Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Features & Reviews

How to Win Her Heart on the Nth Try

by

By Ichine Kamijo and Yu Shiroya. Released in Japan as “n-kaime no Koi no Musubikata” by Kadokawa Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Judy Jordan.

Years ago, in the pre-light novel days, it always seemed that manga brought over to English speakers was written purely for teenagers in middle school and high school, and the romances all revolved around school clubs and walking home after practice. I would wish that for once, just for once, we could get a romance about grownups, in real jobs, and dealing with grownup concerns. So! I have good news and bad news. The good news is that this is definitely a book for and about grownups, with grownup concerns, and they have white-collar office jobs. The bad news: if you, the reader, work in a white-collar office job, be aware that this book will hammer on your anxieties and fears for 250 pages until you want to shriek. Every “you or your subordinate screwed up, please come to the manager’s office at once” nightmare is seen here, right down to having your laptop stolen. Fortunately, this book is written for exhausted workaholic women, and so there’s a guy who can come to the rescue.

Nagi is a systems engineer with a tragic past, working at a smallish company owned by her uncle. She has two juniors, and her entire life seems to run on stress and last-minute deadlines. There’s certainly no time for romance. That said, she also has Keigo, a childhood friend who works in the same company. He’s a great guy. And a good friend. On Keigo’s end, he’s been trying for the last fifteen years to subtly convey to the oblivious Nagi that he loves her, and none of it has stuck. And in a high stress office like theirs, the question is not “when will these two finally realize that they’re a couple?”, but “can they get together as a couple before they either die of overwork or end up having to take the fall for some disaster that seems to constantly be happening?”.

I can definitely see this book’s appeal to women, with the core not being “I just need a man who can understand me” but “I just need a man who can finish all my work for me”. Both hero and heroine are flawed people with very real hangups that prevent this from easily resolving, and even after getting together we see things aren’t smooth sailing. The most interesting part of the book was probably Nagi’s junior Saotome, who is small and cute, which gets her a lot of attention. This is unwanted attention, because she’s in love with Nagi. She and Keigo don’t get on, of course, but eventually manage to work things out. Other than that, I will again note that this book can make for uncomfortable romance reading. You keep waiting for Nagi to be fired for some reason or another, or have bad things happen to her. It’s definitely showing me I could never make it in Japanese office culture.

So if you want a workplace romance, and don’t mind that the male lead tends to swoop in to save the day a lot, this is pretty good.

A Pale Moon Reverie, Vol. 1

by

By Kuji Furumiya and Teruko Arai. Released in Japan as “Tsuki no Shirosa o Shirite Madoromu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li.

This is definitely one of those series where you can sell it to others by simply saying who wrote it. For the right reader, “from the same author as Unnamed Memory” is quite the draw, and this series has a lot of the same strengths that made Unnamed Memory such a compelling work. Most notably that it feels like a “normal” fantasy work, rather than one filtered through Japanese light novels and webnovels. It’s refreshing these days to read books without stats, adventurer’s guilds, and the rest. This series is creating its own world, thank you very much, and the world is quite compelling. The two leads will also seem very familiar to those who’ve read Unnamed Memory, though they both lack the experience and maturity of Oscar and Tinasha. And, of course, there’s also the prose, which is excellent (and well translated). This is a book to curl up in a chair and take your time reading (and you’ll have to, it’s a long one).

Xixu is a shadeslayer, trained to seek out shades (basically evil ghosts) and destroy them. He’s very good at his job, but is overly serious and dour. He’s sent by the king (at the behest of the king’s seer) to Irede, a legendary city devoted to wine, women and song… literally. While there, he’s introduced to Sarida, the proprietress of the Pale Moon, a courtesan house with very strict rules – the courtesans pick their customers, not the other way around. Sari is only sixteen, and (as it turns out) has not yet chosen any customers, but she has other things that concern her, mainly that she has supernatural powers that can aide shadeslayers in binding the shades to make them easier to get rid of. As the book goes on, Xixu and Sari find themselves growing far closer to each other than they’d expected.

As with Unnamed Memory, this is basically an omnibus of two volumes that could have easily sold as normal 200-page books, but the author seems to like doorstoppers. Xixu is a good male lead, being dedicated and humorless but also caring and perceptive. Sari is more complicated, partly due to reasons I won’t spoil, but she’s also the one who tends to get in trouble a lot – she’s not quite a damsel in distress, don’t get me wrong, but when the climax of the book is about to happen you will find her at the center being restrained by the bad guys. As for the rest of the cast, I was a bit disappointed that the traitor in the first book was the obvious choice, though at least there was some attempt to throw us off the trail for a bit. I also very much like the idea of a courtesan house where the first rule is consent. But mostly I loved the worldbuilding and the writing. It’s the reason to read this.

This came from a webnovel, which is finished online, but we all know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything to publishers. Still, I hope it does well for Drecom, as I love this author and want to read more of this odd but endearing couple.

Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup, Vol. 1

by

By Harunadon and Eda. Released in Japan as “Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri o Nomasete Shimaimashita: Itsuwari kara Hajimaru Watashi no Dekiai Seikatsu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Arthur Miura.

I don’t expect every book I read to be good, and I know that a lot of them can pretty much be summed up as “this is an adequate representation of its genre”, but I usually like something that I can grab on to, if only for the reviews. Something that’s a bit odd, or weird, or different. No, I’m not going to talk about THAT word yet, more on that later. Instead I will note that this rather normal, generic romance novel has an odd quirky humor at times that sort of leaps out and grabs you. It’s as if the author is coloring in the lines in a book, but can’t resist all of a sudden just drawing halfway across the next page. And the scene in this book, about halfway through, when Cecily gets eaten by a wyvern, was exactly that. I laughed till I cried. The only drawback is it wasn’t illustrated.

Cecily, who grew up loving fairy tales about princess tricked by evil witches, is horrified when she comes of age to discover that she is, in fact, one of those witches. Now she has to live on her own for two years, as is tradition, and peddle her craft. The trouble is that Cecily is horribly introverted, so for the most part lives in a little house in the big woods. One day, her potion that changes her eye color wears off right as she’s wrongfully accused of theft, and a nasty incident is about to happen. Fortunately, she’s saved by a handsome knight. Unfortunately, she misunderstands something when overhearing him later and gets mad, deciding that (just as her mother did to her father), she’s going to brew a love potion and have the knight drink it! Surely nothing can go wrong.

So, let’s talk about the Princess. To be fair to the translator, I’m fairly certain there was no good way to translate this and not have it have the exact impact it has, that vague frisson of “a 14-year-old princess should not be using that word”. That said love potions aside, this is a sweet and fluffy romance novel for the most part, so when you recommend it you’re really going to have to say “also her best friend the princess says “loins” constantly”. Or else you’ll get glared at. The loins also fall into that quirky humor I mentioned above. I’m glad it’s there, as the two leads are not anything to write home about. I admit Cecily’s type, the nervous, self-hating introvert, is never my favorite protagonist to read, so that doesn’t really help. That said, I did enjoy the quirks, and, as you might have guessed, no one really does anything against their will here.

Feels complete to me, but a second book is on the way. If you enjoy collecting J-Novel Heart titles or just want to see a young woman get swallowed by a lizard, this is a good book to check out.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/21/23

by and Leave a Comment

Catch These Hands!, Vol. 4 | By murata | Yen Press – When two people who already know each other well decide—or are trying to decide—to be a couple, it can be very easy to start second-guessing. That’s what we see in this final volume, as Takabe realizes that she has no idea what Soramori’s likes, dislikes, and hobbies are outside of their tiny little interactions, so tries to nudge Soramori into doing things she enjoys. The trouble is, and Soramori feels shamed about this, she doesn’t really have anything much of a life outside Takebe. She worries this will mean Takabe thinks her too much trouble to be worth it, but Takabe is able to use this to finally admit how she feels. In the end, the two are a couple, but still feeling things out, and that feels very appropriate. – Sean Gaffney

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1 | By Hiromu Arakawa | Square Enix – Any new series by Hiromu Arakawa ought to be a cause for celebration, but her latest effort feels more like something produced by ChatGPT than a person. All the right ingredients are there, from a brother and sister with supernatural powers to a boisterous supporting cast of bounty hunters and demons—sorry, daemons—but the first four chapters are so jam-packed with events and characters that it’s easy to lose sight of the main storyline. Even the jokes feel tired, as they focus mainly on the characters’ surprised reactions to modern technologies such as the automobile; you’ve seen this kind of fish-out-of-water humor done with more panache in dozens of other series. About the best I can say for Daemons of the Shadow Realm is that Arakawa still has a flair for drawing monsters and villains, including the most menacing set of teeth since Jaws terrorized movie-goers. My verdict: skip it and read Silver Spoon instead. – Katherine Dacey

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 24 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – The next ‘arc’ of this manga is teased in this volume, as we see it’s the start of a new school year and unfortunately this means Komi is in a classroom with a whole lot of new cast members who don’t know who she is. But for now we have fluffier things to deal with, as Tadano and Komi try to go out on a date. This involves shopping for clothes on Komi’s end, and getting vetted by Komi’s dad on Tadano’s end, though Tadano is so pure that the outcome is never in doubt. And then there’s the new year, and Manbagi is not in the same class, but fortunately for Komi Tadano is. Good stuff, and the series now has to cross the high hurdle of continuing after the romantic resolution. Can it succeed? – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 13 | By Afro | Yen Press – After the last volume went totally off the rails (in a good way), this is a return to form for the series, which knows what its readers want, and for the most part gives it to them. (The readers also want a Rin/Nadeshiko ship, but that’s not happening.) So we get lots of scenes of the girls camping, separately this time, and an excuse to draw a whole lot of gorgeous Japanese scenery and show off what are presumably some excellent campgrounds. We even get what may be a couple of new characters in one chapter, where we see an artist trying to find inspiration who settles on Ena and her dog, asleep on a bench. There’s never any plot or character development in this, but that’s just fine. It’s relaxing. – Sean Gaffney

Nights with a Cat, Vol. 1 | By Kyuryu Z | Yen Press – Though there are dozens of great pet manga now available in English, Nights with a Cat has something genuinely new to offer: simple, observational storytelling that doesn’t shamelessly tug on the heartstrings or anthropomorphize our furry companions. The series explores the relationship between Fuuta and Kyuruga, his roommate’s cat. As someone who’s never lived with a cat before, Fuuta is fascinated by Kyuruga, marveling at Kyuruga’s anatomy—his pupils, his sandpaper tongue, his retractable claws—as well as Kyuruga’s ability to silently materialize in surprising places. Kyuryu Z doesn’t play these moments for laughs, choosing instead to emphasize how strange and amazing cats really are; his illustrations capture the fluidity of Kyuruga’s movements and the changeability of his moods. Recommended for new and long-time cat owners alike. – Katherine Dacey

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 6 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship This will always be a Ghost Ship sort of title, which can make it hard to recommend to anyone who is not intensely horny 90% of the time. The opening scenes, involving hair evolving out of control to the point that it becomes tentacle porn, are a good example. But we also get a new girlfriend, a shy girl who is convinced eventually to show herself in front of the guy she loves. And, in the best part of the volume, Karane’s tsundere character is deconstructed when she drinks a de-tsun potion and turns into a lovey-dovey girl. The question is… is she better off like this, able to say she loves Rentaro directly? Or is it better to be her old self? Love it. – Sean Gaffney

Skip and Loafer, Vol. 7 | By Misaki Takamatsu |Seven Seas – Given the cliffhanger ending to this volume, I should probably be talking about its two leads some more, but let’s face it, the entire volume is stolen by Yuzuki. It’s the start of everyone’s second year, and that means new classes. Everyone in their group is at least with someone they know… except Yuzuki, who is by herself. This means that all the teen drama she used to deal with all the time is back full force, complete with guys trying to force their way into a date and girls lying to her in order to make said date happen. It’s no wonder she breaks down in tears. Frankly, she’s better off with Makoto, who is able to run to her rescue at the end, if only with pudding. I love Yuzuki so much. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 20 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media Despite being, for the most part, a gag series, there is a bit of plot in Sleepy Princess, and it crops up a bit here, which is the fact that humans and demons are still at odds with each other. This is what Syalis and Twilight are trying to fix, but it can be hard on both ends. The biggest “story” in this book has Poseidon accidentally hitting a poison needle that makes the recipient sleep for a year. (It was made for Syalis’ grandmother, implied to be THE Sleeping Beauty herself.) There’s a demon who will fix it… but she refuses to deal with humans. Can Syalis break past her misgivings by being polite and asking nicely? Or will she simply be herself? – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 17 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – I’ve said this before, but the main struggle this series has is that the ending is obvious but it can’t go there yet. The series is still too popular, it’s still getting anime series and movies, and even the spinoffs are doing well, though not licensed here. But if you want character development, either Nishikata or Takagi is going to have to genuinely confess. And you can’t DO that without ending the series, because the whole point is that she’s trying to be subtle and Nishikata is the very embodiment of not picking up on something unless it’s ludicrously direct. There’s a lot of teasing here, but in terms of romance they’re both still more immature than they should be for fourteen-year-olds. – Sean Gaffney

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 4

by

By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

Getting back to a niggle I had last time, I will grant the fourth volume of the series this: the adjutant in the battle here does not appear to be in love with her commanding officer. That said, we do get a lot of similar beats, where the younger adjutant is told to retreat so that the older commander can die protecting the retreat. I admit that I am very fond of just how many women are in this book, and of course it stars Olivia, who is a monster in human form. All the same, I’m seeing similar things happening over and over in this series, and would not mind a female adjutant who stays behind and dies so that her commander can get away. You know, as a change of pace. I’m also not all that happy with the running gag of the women in love with the oblivious men, even as I will reluctantly admit that’s truth in literature.

Olivia’s success is having repercussions. First with her and her close companions – she’s made a major general, and given an army of her own to command, with Claudia and Ashton by her side. She gets to attend royal balls, where she interacts with the King, and also meets emissaries of foreign nations, like the Not At All Suspicious (TM) Sofitia. But in addition, her mere existence has caused the Empire to try to find other ways to win, such as proxy wars that they force an allied nation to take up for them (it goes badly). And Fernest is also having to deal with invasions of its own, though it’s helped there by the commander and the ruler in charge of the invading state both being very, very stupid. Don’t poke at Olivia to see what she does, you won’t like it.

There’s a lot of plot stuff going on here, to be honest, but Olivia’s actions seem to flow around it. Apart from trying to find out where Z has gone off to, she really has zero interest in all of the political machinations happening around her. She’s aware it exists, and does tell her aides that she is aware that Sofitia is probably inviting her to Mekia for nefarious reasons. But she’s never, ever had any fight cause her trouble since she last saw Z, and that doesn’t change here. Her reputation is starting to be less “oh no, that’s not possibly true” to “OH MY GOD IT’S HER”, and she’s definitely going to be facing stronger opponents, but I’ve yet to see anyone who can really take her on. Which might be for the best. No one is reading this book to see Olivia struggle and have self-doubts. She can delegate that to Claudia, probably.

This is a good “military strategy” series, provided you aren’t turned off by Olivia’s glorious OPness throughout. Frankly, that’s why I read it.

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 3

by

By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun.

There *is* a serious element to this series, and it’s 100% down to “every girl is falling in love with Haibara, and he has to make some of them sad”. He’s not at a point where he can do that yet. That will likely lead to bad things down the road. Still, that’s the only REALLY serious part of the series. It’s not the sort of book that, having given Haibara a chance to redo his crappy high school and college years, is going to turn into a “no, you screwed up again, try a third time” sort of series. That said, I must admit that I was sort of on tenterhooks midway through the book. These are still high school kids, and when there’s a very strict controlling parent and a runaway kid who stays over at the house of a boy she’s clearly falling in love with, well, things could have gone very bad. As in “I will notify your parents and the school” bad. But this is not that sort of series.

It’s summer, and everyone has passed their exams, albeit by the skin of their teeth for some. This means it’s time for a summer activity. Let’s hit the beach! Everyone agrees, and they rent a nice cabin with rooms for everyone. The only issue is Hoshimiya. We’ve heard before how strict her family is, and trying to get around it by pretending there aren’t any guys going on the trip is the sort of lie that’s easily discovered. So she’s not going. Fortunately, she and Haibara manage to bond anyway, as he runs into her at a cafe, where he discovers her big, big secret – she’s a novelist! He agreed to pre-read her book, whose main characters seem somewhat familiar. Unfortunately, daddy dearest discovers this, and announces that a) she can’t be an author, and b) she has to distance herself from her friends. This goes badly.

Hoshimiya is still very much “in the lead” in this harem series, and this book gives us a much needed focus on her and her family, and shows that she and Haibara are a lot more alike than he may have realized. In fact, my favorite part may have been when she admitted that she didn’t really like him much at first because of all the fronts he was putting up. That said, of course, by the end of this book she’s totally smitten, and although you would think this would be good news for Haibara – she’s the one he likes, after all – he still can’t quite reject Uta yet. And that’s not even getting into his childhood friend, who he’s 100% oblivious to. She, at least, seems to have made her own decision, even if it hurts her, and I hope things go better for her with someone else, though I doubt it will.

All this plus a new girl, who comes on like a relatively blasé storm, and who will no doubt feature heavily in the next book. If you like good old-fashioned “who will win” romcoms, this is for you, though be prepared for your favorite to lose. That always happens in old-fashioned romcoms.

The Manga Review: Eisner Fever

by 3 Comments

On Wednesday, the 2023 Eisner Award nominees were formally announced. This year’s manga selections include Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back, Junji Ito’s Black Paradox, Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey, Yamada Murasaki’s Talk to My Back, and Masaaki Nakayama’s PTSD Radio, all of which were nominated for Best US Edition of International Material—Asia. And while I love all of these titles, I’m secretly rooting for PTSD Radio to win, as it’s scary, weird, and genuinely original. Don’t just take my word for it, though; check out Bradathon Nu’s excellent essay on what makes PTSD Radio so unnerving.

AROUND THE WEB

Looking for a round-up of all the latest manga news? Colton and Lum have you covered, with a look at all of April’s major licensing announcements, movie trailers, and new series. [Manga Mavericks]

On the latest Manga Machinations podcast, the gang compares the K Manga and VIZ Manga apps before pivoting into a discussion of Satoshi Kon’s Dream Fossil. [Manga Machinations]

Robert Adams takes the new VIZ Manga app for a test drive. [Dad Needs to Talk]

Samantha Ferreira recaps one her of favorite panels at Anime Boston 2023: “A Brief History of Yokai,” hosted by translator Zack Davisson. [Anime Herald]

ICYMI: Brett Michael Orr lists his five favorite manga moms. [Honey’s Anime]

David and Jordan throw a shower for Tokyo Demon Bride Story. [Shonen Flop]

Paging Glacier Bay Books! Jocelyne Allen has the cat manga for you: Chakkun, “the perfect tribute to a beloved friend.” [Brain vs. Book]

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me: Marion, Sakaki, and VLord explain why you should be reading Insomniacs After School. [Saturday Night Shoggy]

Ashley McDonnell and Anne LaRose continue their in-depth conversation about Sailor Moon, with a look at the Infinity, Dream, and Stars arcs. [Shojo & Tell]

The Mangasplainers tackle one of the most impenetrable gag manga ever licensed in English: Pop Team Epic, a series about “random internet humor, shitposting, and deep, deep self-loathing and self-recognition.” Creator Bkub Okawa even includes a helpful strip that “flat out tells you that you’re unlikely to get most of the jokes.” You’ve been warned! [Mangasplaining]

REVIEWS

If you’re not following That Manga Hunter, you should; I just recently discovered their site, and was delighted to find reviews of Kowloon Generic Romance, I Don’t Know How to Give Birth!, and Came the Mirror and Other Tales, as well as a wealth of useful articles about collecting manga. Elsewhere on the web, Charles and Claire discuss the latest installment of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Another Story… The Reverse Thieves pronounce Cardcaptor Sakura their Manga of the Month… Arpad Okay appreciates the messiness of Choujin X…. and my Manga Bookshelf colleague Sean Gaffney offers his two cents on Insomniacs After School, Kageki Shojo!!, and Love, That’s an Understatement.

New and Noteworthy

Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series

* This title is 100% less sleazy than it sounds!

Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!: The Invincible Saint and the Quest for Fluff, Vol. 3

by

By Inumajin and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Meteora.

It’s been about a year since the last volume of this series, but the core of it remains mostly the same. Kanata runs all over creation, finds all-powerful villainous creatures, and somehow manages to turn them into adorable puffballs, which they grudgingly submit to. It’s not a series to read for the character development, really, as there isn’t any: Kanata is not the sort of person who grows and learns, she’s just immediately OP and will never stop being goofy and slightly sketchy about snuggling her big fluffy beats. The comedy, thankfully, is also still good, with lots of great gags here, some of which don’t even involve Kanata burying her face in fur. And, as with previous books, there’s a somewhat terrifying plot and backstory in the background, if you care to look at it. Which Kanata does not. She is not here for past lives or gods eating souls. Are souls fluffy? NO!

Kanata’s general likeability and hideous strength means that people at least are not hearing the words “beast tamer” and trying to abuse her, at least. Arriving at a village, she hears a legend about an old mysterious monster who lives in an abandoned castle. She decides to go check it out… and finds the church’s knights attacking a gorgeous (but heavily wounded) vampire. This vampire is not really the evil sort, so tries to get Kanata away from her own struggles, but Kanata ignores that, and instead heals the vampire… who, of course, instantly becomes a pink ball of fluff. The vampire has fallen in love with Kanata, so happily comes along with her and her fellow beasts, though she’s rather grumpy about needing to stay fluffy. As for the goddess who has been trying to destroy Kanata, well…

The main story is only 2/3 of this book, with the last third being a side story that is mostly “let’s watch Melissa be incredibly strong but also mentally suffer”. The author indicates that health problems were why this book was so late, but I do think the presence of such a big story at the end of the book undercuts the terrifying cliffhanger ending. The goddess is basically “what if Aqua was evil”, but this does not make her fellow gods any better, and her fate ends up reminding me a bit of the ending of The Lottery. There’s also the description of the first saint’s travails (which involve the vampire we met earlier), and how the saint’s plan to return to this world basically involved reincarnating in different worlds for a thousand years, each life being terrible. It gives a certain heft to Kanata that she is not otherwise going to possess, and I wonder if the first saint part of her will ever come to the fore. Mmmmmm, probably not.

So yeah, enjoy the fluff, though some of it has a bitter aftertaste. Still fun.

Manga the Week of 5/24/23

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Bad news, folks, it’s Yen Press week. Can we make it out alive?

ASH: Fingers crossed!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, who have a number of debuts. Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture (Jun Kyōju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu) is a BL-adjacent series about a college student who can see if someone has been lying (which has left him ludicrously unpopular) and his folklore studies professor, who takes him under his wing to find out if things are really folklore or simply lies.

ASH: Oh! BL-adjacent and folklore studies? This pertains to my interests.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially promising!

ANNA: OK, I’m also interested.

SEAN: Even If These Tears Disappear Tonight (Kon’ya, Sekai kara Kono Namida ga Kiete mo) is a sequel to Even If This Love Disappears Tonight, and is for people who like to read books and cry.

How to Win Her Heart on the Nth Try (n Kaime no Koi no Musubikata) is a one-shot. A young woman in her late 20s worries she’ll never have a romance. Then her childhood friend shows up… but she’s only ever seen him AS a friend. Can that change?

Maiden of the Needle (Hariko no Otome) is another one of those “I don’t have a skill, so I’m abused and disowned by my family and friends till I find out that really my skill is amazing” books, only since it stars a young woman it’s her “savior” (read: love interest) who rescues her.

ASH: It has such enchanting cover art! And I do really like the skill in this case.

SEAN: My Summoned Beast Is Dead (Ore no Shōkanjū, Shinderu) is a magic academy series. The poorest student there has to prove himself, and seems to do so by summoning a legendary god beast! There’s just one slight hitch – the title.

ASH: It does seem like that could be a problem.

ANNA: I’m imagining a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario.

SEAN: Also coming out: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 3, Baccano! 22, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense 9, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 5, High School DxD 11, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 8, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 5, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 8, Sasaki and Peeps 4, and Spy Classroom 5.

ASH: So much Yen, and we’re not even done yet!

SEAN: Yen Press also has some debuts. Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree (Elden Ring: Ougonju e no Michi) is based on an obscure video game one or two people may know. It’s from Kadokawa’s Comic Hu, and is apparently a comedy spinoff starring a very odd hero.

Magical Girl Incident (Mahou Shoujo Jihen) is a seinen title from Young Ace. An office worker who wanted to be a hero as a kid… now finds he’s a magical girl? This is supposed to be quite funny.

MICHELLE: Hm.

SEAN: Manner of Death is a BL title from B’s-Lovey. It’s a murder mystery where a coroner suddenly finds himself being told that a death needs to be ruled a suicide… or else.

ASH: Haven’t seen too many coroners in licensed manga.

MICHELLE: You had me at “murder mystery.”

SEAN: Me and My Beast Boss (Kemono Jōshi ni Jitsuwa Mitome Rareteita Hanashi) is a shoujo title from B’s-Log Cheek. An office worker is bullied by her beastfolk colleagues because she’s human. Then the CEO calls her into his office… to make her his personal secretary?

MICHELLE: I say “Hm.” yet again.

ANNA: Haha!

SEAN: My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress (Boku no Noroi no Kyuuketsuki) is a Shonen Gangan series about an anti-vampire group who plan to kidnap a vampire known for her beauty that drives men mad.

Puella Magi Suzune Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition is what it says. 3 volumes in 1.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun: First Stall is a boxed set collecting the first ten volumes of the manga. You can guess what the box looks like, but it’s actually quite cool.

ASH: It really is. And it’s perfect for the series.

SEAN: What This World Is Made Of (Sekai wa Are de Dekiteiru) is a news series from the creator of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter that runs in Dengeki Maoh. Two brothers try to make money using a game app, but it has a secret…

Yokohama Station SF (Yokohama Eki SF) runs in Young Ace Up, and is a manga adaptation of the novel (also licensed by Yen). It is a science fiction manga about Yokohama Station. (Look, I can’t be funny all the time. Or even most of the time.)

ASH: Oh! I somehow missed that there was a manga adaptation!

MICHELLE: I meant to read the novel but of course never did. Maybe I’ll fare better with the manga.

SEAN: In non-debuts, we get Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 6, Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple 3, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 3, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 7, Delicious in Dungeon 12, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 4, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 10, Gabriel Dropout 12, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 3, Hi, I’m a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion 2, Honey Lemon Soda 2, Horimiya 16 (the final volume), I Cannot Reach You 6, I’m the Catlords’ Manservant 4 (the final volume), Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 16, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 5, Murciélago 21, Oshi no Ko 2, The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter 3, Overlord 17, Sasaki and Miyano 8, Sasaki and Peeps 2, Spy Classroom 3, To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 6, The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 4, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 5.

And that’s just Yen! Christ!

ASH: Phew! Fortunately, I saw Delicious in Dungeon in there before my eyes started glazing over.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward on getting caught up with The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter.

ANNA: I spotted Honey Lemon Soda in that wall of text!

SEAN: From Viz Media: JoJo 6251 is the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure artbook you know you always wanted.

ASH: It’s true. I’m so glad it’s being released here; I’ve been eyeing the Japanese edition for years.

SEAN: There’s also JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 8, and WITCH WATCH 6 digitally, which is not JoJo’s, but is quite funny.

ASH: I really should check it out at some point.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts My Dear Agent, which runs in LOVE xxx BOYS pixiv, so you can guess it’s BL. A cool and serious bodyguard finds that the new guy he’s supposed to train won’t stop flirting with him!

Also from Tokyopop: Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry 5 (the final volume).

Square Enix gives us Beauty and the Feast 8 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 12.

Seven Seas also has some debuts. The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan (Ryuuou Heika no Gekirin-sama ~Hon Suki Nezumi Himedesuga, Naze ka Ryuuou no Saiai ni Narimashita~) is from Zero-Sum Online, and features a princess who tries to nope out of the “who will be my bride” sweepstakes by going to the library, but to no avail.

ASH: It was worth a try!

MICHELLE: I just want to state for the record here that Ash totally made me LOL.

ANNA: I’m always in favor of going to the library.

SEAN: Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound (Isekai Teni shitara Aiken ga Saikyou ni narimashita – Silver Fenrir to Ore ga Isekai Kurashi wo Hajimetara) is a Comic Ride adaptation of the light novel (put out here by Cross Infinite World). Man and dog reincarnated. Dog is massive legendary silver wolf. Fun times.

A Story of Seven Lives (Gojussenchi no Isshou) is a done-in-one omnibus from Comic It. A stray cat tries to help some struggling humans.

There’s also CANDY AND CIGARETTES 4, Classroom of the Elite 6, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 11, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 6, Lazy Dungeon Master 4, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 5, Reborn as a Barrier Master 4, The Tale of the Outcasts 7, Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 3, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 2, and Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games 5.

ASH: Some good stuff in there.

SEAN: One Peace Books has Hinamatsuri 18.

Kodansha Manga has some print titles. The debut is Tsugumi Project, which runs in Young Magazine. Another post-apocalyptic action series, a group of convicts are tasked with retrieving a weapon from a ruined city. But the city is less dead than anyone thought. (I thought this was digital-only, it’s not. The digital was 2 weeks earlier.)

And there’s As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 5, Miss Miyazen would Love to Get Closer to You 4 (the final volume), A Sign of Affection 6, Toppu GP 11, Wandance 5, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 4.

MICHELLE: I desperately need to catch up on Wandance or I’ll be too far behind to recover!

SEAN: Digitally we see Boss Bride Days 5, A Couple of Cuckoos 11, DAYS 35, Gamaran: Shura 8, Love, That’s an Understatement 2, My Home Hero 4, and Piano Duo for the Left Hand 7.

MICHELLE: Love, That’s an Understatement isn’t winning any awards for Most Original Shoujo Series Ever, but I did enjoy the first volume. Maybe I’m just inclined to like Fujimomo’s work.

ANNA: Oh, I meant to check this out!

SEAN: Three debuts for J-Novel Club. Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness (Totsuzen Papa ni Natta Saikyou Dragon no Kosodate Nikki: Kawaii Musume, Honobono to Ningenkai Saikyou ni Sodatsu) is the manga adaptation of the light novel J-Novel Club has already released. It runs in Comic Ride. Girl meets dragon, heartwarming ensues.

ASH: Not a bad combination.

SEAN: Make It Stop! I’m Not Strong… It’s Just My Sword! (Yametekure, Tsuyoi no wa Ore Janakute Ken nan da……!) is basically “what if Elric were just some dude who wants an easy life, and his sword only ate bad souls?”.

ANNA: This seems less angsty. Any wanna be Elric needs more angst!

SEAN: A Pale Moon Reverie (Tsuki no Shirosa o Shirite Madoromu) is the new novel from the creator of Unnamed Memory. That alone should make you purchase it sight unseen. A supernatural courtesan meets a shadeslayer in the streets of a very special town.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: We also get the 9th manga volume of An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, the 2nd Karate Master Isekai, Maddrax 6, and Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 3.

Ghost Ship has a 5th volume of Ero Ninja Scrolls.

And Airship has print for The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 5, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 16, and The World’s Fastest Level Up 3.

And for early digital we see The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 8 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 10.

Oh man, look! The Manga Bookshelf team all fell asleep trying to get through this list! See what you’ve done, Yen?

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 8

by

By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Given that we’re near the end of the series, it’s no surprise that we’re actually picking up a number of plot threads that have been lurking around since the start of the book, and some of those plot points are quite a bit darker than we’re used to. As an excuse for not meeting up with Bel and company for the last 20 years, “I was running around the country trying to rescue women from being used in forced breeding experiments with demons” is a good one. If I’m being honest, it’s what isn’t here that’s more of a surprise: Ange spends most of this volume brooding and in a blue funk, and I wondered the entire time whether it was going to tie in to her secret demon heritage and all that. But no, it’s just typical daddy issues, because that’s what this series runs on, really. And as Ange grows up, those issues get less fun for her.

After locating Percival, our intrepid group has only one to go before they can get the band back together. That said, all they can find of Satie are rumors… until they arrive at a city which is apparently trying to kill an elf woman. This is not good news for Marguerite and Maureen, who have to remind folks that elves are, in fact, unique persons. Fortunately, Ange has friends in high places, so things settle down. Even more fortunately, the elf being hunted is, of course, Satie, who has been doing the things I alluded to in the last paragraph. Unfortunately, the “prince” has nearly caught up with her and is really trying hard to kill her, probably because she knows that he’s not the real prince. Can Belgrieve, Percival and Kasim manage to rescue Satie, or is that going to fall to Ange?

So yeah, Ange is starting to regret her own actions a bit, mostly the fact that she was going around to every woman she knew and asking if they wanted to marry her dad. Now they’re about to reunite with Satie, who the others admit had a thing for Belgrieve, and he probably did for her, and she starts to realize that she might not be the closest person in his life anymore. Ange is old enough and mature enough to know that this is unfair to Belgrieve and that it’s just envy, but that does not make the feelings go away, and her wrestling with them is probably the best part of the book. The other good part of the book is a nice bit of light horror, as there is a spell that can be used to disguise a person as another person so well that the other person does not even know they’re a disguise, and this is used to chilling effect here.

Good stuff, and a rare cliffhanger for this series, so we’ll have to wait till the 9th volume to see if we can save the day. (I suspect the day will be saved, this is not that kind of series.)

Lovely Muco!, Vol. 1

by

For thirteen years, I lived with Grendel, a smart, stubborn Australian shepherd who treated me and my husband like a pair of unruly sheep. She woke us up at 5:45 am every day, herded us to the park, and marched us around until we were exhausted. She nipped our ankles when we left for work—we weren’t supposed to leave the farm, I guess—and had strong preferences about everything, from which routes we walked to which brand of kibble we bought. When she wasn’t trying to bend us to her will, she applied her formidable intelligence to foraging snacks; she had a black bear’s talent for opening containers of peanut butter, Tums—you name it. I loved her dearly, but I admit that there were times when I fantasized about living with a dog who wasn’t so determined to run our house.

With my current commute, I can’t own the happy-go-lucky dog of my dreams, but I can do the next best thing: read about one. That’s where Lovely Muco! comes in. It’s a gag manga inspired by the real-life relationship between Komatsu, a professional glass blower, and Muco, his exuberant Shiba Inu. In every chapter, Muco makes a discovery—that her nose is shiny, or that Komatsu isn’t a dog—and becomes so consumed with excitement that she ends up in trouble. Muco’s reactions to everyday situations bring out her inner Gracie Allen; she’s less dim than dizzy, viewing the world with the peculiar logic of a canine enthusiast. A trip to the vet, for example, leads her to wax rhapsodic about the cone of shame, which she views as a stylish accessory, rather than an encumbrance. Even when her injury starts to itch, Muco remains convinced that she looks cool, going so far as to imagine how Komatsu would look with his own cone.

As much as I love Muco’s antics, my favorite storyline focuses on Komatsu, who hires his pal Ushiko to design him a website. Ushiko uses the tools that you’d expect—a digital camera, a laptop—but Komatsu’s reactions to these technologies seem more appropriate for someone who’d just spent the last 20 years living off the grid than someone making a living in modern-day Japan. His child-like wonder mirrors the way Muco approaches just about everything in her life, from tennis balls to car rides—a neat inversion of their usual roles.

Takayuki Mizushina’s artwork plays a big role in making their owner-dog dynamic funny. Mizushina’s approach is more gestural than literal, distilling each character, human or animal, to a set of bold lines and basic shapes. Muco, for example, bears only a passing resemblance to a Shiba Inu, as Mizushina  draws her head like a stop sign with triangular ears. That hexagonal shape, however, provides Mizushina an ideal frame for Muco’s facial expressions:

And while plenty of other manga artists use this same device to express extreme emotion, Mizushina really captures the essence of how an excited dog reacts to new things in its environment; you can almost hear Muco barking whenever she has an epiphany.

What I like best about Lovely Muco, though, is that Muco’s thought process isn’t like Grommit or Snoopy’s. She’s not building wild contraptions or fantasizing about being a World War I flying ace; she’s just trying to make sense of the people and things around her. Her fascination with ordinary objects is a nice reminder that part of living with a dog—or any sentient creature—is recognizing how strange and interesting our world must seem to them, and taking pleasure in their curiosity and enthusiasm. Recommended.

PS: If you just can’t get enough shiba inu hijinks, you can follow the real-life Muco’s exploits on Twitter. (Hat tip to @debaoki for the link.)

LOVELY MUCO! THE HAPPY DAILY LIFE OF MUCO AND MR. KOMATSU, VOL. 1 • ART AND STORY BY TAKAYUKI MIZUSHINA • TRANSLATED BY CASEY LEE •  KODANSHA COMICS  220 pp. • RATED 10+ (SUITABLE FOR READERS OF ALL AGES)

Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back To My World Whenever I Want!, Vol. 3

by

By Hiiro Shimotsuki and Takashi Iwasaki. Released in Japan as “Itsudemo Jitaku ni Kaereru Ore wa, Isekai de Gyōshōnin o Hajimemashita” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Berenice Vourdon.

If you’re looking at the archived reviews of this series, you may note that I did not review the second volume. This is because it left so little of an impression on me that I had absolutely nothing to say. It wasn’t bad. I clearly was interested enough to read the third book. But there was nothing to hang my hat on, nothing where I thought “here is something I can talk about for 500 words”. Honestly, I should be having this problem more often than I am, and I’m not sure if that says something good or bad about me. But this third volume has a couple of good things and a couple of bad things that I wanted to discuss, so let’s pick up where we left off, with this very relaxed, slow-life “Kosaku Shima isekai”. Though unlike the Kosaku Shima series, Shiro will not be having lots of great sex anytime soon. It’s a light novel for teens, not seinen manga.

Things to know from Book 2: Shiro has a fairy companion now, and his grandmother has come back, looking about 20 years old. That’s it. The third book starts with her returning with Shiro to Japan, giving a bit of backstory, and preparing to continue to hide from most of her family the fact that she’s not dead and from another world. As for that other world, Shiro is invited by the mayor, Karen, to go with her to the big city, where she has to drop off the town’s taxes and go to a ball, where she is traditionally mocked for being a hick. As for Shiro, he tries to join a merchant’s guild in the big city, but is mocked and belittled. Can he manage to solve both his problems and Karen’s at the same time?

Everyone loves watching an arrogant noble get what’s coming to him, and though the noble is a merchant here, we get that, in a major scene showing Shiro at his most ruthless. That said, the best scenes in the book were near the end, as Aina, who came with Shiro to the big city, returns with a present for her mother, one that triggers the grief for her missing presumed dead husband she had been burying, and now she and her daughter are crying and thinking they’re terrible. The way Shiro handles THIS, rather than fending off nobility with awesome shampoo, is what makes him attractive as a protagonist. On the down side, I really dislike Shiro’s grandmother here. I’d be OK with her deciding to let the rest of the family believe she had died if she was going to stay in the fantasy world, but having her hang out with Shiro in Japan and pretend to be his childhood friend in front of his younger sisters is creepy and also a level of lying too much for me.

That said, the cliffhanger ending may need to let the cat out of the bag anyway. Till then, good job, Peddler in Another World, you rose above being faceless to only somewhat faceless.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 5

by

By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Eric Margolis. Adapted by Veles Svitlychny and Lorin Christie.

I’ve talked before about how I enjoy the Loner Life light novels a bit more than the manga because the manga makes things lighter and fluffier, but trust me, I 100% get why nearly everyone says “skip the books, read the manga” when it comes to this series. Leaving aside the writing style, which is still so rambling and broken that at times I wasn’t sure if I had spotted an editorial mistake on Airship’s part of just Haruka repeating himself for no real effect, there’s the fact that the plot meanders and wanders all over the place. At the start of the book we learn that war has been declared on Omui, and it’s not until 350 pages later (these books are loooooong) that we finally start the process of taking care of that war. What replaces it? Mostly Haruka making bras. Lots and lots of bras. Because this series is also still deeply, deeply horny, another aspect mostly lost in the manga adaptation.

Class Rep is back on the cover art again, which means Haruka is on the “alternate cover”, just like the first volume. He’s crying and hiding his face, though, which reminds you that there’s a core of real pain and anguish behind all this nonsense. Most of the book involves the girls all trying to get past Level 100, and also defeat a dungeon boss all by themselves with no help from Haruka, Angelica, or Slimey. They succeed in the former, but not quite in the latter, partly as they’re too wedded to the “fantasy” aspect of this world to realize, as Haruka does, that he can use normal science-based solutions. Elsewhere, an assassin, who turns out to be the Princess’ maid and childhood friend, comes to kill Haruka, which goes about as well as you’d expect. And then there’s that pesky war…

Everyone is familiar with the meme “I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards!”. If you take that and add “no” before the word subtext, you’ve got Loner Life, a series which requires you to read between the lines to have any hope of enjoying it. So much of this series is a meditation on grief and mourning, about trying to improve daily lives so that people don’t have to live in fear and can think of the future. Haruka remembers everyone he couldn’t save, and all those deaths haunt him almost to breaking point. Class Rep talks about the girls going nuts over food and clothing mostly so that they don’t end up crying in despair over never being able to see home again. The owners of the inn where they’ve been staying just cry silently as they watch Haruka rebuild it into an eight-story inn/bunker that will be a safe haven for innocents during the upcoming war. As for the bra scenes… yeah, OK, sometimes it’s not subtext but text. The bra scenes are there to titillate. Still, it’s nice that the girls all have well-made underwear now.

The volume has no real ending, and you get the sense we got to page 420 and the editors said “just stop here and we’ll begin Book 6 where you left off”, which is the danger of webnovels. If you enjoy overanalysis and ridiculousness, Loner Life continues to provide. But prepare for incoherence as well.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/14/23

by and Leave a Comment

Insomniacs After School, Vol. 1 | By Makoto Ojiro | Viz Media – The anime to this manga is currently airing this season, though I haven’t watched it yet. I hope it does its subject justice, as this was a very nice first volume. It’s clearly a setup for some romance, but that’s not in the cards yet, with boy-meets-girl being more like boy-and-girl-desperately-need-sleep. The problems with insomnia and what it can do to a person are not dwelled on in great detail, but are also thoughtfully examined, and I like how the guy’s crankiness is clearly more the lack of sleep than his actual personality. The one danger I can see in the future is that the lead girl’s insomnia stems from a medical condition, and, as others have already said, I hope this doesn’t go Your Lie in April on us. – Sean Gaffney

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 8 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – I was right in that this whole volume was about the reaction to Sarasa leaving the performance to see her grandfather, but I was wrong in that the bulk of the criticism comes from Sarasa herself, especially when her grandfather turns out to be relatively OK, making her journey bittersweet. There’s a lot of discussion over which is more important for an actor, family or performance, and the book settles reluctantly on the latter—as does Sarasa’s grandfather, who reminds her that he’s going to inevitably die before her. Fortunately, there is some levity in this book, and it comes from Ai, who resolves to take over from Sarasa, and does a great job, but flubs a line very memorably, and that’s all anyone can think about. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 25 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – Entirely dedicated to its finale, Kaguya-sama has, for the most part, abandoned its subplots for the main plot, which involves the decline and fall of the Shinomiyas, and how that’s interacting with Kaguya herself. There’s much discussion of how succession and financial success or failure works in a family this large and this corporate, especially when all the siblings seem to hate each other. Or do they? As Chika notes (and yes, this is Chika being serious, because the situation warrants it), Unyou might behave like an asshole, but in the end he’s as much a tsundere as his sister. That said, we still have a long way to go till Kaguya is rescued, and it might require intervention from their chief rivals, the Shijos. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Love, That’s an Understatement, Vol. 1 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Having loved Fujimomo’s Lovesick Ellie, I figured I would enjoy Love, That’s an Understatement and I did. I must admit, however, that on the surface it has some pretty standard shoujo tropes, such as the manga starting with the heroine saving a beat-up delinquent in the rain—didn’t Honey So Sweet start that same exact way?—and having thoughts like, “This feeling… what do I call it?” But Fujimomo does excel at taking characters who appear cool and aloof and showing their vulnerabilities, and here that’s happening with both model student Risa Amakawa—seemingly composed and super capable—and Zen Ohira the hoodlum. Risa’s upbringing has led to her feeling like she has to handle everything alone, and Zen not only proves to be a reliable ally but someone who sees the real her. Echoes of Lovesick Ellie there, but I am very here for it. – Michelle Smith

No Longer Allowed in Another World, Vol. 2 | By Hiroshi Noda and Takahiro Wakamatsu | Seven Seas Good news for those who didn’t like the fact that the first volume was a variation on one joke: this volume does introduce an actual plot, and shows us what power our hero actually did get when he was transported. Unfortunately, for those who DID like that the series was a variation on one joke, there’s far less of that, and far more of the standard bullshit isekai things. This reminds me a bit of The Executioner and Her Way of Life, in that the bad guys are other kids from Japan who gained monstrous powers and, well, turned into monsters. Our hero has a way to “save” them, but I’ll be honest, I was hoping for more of the dark comedy. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 24 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – I still greatly enjoy this series, but it’s pretty clear that, now that it’s pretty much an assured success that can end whenever it wants, some of the arcs are dragging a bit, and this one is a good example. We’re still in the midst of finding out who’s using the drugged scent and why, and the answer probably lies with a young woman who used to be Lord Eisetsu’s gardener. There’s danger, and more danger, with a cliffhanger showing Ryu’s in danger. Kageya is a very interesting tragic figure, but I am 100% certain she’s going to die protecting someone in a few chapters. The question is whether that’s actually the root cause of things, and the answer is probably not. New arc soon, perhaps? – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 9 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – The wrap-up to the cruise ship arc is pitch perfect, and threatens to drown out the rest of the volume. Yor may not have firmly decided to give up being an assassin, but it’s clear her heart is no longer in it anymore. The rest of the book is one-shots, of the sort this series does in between arcs, with highlights being the unlikely team-up of Franky and Fiona, and Becky’s elementary schoolgirl attempts to act sexy and mature so Loid will notice her (then she sees Yor and realizes she’s doomed). There’s also a good mini-arc, where Bond tries to save victims from a fire, which turns out to have been set deliberately. A nice volume that shows off the entire cast well, and I think we’re now ready for more of the main plot. – Sean Gaffney

Usotoki Rhetoric, Vol. 2 | By Ritsu Miyako | One Peace Books – The cases get a little more substantial in the second volume of Usotoki Rhetoric, as the first involves solving a ten-year-old murder, but still a little less than satisfying, as the culprit is apprehended and confesses entirely off-camera. Kanoko has a crisis of self-doubt when her ability to hear lies causes her to suspect an innocent person who was only concealing a certain fact to protect someone else, and we see more about how she was shunned in her home village. She attempts to quit working as Iwai’s assistant, fearing hurting anyone else, but then realizes that he will be hurt if she quits. Lastly, Iwai and Kanoko handle a dispute in which a fountain pen figures prominently, to my delight. All in all, this is more low-key than a true mystery series, but still very enjoyable. – Michelle Smith

Earl and Fairy: The Elegance of a Villain

by

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

This may come as something of a shock to all of you, but I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to light novels. As such, you’ll need to simply smile and nod when I tell you that my reaction to hearing about the license of Earl and Fairy was not “oh my god it’s a 20-year -old series” or even “oh my god it’s 33 volumes long”. but rather “oh my god it’s a Cobalt Bunko title”. Back in the day, the main reason I became interested in light novels at all was due to an anime – based on a light novel – called Maria-sama Ga Miteru. That was ALSO published by Cobalt Bunko, Shueisha’s novel line for young women. For years, Shueisha light novels were in the “nope” category of license requests, and even after it opened up a bit Cobalt was still “nope”. This is a big deal, folks, and hopefully opens doors. The good news is that the book itself is a classic shoujo potboiler.

Lydia is a bit of an eccentric young woman. Leaving aside her red hair and green eyes (which in England in the time period this is set in means she’s a target of abuse), but she’s also a self-proclaimed “fairy doctor”, trying to follow her late mother. For the most part, no one believes anything she says. Then, when journeying to see her father in the city, she’s kidnapped – and then kidnapped again by a different kidnapper rescuing her from the first kidnapper. Her rescuer is Edgar, a handsome if somewhat jerkass man who not only is the chief suspect in a string of horrible murders but is also possibly the heir to an earldom that has connections to fairies. Only Lydia can help with her fairy knowledge… which Edgar doesn’t really believe in either.

The ‘category’ on my page says this is ‘earl and THE fairy’ because I reviewed the Viz Media manga of this series a long, long, time ago, and they translated it with the extra the. The whole series is old-school shoujo fantasy, and it’s all the more enjoyable for it. Lydia is quick-thinking and intelligent, doesn’t trust Edgar but feels drawn to him anyway, and thankfully is not a constant ball of aggrieved rage, which, frankly, Edgar sometimes deserves. He treats Lydia horribly, but we’re meant to listen more to his two servants, who note how nice and charming he’s being to her rather than resorting to his usual behavior (i.e. threatening to kill). He’s just as drawn in as she is. Also, this is definitely a fantasy, because spoilers, fairies really do exist. The mythology is actually very well done, and there’s nothing here that would scream “this is Japanese” at all. Which may be a good selling point in this era of “long title that is also the plot” books.

I urge people to pick this book up. It’s a good story, buying it means we’ll get more of it, and buying it even more means we might get more Cobalt titles in the future. Less Isekai’d dudes with swords more of this.