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Features & Reviews

The Manga Review: We Got The Beat

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Thanks to Deb Aoki’s stellar recruitment efforts, The Beat has recently expanded its coverage of manga, manhwa, anime, and webtoons. This week, she introduced readers to the site’s newest contributors and announced that she’s currently serving as The Beat’s Manga/Anime/Webtoons Editor. If this week’s output is any indication, expect more in-depth coverage of licensing news and industry trends, as well as well reviews.

Also of note: ABLAZE just launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish Gannibal, a 13-volume horror series about a remote village with a gory secret… Brigid Alverson has the deets on Manga Plus Max, Shueisha’s brand-new subscription service… the Miami Film Festival will screen The Boy and the Heron in November, one month before its official American release… Twitter suspended Glacier Bay Books’ account with no explanation… Yoshihiro Togashi has hinted that he’s back at work on Hunter X Hunter… and Netflix just unveiled the trailer for Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka.

AROUND THE WEB

If you’re interested in stories about “passionate athletes” and “thrilling competitions with unpredictable outcomes,” I highly recommend the newly launched Sports Baka website (formerly a Substack). Recent articles have focused on series such as All Out!!, Birdie Wing, and Yama o Wataru (Crossing Mountains). [Sports Baka]

Which Shonen Jump titles made the best first impression on readers? Matias De la Piedra crunches the numbers. [The Beat]

Kara Dennison recommends three supernatural manga for readers in a Halloween state of mind. [Otaku USA]

Bill Curtis compiles a helpful list of October’s new manga and light novels. [Yatta-Tachi]

Francine Yulo interviews Ryan Holmberg about two recent translation projects: Nejishiki and My Picture Diary. [Drawn & Quarterly]

For a thoughtful conversation about Shuna’s Journey, check out the latest episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe. [Cartoonist Kayfabe]

Danica Davidson interviews Patrick Macias and Samuel Sattin about their collaboration on two forthcoming books: The Essential Anime Guide: 50 Iconic Films, Standout Series, and Cult Masterpieces and  A Kid’s Guide to Anime & Manga: Exploring the History of Japanese Animation and Comics, both of which will arrive in stores this November. [Otaku USA]

REVIEWS

Megan D. takes The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions for a test drive… Demelza reviews the Collector’s Edition of A Girl on the Shore… Sara Smith recommends Alice in Kyoto Forest for readers in grades 5-8… and Danica Davidson praises My Picture Diary for “giving a voice to countless women who feel stifled and trapped by roles pushed on them by society.”

New and Noteworthy

Complete, OOP, and Ongoing

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 5.5

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

Oh dear, it’s a short story volume. Worse, it’s a short story volume that takes place entirely before the lead couple get together. So right after I write a review that basically says “I’m so glad we’re no longer frustrated waiting for these two dipshits to confess”, I get an entire book filled with scenes where these two dipshits are not confessing. So as you can imagine a majority of this volume is filled with short stories where our two leads clean the house, or cook a meal, or play a videogame, and pine for each other. If you enjoyed the earlier volumes, this is great for you, though unfortunately the author’s narrative voice can occasionally make both of them come across as a bit creepy some of the time. Fortunately there are three stories that aren’t about Amane and Mahiru’s relationship, and they actually have plot!

In among the stories I mentioned above, we get three others. The first is Mahiru’s perspective on her childhood, and so as you can imagine is rather sad and depressing. Sometimes trying to be the best so that your parents will notice you simply doesn’t work out. No amount of Angel is going to make her mother care. The second story has Chitose telling a curious Mahiro how she and Itsuki started to date, and it’s much more serious than you’d expect given Chitose’s entire vibe. She was all about track, and did not really care about anything else – but rejecting Itsuki’s confession leads to unforeseen consequences. Then we hear about how Itsuki and Amane became friends, which is also more serious than expected and relies on Amane’s terrible memory for faces.

The whole point of this series is that its two leads are ridiculously pure. Nothing is going to happen, especially in this book, where they aren’t even a couple yet. But it’s still being sold to GA Bunko readers, so a certain amount of horniness is required by publisher statute. As a result, you get a lot of times, pardon me, where you just want to yell at the writer “It’s OK to say erection!”. Several scenes in the book are blatantly Amane getting aroused around Mahiru and feeling embarrassed and awkward about it – the worst of which comes when she sees him, supposedly asleep (he’s faking) and rubbing his exposed stomach… then drifting lower. It really creates this … not quite a “moe gap”, but in that neighborhood, and it makes the two even sweeter, somehow. Still, it’s actually a surprise later in the book when Chitose says “boobs” – and Mahiru’s reaction to this is exactly like Amane’s. As for the serious stories, well, all four leads have gone through major events that have caused them to change the way they behave around others. For Itsuki and Chitose’s that’s been a net positive. Mahiru and Amane are still working their way towards that.

So, short story volume. Fluffy, sweet, a few deep things. Horny, but in a Saturday Morning Cartoon sort of way. Back to being a couple next time.

Manga the Week of 10/11/23

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SEAN: It’s Indigenous Peoples Day next week! Any manga that might apply? Probably not, but we shall see.

We start with Yen Press, which has one title, and it’s a debut. The Red Thread is a BL manga adaptation of a Thai novel, and runs in Asuka Ciel. A boy at college who’s always felt that he’s destined to meet someone gets to college and… meets someone. Could it be destiny?

ASH: I’m interested in this if for no other reason than its transnational lineage.

SEAN: Viz Media has an anthology, Betwixt: A Horror Manga Anthology. This features both Japanese and Western creators, all of them trying to scare us to death.

ASH: Definitely interested in this one, too! Horror manga and comic for the win.

SEAN: Viz also has Akane-banashi 2, Case Closed 88, Dandadan 5, Jujutsu Kaisen: The Official Anime Guide: Season 1, Kaiju No. 8 8, Komi Can’t Communicate 27, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 15 (the final volume), and Rosen Blood 5 (also the final volume).

From Tokyopop we see the debut of The Black Cat & the Vampire (Kishukusha no Kuroneko wa Yoru wo Shiranai), a BL title that ran in Chara. A young man tries to get through his days at boarding school and fend off the attentions of the head boy. Then vampires arrive.

We also get Acid Town 2, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 3, and Ossan Idol! 7.

SuBLime has two titles. We get Black or White 7 and Given 8.

MICHELLE: Haven’t had a new volume of Given in quite a while!

ANNA: Yet another thing I need to get caught up on!

ASH: I’m behind, but looking forward to it.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl (Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryo Joshi), a Gangan Online series that also had an anime recently. A handsome office worker is a descendant of the legendary Snow Woman… but what really causes him to freeze up is talking to women!

ANNA: I’ve been looking forward to this!

ASH: This totally counts as being yokai-related, right?

SEAN: They also have The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 6 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 9.

The debut from Seven Seas is The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! (108-kai Korosareta Akuyaku Reijou: Subete wo Omoidashita no de, Otome wa Ruby de Kiseki shimasu). This Dengeki Daioh title is exactly what you think it is.

They have a danmei title next week, Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 2.

Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite: Horikita 2 (the final volume), The Dungeon of Black Company 9, and My New Life as a Cat 3.

One Peace Books has Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer 4.

Kodansha Manga debuts Super Morning Star (Oko-sama Star). This BL title from Gateau is about a guy who discovers his scary yakuza classmates is actually… a sentai performer?

MICHELLE: I cannot resist this premise.

ANNA: Haha!

ASH: Right??

SEAN: Also in print: FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 14, Orient 17, and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 14.

And digitally we see Cells at Work! Lady 2, DAYS 37, The Fable 19, Gang King 10, Giant Killing 39, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 8, and WIND BREAKER 12.

We get print from J-Novel Club. Ascendance of a Bookworm: Fanbook 3, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 10, the 5th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga volume, the 2nd Tearmoon Empire manga volume, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 10.

ASH: Yay, print Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Knight’s & Magic. Apostrophe not mine. A mecha otaku is reborn into a fantasy world… which has magical giant robots. He’s fine.

They’ve also got The Apothecary Diaries 9, Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga version) Arc 3 Part 2, By the Grace of the Gods 13, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 8, Infinite Dendrogram 20, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 7, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 5, The Sorcerer’s Receptionist 4, Sweet Reincarnation 8, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 3.

Ghost Ship features Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 3 and The Witches of Adamas 6.

Because Amazon has made it impossible to use Advanced Search any more, I keep missing the prestige publishers doing their semi-yearly manga releases. This is especially annoying as they’re inevitably Ash’s picks of the week – on the wrong week. In any case, Drawn & Quarterly put out Nejishiki, the third in its collection of Yoshiharu Tsuge works, last week. Sorry, D&Q. Blame Amazon.

ASH: Oh, yes, indeed! I’ll have a Bookshelf Brief for this one in the near future.

SEAN: Dark Horse Comics has Cat + Gamer 3.

There we go! Not as many as usual!

The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 4

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By Kennoji and Fly. Released in Japan as “Chikan Saresou ni Natteiru S-kyuu Bishoujo wo Tasuketara Tonari no Seki no Osananajimi datta” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

This book tends to work against my fragmentary memory. It’s been almost a year since the last volume, which doesn’t help. Nor do Fly’s illustrations, which in this series tend to make everyone look very similar to each other. And, of course, everyone refers to each other by different names – be they polite “last name only” folks, childhood friend first names, cute nicknames, etc. What all this ends up meaning is that I find myself constantly trying to remember which girl is which and what their backstory is. But then that’s also what Ryou is doing here, of course. His entire childhood seems to be a blur, and even the promise with his childhood friend turns out to be something of a lie. He can remember things when literally confronted with them, as we see in a beach scene. But he’s too buried in his own self-loathing to really try experiencing anything else, such as, say, dating one of the girls in love with him.

The bulk of this volume is concerned with making the movie everyone has decided to do, with Ryou as the director, Shizuka as the writer, and Hina and Ai as the actresses, with the clever conceit that the guy they’re both in love with is never seen, but merely implied offscreen. Of course, there are a few hiccups to get through. Getting a camera requires getting a part-time job, but fortunately Ai’s agent can help Ryou out. A scene filmed on the beach turns into an entire vacation day at the beach, and Ryou and Hina almost, ALMOST moving forward in their relationship but still failing. The big subplot, though, is that Hina, the talented amateur, and Ai, the former-idol-turned-actress, are both up for the same role in a production. Only one can get the job, while the other is doomed to disappointment. What can Ryou’s role be in regards to both of them? And can he find a path of his own?

Probably the most gripping scene in the book is where Ryou, at the absolute limits of his utter loathing of himself, starts pouring words out into a notebook for the entire night, and they end up turning into another, different film that he wants to make – this one with Shizuka as the lead. We can probably guess why – given that it’s a product of his own frustration and despair, it makes sense that he’d turn to the girl in his life who’s also gloomy and self-hating to get the right vibe. But the frustration and despair stem from the two main girls in his love triangle (sorry, Shizuka), who are both gorgeous, talented, and know what they want to do with their life – or at least, that’s what he thinks. We know from the occasional non-POV narration we get from them that both are also feeling a bit lost and afraid, which is why Ai’s agent asks Ryou to step in and help in THAT way at the book’s conclusion.

There are better “summer of my youth” romances out there, but there’s nothing really wrong with this one.

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 7

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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 will admit that disbelief is starting to be a bit TOO suspended in this series. The whole plot is that Yuto does stunningly amazing things without actually realizing it, is a huge celebrity without knowing it at all, and exudes this “aw shucks, I’m just a dull weak gamer” aura that puts even the most modest of Japanese protagonists to shame. But his ignorance to the actual gaming world is getting to be ridiculous. We know he reads forums. We know he tries to look for solutions, and he’s aware of upcoming events. So the idea that not only is he unaware of a new video channel for the game where players can get money by posting popular videos, but that *he* is the #1 videos thanks to his cute monsters weaponizing radio calisthenics… I mean, there’s innocent young boy who we must protect, and there’s deliberately thick. Especially given that Yuto is, in real life, an office worker. He’s not really a teenage boy! Sheesh.

Most of the book is the usual stuff: Yuto goes on adventures with his monsters where they fight things and almost die but eventually win; Yuto experiments with various types of weird things and usually has failures but sometimes comes up with something really interesting; and, of course, standing around while people gawp at him. The most important things he does in the book are a) buy another property, this one a Japanese-style house that comes with monsters that fit the mood… something that seems unavailable to other players. And he also finally makes it to Zone 5, which means he can try to achieve things he can’t do by hanging out at the starter’s line. This includes a huge underwater battle… which comes about as a result of realizing that the salmon tastes different depending on which color it is.

The series runs a great deal on “it’s OK because they’re so cute”, which is mostly fine (especially once the new “you can’t sexually harass the monsters” rule comes into play), and sometimes less fine (I’ve complained before about the “no homo” aspect of this series when it comes to guys who look feminine unnerving our hero, and will again, as I doubt it’s going away). Like Bofuri, though, this is a real game, not a “trapped in a game” or “isekai but it’s stats” world, so you get things like moderators actually doing their jobs and logging people out when their arguments get too heated. This is meant to be a world for people like Yuto, a relaaxing stroll through cool things, and anyone getting too upset about not getting the first doodad on the shelf should really be playing some other game. Besides, it’s far too late. Yuto gets all the first doodads. He even has a “first doodad boy” title.

This won’t win new fans, but old fans will like it. A slow life series that works.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 42

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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.

One of the strengths of the Rokujouma series has been the attention paid to its major antagonists. Even from the start, the villains got opportunities to show us their point of view, be sympathetic in some way, shape or form, or at least show why people trust them despite their being Obviously Evil. That stays true to the present books, as Ralgwin, despite being one of the main bad guys, is a Good Boss, cares about his underlings, and even fires one of his strongest supporters just so that she’ll be away from the bad stuff when it happens. Unfortunately, the bad stuff is absolutely going to happen, mostly as evil scientist (boo) has refined his living corpse makers so that he can resurrect the dead better (and thus use Ralgwin as a spare body for his ancestor), and the Grey Knight, who is “Koutarou but evil”, is still trying to kill Sanae, and presumably will get his inevitable redemption saved for near the end of the series. Assuming this series ever ends.

The format is the same as the last book: half a book of cute stories and buildup, and half a book of battles and payoff. Kenji ad Koutarou brought baseball equipment along, and now Koutarou and Shizuka can flirt… erm, I mean, practice to see if they can use the equipment with their powers. Koutarou then tries to figure out how to spend the giant pile of money he has without being too influential towards one side or another. Everyone then goes to inspect the new Blue Knight ship, which of course looks exactly like a giant robot, complete with detachable parts, because this series is still very teenage boy even as its readers age into their 40s. And then Ralgwin makes one last, desperate attempt to kill Koutarou once and for all, but has reckoned without a defector in his ranks.

The Yurika watch will be brief this review, as she’s barely in the book, except for one scene where she starts to think out loud that Koutarou looks like an Emperor/King until a terrifying glare from Elfaria shuts her up. Clearly Elfaria’s agenda involves much greater things for Koutarou than just “go back to Earth and live in my 6-tatami room”. The big deal here, though, is Fasta’s defection. The sniper has been a major thorn in our heroes’ side for a while now, but after being sent away by Ralgwin so that she’s not quietly killed while trying to save him, she decides to up her game by betraying him in order to save him later, after he’s arrested and imprisoned. It’s a bold move, and I was surprised that it actually worked, but I guess Ralgwin also saw the writing on the wall, putting everything into one last ‘kill Koutarou” attempt – which fails. I also liked that the girls were content to let her escape and try to rescue Ralgwin after his capture – everything they’ve done since about Book 9 or so has basically been “all for love”, so they can understand the feeling.

Good fights, amusing jokes, some incremental plot development. Everything you’d want in a Rokujouma book.

Earl and Fairy: A Gentle Proposal

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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.

If you’re looking at that subtitle and thinking to yourself “Oh good, we’re going to move past the shoujo “bad boyfriend but so hot” tropes and have them get together, I have some very bad news for you. This series is 3 volumes into a 33-volume run (in Japan, I’m not expecting miracles from JN-C), and the closest you’re going to get in this volume is Lydia saying she will “think about” falling in love with Edgar. And honestly, it would be far too fast right now, given where the characters are. This is an old series that came out back in the day when you could greenlight something long, so the development is slow and languorous. Edgar is still trying to figure out where to prioritize getting revenge for everything that’s happened to him and what he feels for Lydia. Lydia, meanwhile, cannot fathom ANYONE being interested in her, and still regards everything Edgar says as false. Which is not 100% true – but is not quite a lie either.

Edgar and Lydia’s back and forth, will-they-won’t-they is soon joined by a new inhabitant of Edgar’s house: Paul, an artist who Edgar has decided to give a bit of patronage to. They seem to have a past history, which is very interesting given Edgar’s past. Indeed, Paul is not even sure if this is the same boy, given that the last he’d heard the boy and his entire family were all dead. There’s also a fairy with a moonstone ring, trying to get Edgar to accept it so that he can be married to the Queen of the Fairies. Unfortunately, the ring has been stolen by a kelpie, who has known Lydia a long time and wants to use the ring to have HER return with him to Fairyland forever. As for Lydia, she mostly just wishes everyone would go away and let her get on with her work.

The frustration is the point, of course. At many points in this volume you want to strangle both Edgar and Lydia. Crucially, it’s rarely at the same time. Edgar ends up coming across much better when he stops pressing so hard, but he simply can’t find it in hiself to keep that up, and when he presses too hard he comes across as a bit scary. Lydia is already a girl who rarely dealt with real humans as a kid, and the one party she went to had the classic “boy who likes her pretends he asked her as a joke because it’s too embarrassing” plotline, and it’s twisted her entire viewpoint of herself. (The red hair doesn’t help – remember, redheads are still abused in this period.) But when push comes to shove, they will both sacrifice themselves to save the other, and that’s what really matters.

I don’t think it will take 30 more volumes to get a confession, but I suspect we’ll have the status quo for a bit. If you like old-school shoujo with good worldbuilding, this is perfect.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/2/23

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Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 26 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – This book starts to put in the effort of getting us to know and care about the new cast, and sort of half succeeds, mostly when we get an extended sequence devoted to them. The “princess knight” protecting Komi works quite well. The soccer player who runs into Manbagi is clearly being positioned as a “pair the spares” boyfriend for her after Tadano’s rejection, but right now he’s such a basket case that isn’t happening. Fortunately, the best reason to read this is Koomi and Tadano as a couple, and they’re absolutely adorable—even if Komi is so pretty that neither his mother nor sister believe he’s actually dating her. This series has gone on too long, but has not yet jumped the shark. – Sean Gaffney

Lupin III: Thick as Thieves | By Monkey Punch | Seven Seas – If you read the first Lupin collection released by Seven Seas a year and a half ago and said “I want exactly the same thing, but with different stories,” good news: you have your wish. Another collection of Monkey Punch’s best manga stories featuring Lupin, this has none of the characterization of the movies, or even the first TV series, but it gets by because of the fascinating fluid, abstract art style, a sense of humor that is bleak, juvenile, and furious alternating, and a knowledge that we enjoy seeing Lupin do what he does best in this manga: steal things, escape from peril, and have sex with beautiful women. Sometimes he does all of these at the same time. This succeeds on pure moxie. – Sean Gaffney

Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition, Vol. 3 | By Wataru Yoshizumi | Seven Seas – My attempts to be nicer to Miwa reckoned without… well, Miwa, who I still despise. But now I’m shipping Meiko with “single.” In any case, this volume introduces us to another terrible parent, in a series that specializes in them, and it’s even more annoying in that it’s a terrible parent who has to inform Yuu and Miwa that yes, he slept around, but not with Yuu’s mother, so we get a terrible parent who doesn’t even advance the plot. That said, Yuu and Miki manage to do that themselves, and are together… for now… and Ginta has accepted that he’s lost. Arimi has as well, if less gracefully. It’s still a shoujo classic, and re-reading it reminds you why it was so popular as a gateway here in the West. – Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 8 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – This wraps up the “Keith is kidnapped” plot in the first half, which is good, as I’m glad to see the back of it, and also bad, as Katarina/Keith is at the very bottom of my favorite pairing list. The second half of the manga is more interesting, telling an original story for the volume. Marsha knew Katarina before she gained her Japanese memories, when she was a hellion. But then her family was exiled for some mysterious reason. Now she’s back, and she’s determined to win Jeord’s heart and destroy Katarina Claes! That goes about as well as you’d expect. It’s nice seeing something new, though it’s not revolutionary. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou, Vol. 11 | By Keiichi Arawi | Kodansha Manga – Nichijou is back after being away for over six years. In fact, it had an actual ending, and the creator moved on to a new series, City, which had much of the same style of humor. But it was not as beloved as Nichijou, and Kodansha editorial love to see creators return to popular works (see: GTO), so we’re back with the girls in high school as if the flashforwards in volume ten never happened. If you liked Nichijou‘s random, abstract humor, you’ll like this; the author hasn’t lost a step. That said, we’ve sort of returned to square one, and the characters very much take a backseat to the gags here. Which is fine, it’s a gag manga. But I hope in future volumes we’ll see some of the depth we got in volumes nine and ten. – Sean Gaffney

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Vol. 3 | By Hitoshi Ashinano | Seven Seas – The bulk of the back half of this third omnibus sees Alpha going on a long, extended trip around Japan (much to the distress of Kokone, who comes around several times but finds Alpha not there). The reason for this is a typhoon has destroyed her cafe, and fixing it up will require money. Since Alpha has no good answers, you could argue that her extended road trip is a good way to escape from her problems, and you’d be right, but the scenery is so gorgeous we don’t care. We also realize how time is passing—when we first met Takahuiro he was a young boy, but now he’s taller than Alpha. Bittersweet at times as you recall this world is slowly dying, it’s also still achingly sweet. – Sean Gaffney

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 1

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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 we have seen a large increase in the number of light novels written for women over the last few years, we have also seen that a great deal of them tend to involve an overworked, exhausted office lady escaping the terrible job she has by getting summoned to another world, or rescued by an improbable coincidence, or even simply dying and being reborn elsewhere. The original Japanese title of this book references “black companies”, the workplaces that violate labor standards but are nevertheless there for people who desperately need jobs. That said, I’m not sure we’ve seen a power fantasy quite as blatant as the one in My Magical Career at Court, whose entire plot revolves around our underappreciated heroine getting fired by her mean bosses and then ending up with the perfect job, where she impresses literally everyone around her by being outstanding. It is a cry of freedom from the heart. Or rather, from the page.

The book starts in the first paragraph with the words “you’re fired”. Noelle lives in a backwater town, trying to live her life as a mage, even in a job she’s not really suited for, because she loves magic. Sadly, her boss doesn’t really care – and is, in fact, so sadistic that he makes sure she can never get a job in the town that uses magic. Fortunately for her, she runs into Luke, her old friend and hated rival from magical school, where the two of them were constantly competing for the top spot. He’s now working for the royal court, and is delighted that he can offer her a job. As she moves to the capital and starts her new job, she is stunned at every turn by now nice everyone is, how she gets real time off and normal work hours, and how expectations for her are not ludicrous. That said… what she gives them *is* ludicrous. She’s a bit OP.

Other folks have compared this to The Sorcerer’s Receptionist a bit, and I get it, but Noelle doesn’t seem to be all that similar to Nanalie except in the fact that they both have a boyfriend/rival figure. Indeed, how much you like this book may depend on how much you can tolerate Noelle being another one of THOSE heroines, so beaten down by life that any sign of obvious affection is completely missed, and folks trying to praise her gets constantly brushed off. It’s Japanese modesty taken to an aggravating degree. That said, overall I found her a lot of fun. I was surprised at the subplot, where we see what happens to the “bad guild” after she leaves. I’m so used to the sorts of stories where everyone is so evil they’re disgraced and end up dying a coward’s death, but no… the end goal of this story is that the old bosses see what Noelle is really like and regret that they let her go so easily. That’s it. In the end, this really is an office lady revenge story, it’s just the revenge is “I am happy now, ha ha ha”.

This has a second volume, which I will check out, but also feels pretty complete in one book, despite the romantic subplot slamming against Noelle’s heroic self-deprecation. Recommended for those in a bad job who like to fantasize.

From the Vault: Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer

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This month, I’m reaching into the PopCultureShock vault for a review of Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer, one of those offbeat titles that Tokyopop published back in the aughts. It’s not hard to see why Tokyopop thought there was an audience for Mihara’s work, as she played an important role in defining the Gothic Lolita aesthetic. Tokyopop licensed five of her works—Doll, Haunted House, IC in a Sunflower, Requiem in Phonybrian, and The Embalmer—but they didn’t really catch on with North American readers. That’s a pity, as titles such as The Embalmer, Doll, and IC in a Sunflower were anything but cookie cutter, tackling difficult subjects with sensitivity and style. (Well, most of the time; some of the stories in Sunflower haven’t aged particularly well.) Readers interested in tracking down The Embalmer should note that Tokyopop only translated four of the seven volumes before canceling the series; used copies are relatively easy to obtain through Amazon and eBay, however. A quick search of WorldCat indicates that there are public libraries around the US that still have copies as well.

Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer, Vols. 1-4
Story and Art by Mitsukazu Mihara
Published by Tokyopop

Let’s face it: even in a medium known for exploring a diverse array of topics—cooking, Viagra, Linux, vampires—embalming doesn’t sound like a promising subject, yet Mitsukazu Mihara’s gripping manga is less an examination of death and decay than a meditation on how coping with loss gives meaning to life.

The series focuses on embalmer Shinjyurou Mamiya. At first glance, he looks like the quintessential bad boy with his skate punk wardrobe, rock star ‘do, sloppy digs, and fondness for the ladies. That’s certainly how Atzuki Natsui, his housekeeper and love interest, views him. Shinjyurou, however, proves more substantial than his casual demeanor might suggest. In a country where Buddhist custom dictates that bodies be cremated, his profession inspires hostility and suspicion from grieving families and medical professionals alike. Shinjyurou, however, reaches out to skeptics with the argument that embalming is a service for the living, not the dead. By preserving (and sterilizing) the body of a tuberculosis victim, for example, Shinjyurou allows the man’s young son to hug his father goodbye—something that would have been impossible during the man’s final days in quarantine—while Shinjyurou’s reconstruction of a badly mangled ballerina helps her grieving fiance imagine the wedding and professional debut she was denied by a deadly car crash.

Each volume of The Embalmer has a slightly different rhythm; some read like anthologies of thematically related stories, while others contain more conventional, multi-chapter story arcs involving the lead characters. Volumes one and two, for example, consist primarily of vignettes about Shinjyurou’s clients with a sprinkling of chapters exploring his personal life. In volume three, Mihara shifts gears, delving into Shinjyurou’s past to explain how an aspiring medical student from Okinawa ended up studying mortuary science in Pittsburgh. Volume four returns to the same format as volumes one and two, offering both glimpses of the embalming profession and scenes from Shinjyurou’s muddled courtship of Atsuki.

Volume four also includes an afterword from Mihara explaining her interest in embalming. Contrary to what one might expect from a manga-ka best known for her goth-loli motifs and dark themes, Mihara’s curiosity about the practice stemmed from personal experience, not a general fascination with death:

The inspiration for this book came from the death of my friend. Because of the funeral schedule, I didn’t feel like I was able to properly say goodbye. I think embalming is a technique well suited to Japan, where we often have very little time. So the circumstances led me to investigate embalming…

It’s this personal investment in the material, I think, that prevents The Embalmer from shading into ghoulishness or sentimentality. Mihara did her homework on the subject. Each volume includes extras explaining the practice—origins, tools, training—and the difficulties faced by Japanese professionals in a country where cremation is the norm. At the same time, however, each volume contains vivid, poignant scenarios that dramatize the very human need for closure when a loved one dies unexpectedly, showing us how personal tragedy leads to catharsis. Mihara’s highly stylized figures—often rendered with slender, angular frames, coal-black eyes, and dark shocks of hair—and empty backgrounds amplify her characters’ shifting moods from despair to peaceful acceptance.

Tokyopop has done Mihara’s work justice with a smooth, idiomatic translation, helpful notes explaining pop culture references, and a distinctive cover design in a muted palette of green, gray and black. It’s a worthwhile addition to every serious manga fan’s collection, and a fine introduction to the unique art and storytelling of Mitsukazu Mihara.

This review originally appeared at PopCultureShock on September 18, 2007 at http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga-review-mitsukazu-miharas-the-embalmer-vols-1-4/42616/.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons, Vol. 1

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By Izumi Sawano and Miru Yumesaki. Released in Japan as “Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

I went into this wanting to like it. I’d heard rumors that it was being disparaged on forums because it had one of THOSE shoujo boyfriends. You know, controlling, possessive, etc. The sort that seemed to be in every title from Viz Media circa 2002. The rumors are not QUITE true… OK, they’re maybe half true, but that’s not why this book doesn’t work. The book doesn’t work, chiefly, because its heroine is a dimbulb, and not in the fun way. She wants to be Katarina Claes, but she’s just too manic, too aggravating, and the eccentricities that are supposed to explain why everyone is doing this after ten years just read like her not bothering to try to deal with anything at all. Add to this a writing style that screams “I’m so wacky!” every page, a big brother that makes the sadistic prince look like a cupcake, and the standard “anytime I am embarrassed, I overreact in a ridiculous way” character tic, and this is hard going.

Leticia is a duchess who has been engaged for the last ten years to Clarke, the crown prince. This means she has been getting grueling lessons in how to be royalty for those last ten years. So when she spots her fiance with Brianna, a buxom black-haired beauty, she leaps to the conclusion that their engagement is broken (perhaps she’s read this plot in 87 other light novels) and immediately flees the palace, flees her house, and flees to a backwater part of the country, where she plans to climb trees, fish, and do all the other things that she was never able to do when she was a princess in training. There’s just one problem. She’s still engaged. Clarke really, really, really loves her. And now she’s coming back with him, and will not be allowed to escape once more. Even though she keeps trying. Again and again and again.

I hate reading too much into this plot, because it’s clearly meant to be a broad comedy, and everyone in it should be treated as a caricature. But the moment you try to apply a realistic lens to any of this, it becomes desperately horrible. We only see one flashback of the “princess lessons” themselves, but they’re apparently so brutal that they essentially shut Leticia down for ten years, to the point where she doesn’t even listen or react to people in any normal way. Um… that sounds like abuse? Clarke, at least, calls off the lessons once she is captured. As for Clarke himself, the book can’t decide if he’s a sweet lovestruck prince pretending to be a yandere sadist, or if he really is a yandere sadist. Oh yes, and the entire plot is resolved by the 112th page, meaning the last third of the book is a series of after stories giving us various short clips of what comes next, all with the same thrown together style.

On Twitter I called this the stupidest light novel I’d ever read, which ended up not being quite true. The plot did justify itself within its own framework. But boy was this a chore to get through. Somehow there’s a Book 2, which actually might be better than the first, as it focuses on Brianna, the gold-digging girl who keeps hanging around even after her role in the “plot” is long since dispensed with. That said, it’s not enough for me to read it.

The Manga Review: September in the Rain

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When Crunchyroll purchased retailer Right Stuf in 2022, the streaming giant posted a notice at its site reassuring consumers that this “acquisition aims to serve anime fans and collectors an even wider array of merchandise for online purchase including manga, home video, figures, games, music and everything in between.” The full impact of this decision, however, didn’t hit customers until last week, when Crunchyroll announced that it would be closing down Right Stuf and folding it into the new Crunchyroll Store, prompting fans to express concern about unfulfilled orders, and lament the end of Right Stuf’s discount programs. Over at ANN, Nicholas Dupree and Steve Jones rounded up reactions and offered their own two cents on what this decision means for anime and manga fans. I can’t say that I’ll miss Right Stuf—it was never my go-to site for manga—but this kind of retail consolidation seldom bodes well for consumers.

Elsewhere, Brigid Alverson has the details on a new partnership between Penguin Random House and Tappytoon as well licensing news from Seven Seas and Dark Horse… the Vincent Van Gogh Museum is using a Pokémon exhibit to introduce kids to the Starry Night artist… Manga Planet just revamped its subscription service… the first volume of Haruki Murakami Manga Stories will be released on October 24th… the first ten volumes of George Morikawa’s Hajime no Ippo are now available through the KMANGA app… the first volume of Inio Asano’s Mujina Into the Deep has a nifty-looking trailer… and the final volume of Kentaro Yabuki’s Ayakashi Triangle will arrive in Japanese bookstores around Christmas.

AROUND THE WEB

In this week’s must-read essay, Deshan Tennekoon explains what makes Yotsuba&! such a joy to read. “The premise of the series is simple: it’s about a bubbly, inquisitive five-year-old girl named Yotsuba and her daily adventures in the small Japanese town to which she’s recently moved,” he explains. “Yotsuba’s sunny disposition is her defining trait and Azuma makes it natural and endearing. This is not to suggest she is always chirpy – she has her bad days and her tantrums, too. However she’s doing on any given day, Azuma’s portrayal of her has an honesty to it, and the series is never saccharine.” [SOLRAD]

Justin Guerrero offers a sneak peek at Blood Blade, a new vampire series from Oma Sei. [The Beat]

The Manga Machinations gang convene a roundtable on Susume Higa’s Okinawa. [Manga Machinations]

On the latest episode of Manga in Your Ears, Kory, Apryll and Helen discuss My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders. [Taiiku Podcast]

Will Fabricant 100 flop with David and Jordan? Tune in to find out! [Shonen Flop]

David Brothers leads a lively discussion about Yashuhiro Nightow’s *other* manga, Blood Blockade Battlefront. [Mangasplaining]

Elliot and Andy look at two series by non-binary authors: X-Gender and Until I Love Myself: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist. [ScreenTone Club]

Over at Dad Needs to Talk, Rob offers his thoughts on a brand-new series from Kodansha, That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside. [Dad Needs to Talk]

REVIEWS

In a thoughtful review of River’s Edge, Scott Cederlund praises Kyoko Okazaki for being “honest and raw in her storytelling”… Nubia Jade Brice gives high marks to #DRCL Midnight Children… Renee Scott reviews the first two volumes of My Girlfriend’s Child… and Megan D. declares Psychic Academy “one of the ripest, most ridiculous pieces of garbage I’ve reviewed on this site in a good long while.”

New and Noteworthy

Complete, OOP, and Ongoing 

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 6

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

This is another Bookworm volume that’s more relaxed and peaceful than others. The last book promised a huge upheaval in Rozemyne’s life, and this volume is all about how that upheaval is going to affect everyone around her. Its pretty much got everything you’d want in a Bookworm volume… well, OK, there’s a long, long, extended story told from Detlinde’s point of view. That was nightmarish to read. But other than that. The most amusing thing about the volume is the fact that everyone knows that something is going to happen soon to knock everything off the rails, because Rozemyne’s life is a series of such events. They have a year till she moves to the Sovereignty, those she employs have three years… but they’re all preparing to move at a moment’s notice because bad things always happen to this girl. Admittedly, she always makes them into good things, but that is beside the point.

Returning from the Archduke’s Conference, there’s a lot to discuss, namely how Rozemyne is moving to the Sovereignty in one year’s time. She’ll need servants, but not all of them can go with her, and Ehrenfest can’t lose ALL the people attached to her. So some folks have to choose whether to stay or go, which is made more difficult by the fact that Rozemyne, who is trying to be considerate, is not making her own feelings very clear. Meanwhile, she’s managed to save Ferdinand for now, at least, and proceeds to send him enormously valuable paper, and he sends her piles and piles of gifts in return, along with a letter that even asks, in obscure noble language, “do you like me in a romantic way?”. Rozemyne being the glorious asexual hamster that she is, does not understand this at all. (Yes, I know, Rozemyne’s asexuality will last exactly until the author decides to have her be attracted to Ferdinand, but let me have this for now.)

There’s a lot of great stuff happening here. Wilfried, given everything that’s been going on around him, and his low point in the last two books, took things a lot better than I expected. The scene with the four siblings having a tea party was marvelous, and it was amusing seeing Charlotte and Rozemyne trying to one-up one another in praise. Elvira and Rozemyne also had a long heart-to-heart, and we get a better understanding of just how AWFUL everything was in Ehrenfest before Hurricane Rozemyne arrived a good 20 or so books ago. Of course, there’s still some ominous rumblings going on – the aforementioned Detlinde story is a walking collapsing disaster, and Sylvester’s story basically has to have him talk his way out of a cleverly engineered trap (probably by Georgina, let’s face it). So yeah, even we don’t think everything will go smoothly in a year’s time.

Next tie we’re back to the academy, but no one cares, because if you look at the cover for the next book in the series… it’s finally happening! Join us for literal character growth.

Manga the Week of 10/4/23

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SEAN: It’s the start of October, let the Halloween manga commence.

ASH: Boo! (As in what a ghost would say; I’m not in the habit of booing manga, Halloween or otherwise.)

SEAN: Airship has one print release, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 6.

And for early digital we get Adachi and Shimamura 11 and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5.

Denpa Books said Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 5 should be out about now. Rider’s on the cover. Delicious recipes are within.

Two debuts from J-Novel Club. The one with the light novel title is 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! (Loop 8-shūme wa Shiawasena Jinsei o: 7-shūbun no Keiken-chi to Dai San Ōjo no “Kantei” de Kakusei Shita ore wa, Aibō no Behemoth to Tomo ni Musō Suru). An adventurer who keeps getting betrayed and killed by his friends has finally, in his 8th life, decided enough is enough. Can he change his fate with the help of the princess?

ASH: Probably, but even if not, “behemoth” is a great word.

SEAN: There’s also a manga debut, This Art Club Has a Problem! (Kono Bijutsu-bu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!). This had an anime come out about 8 years ago, so I guess we can call it a classic retro manga release. That said, it’s still running in Dengeki Maoh. A straight woman finds herself in an art club filled with one-note comic characters, and reacts accordingly.

ASH: I thought that title sounded familiar!

SEAN: Also getting a release: My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 8, Rebuild World 3 Part 1, Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! 2, and Tearmoon Empire 10.

No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do get Fire Force 34 (the final volume), Lovesick Ellie 12 (the final volume), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir 2, WIND BREAKER 2, Wistoria: Wand & Sword 6, and Witch Hat Atelier 11.

MICHELLE: I never managed to finish Lovesick Ellie when reading the digital releases, but I will definitely do it this time!

ANNA: I also need to get caught up!

ASH: You’re certainly farther along than I am! And it’s always a good week when there’s a new volume of Witch Hat Atelier.

ANNA: Agreed!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside (Manga Henshuusha ga Kaisha wo Yamete Inakagurashi wo Shitara Isekai Datta Ken). This seinen title from Evening is… well, its title. Guy decides to take his wife, move to the boonies, and start a farm. Then realizes he’s not isekai’d, so it’s a lot harder than it sounds.

ASH: Lol! It’s the not isekai’d part that makes it work for me. It may not be Solver Spoon, but I am intrigued.

SEAN: And then there’s Chihayafuru 40, Life 8, MF Ghost 17, My Master Has No Tail 10, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 4, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 7, Those Snow White Notes 10, and The World is Dancing 2.

MICHELLE: It’s crazy to think we’re coming up to the final stretch of Chihayafuru!

SEAN: One Peace has the 9th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Seven Seas gives us a bunch of stuff. Cinderella Closet 3, Citrus+ 5, The Dangers in My Heart 7, The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan 2, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 4, MoMo -the blood taker- 6, Night of the Living Cat 3, Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition 3, PULSE 5, Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3, A Tale of the Secret Saint 4, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

ASH: That is a bunch.

SEAN: Square Enix gives us Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 10.

Udon Entertainment has the 2nd volume of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Viz Media debuts Tamon’s B-Side (Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!?). This Hana to Yume title is about a housekeeper who finds herself at the home of her favorite pop idol… only in real life, he’s an insecure mess who wants to quit. Can she help the boy she stans? This is by the author of Takane & Hana.

MICHELLE: I don’t love the premise, but will read anything by this mangaka.

ASH: I feel like I read a manhwa with a similar-ish sort of premise, but now I can’t remember what it was…

ANNA: Alright, interested in this for sure.

SEAN: Viz also gives us Chainsaw Man 12, Hunter x Hunter 37, The King’s Beast 11, Moriarty the Patriot 13, My Love Mix-Up! 9 (the final volume), Rainbow Days 6, and Spy x Family: The Official Guide—Eyes Only, a guidebook to the series.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize My Love Mix-Up! was ending already! Two shoujo faves ending the same week.

ASH: I really need to catch up with that one!

SEAN: Yen On has one debut, The Deer King (Shika no Ou). A slave toiling in the mines finds that infected dogs have killed everyone but him and one young girl. Now they have to survive, somehow, even as the infection spreads.

ASH: Oh, this had a recent anime adaptation that I admittedly haven’t watched yet but looked promising!

SEAN: And Yen Press has Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 9 and The Witch and the Knight Will Survive 2.

No scary manga yet, but the month is still young. What are you buying?

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 9

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Well, the good news is the Spellblades anime was not the complete disaster the way, say, Spy Classroom is. The bad news is that it wasn’t all that great, either, and I doubt a lot of folks who hadn’t read the books will be reading the anime and going “whoah, need to read that”. Which is a shame, as these really are a series of great light novels, but alas, “first rule of anime: drop the internal narration” strikes again. As for this volume, it was mostly excellent, with one major exception which I will get to. It also had a hell of a cliffhanger, as for once the author did NOT write the end of an arc with “and I’ve run out of pages, so bye”, but instead teases us with something that I really don’t want to have happen but will also be really interested in if it does. That said, most of this is the last of the tournament, so fight, fight, fight.

There are three big battles in this book. First, Oliver, Nanao and Yuri have to fight Ursule Valois and her other team members, Generic Person 1 and Generic Person 2. This gets into a long discussion of sword styles but is derailed a bit by a flashback that made me want to drop the series. After that, Stacy, Fay and Chela go up against Richard Andrews and his team of final bosses, and do their best despite Chela basically being told “you can’t win because the teacher is your dad”. Finally, Team Andrews and Team Horn get a knock-down, drag-out battle which allows Yuri to actually become a real live boy but gives Nanao her worst nightmare: an erotically charged swordfight between Oliver and someone who isn’t her.

There are so many ways that this series feels like it was written by an emo 24-year-old boy. Sometimes this is awkward but endearing, such as Horn and Andrews battling to see if they get to call each other by their first names and maybe hang out sometimes. Sometimes this is pretty damn cool, such as Katie sticking to her principles so much that she might eventually turn evil and die, or Chela needing to be Bright Slapped by her dad. And sometimes it’s really awful and stupid. I don’t like “let me show you a flashback to my super evil abusive family to show you why I am super evil and abusive” to begin with, but this one adds a kitten to the trauma to make things extra horrible. There was no need for that, and I say this as someone who wrote very similar things when *I* was 24. That said, I’m never going to be able to stop Spellblades wearing its heart on its sleeve, which means that sometimes you get really awesome stuff, and sometimes you get this. It’s all just out there on the page, everything.

So the arc is over, go in peace. Tune in next time to see if Yuri dies, if Katie turns evil, or if Oliver and Nanao finally bang. The first two are far more likely than the third.