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Reviews

Éclair: a Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart

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By Various Artists. Released in Japan as “Éclair – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Eleanor Summers.

The big news about this anthology, I think, is the fact that we’re seeing it at all. These anthologies pop up quite a bit in Japan, usually in the shoujo end of the market, with a collection of themed stories by various artists with a few known names to anchor the collection. That’s just what we have here, with the theme being the love between two girls. And yes, it is mostly girls – there are a few adults in this collection, but unsurprisingly most of the stories go to the4 traditional yuri well of ‘all girls school’. That said, while there are a few stories here that are essentially “Story A”, as Erica Friedman has defined it, there are more surprises than I expected, and quite a few touching and amusing moments. It doesn’t get that feeling of reading the same story 16 times that you sometimes see in these sort of books. And, of course, there is Girls’ Love to the nth degree – I only spotted a man once or twice in the entire book, and they didn’t speak.

It’s hard to review a title like this because the stories are so short you risk giving everything away just discussing them. On the ‘famous author’ end, the cover and first story are by Nio Nakatani, the author of Bloom Into You (unfortunately, I found it a rather weak story to begin with). Sakuya Amano, creator of Gosick and Konohana Kitan, has a story about a sheltered rich girl and her sharp-tongued maid, of which my favorite part was the sharp tongue more than the romance. And Canno of Kiss & White Lily fame has a story about a high school girl with a crush on an older, unemployed woman which is probably better off with the open ending that it was given – the author noted that she wanted to make the older woman more “bad”, but was unable to do it, and you can see the struggle to tame the story in the actual work.

Elsewhere, we get stories that allow us to see that not all relationships end happily ever after, with Shiori Nishio’s story showing us a love realized too late. There’s some twisted love, as a coffeehouse employee is falling for their new hire, but only because she’s a completely useless klutz and therefore adorable. I enjoyed the tales we got that stepped away from the school, like the woman who asks her friend to help her cook something for whichever new boyfriend she’s fallen for, only to find that this pie may be a little different; or the “post-apocalyptic” story that was a bit silly but amusing enough. Possibly the weirdest story in the book comes near the end, where a girl declares that she’s going to be having another girl’s baby. It’s the sort of thing you could only pull off in a short story – the number of pages (10) was just about right.

As you can imagine, the contents are highly variable, as you’d expect with an anthology like this. That said, the anthology is still well-worth picking up overall, especially if you like the authors or the genre. There are a few authors in here I would not mind seeing more of.

The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress, Vol. 3

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By SOW and Zaza. Released in Japan by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by Bookwalker. Translated by Ari and John Werry.

As readers of fantasy manga and light novels know, one of the go-to ways to create a new world but also invest it with countries that the audience might care about is to make it like Europe around the time of the first and second world wars. Be it refighting the conflict with mecha or girls in powered suits, extending the way forever thanks to the efforts of a twisted God and twisted little girl, or focusing on post-war issues and fallout, everyone loves to write not-Europe – particularly not-Germany. Combat Baker is no different, which has made this book, one where Germany essentially won the war, a bit discomfiting. But for the most part it’s been subtle, and as long as the author doesn’t try to work in the Jewish people in an incredibly unsubtle way with a stereotypical character, I think we’re — (telephone rings) Hello, yes? What? (hangs up) Oh dear.

Before I get into Shylock (yes, really), let’s take a look at the rest of the book. Jacob is the focus of this volume, as his mother wants to move to a bigger city but he wants to stay behind with Lud and company. Meanwhile, the military is dealing with the equivalent of the SS troops, a separate group attached to the powers in charge which is trying to become more powerful than the government’s own military. In order to achieve this they have sent an immature teenage brat with delusions of regaining her family’s honor, one token “just plain evil” soldier, and a corporal in a mask who looks like he wants to stop these people, but also has something to hide. And of course we still have the occasional harem antics, as Sven frustratedly realizes that she cannot control women from falling in love with Lud, mostly as she hasn’t actually confessed yet. Can this group survive a Bake-Off as well as a kidnapping?

I should note here that I’m not Jewish, so this is just my own personal feelings. I think I see what the author wanted to do with his insertion of Shylock, a businessman who grew up abused by people simply due to his ethnicity and has tried hard to run his business and support his country. We see a bit of the catch-22 involved when he thinks that giving money to the state would get him in trouble, only to be arrested for not giving money. I suspect some of my reservations would be allayed if he weren’t literally named Shylock, and his nickname is “Greedy Shylock” to boot, a businessman who controls most of the weapons manufacturing in not-Germany. When you’re writing a fantasy novel which is dealing with the horrors of war in many ways, you need some subtlety in your writing and background. Shylock was as subtle as a boot to the head.

Apart from that, this is a decent enough Combat Baker. Jacob gains some depth here as a child who’s had to grow up far too fast, and occasionally acts like the child he’s supposed to be for once. And once again it’s hinted that Lud knows exactly who Sven is and is just rewriting his own mind to forget it. There’s also new translators, and the book read a lot smoother this time around. If you’ve been reading Combat Baker, you’ll want this one as well. And yes, there is also delicious bread (though the book does not come with free bread with purchase – Bookwalker might want to look into0 that.)

Heaven’s Design Team, Vol. 1

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Do you remember that moment in your manga-reading journey when you discovered that there was a manga about golf? Or pachinko? Or train station bento boxes? I do: I’d just read an entry in Shaenon Garrity’s Overlooked Manga Festival, and was astonished to discover that someone had written manga about Cup Noodle and 7-Eleven. I hadn’t been curious about the origins of either instant ramen or convenience stores, but the possibility of learning about them from manga was so irresistible that I tracked down copies. Neither manga were good, exactly, but I found them oddly compelling, both for their sincerity and their attention to small but interesting details.

I had a similar experience with Heaven’s Design Team, a new edu-manga that explains how different animal species are uniquely adapted to their environments. Its creative team has taken a bolder approach to their subject than Project X‘s, opting for humor over straightforward dramatization. The basic mode of storytelling, however, reminded me of Cup Noodle and 7-Eleven, relying heavily on talking heads to impart information.

Heaven’s Design Team has a faintly blasphemous premise: God is so busy running the world that He’s outsourced the creation of new animal and plant species to a crack team of designers. God still has a hand in deciding whether unicorns go into production or not, but He’s largely an invisible presence in the story, while the motley crew of consultants take center stage. Each designer has a signature animal — a horse, a cow, a snake, a bird — that he or she is trying to improve, and one well-defined personality trait — say, a fondness for lethal predators — that puts him or her into conflict with other team members.

That’s an imaginative strategy for teaching readers about the quirks of animal anatomy, but Heaven’s Design Team never quite finds its groove. Part of the problem lies with the authors’ dogged adherence to formula; at the beginning of every story, the design team fields an order from the Big Guy for an “adorably uncute animal” or “an animal that can eat tall plants,” then bickers their way to creating an actual species like the common egg snake, the giraffe, the armadillo, or the narwhal. Their design process yields nuggets of information about the creatures they’re envisioning that, at chapter’s end, turn out to be real attributes of real animals. So many of these factual tidbits are related through talking-head panels, however, that the manga often feels more like a PowerPoint presentation than a story, despite the authors’ attempts to make these info-dump conversations more animated with facial close-ups and dramatic poses.

From time to time, however, Heaven’s Design Team drops a joke that’s so weird or so well executed it earns a real laugh. In one scene, for example, two unicorns accidentally bump into one another, prompting a terse exchange straight out of Goodfellas. In another sight gag, Shimoda, the team’s most straight-laced member, visits the Insect Department, a division populated entirely by young men with identical haircuts and glasses–the ultimate worker bees. These moments last only a panel or two, but they hint at what the series might have been if the authors hadn’t suffered the same repetition compulsion as their characters. Your milage may vary. 

Heaven’s Design Team, Vol. 1
Written by Hebi-Zou and Tsuta Suzuki, Art by Tarako
Translated by
Kodansha Comics, 142 pp.
Rated E, for Everyone

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 6

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

This volume of Realist Hero sees our heroes go off to meet the dragon people of this world. Most of them are as you’d imagine dragon people to be in an isekai light novel series written for guys – Western dragons types who can fly and breathe fire, carry men on their back, and can also turn into beautiful women. Indeed, the carrying men on their back thing is explicitly stated to be the same as losing your virginity for a dragon – with heavy consequences for the dragon if the guy doesn’t end up partnering with her. That said, none of these dragons are the star. The star is Naden, who is a dragon who doesn’t have wings and can’t breathe fire, and thus is mocked by the other dragons around her. Fortunately the star of this series is Souma, and so you know he’s going to find value in her (she can create electricity!), see what she’s really based on (Eastern dragons – which means yes, she can fly), and end up partnering with her in order to save the dragon nation from a disaster – and also because they’ve fallen for each other.

The plot of this book is very straightforward, to the point where it even seems a little rushed. Naden falls for Souma almost immediately, and there are several scenes to reassure us that he’s not going to be marrying her simply because of her powers or status, but because he likes her as well. I also appreciated the development given to Ruby, one of three “Mean Girls” style dragons who bully Naden for being different. It’s framed more as “each wants what the other can’t have”, and as Ruby points out, at least she’s being a jerk to Naden in person, rather than behind her back. Ruby, during the crisis, also has to be ridden by Hal, which of course means that he has to marry her, which is possibly poor timing given that he and Kaede finally got engaged before this book. Fortunately, everyone’s super fine with polygamy here, so it works out.

There are a few seeds for future books sown here, the biggest of which is the nature of the world that Souma was summoned to as a hero, which may not be as “alternate fantasy world” as first expected. I expect this may have something to do with the demons, which we’ve already heard are not quite as “they’re just evil, OK?’ as previously thought. The other implication of the book’s ending is far less surprising – Liscia is pregnant. This may be why the author had her go with Souma for the final battle even though she didn’t do much – it’s possibly the last time she’ll get to be involved. The next book looks to feature Juna and Roroa, so we may simply get revolving fiancee development for a while. And there is also a nice helping of humor here, ranging from Aisha destroying everything around her because Souma disappeared to Empress Maria’s new career as a pop idol. Souma’s influence is felt far and wide, clearly.

There may not be quite as much kingdom developing as previous volumes, so some fans may be disappointed. But for the most part this is a decent Realist Hero, introducing a new fiancee quickly and economically. She’s cute, too.

Kabukimonogatari: Dandy Tale

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By NISIOISIN. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Daniel Joseph.

The joke about this volume of the Monogatari series has always been that Shinobu steals Mayoi’s book. It’s not entirely correct – the entire thrust of the plot revolves around Mayoi here, and how her state as a ghost wandering the town saddens Araragi as much as it pleases him to banter with her. And of course there’s the climax of the book, which features Mayoi… well, a Mayoi. (Covers always spoil.) But there’s no denying that the actual dialogue in this volume is about 80% between Araragi and Shinobu, as his desire to finish his summer homework (which he had forgotten to do due to college exam prep) leads to Shinobu abusing her powers to send them back in time. This leads to what at first seems like a chance for Araragi to change history so that he can make Mayoi’s life and death a little better… after all, how could saving one little girl from getting hit by a car possibly change history? (cough)

Araragi is once again the narrator of the series, which alas means that we have a lot of his tendencies to deal with. In fact, given that Nisioisin says in the afterword that he was trying to write a novel consisting almost entirely of little girls (Mayoi, Shinobu, and Ononoki, who sets the plot in motion with her discussion of the differences between her, Mayoi, and Araragi), there’s even more lolicon jokes here than ever before, with endless discussion of Shinobu’s ribs and their use and abuse. Fortunately, though, this also means we get the opportunity to evolve Shinobu’s character and make her more proactive. She’s gone from being an outright villain, to sulking, and then to being a somewhat teasing but reluctant partner who says she helps Tsukihi merely because it amuses her. This book shows how much the pairing between Araragi and Shinobu has truly changed both of them, and reinforces the closeness of their bond. Araragi may love Senjogahara most, but he’ll die with Shinobu, and that’s sweet too, in a vampire sort of way.

It might be a good idea, by the way, to go back and read the 3rd Bakemonogatari series, Tsubasa Cat, before tackling this one, as the events there play out here in a tragically different way. That said, Araragi himself has already forgotten what happened that day and has to have his memory jogged by a somewhat frustrated Shinobu. On the other hand, you may want to save your reading time for this book alone, given it’s one of the longer volumes in the series to date. Much of that length is taken up by what we’re used to seeing from Araragi and company – endless meandering conversation, killer untranslatable puns, and 4th wall breaking galore, with discussion of the characters knowing they’re fictional, as well as knowing that they’ve got an anime airing. Anime fans may be interested to know that this one cuts out more than most any other Monogatari adaptation, so it’s worth picking up to see what you missed.

There is also, as you can no doubt see, another translator on the series, and he’s also doing the next book, Hanamonogatari, which will focus on Kanbaru. He does a good job of keeping things as smooth as it’s possible to o given this author’s tendency to vomit dictionaries at people whenever the opportunity comes up. Ononoki is trying out new variations on “oni no onii-chan” here (brogre was a favorite of mine). There are one or two places where the translation suddenly features a lot of Japanese words, and you get the feeling there even the editors agreed “yeah, that’s just impossible to adapt”. Even the subtitle to the book is tricky. A kabukimono is sort of the equivalent of a Japanese dandy, but it can also mean “twist” or “deviation”, which is certainly what happens here with all the time-travel antics.

Fans of Monogatari will want to pick this up, particularly if they like Shinobu or Mayoi. For anyone feeling bad for Mayoi, given that Shinobu steals the spotlight so much, I’d wait till later in the year when that might change.

A Sister’s All You Need, Vol. 1

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By Yomi Hirasaka and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Imouto sae Ireba ii” by Shogakukan. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

I will admit, I wasn’t originally planning to start this series at all. Its reputation, from the anime that was adapted from it, was so well known that I kind of recoiled. That said, most of that reputation is either from the first scene of Episode 1 or based around the antics of one character. And I’m always reluctant to condemn something without at least trying it first. Plus the author has also written Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, whose manga I have enjoyed despite the fact that it too seems to revolve around “the author shows off his fetish grab bag” just like this series does. Would this series be a case where I could see beyond the blatant pandering and appreciate the satire that the author is clearly also trying to sell readers here? Well… yes and no. It’s readable enough, but I’m not sure I really need to read any more of it.

Our hero, such as he is, is a light novel author with a particular obsession with little sisters, Itsuki. He’s actually had a few series published, but it’s notable that after the first one they’ve all been one-shorts or 2-3 volumes. Fans are tired of everything he writes revolving around little sisters. Much of the humor in the book comes from his ridiculous attitude towards this particular fetish. Other participants in the book include Chihiro, his stepbrother and minder who is e3ssentially perfect (no, the back cover even admits it as well); Miyako, his old friend from college who is there to bring something of the voice of reason to things; Haruto, his fellow light novel author who’s savvier than he is but also a bit jealous of Itsuki’s creativity; Puriketsu, an illustrator who’s perfect at art for a giant flake at life; Ashley, who was possibly my favorite, there to save Itsuki money on taxes; and Nayuta.

Let’s just say it up front: the reason people will want to continue with this series at all is Nayuta. The reason people will want to drop this series like a hot potato is ALSO Nayuta. She is by far the most interesting character in the book. When that works, it’s great – sometimes what she says is genuinely startling and funny, and I felt she had the best developed backstory in the group. If it weren’t that the author of this book also wrote Haganai, a series famous from blowing up its fandom to avoid a real ending, I’d suspect that she and Itsuki were an obvious end couple. On the other hand, her filthy mouth can sometimes just be shock for the sake of shock. From the beginning she’s saying “I want your hard cock” to Itsuki, and we also get “walking blowjob machine” and other similar things. Nayuta… is perhaps trying a bit too hard. And that can be trying for the reader, even if her feelings are genuine.

The other reason to read this series is the insight it gives into the light novel writer/editor process, and also satirizing that a bit. The book namedrops all over the place, including Haganai’s OWN little sister characters getting mentioned more than once, and a RPG where the players essentially steal abilities from Index and Fate/Stay Night. It’s not exactly a book to take seriously. That said, I’m not sure I enjoyed it enough to get another volume, mostly as I found the lead, who is supposed to be an amusing sister-obsessed freak, the dullest part of the book. And while that’s fairly common in the light novel world, it’s still not a good thing. If you like light novel meta, or teenage girls talking dirty, though, this may be the series for you.

Satan’s Secretary, Vol. 1

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By Kamotsu Kamonabe. Released in Japan by Earth Star Entertainment, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Earth Star. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jennifer O’Donnell. Adapted by Jamal Joseph, Jr.

Western publishers have had quite a few titles lately that fall into the broad category of “one-gag concept” manga. In other words, the premise of the series revolves around a gag. This can be dangerous if it quickly grows wearisome, but if it’s a good gag, then it can frequently do very well playing variations on the basic theme. Satan’s Secretary has just such a gag. To be fair, we’ve seen this sort of thing very recently – As Miss Beelzebub Likes has essentially the same concept. But there the series was less about “the demon king has a secretary” as much as the everyday life of the demon king and her secretary. This one, though, is entirely dedicated only to the one gag: The Lord of Darkness has kidnapped a secretary, and she’s very good at her job. In fact, one might argue she’s TOO good at her job.

Not that her talents aren’t really needed here. The Lord of Darkness is pretty half-assed, to be honest, and in his slumber the demons have gotten really pathetic. When he finally awakens (13 years late… he was sleeping in, give him a break!), he orders a minion to kidnap one of the human’s wisest scholars to torture for information so that he can go about his conquest and defeat the chosen hero. He winds up with the local kingdom’s secretary, who is deadpan and somewhat reserved, but seems to be all in for destroying the humans. The subtitle of the series seen on the cover is something of a running gag (particularly the “except me”), and it’s not till the end of the book that we get any motivation for her actions beyond “is a really good secretary prepared to help the company”. What does this mean? It means job interviews. It means salaries and benefits. It means plans to wipe out humanity that are not merely “go out in a group and get killed by adventurers”. Satan is… a bit taken aback, to say the least.

As I noted before, Satan is in fact pretty annoying throughout the book, being the very picture of a lazy boss coasting on past victory and not wanting to put in much time at his actual job. As such, the secretary carries the bulk of the plot, characterization and gags – there are a lot of other demons, but for the most part we don’t really get to know too many of them beyond genericness. There are some very funny gags here, such as getting the demons going out to kill humans to sign a liability waiver, or the secretary’s reaction to being fed an aphrodisiac they’re testing – she’s certainly all in for the demon lord breeding, but not her, and it’s all related to her job. I appreciate that this is not really a fanservicey manga, beyond a shot of the secretary in her slip at one point. There’s even a bit of depth at the end, when she reveals that she’s never even had a name, and tells Satan (and the reader) why she’s perfectly happy to let humanity burn.

The cliffhanger seems to suggest we’ll be seeing the supposed hero soon, and that may shift the focus a bit… but I doubt it. Satan’s Secretary works best when it’s fulfilling its genre of “demonic office comedy”, with the secretary running the ship with an iron hand. Better than it sounds, I definitely recommend giving this title a shot. Death to humanity (except her)!

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 6

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

Arifureta is taken from a web novel, which the author and publisher then rewrite, add to, and extend in order to make the published light novel version. As such, it seems a bit ridiculous to suggest that the author was told by the editor to move things along as they need to cut to the chase. But that’s what seems to be happening here, as several plot threads wrap up so fast that you expect some other hand behind it all. Aiko was rescued so quickly that I actually was worried that a chapter had been skipped, and the resolution of who is the traitor among Hajime’s fellow students also seemed to happen very fast (though if you looked at the cover and said “who the heck is that?”, you might have had an inkling). Other than that, this is a typical volume of Arifureta – over the top fighting, the occasional really good character introspection, and turning very bad when the author tries to be funny – something he shares with other light novel authors I could name.

The strengths of the book are quite obvious. The author likes to write overpowered fights, and is good at it. Seeing Yue and Shea team up to fight a horde of demons was fun, especially as absolutely nothing seemed to faze them. This contrasts with Hajime’s fight with an Angels sent to kill him, which goes very badly for him, mostly as he’s trying to fight while also holding Aiko. Once that problem is solved, things proceed to go Hajime’s way a lot more. Aiko is once again probably the best character in the book, as she’s forced to use her powers in order to completely wipe out the church bishops and priests (yes, her farming powers – it makes sense in context) and feels hideous amounts of guilt and shame for murdering people. The aftermath of this, and Hajime’s response to her, is beautiful, and makes the entire book worthwhile.

Some other parts don’t make the book worthwhile, sadly. As I said before, the pacing of this volume seems incredibly rushed, and a lot of it felt like the author wanted to clear the decks so he could start on the second half of the series (I think we’re about halfway through it right now). Our villain, once she gets revealed, gets to fall straight into the yandere stereotype, and is far duller than I’d hoped based on past manipulations. I’ve no doubt we’ll see her again, but I doubt she’ll have any more significant successes. And I hated absolutely everything about the scene with the okama muscle guys, which is grotesque negative stereotype central. Hajime’s harem stays the same size here, though he is aware Aiko loves him, and the narrative is aware that it’s only a matter of time for Shizuku. Oh yes, and Kaori’s now got an Angel body after being murdered by her insane classmate, meaning she gets to be as ludicrously overpowered as the others – which is what she’s always wanted, to be fair.

Arifureta is always going to have that air of “I am getting back at the bullies who tormented me in school” to it, and the villains this time round make that comparison more painfully apt than usual. Still, it’s fun mostly, provided the author isn’t being humorous, and should definitely please ongoing fans.

Devilman: The Classic Collection, Vol. 1

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By Go Nagai. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Zack Davisson and Adrienne Beck.

Devilman was one of those series that I always knew about but never got around to reading, mostly as the one spoiler that everyone knows is… well, a spoiler, but let’s just say that this sort of series is usually a bit too dark for me. But this is a really nice release, in a deluze, 700-page hardcover, and it’s the original manga from 1972, so I couldn’t really resist. And for the most part, I’m very happy to have read this series. The first 450 pages of Devilman are absolutely riveting – the storytelling is old-fashioned, but you quickly lose yourself in the world of Akira, Ryo and Miki, as well as the grotesquely bizarre demons that are attempting to retake the world and will kill every human in order to do it. It’s incredibly violent, and there’s lots of nudity, but it’s a trip. That said, I was… a lot less enthusiastic as the manga carried on.

The book can essentially be divided into three parts. The first part, about 450 pages, was clearly written as a limited series, and is very big on action sequences, fast page turning and grotesque horror. Akira is a nice, somewhat meek sort of guy who is going to school with Miki, who clearly likes him but would also like him to get a bit more manly. (She’s something of a delinquent, carrying knives in her skirt, though she tries to act the “girly girl” in front of Akira.) Enter Ryo, Akira’s best friend, who has a dark secret he needs to tell him… about demons. This dark secret leads them through a tragic family horror, ancient demons who have returned, naked hippie orgies (yes, really), and a whole lot of demons trying to kill them. The only way to save the world is for Akira to become Devilman… and hope that his innate goodness is enough to keep back the demon within him. As I said before, this entire section reads fantastically.

We then get much shorter chapters, as the series clearly has now been picked up as a regular ongoing one and Go Nagai has to come up with new stuff. The first two chapters are pretty good in a dark, horrific way, both dealing with the brutal murder of young children, and serve to show off that Devilman is a grim, bloody world where no one is safe. (Note this ran in a magazine for 12-17 year old boys.) And then we come to the final five stories in the book, aka “Akira and Ryo time-travel through history and find demons trying to pervert humanity’s destiny.” First of all, “Oh, Akira can travel through time” made me shake my head. Secondly, demons trying to crush humanity is fine, but I am not really a fan of “demons are behind history’s worst moments” stories. The chapter with a young Adolf Hitler, in particular, reaches a low that I’d call “godawful”. This was not a good direction for the series to go in.

[I have been informed by Zack Davisson that this collection is actually from several different variants of the Devilman manga, and that the ‘time travel’ chapters are from Shin Devilman, a 1979 sequel. This would help explain why they feel so out of place.]

That said, over half this volume is still a fantastic read and a good look into the twisted mind of Go Nagai. It’s not for everyone (there really is a LOT of bloody violence and nudity), but if you love classic manga you’ll want this in your collection, though I’d advise putting a bookmark at page 530 and saying “stop here”.

Again!!, Vol. 2

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The phenomenal success of Yuri!!! On ICE turned out to be a boon for manga fans, too, as American publishers snapped up two of Mitsurou Kubo’s better-known comics: Moteki: Love Strikes!, a seinen romance about a thirty-something loser who reconnects with women from his past, and Again!!, a time-travel comedy about two teenagers who get a second chance at high school. I won’t lie: Again!! was my hands-down favorite of the two, both for its raw honesty and its sharply observed characters.

Again!! avoids the sophomore slump by briskly advancing the plot without sacrificing the humor or heart that made the first chapters so appealing. Kinichiro and Fujieda both get a turn in the spotlight, with Kinichiro discovering the pleasures of cheering, and Fujieda experiencing loneliness for the first time. Volume two also introduces three new characters, all of whom used to belong to the ouendan: Okuma, the drummer; Masaki, the vice-captain; and Suga, the cheer sergeant. Although the trio’s ostensible role is comic relief, their real function is helping us understand why the ouendan failed, revealing the degree to which their unwanted advances, passivity, and flagrant sexism undermined Usami’s authority as captain and poisoned group morale.

While this information is crucial to the story, it also points to Again!!‘s biggest problem: Usami. Mitsurou Kubo is frank about why Usami resorts to shouting, scolding, and shaming to prove that she’s “man” enough to lead the ouendan — a compassionate insight into a character who often seems more harridan than human. Yet Usami’s actual personality remains a mystery. Everything we learn about her is revealed through other characters, whether they’re discussing her beef with Abe, the head cheerleader, or describing the flurry of media interest in Usami when she first joined the ouendan. We don’t know how Usami feels about her teammates, or why she’s so passionately interested in cheering — two questions that need to be addressed if she’s to become a full-fledged character.

Despite these flaws, Again!! manages to wring fresh laughs from its time-travel premise while depicting high school in all its unpleasantness. Fujieda, for example, vacillates between trying to profit from her knowledge of the future and lamenting her lack of friends. Kinichiro also is caught between past and present: he’s angry that his first kiss didn’t go as planned, and deeply self-conscious after a loud, public declaration of how miserable he feels — an exquisitely awful scene that acknowledges the depth of his pain while recognizing that his brusque behavior directly contributes to his sense of isolation and victimhood. It’s this kind of insight that makes Again!! such a compelling story, reminding us that our memories of being shunned, wronged, or ridiculed can be so one-sided that we’d make the same mistakes if given the opportunity to relive our teenage years. Recommended.

Again!!, Vol. 2
By Mitsurou Kobu
Translated by Rose Padgett
Rated OT, for Older Teens (16+)
Kodansha Comics

Strike the Blood, Vol. 9

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

After a couple of volumes that were deeper and more complicated than usual, we’re back to business as usual at Strike the Blood, Inc. That means we get a new girl for Kojou to save, lots of cool battles that do a tremendous amount of property damage, a number of blatant flirting attempts that Kojou completely misses because this simply isn’t one of whose kind of harem titles, and lots of jealous rages that allows Kojou to get snubbed for “humorous” effect, although as always Mikumo’s attempts at being funny are funny only in a 90s anime “hey, what if the girl is a tsundere!” sort of way. And yes, you know things are back to normal when Yukina says her catchphrase, though it’s slightly less of a proclamation than usual. That said, this is, as always, a solid, average volume of Strike the Blood, and those who’ve been following along will be pleased by it – while also grumbling that Yukina is on the cover again, no doubt.

The girl being saved this time around, is Yume, who seems to be a standard “child who’s lost her parents” at first but ends up being a succubus. Fortunately, given that Yume looks to be about 12, she doesn’t do any seducing herself, but instead slips into the minds of the girls and brings out their inner desires. Unfortunately, the fact that she is about 12 means we get a lot of “lol Kojou is a lolicon” jokes, though mercifully there aren’t as many as I expected once I gleaned the plot. She’s a sympathetic character, and the way that she tries to get past her trauma reminds me a bit of Beatrice from Umineko, but unfortunately the author has too much fighting going on to really give her tragic backstory much of a look-in – a flashback to her abusive parents and classmates might have helped. The other new character here is Kiriha, who looks like she’s Yukina’s dark mirror, and I strongly suspect we haven’t seen the last of her.

Speaking of Yukina, the more we delve into her agency and the various other agencies connected to or in competition with it, the more suspicious they become. Indeed, at times it feels like Yukina is the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on. After seeing Kojou’s actual secrets in the last book, here we get someone finding out the truth about Asagi – but tellingly, it’s Sayaka, rather than Asagi herself, Kojou, or Yukina, those who would be most impacted by knowing that secret. It’s unclear if Sayaka will ever reveal this secret to anyone else, but I’m going to guess probably not. On the bright side, the action sequences are always the best part of Strike the Blood, and tehre are a lot of them this time around (to the point where, as I noted before, I felt some could have been replaced with better backstory). When your “villain” is a 4km-long sea monster, you’ve certainly hit the big time. And we get a new Beast Vassal, meaning of course more sexy vampire biting.

I feel somewhat sad that after the highs of the previous two books we’re back to business as usual with Strike the Blood. But it’s still a decent title, and reads very quickly and easily. And as always, it reads like it was meant to be animated – which it has, as there are now OAVs with this volume’s story. I’ll be back next time to see where the series goes.

How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 1

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By Kaziya. Released in Japan by Mag Garden, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Blade. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Angela Liu. Adapted by Jaymee Goh.

I am pleased with the fact that this sort of manga has now become a popular genre over here. Oh sure, it’s no doubt due to the fact that sales for The Ancient Magus’ Bride really took off and Seven Seas is doing its standard “grab titles that are sort of similar to that”, but hell, when it’s not ‘monster girls rub themselves all over guys’ but rather ‘mellow magical fantasy series in a quiet community’, I’m not going to be saying no. So far this one is not as dark as The Girl from The Other Side or Frau Faust, nor with as problematic a starting point as The Ancient Magus’ Bride. It’s just the story of a young girl and the veterinarian she’s apprenticed to, dealing with magical creatures in a world that is slowly losing magic to SCIENCE!. The thing that really makes this title sing is that he’s learning as much from her as she is from him, and their working relationship is a lot less imbalanced than you’d expect.

The heroine is Ziska, who is one of those adorable young girls with a deep abiding love for everything. She has some magical abilities, mostly handed down from her family in books, but lacks much experience, and can’t really progress past what’s already been written down. She’s working as an apprentice to a vet, Niko, who looks like a smiling villain but is really just a nice but practical guy. Together this series finds them working on various magical creatures who have either gotten injured or are ill, working to save them with Ziska’s knowledge and Niko’s experience. As the book progresses, Niko decides that he wants to learn more about the magic that Ziska does, and Ziska starts to try to branch out from what’s in her tomes and create her own medicines, even though that may be dangerous.

Despite the fact that there’s a lot of animal surgeries here, with intestines and the like, as well as seeing a rabbit in the advanced states of cancer, the basic feel of the book is ‘peaceful’. Ziska is frankly adorable, but tries too hard, and you get the sense that she’d burn herself out without Niko being there to help her out. Aside from one comedy scene where Ziska accidentally gives herself an aphrodisiac, there’s also no indication that this is going to get romantic, and even that scene is polite enough to have Niko immediately cut things off. This is just a nice anthology where Ziska sees something that needs care, she and Niko try to figure out what care is needed to heal them and how to give it (easier said than done, especially with magical creatures), and free them back into the world. Even when it doesn’t work out – the rabbit with cancer is too far along to do much of anything except prolong its pain – Ziska manages to find a way to turn things hopeful, or Niko is able to put his own human knowledge to good use.

This has just started in Japan, So I’m expect it on a twice-a-year schedule. But I’d definitely go get it, it’s a great addition to Seven Seas’ ‘young girls in magical situations’ genre.

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 15

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

Last time I said that Index was not in the book at all. Well… she’s not in this book either. More importantly than that, however, is that Touma is entirely absent from this book as well, though one might argue that his presence is felt in terms of the two protagonists who take over for him. In fact, as the series goes on and expands, we’re going to see this more and more. A Certain Magical Index is not just about Touma anymore. And so we have other protagonists that step up. (No, sorry, Mikoto, you aren’t in this one either. But you get the more popular side manga anyway.) The first protagonist should be very familiar to Index readers, as it’s Accelerator, who’s still calling himself a villain and thinking of himself as the worst, despite the fact that he saves more lives in this book than anyone else, and has a guardian and adopted daughter more than willing to lay down their life to stop him going mad and destroying the world. As for the other protagonist, I’m afraid I’m going to have to get EVEN NERDIER than usual.

I’m limiting “Introduced in this volume” only to those who either appear in future books or have an impact on future books. So: Shizuri Mugino, Rikou Takitsubo, Saiai Kinuhata, Frenda (Seivelun), Xochitl, Baba Yoshio, Kakine Teitoku, “Girl in the Dress”, Chimitsu Sunazara, Shiage Hamazura, Hattori Hanzou. The Railgun manga is ongoing, which may explain why Kazari Uiharu gets a bigger role in this book than she ever did before or will again. In terms of timeline, it’s the day after Book 14, so presumably Touma and Index are flying back from France. By the way, I mentioned the Railgun manga. Fans of that series will note that over half the people I just mentioned as debuting in this book had large roles in the ongoing railgun storyline to some degree or another, particularly the members of ITEM. Indeed, Frenda pretty much gets all her development in Railgun, for reasons that will become apparent once you finish Index 15. (She doesn’t even get a last name in this book!) Xochitl too is expanded on quite a bit in that series.

As for the obvious, I told a little white lie in the “this volume” above. Shiage Hamazura and Hattori Hanzou are introduced in the first volume of Index short stories, which came out between Books 13 and 14. Yen Press generally does not license side story volumes, so we’re not seeing this. Fortunately, some of the important stuff is covered in the anime, as it adapted the “Skill Out Uprising” story which introduces Shiage Hamazura and has him confront Touma as a rather two-bit villain. Touma, needless to say, kicks his ass. This happens about 9 days prior to the events in this book, in the long break between Books 13 and 14. At some point after that, Hamazura gets picked up by ITEM and turned into their lackey, which is where we see him in Railgun, and also at the start of this book. (The SS volume also shows us Sasha Kreutsev, who Index readers with long memories will remember had her form used by the villain of the 4th novel.) So while I hate to say “go watch the anime” in my light novel review, go watch the anime.

As for this book, it’s rather hard to review, mostly as I’m coming at it about ten years after it was published, and after the author has spent most of Railgun trying to expand on several of the groups and people introduced here. I have trouble judging if something felt forced or if the reader at the time would shrug and move on. As an example, Mugino going completely berserk and attempting to kill the rest of her team is something that I suspect might have had a reader going “huh, where the heck did that come from?” to someone who is meeting her for the first time here, to the point where Hamazura actually has to spell out her motivations to us in one of his speeches. But fans of Railgun will likely be thinking “I was waiting for her to finally snap, and now it’s happened”.

I’d mentioned Touma was absent here, but he’s very much on the minds of both Accelerator, who puts him on a pedestal that can’t possibly be lived up to, as well as Hamazura, who is inspired by him to actually fight back against a Level 5 for the sake of the girl he loves. (In general Kamachi is not great at writing romance, but I give him props for trying. Hamazura and Takitsubo are pretty cute here, and there are one or two hints dropped before the climax that they like each other.) Most of what occurs here, as with much of Index’s plot lately, is a consequence of the previous volume. In this case, all of Academy City’s heavy hitters being called to Avignon means the villainous groups are running amock. Naturally, our group of villains emerges victorious, meaning it’s the last group standing at the end.

I also want to take the time to praise Uiharu, who only gets about 3 pages to show off her badassery, and gets her shoulder and collarbone dislocated for her troubles, but standing up to the 2nd most powerful person in Academy City, and even sticking her tongue out him? That’s amazing. (I also note that Japan, for some reason, has fanart pairing her and Kakine romantically. To which I have to say: NO.) Also kudos to Yomikawa and Last Order for being able to talk Accelerator down. That said, I suspect that every single person in Academy City knows what his weak point is now, and if I were Last Order I would not feel safe.

There’s little humor in this book, and a lot of action and betrayal. As such, it’s playing on Kamachi’s strengths, and ends up being a quick and exciting read. I would like to check back in on Index next time, though. She is in the title.

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 1

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By Sankakuhead. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Young Jump. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amanda Haley. Adapted by Shanti Whitesides.

Over the past year or so we’ve seen a couple of titles from Shueisha’s Young Jump that seem to be hear to remind us that Young Jump is not entirely sex, violence, or manly men being manly. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a good example of this, and now we also have Himouto! Umaru-chan, a series that ran for twelve volumes, got three different spinoffs, and also an anime. Which is impressive given that it’s basically a plotless gag series. Well, plotless is perhaps mean, there is the one plot. It reminded me of the start of Kare Kano, and the idea of a “perfect” student who is completely different at home is well-mined. Umaru-chan’s success with the reader will, I think, depend on how tolerant they are of spoiled brats when it’s being written for humor purposes. Umaru-chan is funny, but I can see how she might wear on people.

As you can see by the cover, this is not a touching melodrama. “Himouto” is a term referring to a himono, who is a young woman who acts perfect in the outside world but is a lazy slob at home. Add “imouto”, aka little sister, and you have this series. The focus, at least for most of this first volume, is definitely on Umaru-s home life with her older brother, a salaryman who tries to be stern and parental but usually just ends up giving in because Umaru is too annoying, too cute, or both. (Fortunately there’s no suggestion of incestual themes in this at all.) By the end of the volume we are seeing suggestions that we’ll get more of Umaru’s school life – her best friend, a shy, busty girl with a crush on Umaru’s brother, has made several appearances, and we also see the arrogant oujo. The cliffhanger also makes it seem like we’ll get more of the misunderstood sinister stalker as well (the manga does not indicate she’s misunderstood in this first volume, but come on.)

There’s reaolly not much to this, but that’s not a bad thing in a gag comedy – you don’t want to have to think too hard. So Umaru games, and eats, and whines, and her brother suffers mobly. The scenes which I liked best are the ones that show off the contrast between her two roles, usually when she and her brother are both outside the apartment and she has to keep up the facade but is starting to lose it. As for Taihei (the brother), he’s driven much by the needs of the particular gag of the chapter, being strict and angry when required, but mostly just being somewhat wishy-washy about it. Umaru is a handful, and if the two of them have living parents they aren’t mentioned, so it’s up to him to try to help her grow up. It’s not going well.

This was quite enjoyable, but as with a lot of similar gag series, I’m not sure it’s 12-volumes-and-three-spinoffs enjoyable. But we shall see, and I recommend Umaru-chan for those who like seeing annoying little sister types.

Infinite Dendrogram: The Lunar Society

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

Despite very much being a book of two halves, this volume has essentially the same theme, one which I suspect will carry over into the next book (yes, it’s another cliffhanger). That theme is how Dendrogram gamers deal with the real world, and balancing the player’s real life with this thing that is more than just another game. We see Reiji starting college and immediately running into people he knows (and would rather forget) from the game. We see him interacting with someone who is exactly the same in the game as in real life, and someone who is seemingly the same, only to turn out to have a hidden side to her. And the second half deals with the fact that players can marry NPCs and father children in this game, though it’s difficult, for reasons which are actually expounded on in detail. We also see a major player log back in after a few weeks offline to find that he’s essentially missed the entire book series to date. There’s a lot going on.

The Lunar Society is, as I indicated above, the subject of the first half of the book, particularly its leader Tsukuyo, played by a real-life college medical student named… Tsukuyo. She’s a cross between Haruhi Suzumiya and Ryouko Mendou, and I suspect some readers may find her irritating. Ray finds her terrifying once he meets her outside the game, and his brother explaining the reason why (which immediately resolves his fear) is one of the funnier parts of the book. As a character, Tsukuyo is not the greatest, being exactly as she seems: a spoiled princess who’s desperate for anything to stave off her boredom and will kidnap people to get what she wants. That said, I like Haruhi and Ryouko, so I found her quite fun. I also liked her butler/assassin, who is exactly what you’d expect a butler/assassin to be like.

Tsukuyo is not the only gamer Reiji meets at his college; he also runs into Kozue, who is far more sensible and reserved – in fact, when we see her character in the game, B3 (or BBB), she seems almost exactly the same as she is in real life, just like Tsukuyo. This *is* a front, though, and leads into an interesting discussion of PKing in Dendrogram. I’ve gotten so used to Sword Art Online being the be-all end-all work on player killing that I’d forgotten that Dendrogram *is* a game, and that the penalty is not actually lethal, just annoying. The PK guild we see here (whose reasons for gathering around their leader I will groan about and try to skip past) has rules about only PKing those who want to duel, essentially – those who want a good fight, with an appropriate “reward” for losing. As for B3, while we don’t get into it due to narrative necessity and Ray’s stunning denseness about women, it’s implied that PKing turns her on. There’s all sorts of gamers.

We’re caught up with Japan now, though I think the next book is out soon if not already. Those who have enjoyed the series will find more to enjoy here, as the books keep examining what it is about this game that’s different and how its reality can suck you in. Plus maybe we’ll see Nemesis evolve past her jealousy? Nah, probably not.