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Reviews

Aria the Masterpiece, Vol. 5

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By Kozue Amano. Originally released in Japan by Mag Garden, serialized in the magazine Comic Blade. Released in North America by Tokyopop. Translated by Katie Kimura.

It may be forgotten in these days when Aria is a classic with multiple anime box sets released to great acclaim, but the manga once seemed to be under a curse. It was originally licensed by ADV manga (ask your parents), and petered out about Vol. 3. Then Tokyopop (1st edition) picked it up and made it through Vol. 6… and then did their “sorry, we’ve decided to stop publishing manga”. Now they’re back, and Mag Garden still speaks to them, so here we are having finally caught up with actual new material in this omnibus. The good news is that Aria remains exactly what its readers want it to be, giving us gorgeous artwork, laid-back slow-life travelogues, and the occasional dab of character development. And, given the larger trim and color pages, this is a very good edition to pick up for anyone who enjoyed the anime and wants more, or who was wary of getting this a third time for fear that it would strike out. (The 6th omnibus is due out soon!)

Alice (and Maa) are on the cover, and indeed there’s a sense in this volume that the author is really trying to stop having this be The Akari Show. Now that we’ve introduced Athena and the core cast is complete, we can work with them as a group, or in pairs, or alone. The volume opens with a sea change, as during a group barbecue Aika accidentally gets her hair set on fire, leading to a need for a haircut. Given that Aika’s crush on Alicia has involved her trying to grow her hair out, this feels a bit like the author trying to metaphorically move on from that static point and have Aika grow (going to visit Al makes her all flustered – the manga is content to tease yuri ships, but will never actually go there). Alice also gets a couple of good arcs here, as she’s the youngest and most immature, so her stories can be more straightforward – although an entire arc which amounts to “you should smile more” feels weird these days.

That said, it’s hard to get away from Akari’s charm, and she is still the linchpin that the series revolves around. This despite the fact that her characterization is actually the least developed – she’s never going to stop being the somewhat naive girl who finds joy in everything, as that’s what we love about her. I’d argue she could be a little more self-aware – the chapter where she hears about a ghost who spirits women away when they take her for a boat ride, then literally does exactly that and has to be rescued by Cait Sith, makes you smack your head a bit – but heck, even everyone around her spends time simply watching her walk around. The best chapter in the volume has Aika and Alice follow Akari around for the day to see what makes her special. (The answer is “she has “slow life” powers, and also the ability to be lovely to everyone even if she’s meeting them for the first time.)

There’s much more here to talk about, including the disturbing revelation that Akatsuki’s mother looks just like Aika, but the point is that this is new Aria, and it’s awesome, and you should go buy it, if only to ensure that the entire series can finally come out in North America this time.

Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!: The Strongest Duo!’s Turn

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

First of all, I want you to know that placing that exclamation point in the title where it belonged according to the cover art wounded me deeply.

The KonoSuba Explosion series has tried its best to be a dedicated prequel, but the end of this third volume finally has to take us into the main series proper. Most of it is spent with Megumin, on the outskirts, watching the wacky antics of Kazuma and Aqua. She’s trying to join adventurer parties, which are all desperate for spellcasters, but not her specific type of spellcaster. No one wants the girl who only knows how to fire off giant scary explosion and destroy property. Admittedly, she is faring better than Yunyun, who no one will approach because she’s too intense (read: desperate), and those who do approach her turn out to be predators. (Yunyun states she’s thirteen years old a lot in this book, a fact that I had conveniently erased from my brain but now it’s there again, being creepy and awful.) By the end of the book, after disparaging them so much, Megumin may finally be able to admit that what a girl like her needs is a party of idiots.

While genuinely a dedicated prequel, this series is also quite happy to set up events that we already know about in future books, such as Wolbach and Host, who is already having enough trouble dealing with Komekko without being forced to deal with even MORE Crimson Magic Clan folks. As is increasingly common in her character in these books (we don’t see all that much of this side around Kazuma), Megumin acts rude and nasty at times to cover up her own embarrassment at having to admit love and affection. This even applies to Chomusuke, who she at first talks about happily sacrificing before admitting that she’ll do no such thing. And of course it isn’t just her – the one major trait she has in common with Yunyun, who is otherwise a comedic punching bag, is their inability to deal with talking about who they like.

This pays off in a scene near the end, when Megumin (pretending to be asleep) actually hears just how much Yunyun respects Megumin and how cool she thinks she is. Of course, she then uses a sleep spell on Megumin so that she can go off and sacrifice herself, but it’s OK, the emotional moment was there – as Megumin will remind her over and over again. This book also has the job of separating the two here, given that when we first meet Megumin in the main series, Yunyun is nowhere to be seen, and it does a pretty good job, though not as well as it handles Megumin. Yunyun is a character that requires a certain balance to have the reader sympathize with her but also laugh at her, and the author, let’s face it, leans too far to one side much of the time. I worry, as does Megumin, how Yunyunn will fare on her own, but as seen in the main series, she’s still OK, if suffering.

And so this series comes to an end… except there’s a sequel to it out soon, KonoSuba Explosion Bonus Story!, which will tell us about events prior to Book 10 and why the princess looks up to Megumin so much. It should be silly and fun, with a small touch of heartwarming. Which is what you get with these books.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 1

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

I was expecting great changes with this volume. When last we saw Rozemyne, she had had her past altered to make her the daughter of a noble, was then secretly adopted by another noble (who was also the archduke), and was getting ready to move to the noble part of town… while also maintaining her businesses, finding ways to employ the temple’s orphans, and assuming the role of high bishop. Some of the things that I was expecting did actually happen. Rozemyne had a bit of culture shock when she came across noble attitudes, and they in turn were unprepared for both Rozemyne’s health and her ways of thinking. She would start her high bishop duties and give lots of blessings, which would stun those who witnessed it both because of her age and then because of her ridiculous amounts of magic. What I did not expect, and this is totally a failure on my part, was Rozemyne organizing an idol concert.

Actually, there was a lot that did NOT happen in this book, which seems to want to give Rozemyne an easier time of it than the previous books. After the terrifying battle that ended book 7, this seems sedate by comparison. Rozemyne has to get used to her new family, including winning over Elvira, who is her new mother now… and it goes quite well, mostly as Elvira is a Ferdinand fanboy and will happily do anything he says, but also as Ferdinand has been grooming Myne this entire time to prepare her for her role as Rozemyne. (I will admit the grooming does worry me a bit. Given that Books 22 and 23 still show Rozemyne as a child, I don’t think romance is in the cards here, but it is suggested once or twice that Ferdinand and Rozemyne should be a couple, and please, no.) Ferdinand is even prepared for Sylvester’s spoiled son to not “get” that Rozemyne can’t run around, and has a solution – let her almost die in front of the boy.

Then there is the concert. I must admit, given what I’ve been writing about him in this review, I did feel Ferdinand sort of deserved what happened to him. That said, it’s also a terrific way to show that Rozemyne is not done coming up with innovative ideas just because she is now a noble. Her old ideas are also still going strong, of course, and I appreciated that Benno, Lutz, etc. did not simply vanish. (Myne’s old family appear slightly less, but they are also there, especially Tulli, who gets to learn manners from a most welcome tutor.) But Rozemyne needs money, and the idol concert was the best way to do it. I really enjoyed how she was able to spot, based on the reactions of the noble ladies to Ferdinand, that there would need to be attendants on hand for when they fainted. And the special final guest was also hilarious.

So far so good, then, but I expect trouble has not abandoned Rozemyne completely. In any case, if you enjoy books at all, light novels or no, this is a series that you should be reading.

The Extraordinary, the Ordinary, and SOAP!, Vol. 2

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By Nao Wakasa and ICA. Released in Japan as “Hibon, Heibon, Shabon!” by ArianRose. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Emily Hemphill.

It has to be said, the hero and heroine of The Extraordinary, the Ordinary, and SOAP! are firmly in the ordinary category, and I feel would not be able to carry a typical shoujo romance on their own. The feelings between the two are, thankfully, resolved in this second volume, as Lucia is finally made to realize that she is the one Celes loves, and Celes is forced to admit his feelings out loud and straightforwardly rather than hoping that Lucia magically understands his heart without doing anything. This is even resolved in a pretty typical way, involving the two being separated from the rest of the cast by a brief disaster and having to make it on their own to catch up. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cute and I’m happy to see them get together, but Lucia x Celes is not the reason this got licensed. There are a couple of other reasons, the first being the premise itself.

I said this in the review of the first volume, and I still feel this way: I really like the fact that this is an isekai that takes place from the POV of someone from the fantasy world itself. Lucia, being the heroine, is of course big of heart and able to read emotions easily (I am hoping this isn’t just because she’s the only woman in the group, but yes, it probably is), but she also has her soap powers. And those powers, as it turns out, are perfectly capable of taking care of the cursed land that they brought in Maria specifically to fix. This leads to a great crisis for Maria, which I’ll get into in a bit, but it’s also a really good look at how quick these sorts of novels are to simply reach out to modern-day Japan to grab a savior rather than trying to address things on their own. It’s made even worse given that there is a conspiracy going on about the fate of Maria, the summoned heroine.

Maria is designed to be disliked by readers at first, with the theory being that we will gradually come to understand her as she grows as a character. That’s a hard hurdle to clear, however, especially with anime and manga fans, where you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Fortunately, the series plans to follow through for us, though admittedly it does so by taking Maria down even lower. Not only has she been pulled into a scary fantasy world and threatened by deadly monsters, but it turns out the nicer, bustier maid girl can actually save the day better than Maria can. When she hears the prince and his brother discussing having her killed (it turns out later she’s missing crucial information, but honestly, not that much – I worry how the return to the kingdom will go), she lashes out at Lucia with possibly tragic consequences. Her redemption might go a tad fast (Lucia is the heroine and gets the majority of the chapters), but it is there and welcome.

This series ends with the third volume, which seems about right given we’ve purified two thirds of the points we’ve been supposed tom, and the couple have confessed. Lucia and Celes may be typical, but the book they’re in has enough spiky edges to impress.

Infinite Dendrogram: The Forms of Love

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By Sakon Kaidou and Taiki. Released in Japan by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

At long last, after a year’s time, including a volume of short stories and a prequel, we are back with the main plot of Infinite Dendrogram. The plot itself involves a lot of setting things up for future books, though we also get one we’ve seen before, which is that the admins do not all get along with each other, and some of them are perfectly willing to destroy people’s lives if it means that they get to see their players evolve into a higher and stronger level. Once again, you are trying to figure out: is this a game? Is this some world pretending to be a game? How “real” are the NPCs? Certainly Ray has no issue with treating them as real, something which the princess appreciates, as she’s trying to get her little sister married off and out of harms way. Sadly, she’s as socially inept as every other woman in Ray’s orbit, so goes about it in exactly the wrong way.

There is also another plotline going on, and to be honest it involves one of my least favorite parts of the short story volume, which is the woman who was spurned by her real-life lover, so goes around destroying couples. She’s finally out of jail, and desperate to meet Figaro, who everyone realizes she is desperately in love with. The issue is that everyone is pretty sure that Figaro would much rather duel her than woo her, if indeed he’s realized what she’s after at all. What follows is admittedly predictable, but also probably the best part of the book, and reminds you that it’s not always wise to assume that characters who are super-focused on one thing are ALWAYS focused on that one thing. And, if nothing else, certainly provides contrast with Ray Starling, who may be our hero but can’t even dress himself properly, let along realize how many girls like him.

It has to be said: Ray may be a college student, but in terms of emotional depth he’s more like Tsukuyo than, say, B3. He is a chuuni, something Nemesis is trying to point out to him when she desperately attempts to get him an outfit that does not scream “bwa ha ha” but can’t quite make it. Of course, it’s that straightforward chuuni part of him that also lets him win the day – going up against a villain who loves to watch people’s emotional reactions to things, especially if it’s tragedy, Ray is simply pissed off beyond all measure, and manages to not only hand the guy his ass but also terrify him. (Given he has constellation-based powers, I sort of wanted Lucy from Fairy Tail to show up and beat his ass.) Admittedly, given what we’ve seen of Shu (whose past as a sentai actor is gone into here) and his oft-mentioned, never-seen older sister, Nemesis may have a long wait.

As I said, there’s lots of setup here, and not all of it has payoff. This has the feel of a story that’s nowhere near done, and provided the anime didn’t kill the franchise, we should be able to enjoy it for some time to come.

Arifureta Zero, Vol. 4

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

I do sometimes worry that the author of the Arifureta series has forgotten why we’re reading it in the first place. In regards to the original series, it’s to see Hajime’s ludicrous overpowered antics and the wacky banter between him and his companions, and with Zero it’s the exact same thing only it’s Miledi. The main series has more harem romance to it than Zero, which seems content to tease only Oscar and Miledi and not have it go further, but, well, romance isn’t why I read it, at least. And, in regards to this volume of Zero, while I can appreciate the author writing some really cool battle scenes because he enjoys it, with lots of the bad guys and good guys bringing out increasingly ludicrous powers, fight scenes are not why I read Arifureta either. Sadly, that makes this volume a big ol’ slog, as a good eighty percent of it is battles.

We head into the forest that we’ve seen in Arifureta’s 2nd volume, home of the Beastmen, and here (at least at the start) at the height of its powers. Well, half the group are here. Things have gotten dangerous enough that Miledi’s Angels split up at this point, with Oscar and Vandre helping to settle everyone from the last book, while Miledi and the others head to the forest, there to meet their next potential Liberator, and also try to stop the battle, as the Church has gotten there first. Speaking of the Church, Laus is continuing to have doubts over what they’re actually doing, and things are not helped by the Church’s religious fervor taking on more and more aspects of brainwashing. Can he continue to fight for something he doesn’t believe in any more? Or should be change sides and joining the Liberators.

I will admit, which I said that I wanted more wacky antics and less fights, when we DO get wacky antics, I’m not sure they’re the ones I wanted. Lyutillus is the Elven Queen of the forest… and also a masochist. The author admits she’s meant to be a mirror to Tio in the main series, and given Tio is my least favorite of the girls in that, I wasn’t really going to be enjoying this. Better was Miledi’s usual stuff – when she’s deliberately trying to be annoying to distract the mood, it’s fantastic, and her confrontation with Laus towards the start of the book was absolutely hilarious. Laus, in fact, is the best thing about this book, as his loss of faith is very well handled. I’ve long since come to terms with the fact that the gods are villains in this world, therefore the fact that everyone in the Church tends towards being a monster is hardly a surprise. I am quite interested in seeing how this switching sides works out going forward.

…I say that, but we know how this is going to end – the main cast all dead (bar Miledi’s soul) and branded as heretics. The bad guys win is the premise of this. But we’ve still no idea how long it’s going to be, and I’m happy to see it play out. As long as it’s not just fights. Or creepy sexual gags. Sigh. Not gonna have much luck there, am I?

Full Metal Panic!: Continuing On My Own

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By Shouji Gatou and Shikidouji. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

Fans of the anime did not notice this as much, but the main series of Full Metal Panic! Novels very quickly dropped most of the humor from the series. Metatextually, the reason for this is the author started a series of side story volumes with short stories that contained all the wacky shenanigans and being hit with paper fans that anyone would need. Indeed, they even did a separate anime series, Fumoffu, that adapted many of these. But they also funneled some of them into the main series, which is good, because without it the series gets unmistakably grim. As this volume attests. The author urges in his afterword that we should not call it depressing, but yeah, sorry, it is depressing. This story of a child soldier whose hands are stained with blood and a girl who is essentially an esper superweapon has reached the point where “high school” has to end. And so it does.

Even the school is aware of this – early in the volume, Sousuke is approached by the outgoing Student Council President, who notes that he’s used his position to cover up Sousuke’s very obvious paramilitary activities, but the incoming council won’t be able to. Unfortunately, before he can do anything about this, Leonard has made his move, destroying most of Mithril and taking out several minor members of Tessa’s crew (so far, Mao and Kurz seem OK). As this happens, Leonard shows up at Kaname’s apartment and tells her “come with me”, and when she refuses and she and Sousuke flee, he responds by taking the school hostage and strapping bomb to Kyoko. Make no mistake about it, this is a supervillain who knows how to get what he wants. Much as Sousuke would wish otherwise, you can guess how Kaname responds to this.

As I said, this book is another series of gut punches, as Sousuke’s support structure is decimated, the school he’s grown fond of now knows who he is, and the woman he loves is now in the hands if the enemy. The final scene involves him showing up in class after all this has occurred, to the horror and disgust of most of the students, and telling them that he plans to bring Kaname back, and also to hate him rather than her. Understandably, because he loves Kaname he also wants to protect her “normal” life. That said, Kyoko’s in the hospital, the staff of the school is, blame or no, unlikely to let Kaname return… I dunno, I feel we’ve turned a corner here. In any case, I expect the next book will involve trying to figure out where Kaname is – I really hope she gets to do something besides be a damsel.

I’ve left out the battles here, which are quite well written and awesome – by this point, the author was writing with an eye for the anime, and it shows, though he’s always had a bit of that in his works. We do also get one major casualty in this book, which I don’t want to spoil, but after everything that’s happened in the last four it feels sadder than I expected. This remains a solid series, but there will be absolutely no bear mascots going forward – FMP is serious business.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, Vol. 3

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By Ikuto Yamashita. Released in Japan as “Shin Seiki Evangelion Anima” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Dengeki Hobby. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Nathan Collins. Adapted by Peter Adrian Behravesh.

Fans of the Evangelion Anime light novels will be pleased to hear that there is not quite as many millions of people turning into pillars of salt in this volume. Indeed, the focus turns a bit narrower, as we are very much concerned with battling the enemy, which has stolen Shinji’s heart. That said, are they an enemy? The various troops certainly think so, and the nations have now teamed up to battle the Angels and their spinoff monsters. Unfortunately, biblical imagery is still the main way to attack in this series, and so very quickly no one is able to understand one another, reminiscent of the Tower of Babel. As for Shinji… who is the real Shinji? Is it the one who’s fighting in Super-Eva for most of the volume, with at least one Rei there next to him (though not always the SAME Rei)? Or is it the heart that makes someone who they are?

Asuka certainly thinks so, though to be fair she spends almost all of this book in a sort of primal mode, her experiences from the second volume having merged her with her Eva (as the art within makes abundantly clear) and her personality vacillating between ‘small child’ and ‘adorable pet’. She’s got company, however, as with the Americans coming into the picture we’re introduced to Mari in this continuity. Mari has been experimented on by scientists, and now functions as a wolf pack, complete with actual wolves. She’s not quite as primal as Asuka, but it is noteworthy that the two are paralleling each other again. And Shinji ends up swapping Reis, as Trois’ self-sacrifice butts up against Quatre’s emotional instability and they essentially swap roles. This ends up being very good for Quatre, who was so angry she reminded me of Asuka at times, but I worry about Trois.

As you might guess by the fact that I’m actually discussing characters, this is a better volume than the first two when it comes to actual introspection and things that are not giant robot allegorical battles. Not that there aren’t plenty of those as well – they’re still the main reason to get the book. But this volume is not as frenetic as the first two, and pauses to take in Hikari and Toji’s romantic yet also battle-torn meeting (Toji also gets his arm back – which is both good and bad) and Misato briefly dealing with essentially being a damsel in distress for most of the second book. This book, as with the others, ends with a cliffhanger, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out – heck, this is Evangelion, we could actually see the Angel with Shinji’s heart take over the narrative as Shinji. It works metaphorically, after all.

There have been so many Eva spinoffs it’s hard to compare them. This is better than the first two books, but I’d still say it’s best for fans of the design and mecha work more than anyone else.

Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki vol 1

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Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki Volume 1 by Yuu Watase

The Fushigi Yugi universe is one I’ve been following for a long time. Many of my earliest volumes are from the initial Viz release back in the early 2000s, so I felt very nostalgic reading the first volume of the last Fushigi Yugi story 20 years later. While there have been glimpses of Suzuno before in previous series and the anime, seeing an entire series devoted to her seems like a fitting way to finish out the Universe of the Four Gods.

This first volume is structured as a prequel within a prequel, giving the reader insight into Suzuno’s character as both a child and a young adult and setting up an intriguing conflict that I expect to see explored more in future volumes. As Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki opens, a young Suzuno is spending time with her parents. Her father has the volume of The Universe of the Four Gods, burdened with the tragic legacy of Takiko Okuda and her professor father. As the Great Kanto earthquake strikes, Suzuno is trapped in her burning house and her father sends her into the book in order to save her life. In the Universe of the Four Gods, Suzuno is clearly unable to fend for herself, but she meets up with some people who are surely going to be pivotal figures in her life – Neiran, a psychologically damaged woman who can turn into a tiger, and the brothers Kasal and Karm. After narrowly escaping being kidnapped, Suzuno travels for a little bit with her new companions who begin to suspect that she might be the fabled priestess of Byakko.

Suzuno travels back to her own world in the aftermath of the earthquake, and the story line shifts to show her as a young woman, quiet and artistic and plagued by enduring visions and memories of what she’s lost. A shy, retiring heroine forced to adapt to a mystical new world isn’t exactly a novel plot point, but the overtones of impending tragedy and Suzuno’s resilience in difficult situations immediately make her an engaging heroine. Watase’s art is always clear and engaging, and I’m looking forward to seeing her portrayal of Suzuno’s mystical warriors and the unique world of the Universe of the Four Gods. This first volume mainly established Suzuno as a fully-fledged protagonist and I’m fairly happy with that pacing even though I put it down feeling a little impatient waiting to get started on the rest of the story. While I think is possible to enjoy this series without reading other Fushigi Yugi stories, I think at minimum someone reading Byakko Senki should be familiar with Genbu Kaiden, and hopefully the main series that started off this 20 year old saga.

The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes, Vol. 1

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Google the term sanpaku, and you’ll quickly discover why the word resists easy translation. In its most basic sense, sanpaku means “three whites,” a condition in which the iris sits a little higher or lower in the eye than normal, exposing more of the schlera. The significance of having sanpaku eyes, however, seems hotly contested, with some websites proclaiming it a curse and others declaring it evidence of great emotional turmoil. The heroine of Denpa Books’ newest series is neither doomed nor crazy, just deeply frustrated that her chronic Resting Bitch Face makes it difficult to show Katou, her crush, how cool and awesome she thinks he is.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes is the artwork. The illustrations are rendered in a warm, pink palette that captures Amane’s agitation more effectively than deformations and sweat drops alone could do. The character designs are somewhat generic—Katou is a standard-issue shojo prince, right down to his mega-watt grin—but Amane and her siblings are drawn with genuine individuality, revealing their shared family curse: all three look meaner than they are. Amane, in particular, stands apart from her galaxy-eyed peers with her cat-like pupils and scowling expression that make her look more like a bosozoku gang member than a sweet, timid high school student.

Though artist Shunsuke Sorato convincingly shows us how flustered Amane becomes in Katou’s presence, there’s almost no dramatic or comedic tension in this series; by chapter three, it’s obvious that the sweetly hunky Katou likes Amane, too, and is eager to reciprocate her affection. Therein lies the biggest problem with The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes: the story is so one-sided and predictable that it barely registers as a rom-com, since there’s almost nothing at stake in Amane and Katou’s exchanges. For middle-school readers navigating a first crush, Sorato’s storytelling approach will feel reassuring, but for older teens The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes may be too anodyne to be truly engaging.

A review copy was provided by Denpa Books. Volume one will be released digitally on August 25th at the Denpa Books website and September 1st on additional digital platforms. The print edition will be released on September 15th.

THE GIRL WITH THE SANPAKU EYES • ART & STORY BY SHUNSUKE SORATO • TRANSLATED BY DAVID GOLDBERG • LETTERING BY GLEN ISIP • DENPA BOOKS • 128 pp. • NO RATING (SUITABLE FOR READERS AGED 10+)

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol 7

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Daytime Shooting Star Volume 7 by Mika Yamamori

This manga brings both the drama and major uneasiness as Suzume and Shishio progress a bit on their student-teacher romance and then things get curtailed, causing plenty of angst.

One of the reasons why I enjoy reading this manga so much is that it makes me feel uneasy, which is not all that typical for shoujo manga. I’m not sure if Yamamori is going to be able to pull of a happy ending out of this series, and for all the swoony feelings of first love happening, it is difficult to escape the issues with the age gap in the main relationship in the manga. Suzume asks Shishio to go to a shrine for New Year’s and shows up wearing a disguise so no would be able to identify them in public. When a snowstorm causes them to miss the last train back, they have to check into a bread and breakfast and hide where they are. Shishio straight out lies to Suzume’s uncle, which is a bit beyond the pale, even if nothing much has happened on the romance front other than some significant gazes and a couple kisses.

I really enjoyed the chapter in this volume that was presented from Nekota’s point of view. She’s rightfully cynical about her own popularity and reflects on how she’s changed since developing a genuine friendship with Suzume. This chapter gave much more insight about her character, and the shifting point of view felt refreshing.
There’s also a bonus story in this volume that didn’t make a ton of sense, since Yamamori was collaborating with another author. I’m curious to see how Suzume deals with the emotional fallout from this volume, and if she’s able to move on a little bit with her life. Mamura continues to be awesome, so I’m hoping that Suzume at least attempts to give boys her own age a chance.

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 4

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An Incurable Case of Love Volume 4 by Maki Enjoji

I do always wish that we got more josei from Viz, but I will take my one series at a time josei and enjoy it if I need to! Often in An Incurable Case of Love, there’s external conflict in the form of crazed stalkers or too-handsome additional doctors.

In this volume Nana and Tendo have to deal with a sudden opportunity for him to study abroad popping up, along with some memories from his past. It turns out that Nana is not the first nurse that Tendo has dated a nurse, his relationship with an extremely capable nurse with an incurable disease prompted him to specialize in pulmonology. Nana first tells Tendo not to leave but he ends up being so scattered and distracted at work that he’s not able to perform up to his usual standards. Nana points out that she’s actually capable of managing on her own and tells him to pursue his dream research opportunity.

Misunderstandings abound, but Nana and Tendo end up on the other side with a stronger relationship, although they are helped along the way by some of their interfering co-workers. Now that they’re officially dating, they need to switch up their work departments, and Nana needs to move from trainee nurse to being on her own. Her sudden business underscores just how much Tendo actually depends on having her around for emotional support, even though he’d never come out and say it. Overall, this was a solid volume, although it left me wanting a little more drama.

Prince Freya, Vol 2

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Prince Freya, Volume 2 by Keiko Ishihara

I enjoyed the premise and setting of the first volume of Prince Freya, even though I thought there were a couple pacing issues. I was curious to see if the next volume would feel a little more settled, and I’m happy to report that this volume felt much more cohesive as Freya settles into her new life as Prince Edvard, fending off evil plots and throwing herself into the action as much as possible. The volume picks up as Freya as Edvard attempts to save the royal guard Mikal from being kidnapped, only to put herself in danger in the process.

I’ll be honest, one plot point that I do enjoy about reverse harem scenarios where girls have to disguise themselves as boys is how often the boys surrounding the heroine start feeling oddly protective of their new companion and aren’t sure why their feelings have shifted. This happened multiple times in Prince Freya, so I found myself greatly enjoying the sillier aspects of the character dynamics. Mikal finds himself newly intrigued by Prince Edvard now that Edvard seems to have received an abrupt personality transplant. Freya is fiercely loyal to her friends, including people that she’s just met in her new role.
Aleksi and Julius head off to the rescue, and while they fend of danger with some help from Freya, Julius delivers a stern lecture about the responsibilities for self-protection that have to be present in royalty or someone disguising herself as royalty. Freya vows to protect everyone, including Julius, which causes him to be quite emotionally shaken.

As the story unfolds, Freya’s open personality cause her to strike up an unlikely friendship with one of Prince Edvard’s subjects, but her good intentions end up creating even more difficulties that are only solved by some bold action. The art in Prince Freya continues to be clear and dynamic, which is essential due to how many scenes involve combat by swords. One aspect of this manga that I found both intriguing and a bit startling is the body count that is starting to build up as Freya navigates her new world. It is true that there’s an inherit danger to being faux royalty, but I’m starting to find myself a little anxious about the survival prospects for anyone close to Freya. The cliffhanger at the end ensures that I’m already impatient for the next volume.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 10

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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 has been such a relaxed, somewhat sweet series that it actually can be startling when bad things happen. For the most part, the bulk of this book involves building a giant bath at Zagan’s castle, which he doesn’t really care about, but the rest of his increasingly large cast of women staying with him want very much. There’s discussion of the different kinds of baths, lots of teasing of various people who are still not quite hooked up with anyone yet, and a huge fight between Zagan and Barbatos, taking out large chunks of the forest, that basically revolves around “is it OK to peep?”. (Zagan says no.) Even when we cut to the bad guys, things are seemingly a bit more calm, with the twin assassin girls being given pocket money and sent out to the city, whereupon they buy a giant parfait. Unfortunately, horrible things do still happen here, and there is actually a real plot burbling underneath.

It can be a bit difficult to figure out who the major evil that needs to be defeated is in this series. First of all, Zagan has ended up turning a lot of former enemies into his allies. Secondly, of the current evil forces group, the twins are actually very cute when they’re in downtime mode (which makes the fate of one of them all the more tragic), Shere Khan is essentially a non-entity here, and Bifrons, the closest thing we’ve had to a big bad to date, ends up helping Zagan at the end – sort of. He’s still plenty evil, as the leading archdemon will attest, but there seems to be something even more evil behind all this – perhaps related to Azazel. Speaking of the twins, the serious part of the book has them both realizing they’d sacrifice their life to protect the other one, and then getting in situations where this is required. It’s touching and also a bit horrifying.

Then there’s the flip side of all this, which is Zagan and company. He’s still trying to figure out his own past, and there are several new revelations here about his childhood with Stella and Marc. Indeed, one of Archdemon’s Dilemma’s conceits is that everyone has connections to each other person in the series that they either don’t know or forgot about – ranging from serious (Marc’s identity in the church) to somewhat comical (where Chastille learned how to be such a good swordswoman at such a young age). Zagan and Nephy, fortunately, just get to be a cute little couple, again not actually achieving a romantic breakthrough just yet but this time around they manage to have a bath together with washing of the backs, which is nice. Certainly they’re miles ahead of the other not-quite-couples in this book.

So yes, this is mostly sweet and fun, but be warned it gets quite dark about 3/4 of the way through. Still a solid entry in the series, though.

Act-Age, Vol. 1

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By Tatsuya Matsuki and Shiro Usasaki. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Camellia Nieh.

In general, when you think of Weekly Shonen Jump, a certain type of series comes to mind. Lots of boys shouting at each other. Friendship/Training/Victory. Tons and tons of characters getting more and more powerful. Or you think of the goofy romantic comedies, usually involving a hapless guy and the bevy of girls who beat up/like him. But lately Jump has been going outside of its comfort areas quite a bit. And this new series (if you can call it new when it already has 112 chapters out in Japan) is certainly not the cliched Jump title. Indeed, the first thing a person might think, even after reading the first volume, is that someone put this on the wrong label and that it should be running in Betsuma instead. But no, this is pretty shonen. It’s just that instead of pirates, or volleyball, or superheroes, it’s acting that gets the Jump treatment. Best of all, the protagonist is a teenage girl, still a rarity in Jump titles.

The start of this series makes it seem like it’s going to be darker and more depressing than it is. Kei Yonagi is raising her twin sister and brother by herself, trying to hold down jobs, go to school, and still have time to go to acting auditions, where so far she’s had no luck. Her emotions sometimes flow out of her when she thinks of her life, so she “resets” by recalling times when she was happy and smiling. That said, her method acting has not gone as unnoticed as she expected – the main reason she wasn’t cast is that the head of the agency refuses to let her act as it would be bad for her mental health. She’s opposed in this by a young hotshot director, who feels that Kei would be strong enough to get over the issues that method acting can bring about. More importantly, he just really wants to work with her. So begins Kei’s life lessons in how to act.

As someone who got a drama degree in college, let me be honest: I hate method acting. I would not say that it leads to mental stress the way that this manga does, but I feel that it should be used as one of many kinds of choices, not a be-all-and-end-all. Still, the manga does a pretty good job of portraying Kei’s burgeoning talent, as well as showing why she hasn’t gotten anywhere so far – she’s far too raw and has trouble with directions. What’s more, she draws the camera to her even when she’s playing an extra – which is bad. Fortunately she has director Kuroyama, who does some questionable stuff here (please do not kidnap girls off the street), but knows that Kei’s abilities can further both their careers. She’s arresting when she really tries. It’s that sort of thing that makes me want to read more.

This series struggles at times to keep its audience – Usasaki’s art in particular is highly variable throughout – But I really liked Kei’s character, and also her “character type” – stoic airheads are one of my favorite things. If you enjoy acting, or just like unusual Jump titles, this is definitely worth your time.