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Reviews

Way of the Househusband Vols 3 and 4

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Way of the Househusband Volumes 3 and 4 by Kousuke Oono

One of my favorite things about Way of the Househusband is how ordinary household chores get infused with the action and drama of a gangster drama. Tatsu and his wife Miku have to band together to banish a roach in the opening chapter, and they cycle through roach fighting options growing more and more frantic until their foe is vanquished. There’s no real overarching story line here, but the episodes around high stakes bread baking and grocery store promotion antics were funny. I enjoy most when the househusband has interactions with people from his past, and he runs into his old boss (and an adorable dog!) and then again the grocery store becomes a site for a reunion with a woman yakuza boss from his past. Seeing tough guys melt in the presence of the sheer competence of ladies whipping up nutritious homemade dog food is both heartwarming and hilarious.

I also enjoy the little vignettes that show the househusband and Miku together, and the 4th volume has a couple stories that show the couple tackling going to a theme park with military precision and taking on some local toughs in a dynamic beach volleyball tournament. I was quite amused by the drug dealing influence on boba tea recipies and distribution, as well as a dramatic trip to the dollar store to secure the essential tools of the house keeping trade. While this series is predictable, it is the good kind of predictable that you can find with very well-executed comedy series. The jokes might be the same, but the quirky mash-up between yakuza antics and housekeeping always seems both refreshing and funny. This series is helped a lot by Oono’s dynamic and expressive art which infuses the most mundane tasks with the high-stakes suspense worthy of an action movie.

Altina the Sword Princess, Vol. 6

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By Yukiya Murasaki and himesuz. Released in Japan as “Haken no Kouki Altina” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of these books are devoted to scenes of battle, with clever tactics and lots of cool action. It’s well-written, but it does leave very little for me to talk about. I am reminded of reviewing those titles like K-On! or Sunshine Sketch, which rely on cute girls doing cute things. Here we have soldiers doing soldier things. Or, in the case of this particular book, sailors doing sailor things. The enemy is simply better at everything right now, and so Regis is sent to try to stop their supply line. This involves trying to outwit their naval force, something Regis is once again able to do with the help of some books he read once. That gimmick, I fear, will only take him so far. That said, there are more important things going on here that will affect future books: first, Regis won the battle but lost the war, and second, battle commander Latrielle has a war injury that is far more serious than anyone thinks.

The scene with Latrielle and his aide meeting up with Altina and Regis is a very interesting one. Regis notices Latrielle is acting oddly, and is puzzled, but doesn’t really get to the bottom of what’s wrong, and neither does the reader until it’s revealed to us afterward. In the meantime, Regis finally gets listened to by actual powerful people. He also gets a promotion that comes with a title, meaning he can add ‘du’ to his name – not that he plans on doing this. His attempts at remaining a quiet little adviser who reads books seem to be growing less likely every day. Altina also sticks by his side throughout the book, which is handy as he gets to explain everything to her muscle brains. (Her loathing of reading is palpable here.) We also meet a version of what the two of them would be if they were commoners, as Regis hires a boat run by the perky Narissa and her aggrieved childhood friend Phip. Altina is nice enough to forgive Narissa being rude to a princess, but is also immature enough to be jealous of her and Regis getting close.

As for the naval battle itself, we don’t see much of it from the other side except from the perspective of one ship captain, Morins, who would prefer to spend most of his time in bed with his adjutant, Laurelin. He’s clearly meant to be an antagonist who will crop up again someday, so it’s rather annoying that he’s such a sexist asshole. On the bright side, that means I’m quite pleased to see how he gets routed by Regis, who comes up with such clever strategies as “ram the ship with a rowboat full of explosives”. His seasickness means we’re unlikely to see him putting his brain to use for the Navy all that often, but it’s still impressive. Now if only he could take some pride in his achievements. Or even notice that both Altina and Clarisse are clearly in love with him.

The rather imperfect victory at the end of this volume means, I suspect, that the next book in the series will be a bit more serious. Till then, though, this is another fun example of a military potboiler, with a likeable lead couple (even if they aren’t one yet).

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 11

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By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

This series is trying its hardest to keep a good balance between the light-hearted romantic comedy that the majority of its readers are here for and the increasingly dark backstory that is constantly threatening to become the front story as well. That continues in this book, which has an awful lot of Zagan and Nephy being incredibly blushy and goofy around each other, wearing each others clothes, being in each other’s dreams, and generally being the most adorable couple around that haven’t even gotten to first base yet. Contrasted with that is the increasingly doomed Alshiera, the plotting, sinister or otherwise, of the various other archdemons, and the continued horrors being piled upon Dexia and Aristella. Fortunately, with one or two exceptions, this remains very readable overall, even if you are only in it to see when these two lovebirds will finally get it on. (Spoiler: don’t hold your breath.)

The main plotline involves Lilith, who is a succubus that controls dreams. She’s able to give Zagan and Nephy a shared dream (that, oddly, shows them in a Japanese high school) and is also trying to rescue a boy who is stranded in a nightmare. He’s connected to Alshiera, who is still slowly dying from events in previous books, and is trying to show everyone that this is fine and that she’s content with it, ignoring the fact that there are others who are absolutely not content with it. To make matters worse, Zagan and friends may have found Azazel, who is also in Lilith’s dreamland, and is likyly going to kill Alshiera once and for all. And, perhaps worst of all, Foll is going around asking everyone what they think about love. Is there someone actually interested in her? Or is she just a normal girl? (Well, a normal powerful dragon girl).

Describing the plot is somewhat difficult, as you can tell from the preceding paragraph, but it holds together pretty well. One irritating negative is a new character is introduced, and there is some anti-trans humor about them, so be warned. Still sadly very popular in Japanese manga and light novels. Lilith is, for the most part, taken seriously, and proves to be pretty awesome when she tries. I especially liked Alshiera gently trying to push Lilith away and get her to accept Alshiera’s death, and Lilith basically saying “nope, fuck that, gonna save you”. Zagan is also awesome as always, though there is worrying evidence that he’s pushing himself too hard that may come up in future books. Oh yes, and Kuroka gets drunk and horny on catnip wine. Let’s ignore that.

The series seems content to meander along, both in its romantic plotlines and its more serious fantasy-based plots. And we’re caught up with Japan, meaning we’ll likely be waiting even longer for the next book. Still, if you enjoy archdemons and elfs being super cute together, and don’t mind the occasional tonal crash when the bad guys have a scene, this remains a good series to be reading.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 4

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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.

Last time I talked about the fact that the narrative voice in this series is Sorawo’s, and how that makes the character of Toriko more intriguing. After this book, I’ll go even further and say that the narrative of Sorawo is vital to what makes Otherside Picnic so good, and that it’s even better because it can’t be trusted. In the first story in this book, Sorawo worries that she and Toriko are becoming desensitized to horror, but quickly shoves that off to the side, which is a shame, as yes, she absolutely is. More to the point, the horrific urban legends that she and Toriko are seeing are starting to be personally aimed at her, to the point where 3/4 of this book takes place in the “real world”. Sorawo’s past is not a pleasant one, and this book wants to remind her of it and, if ,possible, drag her back into it again. And then there’s Toriko, who is finally able to get Sorawo to stop denying what’s really, really obvious.

There are four short stories here. Two are good (1 and 3), two are great (2 and 4). The first sees our girls joining Migiwa and the rest of his organization in cleaning up the remains of the “farm” where Sorawo was kidnapped, and finding several Otherside creatures and booby traps along the way. The second sees Sorawo being threatened by something in the apartment next door to hers, to the point where she’s forced to stay first with Akari (to the displeasure of a jealous Natsumi) and then Kozakura, before finally confronting the source with Toriko. The third story sees the two (plus Kozakura) at a hot spring, which is mostly Toriko trying to make her feelings clear but also involves a brief brush with mannequins. Finally, after getting their APV upgraded, Sorawo and Toriko spend a night in the Otherside… at a crumbling and abandoned love hotel, where Sorawo’s past finally catches up with her and tries to get her to make a tragic choice.

I joked on Twitter about how Sorawo made a deal to have all that urban legend knowledge (her bookshelves are RIDICULOUS) at the expense of being unable to recognize lesbians, which is not really true, but it feels like it at times. She doesn’t seem to quite get why Natsumi is jealous of her staying with Akari, and the first half of the book has the usual uncomfortable denial of Toriko’s feelings. After a while, though, it becomes more clear that Sorawo really does know what Toriko means, but is too busy being scared and self-loathing to confront it. She can say ‘I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you” here, but that’s not quite the same thing as what Toriko wants – Toriko wants physical affection. It’s not clear where things go from here, but after confronting her past again in the Otherside (that kerosene bit – brrrr), I do think they’re in a better place to actually be in a relationship.

The anime is airing as I type this, and seems to be leaning more into “cute girls doing cute horror things” than I’d like, but for those who would like a bit more terror and a bit more yuri, this volume fits the bill perfectly.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 21: Unital Ring I

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

This is the first book in the “main” Sword Art Online series that was not adapted from the webnovel that Kawahara wrote years earlier. As such, it’s the first one where we should have raised expectations, and for the most part the book delivers on those expectations. No, sorry, Kirito haters, he still gets to have the big climactic finishers, but honestly, if you’re a Kirito hater but still reading Sword Art Online at Volume 21, I’m going to put the blame on you there. And, if it helps, he spends most of the book in just his underwear. That said, the prose feels smoother, the cast all get things to do that don’t involve mooning over Kirito, and some of them even get really cool things to do on their own, without Kirito at all! Yes, that’s right, More Deban has finally paid off, if only for Silica. As for the plot, well, let’s take all the SAO-style games in the world and dump all its players in a blender? Sounds about right.

We pick up in the fall, a few days before Asuna’s birthday and a couple of weeks before Kirito’s. After having to essentially spend an entire month doing homework because “I was in a coma after being stabbed, but it’s a state secret” is a poor excuse for your high school teacher, Kirito is back at his log cabin preparing to help Liz and Silica do some grinding. Unfortunately, right after Asuna and Alice arrive (yes, Alice is now a regular, and is trying to get a dragon mount in ALO), a huge system crash causes all of Aincrad to disintegrate. Our heroes are barely able to steer the falling cabin to a water landing, but it’s still pretty smashed. Worse, they appear to be inside a new game, Unital Ring, which has taken over ALL the games that use Kayaba’s “Seed”, and promises a huge reward to whoever gets to the goal. But Unital Ring is a survival game, where you have to make your own rope and knives, and our heroes are suddenly level 1. Can they figure out what’s going on? More importantly, can they save the cabin?

I will admit, it’s a lot of fun seeing Kirito depowered through a large chunk of this, though of course by the end he’s starting to get back in business. Honestly, the book feels like he’s been reading his fan mail and taking its advice. Kirito and Suguha/Leafa, for the first time in the entire series to date, actually feel like an older brother and younger sister. Yui, in the new Unital Ring, is back to being a real live girl… though that also means she has real HP. It’s not a death game per se, but apparently when you’re killed off you can’t get into the game again, so there is a lot of tension for our heroes. And then there’s the last four pages, which I will try not to spoil. But really, if you’re Kawahara and are starting to write the first non-webnovel book in the main series, what’s the very first thing you’re going to import from the other works? Correct. The other character introduced is a bit of a “I won’t tell you about her till the next volume”, but Accel World fans may find their name very familiar, especially those who just read the last volume in December.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the outcome of that double cliffhanger, as Vol. 22 is a short story volume, containing four short stories that were released as exclusives with various DVD anime packages in Japan. That said, one of the characters who showed up for the cliffhanger will be in the first of those short stories. In the meantime, I was very pleased with this SAO. Let’s keep it up.

The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, Vol. 2

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By Yu Shimizu and Asagi Tosaka. Released in Japan as “Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lampert.

I am, as readers of this site well know, easy to please. This can sometimes be a bit frustrating when I have series that don’t do anything particularly wrong, but are also not particularly stellar. The Demon King Master of Excalibur Academy falls under that. I will admit that I find the fact that the Demon King is in a 10-year-old body irritating, but it is mostly avoiding fanservice and groping, so that’s not a big enough reason to move on. The books are short, the prose is readable, the girls get things to do, and the battles are pretty cool, so boxes checked off there. That said, this really isn’t going to be making anyone’s top 10 light novels list anytime soon. There was an argument recently about whether using the word ‘generic’ is pejorative, and yes, it probably is, but there’s no word that better fits the series than this. It’s like eating a slice of bread. No butter, no jam. Just the bread.

The Academy is put on the back burner for this volume, with the biggest class-related event happening being that Leonis skips class. There’s a good reason for this, though – a huge ship is arriving carrying the Fourth Princess, who is paying a visit. Unfortunately, a horde of void creatures break out as she arrives, causing those who have gathered to see her to have to be evacuated onto the ship. Also unfortunately, this turns out to be a plot by terrorists, who are there to kidnap the princess and gain more equality for beastmen. Also also unfortunately, the terrorists have a mole in their ranks who has her own agenda, which is “kill everyone by having the ship slam into a reef, so that she can get her hands on a bunch of demon swords. Fortunately, Leonis and the girls from the first volume are there to stop them.

One of the interesting things in the series is the fact that it’s post-apocalyptic, and not very far away from it either. This allows Leonis to be thoroughly confused at how much has changed since he was alive, and also allows the book to constantly be interrupted by monster attacks, which are well-written but also mean that there’s not much actually happening here, even with the short page count. We do get a few revelations about Regina, Reselia’s maid, comrade in arms, and Girl With A Secret (TM). The secret is not hard to guess, and I will admit that I was frustrated that a meeting we were building up to did not happen, but that’s the trouble with long-running series like these. (Also, sadly, the princess was very underwritten, and I wish we’d seen more of her.)

That’s one interesting thing about these books – they read like they’re cancellation proof. The author has been told “your name is big enough, so we’ll guarantee that you won’t be cut after two novels”, and it shows, as there’s a lot of long-term things going on here. Unfortunately, that means we don’t really get satisfying answers in THIS book. It’s a series that is “good enough for now” to a T.

Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 6

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By Keishi Ayasato and Saki Ukai. Released in Japan as “Isekai Goumon Hime” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

(This is one of those “I spoil the ending” reviews.)

Let’s face it, the biggest flaw in this book comes after the afterword, where gives us a preview of the next volume, which introduces new antagonists to take the place of our protagonists. The flaw here is that this book was pretty much a picture perfect finale in every way, and the author admits that straight up. They say that the story of Elisabeth is not over, and that they still have more stories to tell, which is all fine and dandy, but it’s gonna be very hard to top Book6 next time, so it had better be good. As for this volume itself, well, it’s a War Against Heaven and Hell, with everyone (mostly) joining forces, and Kaito serving as a one-man army of his own. The question is whether they can pull off what needs to be done – killing Jeanne and Elisabeth. Izabella has already said straight up she won’t be able to kill Jeanne. Will Kaito be able to make the ultimate sacrifice?

No, of course not. Anyone who’s ready even fifty pages of this series knows the answer to that one. Indeed, the least surprising thing in the book (although Jeanne and Elisabeth both manage to be surprised, with Jeanne pulling off the best use of ‘motherfucker’ in a light novel ever) is Kaito’s plan. The bulk of the book is the lead up to that, where he first manages to convince the humans, demi-humans and beastmen to team up by either terrifying them or proving strong enough to equal them in combat (thankfully the first princess does not have a Red Sonja clause in her character), and then spends the bulk of the book walking around the various battle zones, watching the saints and soldiers fighting against horrific monstrosities from beyond our ken, and occasionally destroying them all with a ‘la’ when he feels he has to. Oh yes, and have one last picnic date with Hina, which honestly I think the readers care about more than the war itself.

Hina remains that very rare example of a yandere whose feelings are returned, and she’s finally risen above “she’s Rem from Re: Zero” status, though it is ironic that they both end their roles in the series in eternal sleeps. I was also surprised to see the relationship between Jeanne and Izabella be as romantic as it ended up being, despite Jeanne spending 90% of the book trapped in God’s Iron Maiden and Izabella walking around in a body that’s 3/4 artificial. There’s lots of cool fighting here, and a nice final confrontation between Kaito and Elisabeth, but the best moments from the book are the smaller ones – I loved Kaito and Izabella discussing the frailty of human beliefs, and how it drives them to commit atrocities against anyone who can fit the definition of “expendable”. And yes, in the end Kaito and Hina remove themselves from the series, leaving Elisabeth to live on, alone. Well, except for a lot of the cast, also alive. She doesn’t count them.

Still, we get the arrival of a new sneering smug villain at the end, as well as a girl who seems to be based off of Alice Carroll/Alice in Wonderland, something that I don’t think we’ve ever seen in a single piece of Japanese media. After a satisfying climax to this book, I admit reluctance to see it continue, but I’ll read the next one to see if the author can pull it off.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 11

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By Ryo Shirakome and Takayaki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen

It’s been over a year since I reviewed the 10th volume of Arifureta. In between that time we’ve had two volumes of Arifureta Zero, as well as a volume of short stories, and we also had the anime come to an end and remind us that some stories really work best when you can’t SEE all the fanservice. That said, all good things must come to an end, and while this is not the final volume of the series, it certainly feels like Vol. 12 is going to be. We get all the setup for the final battle here. Yes, that does mean a “darkest before the dawn” start to the book, and Yue fans will likely not be happy that she ends up possessed by the evil God and therefore not in most of the book, but after that it’s basically a curtain call for anyone who’s ever been relevant in this series and also several people who haven’t – like most of the rest of the students.

So yes, Hajime and company are told by the bad guys to come meet the evil God and his evil assistant, and they’ve taken the students hostage (which doesn’t work) as well as Remia and Myu (which does). After a brief “it’s OK, I’m really a good guy” shtick that fools almost no one, we get reminded why Ehit is so powerful, and they basically mops the floor with everyone, including Hajime, and takes Yue’s body for their own. They also say that in three days, they’ll destroy the world and then move on to destroy Earth. Fortunately, that means they have three days, so the rest of the book consists of preparing to fight back, heartwarming scenes with Hajime and his loved ones (Kaori and Tio get “I love you” scenes, and Aiko and Liliana are clearly upgraded to “will be added to the group in the near future”), and wacky fanservice and comedy, because likely there won’t be much time for that in the final book.

Despite bringing back almost everyone from previous books, the writing glides right through it, assuming (correctly) we won’t remember three-quarters of everyone here. There are also some students, who haven’t gotten anything to do in nearly six books, who get to briefly shine in the spotlight, which is nice to see. Certainly nicer than seeing Kouki – again – side with the villains. Now, much of this is Eri mind-controlling him, but I’m sorry, I just cannot work up any sympathy for him by now. I can’t see him dying, particularly given there’s three different people still trying to snap him out of it, but wow, I absolutely do not care if they succeed or not. And Tio gets another good character building book, with a side story of her own, and it shows off the super-powerful lonely princess equally with the anal pleasure-obsessed pervert.

The novels are still quite popular, and I suspect once the main series is finished the “After Story”, which is still being written to this day on the web, will be put out officially in Japan. That said, for the moment, this is the big lead up to the finale next book, and contains most of the good things about the series, as well as a few of the bad. Fans should enjoy it.

Baccano!: 1710 Crack Flag

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By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Yeah, I avoided this one for a while I will admit. I don’t like tragedies, even when I know they’re coming. What’s more, this book was famous among Baccano! fandom as the pinnacle of the series, and therefore had a lot to live up to. Does it do that? pretty much, yeah. Balancing out the mystery of exactly what’s going on, the achingly sweet and awkward romance between Huey and Monica, and the creeping feeling of impending doom that powers the 2nd half, Crack Flag is a huge winner. And that’s not even mentioning our villain. Pardon the language, but “Fuck Fermet” has been a refrain among the fandom for years, and while we’ve seen why in other books, no more is it driven home than here. Fermet wants nothing more than to bring despair to people, and with Huey and Monica we get the ultimate example of that in action. Izaya only wishes he were this evil. (I may have said that line before.)

The book says 1710, but it actually begins in 1707, two years after the events of The Ironic Light Orchestra. The poet and playwright Jean-Pierre Accardo is at a party for nobility, feeling very out of place, until he runs into Lebreau Fermet Viralesque and his 6-year-old charge Czeslaw Meyer. Through a relaxed, easy conversation, the two form a bond. At the same time, Huey and Monica’s bond is deepening as well, even if he’s still reluctant to admit it. Unfortunately, the arrival of a huge galleon from the Dormentiare family drives Monica to despair… though, as with most tragedies, we quickly learn that if the parties involved had actually spoken to each other, there’d be little she had to worry about. Will Huey be able to break through her walls? Can Huey break through his own walls? And, whatever you do, don’t go to the theatre tonight…

This is a brutal book (the author says in the afterword he won’t be getting quite this dark again, which, OK, 1711 would like to have a word with you), so let’s concentrate on things that are happier – Huey and Monica. It’s so WEIRD seeing Huey like this given, well, 1711 to the present, and it drives home how much she and Elmer mean to him. And yes, I don’t want to leave Elmer out – he does his best here, and while his own thoughts are still rather terrifying, he’s a terrific character. We also see here how Maiza went from “this alchemy stuff is all bullshit” to suddenly becoming ALL ALCHEMY ALL THE TIME, and I am rather amused that all it took was just a throat-slitting (and recovery). And Carla is fantastic, taking no shit from any men around her and doing her best to figure out what’s going on in Lotto Valentino. We’ll be seeing more of almost all of them in future books, thank goodness.

So yes, this book hurt to read, but it was also one of the best in the series. Narita says 1711 is next, and I guess in terms of stuff he had to write from scratch he’s correct. But first we’re getting another bonus volume. Just as Another Junk Railroad was an expanded version of the freebie that came with the audio drama, the next book is an expansion of the 5-part novel that came with the Anime DVD releases. It answers that hideously terrifying question: “what if Elmer and Graham met?”.

Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance!, Vol. 1

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By Kei Misawa and poporucha. Released in Japan as “Torawareta Ōjo wa Nido, Shiawasena Yume o Miru” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

If Japanese light novels are good at anything, they’re good at “take a premise and do slight variations on it for years”. As such, it can sometimes be very hard to read a book without thinking of that OTHER book you just read. Three are few readers who will pick this book up and not think “huh, this sounds just like Tearmoon Empire”, a series that also has a princess who is imprisoned end up traveling backwards in time to when she’s a child and trying to fix things so that she doesn’t die. Fortunately, the two books do not take the same approach. Reset is not a comedy, for one, and everyone pretty much sees our heroine accurately for who she is: a spoiled young princess who was sheltered her whole life and is now trying to be a slightly less sheltered young princess and not always achieving it. Mostly this succeeds, though there is one major head slapping moment towards the end.

Annabel is the princess of a country called Najir, and has recently married Daniel, the prince of a neighboring country. Unfortunately, one day he shows up furious, accuses her of betraying him, and she in thrown into the dungeons. If only she knew why this happened – she has no idea. What’s worse, her knight and protector Ed is brutally beaten and killed, causing her latent magic (which she’s never been able to use) to explode, destroying a huge chunk of the castle. Then… she wakes up as a twelve-year-old. Now she has to figure out how to change the future. But she doesn’t have a magical diary to help her, or any clue whatsoever. She’ll have to rely on the natural intelligence of a young girl who was home tutored her entire life and rarely left the castle till the day she died. This will go well!

The book’s chief strength is also its chief weakness, which is Annabel herself. She’s not from Japan, she’s not a reincarnation, and she’s not remotely snarky or sarcastic. She is an innocent lamb who is trying her best to figure out how she got from what seemed like a happy and loving marriage to “you are evil and I am imprisoning you”. She decides that ‘sheltered’ is the thing to work on first, so leans on her family to allow her to go to the same school as her older brother. From here she tries to activate her still latent magic (which does not go well most of the book), tries to research the neighboring country to figure out why they did this to her, and also falls in love with Ed, who is also in her school, and is quietly wonderful. Unfortunately, while less sheltered, she is still naive as heck, so there is a scene where, searching for an important item she lost, she allows two men to lead her down a dark alley and try to sell her to pimps. It’s such a jaw-droppingly stupid moment you want to scream. Yes, it’s there for plot reasons so she can activate her magic, but man alive, there must have been a better way.

This is a series still being written, so I’m not sure when we’ll get the next volume. Certainly the main problem has not been solved. Still, if you like Peggy Sue stories (called yarinaoshi loop stories in Japan, thank you, helpful afterword), this should entertain, though be aware that Annabel is very, very “young naive princess”.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 4

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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.

Clearly someone has been listening to my review, as after last volume’s weird hotel detour, this one gets back to what I expected the series to be about: Lloyd and company’s time in the academy. Not that we spend much time there, as the town’s cleaned out and empty starter dungeon is suddenly teeming with terrifying dragons and monsters and the like. There’s also the issue of a man wandering around and asking people what he looks like, and then dealing with them if the answer is wrong. And there’s the usual dose of over the top humor and goofy fun from all our regulars. Unfortunately, when you live by the silly cliche you can also die by the silly cliche, so I have to warn in advance that the main antagonist of this volume is an obsessed lesbian who ends up turning evil. Which, I get it, is also a character type to parody. It’s just not one I want to see again.

As noted, the academy has gotten word that their empty dungeon is suddenly dangerous again, and sends Lloyd and company to check on it, figuring he’s ridiculously strong enough, even if he still has crippling self-esteem issues. To no one’s surprise, there does turn out to be a top-tier monster in the dungeon – a giant snake. To everyone’s surprise, Lloyd is not able to defeat it, and gets kicked around a bit. There may be more to this monster than meets the eye. There’s also the man walking around killing people… erm, sorry, testing them and then making them disappear. He turns out to be an old foe of Alka’s, and he and the smiling friend of Lloyd we met in the previous volume are here to be the Big Bads for the series as a whole. And for this volume, it means taking one woman’s obsession with Marie and turning it into a monstrous nightmare.

There are some really good action scenes here. As noted above, Lloyd for once is not One-Punch Man, and seeing him have to actually struggle is excellent, and hopefully will show off some character development. There’s also a lot of hilarity involving the King, who has recovered from being possessed but seems to have turned into a middle manager, and whose “reward catalog” is roundly attacked, and justifiably so given one of the rewards is “marry whoever you want” without giving thought to the other person. As for Micona, she has an irrational hate-on for Lloyd, mostly as he’s living with Marie, and it turns to a massive grudge when she’s merged with a treant by the bad guys. (Who remove her at the end, so I’m sure she’ll be back down the road). And of course, when you have a tree monster who attacks using roots, well, yes, there’s Marie tentacle attacks as well, though not too explicit, thank God.

So something of a mixed bag in the end, but I’m pleased to see the book actually buckling down and getting to its long-term plot. The implication is that the next volume will bring the main cast to Lloyd’s village, which promises to be quite fun in a sadistic sort of way. Much like the rest of the series, really.

Accel World: Kuroyukihime’s Confession

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By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

I suspect how much readers enjoy the first half of this book depends on how invested they are in awkward teen romance. Last time we ended with Kuroyukihime inviting Haruyuki over to spend the night at her place, and he ends up accepting here, though he’s not quite sure how long he’ll be staying. As it turns out, the answer is “all night”, and there’s also a bath scene involved, which, as with everything else about this series, gets 80 times more awkward when you remember they’re both 13-14. But they are pretty sweet dorks, and things don’t really go anywhere beyond “I am depressed and want to take comfort in you”. And, as it turns out, Kuroyukihime has a lot more to be concerned about than being caught in an Unlimited EK, as her friend Megumi, aka Orchid Oracle, seems to be held hostage by the enemy… which has caused her real-world self to fall into a coma. Can they rescue her? And can Haruyuki get yet another girl to fall for him without trying?

Yes, we can add another “don’t read this in public” volume cover to the pile. In any case, one of the more important things that comes up here is Kuroyukihime opens up to Haruyuki about the circumstances of her birth, and we finally, definitively put to rest the rumor that her parents are Kirito and Asuna. (I’m not sure why anyone ever found this acceptable, unless they like grim ‘n gritty.) In any case, we don’t get her name, or the names of her parents, but we do discover that Kuroyukihime was a “machine child”, incubated in an artificial womb. While the direct SAO connection isn’t happening, fans of the Alicization arc may recognize some of the discussion here about the nature of the soul. According to Kuroyukihime, her parents regard her as an experiment rather than a child – she even has a barcode on her neck to drive the point home. It’s pretty heavy.

The weaker part of the book is in the middle, when most of the cast gets together virtually to try to figure out how to fix the huge trap they’re in. This involves lots of banter, some jealousy, and a whole lot of talking, but essentially boils down to “no, we can’t do this, no we can’t do this, hey, why don’t we try this”, only over the course of 50 pages. Things pick up again when Haruyuki teams up with Rose Milady in order to rescue Orchid Oracle, her sister, from the clutches of the White Legion. This amounts to a bunch of cool battle scenes, and Kawahara is quite good at those. Haruyuki tries to do the whole “I’m not really good at anything I just have a lot of help” whining, which promptly gets smacked down. That makes me happy. More importantly, they actually succeed in both the rescue and waking Megumi up, meaning this volume does not leave us hanging. (Well, everyone’s still in the deathtrap, but…)

So a decent volume, with some much needed revelations, but the core issue here is still not resolved, so the arc continues. Recommended to those already reading the series.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 18

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

This book is definitely front-loaded with stuff that I am here for. Much as I appreciate the machinations and plans for avoiding destruction going on on Enta isla, I will admit I’ve always been more drawn to the Japan side of this series. And just as everyone is working to ensure that they have a future for humans, angels and demons over there, others need to work to ensure that they have a future going forward in Japan. Even if that future may not involve Maou. As you might guess by the cover art showing her with her hat off, Chiho finally gives her notice to McRonald’s, as she needs to prepare for college, and then move on to her dream of… well, that’s the problem, isn’t it. Which college does she want to try for? Does she want to keep doing archery? Does she have a career in mind at all? And most importantly, can she find a way to stand at Maou’s side rather than just admiring him from afar?

It’s not just Chiho either – McRonald’s is suddenly down FIVE people after a bunch of resignations, and Maou and Emi – their two most important part-timers – have to take all of July off to, well, save the world. They also have a new manager, and while she’s a perfectly good normal manager sort, she is not the exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime manager that Kisaki was. This causes her no small amount of anxiety. Now Maou has to find some part-time help for the business. More importantly, he has to simply be patient and not worry too much as his allies are busy putting everything in place. It’s something he’s not used to, and he apologizes to Chiho at one point, as she is very used to it. And there’s also a disturbing new revelation that implies that not only might Alas Ramus and Acieth not be able to help in the final battle, they may be turned to the other side.

Not gonna lie, my mind keeps drifting back to the frank conversation Rika has with Chiho about her future, and about her love for Maou. If only as the author seems to take the time to sink what is probably the series’ most popular pairing – Rika says that Chiho’s only real competition for Maou is probably Suzuno, and that Maou and Emi aren’t happening. It’s worth actually quoting:

“What, am I wrong? I mean, some people say a lot of good relationships start from less than nothing, but I think Stockholm syndrome would work only so much with those two. It’s a miracle they’re acting like friends right now, even. I can’t see much more than that happening.”

Other than that, the book is quite good, with some very funny bits – the new part-timer at McRonald’s being the best – but it does suffer a bit from Maou and Emi being necessarily sidelined at the moment. The stage is set for the final battle… but we have three volumes to go, not two, so I suspect we’ll have wacky unrelated shenanigans next time. Till then, Chiho fans should really enjoy this book.

The Sorcerer’s Receptionist, Vol. 2

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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.

It should go without saying, really, but fans of this sort of light novel should also be fans of shoujo manga that also runs along these lines. If you, as a reader, read manga where the lead couple are constantly at odds? The girl is constantly angry at the smug arrogant guy? Everyone seems to think they’re already a couple even though she hates his stupid guts? Yeah, that’s this series in a nutshell, it’s just in prose rather than in Hana to Yume. So yes, if smug arrogant guys constantly mocking the heroine are not your cup of tea, don’t read this, because we know who the end guy is going to be and it’s him. The other thing to mention here, which I believe I also did in my first review, is that you’d better love “oblivious to love” and “everyone can see it” as tropes, because the book is drenched in them. When it’s not actually dealing with Nanalie’s actual work, it’s watching everyone smirk at her cluelessness.

As noted above, the book is divided in half. Half the time we are seeing Nanalie at her job at Harre, growing better at it, learning valuable magical skills, and beating up lesser demons. At one point she’s sent to the southern branch for a month to see what it’s like there, and the answer is basically “hot, with added exorcisms”. The other half of the book is her interactions with Rockmann, who always seems to be around despite her best efforts to not see him, and is always there to rub it in her face that he’s still Number One and she is Number two. This even applies to alcohol – Nanalie has an amazingly high tolerance… but not as good as Rockmann’s. The one worrying plotline is that a neighboring kingdom is asking – rather aggressively – for ice witches, and Nanalie is being asked to hide that she is one. What’s really going on here? Also, why is Nanalie being asked to meet the King?

This book is not without its problems. the ending to the first book implied that there was some dangerous demon possession going on… but it’s solved quickly and then dropped. More importantly, the nature of the “Ice Witches Wanted” plotline involves Nanalie not knowing anything about it, and so the climax of the book, frustratingly, takes place offscreen, with most of it explained to her in a “yeah, sorry about this” way by the director. It’s realistic that they would take such steps, but as a reader it is incredibly anticlimactic. Also, Rockmann heals up far too quickly and far too well given they’re making this out to be the first time Nanalie might actually feel something for him. Fortunately, the rest of the book is filled with fun banter and situations, and Nanalie when she’s furious and snarky is the best Nanalie.

There is a suggestion of a few ongoing plots, with some backstory dropped to help the reader along, so I don’t expect this will be ending soon. It’s a fun little series, if a bit uneven, and recommended for those who like shoujo manga where the leads yell at each other all the time.

Our Crappy Social Game Club Is Gonna Make the Most Epic Game, Vol. 1

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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.

Sometimes you just have to power through even when your initial impression is bad. This novel started off iffy for me. A sad-sack protagonist who had difficulties communicating with others. A perky, happy ball of sunshine who ends up dragging him back into a world he was desperately trying to avoid. Even the world the book takes place in didn’t impress me; it’s not a fantasy or isekai, but it does take place in a world where education has become driven by “gacha”, that game mechanic where you spend money to get a cool thing – possibly. I’m not sure why it needed to jump through the extra hoops, unless a pre-reader asked why everyone cared so much about social games. Fortunately, after a rough start it settles into what the book is actually about: the trauma of past failures crippling your ability to move forward and recognize your own worth, and how others can help you move past that.

Kai has just moved far from Tokyo after being driven from his previous school, one of the best in the country, for sabotaging a popular social game for reasons we are not immediately privy to. He’s trying to move on and have nothing to do with social games, but unfortunately, he’s arrived at one of those “everyone has to be in a club” schools, and the girl showing him around, Aoi, is head of the Social Game club, which consists of her, programmer and gacha-addict Aya, and perpetually angry artist Eru. The club is about to be shut down, and the Student Council President hates it, so Kai joins up impulsively. Unfortunately, the club is a mess – Eru is angry at Aoi, Kai, and most everything else, Aya is never there as she has to gacha all the time, and Aoi’s bubbly, happy side masks a girl who fears she is useless and a burden. Can the club be saved in time?

As I said, when you get past the original cliches (there’s also a pervy older sister who loves to tease Kai, and the arrogant/snarky student council duo are pure 100% cliche), there’s more to like here than expected. Kai, of course, did not sabotage the game back in Tokyo because he was being a villain, it was for a very good reason. Both he and Aoi suffer from crippling self-doubt, and both of them have to have it demonstrated to them, explicitly, that their fears are unfounded. Kai really does have terrific value as a planner, as his sempai at the Tokyo school (who is awesome, and has a great semi-robotic speech pattern) demonstrated to him, and while Aoi’s art is still not as good as Eru’s, she is improving constantly and is ready to take the next step. They make their game better AND they step in to help save the original game that Kai sabotaged. It’s quite the feel good ending.

So yes, there’s gold to be found here, though I’d recommend liking gacha games a whole lot more than I do if you really want to get the full experience.