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Reviews

By the Grace of the Gods, Vol. 2

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By Roy and Ririnra. Released in Japan as “Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z.

It’s probably not a coincidence that while the genre of ‘Slow Life’ novels is very popular in Japan, we haven’t really seen that many straight examples of it here in the West. There have been a few that come close, but they tend to have a lot of things happening, or else they’re standard isekai only lackadaisical. By the Grace of the Gods really comes closest to the pure type (Ryoma does do some adventuring and goblin slaying, so it’s not 100% “no I will not be a isekai protagonist I am going to farm!” like the best of them), as Ryoma, over the course of the book, realizes that rather than hanging out with the rich family who “rescued” him and getting closer to their daughter who clearly has a crush on him, and rather than going on guild quests and monster hunting, he’s going o be… opening a laundry. Of course, given his slimes, this is not as big a jump as you might expect. The result is that the book is… pretty good but dull.

We don’t get the laundry till the end of the book, so for the most part this book involves Ryoma finding odd things to do with his ever increasing pile of slimes. He’s learning new magic, so that he can store them better and also teleport. He’s clearing abandoned mines of minor monster hordes, along with the occasional worse than expected monster horde. And he is getting involved in fights between a bunch of bully adventurers and the kids they’re taking advantage of… which not only leads Ryoma to kick their ass and make sure they’re punished, but also makes him realize that this sort of thing is exactly NOT what he wants to do. And that he’s not happy with this side of himself. So a laundry, given how hard it is to get monster guts off of clothing in this world, sounds fantastic.

This last part is the most interesting part of the book. Ryoma gets really pissed off when he sees the bullying adventurers, enough that it gets a color page. Given Ryoma’s default mood has been ‘stoic’, this merely involves escalating to ‘glower’, but it’s a start. That said, I really liked his attempts at self-analysis after the event – they make sense to him, but also feel a bit wrong to the reader and to everyone else around him. He decides to be “more independent” by breaking off with the duke’s family, convinced that being with them would “spoil” him. Honestly, I agree more with everyone that he tells this to: I think he needs more exposure to others, not less. He’s easily pegged as someone who will never ask for help. Even the Gods, when he prays to them and goes for a visit (remember the title), inform him that he’s not just a 40-old guy in an 11-year-old body – his emotional state is matching up with his age in THIS world. It’s a great conceit that’s the best part of the book.

That said, the REST of the book is a lot of monster hunts, slimes, and everyone praising Ryoma for being awesome… in other words, standard light novel. That said, I’m very interested to see where this goes nest.

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 19

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By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

It’s never a good sign when people keep asking why you’re still reading that series as you tweet about it, but that’s what’s been happening for me with this Smartphone, which seems to have worn out its welcome for everyone but the most hardcore of fans. It’s not a bad question, why do I read it? Especially given the beginning of the book, a reprehensible pile of crap that involves getting a unicorn horn, slutshaming the entire female cast while ALSO having them insist they’re all virgins, and finally ending with a “ha ha, he was gangraped by men and now he’s gay” joke. I recommend just skipping the whole chapter. After this, thankfully, it does improve, and indeed it feels like the author may have been told to wrap this up soon, as we’re resolving one of the remaining storylines, as everyone in the world, including Touya and his fiancees, battle the wicked god and the wicked Phrase that has allied with it.

The fiancees are getting a bit impatient, wanting to actually get married, but Touya has decided not to do that till the whole “evil from another world coming and killing people and destroying their souls” thing is dealt with. The first half of the book involves preparations for this, including the aforementioned horrible scene. They slowly purify the world with the help of a “puretree” (no worries, fans, this tree is a virgin too) and, unexpectedly, help from Luna Trieste, the Himiko Toga of Smartphone, who thankfully gets locked away for the rest of the book. The second half of the book is the battle against the Mutant Phrases, evil normal Phrases, the evil NEET god, and Yula, the Phrase who set this ball rolling in the first place. Even more unfortunately, Touya gets sealed off in a pocket dimension away from the battle. Can our heroes win without their OP husband-to-be?

Credit where credit is due, the plan that Touya has to counteract this sort of attack is very clever indeed, and I was impressed. It also helps that he tells Yula about the plan with a line that is so cheesy you cannot help but laugh out loud. I like this series when it’s being big dumb. That said, surrounding it is a lot of the same old same old. There are mecha battles, there are guns being fired, there are near misses… and, in the end, Touya does actually save the day. I mean, it’s his series. Aside from the battles, which do take up a good 2/3 of the book, we get Touya becoming more comfortable with being a god (which is why his initial attacks didn’t work well – he was too attached to humanity) and getting more comfortable with actual love and affection (he’s snuggling his fiancees without even turning red!).

So in the end, this is another volume of In Another World with My Smartphone. It has crappy and offensive rape jokes, but on the bright side, Touya doesn’t commit genocide here. If you’re reading it, keep going, you know what you’re getting. If you haven’t read the series but you’re thinking of reading it, Christ, no.

The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious, Vol. 3

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By Light Tuchihi and Saori Toyota. Released in Japan as “Kono Yuusha Ga Ore TUEEE Kuse Ni Shinchou Sugiru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matt Rutsohn.

Though they share few similarities except for being comedies, I was reminded quite a bit of My Next Life As a Villainess while reading this 3rd volume of a series that was clearly designed to be two volumes long. Bakarina struggled for several volumes to try to find a way forward, and this volume of Cautious Hero does the same. That said, Cautious Hero has a lot more to walk back; at the end of the second volume Rista has been told who she is, and who Seiya is, and their destiny. Even better, when Seiya is called forth as a hero once more at the start of this book, he remembers what happened, and seems to actually return Rista’s feelings! Sure, they have to save the world, but he’s powerful, she’s a goddess, they’re in love, it’s great, right? Wrong. No one is reading the series for that. And so, sure enough, by the middle of the book, love has been trodden on and Seiya is using Rista as a comedic punching bag again. Know what your audience wants.

Those who read the first two books, or saw the anime (popular enough to get the two leads a cameo in Isekai Quartet’s second season) will be surprised at the cover art, showing a grinning, not-at-all-cautious Seiya charging forward. It’s the start of a long line of bad things happening to Rista. An enemy hits Seiya with an amnesia stat, meaning he’s back to his old reckless personality… and his love for Rista has gone down. Then, after more plot stuff happens, he loses the amnesia and is back to being Seiya… but thinks of Rista as an annoying weed. Yes, we’re back to baseline there. Honestly, it’s probably for the best, as this world is, as promised, much worse than the previous one. Humanity is not only enslaved but eaten, and the beastmen rule supreme. Seiya has to rescue the slaves in the old town they used to be fron, then he has to infiltrate the palace guard and take on the lion-headed big bad, Grandleon.

Does the book succeed at walking everything back? Partly, I’d say. Some of Seiya’s treatment of Rista, while horrible, does cross the line into funny, particularly his use of her as a periscope. The reader is, I think, meant to infer that his feelings for her are not rock bottom but that he’s faking that stat… but if so, he’s really good at it – even the old Queen at the end takes back her “he loves you deep down” speech after he’s appalling once more. Where the book does succeed, as always, is with Rista, who does not remember her life as Tiana, but that doesn’t stop it emotionally affecting her, particularly when she finds Tiana’s mother held prisoner and being tortured. Rista’s frustration and resolve waver constantly throughout the book, but at the end, her honest exhortation to Seiya actually gets through to him and makes him do the right thing. It was nice to see.

Of course the world’s not saved yet, and even stronger bad guys are on the way. Fans of this series had better be prepared for more of what the anime did best – comedy slapstick violence. That said, there’s enough character development in Rista to make this a series still well worth reading.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol 6

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Daytime Shooting Star Volume 6 by Mika Yamamori

As this series continues, I grow more and more conflicted because heroine Suzume is such a sweet girl, I want her to get everything she wants. Unfortunately the main thing she wants is her teacher Shishio, and as he progresses in dropping some boundaries he was not even all that great at maintaining before, I find him more and more unappealing as a romantic prospect for Suzume. As I tend to do in k-dramas, I’m now firmly rooting for the second lead guy, Suzume’s classmate Mamura. I’m still drawn in by Daytime Shooting Star’s combination of stylish art and teen soap opera plot. As a bonus, Mamura is on the cover of this volume.

In this volume, Suzume and Shishio continue to capture some stolen moments here and there, but she’s often frustrated that she can’t deepen her relationship with him, and she’s continually reminded of the need for distance. She gives him a birthday present that she earned the money for with her part-time job. She attempts to make him a lunch, but sees him turning down food from another student. Throughout all of these interactions Mamura hovers in the background either quietly observing or forcing himself to eat some of Suzume’s first attempts at rice balls. Mamura continues to be a good friend, even when Suzume finds herself stood up by Shishio when he’s tied up with work on Christmas. A little bit of awareness seems to be settling in with Suzume as she realizes that she can be herself around Mamura after spending more time with him. Shishio seems to be losing his grip on his professional ethics, so I’m growing concerned about that, and the fact that Suzume’s uncle is extremely clueless about this developing situation between one of his best friends and his niece.

I have to admit I’m impatient to see how all the slowly building romance in Daytime Shooting Star will pan out. There’s a bit of a train wreck quality to this manga, seeing a young girl invest in the possibility of a romantic relationship that doesn’t seem like it will work, but I’m hoping that Mamura’s flashes of insight and his evolution from a boy who could barely talk to a girl to a young man who will gallantly bestow a scarf on a girl when she’s cold will pan out somehow. Go Mamura!

Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, Vol. 3

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By Natsume Akimoto and Kakao Lanthanum. Released in Japan as “Sentouin, Hakenshimasu!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Noboru Akimoto.

It can be hard reviewing these books because, much as I’m still finding them funny, there’s not as much to say about them that I haven’t said in my previous two reviews. The characters were reused and combined into the characters we love from KonoSuba – Snow is the most obvious, but in this book it really becomes apparent that if Wiz was a lot more pathetic she’d be Grimm from this series. The author is making a slight effort to try to give the characters depth – mostly with Grimm here, but a bit with Six as well. But it can be hard when you also have to fulfill a certain quota of over the top humor. Combatants is slave to its joke plot and characters, in a way that the author hasn’t quite figured out how to escape. They will in KonoSuba, but this isn’t that. So we’re left with the jokes. Which are excellent… provided you have sympathy for no one and don’t mind things getting quite crass.

Our heroes… sorry, our villains are busy trying to build an enemy base from which they can fulfill their plans to take over this world. Sadly, the bases keep blowing up. Not only that, the very world itself seems out to get them, as they’re attacked by monsters, sandstorms, and can’t even burn down the forest without it coming back to take revenge. In amongst this chaos, the kingdom is having its annual Undead Festival, where the souls of those departed are… put into stuffed animals via Grimm, and wander around helping loved ones to move on. Trust me when I say this is played for laughs, not heartstrings. Unfortunately, some of the undead don’t seem to be peacefully mingling. And a former enemy, killed by Six, may be taking advantage of the Festival to stage a comeback. Can our heroes be horrible enough to win this time? Oh, no sweat.

Grimm is the heroine of this volume, though as with Alice before her, that doesn’t mean she gets all the focus. She does get an attempt at actual depth, though, as we see how dedicated she is to her archbishop job, and she truly does want to help the undead to move on (sadly, this usually also involves sending HERSELF to the next life as well). Six even notes if she were the nice helpful archbishop rather than the desperate man-hungry woman, she’d have a husband by now. As for Six, well, he’s terrible as always, but he manages to be topped by another agent here, Ten, whose own tendencies towards gross and petty evil are far worse than what Six has been doing, and lead to the biggest “oh my God” moment in the book, involving doing something in the Princess’ room. Snow is also entertaining, though as the series goes on she’s shifted from “mostly Darkness with a bit of Aqua” to “Mostly Aqua with a bit of Darkness”. And Rose deciding “Screw it, I’m gonna be a pet dog for this book” is fantastic.

So again, this book is not recommended to anyone who wants warm fuzzies. But if you like your humor along the Beavis and Butthead end of the spectrum, Six and friends are here to entertain you.

Isekai Rebuilding Project, Vol. 2

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By Yukika Minamino and Kotokan. Released in Japan as “Isekai Saiken Keikaku” by Legend Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

I admit I was a bit worried about this one. The first book relied a heck of a lot on the really good twist near the end, and I also did not want to end up having a ‘loop’-style redo of the previous book. Fortunately, my worries proved to be mistaken. The ‘let’s fix the beriberi’ plot is still around, but rapidly takes a backseat to ‘let’s battle the monsters who are somehow far more well organized’ plot, which frankly is a lot more interesting. As for the twist no longer applying, much to my surprise it makes the book a lot better, because with context what was a somewhat annoying and frustrating relationship turns into something really fantastic. The book still suffers a bit from dry prose, and the new twist about 3/4 through this book is somewhat uncomfortable, but I suspect it’s designed to be that way. Put it all together, and you have a volume that manages to avoid a sophomore slump. Plus, that cover art!

Our hero Eiji, when we last saw him, had died. We briefly see how things went after he died in that world, and get the revelation that Tiamat is actually his fiancee from Japan, and he then asks to go back and try again. He ends up back at the “would you like to come to the castle and be poisoned?” part of the book, and this time says no. This works out well, and eventually the King comes to him begging for their help in fixing the beriberi. While it’s not fixed by any means, they get enough of a start to have our main group move on to another country – because it’s not just this one country that has issues. Noura is a seaport, but before they can settle in they have to deal with the huge monster horde attacking it. A very… organized monster horde. It’s almost as if the enemy has someone on their side who’s been transported from another world.

The new villain here is a high school girl, which is less surprising than the revelations from the first volume. What’s worse, she’s also come from an abused family, something that Tiamat reluctantly uses against her to stop her simply killing Eiji. I admit I’m not really sure where the book is going with the character of Rio Kodama, but it was refreshing to hear a discussion of abused children and the impact it has on their lives and emotions. It feels like something a third volume would expand on. More to the point, and much to my surprise, the banter between Eiji and Tiamat, which I honestly found a bit annoying in the first book, has transformed now that we – and Eiji – know who she is, and their banter is far more affectionate and fun. (There are still plenty of otaku references I just didn’t get, however). Their relationship is now the highlight of the book.

This looks like it’s going to wrap up in a third volume, judging by the webnovel contents, but that 3rd novel is not announced yet in Japan. Till then, though, this is a decent second volume which manages to improve on the first mostly through its main couple and their flirting. Even if one is a dragon.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 1

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Will Holcomb.

First of all, despite expectations, there really aren’t many bear puns in this book. Even the title, which I thought was one, is “くま　クマ　熊　ベアー” which is simply ‘kuma’ in hiragana, katakana, kanji, and ‘bear’ in katakana. It’s ‘Bear Bear Bear Bear’. The author, Kumanano, translates to “I’m a bear”. and the heroine, Yuna, appears on the cover wearing a bear onesie with bear gloves and bear slippers. I’m telling you this up front because if you’re already annoyed, best not to read this. It is absolutely saturated with bear. Despite what I had thought, Yuna CAN remove the bear suit if need be… but she’s as powerful as a 15-year-old human girl when she does. WITH the bear suit, provided to her by the God who runs this world, she’s ludicrously overpowered. Which tells you at heart this is sort of for fans of Make My Abilities Average and its ilk. Do you like teenage girls beating up jerks and monsters? You’ll like this.

Yuna is a young girl who likes to game, sleep, eat,and not much else. She hasn’t gone to school ever since she found she can get rich working the stock market. Her parents briefly protested… so she paid them enough money to leave her forever. And they left! (I mention this because it jars very much with the overall tone of most of the book, and I am wondering if it will ever come up again.) Then one day, Yuna gets an upgrade to the game she’s playing, along with special equipment… the set of bear items. Then, she’s asked if she enjoys real life (no), if she has people who’ll miss her (no), and anything really important to her in reality (money). After this… again, try to contain your shock… she finds herself transported to a fantasy world that’s very much like the game she had been playing. In a bear onesie.

I spent a whole paragraph talking about the first 5 pages or so because the rest of the book is exactly what you’d expect. There’s stats (though not as many as Yuna would like, and all bear related), there’s guilds, there’s killing wolves and orcs, there’s mana gems, there’s jerk guys who look down on Yuna just because she’s a cute young girl in bear pajamas… this lasts until she beats him so much he needs medical attention. There’s also a cute girl risking her life for her family who Yuna essentially adopts as a little sister. Originality is absent here. That said, it reads quite well, and I was never bored, despite the same old things happening. The weakness may be Yuna, who tends to react with little emotion to much of anything, and thus can come off as a bit mean (shades of Potion Girl) or callous. That said, this book also lacks a lot of the bad habits of light novels, possibly as it has a female lead and is written for a female audience. There’s no descriptions of breasts, Yuna shows no signs of getting a romantic harem, and there’s no slavery. I appreciate that.

This is run-of-the-mill OP isekai, but unlike some others I’ve reviewed recently, its gimmick (bear) is handled very well, being funny and never really irritating. If you like bears, or just like young women walking around and being cool, this might be a good light read. Oh yes, and the illustrator also does The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, so if you like their work, also check it out.

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 1

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By Kaori Tsurutani. Released in Japan as “Metamorphose no Engawa” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Newtype. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Adapted by Ysabet MacFarlane.

In troubled times, sometimes you just want to read something that puts a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Slice-of-life series can be all kinds of things, and this story of an old woman bonding with a teenager over BL manga fits perfectly. Ichinoi teaches calligraphy classes at her home, and is alone now that her husband has passed away. One day, the cafe she goes to closes down so she’s forced to go further into town, where she goes into a bookstore to cool off. Startled by how much of the store is now devoted to manga, she’s taken by a book with gorgeous artwork. She buys it, startling the bookstore clerk, Urara, because the book is BL – something Ichinoi is unaware of till she reads it later at home. That said, the love story within intrigues her, and she goes back to the bookstore for more – sparking a friendship with Urara.

The balance between the new friendship slice-of-life and the BL manga that connects the two is perfectly done. Ichinoi does not have a life that is wanting by any means, but she’s feeling lonely, and enjoys talking about the books with Urara. Urara is the sort of teen I’d describe as ‘naturally sullen”, and has trouble connecting with kids her own age, all of whom seem more together than she is. Discussing the books that Ichinoi is buying helps to break the ice, and Ichinoi is also a natural-born friend-maker, which Urara is very much not. By the end, they’re even going to a writer signing event, though the size of the event proves to be a surprise. It’s a very natural, well-paced budding friendship between two women with 50 years between them.

There is also discussion of the BL manga itself. Ichinoi last read manga back in the Aim for the Ace! days (1970s), so was unprepared for the BL relationship in the book she bought, but she immediately gets into the series. We see occasional pages from the series, showing a not-quite couple, both of whom seem to be bad at communicating their true feelings – one bright and outgoing, one inward and moody. The series is only three volumes long, and it only comes out every 18 months, so for Ichinoi there’s a very real worry she won’t live to see the end of it. The manga ties in with the protagonists’ lives so that it seems natural, and doesn’t overwhelm the day-to-day stuff (such as Urara’s crush on her childhood friend, which isn’t going anywhere as he’s dating someone else.

In the end, this is simply a terrific story, and I really want to see these two hang out and talk about BL manga or anything else they choose to. I’d also like to see more of their pasts – we see Urara had another childhood friend who’s no longer in her orbit, and the final chapter shows Ichinoi approaching a building (for the author signing) her husband wanted to take her to the top of but they never did. Absolutely recommended, whether you like BL or not.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 3

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

I’ve talked before about how this book is well served by the fact that Sorawo is our narrative voice. This means, of course, that we see what she thinks of Toriko’s words and actions, but don’t get Toriko’s own POV in reverse. The fun part lies when the reader is able to infer what Sorawo isn’t. Certainly Sorawo is correct that Toriko is obsessed with finding Satsuki, but she seems to equate that with a romantic longing, and on our end we’re not so sure. More to the point, Sorawo can be very savvy in some ways and not in others – there’s a scene where Toriko mentions the fact that she was brought up by two mothers, and it’s very clear she’s dropped this information on Sorawo to see how she’s going to react… because of course Toriko is in love with Sorawo, something that has been clear for some time but is increasingly textual as the book goes on. It’s good characterization, and the narrative POV helps sell it.

There’s three main stories in this volume. In the first, Toriko and Sorawo go back to the other world and try going in a different direction, but their rooftop picnic (love the idea of an actual picnic in this book) is interrupted by some time-stretching shenanigans and the ominous presence of Satsuki, who is invisible to Toriko but very visible – and terrifying – to Sorawo. The second story sees the return of Sorawo’s kohai Akari, who Sorawo continues to be wary and uncomfortable with, and Akari’s childhood friend Natsumi, who has unfortunately not done as the creepy urban legend told her to, and is suffering as a result. Finally, Sorawo and Kozakura are kidnapped by a cult, whose leader has a voice much like Toriko’s hand and Sorawo’s eye, and said leader really, really wants to meet Satsuki. Unfortunately for all concerned, she does.

I will admit, the actual urban legends/ghost stories presented here did not ring a bell for me, nor are they really supposed to for Japanese readers, I think, despite all the documentation of 20-year-old 2chan threads in the book’s appendix. Indeed, Sorawo makes an important distinction here, as she hates “I know a guy who this happened to” stories, which are far more likely to be made up, and looks for real “this happened to me personally” legends. As with the second volume, the scarier stuff is at the back half here, though those with teeth phobias may wince at the second story. This includes Sorawo herself, who upon being kidnapped and locked up brings to the fore another part of herself only concerned with survival (though honestly, there’s not much difference between this and her normal self, IMO – I think a lot of it may simply be her psyching herself up.) The climax of the book leaves one dead, one maimed, and one big Satsuki problem that still isn’t going away, but at least our heroines are OK.

This is getting an anime soon, apparently, and it will be interesting to see how they convey some of the concepts here – a lot of the horror themes work best on the page. As for this volume, it’s another strong one in the series, and I look forward to the fourth one, if only to see how – or if – Sorawo responds to Toriko’s words at the end.

Prince Freya, Vol 1

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Prince Freya, Volume 1 by Keiko Ishihara

I really liked Ishihara’s other series The Heiress and the Chauffeur, which was only two volumes but left me wishing I could read a longer series by the author. I’m always up for shoujo fantasy, and “girl who must disguise herself as a boy” is one of my favorite plot elements so I have been eagerly waiting to read Prince Freya.

prince freya

Freya lives in the quasi-medieval setting that is very familiar to fantasy fans. She likes to casually jump off cliffs and is a well-beloved figure in her village, as she heads to town to fetch items for her ailing mother. Her adopted older brothers Aaron and Aleksi return home for a visit. Aaron is the famous Black Knight who guards the Prince and Aleksi seems mostly content to remain in his older brother’s shadow. There’s a bit of a budding romance between Aaron and Freya, but Freya quickly gets caught up in court intrigue though. Due to her habit of hanging out in high trees she overhears a plot to attack Aaron and the palace. She sneaks in and discovers that the prince ailing, and Freya is his exact duplicate. Far too quickly, she assumes his identity and manages to pull off a stupendous impersonation as the prince. This comes out of nowhere, I would have appreciated a brief 2 page prince training montage to at least address how on earth this happens. Freya’s Prince Edvard is both arrogant and charming, which contrasts with her more naturally retiring personality, putting aside the cliff-jumping and tree climbing.

There’s a terrible tragedy, but Freya is drawn even more into her deception after the prince dies and she has to make sense of what the small circle of courtiers around her is telling her to do as she continues to play along with hiding the prince’s death so the enemies of her country don’t catch on. The art is clear and expressive, and Freya and her quasi-adopted siblings are sympathetic characters. I’m hoping that the second volume has some time to slow down a little bit and let the story unfold a little more gradually. I’m very much looking forward to the second volume.

Infinite Dendrogram: The Glory Selecter

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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.

Since my last review, the Dendro anime has come and gone… and probably best not to speak of it again. Hopefully it’s not a franchise killer like Index III. The novels are still ongoing, though, and this one is a prequel taking place before Ray enters the game. The mysterious admins behind the game are all based around Alice in Wonderland names, and the one called Jabberwock wants to create stronger players with the Superior designation. As such, he unleashes a nightmarish nearly impossible to kill dragon with multiple heads and sets it on poor Altar (this is another volume that shows us why the Kingdom was on its last legs when Ray arrived). Some incredibly powerful and cool folks go up against it… and fail horribly. So it’s up to Figaro (who wants revenge for his friend), Tsukuyo (who just wants to have fun) and Shu (who is a little more pissed off than we normally see him, and takes off the animal suits for the big battle) to save the day. The result is a good book… if you like battles.

We do meet another strong and briefly interesting character at the start of the book. Foltesla, the King of Swords and leader of a powerful battle group, is a player who is very invested in the game, loves to duel with Figaro (who also gets some backstory here, explaining why he’s always a solo player), and has a lovely NPC wife. Every single thing about him screams tragedy, and sure enough, that’s what happens, to the point where honestly it almost swamped the rest of the book for me. I don’t doubt he’ll eventually come back… there’s too much time devoted to him not to… but it does remind me once more that there are a luge number of books that involve “the NPCs are more real than we’d thought”. Sword Art Online Progressive has it as almost its entire plot, and Dendrogram also hammers on it. Figuring out what’s different about this game is part of the fun of reading it.

The battles are usually also part of the fun, and there are some good moments here, particularly involving the “King of Crime”,but it has to be said that there’s a lot of “hope you love gaming stats” talk here. Dendro is better than some at blending this with the actual prose, but when so much of the book is devoted to one battle against one giant monster, it can be a bit boring for those who aren’t stat heads. It doesn’t help that the outcome of the battle is not really in doubt… we know given that there are three lines of defense (Figaro, Tsukuyo and Shu) that all three will eventually have to fight, and we know that anyone else who tries to fight is going to end up vaporized. Also, the book really wants the dragon to talk, but it can’t, so the author tries to give the dragon dialogue it would have said if it did talk, and… it’s as awkward as it sounds.

So it’s a middling book in the series, one that unfortunately made me remember the tragedy rather than the triumph. Can we get back to the main plot next time?

Buck Naked in Another World, Vol. 1

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By Madoka Kotani and Mochiusa. Released in Japan as “Shinyaku Isekai ni Tensei Shitara Zenra ni Sareta” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Garrison Denim. Adapted by Matthew Grune.

When Seven Seas first tweeted about this license, I may have made a comment or two about it. Something about the title, the concept, and the cover art just set me off. It looked to be the culmination of every single bad light novel trend out there. Unfortunately, people responded to my blithe snarky comments with “ha ha, can’t wait to read your review!”. I realized only too late that this meant I actually had to review the thing. Oh well. How bad could it be? Things weren’t helped by the fact that, when it arrived on my phone, I found it was far longer than a book called “Buck Naked in Another World” had any right to be. This is a chunky volume. But, I finished it. And here I am, reviewing it. And I will tell you right up front: do not read this bad book. Tempting as it is to end the review there, let’s move on to a summary of the plot.

…no, wait, first I want to talk about that cover. I have to hand it to the artist: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a light novel hero I want to punch in the face on sight more than this guy. Look at that smug cocky grin. And we have the adoring mild-mannered girl on his left, and a big-breasted, eyepatch-wearing warrior on his right. More to the point, as you can tell, he’s not QUITE naked. Shuta (who everyone calls Shooter in this world) is a 30-something guy who floats from menial job to menial job, till one day he winds up in another world, naked. He’s at first arrested and put to even more menial jobs… naked except for a small loincloth, which you see on the cover. Gradually he wins over the population of the village he ended up in, gaining a wife and defeating monstrous wyverns. Then he goes to the big city, where due to his lack of identification he ends up tricked into slavery, and slaves are… you guessed it… naked.

Before I get into the naked thing, let’s talk about everything else wrong with this book. It almost reads like a checklist of things I dislike in light novels. It’s clearly based on a webnovel, and thus very long and not at all edited down. (In fact, judging by the ‘Shinyaku’ in the title, this isn’t even the first attempt at publishing it!) Slavery is here, because it’s a fantasy light novel, and it’s still irritating. There’s a scene where a woman pees herself in fear and Shooter will not shut up about it, something that remains very popular in these sorts of light novels as well for reasons I’d rather not think about. Shooter gains the affection of at least 6 different women over the course of the story, one of whom he marries, and does not do much except kill monsters and be nice to them to earn this affection. Moreover… OK, let’s get to the naked bit.

First of all, it is not clear until a side story at the very end why no one just gives this guy a pair of goddamn pants. I had gone into the book assuming it was some curse or such, but no. The village thinks that because he arrived naked, and does not immediately shriek for clothes, that this is just his thing. His wife (clearly embarrassed by his nudity, something Shooter interprets as fear) makes him g-string underwear, but says pants are above her station. When he’s enslaved, slaves are said to be naked, but again, he’s really the only slave we meet for more than two lines of text, so it’s still just him. Look, I get that you need to make your book stand out among all the other fantasy isekais. But… OK, let’s take Reborn As a Vending Machine. Ridiculous isekai premise, right? Harem of girls, right? Overpowered guy, right? However, if you took out ‘he’s a vending machine’, nothing in the story would work. But if you gave this guy clothes… nothing in this story would change at all, except we’d be spared a few wiener jokes from the narrator. There’s no goddamn reason for him to be naked except for clicks on your webnovel. At least rise above that low bar!

The translator and adapter do their best here… for good and ill, Shooter’s narration sounds like the sort of guy you’d imagine from the cover. In other words, you want to strangle him. Sadly, his smugness doesn’t help the mind-numbing worldbuilding that we get sprinkled throughout this, which is the main reason this is so long but is not worth it. And oh yes, for those who are buying the book featuring that a book with a title and girls like this has to have sex? Nope. Not at all. This book if irritating, dull, occasionally offensive, and far too long. Do not read it.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

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

(This review is based on a review copy provided by the publisher.)

A lot of times these days, licensed light novels tend to fall into two different categories: “we’re licensing this because the Japanese publisher knows there’s an anime in the works”, and “the anime has come and gone but this did not immediately vanish into obscurity the moment the anime ended so let’s take a flyer on it”. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai seems to be the latter – it started Japanese publication in 2014, which makes it quite old by licensing standards. I haven’t seen the anime (yes, try to contain your surprise) but I’d certainly heard of it, with it seeming to occupy that odd position of both “high school romcom” and “vaguely supernatural things happen” that we see in Haruhi Suzumiya and others. That said, I did notice (and tweeted about) a major different I spotted: unlike all those novels with snarky first-person narrators whose inner thoughts we are buried in, Aobuta (its Japanese nickname) is third person. It makes a difference, believe it or not.

Our hero apparently already had a boatload’s worth of light novel events happen to him before the series began: Sakuta has a past, which has left him with huge gashes across his chest, a little sister who’s a shut-in, and a reputation at school that means he has precisely two friends. One day at the library he is startled to find Mai, an upperclassman of his and a famous actress… well, actress on hiatus… dressed as a bunny girl and walking around. No one pays any notice to her – but Sakuta can see her, much to her shock and dismay. As they gradually get closer he discovers that more and more people simply don’t notice that Mai exists, and it’s becoming something of a problem. Since he has experience of this thanks to his sister’s history of being bullied (which also involved mysterious supernatural consequences), he chooses to help her out. It helps that she’s really hot. It doesn’t help that he will say absolutely anything that comes out of his brain with no filter.

As I said, this is in third person, so while we can hear about Sakuta’s thoughts and decisions, we don’t get his specific thought process. This means that things that others, such as Kyon or Hachiman, might think to themselves for the benefit of the reader but not bother to say aloud he says aloud. This might actually make him more attractive to Mai, who is used to people not knowing how to talk to her and thus not talking to her at all. The relationship between the two is the best part of the book. I also like how he expects her, when they first meet, to behave like Senjogahara – the book is aware of its influences. Mai is a bit less sharp than that, but still falls into that basic type. In the second half of the book, as things turn more serious and Mai’s “no one can see me” condition turns potentially fatal, the two have a warmly growing bond that I want to see more of.

The book is part of a series, which not only makes for an annoying cliffhanger (expect a Groundhog Day loop next time) but also sometimes means things clearly meant for future novels are introduced here, no matter how awkwardly they may fit in. If Tomoe is the subject of the next book (as the title suggests), she’s going to have to be more interesting than she was here to win me over. (That said, she clearly wins out over the girlfriend of our hero’s best friend, who seems to be designed to be a Hate Sink so that the fandom can go after her and leave the rest of the cast alone.) In the end, I found Rascal Does Not Dream 1 (the titles will be changing with each book) to be an excellent stand-alone romance that seems to be a harem-ey ongoing series. As such, we’ll see what happens in the second book.

Silver Spoon, Vol. 14

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By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley.

This isn’t the last volume of Silver Spoon – that’s the next one, and I’ll get into why that’s controversial when I review it – but let’s be honest, for most readers of this series who were not in it for just the extensive farming talk, this volume is the payoff. This is not to say there isn’t still extensive farming talk – in fact, there’s more of it than ever. Arakawa is determined to drill into readers’ heads what making a living as a farmer in 21st century Japan is like, and by now the readers are close to understanding it, though probably not enough to actually start a farm. As our heroes get closer to graduation, we see expanding businesses, more pizza sales (though they don’t break even – always talk to Tamako first), and how to see your career prospects threatened by an extremely sketchy company looking for indentured servants in all but name. That said, the big plot here is Mikage and her exams.

The cover might seem ominous, with Hachiken and Mikage once again separated from actual romantic contact. And the exams are not easy – indeed, Mikage’s exam partner, Aikawa, ends up not passing – with Mikage getting a particularly vicious interviewer who suggests that her love of animals is because she hates dealing with people. Of course, as we’ve seen in the past, he’s not far off, but the days of deflecting and stepford smiles are over for Mikage, who gives a nice, heartfelt answer that amounts to both “I fell in love with this guy” and also “I was inspired to better myself because of everything he did”. As for Hachiken, frankly, he’s so worried he ends up in bed with gastritis. However, not to spoil too much, but things work out. In both ways – the 121st chapter is, as I said above, the payoff, and after a LOT of events conspiring against them (even equestrian helmets!), Hachiken and Mikage are a couple.

Now, Silver Spoon was never just about whether these two would get together, so there’s more to come here. For one, the other students find out – which naturally leads to the two of them being separated for all romantic holidays from now until graduation, because the boys are lovable assholes. There’s even another couple getting together – to contrast with Hachiken and Mikage’s tortured courtship, Sakae and Maruyama’s pairing is as blase as they come, and the two of them still think like farmers, as they have to discuss how the family businesses would merge in the event of their getting married. (Sakae also has some great lines as the biggest Mikage/Hachiken shipper in the cast.) Mikage’s parents also find out, which goes exactly the way you would expect. Basically, as with previous volumes of this series, every super heartwarming moment is undercut by extreme silliness.

So we head towards graduation, and seeing what everyone does next. Will there be enough pages to fully flesh everything out? Aheh. We’ll talk about that next time. Till then, enjoy what everyone was waiting for.

The Extraordinary, the Ordinary, and SOAP!, Vol. 1

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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 C. Steussy.

I have talked before, and no doubt will again, about the fact that one of my favorite types of light novel is the kind that has, as its plot and character archetypes, not one original bone in its body, yet somehow still manages to win you over with the sheer power of good writing. I enjoy it so much because a) let’s face it, the old and familiar is like that hoodie that you always wear around the house – it’s your comfort food, but b) it shows the author has the skill to make you want to read more. This especially applies to the latest in a long line of shoujo light novels from J-Novel Club’s Heart imprint. I love that we’re finally getting so many light novels for women rather than men, but let’s face it, introducing a dozen or so of them in the space of about five months has been a bit wearing. So we start with a story about a common girl with a dull magic power who can SAVE THE WORLD!

The title in Japanese – Hibon, Heibon, Shabon! – is snappy and rhymes and is, unfortunately, nearly impossible to translate so that it does the same thing in English. Shabon is soap, and that’s what our heroine Lucia can do – her powers make soap bubbles that can clean even the most stubborn stains. After the death of her mother leaves her with a pile of debt, she moves to the king’s castle to find work as a laundrywomen and enjoys a fun, ordinary life – including having lunches with Sir Celes, a cute and handsome knight. Sadly, he’s away when the castle is attacked by horrible monsters one day, but Lucia, desperate and terrified, casts her soap magic on one… to find it suddenly calm and placid. Turns out her magic is a lot more than removing stains from clothing, it can also apparently remove the horrible mental and emotional stains from people. So she’s sent off to join the Sacred Maiden, who has been transported from another world to… wait, what?

Yes, the best part of the series, easily, is that this is in fact an isekai, but the girl who is transported from Japan is only a supporting character. Maria is supposedly the deus ex machina that will save them all, but things aren’t going very well. And actually, I tell a lie, because the best part of the series is the subtlety in its writing. As an example, Maria is shown to be selfish and horrible whenever we hear about her, but after Lucia a) hits her with Soap a few times to clean her clothes, and b) talks to her like a normal person rather than a savior of the world, Maria gets better. (Somewhat.) Is it Lucia’s magic or is it Lucia’s talking her down? It’s left open. The scene at the castle when the monsters are attacking is also expertly handled – there’s a real sense of terror from both Lucia and the residents of the castle, and it adds to the sense of depth in the books. As for the relationship between Lucia and Sir Celes, it’s cutely handled so far, and I liked that we added a bunch of other hot young/middle aged guys to the cast and Lucia is interested in precisely none of them – in fact, she thinks “is this what it’s like to have a dad?” with one big bruiser.

Good writing, a clever take on isekai, only a little fanservice (Lucia is somewhat busty, which is mentioned once or twice), and a winning heroine. Best of all, it’s only three volumes long, so there’s not a huge investment. And you’ll absolutely have to get the next book, as this one ends on a nasty cliffhanger. Very pleased with this series.