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Reviews

Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, Vol. 2

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By Ryohgo Narita and Tite Kubo. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash.

There was a lot in the first volume of Can’t Fear Your Own World, Ryohgo Narita’s sequel to Bleach, which made me nostalgic for the good old days of the popular Bleach franchise. This second volume, on the other hand, kind of makes me nostalgic for the bad old days of the Bleach franchise. That’s not to say this book is not well written – it’s quite good at what it does. But there’s a very, very large chunk of the middle of the book that can be summed up as “some guys fight, and some more guys show up to interrupt the fight, then different guys fight while the first fighters watch, and then new people show up to interrupt THIS fight”, etc etc., until there are about 25 or so people all standing around watching a very small boy on top of a very large monster get excited. And, gotta admit, this is also the Bleach experience. Love it or hate it, Bleach would not be Bleach without epic fights that take forever with no real purpose.

The book can essentially be divided into two parts. Back in Karakura Town, Hisagi is interviewing Urahara for his ongoing news report about the events of the last few months, and also sort of trying to get some information out of him. Sadly, they are interrupted by Aura, a Fullbringer who seems to be connected to the Big Bad of this volume, and whose powers are not really like the other Fullbringers we’ve seen before. (Did you know Orihime was a Fullbringer? No? Never heard it mentioned before this book.) She’s taking advantage of the main cast of Bleach being out of town (they are rescuing Karin and Yuzu from some unnamed issue) to do what Tokinada wants. Back in Soul Society, as I noted before, everyone wants to fight everyone else. This ends up dragging together Soul Society captains (Shinji, Kenpachi, Shunsui), Arrancar (Tia, Nel, Grimmjow), Quincy (I can’t remember any of them), and Fullbringers (Tsukishima, Ginjo, etc.), and they all team up to go try to stop the Big Bad, if only as he’s unlikely to let them fight each other.

As you can see, a lot of this book relies on you remembering what happened in the Thousand Year Blood War arc, which I am not. I cannot tell any of these goombaws who Mayuri has resurrected and essentially made into his gofers from another, and honestly even if I did, the text would not read much differently. In Baccano and Durarara!!, Narita just barely manages to make his huge cast memorable – sadly, here he’s working from Kubo’s prior failure at it. On the bright side, every page or two has an amusing fun bit that will make you smile and keep you reading. Hiyori shows up, and is exactly as you’d expect her to be – she’d kick the reader in the shins if she could. Urahara manages to be very in character, and uses the same stupid written in blood message AGAIN (as I said, very in character). And take a shot every time someone wishes Ichigo were there, except no, do not do that.

This book is HUGE, twice the size of the first one, and absolutely did not need to be that long. But, well, if you’re writing something true to the Bleach experience, go big or go home. I expect next volume will mostly consist of one giant fight over the course of 290 pages. I also expect Grimmjow will STILL not get to fight Ichigo.

Unnamed Memory, Vol. 1

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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.

It has become increasingly rare in the Japanese light novel world to find a straightforward novel that can be called “fantasy”. Oh, the light novel market is riddled with fantasy novels, to the point where, 3-4 years ago, having anything licensed with non-supernatural content was a huge surprise. But they’re not the sort of fantasy I mean. Either they’re all based around game mechanics, or they’re literally trapped in a game-style worlds. And then there’s the Infinite Isekais, be it reincarnated souls or just “I was in my classroom and now I have a sword and three hot young girls” sorts. But there is something to be said for simply having a normal fantasy. Magic has rules, yes, but they aren’t the rules of Casting from MP. Our hero has a curse, but it’s not draining his HP bar. And that’s what we’re getting with Unnamed Memory, the story of a prince with a curse and the witch who’s trying to break it, and also the story of how the two of them are made for each other, even if she’s not admitting it yet.

Prince Oscar is our hero, and he has a curse: a witch cursed his family when he was a boy so that any woman who had his child would die. Now 20 years old and one of the strongest in his kingdom, he goes to another witch, rumored to grant any wish to those who can climb to the top of her tower, and ask her to break the curse. That said, once he meets the witch, Tinasha, he has a better idea: she can marry him, as witches are strong enough to break this curse. She refuses to do that, but she does agree to spend the next year with him at the castle, at first as the “witch’s apprentice” and then, once her cover is blown, out in the open. Over the course of the book they solve mysteries, defeat ancient evils, fend off threats from other countries, and banter. The banter is the reason to read the book.

First up, I will say I wish that we’d had a bit more depth to Oscar at first. We get to know him a bit better as the book goes on, but at first I trusted him about as much as Tinasha does, and it’s easy to see why she brushes off his constant attempts to get her to marry him. Tinasha fares slightly better, although her past is also mostly suggested in this first book. There’s also a couple of unpleasant scenes, one being a dream – brought on by the drug of another witch – which leads to him having to strangle Tinasha, a rather ugly solution I thought could be handled differently, as well as one attempted assault on her when Oscar gets jealous. I mention these as the things I didn’t enjoy, mostly because the rest of the book is otherwise excellent. A very good supporting cast, some cool battle scenes, and the interplay between the main cast is very well done indeed. The book reads smoothly and makes you want more.

So I wasn’t over the moon with it, and I think I need another book or two to like Oscar as much as the author wants me to, but otherwise I can see why this was one of the most anticipated LNs of the year. Especially recommended for those tired of the usual game stats light novels – this has none of that.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 15

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha Light Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Last time, I said that I was tired of ending each volume of Outbreak Company wondering when it would come to an end. I guess they heard me, because this is definitely the start of the endgame. For one thing, leaving aside his horny dream fantasies (which seem to be written to give the artist an excuse to draw the girls naked in an otherwise relatively serious story), Shinichi seems to be taking a bit more seriously the fact that he has three different girls in love with him. Unsurprisingly, most of his thoughts on this involve Myusel, the obvious front runner. If they do become a couple, can they go back to Japan? She is half-elf and not a citizen, after all, and while the Japanese government is happy to help Shinichi while he works for them, he suspects that this help would dry up if not turn against him. That said, given they overheat merely holding hands at the moment, baby making is still something only in dreams for now.

The main plot involves Elvia’s kingdom of Bahairam suddenly turning into a disaster area, with constant earthquakes and buildings turning into pillars of fire. The reason seems to be whatever is in the “Dragon’s Den”, a secret facility, but those who know of it aren’t talking. Even worse, Myusel’s mother is delivering supplies to the Kingdom and ends up getting trapped in the devastation. She asks Clara and Amatena to immediately go and get Shinichi, who is the one person who might be able to fix this. How? We’re not sure, and neither is he. But now the rest of the cast (sans Petralka, who is unable to get away from the basic need to rule her kingdom) head out to find out what the heck is causing this and if there is any way of stopping it. And things get even more confusing when they meet an android replica of Theresa Bigelow, a North American army officer.

There have been hints of the big reveal planted throughout the series, and they’re especially blatant here, as the first chapter opens with Shinichi showing his class a copyright-altered Planet of the Apes to demonstrate to them the idea of those “kinds of endings”. It does make things a lot more interesting, and is handled very well. There’s also some cool action scenes, though again the author’s habit of throwing in constant nudity whenever he can is a bit irritating, especially when our heroes are being surrounded by “the nekkids”, as Minori calls them. Speakoing of which, this volume changes viewpoints quite a bit, and it’s nice to hear from people other than Shinichi’s POV, though I admit it’s not always that easy to see who’s narrating at first. And, fantasizing aside, Shinichi and Myusel are very cute here. Again, I still think if this ends with a choice at all it will be Myusel.

So a very good book in general, and should lead nicely to the next one to end the arc. The series ends with 18, though there’s a short story volume after that that I’m unsure will be licensed. If you’ve been reading this series all along, there’s no reason to stop now. Also,l I’m fairly certain you cannot gain a handle on military strategy just by reading Legend of Galactic Heroes, Petralka.

A Certain Magical Index SS, Vol. 1

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

Despite its name, and despite the fact that Yen On is releasing it after the main Index series, this is not particularly a short story volume. Instead, it’s four interlinked plot threads, which are presented as distinct chapters – he’s done this before. In Japan this came out between the 13th and 14th volumes of the main series, and it takes place there as well, with most of the cast worrying about what seems to be an inevitable war with the Roman Orthodox Church (which, to be fair, does happen). I am happy that we are finally seeing it here, though I will admit that a lot of its events would have had more impact if it had come out in its proper place. In particular, this volume introduces one of the main protagonists of the series – though honestly you’d never know it from the book itself, as he doesn’t even appear till 4/5 of the way in, and gets taken out by Touma like garbage. Which melds nicely with the book’s themes.

Introduced in this book: Shiage Hamazura, the aforementioned third protagonist. Sasha is also seen here as herself, rather than in “I am possessed by Gabriel” mode, though thanks to the Russian equivalent of Laura Stuart she’s walking around in a fetish outfit. We also meet Komaba Ritoku, though he sadly has the misfortune of running up against Accelerator, so he’s killed off here. He shows Accelerator the picture of a girl he’s trying to protect – his sister? Well, he’s dead now, so we will never know the identity of this mystery girl… well, unless Yen licenses New Testament. This volume also helps to solidify GROUP as part of the dark side of Academy City, and shows that they can grumpily work together when they want to – though they don’t here, as Accelerator and Musujime Awaki get their own separate fights.

There’s silliness at the start (how does Touma manage to pat Aisa on the back and knock her bra off?), which also leads to one of the few deliberately funny jokes in these books which usually try to be funny and fail – Touma’s heartfelt “I’m going to start studying English!” is a big LOL. Most of the book is introducing us to Skill-Out, a group of Level Zeroes trying to wreak havoc. Later books show them off as well, but, as Touma yells at Hamazura, they could have chosen to protect the weak (and indeed we see Komaba was doing this), instead of basically being a bad biker gang with explosives. We also meet once more Mikoto’s mother, the self-proclaimed “bisexual-disaster cougar”, who is also there for humor (not as funny) but also to possibly pull Mikoto out of Academy City due to impending war. Fortunately for the Railgun’s romantic prospects, Touma manages to impress her mom enough that she decides to leave her there. And, of course, Touma gets to punch the villain, in this case Hamazura, though notably instead of “breaking that illusion” he says Hamazura can break his own illusions himself.

So overall, this is very good setup for books 14-22, and you might want to go back and read those again if you have the time. Next time we’ll get the second SS book, which I understand is far more of a short-story volume than this one was, although I imagine they’re probably all interconnected as well.

Strike the Blood, Vol. 16

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By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque.

After the last volume, which as I noted was “Strike the Blood: The Movie”, the first third of this book is very jarring indeed, as it seems to reboot the series with an entirely different cast. Kojou is on a different island – with his memories wiped – and has a different guardian, different companions, and they seem to spend their days learning how to be attack mages and dungeon crawling. He occasionally has brief flashes of his old life, but for the most part remains blank about it. And all is well, apart from the very obviously evil teacher and the fact that the ghost of Yukina keeps showing up and scaring students. Needless to say, it turns out that Kojou is NOT on a series reboot, but is instead trapped in a game – sort of. Also not really. The actual plot manages to bring back an organization from much earlier in the series, as well as the girl now dedicated to wiping out said organization. And, needless to say, has lots of cool fights.

The most interesting thing in the book is the introduction of Shizuri, Kojou’s new Watcher in this other world and the Girl Of The Book. It’s interesting that it starts off with her being a blatant Yukina clone, almost to the point of parody, but that actually ends up being what makes her work for me. OK, Shizuri is more ‘tsundere’ than ‘kuudere’, but in other ways they are much the same. This makes it easier to care about her more than the other two members of Kojou’s class group, who don’t have obvious analogues. Her backstory is suitably tragic, and, needless to say, she gets her blood drunk by Kojou at the end, meaning she is probably going to be added to the harem pile, which is already ridiculously high. I do wonder how she’ll fit in with the rest of the cast, particularly as the series has now ended in Japan, so we’re not far away from the final volume.

The reappearance of Yuuma is also a surprise, mostly as I’d forgotten she existed – as had most readers, I imagine. She is a refreshing dose of cool in a series whose heroines mostly tend to live or die on how much they can be angry at Kojou, though it’s unclear whether she’s merely back for this volume or will turn up again. I will argue that I was sort of hoping that one of the big plot beats of the last book – Nagisa now knows Kojou’s secret – would be brought up here. Having her hospitalized a month later and not really talking with anyone except Shizuri is kind of kicking the problem down the road. And, as always, the author’s attempts at humor are not very funny. “haha, you’re going to have to repeat a year because of constant saving the world” is eyebrow-raising, not laugh inducing. Though I was amused that 6 months in the other world taught Kojou to study.

Anime fans may be more spoiled than novel fans on the next book, as it appears to finally bring in the Children From The Future. Till then, this was a better than average Strike the Blood.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 14

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Borque.

I’ve always been a fan of Emilia, so have been inclined to cut her more slack than she possibly deserved, as those who’ve seen my other reviews know. That said, I get the feeling that for most Re: Zero fans, reading Emilia has sort of been like me reading Subaru in the first six books – screaming at her and wondering why she’s so bad at everything. This has only been underlined in this fourth Arc, which supposedly was going to give far more focus to Emilia – to the point of writing the other main love interest out of the story entirely – and then she spends the first three books sobbing on the ground, unable to get past a test that Subaru sails through. Of course, Subaru’s ‘overcome your past’ was, let’s be honest here, not the hardest test in the world. And at least he remembered it. Emilia’s past has a tragic centerpiece, and she’s also had her memories erased to boot – learning all of this with no emotional support would break a lot of people. Luckily, she now has that emotional support.

As you can see by the cover art, we get most of Emilia’s backstory here, though some elements (who her birth parents are) are still left clouded. Her aunt Fortuna, though, who raises Emilia as a daughter, is 100% pure awesome, and also… has Subaru eyes, something that causes me concern but I’m not going to dwell on it too much. And next to them on the cover is… yeah, that’s Petelgeuse, known mostly as Geuse here. He’s not quite what I was expecting, being fairly overdramatic and self-loathing even before said tragic events. I am grateful we got a lot of Emilia being cute here, showing her as a typical curious kid who does not enjoy being locked in a tree all day. This is balanced out by the present-day Emilia and Echidna watching the events as they happen, with Echidna being very irritated at how well Emilia is taking everything. They have the best dialogue in the book.

Meanwhile, while waiting for Emilia’s test to finish, Subaru, Garfiel and Otto confront Roswaal, who is still not willing to give an inch, despite some things happening that his book does not talk about. As long as the book ENDS the same way, he says, that’s enough. There’s some funny stuff here, mostly involving Roswaal’s reaction to Otto, but it’s clear that if they’re going to stop Elsa and her fellow animal-tamer assassin from killing everyone at the mansion, they’re going to have to do it themselves. Fortunately, Garfiel much better at fighting than Subaru is. We also got more backstory here, provided by Shima and the Ryuzus (which sounds like a girl group; from the 60s) showing the backstory of the Sanctuary, Echidna’s past with Roswaal, and most importantly Beatrice’s relationship to all of them. If Subaru is going to succeed, he has to get Beatrice away from her library, and given that’s the cliffhanger ending to this book, it’s a tall order.

The arc ends with the next book, but there’s still a lot to solve. Can Subaru end this with no deaths? Can Emilia pass the 2nd and 3rd Trials? Will the reader even see the 2nd and 3rd trials? (Signs point to no.) And will Roswaal finally be forced to give in and support Emilia for real? Can’t wait to find out.

Owarimonogatari: End Tale, Part 03

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By NISIOISIN and VOFAN. Released in Japan by Kodansha BOX. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Ko Ransom.

It’s been a long detour since we last saw Koyomi Araragi getting brutally murdered by Izuko Gaen at the end of the short story volumes. We’ve seen how Ogi came into his life, why he got so disaffected in his first year of high school, and finally finished up with everything he was doing in that very busy August. But now we’re FINALLY ready to wrap up all the plot points that have been bubbling under for the entire series. The history and state of the town ever since Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade arrived one year previously. The string of oddities that have popped up ever since, particularly Nadeko Sengoku’s transformation into a snake god. The “darkness” that erases things that break the rules, which removed Mayoi Hachikuji from the series. But mostly, everything Ogi has done ever since she arrived. Can Araragi wrap this all up? Despite being dead? And can he pass his exams? Heck, can he even go on a date with… um… what was her name again?

Oh right, Senjogahara, who graces our cover, and who is quick to point out that it’s been so long since she’s had a major role in the series she’s forgotten her character. Before we get to her, though, we get Mayoi Hell, where Araragi, as all vampires do, goes to Hell, meeting Mayoi there (she’s there for dying before her parents) and going on an extended recap of his life. This serves to remind him of his tendency to save the girl, and that if he had to do it again he’d do the exact same thing. After a long explanation of what’s been going on (he had to die to get rid of his vampirism, Gaen’s gonna revive him), and a brief “do I deserve to live” that gets the punching from Mayoi that it deserves, he returns… with Mayoi, who he basically kidnaps in a leglock. Which is very him. Aside from my usual issues with Mayoi (the “lol he’s sexually harrassing a grade schooler and it’s funny!) stuff, this was alright, though it suffered from endless exposition (more of that later).

Next we get Hitagi Rendezvous, the “sweet” center of the book, where Senjogahara takes Araragi on a date, something they have not done since Tsubasa Cat waaaaay back at the start of the series, and attempts, through various date activities, to get him to swear one thing for the rest of his life. Sadly, she keeps losing. This has some of the best writing in the series, apart from a brief interlude with Ogi interrupting Araragi’s dream (he falls asleep at a planetarium) to provide more exposition (more of this – yes, even more – later). Senjogahara has never been the tsundere she claims to be – she’s too straightforward for that – but here she does have some very odd push/pull dynamics, as she’s clearly dressing in a “Hanekawa” way as she thinks that’s what he finds attractive, but is also discussing their future together to the point of naming their daughter (Tsubasa, which Araragi finds “heavy”, and I think Hanekawa would agree). The ending of this one is the high point of the book.

This leaves Ogi Dark, where we finally get the true nature of Ogi revealed. It makes sense within the series – indeed, clever readers may have guessed it already – ties in with the series mythology, and also allows the basic conflict of “what do we do with aberrations” to come into play. Gaen, Hanekawa, Meme Oshino, and Ogi Oshino all have different ideas on how to deal with them. Unfortunately, sometimes they lead to bad things, as we saw with Ogi’s manipulation of Nadeko. Gaen tries to convince Araragi to take care of Ogi once and for all… treat her like the “Darkness” she’s pretending to be. But, of course, Ogi is not only the main villain of the series, and Araragi’s dark mirror (more on that next book), but also a girl that needs saving. Despite also getting bogged down in exposition (always a danger with Gaen in the story), the ending to this part was excellent, even giving us a “happily ever after”.

So my main complaint is the wordiness of the backstory and exposition (which isn’t going away) and the lolicon jokes (sadly also unlikely to go away), but for a series finale it’s mostly a winner. We even get a hint as to why Ogi is still around for Kanbaru’s book, and why’s he’s a guy in that one. That said, we aren’t QUITE done with Araragi – the final final book in this arc, End Tale (cont’d), is due out soon.

The Reincarnated Prince and the Twilight Knight

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By Nobiru Kusunoki and Arico. Released in Japan as “Herscherik” by M Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

The second volume in this series pretty much picks up where the last one left off. There’s serious political intrigue. There’s tragic death and despair. There’s good old-fashioned sleuthing. And there is virtually none of the sort of thing that you’d expect in a reincarnation isekai – about the only thing that stands out is Herscherik briefly going all Marielle Clarac on us when he sees the titular knight and his former best friend (the first prince) angsting at each other and starts to ship them – though the text takes pains to tell us, over and over, that Ryoko was not a BL shipper per se. That, and the occasional scene where Hersch does something bad and Kuro yells at him, is the closest we get to humor in this series, which is far more concerned with showing us how HARD it is to change a corrupt world. Even when you discover the secret and stop the bad guys, you realize that there are bigger bad guys behind them who got away.

The titular Twilight Knight is that red-haired brooding man on the cover (OK, the one in the foreground, I clarify). Octavian is the 3rd son of the country’s most famous war general, and was easily the most talented of his children. Friends with the eldest prince, a lovely fiancee he adores, what could be better? Then his fiancee dies suddenly, and finding out why and how sends him spiraling into despair. Not, two years later, Herscherik is looking for a knight to protect him (every prince has one), but would rather not have a sycophant or someone only interested in his name. Octavian, who is trying out for the position as he’s being forced to by his family, seems like just the man. But can Hersch manage to awaken his spirit and get him to be the best knight he can? And can they stop the drug that killed his fiancee from making a comeback?

The majority of the plot, as you can see, is dealing with Herscherik as a 5-year-old 7th prince of the realm. But the most interesting stuff here may be on the Ryoko end of the equation. We get a few more glimpses of the life she had in Japan, and it’s clear that she was the type of employee who was overworked to death because she was competent enough to be given more. Herscherik is shaping up to be exactly the same. There’s also an oracle who is consulted at one point who not only gives our heroes the clue they need to solve the mystery, but also seems to be able to see that Hersch has the soul of a woman from another world inside him – something that is supposed to be impossible for this world. A far cry from the usual isekai “we summon heroes all the time” schtick. And Hersch is also starting to trust more people, which is helpful but also means more people are realizing he’s not your typical five-year-old boy.

So, as I noted, in the end our heroes win, sort of, but the main problem still exists. Which is good, as there are more volumes to come. For those who enjoy a good adventure series, this is right up your street.

High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!, Vol. 2

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By Riku Misora and Sacraneco. Released in Japan as “Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Thrasher.

I really have to hand it to the writer of this series, they know how to keep a reader’s attention distracted. There’s romantic subplots (none of which are going to go anywhere given the nature of Tsukasa, but hey), there’s political intrigue, there’s starting a revolution by starting a religious movement, there’s a big-ass fight (literally in some cases) near the end of the book, and there are even moments of pure horror in a “welcome to our totally average town, weary travelers!” sort of way. And then you get to the end of the book, and you realize that the entire thing was incredibly dumb and full of holes, with one plot getting dropped so fast that I’m concerned my digital book was missing a chapter. Last time I said that this series is popcorn, which is very true. You eat it and enjoy it, but if you want an actual meal, look elsewhere.

Unlike the manga, the light novel covers are allowed to have more than Lyrule on the cover. Here we see Ringo, who doesn’t really do much here besides build power plants and get really jealous of Tsukasa and Lyrule’s relationship. Life is tough when you’re the unlucky childhood friend. The book deals with the aftermath of the coup that has happened. There’s a lot still to achieve. They need to figure out a way to unite the people regardless of class. They need to figure out ways to keep up their modernizations. And they need to worry about the neighboring Duke, who is made entirely of fury and condescension, and also has a magic firebomb that can take out a city. Even Shinobu, who is traveling towards the capital to try to get the lay of the land, runs into trouble when she gets to a village that is glad to eat her — I mean, meet her.

I will say one thing, which is that the book’s message of “the rich hate everyone else and will happily watch them die purely for entertainment” is a very 2020 mood, even if the book was written five years earlier. It tries to distinguish between “normal” nobles who are just rude assholes and “evil” nobles who are doing things like raping and murdering, but it doesn’t quite get it. Shinobu’s subplot is good and also quite dark… but then gets resolved so fast, and dropped so hard, that, again, I worried a section was missing. And then there’s Aoi, who in the grand finale volunteers to help a guided missile reach its target (a magic spear of fire) by running along side it… then hitting it with her “honed glutes” to get it to change course… then smashing her “sizable breasts” against the missile’s air vents to get it to change course AGAIN. The scene is so dumb your jaw drops, and sexist as hell, but you have to admire the bravado of writing it at all. I imagine this must have been something to see animated.

So yeah, this book is dumb but highly readable, provided you are not troubled by plot, or characterization, or thematic unity, or overt fanservice.

There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular, Right?, Vol. 2

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By Sekaiichi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Yujinchara no Ore ga Motemakuru Wakenaidaro?” by Overlap. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Alejandro de Vicente Suárez.

Once again I am tempted to just copy and paste my review of the first volume here, as it has most of the same strengths and weaknesses. It starts slow and builds to a big finish, does a great job of having our lead character be oblivious to love for a reason other than “because he is a potato” like most harem manga, and is very, very bad at justifying why everyone screams in terror when this tall, dark and handsome man comes anywhere near them. As you might imagine, this second volume focuses on Kana, who spent most of the last book clearly in love with Yuuji but having it come off as fear and hatred to him. But fear not, Touka also has a big role to play as well. And of course, possibly the best reason to read it; it’s a normal teenage romcom with no supernatural powers and a decided lack of deep cynicism. Pre-isekai, this was the big thing.

The plot of this second volume involves Kana’s feeling for Yuuji. She knows he’s dating Touka, so is conflicted. (We know, of course, that he’s in a “fake relationship” with Touka, one she wants to be real but can’t work up the courage to tell him that.) She also has a past friendship with Touka that broke off, so the two aren’t on good terms anymore. And she’s also feeling guilty about something else from her past, something that might explain why she’s fallen for Yuuji so hard, and perhaps how he got the scar that makes his face so “scary”. (Please note scary is used the same way “side character” should be, i.e. in air quotes.) It all comes to a head at a tennis tournament that she invites Yuuji, Touka and Ike (remember Ike?) to. Will she work up the nerve to tell Yuuji that he’s manages to get EVERYTHING wrong about their past and present?

As I noted, I enjoy the interactions between the main cast here. Though I will admit that I am not all that fond of the teacher who has an obvious crush on Yuuji, which does not bode well for a theoretical third volume. Kana and Touka’s fractured friendship makes a lot of sense given both of their characters, and I enjoy how no one is “fixed” but that they’re all still working through their own issues. This includes Yuuji, who has a pathological inability to see anyone having romantic feelings for him at all – indeed, even friendship strikes him as unlikely. I will admit that I’d like to get more inside the head of Ike, who for a supposed “main character” is rather bland and unassuming. Of course, that’s part of the gag – Yuuji continuing to see himself as a side character and not the lead in his own life is why he cannot imagine himself in a relationship, despite, by the end of this book, two girls blatantly throwing themselves at him.

The third book came out in Japan this August, and as predicted, it looks to feature the teacher, so I’m wary. That said, this is a very decent romcom that should appeal to anyone who is a fan of that genre.

King of Eden, Vol. 1

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Is it too soon to enjoy a pandemic-themed manga? That question was foremost in my mind as I read King of Eden, a new thriller that pits a group of globe-trotting scientists against an assortment of terrorist organizations that have weaponized a lethal virus. I’m happy to report that King of Eden didn’t remind me of the COVID crisis, but it did something arguably worse: it bored me.

The dullness of the story is all the more surprising for a series written by Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa’s collaborator on such entertaining pot-boilers as Monster, Master Keaton, and 20th Century Boys. All of Nagasaki’s worst tendencies are on display in King of Eden: there are pointless flashbacks to the main characters’ childhoods, solemn monologues about the Old Testament, long-winded conversations about global terrorism, and an interminable lecture on the ancient Scythians that name-checks Herodotus because… why not? Though the first volume introduces a dizzying number of characters, Nagasaki barely fleshes them out. Even leads Rua Itsuki and Teze Yoo feel more like skill sets than actual people, as evidenced by an on-the-nose exchange in which a bureaucrat recites Dr. Itsuki’s resume and reminds her that she “hold[s] a black belt in Tae Kwon Do” and is “proficient in the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga” as if she didn’t know these things about herself.

None of this would matter, of course, if King of Eden were entertaining, but Nagasaki is so intent on world-building that he overwhelms the reader with information, all delivered in such earnest, exhaustive detail it saps the narrative momentum. Itsuki and Yoo cross paths with MI-6 agents, WHO officials, IRA terrorists, crazy archaeologists, Interpol officers, and zombies—ZOMBIES, for Pete’s sake!—yet none of these encounters are memorable. Had Nagasaki placed more trust in artist SangCheol Lee (a.k.a. Ignito), King of Eden might have been a brisker, more imaginative entry in the zombie canon.

The first chapter offers a tantalizing glimpse of that potential partnership. Gone are the long-winded speeches; instead, Lee drops the reader into the action alongside two police officers who stumble across a baffling, gruesome scene. After the officers arrest a potential suspect, Lee skillfully cross-cuts between two spaces at the local precinct—an interrogation room and the morgue—allowing us to glimpse what’s unfolding in each room, and to feel the policemen’s growing unease. Lee’s crack pacing keeps the reader invested in the characters’ fate, building to a satisfying reveal of the carnage’s true source: a hideous, lantern-jawed creature that’s part werewolf, part zombie.

Alas, that cinematic flair disappears as soon as the characters begin talking; the next two chapters consist of information dumps punctuated by the occasional fist fight or car chase. By the time Nagasaki and Lee introduce a vampire arms dealer near the end of volume one, it barely registers as a major development. And that, in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with King of Eden: the story is so overstuffed with characters and events that I couldn’t muster the energy for another 15 or 100 chapters of talking heads explaining zombie behavior or Scythian culture just to figure out who this vampire is, and why he matters.

Yen Press provided a review copy of volume one.

KING OF EDEN, VOL. 1 • STORY BY TAKASHI NAGASAKI • ART BY IGNITO • TRANSLATED BY CALEB COOK • LETTERING BY ABIGAIL BLACKMAN • RATED OLDER TEEN (16+) • 384 pp.

I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again!, Vol. 1

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By Milli-gram and Yuki Kana. Released in Japan as “Nidoto ie ni wa Kaerimasen!” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Emily Hemphill.

I’m going to be honest, this book is all over the place. Featuring a relatively nuanced portrayal of a heroine who’s recovering from horrible abuse, it has especially un-nuanced portrayals of the abusers. There’s a terrific surprise involving the hero, but it’s also contrasted with the fact that (per the afterword) the author aged him up after seeing the artwork but didn’t bother to age up the heroine, making for a very uncomfortable romance. And of course the heroine’s powers are especially overpowered even for this sort of book, with the question of “what can she create?” becoming a bar that gets raised higher and higher till the answer is “pretty much anything”. That said, I get the feeling none of this matters. This book gives you a girl you desperately want to hug, and then spends 160 pages hugging her. It’s the very definition of “D’aww”, and if that means putting up with some flaws, it’s OK because look, she’s eating sweets!

Chelsea is the daughter of a baron, but you’d never know it from her everyday life. She’s forced to do the housework, belittled and verbally abused by her mother and twin sister, and whipped when she does things wrong. She has to live off of scraps left after everyone else eats! What’s more, it’s totally unclear why this is the case. Then one day an “appraiser” shows up to see what the other daughter’s magic talents are, and they also know of Chelsea and appraise her. Turns out that Chelsea has a new skill, “Seed Creation”, that has never been seen before! Now she’s whisked off to the royal residence to see what her new skill can do (spoiler: a lot) and to be pampered and cared for as she never was before. As Chelsea slowly gets better and grows in self-confidence, and despite her fears that once they’ve appraised her, she’ll be sent back, she gradually realizes (say it with me) she’ll never set foot in that house again.

I noted on Twitter that this book had the subtlety of an icepick to the forehead, and I stand by that. That said, its portrayal of Chelsea is definitely the highlight. She’s beaten and shattered by the abuse she’s suffered, and it takes the entire book for her to even begin to stand up for herself and make her own decisions. This is, admittedly, helped by this being a world of magic, but even then, while they can heal her scars and stop her “emaciated” status effect, she still can’t really eat much at first. The hero, Glen, is more typical of these sorts of books, and has two big secrets, one of which is not really that much of a surprise, but the other one is, and it’s handled quite well, which is to say it’s barely mentioned. Sadly, as I noted before, making him older means the romantic feelings he starts to have for 12-year-old Chelsea come off as far skeevier than I would like – fortunately nothing is going on as of yet.

This also shares another fault with many shoujo light novels we’ve seen recently: it feels like it’s a one-shot, but there’s a second volume out. I’m not sure where the book is going to go, especially with a title that will likely seem out of place given, well, problem solved. That said, if it has hugs, cute dresses, and yummy sweets, I’ll probably be reading more.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 33

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

The most annoying thing about this volume, of course, is what ISN’T here. We had been expecting that each girl would get their own “what if?” arc detailing their lives if Koutarou fell for them, with Harumi being the first. Now here we are with the next one, Clan… only we find that Maki already had hers, as an exclusive 75-minute CD bonus track. I gotta hope this is part of the Kickstarter in some way, because if that’s how it’s going down in the future, I suspect half of English-speaking fans are going to be left without satisfaction. Maki’s looks cute, seems to involve rescuing some stray cats (who continue to hang around her), and… well, sorry. As for the book itself, it’s fine. As with previous “short story” volumes, it contains three stories written previously for the “Hercules” website, and Clan’s “what if”, which is empty of surprises but is as sweet and cute as you’d expect. And you learn far more about vacuum tubes than you ever thought you would.

The first short story has Koutarou getting a cold while skiing (blame Yurika, who ends up going down the hill like a cartoon, as a rolling snowball) and getting nursed back to health by Elfaria and Kiriha. They both want to get closer to Koutarou, but are also nice and mature, so they end up having a “gambling match”, loser has to take care of him, and then both trying to throw the match, sort of. It shows off how Elfaria may not be quite as far out of the harem as she thinks, despite not being one of the “core girls”. Next we see just how Yurika got to be a magical girl, and her early days with Nana. If nothing else, this tells us that Yurika was indeed born on Earth and not in Magical Girl World. Other than that it’s slight, emphasizing how she’s still basically Usagi Tsukino in a Yurika skin. The third short has Kiriha and Maki, on separate outings with their friends, meeting at an amusement park and talking. It’s sweet, but again, two of the sensible characters having a conversation makes things a bit dull.

As with Harumi’s “what if”, Clan’s stems from one slight issue going worse than canon; while in the past searching for the Blue Knight, she gets a bad cold, and has to be taken care of by Koutarou. This allows the two of them to be far closer and less guarded than they are in canon, and that extends to when they return to the present day. Clan is not Harumi, so as you’d expect there’s a lot more tsundere action going on in this story, but the beats are the same – Koutarou’s defenses are brought down, he ends up hanging out with Clan more than the others, and they gradually fall in love, though being who they are said love is mostly exchanged via unspoken handholding and hugs. There’s also a nice examinatio9n of Clan’s tendency to think of herself as a “villain”, and the regrets she has from her past. She’s always going to be snarky, but Clan has soft4ened up a lot.

So overall, not an essential volume unless Clan is your best girl, but it’s readable. Next time we should get back to the main storyline… in fact, I think we get two books of main storyline in a row, so no what-ifs for a bit.

A Wild Last Boss Appeared!, Vol. 2

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By Firehead and YahaKo. Released in Japan by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Chen.

I am a big fan of the old classic cartoons of Tex Avery, be they the early Warner Bros. years or the classic MGM masterpieces. One gag he first used with Porky Pig, in The Blow Out (1936), and then again with Droopy at MGM with Dumb Hounded (1943) and Northwest Hounded Police (1947) was that of “the pursuer is always there”. Our bad guy tries to flee the seemingly slow and ineffectual hero, but everywhere he goes, no matter what he does, there’s the hero, right there, waiting for him. It works as comedy because the hero is Porky or Droopy, and the villains are bad guys who deserve what they get. That said, if you flip it so that instead of a hero you have what is essentially a monster straight out of a horror movie… well, you get something altogether more terrifying. Despite said monster being a robot maid. Easily the best scene in the book, I sense the author was familiar with those old Tex Avery cartoons.

As for the book itself, the first chunk involves Lufas going to retrieve said killer robot maid, who is currently at the top of a huge tomb that is supposed to be Lufas’s final resting place. Needless to say, her group has very little trouble with said tomb, despite everyone else in the world getting killed off due to the many killer traps and golems within. Once that’s done, she and her crew go off to meet another one of the Heroes, who is currently king of a land that is literally divided into black and white sides. Lufas wants to just quietly investigate and maybe talk with the King. Unfortunately, almost everyone else around her, including most of her party, have other ideas. Can she stop a war between the light-winged and colored-winged residents? Can she get the king to stop hating himself? And what’s up with Dina, anyway?

Other than Libra’s Droopy impression, the highlight of the book is Dina and her attempts to be a double reverse quadruple agent, backstabbing absolutely everyone. We saw hints of this at the end of the last book, but it’s in full flower now, and the explanation as to who she really is works quite well. (Actually, the series handles the idea of “is this trapped in a game or not?” in a very interesting way, with differences between types of canon becoming extremely important to the world in general.) As for Lufas, it manages to be more intriguing than annoying that her mind constantly slides away from Dina when she tries to think about her, and it’s not particularly surprising that, when it comes to a real battle, Lufas wipes the floor with her. I’m pleased Dina is not killed off – and I’m assuming she’ll continue to be a lovable traitor in future books.

So yes, overall a definite improvement on the first book, and I’m enjoying its somewhat laid-back pace, despite the need to defeat the enemy somewhere down the line. Recommended for those who like cool overpowered beauties, backstabbing, and Droopy cartoons.

Daytime Shooting Star Vol. 9

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Daytime Shooting Star Volume 9 by Mika Yamamori

At last! I could tell by the cover that this was going to be a Mamura-focused volume and I wasn’t disappointed. I tend to always root for the second lead guy in Korean dramas, and if Daytime Shooting Star was a K-Drama, Mamura would likely be the second lead, but in many ways he’s so much better than Suzume’s alternate romantic option of dating her teacher Shishio. While Suzume’s been rejected (good!) by Shishio, she’s attempting to move on with her life, however she becomes distracted due to the fact that in their second year of high school, Mamura is being targeted by throngs of first-year girls. With Mamura’s innate allergy to female contact, this creates a very awkward situation.

Daytime Shooting Star 9

Yuyuka decides to take matters into her own hands in order to defend Mamura’s honor and proposes a plan where Suzume will pose as Mamura’s girlfriend. He rejects the idea, but Suzume becomes more and more irritated about the girls that are following him around, prompting Yuyuka to propose the idea of Suzume posing as Mamura’s girlfriend in order to get rid of the throngs of girls following him around. Mamura turns down the idea. When Suzume sees Shishio for the first time in weeks though, Mamura happens upon the scene and declares that they’re dating! when he sees Suzume being distressed when she runs into Shishio for the first time since he rejected her, he declares that they’re dating!

I was pretty delighted by this turn of events, with this faux relationship that might turn real. Mamura is clearly devoted to Suzume, and he does call her out when she’s dwelling too much on the past. I’m hoping that things move forward and she can actually experience a more normal high school romantic relationship? But I’m not holding my breath because the second lead guy rarely gets the girl. I enjoy Yamamori’s stylish illustrations in each volume, and the prospect of non-Shishio romance for Suzume makes me feel less of a general sense of creeping dread about the ending. In any case, Daytime Shooting Star continues to be an extremely engaging high school soap opera.