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The Manga Review, 10/7/22

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Bust out that Sailor Moon costume–New York Comic Con is in full swing! If you’re looking for a good manga panel, I highly recommend This Manga Is Awesome! Manga Must-Reads and Underrated Gems, which is happening today at 3:30 pm. Deb Aoki leads an all-star crew of librarians, industry professionals, podcasters, and critics in a lively discussion about their favorite series. Also of note is Comics in the Post Pandemic World, which is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 pm. Publishers Weekly is the sponsor; the conversation will focus on the explosive growth of the comics industry during lockdown, and will consider some of the challenges facing publishers as supply chain issues increase and inflation rises.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Jamila Rowser, founder of Black Josei Press, posted an update on the forthcoming Gladiolus Magazine, which “will feature comics, essays, short stories, and more created by people of color from marginalized genders and sexualities.” Rowser shared a list of contributors whose work will appear in the inaugural issue, as well as the magazine’s expected publication date: spring 2023. [Black Josei Press]

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

To kick off LGBTQ History Month, the librarians at No Flying No Tights recommend nine queer-friendly comics for teen readers, including The Bride Was a Boy and Be Gay, Do Comics. [No Flying No Tights]

Yuu Watase is resuming work on Fushigi Yugi Byakko Senki. [Otaku USA]

It’s a hit: Chainsaw Man now has 16 million volumes in print. [Otaku USA]

Dog lovers rejoice: Seven Seas has licensed Shibanban: Super Cute Doggies which is pretty much what it sounds like: a parade of adorable Shiba Inus doing adorable things. Volume one is slated for a May 2023 release. [Seven Seas]

If you’ve been on the fence about Taiyo Matsumoto‘s work, let Jocelyne Allen’s generously illustrated review of Tokyo Higoro persuade you to give him a second chance. “Pretty much every page is filled with such thoughtful detail to make even minor characters seem fully fleshed out,” she notes. “It’s one of those books that I kept flipping back and forth in, just to drink in the details, the art, and the many, many perfect pages.” [Brain vs. Book]

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

I’m not a big MangaTuber, but I make an exception for BakaBoysClub, a new-ish YouTube channel featuring lively, thoughtful reviews of manga, old and new. In particular, I thought that host GrunWho did an exceptional job of explaining why The Girl from the Other Side: Siúl, A Rún is such an engrossing story, making great use of the video format to highlight Nagabe’s beautiful artwork:

Check out the BakaBoys’ other videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmtMpN3E2LGnz_Mef4zCCw.

REVIEWS

Thinking about starting your own manga blog or podcast? One great way to build an audience for your work is to contribute to an established site like The Fandom Post, which is currently looking for reviewers. Site founder Chris Beveridge notes that “we get a good range of books from publishers and have a bit of a backlog we’re looking to clear out… There’s a good mix of one-offs and ongoing series that we’re looking for people to take on and new series starting up all the time.” For information on how to apply, click here.

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace, Vol. 4

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By Kota Nozomi and 029. Released in Japan as “Inou Battle wa Nichijoukei no Nakade” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tristan K. Hill.

As always, this series tends to run on character-based comedy that is 50% decent, 30% good with a side of heartwarming, and 20% godawful. Usually the godawful part involves Andou doing something mind-numbingly stupid, but aside from one poorly-delivered euphemism that causes dangerous searches on the internet, he’s mostly fine now. It’s Sagami that gets the bulk of being awful. That said, it’s good in this case, because it’s showing off that he really IS the villain of this piece. For the most part the overarching plot of this series has been very hit and miss, and we haven’t seen that gang that attacked Hatoko since her book. But Sagami’s preening, salacious inability to see anything except as a fictional construct does make him a good antagonist. And of course this IS a fictional construct that is also a romantic harem comedy, so he gets the added aggravation of being correct. I think most readers were thinking the same thing Sagami was: in a harem of four girls, Sayumi is a distant fourth place.

Each volume has focused on one of the girls in the Literary Club, and as the cover suggests, this is Sayumi’s book. The actual present-day dilemma is fairly easy to resolve, but it also ties back to the past, so we see flashbacks, from Sayumi’s POV, of how she first met Andou and immediately did not get on with him. Unsurprising, this is Andou. In the present, the girls all present Andou with a game that they’ve been coding and ask him to play test it, which gives us a string of great humiliating gags as well as a wonderful sweet heartwarming bit at the end. As for the conflict, Andou discovers that Sayumi was going to run for Student Council President in high school, but never did… and he thinks that he’s the reason for this.

Sayumi is the most mature of the cast, meaning that thankfully we get less of the antics that we got last volume (though they’re still there, sadly, but at least Andou is NOT involved in the stupidity this time). It makes sense that her arc is resolved by simply telling Andou he’s gotten things wrong and that she doesn’t regret what happened. Of course, that’s not really what this book is doing. This is the fourth volume, so we’ve run out of heroines. It’s setting up the next arc, and doing so pretty well. All four girls are explicitly in love with Andou by the end of the book. Chifuyu doesn’t really know what it means, Hatoko knows what it means and who the “best girl” is and is ready to go to war, and Sayumi is getting advice from the devil himself. That just leaves Tomoyo, and if Sagami was here he’d no doubt say that she’s “best girl” at this point, or at least the most likely winner, if she can stop tsunning it up.

As always, I don’t recommend this book to anyone but those who are buried so far into otaku culture that they don’t really notice the bad things. If you’re that sort of person, this is a solid volume.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/6/22

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Falling Drowning, Vol. 3 | By Yuko Inari | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – It’s the final volume and, inevitably, Honatsu has begun to regain her memories. With them, she remembers that Shun was once her most precious person. Unfortunately, she’s currently dating Toma. Seasoned shoujo readers might expect that Honatsu choosing one of them would be the culmination of the series, but it’s actually her relationship to her past self that has the biggest payoff, as she eventually comes to recognize that young Honatsu was never really as invincible as everyone thought, and the past six years have taught her how to talk about her weakness and sadness without hesitation. It’s clear from the author’s notes that she was told to wrap things up quickly and that there had been more she wanted to draw. While things do feel somewhat rushed, Falling Drowning still comes to a satisfying conclusion. – Michelle Smith

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 3 | By Nene Yukimori | Viz Media – This is an improvement on the second volume. There is still the occasional mention of Shiraishi lacking any presence, but for the most part we’re moving on from that and starting to show WHY Kubo seems to be so over the moon for him. Because she 100% is, far more than the Takagis and Nagatoros of this world. It can be embarrassing, as she would no doubt freely admit when her older sister starts drunkenly teasing her in front of Shiraishi (who now worries this is his fault somehow). I’m not sure when these two cuties are going to get together, and I’ve no doubt it will be a few more volumes. But guaranteed money they’ll do it before the other two girls I mentioned above. – Sean Gaffney

Lost Lad London, Vol. 2 | By Shima Shinya | Yen Press – To be honest, the central mystery of Lost Lad London—who is framing Al Adley for the murder of his biological father, the mayor of London?—doesn’t move forward much in this volume. The most significant thing that happens is that the cops decide Al’s their prime suspect, haul him in for questioning, and search his residence without a warrant. The real charm is the atmosphere. This feels like a proper mystery, for one, but there is also some amusing interplay between Al and Ellis that makes me yearn for an adaptation of some kind. Too, I appreciate that the characters discuss the racism and sexism they’ve had to contend with in their lives. I look forward to the third and final volume for the solution (and to see if my guess is right) but I’m bummed our time with these characters will have been so brief. – Michelle Smith

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 15 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – Suddenly Queen’s Quality has gotten a lot more depressing. Certainly this helps with the aimless feel we’ve had the last few books, and the cast is now winnowed down to people I can remember. But man, when the “good end” is your hero protecting everyone by destroying all the memories he’s ever had, that’s bleak. Fortunately, I doubt that Fumi and company are going to let Kyutaro get away with that. Unfortunately, all their alternatives also seem to involve sacrificing themselves. Hell, even some of the terrible villains are falling to horribly gruesome deaths. I don’t THINK this is the sort of manga to end with its main couple dead or dying. But I guess we’ll have to see. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 8 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Not gonna lie, this is THE best arc of Spy x Family to date, and the entirely of this book is right in the middle of it. Not only do we see Yor take out dozens of assassins, either in public (so she has to incapacitate them) or in private (where she can murder them). She is simply amazing, and it’s also stunning to see a Jump series show off this much blood, gore, and death—expect the anime to cut this heavily. At the heart of this, though, is the core of Yor’s story arc—her goals in becoming an assassin are mostly fulfilled now, or can be fulfilled by the family that she loves dearly but doesn’t know it yet. She wants to give it up. Unfortunately, she can’t right now, as she has to save the mother and daughter from death. Amazing book. – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 11 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Aside from one chapter right at the start of this volume which tries to get into the topic of fetishes and flounders badly, this is a very good entry in the series, mostly because of a discussion I don’t think I was expecting it to have, even if it doesn’t dwell on it ling. When our married couple go to buy a car and Ikuma has to take a call, he returns to find that the salesman was “waiting for the man” to offer his card and start the pitch—something Sumika notes happens ALL THE TIME. Indeed, when Ikuma does the bare minimum of pointing out that women should be treated as equals, he gets a round of applause from every woman in the dealership. An unexpected surprise in this otherwise cutesy volume. – Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 10/12/22

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SEAN: Manga the Week of is brought to you this week by Weetabix.

MICHELLE: I will never not associate Weetabix with Spike and Giles.

ASH: Now that you mention it!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, which gives us In the Land of Leadale 6, Magistellus Bad Trip 2, and Sasaki and Peeps 2.

While Yen Press has The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 2 and Kaiju Girl Caramelise 6.

ASH: Oh, I somehow didn’t realize that Kaiju Girl Caramelise was an ongoing series.

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Dandadan, a Shonen Jump + title. A boy believes in aliens, but thinks ghosts are the bunk. A girl in his school believes the exact opposite. Together they will discover… that aliens and ghosts are too spicy for Shonen Jump’s app, I can tell you that.

ASH: Ha!

Also from Viz: Case Closed 84, Kaiju No. 8 4, Komi Can’t Communicate 21, Sakamoto Days 4, and Splatoon 15.

Tokyopop has a shoujo debut, Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke (Moto, Ochikobore Koushaku Reijou desu). J-Novel Club releases the light novel of this. The manga runs in MAGCOMI. It’s essentially a Villainess story, even if the lead isn’t evil in the original.

They also have a new one-shot, Hyperventilation. This BL manwha features two guys who meet again at a high school reunion and rekindle things.

Titan Books debut Atom – The Beginning, which runs in Shogakukan’s Heros magazine. It is, as you may have guessed, a prequel to Tezuka’s Astro Boy.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: SuBLime has Black or White 5 and Moon & Sun 2 (the final volume).

ASH: Which reminds me that I’ve been meaning to read the first volume.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga gives us Beauty and the Feast 4, Hi Score Girl 9, and My Isekai Life 3.

Seven Seas once again has a number of debuts. Black and White: Tough Love at the Office (Shiro to Kuro) probably has that subtitle to set it apart from other manga with similar titles. Two women at the same office who can’t seem to stop a) beating the shit out of each other or b) having sex with each other have to team up to solve a mystery. It runs in Comic Ruelle.

ASH: Not the type of yuri series we often see.

SEAN: Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife (Hokkaidou no Geneki Hunter ga Isekai ni Hourikoma Rete Mita – Elf Yome to Meguru Isekai Shuryou Life) is a MAGCOMI title. A hunter gets killed by a bear and ends up in a fantasy world… but he still has his shotgun!

SHWD is also from Comic Ruelle. It stands for Special Hazardous Waste Disposal, and has been described as “yuri buddy cop story meets horror”.

ASH: Another atypical combination!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Cat Massage Therapy 3, Creepy Cat 4 (the final volume), The Duke of Death and His Maid 3, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition II, Kemono Jihen 2, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 3, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 3.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first volume of Kemono Jihen so look forward to the second.

ASH: I’m buying The Girl From the Other Side again; the deluxe edition is lovely.

SEAN: One Peace Books debuts Usotoki Rhetoric, a Bessatsu Hana to Yume title (!) about a girl who can hear lies teaming up with a detective in the mid-1920s.

MICHELLE: Ooooh. This sounds potentially fun!

ASH: It does!

SEAN: They’ve also got I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 5.

Kodansha debuts Last Gender (Last Gender: Nanimono demo nai Watashitachi), an LGBT title about a hidden bar where people can explore different sides of themselves. It ran in Evening Magazine.

ASH: My curiosity is piqued.

SEAN: And they also have Shonen Note: Boy Soprano, a Morning Two title from the creator of Shimanami Tasogare. A middle school student with a wonderful soprano voice runs into issues growing up. This has been nominated for awards.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be checking this out.

ASH: I’ve really been looking forward to this one, too.

SEAN: And they have this weird poster book/artbook/massive thing, AKIRA: Art of Wall.

Also in print: The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 3, Island in a Puddle 4, Lovesick Ellie 6, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 5, and Something’s Wrong With Us 11.

Digitally, we see The Fable 7, Giant Killing 33, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 10, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 4, My Maid, Miss Kishi 4, Police in a Pod 17, Quality Assurance in Another World 6, The Shadows of Who We Once Were 5, Tokyo Revengers 27, and Vampire Dormitory 7.

MICHELLE: One day I really will succeed in getting caught up on Giant Killing.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a light novel debut. Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta (Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta) features a girl who is best friends with her school’s yuri power couple. Sadly, that means everyone else hates her. She doesn’t like herself much either. Then… both of her friends, separately, ask her out. And she says yes. To both of them.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Also digital: The Apothecary Diaries 6, the 8th manga volume of An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 2, In Another World With My Smartphone 26, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 4, and The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 5.

Drawn and Quarterly are reissuing all four volumes of Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa: A History of Japan, with new cover art, as well as single volume Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths.

ASH: Very glad to see Mizuki’s work staying in print.

SEAN: And now we jump to Airship, which has some print light novels. We see the print debut of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard. There’s also Berserk of Gluttony 7, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 5, and I’m in Love with the Villainess 5 (the final volume).

ASH: I’ve been waiting for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard.

SEAN: And in early digital we see I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 2, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 3, and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 12.

Please enjoy this delicious manga made from whole grains. What are you eating next week?

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “First Kiss Manifesto”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

Last time I mentioned that the anime was just starting, and I wondered how it would be handled. Well, now we know, and we also know that apparently the anime producers like Akatsuki as much as I do. Almost the entire third volume was jettisoned from the anime, which decided it really did not need multiple episodes focusing on the world’s most toxic ex-couple. More to the point, they knew something had to go if they wanted to adapt this volume, which turns out to have the perfect “open ending” for an anime that might eventually get a second season. It focuses squarely on our main couple… well, OK, no it doesn’t. It focuses squarely on Yume. The back and forth narrative voices are skewed very much towards the feminine thins time around, because Yume wears her heart on her sleeve and is really easy to figure out, but Mizuto bottles everything up and is not. It takes a family reunion to finally crack the “my stupid ex” facade.

Mizuto and Yume have now gotten comfortable with each other, and with arguing. Perhaps a bit too comfortable, as their parents note they act like a couple that’s fallen out of the “honeymoon” phase. Because Yume is Yume, she looks up online how to deal with this, which apparently involves going with Mizuto to try on swimsuits. The reason for the swimsuit is that they’re making the annual trek into the rural hinterlands of Japan to see Mizuto’s extended family, and this is the first year Yume and her mother will be making the trip. Meeting the in-laws goes well enough, but unfortunately they also come with a hot older cousin, who Yume seems to be convinced was Mizuto’s first love. And in fact Mizuto has been acting even more remote and uncaring than usual lately. Is there something going on?

I don’t want to spoil one of the major emotional parts of the book, which involves Mizuto’s great-grandfather, but suffice it to say it’s really well handled and offers some insight into Mizuto himself. But what this book is really about is Yume coming to terms with the fact that she’s in love with Mizuto. I enjoy the way that it’s framed, as it’s not a case of “oh, I’ve been in love with him all this time”, but rather that the Yume here and now loves him, and her biggest rival turns out not to be Higashira (who is busy trying to write AO3 fanfics of herself and Mizuto, and failing) but her younger self, the one who first captured Mizuto’s heart. The reason that most of the narrative is from her perspective is because we need Mizuto to be mysterious and remote here. I do wonder what his reaction will be in the next book.

I may need to wonder longer, of course, given that the cover art and back cover copy of Volume 5 imply it’s a 100% Higashira focused book. In the meantime, this was an excellent romantic comedy volume… unless you’re Akatsuki and Kawanami, I guess. Sorry, guys, cute pool antics aside, you’re just not important enough.

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 4

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

At long last, Yuto and his tamed monsters are finally starting to get good at the sort of combat that everyone else figured out three days into the game. Sure, later in the book he runs into two top-tier players who remind him that he’s still really weak by comparison, but there’s more here of him and the others actually defeating a lot of monsters. That said, fear not, because the main reason to read the book is still here, by which I mean Yuto telling Alyssa about everything he’s done recently and watching her reaction. I’m not kidding, this has become the highlight of the series, and I love it every time. He simply cannot accept that he is breaking the game in ways no one would ever think of before… but that also allows other players to do things the normal way, so everyone benefits. Indeed, another running gag, which has Yuto casually giving away powerful intel and items because he wants to, is all present and correct.

At long last, after three books hanging around the starter town like Lloyd Belladonna, our heroes finally move on to the next set of towns (though they maintain their farm back at the start as well). This allows Yuto to accidentally figure out how to access two powerful areas, where he can tame an undine (who is, of course, incredibly cute), gain odd new skills that will work out down the line, and have his monsters level up and evolve by the secret method of being nice to them and treating them like equals. We also meet the rest of Alyssa’s intel group, and they’re all as fired up about him as you’d imagine. And he runs into the game’s other top tamer, Amimin, and her summoner friend Mattsun, who both happen to fill the ‘shy girl and her aloof tomboy friend’ stereotype this series has desperately needed. Yuto’s circle of friends is opening up!

We do see the occasional sign that reminds us that Yuto is actually a middle-aged salaryman, and that it’s probably a good thing he’s unlocking so many things, as soon he will have to go back to the grind. For now, though, he’s essentially walking around this game like Maple from Bofuri, accomplishing things the development team had made ludicrously impossible by accident. The devs, at least, seem far more sanguine about it than Maple’s do – especially about Sakura’s evolution, which was supposed to be super incredibly rare and which (as we see in a battle near the end) proves to definitely be life saving. And… yeah, sorry. This is still a slow life book about a game, so I don’t really have much to analyse here. He makes lots of fish dishes. The treant from the last book evolves, but is a stay-at-home treant, so we don’t learn much about it. The undine seems nice, but the fact that none of the monsters speak makes character development more obscure.

Still, this is another volume of the series that does whatever the hell it wants, and does it in a way that I want to read more of it. For fans who would like to play this game themselves.

Surviving in Another World As a Villainess Fox Girl!, Vol. 1

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By Riia Ai and Mucha. Released in Japan as “Scenario Nante Iranai! Rival Chara no Kitsunekko” on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Miki “Zombie” Zuckerman.

It’s always tough when a word ends up being shorthand for a genre. There’s no “villainess” in this book. Indeed, the Japanese romanji uses “Rival Chara”, which is far more accurate. But, as with “isekai” books that aren’t really isekai, “villainess” has become shorthand for a genre of books that this series falls under, so here we are. That said, it’s also intriguing for other reasons. First of all, as the blurb suggests, we have two different “reincarnated into a game” characters butting heads in order to save the game from a bad end, which honestly is mostly used for comedy here. Secondly, the “villainess” is NOT one of the reincarnated Japanese people, and she’s the narrator. Just having a reincarnation book from the POV of someone else is refreshing, but it turns out that the villainess is sweet as pie, and makes everyone around her want to protect and love her. Honestly, it’s no surprise that the actual “heroine” doesn’t even show up in this volume.

Miku and Claire are sisters, and both are Fox Girls, one of many demi-human races in this world. That said, Miku was rather startled when Claire, back when she was 4 years old or so, fell over, hit her head, and then started talking about her past life from Japan! Miku doesn’t really get all this talk about otome games and airplanes, but she loves her sister, so if her sister wants her to train her magic so that they can fight monsters and save the village from a theoretical attack, then that’s what they’ll do. Things get complicated when the love interest from the game arrives, and he too also appears to be attempting to change the narrative to suit his tastes. Both Ektor and Claire have Miku’s best interests at heart… even if they want to solve things in different ways. After all, if they don’t do anything, Miku will die!

I will be honest, this is a book that lives and dies on its ideas, because its writing style and characters are somewhat basic and bland. I had to look at the cover to remind myself that Claire did not have red hair, simply because she fills the “red-headed anime girl” slot so well. As with many books in this genre, Claire and Ektor both don’t really seem to realize that by changing things so much, they’ve probably already achieved their goal. That said, the “gimmick” behind Miku’s powerful light magic is a dangerous one, and while I get that they wanted to wait till she was mature enough to handle it, I appreciate it that they told her immediately once the truth came out. Mostly, though, this is a story of Miku walking around charming everyone in her wake by being adorable, naïve, kind, and earnest. The reader wants to protect her as well.

As noted above, the cliffhanger ending of this volume implies that the “heroine” of the games (there’s more than one genre, something that comes as a surprise to Claire, who only played the original) will show up and make things difficult, though given that Ektor is firmly on Team Miku, it’s hard to see how.Till then, this is a standard webnovel with a decent gimmick of having the narrative come from the non-isekai character.

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 8

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By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Jyuu Ayakura. Released in Japan as “Risou no Himo Seikatsu” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT.

The Ideal Sponger Life is doing a pretty good job of trying to strike a balance between fantasy (after all, this is a series with magic and dragons and the like) and realistic political outcomes. And one of the realistic political outcomes that comes up in this volume is Aura having to give up some of her power. This comes in two different ways – the first is appointing her general/rival as military leader, an unfortunate necessity now that she is pregnant with her second child. The second is finally giving in and admitting (and Zenjirou also has to admit this) that Freya has won the battle, and that she is now definitively going to be his first concubine. Ironically, this means that competition for additional concubines is heating up even MORE, as it means that he has a type other than “tall, strong, buxom amazon”, meaning there’s a larger pool of potential nobles stepping up to the plate. Starting with one who is probably going to be on the next few covers.

Freya is on her fourth straight cover, however this is effectively the end of her arc, as she and her crew have now finished repairs, and have to get back home to not-Sweden before the winter arrives there. She’s quite happy with Zenjirou himself, especially the way that he treats her as an equal, which I think she not only finds affirming but also arousing. That said, the heat is something that she’s going to have to get used to, and we see her and Skaji suffering through a typical “blazing season” here. Meanwhile, Nilda has arrived in the capital and needs training in how to be a noble, so ends up being hired as a palace maid – meaning, once again, that the three comedy maids are forced to step up their game and be more mature. As for Zenjirou, he finally masters teleportation – which means another mission to another country.

I must be honest, even if it weren’t for her name making me wonder if she was going to assassinate someone, I don’t think I’d be looking forward to the arrival of Lucrezia Broglie all that much. She’s far younger than his other love interests, and is deliberately being deceptive by pretending to be clumsy and naïve – something that, I suspect, is going to bite her in the ass when she gets to know the real him. Honestly, I’d be far happier with Bona as his next choice, but that does not appear to be happening, possibly as Aura thinks that she and Zenjirou are a bit TOO compatible. I do also wonder if we’re setting up for a throne war in the future – Aura is correct in that she’s going to have to start giving up some of her power, but in a heavily patriarchal society like this one, that’s power she’s likely never going to be able to get back. I worry about them.

All this plus, worst of all, no sex, as Aura is confirmed to be with child. Still, anyone reading this series for sex long since stopped, as I’ve said before. The politics is still first rate.

Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court, Vol. 2

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By Satsuki Nakamura and Kana Yuki. Released in Japan as “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den” by Ichijinsha Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tara Quinn.

I want to be able to talk about the rest of the cast when I review these books. After all, it can’t ALL be about Reirin. I could talk about Keigetsu, and how my opinion of her went way, way up with this book, when we finally get to delve deeply into how she’s being used as a tool. I could discuss the wonderful flashback showing us Kenshuu and Gabi, which takes a mystery with a rather obvious culprit and turns it into a sad tragedy. I could mention Leelee, who goes from reluctant servant and straight man to … well, less reluctant servant and straight man, to be fair, but she does it beautifully. Hell, even the prince, who is literally said to be most appealing to Rinrin when he’s weak and pathetic, manages to carry off some really good moments. That said, all of this is going to have to get around the insurmountable wall that is Reirin, because OH MY GOD, Reirin.

We pick up immediately where we left off at the end of the first volume. Someone else may have figured out that Reirin is in Keigetsu’s body, but that does not really help things because there’s far more to it than just that. Even if Keigetsu was willing to undo the bodyswap and blithely go off to get tortured and executed, it rapidly becomes clear that, as with Leelee, someone is manipulating things behind the scenes to make sure that, somehow, Reirin dies. And when that doesn’t happen, we actually get a worse outcome, as the next in line for vengeance is the Empress herself. Can Reirin manage to fix things so that no one dies – not her, not the Empress, not Keigetsu, not even the actual culprit? And can she do this despite almost everyone now realizing that she’s in the wrong body?

Last time I wondered how on earth this was going to be spun out into an entire volume given that the secret was out, and kudos to the author for managing to do it. It helps that we would honestly read 89 volumes of this if it meant to got to experience the tornado that is Reirin some more. Her attempts to pretend to be Keigetsu are laughable, especially as she is describing herself as a villainess, but by the end of the book it’s pointed out that she really *is* one – in that she has everyone wrapped around her finger with no idea that that’s what she’s doing. Including the two hottest men in the palace. She may be most attracted to Gyoumei when he’s pathetic, but we love Reirin most when she’s being strong, righteous, and kickass. You get the sense that the reason she’s so desperately ill all the time is that without that handicap, she’d have taken over the world by now. And filled it with potatoes.

The original story ended with this volume, but apparently it was such a success that the author is continuing it with more, and I’m glad, even as I know that this will likely mean more bad things happening to our heroine. Oh well, at least she has a friend now, in addition to her cadre of family and attendants who would absolutely die for her if she asked them. The friend is more important.

Manga the Week of 10/5/22

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SEAN: It’s October, so all your manga tastes like pumpkin spice. Go one, try a page.

MICHELLE: Why, it’s positively delightful!

SEAN: Airship first. After a long wait, mostly as the series switched publishers in Japan and new contracts needed to be written, we have the 14th volume of Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!. This is print AND digital, so no early stuff here.

There is an early digital debut, though, with The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Saijaku Tamer wa Gomihiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita). The premise sounds very similar to A Late Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, but we’ll see how this “my seemingly weak class and skills get me abused but they’re actually REALLY STRONG” series goes.

And we also have an early version of Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 3.

Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess.

Dark Horse Comics gives us Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition 7.

ASH: Like Dark Horse’s other deluxe editions, these are hefty but beautiful volumes. I’m happily upgrading my collection.

Ghost Ship has a 5th volume of Sundome!! Milky Way.

A bunch of print for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 11th manga volume, By the Grace of the Gods 10, The Faraway Paladin’s 4th manga omnibus, In Another World With My Smartphone 24, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 7, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 8, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 5.

The debut from J-Novel Club is Seventh. It’s the story of a noble who ends up cast from their family after being publicly disgraced, forced to try to find a way to survive. The catch is that this isn’t a villainess series, the lead character is a Duke. And not a villain. Then again, that younger sister of his looks suspiciously like an otome game heroine…

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: Also digital: Ascendance of a Bookworm 21, Holmes of Kyoto 11, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 4, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 8, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 4, Sweet Reincarnation 7, Tearmoon Empire’s 2nd manga volume, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 4.

Kodansha’s print debut is Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! (Inuki Kanako no Daikyoufu!), a horror one-shot from the “queen of horror manga”. This has several of her most famous short stories, designed to terrify young girls. They ran in various magazines.

ANNA: OK, stories designed to terrify young girls sound interesting.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try. Always game for new horror manga.

SEAN: I forgot to mention, the author of these stories also did School Zone, a horror manga Dark Horse put out long, long ago which was reviewed by our own Kate Dacey. http://mangacritic.mangabookshelf.com/2010/10/24/my-10-favorite-spooky-manga/

ASH: Oh, that’s a manga in good company!

SEAN: Also in print: Grand Blue Dreaming 17, Orient 10, Peach Boy Riverside 8, Rent-a-Girlfriend 14, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 4, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 20, and Wandance 2.

MICHELLE: The first volume of Wandance was a lot of fun.

SEAN: As for digital… keeping in mind I am working from secondary sources… the debut is Raised by the Demon Kings! (Sodatechi Maou!). If you can imagine Three Men and a Baby but with rival demon kings, you’ve got this one. It ran in Magazine Special.

Also digital: The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 6, Changes of Heart 6, Chihayafuru 34, Desert Eagle 4, A Galaxy Next Door 3, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 2, I’ll Never Send a Selfie Again! 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 28, My Boyfriend in Orange 12, and Our Love Doesn’t Need a Happy Ending 3 (the final volume)

Some more debuts from Seven Seas. Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess (Jingai Hime-sama, Hajimemashita – Free Life Fantasy Online) is the manga version of a series that just had its light novel also licensed by Seven Seas. A newbie gamer gets a new VR game from her younger sister… but her character build is horrible! Now she’s a zombie.

Imaginary is a josei title from Rakuen Le Paradis. A young man reconnects with a childhood friend he never confessed to. Can he manage to bond with her anew?

MICHELLE: This looks potentially interesting!

ANNA: Yay for josei!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Night of the Living Cat runs in Comic Garden, and the premise is horrifyingly adorable. Instead of zombies, humans who pet cats become cats themselves!

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: The Summer You Were There (Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata) is a Comic Yuri Hine series from the creator of The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. A shy girl is a romance writer, but when her classmate gets her hands on a manuscript, she suggests more writing experience… by the two of them dating!

Tentai Books theoretically has print releases for some of their recent digital-only light novels. We see From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals 1, I Kissed my Girlfriend’s Little Sister?! 1, There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular Right? 3, and You Like Me, Don’t You? So, Wanna Go Out With Me? 1.

Tokyopop has the 11th volume of Konohana Kitan.

Viz debuts Romantic Killer, a Shojo Beat romance series from Shonen Jump +. (There was a HUGE fight about this online, but look, it’s shoujo, get over where it ran. I can’t believe I’M the one saying that, but…) A girl who’s not all that interested in guys is moved to a virtual reality where there’s nothing BUT hot guys. I’ve heard this is quite fun.

ANNA: Wow, it must be difficult for her to be surrounded by so many hot guys.

SEAN: Also out next week: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 15, Dr. STONE 23, Moriarty the Patriot 9, My Hero Academia 32, My Love Mix-Up! 5, Snow White with the Red Hair 21, and Yona of the Dawn 37.

MICHELLE: Gotta get caught up on the Shojo Beat titles!

ANNA: Me too! Always glad to see a new volume of Yona.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Yen On debuts Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, a fantasy romance novel series from the creator of Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower. The story of a candy crafter trying to become a Silver Sugar Master seems sweet as pie, but the “I’m purchasing a fairy, as they are treated like property in this world” will be a bar it’s going to have to clear.

ASH: The candy crafting side of things has potential, but… yeah.

SEAN: We also get Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 8.5, The Detective Is Already Dead 4, A Sister’s All You Need 13, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 10, and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 9.

Three debuts for Yen Press. Gahi-chan! runs in Comic Dengeki Daioh “g”, and has its sights firmly aimed at 14-year-old boys who love unrealistic body types. A manga artist finds his heroine has shown up on his door! She’s actually a yokai… who can eat his art and transform it into a suit of skin, which she then wears. Despite sounding like a horror premise, it’s an ecchi comedy.

ASH: The yokai part of that description caught my attention, but I’m not sure about the rest of it.

SEAN: Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet is a shoujo title from Margaret, from the creator of Daytime Shooting Star. A girl whose father has put their family in debt finds a job as a housekeeper to a surly novelist. What’s worse, she has to live there.

MICHELLE: Interesting that Yen is picking up these Margaret titles. This is the second one, after No Longer Heroine.

ANNA: Cool, I’m curious about this.

SEAN: And Unnamed Memory is the manga adaptation of the wonderful light novel series. It runs in Comic Dengeki Daioh.

Also from Yen: Angels of Death Episode.0 4, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 3, Chained Soldier 2, 86–EIGHTY-SIX 3, The Eminence in Shadow 5, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 18, So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 4, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 16, and Yowamushi Pedal 21.

ASH: I’m finally close to being caught up with Yowamushi Pedal and have been enjoying the ride.

SEAN: I guess EVERYONE finally got their manga back from the printers. What are you getting?

Yashiro-kun’s Guide to Going Solo

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By Dojyomaru and Kou Kusaka. Released in Japan as “Yashiro-kun no Ohitori-sama Kouza” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andria Cheng-McKnight.

Authors, of course, read other authors, and are influenced by them. The book in, say, isekai books, or villainess books, etc. is not JUST publishers trying to milk the latest cash cow, it also stems from authors reading a title and thinking “what would happen if I tried this instead?”. And it’s the same with the author of How a Realist hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, who notes in the Afterword that he wrote this book heavily influenced by titles like My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected. Though honestly, it reads more like a Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki. Our male lead is a loner who sits by himself in the classroom. We also have the popular girl, part of her cool clique, etc. you know the two of them are going to be the focus. Which is… sort of accurate. Because this is not really a story, it’s more of a thought experiment. How much you enjoy it might depend how much you like those.

We are in a world where so many people have been reading high school “fix it” romcoms that the power balances have shifted a bit. Suddenly loners are admired for their ability to not conform, and the popular kids are seen as having to force themselves to fit in. Yashiro is one of those loners, and he’s approached by the popular girl Kanon. She’s been forcing herself to fit into her group seamlessly, and it’s not working well. She wants to learn from him how to enjoy doing things by herself. Despite being somewhat baffled by this, he agrees, ans the two of them start confabbing on things like studying at a karaoke place, going to really nice public baths and soaking by yourself, etc. Then her sporty friend Ido approaches Yashiro, at first to make sure he’s not trying anything weird with Kanon, but then to get her own lessons in enjoying time by herself. Then a new transfer student arrives… when does this end?

As a book, without its main conceit, this is just OK. The world feels like a bizarre, conflictless alternate universe (it’s by the author of Realist Hero, and indeed a crossover available to J-Novel Club subscribers indicates this happens at the same time as Souma is going to high school there). However, as I read it I began to notice someone else outside of the field of the book’s vision. It did not take me very long to realize what was going on, but it’s not the sort of trick where the joy is in guessing it, it’s the sort where it works better when you’re in on it. The “missing” character became my favorite in the book, which is why I was happy when (and the author has done this before) the afterword was actually a midword, and the 2nd chunk of the book was a retelling of the series from their perspective. It also shows that the author was reading more than just Oregairu, because the 2nd part of this book is the current wave of “sugar sweet romance” types, and boy is it sweet.

This is a single volume – it wouldn’t work as a continuing series. And you have to make a few logical leaps to get to the “Oh, nerds are admired and cool kids are pitied” worldview it takes. But overall, I really loved its lead couple, and the trick behind them.

Bookshelf Briefs 9/27/22

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D-Frag!, Vol. 16 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This new volume (by now the series is annual) involves a massive parody of “trapped in a game” stories, as the main cast are all in an experimental VRMMO which has a few bugs in the system. Kazuma’s in-game cursed armor may be affected by a REAL curse on him, Runa’s attempt to imitate Lone Wolf and Cub has left her as a baby, and Sakura can only use water spells, because, well, she’s Sakura. There are some very funny stabs at both Sword Art Online and similar stories as well as the D-Frag cast itself, with Kazuma once again having to rely on his tsukkomi in order to survive. That said, it ended with a surprise heartwarming moment… with Kazuma being the most surprised! Still underrated. – Sean Gaffney

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 11 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – The End of Humanity has been promised for several volumes now, and this volume is here to deliver on it. We get some really terrifying horror shots here of innocent folks suddenly having their arms and legs cut off by alien spores, but that pales next to the actual apocalypse, which takes up more than one two-page spread. We even get what appears to be the final Isobeyan chapter, giving it an ending that the original Doraemon never actually got. That said, the last volume in the series is twelve, not eleven, and I suspect some sort of time travel/alternate universe stuff may manage to save the day. For now, though, hope you aren’t attached to anyone on Earth. – Sean Gaffney

Dekoboko Bittersweet Days | By Atsuko Yusen | TOKYOPOP – In this sequel to Dekoboko Sugar Days, things start somewhat episodically. Rui and Yuujirou move up to their third year in high school, they go to the beach, there’s a flashback to them as kids, etc. Eventually, however, the references to their college plans and worries about how their families might react to their relationship coalesce into a fairly dramatic story. Now, was it really that believable that Yuujirou would break up with Rui on Christmas and not talk to him again until right before Rui is about to get on a plane to attend college in France? No, not really. Not when they love each other so much. But their last-minute reconciliation is still great because they were utterly unconcerned in that moment about their families finding out and, surprise, everything was totally fine. Sometimes an ending can be predictable and still be sweet and satisfying. – Michelle Smith

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 11 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – This came out a lot faster than I was expecting, but that may be because things are very quickly coming to a climax, and the end plot may be less “how do we save Falin?” and more “how do we not all get executed as criminals?” Marcille won’t be helping, as due to plot and circumstance she’s now in charge of the dungeon, though we only get a brief glimpse of what that actually entails. And rest assured, there is some incredibly disgusting horror here as well, because that is also the sort of thing this series can offer us. Actually, there’s not as much food this time around—or at least not food that we can convert to real recipes. I’m not sure how much longer this has to go, but it will be interesting to see how Laios talks himself out of this one. – Sean Gaffney

Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger, Vol. 1 | By Emboss | Seven Seas – At first glance, Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger looks like a standard-issue food manga, focusing on two friends whose main hobby is trying out new restaurants. The artwork reinforces the idea that this is a Food Manga™ with numerous close-ups of Wolf and Tiger slurping noodles, sighing contentedly, and rubbing their bellies as they sample new delicacies, all of which are rendered in meticulous, mouth-watering detail. The frenetic pacing, however, robs the story of its educational and entertainment potential; at every turn, we’re bombarded with new characters, few of whom are properly introduced to the reader, despite the presence of a narrator. By the end of volume one I felt tired and hangry—a sure sign that this series wasn’t working for me. YMMV. – Katherine Dacey

Sakamoto Days, Vol. 2 | By Yuto Suzuki | VIZ Media – The second installment of Sakamoto Days does pretty much what you’d expect: we’re introduced to new assassins—none of whom are equal to the task of killing the hero—and a conspiracy involving a top-secret organization. We’re also treated to a few amusing flashbacks to Sakamoto’s training, as well as an acrobatic fight scene that begins on a roller coaster and ends at a haunted house. Though the action scenes aren’t as dazzling as the best Shonen Jumpka titles, Yuto Suzuki knows his way around a good sight gag, and peppers every fight sequence with a few humorous interludes. What really keeps Sakamoto Days aloft, however, is heart: the characters’ obvious affection for one another makes it easier to embrace the story’s killer-gets-dragged-back-into-his-old-life plot. Recommended. – Katherine Dacey

See You Tomorrow at the Food Court | By Shinichiro Nariie| Yen Press – This is a dialogue-heavy story that relies entirely on the personalities of the two high school girl leads. Yamamoto dresses like a gal, but is relatively serious and has a job. Wada looks like an honor student, but is a flake who is all over the place. They’re best friends, and every day they eat at the food court in the mall and discuss… whatever. This was marketed as yuri-ish, but aside from the final chapter it’s not really. It is a good examination of high school girls and the need to have a “public” face. How much you like it depends on how much you can tolerate Wada, who can be very hard to take a lot of the time, though I think she’s ultimately lovable. A one-shot for now, it just restarted in Japan. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 8 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – This is the final volume of the series, and like previous volumes, it focuses on its main character—Lux. She’s had the emotional arc since the very start of the series, and now she gets to come to terms with the death of her friend, come to terms with the fact that she was a pawn of Laughing Coffin, and come to terms with the hero-worship she has for Kirito, even when he’s an NPC that may or may not contain his soul. It wouldn’t be SAO without playing fast and loose with sentience. In the meantime, this was a solid series that gave screen time to most of the regulars who are not Kirito, Asuna or Sinon, and I’m happy to have read it. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online, Vol. 25: Unital Ring IV

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

The basic premise of Unital Ring is that something has mashed up all the MMORPGs out there, meaning that SAO, ALO, GOO, etc. are all in the same world. This even includes American games where you choose to star as a bug (the spiders side is far more popular than the centipede side, and I don’t really blame them, though I do admit to a bit of surprise that the game is popular in the West at all.) But, as we have also discovered, Unital Ring is not just about uniting the various games our cast has played in, it’s about uniting the various arcs of the series. The first non-web novel arc Kawahara takes on sticks together all of his previous books, plus real life, plus the Underworld, which it turns out is a lot more relevant to the main plot than we’d thought. That said, the series no longer moves as fast as its first volume did, meaning that any chance of the Underworld side meeting up with the Unital Ring side is going to have to wait a bit.

The book is divided into two chunks, with a real world interlude between them. The first takes place in Unital Ring, as Kirito and company try to figure out a way to stop Mutasina and her blackmailed players from destroying the new town that’s been raised around their log cabin. This, as you can imagine, involves a lot of fighting, game stats, etc., and should be very familiar to the SAO reader. It’s hard to coordinate, though, meaning that Asuna can’t get a chance to meet up with the mysterious new transfer student who’s been trying to talk with her. As for Underworld, well, we still don’t know if Eolyne is Eugeo reborn, or a clone, or a descendant, or what, but there’s enough to make Kirito and Alice very suspicious. That said, they have a bigger issue to take care of: reuniting Alice with her sister, who has been in cryosleep.

Sword Art Online has generally never been a mystery series, nor has it relied on surprises or last minute swerves. This is good, because at this point I will be a lot more surprised if Kamura, the new transfer student, ISN’T Mutasina. Kawahara can be very straightforward. That said, this is a perfectly fine volume of Sword Art Online, though it’s suffering from being the 4th book in what is probably another 9-book arc. There are hints that Unital Ring’s plot and the Underworld plot will connect in the future, but hints are all they are now, so it does suffer a bit from having to, about 2/3 of the way through the book, shift gears and remind us to start caring about what seems like a completely different story. It will probably read better when the whole arc is out, but for now it feels a bit thin.

Still, the next book is out in Japan, and we should see it in the spring sometime. Till then, enjoy Kirito cutting things with his sword and also acting like a dumb teenage boy.

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel!, Vol. 7

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By Rhythm Aida and nauribon. Released in Japan as “Buta Koushaku ni Tensei shita kara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Zihan Gao.

The Piggy Duke series has always had a tendency, much like its title character, of avoiding difficult confrontations. We’ve seen in the last few books Slowe trying to work up the courage to confess to Charlotte and failing miserably, and the revelations about Charlotte’s past and how much everyone knows about it, while they have been coming out, are almost inevitably interrupted by some crisis needing attention, and by the time it’s over the moment has passed. Well, those who have been waiting seven books for Slowe to get off his ass and say something will be pleased to see that it finally happens here, as a stupid series of “high school drama” events manage to force his hand. The confession scene is excellent. As for the aftermath? Oh, sorry, it’s crisis time. The aftermath will have to wait. Sadly, Charlotte gets little to do in this volume, despite her heritage being one of the reasons for the crisis.

The title once again is a lie, as, in order to get rid of the stress he’s been dealing with recently, Slowe has taken to working out by lifting weights all over campus – something that the student body actually finds a bit terrifying. That said, he’s slimmed down again, so is attracting looks, and his “commoner” friend Tina tries to get him to branch out by actually interacting with other women besides her, Charlotte and Alicia – something that sadly proves disastrous for his reputation. Fortunately, a distraction comes along. The Witch, fresh off the last book, has gone to attack the Queen, and the fallout from that means that the Queen, her Guardian Knight, the Princess, and the Royal Knights are ALL now at the school, trying to bait the Witch. Unfortunately, this is also a family argument between mother and daughter… who do NOT get along.

We’d met the lazy princess before, but the narrative is a lot more sympathetic towards her this time, putting her behavior in much-needed context. Her behavior also ties into Charlotte’s past, which (of course) is not nearly as secret as Slowe would like, and I really enjoyed that this was part of the bargain made. That said, most of this book, as with the other books in the series, relies on you finding Slowe’s behavior amusingly annoying rather than just annoying. Again, I really wish we had more of Charlotte’s POV in this series, as she’s still technically Slowe’s retainer, and is having to deal with him being the talk of the school – again – and also some incredibly nasty rumors about him – again. If you add in his accidental confession to her, you can see why she spends the last quarter of the book unconscious. I’m sure we’ll find out what she thinks of Slowe’s confession of love in the next book… maybe.

I have been accused before of caring more about the romance in a book than the plot, and that’s probably true, but a lot of the plot in Piggy Duke is the romance, so I think I have the right to be a bit annoyed. Still, the Princess made this book worth reading, and I hope we see more of her in the future.

The Manga Review, 9/23/22

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This has been a relatively quiet week on the manga beat, so I’m going to lead off with a question: what are you reading? Is there a series that you wouldn’t hesitate recommend? A manga that looked promising but disappointed or, conversely, a manga that looked awful but turned out to be fun, interesting, or engrossing? Inquiring minds want to know!

NEWS AND VIEWS

As the eighth volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting arrived in Japanese bookstores, publisher Micro Magazine announced that the series just reached an important milestone: one million volumes in circulation. [Otaku USA]

Another Wednesday, another passel of licensing announcements from Seven Seas: look for I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love, My Girlfriend’s Child, and Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! in 2023. [Seven Seas]

David Brothers leads a lively roundtable discussion of MOB PSYCHO 100, with an emphasis on its polarizing artwork. [Mangasplaining]

The reviewers at Honey’s Anime have compiled a list of their ten favorite historical manga, from Seven Shakespeares to Golden Kamuy. [Honey’s Anime]

Over at TCJ, Jon Holt and Teppei Fukuda have translated another essay by manga critic Natsume Fusanosuke, this one focused on Naoki Urasawa. Fusanosuke traces Urasawa’s evolution as an artist from the 1980s through the 2000s, noting the degree to which Urasawa’s early works were influenced by Katsuhiro Otomo. [The Comics Journal]

REVIEWS

Justin and Krystallina agree: you should be reading My Happy Marriage. Over at Women Write About Comics, Masha Zhdanova praises Nagabe’s Blue Monotone for its low-key approach to depicting teenage romance. “Nagabe uses anthropomorphic animals to tell a story about a familiar theme: being ‘weird’ isn’t inherently bad, and differences between people should be celebrated instead of shamed,” she observes. “The fact that this love blossoms between two animal boys, both outcasts in different ways, helps make this theme clear.” Also worth a look is Paulina Pryzstupa’s thoughtful review of Look Back, a novella-length story from the creator of Chainsaw Man.

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series