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Reviews

Penguin Gentlemen

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Penguin Gentlemen by Kishi Ueno

The premise of this manga – penguins who happen to run a cafe where they are all very buff men wearing tuxedos – seemed so ridiculous I couldn’t help wanting to check it out. This single volume manga certainly gets the deluxe treatment, with a hardcover edition and plenty of color pages. Now and then I really enjoy a didactic manga, and that’s what Ueno delivers. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a storyline focusing on penguin cafe work, because I enjoy a good food manga as well, but for readers who want to dramatically up their knowledge of penguin behavior, species variants, and random facts about penguin habitats this is the book for you!

Penguin Gentlemen

The character designs are one of the most amusing aspects of the book, as Ueno showcases differences in penguin markings and size into the hair styles and tuxedo uniforms of all the waiters. The main boss of the cafe is the King penguin, who is dwarfed in size by the stoic Emperor penguin who looms over everyone. The penguin gentlemen discuss their characteristics in the setting of the cafe, with plenty of comedic bits. The characters switch back and forth often between their anthropomorphic human forms and their natural states as penguins, but Ueno is great at rendering the heightened emotions of the characters even when they are in bird form. I read this book in several sittings, simply because I was not able to absorb all the information about penguin egg hatching, body language, and markings without a break here and there. The last section of the book that focuses on penguin courtship rituals is particularly hilarious. If someone wants to learn many scientific facts about penguins and be entertained along the way, Penguin Gentlemen certainly delivers.

Moriarty the Patriot Vols 1 and 2

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Moriarty the Patriot Volume 1 by Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi

I was intrigued by the concept of Moriarty the Patriot, because I was curious how the manga would flip Moriarty from being the antagonist into being the protagonist of his own story. It turns out that Moriarty has an intrinsically sympathetic goal – full scale class warfare! This first volume details how the evil mastermind Moriarty is adopted into a family of nobles, with a slightly sociopathic older brother named Albert who is determined to wage war against the nobility with the benefit of his younger brother’s genius.

The chapters in this first volume often involve an episodic approach to plot, with Moriarty intervening in the lives of people who’ve been taken advantage of by so-called nobility. His focus on revenge is certainly satisfying, and by the end of the volume, he’s surrounded himself with a core group of companions who are similarly bent on striking back against the British class system.

Moriarty the Patriot Volume 2 Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi

I found this second volume a little less interesting because it had more of the expected story beats that I’d assume would show up in a Holmes adaptation. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more Moriarty in this volume. Here the reader sees Takeuchi’s version of Holmes meet Watson and figure out how to deal with his landlady Mrs Hudson. While it was enjoyable, there wasn’t as much dramatic tension because other than his lower class affectation, Holmes is pretty much what one would expect. As Holmes hurdles into his next case, I’m curious to see if he’s going to be at odds with Moriarty once more, and I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen when they start clashing over cases involving spectacularly murdered noblemen.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 1

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By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve read a light novel that’s come out long AFTER the anime adaptation, as opposed to before. Unlike other licenses where the Japanese publisher is clearly pushing it because they know they’ve got a surprise coming in the next year or so, the Bofuri light novels remained untouched until well after the series had already finished. And so we’re left with a flipped sort of question, as instead of being grumpy about whatever vital scenes the anime cut from the book, we can read the book and see what extra content we get. The answer, honestly, is “not much”: this book is covered by the first three anime episodes, and that seems about right. You will notice where the anime added or changed things (Frederica does not show up early to direct Maple in the book), but you won’t be getting details about Kaede’s home life or things like that. Which is fine, we’re here for the game.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, Kaede is a teenage girl who’s not all that into gaming, but her gamer friend Risa has convinced her to try the hot new virtual reality game, New World Online. Sadly, Risa can’t game right away as she got a bad test score, so Kaede starts the game on her own. It’s a VR game, so Kaede (who calls herself “Maple” in game, a pun on her name and probably a reference to Maple Story) thinks that if she’s attacked she’ll feel actual pain. As such, she chooses the strongest shield, and sinks all her points into Vitality. ALL of them. As Maple slowly (very slowly… she can’t walk fast as she only has points in defense) starts to play the game, her offbeat way of thinking leads her to make choices that, almost by accident, cause her to level up and gain cool powers. Indeed, she is rapidly becoming a bit of a monster…

While reading this, I’d mentioned on Twitter it felt a bit different from the anime in terms of mood. Don’t get me wrong, Maple is still absolutely OP and broken as a character, but the anime really wants to show that off, while the book is more about Maple’s experiences and interaction with New World Online than its reaction to her. The anime seems like it takes place over only a couple of days in these first three episodes, while the book makes it clear that weeks and months are passing. There’s also more gamer chatter – Maple is “not a gamer” the way that I am “not a gamer”, which is to say she knows the lingo simply by being around Risa. Overall, I’d say the book feels relaxed – the author states they wrote it as a downtime change of pace sort of story, and it feels that way. Some story bits are seemingly dropped halfway, like the chat group full of players talking about Maple, which disappears around when Sally and Maple team up, though if the anime is accurate it will be back. Oh yes, most importantly, this is, so far, a game free of all the Gamergate nonsense you would likely find in real life – the players all seem nice and helpful.

I will note that if you’re on the fence about picking this up because you’ve seen the anime… it’s not essential? It doesn’t add anything major to what you already know. But if you loved the anime and want to read the original’s slightly more relaxed, meandering take, then Maple is here for you.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Siscon Idol

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By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Last time I said that the book felt a bit quieter than the first two, and that goes double for this one, which I definitely enjoyed but which feels a little bit insubstantial compared to the previous books. Part of this could be that there does not seem to be any sort of danger of things being catastrophic if things don’t work out as with previous books. Nodoka’s issues do matter, don’t get me wrong, and I feel for her, but you are 100% not surprised at the solution to this particular adolescence syndrome, and honestly I feel it might have been able to be solved even earlier. That said, having it drag on does help to really hammer home the crux of those issues, and the fact that if there’s going to be any changing and growing being done, it’s going to have to be on Nodoka’s side – Mai, despite being as blunt as her boyfriend at times, is doing just fine.

As with most of this series, the book picks up where the previous one left off, with Sakuta confronted with a Mai who isn’t. When “Nodoka” also shows up, clearly with Mai’s personality, it rapidly becomes clear what’s happened. The issues involved are fairly straightforward – Nodoka and Mai have different mothers, and Nodoka’s mother wants her to be a top idol just as Mai is a top actress, which has led to stress. So Nodoka has run away and swapped bodies. Turning to Mai for comfort is not really working out for her, as Mai is not a comfort sort of girl. Plus this means she has to hang around with Sakuta all the time, who is… well, see the previous three books. She’s astonished Mai is going out with him. Unfortunately, as with prior “syndromes”, knowing the issues doesn’t solve the problem. What’s worse, they each have to take on each other’s career, and, well, one of them is much better at it than the other.

This book emphasizes that family is not something you can narrow down to “I love them” or “I hate them” in absolute terms, and that’s the book’s highlight, as I think it does a good job showing that. Midway through, Sakuta has a very awkward dinner with his father, and we get to see exactly why he feels rather ambiguous about him. At the same time, he’s also searching for thoughts on what being a parent is like to help Nodoka, and gets good, if oblique, advice. Nodoka, fitting with the “annoying little sister” box she sort of falls into, can be sympathetic, especially watching Mai in Nodoka’s body being an even better idol than she normally is, but I 100% agree with Sakuta that her over the top reaction of walking into the ocean to “drown” herself, knowing he’ll stop her, is really irritating. Fortunately, the resolution is cute. That said, one thing this book does do that won’t snap back is Mai and Sakuta’s relationship, which is now public. Fortunately, Mai is very good at damage control.

The next book’s title implies we’re going to focus on Sakuta’s own little sister next time, as she seems to be wanting to return to school… maybe. I get the feeling it will be a bit less relaxed than this book. Still, this is a decent enough volume, especially if you love Sakuta simply saying whatever he’s thinking at the time, no matter how bad it will be for him.

I Was a Bottom-Tier Bureaucrat for 1,500 Years, and the Demon King Made Me a Minister

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Hira Yakunin Yatte 1500-nen, Maō no Chikara de Daijin ni Sarechaimashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jasmine Bernhardt and Sarah Neufeld.

Theoretically this is a Vol. 1, but I’ll be honest, I suspect this is a one-off. Those reading along with the parent series, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, will know of demon administrator Beelzebub and her assistants, as well as the Demon Lord Pecora. Three of the volumes featured side stories that talked about Beelzebub’s past and how she ended up where she is today. This volume collects those stories, as well as adding six others. So yes, you’ve read some of this before. That said, reading the stories in order does help to give Beelzebub’s transformation from office schlub to the grandiose demon we know a bit more impact. There are added cameos from most of the rest of the cast, though they have to be carefully done given most of the cast “meet” for the first time in the main series. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect in a spinoff.

In the six stories we’ve read previously, we see how Beelzebub got promoted about 11 steps up by a mischievous Pecora; how she copes with her aides, one of whom is less of an aide than she’s really like; how she gets to grips with audits and is here to show that the days of bribery and corruption are over; how she beats up her predecessor (who has tried to kill her multiple times), thus showing her strength; how she first meets Laika on a hot spring trip with her staff; and how Pecora leads her all around the area on a “date”, where she meets a certain witch, though neither will remember it. New stories have Beelzebub’s parents showing up; Pecora showing Beelzebub the wonder of travel the hard way; Vania shows that when it comes to food she becomes an entirely different character; Beelzebub meets Flatorte, who is exactly like you’d expect; Pecora stays over at Beelzebub’s place despite having a bad cold; and we learn the dangers of too many office plants.

Like its parent series, this is basically fun and fluffy. The only conflict in the entire book is when Beelzebub faces off against the now disgraced noble who was in line to be the next Minister, and there’s never any sense there’s danger to her or the others. The stories help to further develop Beelzebub’s character, with the most amusing ones being her amazingly embarrassing parents (where we essentially lean about Beelzebub’s redneck past) and the story about the ministry’s pathetic cafeteria, which upsets Vania so much that she goes on a veritable crusade to make it better in every possible way. The addition of Flatorte also helps to round out the “I actually met the entire cast years ago and have simply forgotten” gag we’ve seen in previous stories. And the relationship between Beelzebub and Pecora is amusing but also sweet.

In the end, this is pretty inessential, especially if you have Killing Smiles Vol. 5-7 already. But if you really love the universe, this is a decent volume to read more about it.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 7: Mist

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

The good news for this volume is that, after several promises from the author that did not quite pan out, we finally get a volume that is a breather and relatively lighthearted. The bad news is that this means that Lena falls to pieces, knowing she wants to confess to Shin but being tormented by her own self-loathing… which is something I accused Shin of in the previous volume, so it’s nice to see they have something in common. Things are not helped by a Republic officer showing up and basically being the worst thing ever, reminding her that she was one of the “white pigs” that everyone so rightly despises, and unable to see past that to her own growth. I mention this because it will last the entire volume, and you may find it wearying. Certainly everyone else in the cast does, as (with the exception of Kurena and Frederica) they all really, really want the two to finally get off their asses and confess. Fortunately, they’re in not-Switzerland at a resort, so have the time.

Our heroes are there because, despite a fakeout prologue that tries too hard, they have been on the battlefield FAR too many months in a row, and are entitled to some R&R in order to relax and not have to worry about the Legion attacking at any moment. That means going to a different country altogether, where they can enjoy bathing scenes (with all the fanservice you might expect, including literally lining up in order of breast size), delicious food… well, ersatz food, but some of it is real, spelunking in the nearby mountains, and, perhaps highest on the agenda for the top brass, questioning the Merciless queen, who was captured in the last volume but who doesn’t want to talk to anyone… except Shin. That said, she’s not very happy with the answers that Shin gives to her. But then, her own answers are seemingly not good news for anyone… except Shin knows they have a secret weapon.

Again, this is the closest we’re ever likely to get to 86: the Romcom, and it is very willing to hammer on those buttons – there’s even a pillow fight, fer chrissakes. We do get resolution at the end, I’m happy to say, though if I were the reader I’d avoid reading the Afterword, which has a sort of Monster at the End of This Book “YOU TURNED THE PAGE!” feel to it. There’s some interesting teasing regarding the other characters – I was going to grump about some heteronormative dialogue going on, but later on this is flipped around, and it’s implied we have at least one Eighty-Six who’s a lesbian. The serious stuff is good, I will grant you, and promises some interesting future crises. But I think the author was trying hard for a certain mood here, and mostly succeeds – heck, there’s even one of those “whoops, I walked in on your confession, don’t mind me” (leaves and gets beaten up by everyone else) scenes.

Next volume should resume normal service, I’m sure. Till then, enjoy Shin and Lena being big ol’ dorks and not spitting it out.

I Refuse to Be Your Enemy!, Vol. 5

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By Kanata Satsuki and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!” by PASH! Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

It will come as no particular surprise to learn that, in this volume, Kiara is captured by the enemy for a section. That is going to happen with this type of romantic heroine in this type of book. It’s handled pretty well, though there is a sexual assault warning fro the book, as Credias pretty much attempts to molest Kiara the moment she’s in his grasp. We also get not one, not two, but THREE times where I thought “ah, this is it, that character is gonna die” and then turned out to be wrong, which again is mostly related to the fact that Kiara, when it comes right down to it, does not like killing anyone she’s gotten to know – though she’s perfectly OK with killing faceless mooks she doesn’t know, as we see here. That said, more important than all of these things, Kiara finally clues in to her own feelings and realizes that she’s in love with Reggie. It may not shock the reader, but it shocks her.

As noted above, despite the best efforts of Cain and the other soldiers, Kiara is captured by Isaac. And unfortunately that also means Credias, who is perfectly happy to kill everyone in the way of his raping, torturing, and killing Kiara, possibly not in that order. Fortunately, Isaac is wise enough to realize that, in order to get what he needs, he cannot have Kiara be taken by Credias at all. Also fortunately, Reggie and company are coming to the rescue, which is cool and involves several giant mice. After this, there’s still a lot of war to be fought, trust me. The enemy seem to have endless piles of reinforcements, and are very happy to convert anyone who comes near them into a defective spellcaster. Fortunately our side has Kiara, who is strong, Reggie, who is learning how to use magic at last, and the Thorn Princess, who is… ???

I said last time that the series did not really lean too hard on the reincarnated from Japan into an otome game part of this plot, but that starts to change here, in several interesting ways. Some I won’t spoil, but I did find it very telling that Reggie and others worry that Kiara’s utter disregard for her own life and tendency to take daring risks stems from a fact that she thinks this is not a “real” world and that she might just wake up back there after she dies. That proves to… not quite be the case? Indeed, there’s a certain sentence in the book that made me say “Oh my GOD”, as we might actually be smooshing reincarnation isekai and otome game villainesses together with another stock plot. That said, for those who are reading this romance title for the romance, be assured there are love confessions, cute possessiveness, and a heck of a lot of attention paid to Kiara’s legs and feet in this book as well.

The next volume is the last, and the cover art has a wedding dress for Kiara, so no prizes guessing how it ends. Still, there’s a war to end, and one last pesky (or should I say thorny) plotline to wrap up. Another enjoyable volume of this military romance isekai villainess redemption fantasy.

Last Round Arthurs, Vol. 4: The Weakest Knight & The Exceptional One

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By Taro Hitsuji and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Cash.

I have to admit a certain sense of relief. I kept telling myself that eventually the novels would HAVE to get to Sir Kay and make them more than a simply butt monkey fanservice generator, but so far the author had not lived up to my expectations. Even the start of this book, which has Sir Kay and Emma dressed up in flashy fetish outfits as part of Luna’s plan to make her potential voters too horny to vote for anyone but her in the student elections, there was a temptation to sigh. But no, Kay actually gets a thing to do here, and it fits in quite well with her character, which, let’s face it, has been “loyal but weak’, as the subtitle says. That said, it’s a good thing Sir Kay was around for this battle, as Luna and Rintarou are faced with one of their biggest challenges… one that comes after one of Rintarou’s greatest losses. Will he be able to keep his head and not get tempted? (Signs point to no.)

As our story opens, as most of these books do, with Luna being doing her best “Haruhi Suzumiya in Book 2” impersonation, Nayuki is still trying to fess up to Rintarou about who she really is – he knows she’s a Dame du Lac, but has not really figured out she’s actually Nimue, or at least not consciously. Unfortunately, Nayuki’s own cowardice plus Luna being obnoxious means that instead of a confession, we get a brutal execution by Vivian, who would appear to be, if not the final boss, at least the second to last one. Despite Rintarou’s Roaring Rampage of Revenge, there’s not really much he can do about that… well, unless he convinces Luna to go completely off the map of the test for the next King Arthur and instead go on a Quest foe the Holy Grail… a test that everyone admits is impossible. Can he, Luna and Kay survive what appears to be a trip to the underworld? Why is Rintarou so manic? And why is Luna so depressed?

Despite the way that I phrased that last sentence, this is not a bodyswap sort of problem, but instead a very good example of Rintarou completely 100% screwing up. For once, you want to strangle HIM instead of Luna, who as always improves throughout the book, especially once she starts dwelling on her not-very-tragic backstory, something she clearly remembers better than the other person in it. As it turns out, capturing the Holy Grail is REALLY HARD to do, and only Galahad had ever successfully done it before, and they immediately took it to Heaven, which is definitely not where this Grail search takes place. Fortunately, even with Rintarou essentially being stupid, Luna has two big weapons at her disposal: a) her ludicrous determination, and b) the only Knight of the Round Table who’s as pure as Galahad was. Sir Kay finally steps up, and it’s very satisfying.

The next volume is the last one, and that seems about right, to be honest. Certainly the cliffhanger does not bode well. But now that Rintarou is back to normal, and with Luna’s bullheaded pure courage and kindness, they should be OK. If you like stories about blonde King Arthurs seeking a Holy Grail, this is at least the third best.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 5

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

This is not the final volume of this series – not even remotely, as Vol. 12 just came out in Japan last month – but you might be forgiven for thinking this after reading the volume itself, which has the feel of an “and the adventure continues” sort of ending. Our heroes go to visit the Last Dungeon Boonies themselves, Lloyd’s hometown, and find it’s just as ridiculous as you’d expect. We not only get the return of the minor villain of the 4th book, still brainwashed, but also the return of the minor villain of the second book, who is recovering nicely from being evil. Our two major villains show up, joined by a third, and we get all their backstories and reasons for what they’re doing. And we get hints of the real background of Alka, and it’s… surprising. There’s also a big ol’ melee battle at the end, with Lloyd arriving in the Nick of Time. But again, not the last volume.

As noted above, the main cast all decide to go back to Kunlun, mostly to do something about fixing Vritra, still in cursed belt form. Of course, some folks may have alternate reasons to go there, be it to get valuable materials and sell them for cash (Riho), meet Lloyd’s family, get their blessing, marry him, have children, and have more children (Selen), or finding new and exciting ways to GET STRONGER! (Phyllo). After making their way there via the magic portal of Alka’s friend Eug, a dwarf who’s been around as long as Alka has. Once there, they find their old military instructor and the minor villain of the FIRST book, who was exiled there as punishment and is now very strong and also very weird. It’s all pretty muuch fun and games, with lots of laughs. Then we get to the second half of the book…

I’ve always been somewhat suspicious of Lloyd’s “at home, I’m the weakest” claim, and despite the townsfolk showing off such things as being shot out of a cannon to go to the nearby mountaintop, I’m even more suspicious after this book. Both the good guys and the bad guys see Lloyd has a destiny, though how they want to shape that destiny is another story. Fortunately, Lloyd is as innocent as a lamb, and thus unlikely to really be seriously manipulated by bad guys. I’m also impressed with Riho, who honestly should get a spinoff series where she’s the detective, and Selen, who shows that when she drops her yandere act she too can be quite clever and courageous. Phyllo doesn’t get quite as much, mostly as she’s the stoic type, but I was amused at her finding out exactly how much she needs to train… and then discovering that the Kunlun folks use that training for morning calisthenics. Oh yes, and Allan gets to be the butt monkey of the series AND also get everyone thinking – again – that he’s the real hero here. Honestly, he sort of is. We can’t all be Lloyd.

This was probably the strongest volume in the series to date, tying together a bunch of storylines and also leaving room for more to be developed. That said, there’s still one main reason to follow this series – everyone is a wacky parody. For those who love laffs, spelled exactly that way.

The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker, Vol. 5

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By Tôwa and Huuka Kazabana. Released in Japan as “Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alexandra McCullough-Garcia.

This was, in all honestly, probably the strongest volume of Rearguard to date. It still features everything that you’ve come to expect from Rearguard: lots of people praising Arihito and his party (but mostly Arihito) endlessly, lots of “which level up should I take” talk that goes on for 10-15 pages, lots of everyone being 100% in love with Arihito and his not getting it at all, etc. There are some nice relaxing moments, as they do actually try to take a day off and stay at a beach resort. There are thrilling battles, as they manage to find the one hidden dungeon in the middle of said resort. There is, believe it or not, development of the ongoing plot. There is a battle towards the end where I actually wondered if they’d be able to pull it off without fatalities, as I briefly forgot what series I was reading. And there are giant electric penguins, twenty feet high, as Rearguard manages to cross over with Scott of the Sahara, of all things. It’s quite a book.

As always with this series (the book helpfully reminds us it’s only been EIGHT DAYS since the start of Book 1), we pick up right where we left off, with Arihito and Seraphina getting details on the aftermath of their big fight – oh yes, and saving the life of the guy who lost his soul, which was considered nearly impossible but, Arihito. He also finds out more about their two biggest goals, and needless to say, they’re both very, very difficult: Elitia’s former party is wracked with internal strife and possible evilness, and rescuing her friend seems unlikely. And we find that it requires a lot of sacrifice to try to restore a demi-human to their former selves, and they’ll always be marked by it – literally. Arihito, of course, cares not a fig about how hard it is. He has resolve. He has his strong companions. He has the protection of a God. And he has his OP powers, which are causing even those on the highest level to watch him.

Despite three deadly battles, lots of discussion of possible death of party members and friends, and an ending that implies trying to rescue the person who tries to destroy them, this book remains jovial, relaxed, and easy-going. Arihito’s badassery is balanced out quite nicely by the badassery of everyone else in his party, and he does not have to always get in the final hit a la Kirito. Even the harem aspect boggles the mind – this book, like many of the others, talks about the fact that when Arihito sleeps behind his party, they all get aroused, to the point where they all try to bid on an item that puts a cone of silence around a person so they that can quietly take care of themselves. And yet… it’s never explicit, and it’s not even really done to titillate. Even when they fight the 20-foot-high electric penguin, they befriend it and take it to their zoo, as it was lonely and can now play with other penguins. The whole series is just so… NICE.

The next volume is not scheduled yet as I write this, and we’re almost caught up with Japan. Still, I enjoyed this even more than usual. If you can stomach the premise, it’s definitely worth a read.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 6

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By Yuki Yaku and Fly. Released in Japan as “Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

Despite what some people may think, particularly those who watch the opening of the recent anime adaptation, these light novels are not meant to be a romantic comedy. That is not to say they don’t have elements of it – they certainly do, and that’s the subject of much of this book. Tomozaki has been kicking the dating can down the road, at first simply as he didn’t want “get a girlfriend” to be a goal Hinami sets for him to tick off, but, as she correctly points out, he needs to start examining his own feelings and ask himself if there is a girl he really likes. Because there’s certainly someone who likes him… in fact, is there more than one? This isn’t a harem comedy, but it may be a love triangle, as, after several scenes showing Tomozaki accidentally being seductive (we see it, she sees it, he does not), he gets an honest to God confession. There’s just one problem – he needs to actually have some love for himself first.

Having seemingly run out of heroines to put on the cover (sorry, Tsugumi, maybe next time), Mimimi gets a second appearance, and she gets a lot to do. The school festival is coming up, which is right in her wheelhouse, even if she doesn’t actually want to be in charge of it. Meanwhile, in addition to being on the festival committee (which he volunteered for even before Hinami assigned it to him), Tomozaki is getting into social media! Yes, he has an Instagram account now, and his job is to fill it with specific photos Hinami asks him to get. This, of course, involves him getting into situations where he can easily get those photos… some more easily than others. It’s a good lesson for Tomozaki, who needs to be reminded “this is what normal teens do, and I am a normal teen”. Meanwhile, he reads Kikuchi’s stories… and suddenly knows that they should do for the festival. A play, written by her.

The whole book is filled with great scenes (as you can see by my devoting two paragraphs to a summary of it), but two particularly stand out to me. The first is when Hinami talks to him about which girls he likes, and says the idea of “I must only love one woman and be steadfast and true” is, to put it bluntly, virgin thinking. Real life is not like manga and anime (or even light novels), and high school romance does not have to be a deep commitment. Given how earnest Tomozaki is in general, I’m not sure how much he’ll take this to heart, but hey. The other scene is near the end, after Tomozaki has gone with Mizusawa to Tsugumi’s school’s festival, with Mizusawa taking on the role of teacher this time. As with Hinami, he points out that dating someone else does not have to be a OTP commitment. But after Tomozaki gets confessed to, and tries to do his usual “but I’m just a loser” waffling, Mizusawa tears him apart, pointing out (accurately) how rude that is to the girl who likes him. I actually cheered.

We may have a long wait to resolve the cliffhanger of Tomozaki responding to this confession – the next volume is a short story collection. But honestly, I think the reader can intuit the way that it’s going to go anyway. In any case, light novel readers, particularly ones who enjoyed the anime, will love this.

Unnamed Memory, Vol. 2

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By Kuji Furumiya and chibi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Tangney.

This is a highly enjoyable volume of Unnamed Memory, although the story placement felt very odd. I joked when I was halfway through the book that I’d reached the end and the other 150 pages would just be light music. That’s because the story that covers the first part of the novel feels very much like a climax, the sort of thing you’d have to wrap things up with a bang. Instead, after that blockbuster we get a few lighter in tone short stories of varying length, followed by another longer story for the last fifth or so that gets serious and dramatic once again. Fortunately the stories all read well, and at its core the book is about the relationship between impulsive, outgoing Oscar and cool and calculating (except when it comes to Oscar) Tinasha. We’re still in the time promised in their contract, but that time is rapidly coming to a close. Can Oscar win her over? Will he even be able to, given her own past and the threats of other witches?

The book starts off in a disturbing fashion, as our heroes find a wannabe mage who killed most of a family and imprisoned their souls in daggers. This leads indirectly into the main plot of the first half, as Tinasha abandons Oscar after meeting a man from her past long thought dead – Lanak, who wants her back… well, “wants’ may given him more agency than he really has here. What’s worse, as this happens, towns across the land are having everyone in them suddenly vanish – seemingly dead. Is Tinasha behind this? Has she gone to the dark side? (No. Come on, you guessed that.) After this crisis, Tinasha fights a kraken, shows Oscar a very pretty lagoon, battles against time to stop her getting hit by an aphrodisiac, watches Oscar go behind her back to stop a brothel that allegedly uses a song that can kill you, and, in the last, more serious story, fights a god.

As with the first book, the novel’s main strength is that it lacks any of the gimmicks that light novels are littered with today. It’s a simple fantasy, with no one from Japan, no game worlds or stats, and none of the usual anime shtick. I particularly liked the story about the killer song (clearly, I suspect, meant to be based around the song “Gloomy Sunday”, which has indeed been banned a few times for supposedly making people suicidal) as it has more than one good fakeout, and also gives us a chance to see Tinasha at her most furious. She and Oscar are clearly a great couple, and he knows it, and I think she does too, but it’s going to take a lot more to get her to actually commit to it than what we have now. She does NOT want to be tied down that closely. Still, when you trust a man enough to disembowel you in the most careful way possible, that’s a keeper.

The third book ends with a brief cliffhanger showing us one of the witches is working to destroy the bond between Oscar and Tinasha, which should not be surprising – there are five witches for a reason – but also makes me wonder if the next book will actually feature their contract running out at last. In any case, those bored with isekai and harems should definitely add this to their must-read list.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 11

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

Ever since the start of the entire series, there has been a certain disconnect between what the fans want to get out of these books and what the author is giving to them. Let’s face it, if the fans of the series were in charge, we’d be seeing a lot more spider and a lot less of the human side of things. And those folks are really going to hate this book, because it’s entirely on the human side of things. Yes, White gets one or two appearances here and there, but this is the first book she gets no scenes as a narrator. Instead this book fleshes out Julius, the hero of humanity and Shun’s older brother, showing his hero’s journey, his doubts, his weaknesses, and his resolve, along with giving greater depth to the rest of his party. Of course, we’re still in the past, so we know what happens to that party. But that’s probably Book 12’s problem – this one is here to remind you that the humans are also in this narrative.

The book, as with most previous books, flits back and forth between several viewpoints. The primary one is Julius’, as he starts off, despite being the hero, being dismissed and protected by the soldiers around him, who are not all that thrilled with a 12-year-old being their chosen savior. Despite this, he ends up getting involved anyway as they try to figure out why children all over the land are getting kidnapped and who is behind it. (We, as the reader, know all these answers, of course.) He has a beloved mentor figure, who gets brutally murdered halfway through the book, in the best beloved mentor tradition. He has his best friend as snarky sidekick, and a priestess who is clearly head over heels in love with him, but he’s ignoring that for now. Things are going quite well… if only the world was not gearing up for a new war, started by the Demon Lord, who is apparently so awful demons are fleeing their own lands to get away from her.

Again, it takes an entire volume that is mostly away from their perspective to remind us that this is a “rooting for the Empire” sort of story, and that White, Ariel and company are the bad guys to most of the rest of the world. This isn’t really a funny volume in the series – the comedy comes from Sophia’s diary of her life in boarding school, which is, if I’m honest, not really that funny. We get various points of view of other characters in Julius’ party, giving them depth and backstories, and showing how they view Julius as opposed to his own mostly negative thoughts. I will admit, it’s hard to deny that this book is trying to flesh out what is otherwise going to be a bunch of “who cares?’ corpses in the next book, which promises to giver Julius’ last moments from his own perspective. It’s a necessary thing, though, to give the writing better depth.

This is not to say it isn’t frustrating, and I’m sure a lot of fans really, really want the past to catch up with the present (which we last saw in Vol. 6) pretty darn quick. Till then, enjoy this look at the evil spider and her evil demon friends from a different viewpoint.

Our Crappy Social Game Club Is Gonna Make the Most Epic Game, Vol. 2

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By Oriori Siki and Azuri Hyuga. Released in Japan as “Jakushou Soshage-bu no Bokura ga Kamige wo Tsukuru Made” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mikey N.

I enjoyed the first volume of this series a lot more than I expected, and I’m pleased to see that the second volume rewards my expectations by being just as good. Once again, there is technically a bit of harem comedy here, but not much – the main guy and girl like each other but are too shy, and the new girl introduced here might like the guy too, but clearly sees which way the wind is blowing. Other than that, this book once again looks at how failures from the past can cause an inability to move forward, be it in regards to a person’s passion and confidence, or in their own emotional turmoil and rage. Last time I was impressed with just how perpetually angry Eru is, and that gets even worse here, as I’m amazed that she didn’t end the book by simply killing the cast. The reason her anger soars even higher is one of the catalysts of it: new girl Aina.

The club has been invited to a competition in Tokyo. A number of schools are there, and they’re paired in groups of two to compete with each other to see who can build the best game around a theme. Unfortunately, just as they need to buckle down, various disasters pile up, chief among them being the aforementioned Aina (who also gets the cover art), a former actress now trying to be a voice actress and someone who has a nasty past history with Eru, to the point where Eru is physically violent the first time she sees her. Fortunately, the group keeps working together, but no one can get to the heart of what the issues between them are, and neither one are talking. More to the point, Aina has a cheery, somewhat ditzy personality that proves to be a mask she takes on and off… as Kai finds out when she starts trying to manipulate him.

I will admit, I did think a lot of Ami from Toradora! as I was reading about Aina, but they don’t really go in quite the same direction. The book, for the most part, emphasizes the difficulties in getting a group like this to communicate properly – a group of artists and gamers, most of whom are introverts in some way, and with resentment and jealousy seething around. This is even true of Kai, who finds himself not only falling for the bouncy Nanaka, but also seeing her own potential, which he feels will far outstrip his own. (Kai has to be told to stop denigrating himself at least five times in this book.) Eru and Aina’s past is filled with the sort of horrible shit that teenagers do to each other, and (like a lot of those sorts of things) is resolved a little more easily than everyone expected. And there are a lot of good conversations here between Kai and the main girls, very few of which involve romance at all. Oh yes, word of warning: we not only get a tiny, drill-haired arrogant princess girl as their opponent, but there’s ALSO a minion she has to LITERALLY stand on and make herself taller. It was about eight anime cliches in the space of three pages.

Basically, if you don’t mind all the gaming talk, which can get a bit inside baseball, this is simply a fun group to read about. Even Kai’s older sister, who is written to be “the annoying one”, is not TOO annoying. Fans of series that try to examine why teenagers are the way they are should give this a try.

The Sorcerer’s Receptionist, Vol. 3

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By Mako and Maro. Released in Japan as “Mahousekai no Uketsukejou ni Naritaidesu” by ArianRose. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roko Mobius.

There is an expression, “go big or go home”, that gets used a lot, and frequently it’s warranted, but sometimes? Sometimes you want to stay small, and are rather nonplussed that everything is suddenly so big. I feel that way about this third and final volume of The Sorcerer’s Receptionist, which has had two volumes of daily life stuff with the occasional hint of dark backstory, but crams all that backstory into the third ad makes our tsundere heroine the Chosen One in about three or four different ways. It almost feels like too much, and I feel bad that we didn’t get another volume mostly filled with Nanalie sitting behind a desk. That said, the plot we do get here is certainly well-handled, the fights are exciting, and the backstory does make sense and ties in with everything else, so this is mostly me complaining that the story does not match the one I was expecting. For most folks, this is a pure shoujo fantasy ending, complete with The End of the World.

The book is for the most part divided into three chunks. The first has Nanalie and her friends going on a vacation to Hawaii… or its fantasy equivalent. Sadly, the vacation goes south when Nanalie is immediately kidnapped by a fish monster who brings her back to the Sea People Kingdom… where one of them wants her to be his bride! After this, Nanalie disguises herself as a barmaid in order to help her friend Benjamine determine if the guy she’s not quite dating yet is cheating on her. Finally, we get Wizard Olympics, as various groups from all over the world come to see who are the best in the land. Nanalie, naturally, is… not participating, she’s working reception. That said, you just know she’ll somehow be pulled in eventually. More to the point, what is draining the Ice Magic users of their energy? And just who IS Nanalie anyway?

As I said above, this book is doing a LOT. Its predecessors were long books, but this is the longest, and other publishers would probably have made it a two-parter. Throughout it all, Nanalie remains much the same. The selling point of the book is her attitude towards Rockmann, and that does not change until the VERY end of this book, when she has a chance to recontextualize everything she’s known about him and go “oh wait, no, that’s love”. It helps that there is a weird time-travel sort of event midway through the book, which is probably the most egregious plot device we get here. Better handled is her background and that of her parents, as we’d seen for the entire series that her mom remained tight-lipped about her own magic, and honestly the hair should have tipped us off. The best part of the book is the ending, where Nanalie, having saved the world, discovered her origins, and fallen in love, is offered any reward she could possibly want… and chooses to stay at her job. I could have done without the “I don’t want anything to change” part, but otherwise it is pure Nanalie to say “No, I do not want all this, I want to keep doing my dream work, thanks.

There is a sequel being written by the author on their website, but it doesn’t look complete yet, and it’s uncertain if the publisher would pick it up. Still, this is a perfectly good ending, and I’m pretty sure that even if she DOES now realize her own feelings, Nanalie will still spend the rest of her life going “aw man, it’s that guy again. Why is he always around me?”.