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The Best and Worst Manga of 2023

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This weekend’s Nor’easter provided me a swell opportunity to finish my long-gestating Best and Worst Manga list for 2023. One of the things that tripped me up was the sheer volume of new work published last year; when I first started reviewing manga in 2006, it was hard to imagine a market that offered a title for every conceivable reader, from the Chainsaw Man enthusiast to the the romantic, the oenophile, the foodie, the soccer fan, the gore hound, the isekai buff, and even the middle-aged manga critic. Though I made a concerted effort to be as thorough as possible, I freely admit that my picks barely capture the sheer quantity and diversity of last year’s new releases. Instead, I focused on the titles that stayed with me weeks and months after I first read them, from the exuberant One Hundred Tales to the unnerving The Summer Hikaru Died. For additional perspective on 2023’s best and worst manga, I encourage you to check out the well curated lists at Anime News Network, Anime UK News, Asian Movie Pulse, The Beat, The Comics Journal, From Cover to Cover, Okazu, and The School Library Journal.

Best New Manga: Okinawa
Story and Art by Susumu Higa • Translated by Jocelyne Allen • Lettering by Patrick Crotty and Kayla E. • Fantagraphics
There are books that critics like, and books that readers like. I’d put Okinawa squarely in the first category, as it has all the hallmarks of a Serious Manga™: slightly naïve artwork, historically important events seen through the eyes of ordinary people, and detailed footnotes explaining the story’s cultural and linguistic nuances. If I sound a little cynical, I was; I put off reading Okinawa for months after its release because so many reviewers rehearsed the same talking points about how “harrowing,” “heartbreaking,” “complex,” and “haunting” it was. After reading Okinawa, however, I have to admit the critics were right: Okinawa is a deeply moving exploration of the island’s fraught relationship with Japan and the United States. It’s also a tribute to Susumu Higa’s parents, whose memories of World War II pervade many of Okinawa’s most affecting stories; a celebration of Okinawan resilience and spirituality; and the best manga I read in 2023.

Best New Drama: River’s Edge“Story and Art by Kyoko Okazaki • Translated by Alexa Frank • Vertical Comics
River’s Edge offers a gritty portrait of adolescence before chat rooms, cell phones, and social media, focusing on the slackers and misfits at a Tokyo high school. Haruna Wakakusa, the protagonist, is caught between her fierce sense of justice and her ambivalent feelings towards her on-again, off-again boyfriend Kannonzaki, a horny, hot-headed loser who bullies weaker classmates. Over the course of the story, Haruna forges an unlikely friendship with one of Kannonzaki’s targets, an aloof young man whose popularity with the girls belies his true sexual orientation. Okazaki’s spare, stylish linework is ideally suited to the material, as the character’s exaggerated facial features and ungainly proportions remind the reader of how confusing, weird, and uncomfortable it is to be on the physical cusp of adulthood. Okazaki also nails the casual cruelty and cluelessness of adolescence: her characters’ impulsiveness, selfishness, and inexperience often compel them to betray each other in small (and big) ways that feel true to life even when the plot teeters on the brink of melodrama.

Best Classic Title: One Hundred Tales
Story and Art by Osamu Tezuka • Translated by Iyasu Adair Nagata • Lettering by Aidan Clarke • ABLAZE
Over the course of his long career, Osamu Tezuka published three series based on the legend of Doctor Faustus, among them One Hundred Tales (1971), which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump. Tezuka takes a few liberties with the original story: his hero is not a brilliant scholar in search of knowledge but a lowly samurai who’s been sentenced to death for his employer’s misdeeds. In a fit of desperation, he sells his soul to a witch and is reborn as Fuwa Usuto, a dashing young man who wants two things: love and power. What follows is a rowdy picaresque, as Fuwo ventures into the lair of an alluring demon, saves his daughter from an arranged marriage, and insinuates himself into the house of a foolish daimyo in his quest to become more worldly and powerful. These episodes provide Tezuka ample opportunity to insert pop-cultural sight gags—Christopher Lee and Astro Boy both make fleeting appearances—but they also showcase Tezuka’s flair for character design and panel structure; the artwork is fluid and playful, equally suited to moments of exquisite silliness and heartbreaking sadness as Fuwo stumbles towards transcendence.

Best New Horror Series: The Summer Hikaru Died
Story and Art by Mokumokuren • Translated by Ajani Oloye • Lettering by Abigail Blackman • Yen Press
The Summer Hikaru Died begins with a familiar scene: two high school buddies are clowning around outside a convenience store, trading good-natured barbs. But something’s off, and midway through a seemingly ordinary conversation Yoshiki realizes that he’s talking to an impostor who’s the spitting image of his friend Hikaru. Though the mystery of what happened to the real Hikaru is resolved quickly, many questions remain: is it possible for Yoshiki to befriend “Hikaru” even though he has no real memories of their relationship? And what, exactly, is “Hikaru”? Mokumokuren resists the temptation to provide simple answers, relying instead on suggestion to create a tense, atmospheric story that skillfully blends elements of body horror, BL, and fantasy in a fresh, unsettling way.

Best New Cat Manga: Nights With a Cat
Story and Art by Kyuryu Z • Translated by Stephen Paul • Lettering by Lys Blakesly • Yen Press
Though there are dozens of great pet manga now available in English, Nights with a Cat has something genuinely new to offer: simple, observational storytelling that doesn’t shamelessly tug on the heartstrings or anthropomorphize our furry companions. The series explores the relationship between Fuuta and Kyuruga, his roommate’s cat. As someone who’s never lived with a cat before, Fuuta is fascinated by Kyuruga, marveling at Kyuruga’s anatomy—his pupils, his sandpaper tongue, his retractable claws—as well as Kyuruga’s ability to silently materialize in surprising places. Kyuryu Z doesn’t play these moments for laughs, choosing instead to emphasize how strange and amazing cats really are with illustrations that capture the fluidity of Kyuruga’s movements and the changeability of his moods. Recommended for new and long-time cat owners alike. (Reviewed at Manga Bookshelf on 5/21/23)

Best Ongoing Series: Go With the Clouds, North by Northwest
Story and Art by Irie Aki • Translated by David Musto • Vertical Comics
After a two-year wait, a new installment of Go With the Clouds, North by Northwest arrived in stores this fall, demonstrating once again why this odd, delightful, and occasionally thrilling story deserves a bigger audience. Strictly speaking, Go With the Clouds is a murder mystery, but Aki Irie refuses to observe the basic tenets of the genre, frequently interrupting her story for interesting diversions: a fitful romance between supporting characters, a brief lesson on Icelandic geography, a casual conversation between Kei, the main protagonist, and his trusty jeep. What prevents the story from being twee or mannered is its matter-of-fact tone. In the first chapter of volume six, for example, Kei uses ESP to track a kidnapping victim through the streets of Reykjavik by chatting up parked cars around the city, a goofy gambit that works thanks to Irie’s superb pacing and commitment to character development; Kei’s methodical approach suggests that his ESP is something he uses on an everyday basis, not something that manifests per the plot’s demands. Swoon-worthy art and twisty plotting add to the series’ considerable appeal. (Volumes one and two reviewed at The Manga Critic on 8/30/19).

Most Disappointing New Series: #DRCL: Midnight Children
Story and Art by Shin’ichi Sakamoto • Based on Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula • Translation Caleb Cook • Touch-Up & Lettering by Brandon Hull • VIZ Media
Let’s face it: Bram Stoker’s Dracula sucks, marred by turgid prose and a convoluted form. In the hands of other creators, however, Stoker’s ideas have thrilled, titillated, and shocked six generations of horror buffs. The introduction to #DRCL: Midnight Children suggests that Shin’ichi Sakamoto might be one of those creators, as he offers the reader a claustrophobic, suspenseful riff on Dracula‘s most famous chapter, “The Voyage of the Demeter.” The rest of volume one, by contrast, is a fever dream of short, incoherent scenes that bump up against each other like commuters on a rush-hour train. Anyone familiar with Stoker’s original novel will recognize the characters’ names but wonder why Sakamoto re-imagined Renfield as a nun who’s chained up in a dormitory room or Mina Murray as a short, scrappy redhead who’s an expert wrestler. (Also: a dead ringer for Anne of Green Gables.) It’s a pity that the story is so fragmented and overripe, as Sakamoto has a fertile imagination; the first volume is filled with hauntingly beautiful renditions of Dracula himself that instill a sense of awe and fear that’s missing from the rest of the story.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 11

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y Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette.

(This review gets a bit spoilery about the fate of one of the main characters, be warned. Though I try to glide over it.)

We’ve seen Tearmoon Empire be a fun comedy, and we’ve seen it be an action thriller, and we’ve seen it be a romance as well. But we really have not seen it as a dark tragedy. Or rather, it’s only been seen in flashbacks to the bad future, where we see the consequences of Mia being unable to save everyone and getting executed. And that’s tended to be more along the lines of “my God, what have I done?” The latter half of this book, though, goes as closely as this series is likely to get into the tragedy mode, and I’m kicking myself that I did not pick up on the ominous foreshadowing in the last volume, which I cheerfully thought was “oh boy, secrets are going to be told once this arc gets finished!”. Unfortunately, this leads to the question of “why won’t secrets actually be told?”, and the answer is possibly “because the person with the secrets is now dead.”

We pick up where the last book left off, with the race between Mia, on her “slow but steady wins the race” horse, and Xiaolei, on her “fastest in the land” horse. If you’re suspecting we’re seeing a retelling of the Tortoise and the Hare fable, you’re pretty much dead on. Mia is, of course, trying her best NOT to win, for various reasons, but we already know how that’s going to go. She does, however, manage to unite the tribes. Which is good, as unfortunately while this was going on Citrina was kidnapped by the Chaos Serpents, led by Abel’s older sister Valentina. Mia goes to rescue her, and oddly she is allowed to take other people with her, such as Abel and Dion. Why, it’s almost like the Serpents’ goal is not merely to kill off Mia but something far more sinister…

This is the second book I’ve read recently that felt like a final volume of the series, enough so that the author needs to assure us it’s not the end. The cliffhanger ending helps, as we’re introduced to what appears to be yet another Tearmoon from the future (?). As for the book itself, Mia is pretty great in it (I always enjoy a good “I won’t let the villains die, that would be too easy on them, they will have to live on” plot), but honestly the emotional lifting is done by Citrina and Bel. I joked on Twitter that since Mia had changed the future so that she doesn’t suffer, Citrina had become Tearmoon Empire’s designated woobie, and it’s not wrong. The other reason that this feels like a final volume is that we get a ton of flashforwards to “the good future”, the one Mia will eventually get to, with everyone alive and married off. It’s nice to actually *see* Grandma Mia rather than just hear about her. As for Citrina… well, I suspect the start of Book 12 will help. At least, I hope so.

I haven’t even mentioned the other high point of the volume, where Valentina tells us what the Chaos Serpents actually are. This was one of the best in the series. And again, the arc ended at the end of the book! Keep it up!

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 17

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By FUNA and Itsuki Akata. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Diana Taylor. Adapted by Maggie Cooper.

This one is really doing its best to trick you into thinking it’s the final volume. Hell, look at the cover, which screams “and the adventures continue…” And to be fair, that is how it ends, it’s just we go along with everyone when they continue their adventures. But what this amounts to, honestly, is a soft reboot of the series, which had grown fat and placid on its regular cast, sci-fi backstory, and ended the last book with Mile having finally visited the final “non-human” race she wanted to see, and announcing to the world that the invasion of monsters from another dimension is imminent. There’s nothing left to do but have the final battle, which takes up the first 40% of the book. But after that? What do you do when you’ve won? Worse, what do you do when you revealed all because you were planning on dying, but then DON’T die?

We pick up right where we left off, with Mile imitating the MGM lion as she broadcasts herself to everyone in the continent. She then explains that the invasion is coming in the next few days, that most of the armies who have to deal with it won’t make it in time, but that’s OK, because the Crimson Vow will take on all 100,000 monsters for them. She also reveals that she’s Adele von Ascham. And “Miami Satodele”, for that matter. From there, the four of them go off to certain death… and are very surprised to find that the ENTIRE cast has come to help them in the final battle. Really, everyone who can fight shows up here, including the elves, the demons, and the dragons. Hell, I was expecting Lenny to show up (she did not, but we do see her later on). The battle is indeed tough – they absolutely would have lost without the help of everyone – but they prevail. And… um… the battle was also accidentally broadcast to the continent via Mile’s MGM widescreen. Whoops.

So yeah, now they’ve all achieved their goals. They’re all nobility. Pauline has a successful business. Mavis is an S-rank hunter and is Mile’s holy knight. Reina is also an S-rank hunter, and can publish her memoir. And Mile… has been captured by everyone who’s been trying to catch her since Book 1, and is now being forced to be The Holy Saint. Needless to say, after six months of this they’re all bored out of their gourds. So it’s time for that soft reboot – they all run away and go to a completely different continent. (the Wonder Trio, as well as the Princess, follow them, because we can’t leave EVERYONE behind.) This will allow the author to start over with slightly different baselines – for one thing, the monsters in this new continent are a LOT smarter than the ones we’re familiar with. That said, Mile is still Mile. I’m sure it will be fine.

If you were looking for an excuse to stop reading the series, this is basically the perfect volume to do so. If you want more Mile and company, good news, that’s coming. This was a fun “finale” that wasn’t.

Manga the Week of 1/10/24

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SEAN: The first 2024 manga list was a bit small. Will this week be any bigger?

We start with Airship, which has the print debut of Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni), which is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books.

ASH: I mean, I like the underlying message. There are just SO MANY of these titles.

SEAN: They’ve also got the 9th volume of The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent.

In early digital volumes, we see Berserk of Gluttony 8 (the final volume) and Raven of the Inner Palace 5.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of its Hellsing reissue.

ASH: It is a very nice reissue.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has I’m Not a Succubus! 4 and a 5th volume of the Survival in Another World with My Mistress! manga.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club, and they gift us with Ascendance of a Bookworm 22 (the start of the final arc!), In Another World With My Smartphone 27, the 6th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga volume, and the 3rd Tearmoon Empire manga volume.

ASH: Oh no, the final arc of Bookworm? I really do need to catch up sooner rather than later.

No digital debuts, but we see Ascendance of a Bookworm 29, the 14th Black Summoner manga volume, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 5, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 6, Record of Wortenia War 22, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 10, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 12, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 9.

In print, Kodansha Manga has Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 15.

Their digital debut is I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! (A Rank Party wo Ridatsu Shita Ore wa, Moto Oshiego Tachi to Meikyuu Shinbu wo Mezasu), a shonen fantasy harem manga from Magazine Pocket. The title is the plot.

Also out next week digitally: Ace of the Diamond 47 (the final volume, though there’s a 34-volume sequel), Cells at Work! Lady 4, The Fable 22 (also a final volume), Gang King 13, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 16 (also also a final volume), Nina the Starry Bride 11, That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside (also also also a final volume), Those Snow White Notes 13, and WIND BREAKER 13.

MICHELLE: So here for Ace of the Diamond. I’ll be able to have a nice marathon up to the ending, too. Hopefully it did well enough that the sequel will get licensed, too.

ANNA: And I’m glad for another volume of Nina the Starry Bride although I need to get caught up!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 5th manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

The debut from Seven Seas is The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level (Shiro Majutsushi wa Yuusha no Level wo Agetakunai) is a Comic Meteor title, and is a “sexy fantasy romcom”, at least according to the publisher. Looks like it might shift to Ghost Ship if things get a bit racier. Then again, it’s only 4 volumes, so maybe not.

Also from Seven Seas: A Certain Scientific Railgun 18, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 7, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 6, Karate Survivor in Another World 5, My Cat is Such a Weirdo 2, My New Life as a Cat 4, Soloist in a Cage 3 (the final volume), and The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 3.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Soloist in a Cage a try; I better get on that.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 16th manga volume for The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

The debut for SuBLime is Daisy Jealousy, a one-shot BL title from Magazine Be x Boy. This is the same author of Happy of the End and Yarichin Bitch Club. Feelings get complicated between two up and coming video game designers.

ASH: And also Escape Journey, I believe. I could pretty easily be convinced to read this one.

SEAN: Viz Manga debuts Pokémon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which… is a Pokémon manga, come on.

They’ve also got Case Closed 89, Dandadan 6, Fly Me to the Moon 21, Helck 7, Komi Can’t Communicate 28, Mao 15, and YO-KAI WATCH 22.

And yeah, that’s it. It always feels like a small week without Yen Press. What are you getting?

Earl and Fairy: The Spectral Lover

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By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

This review, by necessity, features major spoilers for this volume, and I recommend not reading it till you finish it. I will put the cover (which does not spoil) first to allow you to avoid the spoiler.

Earl and Fairy’s first volume was clearly written as a one-shot. Most series are. Not everything is created to be a massive hit without having to actually sell the books first. And sometimes authors look back at decisions they made in the first book, when they were not expecting it to be, say, a 33-volume behemoth, and think “man, why did I do that plot twist? It worked great for a single book, but I could have done so much more with the character?” Mizue Tani was clearly thinking exactly that when she was writing up the plot of this volume, which features… well, come on, you have to guess what I’m talking about given I’m discussing major plot twists from the first book. She’s back, there’s a supernatural explanation, and it’s cool.

Edgar has been attending a seance held by a suspicious medium (one who seems to recognize him) that is meant to help a mourning woman marry off her late daughter’s ghost. Oddly, someone else is also attending the seance pretending to be him… and creating nasty rumors in the tabloids, rumors that Lydia (who doesn’t trust Edgar more than she can throw him) immediately believes. She’s also annoyed that she has to pretend to be engaged to him for reasons we saw in the last book. Then she’s promptly kidnapped (again, it’s that sot of series) and when Edgar and Raven track her down, she seems to genuinely be possessed by the spirit of the woman’s dead daughter. Well, possibly her daughter. And also only possessed half the time. Is this another of Ulysses’ clever plots?

So yeah, Ermine’s back. Arguably this ruins the tragedy of her death in the first volume, but frankly I always found her death in the first volume rather annoying, so I don’t really mind this all too much. She’s now a selkie, as apparently this is how she was saved from death in the first place. Unfortunately, having betrayed Edgar and Raven in Book 1, she’s got to do it again, this time because Ulysses has her “skin”, in the form of a glass bead, which if destroyed will kill selkies for real. We’ll see how long she lasts this time around before what I suspect will be a slightly better death. As for Lydia and Edgar, he is at least starting to get why she doesn’t trust him in the least – he has to stop treating her like a solution to his problems. That said, I think most of the readers are siding with him more than her right now – we do want a romance novel, after all.

I greatly enjoy the writing in this series, because (I have observed) it’s nothing like modern light novels. Anyone looking for something different, come get this.

The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-Up, Vol. 4

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By Rino Mayumi and Machi. Released in Japan as “Jimihime to Kuroneko no, Enman na Konyaku Haki” by M Novels F. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

So I believe that this may not be the final volume in the series after all. It certainly feels like it, though. The princess is no longer drab and no longer a princess. the break-up has happened and was pretty satisfying. Viol is still a black cat on occasion, but part of this book’s plot is getting to see Seren in his human form, in order to ensure that the announcement of their engagement does not come completely out of nowhere. But for the most part, this book is in the subgenre of what I call “victory lap” books. Our heroes have won, the problems are solved, and what is left is just everyone feeling really swell. That’s exactly what happens here, there’s minimal drama. I suppose there are things they could do in the future of this series, such as children, or cool magic things, or maybe giving Marietta something to do. But really, this absolutely feels like the end.

After the events of the last book, Seren is finally a High Mage, and gets to start High Mage Classes. Of course, there’s one slight problem – she never underwent normal magical university classes at all. So she has to not only do the advanced stuff everyone else is doing, but also take the basic magic courses Viol did not bother to teach her. I’ll let you guess how difficult she finds this. Guessed yet? If you said “not in the least”, give yourself a cookie. In the interim, she also finds time to invent electric fans, and she and Viol also help intervene in the rescue of a ship stuck in the ocean due to calm currents, which ends up being solved due to… GIANT electric fans, basically. With all this going on, can Viol manage to get permission to court Seren?

There’s not really much to say about Seren and Viol’s courtship, mostly as it goes so smoothly that the book ends with a wedding. I was amused at meeting Viol’s family. He’s always sort of been the calm, stoic type, so it’s hilarious that his commoner family are the same as commoner families always are in these sorts of books, which is to say rural farmers who panic when they have to deal with noble folks and worry they’re offending them somehow. They don’t have much to worry about – Seren’s dad is basically as eccentric as she is, and the King and Queen ask for this to be a big wedding more because Seren was like a daughter to them than any other reason. The other suitors for Seren’s hand are basically driven away by the sheer power of their “we are a gorgeous and powerful couple” vibe at the most recent ball. And they all lived happily ever after.

Except a 5th volume came out in March in Japan. Does the electric fan break? Well, I’m sure something will come up. If you like “relaxing vibe” series, or enjoy seeing two nerds nerd out while being in love, this is a good one.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/2/2024

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Innocent, Vols. 1-3 | By Shin’ichi Sakamoto | Dark Horse Comics – I was waiting for this release for a while, and in terms of the artwork and the general style of the manga, it was worth the wait. Sakamoto’s works mostly fall into the “grand guignol” genre, which means you need to have a strong stomach and be prepared for over-the-top posturing. That said, I will admit that the book attempts to have me care a lot about the presumed decline and fall of the sensitive good boi ™ who is being asked to be France’s greatest executioner but the book does not really succeed. Charles just is not sympathetic enough… indeed, no one in this book is really likeable enough. Which, I mean, fair, it’s France right before the revolution. But it does mean that I’m not here for the plot and character, I’m here for the LOOKS. – Sean Gaffney

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 10 | By Nene Yukimori | Viz Media – We’ve mostly moved on from the initial gimmick of this series, which is that, well, Kubo won’t let him be invisible. Most people can see Shiraishi now, and he’s able to interact with his class much more easily, to the point that we have to get a flashback to when they first met to remind us of what things were once like. That does mean, though, that the rest of the manga is mostly cutesy romance moments—Kubo’s not even teasing Shiraishi much anymore. There’s just things like putting on too much hand cream, or doing a Romeo and Juliet play, and the like. I really like this manga, but this is definitely a sign that it needs to wrap up soon. Good news: it’s only got two volumes to go. Sweetness can only get you so far. – Sean Gaffney

The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 2 | By Kuzushiro | Kodansha Manga – The best part of this second volume in this series is the introduction of Kanon’s younger sister, who is seemingly friendly towards Saki but ends up being fiercely protective of her older sister once Kanon has left her side. It’s understandable; she doesn’t want to see Kanon hurt again. We also see Kanon dipping a toe into trusting people again, joining a club where she’s explicitly told the actual requirements will be low-maintenance and helping her find a place to call her own. Saki, meanwhile, is trying to learn more about Kanon—I like how she researches the meaning of “the well child” after having it thrown at her—but more importantly, is falling in love with Kanon, and I don’t think she’s quite ready to deal with that yet. Still an excellent series. – Sean Gaffney

My Girlfriend’s Child, Vol. 3 | By Mamoru Aoi | Seven Seas – This continues to be the series for which words like “stark” were invented. Sachi has definitely decided not to have an abortion now, and her mother is in her corner. As is her boyfriend. Unfortunately, her boyfriend’s family, as well as her older brother, are very much not in agreement, and they make this very clear to both of them—he’s basically thrown out of the house and has his cell plan cut off, and she’s getting told over and over again how her life, as well as her child’s, will be miserable if she goes through with having the child. That said, we also see why those who are naysaying are being so obstreperous about things—they have more experience, and more tragedy in their life, than Sachi does. Still well worth reading. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 18 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The best joke in this volume, bar none, is that we’re heading back to school for the new semester—the last semester having ended almost five years ago, in volume six. That’s quite an extended break. I also really liked the bit where the wannabe bad guy tries to take over one of their classmates and do the same old stuff we got at the start of the series with the bugs, only to find that everyone is now far too powerful for all that. That said, much of this volume is setup, as well as reassurance that Kyutaro is still basically the same. Honestly, both he and Fumi have the same “is this really me and how many different selves do I have?” issue, so really, they belong together. That said, I do hope we’re getting to the final arc soon. (Volume 21 is out in Japan.) (Shhh.) – Sean Gaffney

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 7 | By Suu Morishita | Kodansha Comics – It’s been over a year since the last volume of this came out, and I forgot how much I missed it. The major event of this volume is that Itsuomi asks Yuki to move in with him, and they have to figure out everything that comes with that, including what it’s like to live with someone who’s deaf. And then there’s Oushi, who is in love with Yuki but does not actually want to make her unhappy, and is given advice that won’t do him any good but is likely the best that he can get at the moment—wait for this first romance to turn bittersweet and break up, and then he can swoop in. Sadly, they’re in a shoujo manga, so I’m not expecting a permanent break up, though no doubt there’s more drama to come. One of the best shoujo manga out right now. – Sean Gaffney

Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess, Vol. 3

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By Roku Kaname and Hazuki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Aobara-hime no Yarinaoshi Kakumeiki” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by JC.

In my review of the first two volumes of this series, I said that my chief issue with the series was that it didn’t really have anything that made it stand out over a pack of other “redo my life” titles coming out at the same time, was overly serious, and could be a bit dull. It’s still overly serious (there’s nary a joke to be found here), but fortunately the fact that this is the final volume and has to wrap everything up solves the other issues. This is easily the best volume in the series, as Alicia has to try to balance out the fact that she needs to do what’s best for her nation with her love for Clovis, and Riddhe has to try to find the traitor behind most of the bad events in this book, and do so without getting caught and used to start a war between two countries. He achieves half of that. But it’s OK, there’s a trial to try to put things right.

The book begins with Alicia still in Erdal, meeting with the Empress to try to show why she wants their countries to reach out to each other WITHOUT needing her to get married to Fritz to do it. The Empress, after a quick “how devoted to your ideals are you?” test, is pretty much OK with this, but Fritz now basically sees Alicia as an enemy. Indeed, he sees almost everyone as an enemy, including his lover Charlotte, and is acting just the way you’d expect a bratty prince with too much power but not enough responsibility to act. And then there’s Alicia and Clovis, who are still both hung up on “he’s just her advisor, he can’t marry the future queen” to move forward, and are thus having communication issues. Things get so bad that Alicia decides the best way forward IS to marry Fritz… but before she can, chaos erupts in Erdal.

The back half of this book really sells the danger and drama, with several action sequences and threats to help overshadow the fact that we know who the bad guy is throughout. The mystery is not “whodunnit”, but “how to fix things without destabilizing multiple nations”. It helps that there’s a lot of “even if they are a bad person, I still love them like family” going around, which means this timeline has a hell of a lot less death than the last one. Actually, another great moment was the revelation about what DID happen in the previous lifetime – Alicia’s always had spotty memories, so it’s been hard to decipher beyond “Clovis killed her”, but now we see this was part of a larger scheme, which makes sense given how easily manipulable he must have been in that first timeline. As for the romance, I will admit that “it’s OK, you can marry your advisor, everyone knows you love him” doesn’t really work given this is a “political marriage is the norm” sort of world, but hey, the relationship is sort of dessert. The meal is saving the country.

So yes, always nice when a series ends with its best volume. I enjoyed this.

Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 4

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By Saki and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Albert-ke no Reijō wa Botsuraku o Goshomō Desu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Ray Krycki.

I’m starting to feel really bad for Patrick. The most obvious reason being that it’s not entirely clear, at least until the end of this volume, that Alicia would actually choose him over Lady Mary. The relationship between Alicia and Mary has not been yuri per se, but certainly Mary is the most important person in her life, and she has a tendency to tackle hug, and fondle, and adore her. Meanwhile, Patrick has to actually run a country, so is not as free for snuggles. More worrying for Patrick is that he is now the only fully, 100% sensible one in the cast. He didn’t think this was the case. He was sure it was him and Adi against the eccentrics and airheads of this world. But when push comes to shove, Adi has been around Mary far too long and thinks far too much like her for this to be true. Sorry, Patrick. Everyone is bananas except you. Someone has to do the nasty work.

Things are looking up for Mary Albert. She’s survived the first game (despite her best efforts to be exiled), and the second game has come and gone with only mild sadism and shotacon friends as the result. Unfortunately, the game also had an anime adaptation. Which introduced a friend character for Alicia, consoling her when Mary was being too much of an evil villainess. And now we get Veltina, a new arrival to Mary’s group due to a school exchange program. Veltina clearly has memories of the anime from a previous life, great hatred for Mary Albert, and a huge crush on Adi. On the bright side, she makes an absolutely terrible villainess herself, and taking care of her is ludicrously easy. On the down side, Mary is starting to get this odd heartburn when people get too close to Adi…

Everyone knows that if you write a villainess book where the heroine came from an otome game, and the plot resolves, then you need to have the otome game sequel, or spinoff media, or side story… anything to keep the series going. Here it’s the anime, but it’s amusing how little it actually matters. The author just says “oh, there was an anime, she must remember it” a few times and then proceeds to forget about it. So does Mary, who occasionally tries to find a good time to ask her but it never comes up. Which is fine, as in the end it doesn’t matter. We’re not here to see how Mary Albert can escape the terrible fate of whatever new plot hits her life – she’s not Katarina, or Aileen. We’re here for the comedy, as not only is Mary unable to tell that she’s feeling jealousy, but Adi is ALSO unable to realize this. You’d think that, having been married for some time now, the self-doubt would have disappeared, but that’s not how it works. Their resolution of it is sweet. Also, Alicia turns out to be the best gardener ever, which may be my favorite joke.

There’s four more volumes, and I’m not sure how many more antagonists we can reasonably introduce at this point. But the books remain a hoot, and always put a smile on my face.

Loyal Soldier, Lustful Beast

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By Sumire Saiga and Saya Shirosaki. Released in Japan as “Gunjin wa Ai no Kemono” by Sonya Bunko. Released in North America by Steamship. Translated by M. Jean. Adapted by H. Qi.

(This book is meant for readers over the age of 18,. and the review uses a few words that are a bit naughty.)

Steamship is one of Seven Seas’ many different imprints, and specializes in what my grandmother might have called “smutty books”. Until now, they have specialized in manga titles, all under the “josei” umbrella and basically a romance-novel style manga, only with added sexual content. Now we get this stand-alone novel, which is the first light novel under the imprint. We got a sexually explicit light novel licensed a few years ago, but that one was more on the “for guys” end, and I think Amazon pulled it relatively quickly. This one is probably safe, if only as if you removed all the sex scenes from it, it would still have a coherent and interesting plotline. Well, eventually. This book is a slow starter, and does not exactly have prose that compels you to read on, so it took me a while to get into it. In addition, a word of warning, there’s as certain amount of “codependency is good if it’s romantic” here.

Giselle is a young woman of marriageable age, but unfortunately she’s seen as a bit drab, so all the potential marriage meetings she’s been to have ended in failure. Then her brother, a soldier in the royal army, brings home a colleague, who was kidnapped and enslaved as a young boy, and still has a bit of a slave mindset to him. Giselle takes pity on him and tries to teach him how to think for himself and not just do whatever anyone tells him to. In fact, she’s falling in love with him, and he with her. This is, needless to say, a bit of a problem given that he’s an ex-slave and she’s a noble. As if that weren’t enough, the King has asked for her to join his court as one of the royal concubines. This is not really an order that can be refused. What will become of her relationship with Wallace?

So, first of all, the sex is fine. There’s quite a bit of it, mostly featuring different positions and quite a bit of cunnilingus. Wallace had a tendency to put everyone before himself, so blowjobs are not really on the table, and even asking if he can do her from behind is saved till the end when they’re far more familiar with each other. The main reason to read this, though, is the intrigue. The King straight up admits that he’s using Giselle as a hostage to keep Wallace loyal to him, and the threat ends up driving the latter half of the book. As I indicated earlier, Wallace worships the ground Giselle walks on, and would happily murder anyone if she asked him to. Meanwhile, Giselle has always felt drab and unloved, except maybe by her brother, so suddenly getting someone who adores her and is also fantastic in bed is quite a cocktail. Hopefully a lack of constant danger will allow these two to mature as a couple to where they aren’t the only thing in each other’s lives.

Despite pedestrian prose (AO3 has spoiled me) and a tendency towards romance tropes (there’s a sexual assault here, though Wallace arrives in time to break it up, and he’s always a gentleman to her in bed), this got better as it went along, and I’d recommend it to those looking for a good smutty book.

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 2

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By Shusui Hazuki and necomi. Released in Japan as “Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu! ” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Mari Koch.

As with the previous volume, how much you enjoy this will depend on two things. The first is how much you care about people who are ridiculously the best at everything they do. Noelle especially, but also Luke, are both prodigies, and show it off throughout the story. This means there are multiple scenes of them being praised to the skies. I know this can annoy some readers. The bigger issue may be the romantic tension, which is using a combination of two devastating “put this off as long as possible” moves – she’s oblivious, he’s a coward. These are both also really, really emphasized throughout, and in my opinion grate far more than the OP stuff. If you can get past both of these, this remains a fun series about a woman in her dream job not realizing how incredible and loved she really is.

After the events of the last book, and after reassuring the now recovered wyvern that she doesn’t really need anything right now from him, Noelle returns to the Magical Court, where she remains busy. She gets a new teacher who everyone calls the hardest teacher they’ve ever had, and while she initially struggles, she ends up being fantastic. She is invited to the Royal Invitational Tournament to fight the World’s Greatest Swordsman, a match everyone expects her to lose instantly. And she and Luke are headed off to the worst dungeon in the world, which just had a new level open after 20 years, and they must face off against a last boss. Still, can’t be worse than Noelle’s last boss, amirite?

The romance here is frustrating but understandable. Noelle is firmly in “I am a commoner” mode, helped along at times by various jerkass nobles, and never even considers a romance with Luke as she knows it’s impossible. Luke has been in love with her almost since they met, but a) has the same problem in reverse, and b) worries that he will ruin their friendship forever if he confesses and it goes wrong. and, to be fair to Luke, we even see that a bit here – after being forced by his superiors to take Noelle on a date to the theater, it turns out it’s a theater where an underground drug ring is operating, and he and Noelle are forced to step in and stop the bad guys. As a result, the present he got her joins the dozens of other presents he’s bought her over the years in a room that is basically a shrine to his failure. The only way he can really make this work is for Noelle to get so insanely powerful so fast she gets a title… but before that, she may end up being poached by the Royal Family for their guard. So yes, Luke’s a coward, but I get it.

This has 5 volumes in Japan, so don’t expect it to end soon. Next time we’ll get a tournament arc and an elf queen, so also don’t expect it to be original. But it’s fun, provided you remember my caveats.

Manga the Week of 1/3/24

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SEAN: It’s a new year, and this is the year we surely keep up with all the manga… right?

MICHELLE: Suuuuuuure.

ASH: Uh, yeah! No problem!

SEAN: We start with Viz, who have a new debut. Marriage Toxin is from ShonenJump+. An assassin has vowed to never settle down and get married. Then his clan declares his sister will marry a man and carry on the dynasty. But his sister is already in a happy relationship… with another woman. Now, to save her, he resolves to find a wife, even if it means dealing with a marriage swindler.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Box 8, Kaiju No. 8 9, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 11, Like a Butterfly 4, Moriarty the Patriot 14, Tamon’s B-Side 2, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 5.

MICHELLE: I should really try to read Like a Butterfly and Tamon’s B-Side.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has the 2nd volume of Robotics;Notes.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of I Can’t Refuse S.

Seven Seas has one debut, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch (Isekai Neko to Fukigen na Majo). Running in the seinen magazine Yawaraka Spirits, it stars an old witch, once powerful but now forgotten. She summons a cat from our world to hers… and in her world, the cat is HUGE! Can they bond with each other?

ASH: Certainly a type of cat manga we’ve not seen previously.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 4, The Duke of Death and His Maid 10, Kemono Jihen 9, Malevolent Spirits: Monogatari 5, MoMo -the blood taker- 7, My Room is a Dungeon Rest Stop 7 (the final volume), and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 10.

And they have a new danmei novel, Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 3.

ASH: I have so much danmei to catch up on! Which is not a bad problem to have.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us the 19th and final volume of Hinamatsuri.

Just one print volume for Kodansha Manga: Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 6.

ASH: I’ve been making a point to pick up this series as it’s been released.

SEAN: And for digital titles we get Blue Lock 23, How to Grill Our Love 6, Life 11, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 12, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 6, Our Fake Marriage: Rosé 3, and Shangri-La Frontier 14.

MICHELLE: I liked what I read of Blue Lock. I should get back to it.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 4th print volume for Gacha Girls Corps.

J-Novel Club has new volumes for the 11th manga volume of The Faraway Paladin, Knight’s & Magic 2, Sweet Reincarnation 9, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 10, Tearmoon Empire 11, and the 8th Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! manga volume.

From Ghost Ship we see Ayakashi Triangle 7 and Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 4.

And from Airship, in print (and same-day digital, must be contractual), we get Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 17.

And for early digital we have Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 4.

Seems like everyone’s in holiday mode still. What are you reading?

Spy x Family: Family Portrait

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By Aya Yajima, based on the series by Tatsuya Endo. Released in Japan as “SPY×FAMILY: Kazoku no Shōzō” by Jump Books. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Casey Loe.

It’s always difficult to review these spinoff/tie-in novels. By their very definition, they cannot affect the main series in any way. There can’t be plot progression, or significant character development. Usually, there also can’t be a dramatic plotline or cool action scenes either. The novel is not here to provide anything that can’t be done better in the parent manga. Instead, it’s here to give us fun stories using the series’ sandbox to play around in. The author thinks of cute ideas, gets approval from the creator and the Jump editorial staff, and then writes them down. Then Tatsuya Endo reads the stories and gives us an illustration for each of them. If you want to call it a success or failure, then as a product it’s a definite success. This feels very Spy x Family-esque. As something a fan of the series can read and think “I think the world of the manga is better for these short stories”, it’s probably a failure. These are very basic.

The book consists of four “main” stories and one very short story. In the first story, Anya, Damian, and the class go on a “Nature’s Classroom” expedition, and an overconfident Anya causes her and Damian to get lost in the woods. In the rain. In the second story, Yuri is asked to babysit Anya, and ends up taking her to a children’s career fair, where kids can pretend to be any number of things, from a police officer to a jewelry maker. In the third short story, Franky meets a blind singer in the hospital when recovering from an injury, and consoles her about an upcoming operation, while also bemoaning his appearance. The fourth story is the “title” story, as our family, on an outing, is seen by a painter, who wants to paint them. Unfortunately, he’s incredibly famous, and Yor is worried that if her portrait is seen everywhere, it will jeopardize her assassin job. In the final short, two waitresses moan about the lack of good men and gush over regular patrons the Forgers being the “perfect” loving family.

The best story in the book is easily the one with Yuri and Anya, and Endo agrees with me. It’s a clever idea, makes good use of the characters, and is funny. Its only problem is it stars Yuri, and I hate Yuri, so I did not enjoy it. But that’s on me. Aside from that, the stories suffer from having the most obvious resolution there is. Anya and Damian find a cave, and both get closer when the rainstorm brings lightning. Franky’s story would be touching if it had not already been done eighty times before, and the family portrait story, while fun, also has a punchline that I predicted the moment the painter said “can I paint you?”. In addition, Loid and Yor really don’t get much to do here except in that one story, and the book feels a bit empty without them – Anya can’t carry everything on her own, much less Yuri or Frankly.

This is, as I said, perfectly good product, but it’s also the definition of inessential.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 8

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Osman Wong.

It’s bad enough when Dahlia deliberately invents something that will revolutionize the world (no, not like that), but it’s even worse when Dahlia does it accidentally. The theme to this book is “Dahlia invents ______ but doesn’t immediately see the commercial application for it”, and while we’ve seen that plot before it’s never been hammered home quite as much as it is here. Dahlia invents memory foam. Dahlia invents beanbag chairs. Dahlia invents better breast pads. Dahlia invents… well, no one is quite sure what it’s good for, but we’ll think of something later. It’s that last one that gets her in trouble, as “what it’s good for” is magical fodder for magical horses, meaning that expeditions need far less room for hay/etc. Dahlia and Volf both think this is really cool. Guido thinks this is really terrifying, as the nation next door who hates them has a LOT of magical horses, and would kill to have this new invention. Or, more accurately, kidnap. Dahlia needs better protection.

I pretty much summed up the bulk of the plot above, though we do get one other major arc. Dahlia goes on an expedition with Volf and company to watch them take down Giant Monster Crabs (they hit its weak point for massive damage, trust me), and while there she meets the old vice-captain of the group, now retired. Bernigi is rather grumpy at first, as he’s unsatisfied with how “soft” the unit is with all Dahlia’s new inventions. As we learn more about him we see that he’s also still grieving for his son, who had the standard “I will get into a fight with my dad and then go fight monsters and get killed and so leave everything unresolved” plot. He also has a wooden prosthesis as he lost a leg in battle, and it’s not a great one. Fortunately, it breaks in front of Dahlia, and she (for once) deliberately invents something fantastic. Oh yes, and it turns out Bernigi’s got a grandson who’s very familiar to the readers.

Fans of the Dahlia/Volf relationship will once again be pleased but also frustrated. Dahlia is told that loved ones frequently embroider designs onto a man’s undershirt to give some blessing and protection. She decides to do this for Volf, and ends up embroidering a design that is a flower (dahlia) and a wolf (Volf) intertwined. It’s so good she ends up using it as the Emblem of her company. But she remains 100% oblivious to the meaning of this, even when told point blank. They’re pals! As for Volf, Guido tells him point blank to marry Dahlia in order to protect her from foreign infiltrators kidnapping her and forcing her to invent, and his first thought is “what else could we do?”. They’re buddies! Volf remains SLIGHTLY ahead of Dahlia in terms of self-awareness, as when Guido suggests adopting Dahlia instead, making her and Volf siblings, he feels vaguely uncomfortable but is not sure why. They’re so cute. I want to strangle them.

The 9th volume just came out in Japan (with a new artist), so we should see that soon. I’m 100% sure it won’t end with Dahlia and Volf hooking up, though,. The slowest of slow burns.

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 1

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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.

Sure, it’s always nice when a book that you have high expectations for manages to justify them, but I’ve always been even more fond of books I expected to be utter trash being… well, slightly better than utter trash. I’m not about to say that I Could Never Be a Succubus! should take its place alongside Ascendance of a Bookworm or The Apothecary Diaries. It has consent issues and sometimes suspends disbelief more than I’d like. But I mean, the premise of this series, so I’d heard, was that a noble girl, on seeing the hero who is supposed to defeat the demon lord, arrive at her academy, asks if she can have his underpants. My expectations were THROUGH THE FLOOR. I only read this as I thought it would be amusingly bad. Instead I found it amusing but very readable, and it even has a bit of depth to it. And a great deal of this is due to my completely misreading how this premise was going to go.

A year before the main events in this book, the hero’s party battled the demon lord, and only survived due to the sacrifice of one of their members. A year later, Lisalinde is a student at the national academy. Gorgeous, polite, with great academics and strong magical powers, she’s loved by (almost) all of the student body. Then the hero’s party arrives. They’re still recovering from the battle, so are temporarily enrolling as students. And yes, as I stated above, Lisalinde, on seeing the hero, impulsively asks for his underpants. She’s appalled at herself. She has no idea why it happened. And what’s more, the more she gets to know the hero and his party members, the more perverse thoughts she starts to have. Has she REALLY not met them before? What’s going on?

So, sorry to spoil (it’s on Page 3), but Liselinde, aka Liz, is the party member who sacrificed herself to save the hero and the others. As a result, she’s lost her last two years of memories. Which means she has no idea that she is, in fact, a succubus. Who has already seduced the hero. And the lady knight who is his fiancee. And the adorable cleric who is his other fiance. This book goes back and forth between the present and the past, and that’s why it’s so funny, because Liz in the present is a seemingly normal girl struggling with terrifying impulses, while the Liz of the past, well aware she’s a succubus, will seduce anything that moves, and does so. (There’s no explicit sex in this, but there is a giant pile of IMPLICIT sex.) Liz can be a lot – she’s been known to drug food and drink with aphrodisiacs – but she clearly loves her fellow party members, and it’s obvious that they all miss her and want to get her memories back. I am assuming that there is a very good reason they can’t just tell her – but we don’t get it in this book.

There are six volumes of this to date in Japan, and I’m not sure how long it can sustain its premise. But if you enjoy ecchi comedies with a lovable sex maniac girl doing the cast… or if you love ecchi comedies with a pure young maiden horrified at her dirty mind… well, Liz gives you both.