actual presence. She’s spent her life being a vessel for a higher power, and being involved in a God vs. God battle is something that she has to get dragged into or else bad things will happen. But it’s not what she herself wants. Honestly, I think she’s still flailing around trying to figure out what she wants until this final volume, and it’s not saving the day and unleashing her inner raven. Nor is it headed back to the palace to deal with the unstated romantic feelings she and Koshun have dealt with since Book 1 – that ship has run aground already. That said, we do get to see the resolution of a ship, sort of – the trouble is that it’s Jusetsu/merchant marine life. Which, refreshingly, is not what anyone was expecting.

This book is essentially divided into two plotlines, one on and going to the island, and the other up in the mountains. They’re actually mostly completely separate. We already know about Jusetsu, who needs to somehow get past an underwater volcano exploding to get to the island so that she can reunite the two halves of the raven. She’s got to do this despite the turtle god resorting to threats, more threats, and possession in order to win the day. The other half of the book is still drenched in Saname family drama, which we already got a heaping helping of in the last book. Ko has been sent by his father to use the mountain tries to incite a rebellion, which won’t succeed, but will mean that they’ll have to kill Jusetsu in order to calm everyone down. If you think this makes no sense, well, it doesn’t make much sense to Ko either, but it’s hard to go against Daddy.

I’ll be honest, this book was not quite the big finale I was hoping for. As noted, Jusetsu is just present rather than active for the battle, which makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying. Likewise, there’s no rebellion, because in the end the stability of the country is more important than an old man trying one last time to exercise his power. And yes, Koshun has almost been the co-protagonist of the series, and so seeing him so uninvolved in the finale – he doesn’t leave the palace – makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying, the second time I’ve typed that. I did like Jusetsu’s career choice – she can’t stay in the palace, after all, especially not with an Empress and two kids from other wives – and so traveling the world and seeing other cultures makes sense. And I’m delighted she takes her entourage with her – I love Jiujiu.

So yes, something of a mixed bag finale, but overall this was a good series, and a worthy addition to “intrigue in the inner court of the emperor” genre.