Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Reviews

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools ~Side Stories~

by

By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by A.M. Cola.

I like to think that Dahlia in Bloom is a reasonably popular series. It’s gotten a manga and an anime (let’s not talk about the anime). That said, it’s not ludicrously popular with trivia-loving nerds. This is no Re: Zero or A Certain Magical Index. As such, when it comes to wiki power, Dahlia is lacking. Which makes it unfortunate when you’re reading a volume filled with side stories, only a few of which focus on Dahlia and Volf, and I kept thinking to myself “have I seen this character before? Have they been a minor character in the series I’d simply forgotten as they aren’t plot-relevant, or have they been especially written for this volume?”. This is especially true with all the wives we meet in this volume. The main series, and its spinoff, both run on, primarily, an utter lack of romantic progress. Dahlia is oblivious, Lucia is too job-focused. As such, a lot of this book seems devoted to giv9ing us actual happy romantic ends.

This is a short story volume, so there’s no real plot to speak of. The only stories that connect to each other are one or two “we get this from one perspective, then the other side” twofers, and one story where Volf is convinced to buy fancy, scented stationary to send letters to Dahlia, who keeps every single one in her room. You know, like besties do. Other than that, we see how Grato met his wife (she’s been waiting for him to get a clue), how Gildo met his wife (he fell for her, unthinkingly, when she was six years old… no, not like that), Ivano trying to run away from his future wife (he fails), how craftsman Fermo met his wife (she’s the granddaughter of his master, but they’d never seen each other before), how Irma got her husband (the family had to approve), and how Oswald got to be the silver fox (being bullied is different when you’re in a noble society).

That last one is the longest story in the book, and it reminds you that while a whole hell of a lot of light novels deal with nobles and the different tiers between them, none of them quite drench themselves in the culture quite like Dahlia in Bloom. Dahlia herself is finally getting her barony, so might be able to marry Volf… except his family is also getting elevated. Back to square one. Oswald having a girl date him on a bet ends up with the girl AND the two nobles who forced her to do it all getting punished, while the humiliation forces Oswald to throw off his family’s kid gloves and give himself a makeover. Volf is forced to learn about noble etiquette, and he’s absolutely terrible at it. Yes, the main reason this is the slowest of slow burns is because Dahlia’s lack of self-esteem causes her to throw Volf into the friend zone, but there are also real reasons why nothing has happened just yet.

We’re back to the main series next time, as Dahlia finally meets barony. Will this mean anything new? Probably not. Will she get to dance with Volf, and maybe have some really good alcohol? Most definitely.

The Countess Is a Coward No More! This Reincarnated Witch Just Wants a Break, Vol. 3

by

By Ageha Sakura and TCB. Released in Japan as “Tensei Saki ga Kiyowa Sugiru Hakushaku Fujin datta” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Bérénice Vourdon.

In this volume, we get a flashback to Aurora’s childhood. She grew up in a village that was terrified of her massive magical power and her insatiable curiosity to use it. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her. The mayor essentially sold her to an elf as a research subject. Fortunately, that went well… till her master just up and left one day, leaving Aurora to handle all the magic requests on her own, taking in three disciples. We meet the third of these disciples in this book, Lance, and he too is a former research subject who was rescued, this time by Aurora. Even now that she’s reincarnated, she had a terrible childhood where she was abused by everyone, and even after getting her memories back struggles with any overtures of affection. The main problem with Aurora *and* her proteges is that they still have the emotional capacity of children a great deal of the time. They don’t know how to ask for help, or forgive.

Things continue to go downhill for Char and Lam. They do manage to escape from her first protege, mostly as he gets into a petty battle with her second protege. Unfortunately, the kingdom wants to pile on more work, reasoning that working mages to death is what people are supposed to do. Oh yes, and the church is still being a thorn in everyone’s side… especially when it turns out that her THIRD protege, Lance, is the head of the church. He couldn’t reincarnate himself with the magic he had, so he simply made a deal to learn how to live for over 500 years. All of them want to show Lam that they’re the best and she should stay with them (though Lance, at least, will allow Char to be first husband). That said, there’s a Big Bad behind all of this, and he turns out to be… wait for it… another protege! Not Aurora’s this time, though.

This was better than the second book, mostly as I was able to see better the reason that everyone in the cast is, to a greater or lesser extent, a whiny manbaby. Char discovering that Aurora is actually Lam went much better than both the reader and Lam herself expected, and he is finally – finally! – able to convey to her by the end of the book that the reason he keeps hugging, kissing, and saying he’s fond of her is he loves her. The second half of the book is less “let’s have a big magic battle” and more “let’s try not to have Lam kill herself the exact same way that Aurora did five hundred years ago”, which relies on convincing her that it’s OK to rely on others and that sometimes they can protect themselves. When you’re used to doing it all, realizing someone else can do it to can be very hard.

The webnovel ended here, but apparently there’s more of this coming. I still prefer the Lady Bumpkin series by the same author, but this was a decent new volume.

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 8

by

By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun.

Stage fright (I’m sorry, I just can’t bring myself to call it “the yips”) is a terrifying thing that can happen to even the most experienced performers, and though it may not always lead to literal fainting spells like what happens in this book, it’s something that can’t really be solved by just pure gumption. Unfortunately, Nanase plans to do just that. She may now be inspired to try to get over her issues and try again, but that doesn’t mean that the same dark fears don’t come to the fore when she makes the effort – and the fears she’s thinking of may not be the ones actually causing the problem. Fortunately, in addition to the magical protagonist powers of Natsuki and Hikari, she has actual medical professional help, which makes this one of the rare Japanese light novel series where there are therapists. I am pleased. Admittedly, that makes the climax of this book a bit less dramatic than a big punch out, but you can’t have that every book.

It’s almost time for our cast’s third year of high school, and as with a lot of Japanese high school, they have to make the choice: science or arts? They know this will mean being separated in some way, but so goes life. As it turns out, Nanase seems to be choosing a different path than in Natsuki’s first life, as she’s going to try again to do a piano competition. She used to be a prodigy, just like her mother, but a couple years ago she got terrified and passed out, and since then she hasn’t been able to play for an audience. But seeing Natsuki’s band has made her want to try again. Speaking of the band, they’re getting offers to open for bigger bands, and Natsuki now has to make a serious decision: does he want to pursue a career in music in this second life?

I must admit, I was *so* relieved when Nanase admittedly that she saw Natsuki as what a big brother must be like. First of all, it made all the NTR and threesome jokes being bandied about in this volume actually funny, as opposed to worrying. For another, I think there have already been a few too many people attracted to Natsuki in this series, and we don’t need more, especially as I’m still worried about his future with Hikari. So is he, in fact, as when he sees she’s chosen a pen name for her books that uses his own name, and he worries that she may come to regret that if they split up. To her, of course, this is a horrifying thing to say, as they’re 2-gether 4-ever and would never split up, but Natsuki has a few more years experience, and has seen teenage love turn sour. That said… I can’t see this series ending that realistically and bittersweet after all the volumes we’ve had. I think they should be fine.

I think the 9th volume is out soon, but it’s likely another 6-7 month wait till the next one. Which will start the “final arc”. Romcom fans should be very happy with this.

The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 5

by

By Bakufu Narayama and Ebisushi. Released in Japan as “Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijō wa, Gyakkō-shite Kanpekina Akujo o Mezasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Alyssa Niioka. Adapted by Lex Reno.

Content warning: this book’s main plot contains, and my review discusses, pedophilia, grooming, and brainwashing people through drugs and gang rape. The last two are implied but not seen, the first two are definitely seen. Reader discretion is advised.

I’ve called these books difficult to read before, but none of them quite hit like the middle of this book, in which Claudia has to deal with a village of people whose “Chieftess” (does that word get gendered?) is easily one of the worst antagonists in the series to date – see above for why. Fortunately, this is what Claudia and Sylvester are here to fix, though both of them castigate themselves that they didn’t even know it was happening till she conveniently got kidnapped. Sometimes being royalty means finding out about problems that people are deliberately keeping from you. Especially when they’re once again a plan of Nigel’s, the series’ overall big bad, who isn’t in this book but whose presence is felt. Corruption turns out to be – literally – an incredible drug.

By now everyone agrees that the running for the fiancee position is over, and Claudia and Sylvester’s engagement party date is set. Unfortunately, before this can happen, Claudia and Helen – out on the town incognito, with Claudia also disguised as a maid – run into a boy who is dressed as a child detective – because he is one, in fact – and he’s on the run from some goons. They quickly hide in a cart… which then drives off to a remote village, and that village turns out to be the one the boy (Kiel) was investigating. (Helen was able to get away and is getting help.) They find the villagers are all very happy and content… a bit TOO happy and content. The whole village feels a bit like The Stepford Wives. What’s more, people seem to occasionally disappear for no reason. What’s really going on?

So yeah, as indicated earlier, things are very screwed up in this book. What started as a discovery of a pain reliever that allows the village to make a bit of extra cash has suddenly become a village-wide “ritual” when the girls in the village have their first period or the boys have their first “nocturnal emission” to drug them with an aphrodisiac and then have the others in the village rape them till they grow happy with it. The girls in the village who have NOT gone through this yet are quick to side with Claudia and Kiel. The chieftess in particular is a hedonist and pedophile, who literally gropes Kiel to see if his balls have dropped, and openly leers at Claudia. The book is well written as always, and help arrives in the nick of time. But I have to ask, was this trip really necessary?

The series is still ongoing in Japan, and a glance at the blurbs of future books suggests things don’t get easier for Claudia even after her engagement. Hopefully, though, they involve a few less things for me to warn the reader about.

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 8

by

By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

I’ve talked before about how Fia has this odd canny intuition and ability to connect the dots combined with an absolute ironclad airheaded dumbassness. This may be the volume where the reader’s tolerance of this is pushed to the absolute limit, though things are not helped by others around her also failing to get a clue either. It’s not quite Airheadception, but I was thinking that. The main plotline in this book revolves around Fia simply not understanding, despite seeing evidence of it for the last seven books before this, that the saint powers are a lot less powerful than they were in the past. (Indeed, we hear in a side story that she was ludicrously more powerful in the past as well, but things HAVE decayed.) This means that all her attempts to brush off what she thinks are minor use of saint powers to heal someone up turn out to be astonishing miracles to everyone around her – including a crowd of commoners. She’s VERY close to finally blowing her cover.

We open with Fia and Charlotte meeting the current frontrunner to be Head Saint, Priscilla, and boy, she has a chip on her shoulder and does not like Fia at ALL. Fia barely notices this, of course. Fia then has a bit more of the world explained for her, but not enough to make much of a difference, as she suddenly decides o put on a show when she hears that Commander Saviz will be marrying a saint soon. And who better to ask for ideas about how to entertain then the jesters we met in the previous book… who are the literal king and the top duke in the country, but Fia barely pays attention to this. They have their own agenda, however, which is to dress Fia like a saint and parade her around. Their goal is to get more info about how she found the rose that supposedly had been extinct since 300 years ago, but everything goes to hell when they run into a noble with a dying daughter – a noble that the two jesters seem to hate.

As ever with this book, I tend to appreciate the moments when it gets a bit more serious. We hear about Duke Alcott’s younger sister, who supposedly died ten years past but in reality is in a coma, and is also the reason that the king has been getting younger by the year. We get a few flashbacks with Colette, and honestly she reminds me a lot of Fia – I bet they’d get along great. Unfortunately, when Colette was dying, an earl opposed them using the powers of a saint to try to heal her. As a result, now that the earl has a dying daughter (who is also a saint) himself, their first thought is petty revenge. Fortunately, Fia may be an airhead but she’s also airhead Jesus, so you know there’s no way she’s going to do anything other than heal her using ridiculously powerful magic and then hem and haw about how she did it. Fia is Big Dumb, but also Big Good.

Things are left a bit cliffhangerey, so it’s not clear if Fia is going to be able to wake up Colette, or if this is finally the straw that breaks the camel’s back and gives away that she’s a reincarnation. Recommended to those who love to see the most powerful tennen boke in the world.

Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat, Vol. 2

by

By Fire head and KeG. Released in Japan as “Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyūketsuki no Kizoku ni Tensei Shita kedo Suteraresō nanode Dungeon wo Seiha suru” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Maddy Willette.

This series, I think, knows that it has to work harder to make me really enjoy it. Normally, if I’m reading something about two extremely unlikable assholes competing to see who can outdo the other, I’m likely to wander off the reservation before long. Mercedes at least knows that she lacks any empathy (and was much the same in her prior life), but does not seem to care enough to actually fix it – well, consciously, at least. But in this volume we get the character this series has desperately needed, which is a big shiny ball of honesty and “why can’t everyone just get along” that is in awe of our protagonist and determined to befriend the hell out of her. It’s not going anywhere, but I ship them. Secondly, this author has just the right amount of sass in their narration. If you name a character Hannah Burger, you’d better follow through, and they do.

Mercedes knows the secrets of this world, and also knows that it runs on RPG cliches to an extent, so she and the reader should not be surprised at where we’re headed next: yup, it’s off to the academy to have to deal with arrogant nobles and … well, more arrogant nobles. That said, “quiet school life while I learn more about how this country actually functions” is exactly Mercedes’ goal, so she’s quick to agree. On the way there, she casually saves the fifth prince of the country from certain death, and it turns out he’s the only other student in her grade that might hold a candle to her. She even has a goody roommate whose name sounds delicious. (See above.) Unfortunately, her father has Big Plans for her, and those big plans do not involve the first son Felix, who knows he’s lost but doesn’t know what to do about it yet. Will he follow the same path as his brother did in the first book?

No, thankfully, and it might be the best scene in the book that doesn’t involve Mercedes or the prince. Felix is confronted with a “aren’t you a bit jealous, don’t you want to show them all?” decision. Even better, the villains even know he’s not going to accept so outright tell him they’re going to mind control him to do it. I like when everyone lays out not just their evil plans but also their backup evil plans. That said, Felix is NOT his brother, and while right now I have no idea how he’s going to prevail in this battle, at least he doesn’t fold like a card table. As fr the rest of the book… honestly, Mercedes reminds me of Mile from MMAA if Mile were a stoic sociopath. They’re even both nerdy about weird things and have weird naming sense. I wonder if the author has read FUNA?

I agree with the main premise of this volume, which is that rather than “get stronger grr”, Mercedes needs friends in order to survive in this world. Unfortunately, so far she only has the one. we’ll see what happens next time.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 47

by

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

I’ve talked before – in fact, I think it was the last review – about how this series started as a romantic comedy and then became a battle manga, but really, this is shonen in every possibly way. Its entire reason for being is “whatever teenage boys want”, be that a series where about a dozen different women all fall for the hero, or a space battle with lots of pew-pew light shows. Here we also see that it’s a baseball series much of the time, as Koutarou and Kenji end up experimenting with psychic powers and pitching. And it’s also a giant robot show, as the new, extra special Blue Knight craft is a literal transforming giant robot, mostly as everyone thinks it’s really cool. About the only thing this doesn’t have that a teenage boy would want is fanservice – frankly, this remains one of the most G-rated series ever. As for the volume itself? It’s one of those “win the battle, lose the war” type books.

After a brief downtime in which, as noted, Koutarou experiments with super-powered baseball, and Nalfa tries to work up the courage to nudge her way into this polycule, everyone heads over to the debut of the brand new battleship, which is absolutely huge, has all the new bells and whistles, and inspires a spirited conversation about what the difference is between the bridge and the sub-bridge. Immediately after its inauguration, though, there’s an emergency, and they have to go off to rescue an embattled outpost. Unfortunately, this all turns out to be a plot devised by the Grey Knight. In fact, it’s three different plots devised by the Grey Knight, and while two of them fail, the most important one does not. Now Koutarou is going to have to go to war with… well, let’s face it, the reader has known who the Grey Knight really is for a while now.

After several books where she was barely present, I am delighted to announce the return of the “Yurika Watch”, where I gush about my favorite character some more. I had to laugh that we got the “he he, Yurika is goofy comedy relief” scene over with within half a page, but it’s a good thing we did, as she really has to pull out all the stops this time around. Of note, every time she’s serious and planning ahead, the others look concerned (with the exception of Nana). Yurika being an airhead is their bellwether of “all is well”, so seeing her this competent and skilled makes them a bit sad. Not me, though, praise her more. The others all do well, of course, and everyone gets to show off their fighting skills. Unfortunately, their desire to get the non-combatants out of the action comes back to bite them in the ass. On the bright side, it might allow Nalfa to find a way into that polycule a bit faster once this is over.

I hate to say this, kids – we’re caught up with Japan. Fortunately, this was a very good volume to go out on. The next book is the 50th, counting the two .5 volumes, so I expect they want to do something special.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The False God That Deceived the World

by

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

This is a long series already – this is the 16th volume – and we’ve just covered everything that’s happened since Allen got baited to flunk out of the academy. I’ve talked before about how I wish we could have seen Allen and Lydia’s years at the academy, and we have finally gotten a few decent flashbacks showing that, though we’re still missing most of the actual important scenes. But it can be easy to forget that this is not a world that has been at peace for years and it’s only with this generation that the world is going to hell. This is a world in a constant state of hell. There’s a reason all of the parents and grandparents of our heroines have fancy titles and superpowers of their own, and that’s because they’re needed all the time in order to make sure that things don’t just explode. Unfortunately, we’re near one of those explosion points again, and even as Allen gets some exposition explaining what happened long ago in the last, the enemy is a step ahead of him.

Battles, battles, everywhere! There are so many battles, in fact, that you’d think we wouldn’t have time for the usual harem banter, but rest assured we do, as even in the most dire of circumstances the girls cannot help but try to get Allen to praise them and say how lucky he is to have them. More lucky than usual this time around, as it turns out he needs almost the full group of potential love interests (sorry, Ellie, you’re still being sidelined) because the bad guys are also bringing their full force of bad guy-ness to bear. There’s corrupted former princesses, ghosts of long dead founders, and of course that pesky wyrm, which doesn’t stay frozen for long, and has to be put down again. To do so, they’ll need to have yet another spell gain sentience and turns into a cute girl… because let’s face it, that’s also the sort of series this is.

There’s a cliffhanger which suggests that one of the good guys is about to be killed off, but I’m not too worried – I think if the author had meant to kill them they’d have done that as the cliffhanger. Plus he has a fiancee. It does make me wonder how the author is going to try to keep the stakes higher and higher while also making sure that no cute girls who are in love with their man suffer too much. Most of them, that man is Allen, and unfortunately for him, the main villain seems to be obsessed with him… and also all her plans revolve around him winning at the last moment. Which he’s been doing. So arguably he’s playing right into her hands. On the bright side, Lydia gets to do an absolutely killer move that makes him blush heavily, and he also calls her his partner again, so she’s still in the lead, for those who are only here for that.

This is another solid volume in the series, though I would not say no to a breather that has less fighting next time.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 14

by

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

It’s been over two years since the “finale” of Arifureta came out in English, and since them we’ve had even more wannabe Hajimes, looking cool while amassing a large collection of girls who fall for them immediately for the traditional light novel reason. That said, this book does not have to worry about that. We’ve done all that, the final battle has been won, and we can leave future battles to Kouki, who no doubt has lots of making up for being awful to do, but given he’s not a cute girl, I doubt Overlap will publish whatever it is. What Overlap will publish is volumes like this, an After Story that is absolute catnip for fans of this series, showing Hajime with each of his fiancees as they integrate themselves on Earth and deal with coming out to the families as a harem. (Normally I’d say polycule, but come on. It’s Arifureta. This thing is a harem, and they all say so in the book itself.)

We pick up two months after everyone came to Earth, with the occasional flashback showing how they had to deal with their year-long disappearance. Some folks have had it good (Yue, Shea, Tio, Remia, and Myu, who are all ensconced at Hajime’s home with his otaku parents who adore him). Some folks have it less good (Kaori, dealing with an “anime dad” being mad about some cheater taking his daughter, and Shizuku, somewhat horrified to discover she really *is* from a family of ninjas). Some are doing very badly (Aiko, who not only gets the bulk of the blame for everything that happened, but is also a teacher dating a student). Some people are still stuck back in Isekai world (Liliana, as pathetic as ever but Hajime is treating her better now that they’re a couple). And some girls are wondering if there’s room for one more (wannabe chef and former bodyguard Yuka, who, since Hajime and the girls don’t immediately shut her down, likely has a good shot).

This does not pretend to be anything but fluffy, for the most part. Hajime and Yue deal with most of the serious issues on Earth by mass mind control, and he has far more difficulty dealing with the fact that he has eight fiancees than anything else. Most of the girls get a nice spotlight, either with or without Hajime. Yue gets the most, Shea the second most, which you’d expect. Myu gets a lot of attention, and she is cute as a button, has learned to shoot multiple deadly weapons, and swears she gonna grow up to marry her daddy. A typical anime child, in other words. All of this reads like typical anime, in fact. The only times it threatens to get melancholy are, as I said, when dealing with Aiko’s larger issues, or when Hajime has to tell the families of the four dead students why they didn’t come back… and that they were also sort of evil. The book even ends with a big family photograph. After so many volumes where I could describe it as “over 200 pages of just fights”, we now get 280 pages of just fluff.

It’s unclear if there will be more of these – there’s tons of webnovel material, but it likely amounts to what Overlap thinks will sell. Still, fans of Arifureta who read it for the girls and the d’awwwww will be happy.

Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend

by

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

If you remember my reviews of titles like Babel and Unnamed Memory, you may recall that I yelled at the author and the publisher (Dengeki Bunko) for taking what could easily be two books, divided in half neatly, and making them one huge 400-page monster. This book has the exact opposite problem. The digital version is a mere 139 pages long, and that’s counting the table of contents and the (one) color illustration. I wondered if it was a case where the final volume was too long to combine them, but no, the final volume seems to be the same size as this one. This should have been one book, but it is two, with this the first half. I get the sense, judging by the very minimal illustrations, that there were production issues, but it’s still a mostly frustrating volume where Sakuta has his latest crisis happen, wanders around talking for a while, and then has the series’ Deus Ex Machina help him figure out the issue… but not solve it. Yet.

We start this book with Sakuta having done everything possible to ensure that the dream everyone had of Mai announcing that she’s Touko will not come true. Guess what happens. What’s worse, this new reality sees EVERYONE’S dreams come true. Rio is dating Yuuma, Kaede is somehow now two people, both of whom are living a happy fulfilled life, Tomoe is now going to his college next term, etc. And none of them know reality is different, and none of them want to help him fix it. Fortunately, there is one other person who is unaffected by the Touko dream virus, and it’s very thematically appropriate. They manage to take a Sakuta who is at the end of his rope (in a mild-mannered way) and lead him to the main issue, as well as help him see who’s really behind everything we’ve seen in the last five books.

Despite my carping above, this is not a bad volume, just a mostly frustrating one. The revelations, as well as the one who is giving them, are thematically appropriate, and it’s nice to see Sakuta try his usual “walk around and mope at people until he figures things out” and have it not work at all. Turns out when people have their dream come true, they actually are happy and satisfied with it. Hell, some of the dreams might be the readers’ as well. I cannot think that Saki has any fans who are desperately unhappy that she’s broken up with Yuuma, and even Sakuta admits he’s happier with that outcome as well. (We do briefly see Saki, who is NOT happy with that outcome.) Even Kaede, who would be the one most torn by her incompatible dreams, literally becomes two people to fix everything. Mai is still in love with Sakuta and his girlfriend, she’s just also Touko. Everyone is happy and content. Except Sakuta. And the other two people I deliberately waffled around in the second paragraph.

So the next volume is the last, though there’s already an After Story volume out as well, apparently. I assume, this having mostly been all setup, it will be all payoff. This was good. Should have been combined with the next book.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Minor Myths and Legends, Vol. 2

by

By Fujino Omori and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka? Shohenshu” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey.

If you thought it was hard for me to write 500 words or so on the first SS collection, imagine how hard it’s going to be with this one, where I can’t even waste 100 of them describing what it is. That said, at least here there is slightly less of the “everybody loves Bell” show, mostly as he’s far more of a supporting character. These short stories, with one or two exceptions, focus on Loki Familia, and the majority are about either Aiz or Lefiya. Which means it is about romance somewhat – after all, Lefiya has a crush on Aiz at this point in the story (the stories go up to the 12th volume), and Aiz has vaguely warm feelings for Bell. Both of them have something in common, which is they can’t quite work out what Bell is to them. Lefiya settles on rival, and Aiz, strangely, settles on rabbit, but they’re both watching him dash ahead and wanting that.

The cover shows Aiz and Lyu, possibly as this also takes in the first Lyu volume and the Freya volume. That said, those wanting lots of Lyu will be disappointed. Most of these, as with the first, are 1-2 page stories that don’t impact much. They’re also mostly comedic, again with one or two exceptions, usually focusing on Leene, that one character we got to know well before she was brutally murdered. There are larger stories in here as well, which focus on Loki Familiar catching a unicorn, Tiona and her book nerd friendship with Bell, a romcom disaster set around the events of DanMachi 7/DanMachi SO 8, Aiz dreaming of various pasts and futures she could have, Aiz walking around the city talking with most of the regular cast and trying to figure out her own heart, a sequel to the Freya book focusing on Shalzad’s new king, and seeming to tie into Memoria Freese, and the last story, which I’ll go into below.

The final story takes place sometime after DanMachi 19 and Sword Oratoria 13, but not much longer after. It starts off silly, tying back to the first SS collection as Loki Familia are looking at the “character poll” and Lefiya is getting very, very angry that Bell beat Aiz in some categories. She goes off to find out who was responsible for this travesty… and runs into Syr, who is spreading the word of Bell, partly as part of her punishment (which goes over Lefiya’s head, as she missed everything and has no idea why Syr is) and partly as she’s still madly in love with Bell. Meanwhile, Aiz ends up running into Ryu, and the two are super awkward around each other, especially when they recall their first meeting. Naturally, the four eventually come together. This, the most recent story (it was written for the book itself) mostly made me happy as it shows that Syr is not going to just be a meek little good girl, even though she’s given up being Freya. She’s here to spread the word of Bell, and if Lefiya says “rival” and Aiz says “rabbit”, well, that’s fine with her.

So this was solid, but again, for fans only. Next up should be Sword Oratoria 14.

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck, Vol. 2

by

By Izumi Okido and Jyun Hayase. Released in Japan as “Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu!” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

I’ve said about a lot of light novel series that reach a second volume that they have the same issue that bands have when they reach that “difficult second album” – they struggle to figure out what to do next. I don’t think that’s the issue here, as I think the author has a definite long-term plan in mind. The trouble is that it is a long-term plan, and I suspect they definitely have “Alicia does something so annoying she gets exiled” for Book Three. As such, a lot of this book seems to be treading water a bit, showing us Alicia being gleefully “villainessey”, and Liz still trying to be an idealist even as events are starting to conspire against her. And this is despite the fact that someone appears to be trying to swing events back towards the game by having the Saint attacked by a horrible beast.

Two years after exiling herself to a small cottage on the family property, with no one allowed to see her, Alicia has finally reached Level 91, allowing her to keep up with the Level 100 Liz. She celebrates by heading over to the village where she can use powerful magic to partially restore Will’s sight… by literally giving him one of her own eyes. Feeling proud, she then unfortunately realizes this has taken all her magic, and it’ll be a week before she can use it again. And so she has to hide from her father, who will no doubt test her Level 91-ness. She does this by going back to school, only to find that while she was gone, and theoretically not able to influence anything, her reputation has gotten MUCH WORSE, and she’s almost the boogeyman now.

As I said, a lot of this seems to be delaying tactics, as we see various arrogant noble girls (or wannabe arrogant noble girls) trying to either attack and defame Alicia or try to get her on their side so that they can trick and defame her later. For the most part Alicia is too clever for any of this to work, but it does give her the opportunity to give herself a cool haircut and give a bullied girl a magical crying room (we are even explicitly told said crying girl is gay, though I suspect it’s less for representation and more to show that Even The Girls Want Her in a tropey way.) Of course there’s also her relationship with Duke, where he’s very clearly in love with her, and says so, and she’s also clearly in love with him, but knows that loving him is bad for the country and bad for her plan. She’s too pragmatic to give in to romance.

As I said, all signs point to the third book throwing Alicia into the enemy country she wants to investigate. Till then, this was pretty good, but felt sort of formless.

Secrets of the Silent Witch -another-: Rise of the Barrier Mage, Vol. 1

by

By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch: Another – Kekkai no Majutsushi no Nariagari” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

Sometimes, when you’re writing a long-running series where the main character is a shy, retiring young woman who literally invented a new brand of magic just so that she wouldn’t have to speak up, and who regards interaction with others as anathema, you need a change of pace. Sure, we all love Monica, but come on, are you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go apeshit? Fortunately, we have a solution, we can do a prequel. A prequel about Louis Miller, Monica’s fellow sage and occasional tormentor. Here we learn about Louis, see how his school life went, and see how he met and fell in love with his future wife, Rosalie. And frankly, he’s an appalling little gremlin. If you ever wanted to see the guy who screams “they all laughed at me at the academy, but I’ll show them… I’LL SHOW THEM ALL!” as a hero, this is absolutely the book for you.

A young boy named Louis Miller is eking out a grim life working in a brothel when he comes across a book of elementary magic, which he inhales like it’s his first meal in weeks. The book turns out to belong to a professor at the famed magic university, who is impressed that in the minimal time he’s had it Louis has managed to figure out so much about magic. Sensing potential, he invites Louis to study at the university. There Louis meets mortal enemies, kind if somewhat stoic girls, and teachers who think that he’s just a violent thug. Because he is absolutely a violent thug. Louis does not believe in using magic in a fight if he can use physical attacks, and he loves to fight dirty. However, he’s also a brilliant prodigy, so he can get away with being hell on wheels. Mostly.

The webnovel version of Silent Witch also had a prequel, but it focused on Rosalie. This rewrites things so that it shows us Louis’ past and how he came to be who he is in the main series. It’s a lot of fun. Louis is, frankly, appalling, but in a fun shonen way. He’s said to have a heavy Northern accent (which the main series gets rid of, as he ditches it to get the approval to marry Rosalie), and I like to imagine him as a Geordie. His chief teacher, Gideon, decides that he’s the sort of person who gets stronger by getting the crap beaten out of him rather than by praising him, and much as I dislike corporal punishment in reality, he’s not wrong. If there’s any sweetness in this it’s Louis and Rosalie, who are a cute couple immediately, though it takes the entire book for them to confess. That said, I suspect in the next book we’ll see more of his nemesis than his lover.

The second and final volume of this is already out in Japan, so we should not be waiting too long for it. If you love Silent Witch but wish that it starred a sociopath with a heart of gold, this is for you.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 27

by

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I’ve talked before about how the way that these books come out in Japan vs. America can sometimes hinder the English-speaking reader. The afterword to this volume says that the 5th Ex book will be a great thing to read to explain much of what happens at the end. Which it absolutely is. The trouble is that here it came out before the final volume of the 5th arc, and also I’ve forgotten most of it by now. Not great, though I understand why Yen cannot simply match another country’s publication schedule to help the wiki-consulting reader. On the other hand, sometimes we can actually get a release schedule helping us out. The last Re: Zero I reviewed was the third short story collection, which has the debut of Natsumi Schwartz, Subaru’s cross-dressing alter ego. And now here we are with the 2nd book in Arc 7, and who should appear to save the day (well, somewhat) but the same Natsumi Schwartz? I expected to see “her” again, but not this soon.

Subaru wants nothing to do with Abel’s crusade, and so he, Rem, and Louis ask the Shudrack to help them reach the nearest town, which they enter thanks to a brother-sister team of eccentrics. Unfortunately, Subaru then dies. Over. And over. And over again. Without quite figuring out what’s going on, which does not help his state of mind at all. Once he’s able to finally realize who is doing this, he manages to break out of the city and go BACK to Abel – as Abel had predicted he would do. That said, he also brought along Flop and Medium (yes, those are their names, it’s a bit Baccano, methinks), which allows Abel the possibility of actually winning his next battle. Unfortunately, Flop proves reluctant to help, so it’s up to Subaru to remember what he’s best at: dumb-sounding plans that work brilliantly.

This is another book that gets better as it goes along. The first half is basically Subaru learning a lesson the only way he knows how – by dying over and over again till it sticks in his head. And that lesson is that this is not a war that he and Rem (and Louis, who Subaru is finally realizing he cannot simply treat like a criminal anymore) can run away from. Honestly, the best parts of the book are him and Rem. This makes sense, given how much ground Rem lost to Emilia over the last fifteen or so books. She’s still grumpy and distrusts Subaru’s smell, but she’s starting to see what his morals and ethics are… and is there to help support them when needed, and criticize him when he varies from them. Subaru worrying she was going to run away from him again, and begging her to stay not for him, but for all the others who love her, is fantastic.

The cliffhanger suggests we’ll be getting a lot of a certain Royal Selection candidate soon… not a surprise given who Abel actually is. Unfortunately, it’ll be till at least December till we get more, as Yen’s schedule lightens up. Till then, this is great in the second half, and OK in the first.

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 2

by

By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li.

I admit, I had expected the build-up to the imperial coup (literally, the Emperor is doing the couping) to be longer than this. In retrospect, though, this actually feels about right. The series knows that there’s only so much we can take of Carmine pretending to be a dumb little puppet while gradually gaining trusted allies and learning vital bits of information. Especially given that he’s also still having to fight off assassination attempts. But it does show, as Carmine reminds us in this book, that the battle against the Chancellor and the Minister of Ceremony is only the beginning, and that we end this book with an Emperor who may finally have revealed his true self but is also left with an Empire that is still on the verge of collapse. This is only the beginning, and he’s going to need more things – allies, military power, and most of all money – to avoid history coming down on him very hard indeed.

This book divides pretty neatly in two. The first part of the book shows him touring the Empire, where he has to fend off another attempted assassination, try to win over some potential allies, and also be exposed to the horrors of war, which he knows very well he bears responsibility for indirectly, puppet or no. He’s revealing his true self to more and more people at this point. In the second half he learns the truth behind the Illuminatus, and that he is not the first person to be reincarnated into this world. And finally, all his plans come together, as he manages to have a faction send their troops to take over the empire because of treason, and then demonstrates – as he’s being crowned – what the reward actually is for traitors.

The first book had a substantial role for Rosaria as Carmine’s love interest, but also teased two other girls who may also end up with him. Nadine gets more focus here, and at first seems to be a standard cliche – Carmine sees her at the start of this volume and thinks “so this is what tsunderes are like”. But she also has to be imprisoned in order for Carmine’s plot to not get discovered too early, and it becomes apparent that she’s the most “normal” of the three girls – and therefore the most vulnerable, especially as she’s not put in a gilded tower like Vera-Sylvie, but put in the traitor dungeon, which is exactly what you’d expect a cliched dungeon to be like. Carmine literally has to send an ally to help her so that she doesn’t kill herself in despair. But her simpleness is also her best quality – she’s determined to mold him into a good Emperor, and though she can’t spot the act consciously like Rosaria can, she does spot it unconsciously – and when the truth is revealed, seems overjoyed to be of use to him after all. These are good kids.

By the end of the book Carmine is 12, in power, and in trouble. We’ll see if he can age further in the third book. This can be dry at times, but is also rewarding for those who like OP politics light novels.