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The Reincarnated Villainess Won’t Seek Revenge, Vol. 2

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By Akako and Hazuki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shita Akuyaku Reijō wa Fukushū o Nozomanai” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by JCT.

Sometimes authors have to admit that they have certain strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult for the author themselves to be able to spot what their weakness actually is. Trust me, I’ve yelled at far too many light novel authors who think that falling over into someone’s tits is “funny”. So, I will state up front: the author of this series is not all that good at writing romance. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book. But I basically enjoyed all the parts of the book that were Mary and Albert waffling around trying to figure out their love a lot less than I did things like all the action sequences, close encounters with certain death, and seeing deep into the mind of our very disturbed antagonist, who is taking game theory far more than it really needs to go. Now, in the end this book remains a romance novel, so you can argue it failed. But the middle bits ARE really good.

The day has been saved, the new king is on the throne, and the need for vengeance (mostly) no longer lies in everyone’s hearts. Sure, Queen Tia is still missing and presumably at large, but that’s a problem for a future date. That said, Mary is trying to decide what to do now, return to the place she grew up or stay as a handmaid to the knights. Then she gets waylaid by Albert, who proposes on the spur of the moment. She clearly has feelings for Albert, but she has fear as well – she worries that he loves Rosemary, and just sees her as a vessel for her soul. So she can’t say yes straight away, but she doesn’t want to say no either. And then, unfortunately, everything collapses as Rosemary’s funeral detail, with Reynaldo guarding her coffin, is attacked by bandits, and Mary herself is facing an assassination attempt. Guess we really do need to concentrate on Queen Tia.

Leaving aside its flaws, the author does some things very well indeed. The dramatic sequences in this book sing, moving at a very fast clip and showing a genuine sense of tension and menace, particularly whenever Queen Tia shows up. We get to know Tia a lot more in this second volume, and she’s just as unpleasant as you can imagine, but unlike a lot of “villainess” books content to make the antagonist rather shallow and one-note, we go deep into Tia disturbing psyche and see how much she truly enjoys seeing others suffer. It’s thus both cathartic and rather disquieting when we also focuses on the moments before her own execution, when she realizes that she won’t be able to manipulate her way out of this one. The one bit of the romance that did interest me was Reynaldo and Mary’s stupid plan to have Mary pretend to lose all of Rosemary’s memories, a scheme thankfully interrupted by the person who should most be dealing with this.

This is the final volume, so happy ever afters all around. Usually I say that a book starts great but tails off, or starts slow and then picks up. This is a rare book where you read it for the middle.

Manga the Week of 8/9/23

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SEAN: Getting geared up for back to school, which manga will you sneakily read behind a textbook… ah hell, it’s all gonna be on tablets now, isn’t it?

ASH: Depending on the students’ acumen, that may actually make things easier!

SEAN: Airship debuts a novel based on a short film, Summer Ghost. It’s a supernatural coming of age story, and you know what that means. Get ready for some dead teenagers.

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be a particularly uncommon theme in manga these days.

Airship also has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14 in print.

There’s also an early digital release of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 8.

Fantagraphics has a box set collecting both volumes of Shintaro Kago’s Dementia 21. Recommended for lovers of the weird and disturbing.

ASH: Truly!

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: And Ghost Ship gives us Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His S-Rank Cat Girl 2.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 7 (the manga), Infinite Dendrogram 18, and My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 8.

The digital debut is the manga version of The Magician Who Rose From Failure (Shikkaku kara Hajimeru Nariagari Madou Shidou!), whose light novel J-Novel Club also releases. It runs in Comic Ride.

J-Novel Club also has Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 5, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 7, Gushing Over Magical Girls 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 9, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 4, and the 2nd manga volume of Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want!.

Kaiten Books has a digital release of the 9th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World.

No debuts for Kodansha, but we get some print. Attack on Titan Omnibus 12 (the final volume, until the next repackaging), I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Lovesick Ellie 11, Peach Boy Riverside 12, and Quality Assurance in Another World 3.

MICHELLE: Yay Lovesick Ellie!

ASH: I really need to get caught up with that series.

ANNA: Ohh, me too! This is something to look forward to for me.

SEAN: While digitally we see The Fable 17, Gang King 8, Giant Killing 38, Life 2: Giver/Taker 6 (the final volume), Orient 16, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 9, and WIND BREAKER 11.

MICHELLE: Yay Giant Killing!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 8th volume of the Higehiro manga.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher (Motoyan Papa to Hitsuji-sensei) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. A teacher who never manages to confess to the boy he liked in high school now finds that boy is a single father of one of his students.

ASH: Drama!

ANNA: LOL

SEAN: And Summer Ghost: The Complete Manga Collection is the manga version of the short film/novel, I mentioned above. It ran in Tonari no Young Jump.

Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 7, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 8, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife 2, Last Game 2, Lazy Dungeon Master 5, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 17, Yokai Cats 5, and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 3.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is definitely something I’m looking forward to reading.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 9th manga volume of The Apothecary Diaries, the 9th manga volume of By the Grace of the Gods, My Isekai Life 8, and Tokyo Aliens 4.

Steamship has a second volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

From SuBLime we see Megumi & Tsugumi 3 and Yarichin Bitch Club 5.

Viz has the debut of the week with Akane-banashi, a Shonen Jump series about a girl who wants to become a rakugo star, and it’s one of the breakout hits of the last year.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: This looks really good and I’ve heard great things.

ANNA: Huh, this wasn’t on my radar before, but it sounds interesting.

SEAN: And they also have Komi Can’t Communicate 26, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 7, Show-ha Shoten! 3, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 21.

ANNA: Reminder to myself to read more Sleepy Princess.

ASH: Same! It’s such a fun series.

SEAN: Apologies to Yen Press, because I missed two of their titles last week. The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King (Realist Maou Niyoru Seiiki Naki Isekai Kaikaku) is a manga based on an unlicensed light novel about a new demon king who decides to win the day by using every dirty trick in the book. It runs in Dengeki Maoh.

And The Misfit of Demon King Academy is one of their “print version of a J-Novel Club light novel” titles.

In titles actually out next week, we see A Certain Magical Index: The Old Testament Omnibus Edition, collecting all 22 of the original Index novels into one 1,664-page book. The “Old Testament” part excited fans, who anticipated a license of the sequel. I would make a joke here, but Yen actually did just license the sequel, so well done!

ASH: That will be quite the tome!

SEAN: And there’s the light novel debut of You Can Have My Back, a BL take on the reincarnation fantasy. A young man recalls his past life (not in Japan, for once) where he was killed by a traitor. Worse, that traitor is still around.

Amazon’s Advanced Search is still broken, so apologies to everything on this I get wrong. What are you getting?

ASH: I remember the days when the advanced search largely worked; I miss them.

ANNA: Alas, boolean logic and advanced filtering options.

I’ll Use This Do-Over to Become the Ideal Lady’s Maid!

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By Saki Ichibu and Cocosuke. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoseru Mitai nano de, Kondo Koso Akogare no Jijo wo Mezashimasu!” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

This is actually a very good book once you get past the rather odd premise. I am aware that Japan has a sort of maid THING, in all sorts of ways. And yes, I am sure that this also extends to the fantasy worlds that they write about, such as the one we see here. It just seems a bit weird to me to have the heroine, a noble lady who has the power to manipulate time and works for the royal family, saying that her goal after graduation is to go be a maid for some rich girl. Now, of course she imprinted on her own maid as a girl and wants to follow in her footsteps, and the maid described here is also a bodyguard and butler and every other thing you can think of. But it’s still kind of like someone graduating from Yale and deciding, instead of getting their doctorate, to go to a vo tech. That said, that’s fine too. She knows what she wants.

Emma Seagrove is rather startled to wake up one morning to find she’s got to get ready for her first day at the magical academy. She’s startled because, while she has time travel powers, she’s not supposed to use them to change history, and she did NOT deliberately go back in time! No matter how much she wanted to. Because she’s from 4 years in the future, after she graduated, and the night before she was dumped by her fiance publicly at a party so that he could marry her best friend. (You know, the usual Villainess plot.) Still, now that she IS here she might as well make the most of it. After testing things to see if she CAN change the future (yes, she can), she dedicates herself to making her original dream come true that she had to abandon the first time around: become a maid!

Once you get past the premise, the book itself is quite well done. The “bad guy”, her ex-fiance Bernard, is used very sparingly, mostly because he’s the only character in the book who is truly vile. I was a bit worried about Annette, her best friend, who is someone who “excels at getting others to take care of and spoil her”. The author’s other series, Formerly the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, has a very annoying character who runs along similar lines. But Annette surprised me near the end of the book with a plot twist that I should have seen coming but did not. And of course there’s also a romance here as well, but it takes a back seat to Emma trying to get out of her engagement and learn maid skills – something that is actually MUCH HARDER because, in this new go-round, she has far more magical power than she used to. Emma is a very likeable heroine, and you want her to succeed.

This is a single-volume series, so I definitely recommend giving it a try, as it won’t become a potential financial and time burden. Hope you love maids, though. But who doesn’t?

Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for my Villainous Fiancée!, Vol. 2

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By Shakushineko and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Betabore no Kon’yakusha ga Akuyaku Reijō ni Saresō nanode Heroine gawa ni wa Sore Sōō no Mukui o Ukete Morau” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Mittt Liu.

As with so many of these books that are written as one-offs but unexpectedly become popular, the subtitle to this second volume is inaccurate. The “heroine” of the first book is still being emotionally tortured by sadistic magic expert Raphael, and doesn’t figure into this volume. A more accurate subtitle might be “I’ll Fight the Foreign Prince for My Villainous Fiancée!”. As with the first book, Elizabeth is about as villainous as a wet rag, but due to plot circumstances we do get to see her acting the part near the end. This is actually the funniest moment in the book, as she’s absolutely terrible at being bad, even if it’s for good reasons. As for the series itself, it remains “decent”. There’s nothing overtly wrong with it, and the main couple are sweet, but unfortunately it also lacks that certain something to make it stand out from the pack.

Things are mostly going well for Vincent and Elizabeth. The young lady plotting their downfall has been dealt with in a vaguely creepy but also pretty permanent manner. The guy who was also antagonizing them is now under house arrest. And they’ve even managed to confess to each other in the shyest, most adorable way possible. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for a start, Lord Lars is back, and he’s now a dragon. A tiny dragon the size of a cat. And seems to have very little memory of being Lars except a vague “I am imprinted on Elizabeth” sort of way. More importantly, there are visitors from the neighboring kingdom of Orion, which is currently undergoing a bit of a throne war. In that case, why is Second Prince Leohardt arriving to study at the academy? And why is he bringing along a baron’s daughter who can barely string two sentences together without screwing up?

The most interesting part of this book is how they set things up so that Lecia, the aforementioned baron’s daughter, can marry the First Prince. Normally the status difference would be far too great, so everyone assumes that the second prince is going to unseat his brother from the throne and thus make it OK for him to marry Lecia. But no, Leohardt is craftier than that (a lot is made about his demonic smile throughout the book). The plan they have instead is a bit of an ass pull (it’s fortunate that a mere baron’s daughter can punch out all that magic after simply seeing one traumatic event) but I’m OK with the handwave, especially as it allows our “villainess” to show off her absolutely terrible acting chops. Leohardt is also very interested in Elizabeth… supposedly, this may also be a lie… but by now she is very firm at rejecting other suitors. We even get a few more scenes from her POV, which were welcome.

There is a third book in this series, and judging by the wedding outfits on the cover it’s the final one. Given that Vincent can’t even bring himself to kiss Elizabeth on the lips, they likely need to third volume to build up the nerve. Recommended for those who like adorable dorks being dorky.

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters!, Vol. 1

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By KAYA and Naru. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amy Osteraas.

Just because a series is trying to be “Slow Life” does not mean that it can’t make things difficult for our protagonist. We can’t all get magical farming implements and a harem of young girls, or find that we have the power to control slimes that can do virtually anything. Sometimes even OP is not enough if you don’t know how to use it, and are in the middle of nowhere. This does, though, make it rewarding, for those who can tolerate a book starts starts very slowly, to see Sara slowly figure out things like how not to immediately get eaten by wolves, or which magical herbs will net the most cash when her mentor/older sister figure takes them into town. And then even that is taken away from her, and she’s forced to go on a perilous journey to find her guardian, make friends, and deal with the worst of isekai enemies: that jerk from that one guild.

Sarasa has spent her entire life in Japan feeling drained of energy, just lethargic all the time. Then one day, coming home from work, she ends up in the realm of a goddess, who explains that the reason she has so little energy is her body was designed to run on mana, which our world doesn’t have. The goddess proceeds to reincarnate her in a world which has TOO MUCH mana, where Sarasa (shortened to Sara) can be a mana sponge. Sadly, she’s dropped in the middle of nowhere on a mountain surrounded by dangerous animals. But there is one young woman there, a mysterious hunter named Nelly, who will help Sara get accustomed to things, give her a textbook on how to learn magic, and help her build up the stamina needed for a five-day trip into town. Which she will need, as after two years or so of slow life cabin living, Nelly doesn’t come back one day, so Sara goes to search for her.

I enjoyed most of this book, so let’s start with a quibble. I get that for most writers now the isekai is just a necessary evil to get readers to start the book, but don’t be so half-assed about it! The goddess handwaves the fact that Sarasa isn’t even run over by a truck, saying “I’ll explain things to your family”, and Sarasa just sort of shrugs? Other than that, this i a solid fantasy. Sara is very likeable, which helps get us through the first third of the book or so, which is mainly her slowly learning how to use magic. The second half gets her into town, where she meets a best friend, who has his own issues, and together the two of them deal with prejudice against those who were not already born into privilege, and we discover that Nelly was absolutely not a normal everyday hunter… and Sara is also far from normal as well.

So yeah, another book to throw on the decent isekai pile. Plus it has a great running gag! I love great running gags, especially if they involve wolves.

The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles, Vol. 4

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By Tatematsuri and Ruria Miyuki. Released in Japan as “Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyū Isekai Tan” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by James Whittaker.

“Well, well, well, look who’s come crawling back.” Yeah, I know. My last review of this title said I was dropping it for being too dark, but here I am. This is what happens when you forget to cancel the preorder. But I mean, I felt like a military book, so I thought fine, why not? And I mean, it is still dark. The young woman on the cover has a collection of the heads of all of her family in her tent, just so that she remembers who killed them as she goes after her quest for vengeance. The “heroine” (always a dangerous word to use in this series which enjoys making its heroines badass but also damsels them a lot) pends the entire book being abused despite her status as a prisoner of war. And, of course, our hero proves that he is one dead friend away from losing it entirely, to the point where even the cool semi-sentient weapons of this world are sending prophetic dreams saying “could you all talk this goombah down PLEASE?”.

Hiro gets back to the capital to find bad news and worse news. Liz has somehow been taken prisoner by the enemy, and the guy in charge of her is delighting to see how far her blessing goes before he can destroy it and assault her. Aura is holed up in a fortress, surrounded by enemies, and with no real way to rescue her. He has to choose who to save and who to sacrifice. Hiro being Hiro, he chooses to save both of them. This he does by being as arrogant and powerful as possible – he’s got the power to back up his words, to the horror of everyone who tries to take him on. He manipulates, he lies, and he coerces, and his army are also super powerful, so it works even though they’re severely outnumbered. Unfortunately, there’s a new enemy yet to be accounted for, and she bears a weapon called Gae Bolg and is named Scáthach. Yes, that’s right, we’re finally crossing over with the Fate universe.

OK, not really. Scáthach is merely a former royal who had to watch as her entire enemy was butchered by the Empire – the Empire, that is, that Hiro and Liz are part of. She recognizes that Liz, at least, is not a monster like those who killed her family, but this does not stop her from using Liz as a giant popsicle to try to discourage those on the Empire’s side. It will not surprise you to find she’s pledged herself to Hiro by the end of the book. As for Hiro, thank God he’s not a real isekai hero. I mean, yes, he is, this book began with him in Japan and he got transported to another world, but you know what I mean. Hiro’s thoughts and attitude are informed by his past life here, and Japan basically never comes up, meaning he lacks the bland potato-ness of many of those heroes. One might argue this makes him something of a monster, but that’s why Liz is being told by her sword to calm him down.

That said, the Emperor and some of his family are definitely not the good guys here, so I feel we’re going to get pretty throne war-ish soon. Will I keep reading? I dunno, if I’m in the mood for more military battles, which take up the bulk of this book.

Bookshelf Briefs 7/31/23

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Insomniacs After School, Vol. 2 | By Makoto Ojiro | Viz Media – It can be hard to start up a club that’s already been shut down before. First of all, there’s the question of what the actual club activities were, which requires Ganta and Isaki to hunt down a graduate who is now running an arcade out in the boonies. Secondly, there’s the question of what to do when your class goes on a camping trip but you’re still suffering from that pesky insomnia? This is especially a problem for Ganta, who tends to behave when sleepy in a way that gets him into trouble. And the most important question, can the series manage to suggest that there’s potential romance for those two kids without them actually doing anything specific? Signs point to yes on that last one. – Sean Gaffney

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 9 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – It’s time for our main cast to become second years, which means that they’re the ones who have to mentor the new first years. There’s a lot of excellent new talents, though Sarasa is dealing with the fact that her new kohai does not really see her as a figure of respect yet. The bigger plot point, though, and one which will definitely be impacting Sarasa in the next book, is what happens with Ai. After taking over for Sarasa as Thibault in the first-year play, it’s suggested that she might want to think about whether she’d make a better otokoyaku… and while she appears to give it a bit of thought, the fact that she shows up at the climax of this book with short hair shows she seems to have made her decision. Great stuff as always. – Sean Gaffney

Matcha Made in Heaven, Vol 6 | By Umebachi Yamanaka | Kodansha (digital only) – This fake marriage josei series with a focus on tea-making continues to show the relationship between Chako and Isshin evolving even though he’s away in the land of corporate beverage manufacturers. When a typhoon hits the tea farm, Chako risks herself to try to save Isshin’s special tea crop and he comes to the rescue just in time. While Isshin is still not easily able to express himself like a normal human being, he puts all of his feelings into a tea blend inspired by his feelings for Chako. Her dedication to her family farm and niece is admirable, but I’m hoping that a more secure future for the family tea business makes life a little easier for her. I’m still wondering about the uselessness of her writer brother—he better sell an amazing novel to make up for being an absentee father and non-tea farmer. This series is still enjoyable six volumes in. – Anna N

Scribbles, Vol. 1 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – This just came out last year in Japan, but it seems to be scribbles that were entirely drawn during the Emma period of the artist’s career—don’t expect anything from A Bride’s Story here. That said, I would happily look at anything Kaoru Mori draws, and what she gives us here are gorgeous sketches of men and women in formal wear, informal wear, and even one or two nudes. For the most part this is Emma and Emma-adjacent, so expect maids, maids, and more maids. Each drawing has comments next to it, which are rarely insightful but frequently amusing and show off how much she enjoys drawing attractive people. This is only worth picking up if you’re a fan of the artist, but if you are it’s a must buy. – Sean Gaffney

The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Vol. 3 | By Takashi Ikeda| Seven Seas – The career stuff ends up taking a step back here—the big project that Wanko was going to be a part of is cancelled. Meanwhile, Ellie is trying to write a bold new project, but is unfortunately getting some very good advice about it—advice that consists of telling her how unrealistic she’s being. Things are far better on the romance front, and we’re reaching a point that the two of them are getting more and more open about their relationship. Mostly, though, you don’t really read this for plot but mood, and the author is one of the best when it comes to setting a mood. Recommended for those who enjoy seeing adult lesbians doing everyday things. – Sean Gaffney

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

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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.

If you go to Pixiv and look at fanart of the Bookworm series (please god set your setting to all ages), you will find that a good 90% of it is Rozemyne/Ferdinand shipping. If you go to AO3 to look for Bookworm fanfics, you will likewise see that 90% of it is shipping Rozemyne with Ferdinand. And, I assume, if the idea of the ship really bothers you, you’ve probably already dropped the series. And in this book we see that it’s not just fans of this fictional universe: all the nobles see it. Rozemyne and Ferdinand are far too close. The books have basically has as a major selling point that we see Rozemyne’s view of a thing, and then frequently get the noble view, showing how incredibly wrong or off base she is. She’s not a great narrator in the “truth” sense. And we see that here as well – only Rozemyne is in denial about this, saying that Ferdinand is like family, and that she’d do the same for other members of her family. Uh-huh.

The bulk of this book is taken up with the Archduke’s Conference, which normally would not involve Rozemyne, but she’s there to do blessings. She’s also sent to the underground archive, along with Hannelore and Hildebrand, to translate the writing there. Unfortunately, this means that she’s there when Detlinde stops by to essentially Detlinde all over the library, so she and the others have to hide. They do so by essentially sneaking out the back of the library and into a forested area, where they find a small, unlooked-after shrine. Rozemyne being who she is, she immediately cleans it, then goes to see what’s inside… and gets sucked into the shrine. What she finds is that she’s a potential Zent candidate and she gets a clue for finding the magic doodad that will automatically grand power to whoever finds it.

There’s no getting around it, this is a much darker book than the last few have been. Leaving aside the final story in the volume, which seems to imply we’re about to have a supporting cast member be horribly murdered, there’s everything about Rozemyne being a Zent candidate. The problem being that she’s not a royal. And this leads to bad things happening to her and Ehrenfest. Anastasius and Eglantine, two royals she thought were her friends, show how little that friendship really means when the fate of the nation is at stake. Her marriage to Wilfried is annulled, which does not bother her at all, but now she’s engaged to Sigiswald, which is bad because, as Adolphine already knows, he’s a terrible human being. And she has to leave Ehrenfest, who initially are supposed to just accept it and suffer, though thankfully Rozemyne’s inner Benno rises to the fore and she gets some concessions. This whole book is a game-changer, and the game is getting more dangerous.

And, as noted above, there is Ferdinand, who at least is no longer in danger of being executed for failing to contain the disaster that is Detlinde. Will he show up in the next book? Probably. And will Rozemyne stop looking nine years old? Probably not just yet.

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 9

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

The review I did with the last volume indicated that I expected the main thrust of this one to be a big battle between Van and Ruti, and Ruti’s smiling presence on the cover art might seem to indicate that she is victorious. Which is kind of true, but it’s rather remarkable how little Ruti is in this book. the bulk of the story here is spent trying to do two things: 1) get Van to actually listen to other’s advice and be a bit less sociopathic, and b) have him not find out this is where Ruti is. They’re unsuccessful on the second one but manage to mostly succeed on the first one, because of course this book isn’t about the hero, or even the former hero, it’s about that guy who was banished from the hero’s party and living a quiet life in the countryside. As such, it’s Red/Gideon who saves the day, by going back to his roots.

Van has temporarily left Zoltan, but he’ll be back very soon, and they need a way to try to get through to him. Their instinct is to try to go through his two most stubborn allies. Red will try to talk to Ljubo, the corrupt cardinal from the Church who is trying to guide Van on the hero’s path, and Rit will attempt to reason with Lavender, the killer fairy who has a severely maladjusted idea of what love is. Both these negotiations go fairly well, all things considered, perhaps the first one better than the second. Unfortunately, things completely go to hell when a girl is accidentally led into danger by a fairy dragon, and Van thinks that, even though the fairy dragon has apologized and the girl herself doesn’t want it, the only solution is murder. And unfortunately, his blessing has decided to stop speaking to him…

The best part of this book, as I hinted above, is Red going back to being Gideon temporarily and being the Guide for the newest Hero. He realizes that the best way to try to break Van is to make him MORE emotional, not less, and this actually works, as eventually Van gets so angry and frustrated that he simply snaps, which makes it much easier to fight him, as he doesn’t really do anything other than “attack head on” and rely on healing powers. That said, the book also shows signs of the back half being rushed. Ljubo, the cardinal who is persuaded by Red and his allies to dissuade Van from destroying Zoltan, ends up being brutally murdered by Van… and then is literally never mentioned or heard about again. I get that he was a bad guy, but still, at least acknowledge that Van did a murder.

the next book in the series promises Van aftermath, though, so it may come up there. That said, I do hope we get back to Red and Rit wuv wuv time, as while there was some of that here it wasn’t really enough. The quiet life is the point.

The Manga Review: SDCC 2023 Round-Up

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Over the last 20 years, SDCC has morphed from a comics-focused show to a pop-cultural behemoth dominated by movie studios and television stars. The ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, however, shifted the show’s emphasis back to comics, as many of the big, media-friendly events were scrapped in the weeks leading up to SDCC 2023. Writing for ICv2, Rob Salkowitz described this development as bittersweet. “This year’s San Diego Comic-Con proved that sometimes dreams can come true, even if one person’s dream is another’s nightmare,” he observed. “Despite fears to the contrary that the strikes and Hollywood’s general financial malaise would lead to implosion, SDCC 2023 proved that the industry’s premier event has a path forward even if the world takes a collective step back from the Peak Geek era.” Attendance was robust, dealers reported strong sales, and smaller panels drew bigger crowds, all of which suggest that SDCC, NYCC, and other conventions don’t need A-list actors and blockbuster films to attract fans.

On the manga front, Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey won the Eisner Award for Best US Edition of International Material—Asia, and Junji Ito took home an Inkpot Award for his “contributions to the worlds of comics, science fiction/fantasy, film, television, animation, and fandom services.” Previous Inkpot winners include Rumiko Takahashi and Tite Kubo… the Mangasplainers announced plan to co-publish four new titles with Fantagraphics and UDON Manga… Kodansha unveiled new titles for Spring 2024… ABLAZE licensed Masaaki Nonomiya’s GANNIBAL… Deb Aoki convened her annual Best and Worst Manga panel with Brigid Alverson, Varun Gupta, Siddarth Gupta, Jillian Rudes, and Laura Neuzeth… and speaking of Deb, she gets the last word in our SDCC round-up with Manga Was Marquee at San Diego.

NEWS ROUND-UP

The CBDLF has joined forces with the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, and the Author’s Guild to oppose a new law that would require Texas booksellers to use a content ratings system when selling materials to libraries… a Florida woman is suing to have Assassination Classroom removed from high school libraries in Polk County… Hayao Miyazaki’s film The Boy and the Heron will open this year’s Toronto Film Festival… ICv2 names the top ten manga franchises for spring 2023… Brigid Alverson parses the June 2023 Circana Bookscan numbers… Insomniacs After School is entering the final stretch, with just two more chapters to go… George Morikawa’s long-running boxing drama Hajime no Ippo just achieved a new sales milestone… and Otaku USA has previews of two upcoming series: The Poetry of Ran and Tengen Hero Wars.

AROUND THE WEB

If you read nothing else this week, check out Tony Yao’s excellent essay about Kowloon Generic Romance, a series that “starts off as an interesting romance drama” and “becomes an ongoing mystery regarding identity and what it means to live as someone who feels strangely out of place.” Yao’s essay explores the cultural roots of this story, offering a thoughtful reflection on the “persistence of nostalgia” in Hong Kong culture. [Drop-In to Manga]

That Manga Hunter takes a deep dive into the Shojo Beat catalog in search of great josei titles. [That Manga Hunter]

Kara Dennison explains why fantasy fans should read Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. [Otaku USA]

Researcher Paul DeMerrit-Verrone joins Erica Friedman for an in-depth look at how Japan’s Student Movement (1968-89) influenced the development of shojo and yuri manga. [Yuri Studio]

If you’re a horror buff, be sure to check out Lynzee Loveridge’s interview with Masaaki Nakayama, whose PTSD Radio was nominated for an Eisner Award earlier this year. [ANN]

Slam Dunk fans take note: Aoba no Basuke might just be your new favorite basketball series. [Sports Baka]

School’s in session! Solène Mallet Gauthier and Stephanie Halmhofer dedicate the latest Comics Academe column to SPRIGGAN, “a fun, action-packed mix of archaeology, aliens, and international politics.” [WWAC]

ICYMI: The New York Times recently published a fascinating article on translating manga for English-language audiences, tracing out that history from Epic Comics’ flipped, colorized version of AKIRA through Drawn & Quarterly’s forthcoming edition of Nejishiki. [New York Times]

REVIEWS

Scott Cederlund posts an in-depth reflection on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Good-Bye, Eri... Sarah reviews The Summer Hikaru Died, one of the year’s most anticipated horror manga… ANN’s Christopher Farris takes Spider-Man: Fake Red for a spin… Otaku USA’s Danica Davidson weighs in on Tokorozawa is 177 cm Tall, a collection of “shojo-ai” stories published by DMP… and Megan D. pronounces The Honor Student at Magic High School a dud.

New and Noteworthy

Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 4

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

What is supposed to happen after Monica fulfills her mission and whatever happens with Felix happens? I think, in Monica’s mind, that what will happen is that Monica Norton will suddenly vanish, having to “withdraw from school”, and Monica Everett will go back to her little cabin in the woods and live a quiet, cloistered life as she always had. There’s just one slight problem with that, which is that Monica is growing and gaining more emotional depth the longer she’s at the school. The combination of her father’s death and the abuse she suffered afterwards had left her with the ability to only see people as a series of numbers. But as she’s made real friends and learned how to actually socially interact, Monica sees them as people with actual feelings now. Of course, this is not all good – she loses a battle here because, even though her opponent is obviously bluffing, she can’t simply see her friend who is being threatened as “numbers” anymore. Monica will find withdrawing back to her cabin very hard.

This may be a fantasy world, but it’s still taking place in a school, which means it’s school festival time. No, we’re not doing maid cafes or haunted houses – the festival runs more towards presentations of magical theory. But the student council still has to move around and make sure everything runs smoothly. Of course, things do not run smoothly. Another of the Seven Sages arrives, and he’s a pain to deal with but basically harmless. He’s searching for a cursed artifact, which unfortunately ends up in the hands of The Littlest Petty Noble, whose feelings of one-sided love for Felix subsequently take a turn for the worse. And then there’s someone else who’s infiltrated the school, and they’re in a clever disguise. Can Monica sort all this out? And can she do so without revealing who she really is to the wrong people?

Claudia remains an absolute delight, and will probably continue to remind me of Hanajima from Fruits Basket. Speaking of characters from other manga and anime showing up in the book, it’s really hard to see Ray Albright in this book and not think of Tamaki from My Hero Academia, who also seems to have “socially inept” at his main feature. Oddly, his appearance here shows off how far Monica has come since the first book, as she’s now the outgoing one by comparison. The “boy of the book” in this not-quite-reverse harem is Cyril, whose subtle romantic overture to Monica is completely misinterpreted by her, but that might actually be for the best. By now I’m actually hoping that this does not end with a standard romantic ending – if ever there was a series that needed the “friendship ending” like a reverse otome game, Silent Witch is the one. Give this poor baby some good friends.

Assuming she can somehow solve the impending crises, that is. Crises which will have to wait, as the next book is apparently a short story volume. In the meantime, this series remains an absolute delight.

Manga the Week of 8/2/23

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SEAN: When the 1st of the month falls on a Tuesday.. STRANGE things happen.

We’ll start with Viz Media. No new titles, but it is August, and that means it’s time for the annual volume! Kaze Hikaru 31 is out. Hang in there kids, just 14 more years to go.

MICHELLE: I can’t believe I actually forgot about this!

ANNA: Yay! Always happy for August when new Kaze Hikaru comes out.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Viz also has Ayashimon 3, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 17, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 26, My Special One 3, Prince Freya 9, Rainbow Days 5, Sakamoto Days 9, World Trigger 25, and Yona of the Dawn 39.

MICHELLE: I desperately need to catch up on Yona.

ANNA: I’m not too far behind on Yona, but need to catch up on Freya.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying both series, but have some catching up to do, too.

SEAN: From Udon we get Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, which is, I’m guessing, a sequel to Persona 4 Arena. It ran in Dengeki Maoh.

Steamship gives us GAME: Between the Suits 4.

Seven Seas has an OEL debut, Amongst Us. No, not that. This LGBT title is a spinoff from a webcomic called Carciphona, and is apparently a modern day AU.

ASH: Oh, I actually have another edition of this one! (Though I haven’t actually read it yet.) Carciphona was a splurge purchase for me at TCAF one year and I enjoyed it, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for the creator’s work.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 2, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 4, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 5, The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls 3 (the final volume), Lupin III: Thick as Thieves – The Classic Manga Collection (a second “greatest hits” release), Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 8, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 4.

ASH: Still glad to see the new edition of Lupin III being released.

SEAN: Two print debuts for Kodansha Manga. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is a Shonen Sirius adaptation of the French/Japanese cartoon.

And WIND BREAKER is a print release of the series that’s already coming out digitally.

ASH: Delinquent manga in print!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 18, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 6, and Tsugumi Project 2. (I swear they’re pushing the print release back a week right after I make these lists, just to make me seem dumb.)

The digital debut is The World is Dancing, a seinen manga from Morning magazine. It’s a semi-fictionalized account of the founder of Noh theater. It looks fantastic, to be honest.

ASH: It may be digital (which I don’t read much of), but this certainly interests me.

SEAN: And we also see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 11, Chihayafuru 39, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 10, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Life 6, MF Ghost 16, and My Wife is a Little Intimidating 2.

Debuting digitally from J-Novel Club are several titles. La Ragazza: Living with Francesca (Italia-jin no Onnanoko ga Isourou Suru Koto ni Natta) is a manga series from Comic Walker. An illustrator suddenly finds an Italian girl staying… and mooching… at his house.

Only I Know That This World Is a Game (Kono Sekai ga Game dato Ore dake ga Shitte Iru) is a manga based on a (not yet licensed) light novel, and it’s also from Comic Walker. If you like Sword Art Online but thought “I need more of the exact same plot”, good news.

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! (Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!) is a light novel series. A woman who has spent her entire life with an unexplained fatigue is transported to another world by a goddess, in the body of a 10-year-old. Now that she actually has energy and drive, what will she do?

ASH: Huh! I’ve asked myself similar questions…

SEAN: The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist (Haraiya Reijō Nicola no Komarigoto) is a light novel about a reincarnated young sorcerer girl and her attempts to not get dragged into the life of her annoying childhood friend.

There’s also Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 4, Hell Mode 6, Monster Tamer 14, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 10, Perry Rhodan NEO 14, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 7.

Cross Infinite World debuts I’ll Use This Do-over to Become the Ideal Lady’s Maid! (Yarinaoseru Mitai nano de, Kondo Koso Akogare no Jijo wo Mezashimasu!), which is from the writer of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke. Yes, we’ve got another girl who’s sent back in time because of her tragic death, and she’s determined to live a different life… as a maid?

ASH: Personally, that wouldn’t be my first choice of careers.

SEAN: Also out from CIW: Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 3, Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! 2, and The Reincarnated Villainess Won’t Seek Revenge 2.

Airship gives us print editions for 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 4 and The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5.

And we get early digital of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 6 and Raven of the Inner Palace 3.

July? Or August? You decide!

ASH: I can’t tell what day it is these days, let alone month…

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 16

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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.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the overuse of slavery in isekai books, and it’s a good discussion to have, but I also think we need to look at the “plucky orphans” trope as well. Our hero/heroine comes across either children starving on the street or an orphanage where they barely get enough food to survive. And over the course of the next few pages, what happens for the most part is “sweet, free workforce!”. The general feeling is that they are amazingly fortunate to have our isekai’d person come along and teach them skills and trades, and what’s more, their bellies are finally full, so they’ll do anything they’re asked. Sometimes there is at least a vague attempt to show that this is bad (Bookworm). Sometimes it’s abused horribly, but at least the kids are paid actual wages (Kuma Bear). And sometimes it’s “they’re getting food from me, so let’s turn them all into little 6-year-old waitresses”. Welcome to FUNAtown.

Mile and the rest of the Crimson Vow finally get to see the Demon Village, which is mostly an anticlimax, though she does meet the “Holy Maiden”, a demon girl with the same ability as Mile to talk to the nanos. (The girl is clearly being used and mistreated by the village, a fact that Mile mostly ignores except to give her and her family a pile of food). Elsewhere, Mile ends up getting led to an ancient artifact, buried deep (very, very deep) beneath the ground, and communicates with it, learning a lot of backstory about this world’s past. Unfortunately, it turns out that there was some time dilation involved, and when she and the Vow emerge from the Earth the invasion that Mile has been worried about for the last couple of books is about to go full blast. Will Mile be able to stop it? And can she get Reina to cosplay as Kuroko from A Certain Magical Index?

As always with FUNA, any attempts at a serious examination of the world or actual danger and angst is offset by the fact that her heroines are massive overpowered goofs. This is especially true of Mile. She gains the ability to show the entire world a projection of herself in order to warn them that the real danger from another world is going to emerge from a different place… and the first thing she does is imitate the MGM lion. I did appreciate that she finally started to tell her friends SOME of the reason why she is what she is. Not the reincarnated from Japan thing, but that God had given her special abilities, and that she needs to use them to save the world. Mile is making a lot of inferences that I’m not sure hold up, but as long as she’s trying to do good and doesn’t just farm it out to the orphans instead, that’s fine.

We’re mostly caught up with Japan, so expect a new volume in 6 months or so. It also seems like the series might be getting near an ending, and the cover of Vol. 17 looks like a “final volume” cover… but there’s an 18 already, so I doubt it. Recommended for fans of this author.

Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess, Vol. 1

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By Sora Hinokage and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Loop kara Nukedasenai Akuyaku Reijō wa, Akiramete Sukikatte Ikirukoto ni Kimemashita” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Andria McKnight.

It’s always nice to see a refreshing variation of the old formula. In fact, this book takes two formulas and combines them. Selene starts off by having her engagement broken by her fiance (who is, of course, in love with her younger sister) and has “dark” powers that are typical of a villainess character. We also get the time loop variation, where our heroine keeps dying and resetting, trying to find the timeline where she can live happily ever after. The gimmick here is that Selene was a kind, fairly shy young women who has been desperately trying to find a solution for nine lifetimes, and once she hits the tenth she decides that all this can go to hell. She’s not quite broken, but she’s certainly now jaded and cynical as hell, and perfectly willing to torture her father to the brink of death in order to become head of house. The trouble is, deep down? She’s not THAT bad, really.

Selene is the daughter of her father, head of the Vixent House and a commoner woman. Ever since her younger sister, Soleil, was born, she’s been treated like crap by her family and the servants. Worse still, she manifests the power of Shadow, which is seen as an ill omen – her family are supposed to manifest sun powers. So she’s locked in a room to starve to death. Or murdered. Or she runs away and is killed. Or she kills herself. Nothing she tries can stop bad things from happening and her going back to try again. Now, in this new life, she’s determined to stop playing nice. She quickly gains control of her family and finds that hey, now that she’s powerful and can theoretically kill them all, the servants love her! But she needs to find out why this is happening, so teams up with… a man who doesn’t exist anymore.

There’s a lot to like here. The one weakness in the book, I’d say, is that Selene is of the “stoic, relatively unemotional” style of protagonists, which can be a bit boring in some places where I had hoped for a bit more oomph. That said, there’s absolutely a reason for her to be that way, so I get it. Her not-quite-romance with Dier is fun – they’re “accomplices” rather than anything else, which made me think of Otherside Picnic. The other family heads with power are variations on a stock type, but none of them are overly annoying except maybe the water user who is obsessed with Selene… and even then, the fact that she doesn’t take him remotely seriously helps. The one shoe that hasn’t dropped yet is her younger sister. The only person in her family who seems to love Selene, Soleil, throughout this book, acts like a loving but somewhat ineffectual young girl. But I’ve read these books before, and I just KNOW that in this situation, she’s going to be evil. That may have to wait for the second book, though.

This wasn’t lights out fantastic, but it was a very solid read, and if you like jaded women who nevertheless are still pretty kind at their core, give it a try.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 9

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

Sometimes I tend to dramatically overthink things. This even applies when I’m reading a series like Reborn to Master the Blade, where I know that the main motivation behind the author writing it is “have fun and cool fights”. So when Inglis had her body aged down that of a six-year-old early in the book, I started to theorize about what would necessitate this change in the book. Was it related to the engagements that Inglis and Rafinha are apparently going to face at the start of this volume? No, that’s not it. Is it to make Inglis less powerful so that she actually loses a fight and ends up learning an important lesson? Hardly, though there is one fight here where the records a draw. Then, by the end of the book, I began to realize the real reason: it’s because the author thinks that a 6-year-old Inglis is cute as a button, and wants more art of her than the first volume could provide. Fair enough.

Inglis and Rafinha return home to find that they have a bevy of suitors now, both being hot commodities. They both write to the royal palace to ask them to stop this; Rafinha because she only wants Inglis to marry Rafael, and Inglis because she doesn’t want Rafinha to marry ANYBODY. Before any suitors arrive, though, an experiment Inglis is trying goes wrong and now she and Rafinha are back in their six-year-old bodies! And bad timing there, as there is a Highlander who has heard about Inglis and is there to have a really good fight. He’s basically Inglis as a man, and the fight the two have is indeed epic, and takes up a big chunk of the book. Unfortunately, Inglis was using Eris as a weapon during the fight, and Eris got a little broken, so to fix her, they’re going to need to… well, need to wait till the next book, but the back half of this sets us up for that.

Not gonna lie, for all that he is a walking cliche, Jildegrieva was easily the best part of the book, finally giving Inglis the fight that she’s wanted since the series began – a fight that, admittedly, ends in a draw, but she is in a much smaller body now. Other than that, though, the other main plot of this book is basically introducing zombies to the story, and showing that someone is making it so dead assassins become zombies. This leads to mental trauma in some cases (Leone) and showing off to family in others (Lieselotte). But, as with Inglis becoming a child or Eris getting damaged/injured, it’s a plot point that is not going to be resolved this book. As a result, like a lot of books in this series, how much you enjoy it depends how much you like straight up fighting.

We’ve also caught up with Japan, so that next volume that explains everything may be a while. Ah well. Inglis is pretty cute as a kid (and there is thankfully a minimal amount of lolicon shtick that comes with it).