Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Reviews

Zero Damage Sword Saint: I Enrolled in a Magic School and Wound Up in a Contract with the Demon Queen, Vol. 4

by

By Isle Osaki and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Kenseitan: Osananajimi no Oujo ni Suterare Mahou Gakuen ni Nyuugakushitara, Maou to Keiyakusuru Koto ni Natta ” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu.

I do appreciate that this series knows the lane that it’s chosen to drive in, and it’s not going to move out of it, even when circumstances indicate that it really, really should. Towards the end of this book there is a threatened apocalypse, hideously overpowered monsters, and a chapter with “despair” in the title, so you would assume that things are going to take a darker turn. And then you remember what series you’re reading, and realize that the closest we get to suspense in this book is wondering whether he gets to bang his childhood friend or not. This is not a series that is going to revel in the emotional distress of its cast, to the point where, even when they’re facing certain death, everyone in love with Eugene is more concerned with who gets to hang off his arm at any given time than they are with disasters. This is a harem.

It’s culture festival time, and that means that Eugene could, theoretically, walk around the festival with up to two of his three lovers. Unfortunately, Erinyes is still trapped in the deepest dungeons for being evil, Sara is having to Student Council it up, and Sumire is helping with the theme park attraction. This gives an opportunity for Airi, who has decided to show up at the festival now that she has made it clear back home that she is a) next in line for the throne, and b) has dumped her fiance. There are even love hotels at this festival (?!?!), but fortunately for Eugene his childhood friend still seems to be a child at heart. Unfortunately for everyone, Eugene has also met the standard “I look ten years old but I’m really in the hundreds”. She’s the Dungeon Master, and she’s not happy with how things have been going lately. What’s going to happen when she lifts the lids off ALL the cans of worms?

I remember reading that Airi was *very* unpopular with Japanese readers when they were polled, so it does not surprise me that when she and Eugene head into a love hotel she doesn’t realize what it actually is and then falls asleep. It’s OK, kid, the others are bonking Eugene a *lot* to make up for your flaws. I also appreciate the strongest swordsman in the school, who is introduced in this book and we get sixty pages of everyone waiting for him to fight Eugene. His fate is hilarious and obvious, frankly. Come back when you were introduced in Book One, guy. Other than that, the bulk of this book is dedicated to showing us how awesome Eugene is and that he is the next savior of the world. It does try to end the world sort of half-heartedly, but sadly the one big flaw is the dungeon master, who’s great when she gets to be evil but when she’s shown her evil has ruined everything she just pathetically whines. I expected better from a token loli.

Next we appear to go on the road again, so expect less Erinyes and more Sumire and Sara. This is fun trash.

Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain, Vol. 8

by

By Ageha Sakura and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

When I reviewed the 7th book in this series, I had not realized that this 8th book would be the final one. It does its absolute best to cram everything in so that we’re not disappointed, though. There’s lots of Nazelbart spoiling Agnes, being overprotective of Agnes, and trying to seduce Agnes. (There is a joke made here that if Agnes dies, Nazelbart will destroy the entire world, only to everyone but Agnes, it’s not a joke.) There’s Agnes saying that she’ll be careful and wait right there, and then heading into battle anyway. There’s another guy who’s so evil it’s almost comical, and of course he ends up getting caught and being put to manual labor. We see Robin again, he’s a schmuck. We see Mia again, she’s so hung up on her past actions that she fails to realize how much she’s changed. And there’s the next generation, who are very shippable. A bit earlier than I would like, admittedly.

About two years after the last volume, there’s a fresh new disaster: giant hoppers are attacking their domain, and no one is quite sure how they got there. Fortunately, everyone is able to work together to take them out, but there’s some crop damage. They then head to the capital, where the King is getting ready to marry his younger brother off to a foreign princess. She’s arriving with her older brother. He seems… like he’s trying to hide his evil. She seems like she’s desperately trying to be normal. Both are true. When Nero (the brother) offers then a horribly mercenary plan to help them after their lands have been mysteriously ravaged by hoppers, everyone smells a giant rat. Are these new characters really responsible for all the natural disasters of the last few books?

Starting off with a bit that made me uncomfortable, they’re both so young it shouldn’t matter, but the 3-year-old falling in love with the 1-year-old at first sight, and remembering this even when he’s an adult, smacked too much to me of gender reveal parties and parents whose friends talk about their babies marrying right after said babies have been born. Other than that, this is a fun “victory lap” sort of book, where Agnes gets to show off, be sweet, and finally has to give in and become the next Saint (we all saw it coming). I also really liked Beatrice, the bug-loving princess who gets to turn traitor against her homeland and have it all work out, because (the funniest part of the book) all her brothers, sisters, parents, and evil nobles killed each other in a throne war while she was away. That sure was lucky! We also get several flash-forwards, where we see Agnes’ daughter Luna and her insecurities about her power, which is the opposite of her mother’s.

As Agnes and Nazelbart re4mark, we’ve come a long way from the pancake makeup and 200-pound dresses of Book 1. Agnes is living her best life now. Good for her! Fun series, glad I read it.

The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits, Vol. 3

by

By yocco and Junsui. Released in Japan as “Outo no Hazure no Renkinjutsushi: Hazure Shokugyou datta node, Nonbiri Omise Keieishimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andria McKnight. Adapted by Lex Reno.

Everyone has their own pet things they don’t like in fantasy light novels. Well, pretty sure almost every right thinking person hates “welp, guess I gotta have slaves”, but leaving that as a given, there are others that grate on me, and one of them is front and center at the start of this third book. I’m sure it’s from some JRPG or other, but the whole “you are given a god-given talent at Age 5 and if the common wisdom is that it sucks you are abused, disowned, abandoned, or even straight up attempted murdered”. HATE this. Hate the “lol evil parents/family” that comes from it. Hate that it’s part of the tired “your weak power is actually STRONG it’s just that everyone is an idiot!” subgenre. Hate the idea of your life being defined by your job that you don’t get to pick at all. Banished from the Hero’s Party deals with consequences of this better, here we just get the trope straight up. Kinda sucks.

Daisy is living her best life, along with her family. Sure, her brother and sister have now been chosen as the new Sage and Saint, respectively. Sure, that means that bratty nobles are challenging them to duels. But come on, they’re in this series and related to Daisy, they’ve got it made. Unfortunately, one day Daisy comes across a young girl who’s just gotten her Alchemist job being screamed at and abandoned by her father. (Who is a royal knight, by the way, in case you wondered if he was dumb as well as evil.) Daisy sees a lot of herself in this little girl, who looks, frankly, exactly like her only five years younger (see cover). And so Daisy talks to her family and they end up adopting the girl, Lily. Which is a good thing, as she also has a special God blessing, special alchemy powers, and is also the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I kid because I love, trust me. This series remains ridiculous, and has the characterization of an underweight. Actually, Lily got so good so fast I wondered if there would be an arc where Daisy felt jealous of her younger adopted sister, but no fear, Daisy is still too awesome for words, and also gets ennobled here, at ten years old. Elsewhere, she starts to create all the things she and her party will need to take on the tower she couldn’t take on last book; she invents moisturizer, lip balm, and Montessori schools, and she picks up an apprentice, who I thought might become a second potential toy ship love interest, but the author makes sure to give the 7-year-old kid a 7-year-old sweetheart, so no worries there. Even the King finds everything about Daisy and her family delightful.

There are a few ominous hints at drama in future books (the other elves are not very proactive), but for the most part, again, here is Daisy. Ain’t she grand?

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck, Vol. 4

by

By Izumi Okido and Jyun Hayase. Released in Japan as “Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu!” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

Last time I was worried about what the series was going to do with Liz, but I ended up reading into the setting too much. Just like Alicia, I am far too aware of the otome game origins of this world, so I naturally assumed that Liz’s stubborn hyper-idealism and unconscious charm power were going to be near impossible to get rid of without sterner methods. As it turns out, though, Liz lives in reality like the rest of the cast do, and therefore all it takes is just talking to her and trying to convince her that she’s doing this mostly because she’s jealous of Duke loving Alicia. Which is really easy to do, as if Liz is aware of anything it’s that. While there is a bit of tough love involved, it’s rather startling how easily everything falls into place. Which is good, as we may be seeing a plague soon.

The book alternates POV between Gill, dealing with things back in Durkis, and Alicia, who is still “in disguise” as part of her exile to Laval. As it turns out, the fact that she’s a woman gets revealed pretty fast. She’s now being monitored by second prince Victor, who is intrigued by her and also kind of a massive jerk. And then there’s the first prince, who Alicia tries to get to meet… and when she does discovers a secret that really surprised me. She also meets two young criminals, one of whom seems to have “spot sickness”, a deadly disease which can only be cured by the usual “impossible to get to flower” that you usually see in fantasy books. Hopefully she can get it soon, as Durkis also has someone down with Spot Sickness…

There’s lots of interesting stuff going on, some of which I broke down earlier in my review, i.e. the stuff with Liz. But the big surprise was Vian, the first prince… who it turns out loves makeup and dresses, and wants Alicia to use the name Vivian. I’m not sure how much of a trans narrative I’m supposed to read into this, but the fact that it treats Vian’s desires completely seriously, and forces us to think about the issues that a first prince who will someday take over the kingdom would have with wanting to dress as a woman and use a woman’s name… I really hope that we’re not done with this plot now that Vian has found a confidante in Alicia, and that it may go places. Elsewhere, she’s slowly learning about the kingdom she’s been exiled to, bonding with her grandfather, and also starting to get pain and reactions in her missing eye, which she is 100% in denial about. I am fairly certain the next book is going to kill off one of the cast.

Still good, and it’s surprising me by going places I didn’t expect. This may be the best volume yet.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 29

by

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I had heard, when I began the 7th arc in this series, that I would not enjoy it as much as the previous ones, as I’ve said in previous reviews. And yet I was unprepared for how much of an absolute grind this book was, especially in the first half. I suppose the reason that everything comes to a grinding halt is to show how important an ally Yoruna is going to be, and how it should be fairly easy to get her on their side, which a lot of people don’t want. But man, this really felt like a lot of running around to pad a word count. There’s also the latest change to Subaru, which also takes in Medium and Al. I get the sense the author is happy that Subaru has grown as a person but also finds it really inconvenient as a storyteller, so finds any excuse to reset things back to “oh no, flail flail”. That said, not without some good things, see below.

Abel’s group has been invited for an audience with Yoruna… unfortunately, Subaru wakes up looking like a ten-year-old child! And he’s not alone, as Medium and Al (who takes it VERY badly) are also trapped in kid bodies… and, it becomes increasingly clear, more immature mindsets as well. This turns out to be the work of the first divine general, Orbart, who offers to turn them back to normal… if they can defeat him in hide and seek. (Tag was suggested, but it may be too difficult.) They manage to find him once, but the second time proves much harder. What’s worse, Subaru has been lulled into a false sense of security, possibly not helped by Rem, and reveals who Louis is to everyone. This goes VERY badly.

The highlight of the book, written to BE a highlight of the book, is Subaru’s nightmarish ten-second loop of death, one where he actually thinks it’s different that Return by Death because he’s just not getting ANYWHERE, it goes on forever, and he’s just constantly being brutally murdered over and over. It’s the shortest loop we’ve ever seen in the series to date, and it fits with his childish regression that he’s going through, which may also be affecting his memory. The reaction of everyone to Louis, meanwhile, is a great worldbuilding way of showing that Subaru does not ALWAYS have to tell everyone everything in order to move on with life, and that in fact hiding an archbishop is usually punishable by death. Lest we forget, the Gluttonies were terrifying, and just because Louis seems to have gotten a brain wipe doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Also unfortunately for Subaru, he may not be able to return to adulthood anytime soon, as something goes wrong with his body and this world again, which leads to hideous cliffhanger, and I am hoping a bit more forward progress in the next book. Halfway there.

A Certain Magical Index NT, Vol. 6

by

By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Shinyaku To Aru Majutsu no Index” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

It is something of a shame that the light novels in this series don’t get any love in North America – well, at least the official releases, I’m sure hardcore Index fans are still swearing by the fan TL as they check out Genesis Index’s latest volume. They may be full of gobbledegook, posturing, and sophistry, but they’re very entertaining despite all that. In particular, before I started this review I glanced at my review of the previous book. First I got sad, as I realized we’re down to twice a year, so this gets even further behind the thirteen years it’s already behind Japan. Then I was amused, as I saw all my predictions about what was happening with Touma and what would be happening here, and boy was I wrong. As it turns out, Thor has the right idea, and Touma is not going to be undergoing any character development to become nuanced and realistic. He is a shonen manga hero, and this is a shonen manga series, in prose form. Just punch things righteously, dummy.

We pick up where we left off, with everything in chaos. Touma’s trying to run around and solve everything despite having been shot, and his gunshot wound keeps reopening. Mugino is being confronted with the corpse of her old teammate back from the dead, and … well, it’s Mugino, so you should know that wasn’t really going to work on her. Sorry, Frenda fans, she’s still dead. Accelerator is having to deal with the return of Kakine, who has discovered psychological warfare really works on someone as guilt-ridden as Accelerator is. Kakine’s bug-shaped minions are also chasing after Last Order, Fremea, Hamazura, Takitsubo, and Yoshikawa, an odd little combination. Fräulein Kreutune is going mad because she’s trying not to eat brains and failing. And, most importantly, it’s a cameo from Shokuhou Misaki! She’s in the novels at last! For about a page.

Given that I was very unhappy with Kakine’s return in the last book, I cannot begin to explain how delighted I am with Rhinoceros Beetle 05. Index has already dabbled in “clones of the original gain their own sentience and do different things” with the Misakas, of course, but this is even more old-school shonen, the minion who turns good and risks his very life and soul defending the girls from his former allies. I cheered this whole plotline. I also smiled awkwardly at Touma. His fighting had indeed gotten a lot more clever and analytical, and his idea on how to resolve Fräulein Kreutune’s issue is brilliant. But that has nothing to do with his HEART! It’s all about GUTS! And so yeah, Touma saves the girl, because that is what Touma does. He also has a big shonen “let’s hit each other with fists till we pass out” fight with Thor, who manages to be even MORE shonen. It’s kinda dumb, but you’ll be grinning.

Did I mention there’s a festival? There is! Next time, all the magic folks have gone home for now, so it’s time for an All-Science side book. I’ll keep reading it, even as the ending will likely come out here after I die.

Who Killed the Hero?, Vol. 3

by

By Daken and toi8. Released in Japan as “Dare ga Yuusha wo Koroshita ka” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kim Morrissy.

This was well-written, and I enjoyed it, but I have to say that diminishing returns are starting to set in. I am wondering how many times we can go to the well of what it means to be a hero, and how many times we’re going to get a clever identity twist. The bulk of this book is written knowing that the reader will be trying to “work out” what is happening, so there are lots of false clues and real clues scattered throughout. More importantly, though, we’re back with the cast of the first book, and we get to see what they were like as they started out on their journey. Unsurprisingly, the answer is “not great”. They’re abrasive, strong, and somewhat rotten personalities, with the exception of Ares, and he feels like he’s unable to corral them because they’re all so much better than he is. The real plot of this book may be fixing that mindset, which he does thanks to a real swell guy.

In a prologue, we see a princess open a coffin whose contents surprise her. We then cut to Zack, who is walking the city during a memorial festival when he is accosted by the same princess, who asks a very pointed question: Did he kill her brother? We then flash back to Ares and his team setting off to kill the demon lord, passing through Ludonia, where they can get some experience killing monsters and working as a team. Which they need, as they’re horrible at working as a team, mostly as Leon, Maria and Solon dislike each other intensely. Almost wiped out by an ambush, they’re rescued by Carlos, the prince of Ludonia – and the country’s hero, who defends it from demons, and who has an entourage that worships the ground he wanks on. Compared to Carlos, Ares is just this guy, you know? Still, unsurprisingly with this series, there’s more going on than what’s on the surface.

Ares remains the best part of this book. He and the author clearly define hero the same way, but there are others who see “hero” the same way you would define “savior” or “messiah”, and that’s a problem, especially when you have two heroes in the same castle. We also hear about shapeshifters, who can supposedly disguise themselves perfectly as a friend or ally, but who may or may not exist. It should not surprise anyone to learn that we are led to believe a certain thing about the traitorous shapeshifter, then have it go another way, and then have it go a mysterious third way. I felt Carlos’ story was very strong, although not as strong as Ares’. If there’s a weakness in the book it’s Erena, Carlos’ sister and the princess I mentioned earlier. She doesn’t get much to do for plot reasons, and the ending, which is meant to be more ambiguous and less triumphant than the first two books, also reads a bit like the author had hit a word limit.

There’s apparently a fourth book in the series just out in Japan, so apparently we can go to the well at least once more. I did enjoy reading this, but I would like the author to move on to other series, perhaps. Don’t overegg the pudding.

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 6

by

By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner.

The author indicates, in the afterword, that they are already not a fan of harem series, and now that Carmine has a wife and two concubines they do not plan to add any more to the pile. This is a great shame, because in the same afterword the author talks about how much they love writing strong female characters, and we get another one here who is absolutely magnificent. Last time we introduced fantasy Mei Hatsume, this time we get a successful version of Leeroy Jenkins. She’s a Count, she was raised as a boy (though thinks of herself as a girl), she is fantastic at battle but kinda dumb about everything else, and she thinks Carmine is the best thing since sliced bread. She’s ready to fight and die for him. Which is good, as everyone keeps trying to attack his Empire. Carmine will need Leeroy-chan, as well as Mei Hatsume, even though he finds it really hard to deal with both.

The volume divides neatly into two parts. The first half is all politics and strategy, as Carmine has the weddings for his other two brides while also feeling out all the envoys and representatives from other countries who came to them and seeing what they’re after. He does this even during his wedding night, much to the displeasure of a pouting but underage Nadine, who has to fall asleep on the bed. He meets a foreign prince, who seems difficult to deal with, a creepy mind-controlling noble, who seems VERY difficult to deal with, and also has to deal with the “I’m just a moe blob” merchant we met a few books ago, who is most definitely NOT a moe blob. In the second half of the book, Carmine takes his army out on the road again, to defend the Empire from invaders, and, like a lot of this series, everything goes really well until it doesn’t.

I was a little more interested in the battles this time around, possibly because of the presence of Leeroy – OK, I can’t keep calling her that. Because of the presence of Alumel de Severe, aka Count Ethiac. The chapter describes her as a meathead knight, which is true, but this is not to say she ONLY does “hit with sword”. When Carmine breaks down exactly what’s happening on the battlefield, she’s very quick to pick up on what he means. In fact, a bit more than what he means – she ascribes several things to him that aren’t actually his idea, but he lets it slide as she’s hard to deal with. (I’m sure he won’t regret that horribly later.) As a result, I was able to keep up myself, as I am also not one for endless Axis and Allies scheming back and forth. I also loved the reappearance of Valenriehl, and how in particular not only can Carmine not stand her to the point where he debates just killing her, but everyone else’s reaction is “I can’t believe you’re trying to work with that thing.” The author not only writes strong female characters, but they’re all fun. I actually do want Alumel as a concubine! (Not so much the mad scientist.)

Sadly, due to a nasty cliffhanger – again – all may be lost – again. There’s 11 volumes in Japan, though, so probably not.

High School DxD: Funny Angel of Christmas

by

By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Yes, that’s right, we finally get a volume dedicated to Irina… well, a bit. She’s still not really getting as much screen time as the main cast, but at least there are events here that rely on her being who she is, which is a step up from “random girl says dialogue X”, her role in the last eight or nine books. Irina is very fortunate in that this is a harem series that we already know is going to end with multiple wives, and therefore she should be fine. Because really, she is the definition of the Unlucky Childhood Friend from these romcoms, the sort who shows up again and the hero doesn’t even remember much about them. Or mistakes them for a boy. Fortunately, Issei’s memory is getting better, and the two of them have possibly the second sweetest relationship in this entire series. (Asia still exists.) Unfortunately, since he’s a demon adn she’s an angel, sex is out of the question, right? Well, surely there are ways around that…

So here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun. And looking to the future, of course, because it’s only just begun. Issei and company are getting ready to celebrate the holiday by giving out presents to folks in the town, which has started to get a bit hammered by constant demon vs. demon battles. Helping out in this will be Irina’s father, who is a higher-up in the Church and is very much in favor of Issei x Irina – to the point that he and heaven have developed a separate dimension just for her and Issei to safely get it on. Unfortunately, sex will have to wait, not just because this is the sort of series that only relies on edging the reader, but also because someone is going around killing Church personnel, and it turns out to be connected to a cover-up in the past. One that might impact Issei and Rias in the future.

I’d mentioned in the last couple of reviews that Issei was getting a bit less perverse, and clearly the author noticed this as well, because it’s lampshaded here, with people wondering why he wasn’t busting out the humiliating sexist moves on his female opponents. But it’s because Issei, like the rest of the cast, is getting better at fighting, and can usually skate by with just punching things really hard like a normal shonen battle manga. As for Irina, she’s here to be the shiny innocent one – indeed, that’s ALSO lampshaded, as Michael says the reason that he picked her to head up his angel task force is she’s so kind and pure and etc. And dull, frankly, but they can’t ALL be like Akeno. As for the plot, well, erm, bad guys doing very well, actually. In terms of the fights the good guys win because they coordinate, but in terms of results achieved, not great.

We’re heading closer to the end of the series (I’ll believe Yen has the spinoffs and sequels planned when I see it). Asia’s the new club president. And so now it’s time for Xenovia to see if she can also become president… student council president. That is if the world doesn’t end first. We’ll find out!

Spy Classroom Short Story Collection: From Inferno with Love

by

By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

We may have finally drained the Avian well dry (or maybe not – I hear there’s another spinoff just started that features them), but that doesn’t mean we’re going back to the main girls for these short stories. In fact, as the cover might suggest, the main girls, with one or two minor exceptions, don’t appear in this story at all. That’s because, despite the formatting, this really isn’t a short story collection at all, it’s a prequel, dealing with Inferno, the spy group Klaus was drafted into years ago, and how they trained him to be what he is today, as well as hinting at their tragic downfall. It honestly may be the best collection to date, and despite the ending being as sad as you’d expect (I am thankful the writer did not go full Se7en on us, but it was close enough that I did not like it), most of this can best be described as heartwarming or funny. Mostly as Inferno have adopted a feral cat. Named Klaus.

In a prologue, we see Guido, who we know well from the start of this series, coming across a terrifying monster who steals food and leaves it with kids. This turns out to be Klaus, who is ten years old and turns out to have been named by Guido. Klaus is feral, and I mean that sincerely. Over the course of the book, we get the other members of Inferno giving their brief opinions of Klaus (they like him, with the exception of the tsundere in the group), we get four stories. 1) Guido takes Klaus on his first mission, taking out a gang, as well as its leader who is busy trying to train his eldest daughter Sybilla to be a murderer; 2) Gerde takes Klaus on a mission to see who is killing a politician’s allies, and Klaus starts to gain empathy; 3) the twins take Klaus to another country to learn how to read people and also the fine art of triple crossing, and 4) Heide and Klaus go to see why their agents keep disappearing, and Klaus learns some unfortunate things. Well, unfortunate for him, Heide seems happy.

Heide was probably my favorite part of this book (and I was highly amused at the author writing it so that it made emotional and storytelling sense that they had sex, while at the same time leaving an out just in case it needs to be taken back later). Heide is an annoying older sister-style brat, but like a lot of those she is annoying out of love. Really, the whole group is great. Unfortunately, as Veronica points out, Klaus has gotten TOO close with them, too involved, and throughout this book we see her and Guido yelling at each other in the background, and we know how that turns out. The final story, written for this book (the other four were in Dragon Magazine) shows us where Klaus was when Inferno were wiped out, and the answer is “in a horror movie” essentially. Still, Klaus ends up taking the right lesson from his time with Inferno, and resolves to build a new family for himself. It’s really sweet, in a tragic spy sort of way.

Also check out the afterword, which has the author’s “stories that will never be written”, some of which are funny, and some of which are kind of creepy. The anime may have tanked this series,l but the books are still great.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 10

by

By Iori Miyazawa and shirakaba. Released in Japan as “Urasekai Picnic” by Hayakawa Bunko JA. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

(More spoilers than usual in this review.)

Since the famous Book 8, I’ve felt that this series is riding on a newfound confidence and swagger, and this volume does nothing to disabuse me of that feeling. Divided into three stories, the first shows us Sorawo’s conflicted and muddled feelings about her relationship with Toriko, and how normal tokens of affection such as a lap pillow can not only be twisted by jealousy but also turned into an Otherside encounter. In the second story they discuss Kozakura’s AI ghost story teller (which may be influencing things a lot more than expected), and then go meet Runa, who’s being let out of supernatural jail and being taken in by Tsuji, who still feels a bit dodgy. The final story decides things have not been scary enough, and makes up for that, with a terrifying journey into the Otherside involving bears, crows, lots of corpses, and the worst underground subway station out there. Fear not, though, they’re still constantly flirting with each other. In their own way.

I left out one part of the story, which is easily the funniest bit in the book. Toriko has decided she wants to meet Benimori, who Sorawo describes as a yokai who eats love stories. The idea that Sorawo finds a “normal” romance with Toriko to be scarier than any ghost story, to the point where she has in a way fashioned their relationship *into* a ghost story to make it palatable to her, really appeals to me. But that’s just from her point of view – we’ve talked before about how to others Sorawo and Toriko are just shamelessly flirting in front of everyone all the time. To Benimori, who lives very much in “the real world”, theirs is not a nue, it’s just a new love between two shy, awkward girls who still dance around their own pasts and their own feelings. Just because Sorawo doesn’t like to see it as a normal relationship doesn’t mean that normal relationshi0p advice can’t be good.

As the series has delved into a lot of the backstory back in the “real world”, we’ve seen the Otherside treks a bit less, so the back half of this book was a welcome change. That said, whoa baby a lot of that was pretty unnerving for me. It doesn’t help that it ties into Satsuki Uruma and her past with Toriko, who feels a bit ashamed of it but doesn’t deny it. And then there’s just the horror imagery – this is something else where I wonder how the manga will handle it, as there’s a lot of things that work best in the mind’s eye here. And it ends with a nasty little cliffhanger as well. Over the past few months, no one has made more of an impact on the Otherside than our two heroines, so naturally there are people who regard them as the greatest threat. They’re good at defending themselves against random horror – or not so random horror – but this feels more like they’re going to need to fend off assassins soon, which is a step up. Fun times!

And now we wait another 16-18 months again. Still compelling as hell.

The Devil Princess, Vol. 4

by

By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I’ve talked before about the sort of series that has a clear ending but keeps going as the publisher wants it to. I’m not sure that’s what’s going on here – the author seems to indicate they had this in mind at the start – but it’s pretty blatant, complete with an “End of Part One” at the finale. Yulucia spends most of this book marching towards the demon lands, where the demons are getting ready to invade humanity, and where her not-quite-ex-boyfriend is currently being held after being summoned. Once she gets there, she’s quickly so insanely powerful that everyone else just immediately agrees to do what she says – well, almost everyone. But she still has to go after a really tasty soul, and ends up dimension hopping, which does not have an easy fix. So while I have no doubt we’ll end up back in this world eventually, for now Yulucia looks to be playing around in one far more familiar to readers.

This series remains mostly half-horror half-comedy, and the funny bits still work well. Yulucia’s description of her entourage that goes with her to the demon lands is hysterical, and Nia’s accidental slaughter of 1/3 of the demon forces is darkly funny. That said, there are a few bits here that are even emotionally heartwarming. One of the bad guys is (like several people in this series) isekai’d from Japan, in this case via truck, and he’s made a deal with a demon so that he can get a chance to return to his newly wedded wife before she moves on and marries someone else. The resolution to this, which I was sure was going to be about as cynical as this series can get most of the time, proved touching. Even Yulicia’s “taking care of” her sister, which is kind of appalling, is at least appalling in a kind of sweet way?

If that sounds ambiguous it’s because this is still, at heart, a series that wants to be horror. Yulucia is after tasty souls. Some of her friends are also. Her relationship with the Demon Beast could be defined as “toxic” even in the most romantic sense. And the reason the series works well at showing this off is that she really is also the Saint who heals thousands at a time, or the goddess who can stop a major war just by talking to the other side, and be so gorgeous that some men just faint when they see her, and both her main love interests feel incredibly inadequate when they try to stand by her. (Oddly, the other sweet romance in this book ends up being between two of its most pathetic people, who decide to simply abandon the plot of this series and go be pathetic but happy together.) As for Yulucia? She’s a nightmare, but she does love her family… in her own way.

So next time we start… a new life? Transfer students? Not sure, but I’ll be here to see what’s next. A dark fantastic comedy.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Short Story Collection

by

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

Oh God, microstories. My old nemesis. (Yes, I know Monthly Comic Alive is supposed to be my nemesis, but I feel that was a me-from-20-years-ago nemesis. Sorry, Monthly Comic Alive.) It was going to be hard enough to review this, given it’s been almost two years since the last book and I’ve forgotten so much about the series. But now I find that most of the stories are the 3-5 page ones you get as freebies when you buy it at a certain chain store, or ones published exclusively to the web. It’s also the most recent volume in Japan, where it came out over a year ago, so get ready for me to forget even more of this when the 7th volume comes out whenever. On the bright side, the stories do remind us of the main reason why people enjoy this series and it got an anime. and it’s not the hair. Well, not JUST the hair.

While this came out after the 6th book in Japan, the stories here only go up to the fourth book. They’re even grouped by book, i.e. the Vol. 1 extra stories, then 2, etc. Among the more interesting ones, we see some flashbacks to Rishe’s past as a merchant, as as a maid, and rescuing Raul and learning to be a hunter. We see a number of stories where Rishe and Arnold go out “in disguise” to go shopping, or scout some area, etc., which shows how very bad at it they are. There’s an AU where this is a Magical Academy story, which honestly seems a lot more relaxed and pleasant than this one is. The largest story, written for this book, has Rishe and Arnold on another trip, and this time they’re pretending they’re already married. Which leads to, well, the reactions that we’ve gotten from Rishe the entire volume, if I’m being honest.

If you read this series to enjoy Rishe being clever and badass, with perhaps an action scene or two, feel free to skip this one and wait for the next, as there’s none of that here. If you read this series to see Rishe blush and get embarrassed around her very hot fiance, then this is going to be catnip for you, as that’s all it is. Story after story of Rishe being in love, not wanting to admit it, and blushing and getting embarrassed. That said, this author does excel at making this as cute, adorable and sexy as possible, so it never feels boring even if it is a bit repetitious. There’s also some stories about Theodore and Oliver as well, which don’t really add depth, but that’s the trouble with microstories. Everyone is who they are in the main books.

And now we wait for the next book. But boy, those kids are cute, aren’t they?

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates, Vol. 7

by

By Choko and kaworu. Released in Japan as “Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru” by Dragon Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sasha Schiller.

As this series has gone on, the circle of ‘this person is completely bonkers’ gets larger and larger. At first, at the start of Book 1, it was just Emma. Then it enclosed her brothers, her father, and eventually even her mother. Then it took in their immediate family and close friends in their territory. Then they went to the capital and we saw that the King was a bit bananas himself, as well as Emma’s friends, who are all more normal than Emma, but that’s by a matter of degree. And now we get this book, where an invading army, with the help of some monsters that allow people’s fears to get out of hand, see everyone in Emma’s country as perverts who are being led by Emma, who they deem a “debutart”, which I assume has an equally awkward Japanese equivalent, but basically they spot her leering at the old men. What this ends up meaning is that, as expected, the invasion dies on its ass, mostly as everyone is now convinced Emma has broken everything. Just as planned?

We pick up where we left off, with our main party facing off against a passel of Rainbow Raccoons, who basically hit up against people’s fears. Unfortunately, while they kill most of them, one gets away and teams up with another monster sent in by the invading Empire, a fire fox, which basically burns people with flames that are all in their heads but convinces their brains that it’s reality… forever. This proves to be a much harder monster to take out, requiring both more references to obscure Japanese foodie culture and also Emma having to pretend that she’s the Saint so that everyone’s beliefs can turn her healing into reality. Unfortunately, as everyone worships Emma already, apart from her family, this doesn’t go quite the way she wants.

This book has a few bits that did not quite work for me. The climax to the battle really probably is much funnier if you recognize whatever brand of instant noodles the monsters are meant to be, and while I got that’s what they were going for, it was a lost in translation climax for me. The backstory for Juana was overly convoluted for me, and I kinda wanted it to get into more of a trans narrative than it was prepared to get into – which is to say it mostly ignored that part. That said, there was also the usual pile of fun. The climax of the book, with Emma discovering how to get all the cotton they need, is absolutely wonderful, and very Emma – for once you can see just why Joshua is infatuated with her. There’s also a strong anti-war message in this book, as all the Tanakas are dedicated to not only stopping the invasion but making it as hard as possible to ever think of war breaking out again. This is a humans vs. monsters world, they want to keep it that way.

So good stuff, and next time we’ll start a new arc. For those who like very silly books.

Looks Like a Job for a Maid! The Tales of a Dismissed Supermaid, Vol. 3

by

By Yasuaki Mikami and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Maid nara Touzen desu. Nureginu wo Kiserareta Bannou Maid-san wa Tabi ni Deru Koto ni Shimashita” by Earth Star Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

I’m enjoying this series more and more with each volume. It’s interesting to contrast this with Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid!, which Seven Seas is putting out and whose anime is currently airing. Melody is a maid otaku with literal OP magic powers, so her maid tasks are impossible in many different ways. For Melody, what drives her to a near nervous breakdown is spending a long period *not* being able to be a maid. Nina is in a world with magic, but is merely an incredibly accomplished maid, due to her ludicrous training. If anything, being thought of as a maid who can do anything makes things much worse for her in this book. And she also has PTSD, in this case from the sheer identity crisis of the fact that she doesn’t know how to be anything but a maid. She has no sense of self. Melody DOES have a sense of self, it’s just that self is Maid.

Nina and her friends are headed to the capital, where the Council of the Sages is about to begin. Taking place every 10-20 years, this brings together five of the movers and shakers of this world to solve major problems. The trouble is, none of them get along, and usually the council breaks off after a couple of days as one storms out. Tuyledo, the leader of the council, who is the elf that loved Nina’s tea and general maidetry in the first book, has asked her to essentially be there as a maid, thinking that she will magically see the issues around the council and solve them. Which, to be fair, she does to an extent, usually with help from the others. An ancient sage wants female companionship, but not just any woman. A vampire woman has dietary issues that make the food unappealing. The pope is overeating sweets and can’t stay awake. And the magic master is just kinda weird and rude. As for Nina? She has anxiety.

I really appreciated that not every problem can be solved here, and that the main one (how to get people to travel through a dangerous desert) is solved not by Nina but by the geniuses Nina now travels with. The pope’s subplot, in particular, fizzles out, and I think that’s on purpose – he can’t really have the experience or talent that the other four do, and likely never will, so the solution is just to be less annoying and eat more healthy. Nina’s issues are not resolved either, at least in terms of her psyche, but she is at least allowed to leave the capital and travel again with her party, and it’s implied the next book will give us even more information on her drill sergeant maid teacher, who we meet near the end of this book. This is a light novel, but it has a foot in reality. Poverty is still a problem with no good solutions. Nobles can do bad things and not care. And maids can’t magically solve everything by being really good at being a maid.

Unless they’re Melody, but that’s a review for a different series. This is an underrated gem. Also, thinking more and more that most of these girls are gay.