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The BS Situation of Tougetsu Umidori, Vol. 2

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By Kaeru Ryouseirui and Natsuki Amashiro. Released in Japan as “Umidori Tougetsu no “Detarame” na Jijou” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Generally speaking, my reviews these days tend to follow the pattern of “first paragraph discussing book, cover image, second paragraph summarizing plot, third paragraph giving good/bad/etc, epilogue”. And that’s what this will be too. That said, after reading this book I feel I have to put up a warning: I Swear I Am Not Making This Up. Because frankly, after reading the summary of this volume, I think one or two people might suspect I hated the book so much I just started making up absolute nonsense. Which isn’t true, I quite liked this book. But wow, the plot is indeed absolute nonsense… and yet, in the context of this world, it makes perfect sense. It’s true to the characters. It’s especially true to Umidori, and I have to admit, when she got that phone call asking her to guess who this was? I guessed it fairly quickly. Because this is a series that glories in being utterly unhinged. (And gay.)

Tougetsu Umidori is relatively happy, two weeks after the first book. She’s coming home from her job, telling Bullshit-chan she’ll be home soon, when she gets a mysterious call from someone who says they know her very well. Intimately, in fact. Despite the fact that they’ve never been to school or hung out together. As it turns out, we know the caller very well too. Because in the prologue for this book, we saw Umidori digging a grave in the back of her apartment complex and burying someone… and now they’re crying out to her, demanding that she dig them up. Unfortunately, at the same time, a mysterious cooking accident knocks Bullshit-chan unconscious, so she’s unable to help with the fact that the pencils that Umidori deep-fried and ate have gained sentience and can communicate with her. And love her. In fact, the love is pretty much mutual.

As I said, not making this up, and it’s not even the weirdest thing in the book. Honestly, the character of the pencils, who ends up taking the name Togari Tsukishigaoka, may be the best part of the book, wanting to help Umidori but also knowing what that help will cost her. The nature of the lies and what they can do to people’s psyches is explored further, and there is perhaps a worrying amount of co-dependency going on here, but in a series that has a girl in a love triangle with her best friend and a bunch of sentient pencils given human form, that’s probably the least of my problems. If there’s a weak part of this book it’s probably the villains, who simply are not as good as Hurt (who’s also back in this book, taking on the role of the tsukkomi/sidekick when needed). They mostly exist because we need a villain to drive the plot.

This is apparently halfway through the series, though the third volume doesn’t have a date here yet. If you’re looking for weird ass stuff with not-quite-monsters, this is right up your alley.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “There’s Only One Guy For Me”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

This is a really short book, even for a series that does not generally have long volumes to begin with. It’s 142 pages. I actually found myself wondering if it was supposed to have the Isana plotline going on throughout, but the main plot got away from the author, so they simply cut it out. But then, it does make sense that you’d want to keep the focus entirely on Akatsuki and Kawanami. Their backstory was always a very spiky and uncomfortable one in an otherwise mostly mild romcom series, and a lot of the books have been trying to bring them both to a point where they can finally take a step towards each other again and have it be believable. The way that it does that is by looking even further at the issues that Kawanami has with women, and how they are, in a very real sense, PTSD. As such, it makes sense that this volume feels like the series finale of M*A*S*H at times, as his own memories may not be reliable.

Kawanami wakes up one morning in his bed, dressed only in boxers. He sees a girl leaving his room in a hurry. He also has no memory of the previous evening. At the same time, Akatsuki also wakes up in her bed, in bra and panties, and does not remember what happened the previous night. A horrible thought crosses their minds: did they, y’know, DO IT? Unfortunately for the both of them, Mizuto and Yume are out of town, off on the annual family reunion that we’ve seen in a previous book. What’s worse, Kawanami goes out for karaoke and bowling with his friends, and it becomes very clear that something happened with his good friend Makoto, who is being referred to very carefully so as not to spoil the reader. As things come to a head and he has a complete breakdown, Akatsuki grabs him and the two run away to Osaka… and a love hotel.

This series has always been very horny, and the author jokes that they may have taken things a bit too far this time with that love hotel scene. No, they don’t go all the way, but certain things are done, and both of them get a nice view of each other naked. That said, the reason this is a pretty good book is the emotional catharsis that Kawanami gets, as Akatsuki points out that he’s basically cured of his reaction to women, he just doesn’t actually realize it. The bit where Mizuto points out to him the way that he’s misremembering things made it clear that this really is very similar to PTSD, and as such it’s definitely a good thing the two stopped when they did. In any case, they’re now a couple, which means we likely have only one major arc left in this series, the “what will we do after graduation?” bit.

If you enjoy this series, this is a decent read. And short. Also, while I hesitate to mention current memes in a review, it’s really hard not to look at that cover art and not think “let’s take ibuprofen together!”.

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 13

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

There’s a very startling beginning to this book, which is the very, very perfunctory final battle against the forces of the demon lord. Now, yes, I am aware that there’s actually a plot involving Ruti and her blessing that will be going into Vol. 14, which involves the demon lord, but in terms of the plot of this particular book, it’s all about the end of the war and what comes after. This means that our main cast in Zoltan are ready to settle in and find something they’re going to do for the rest of their lives, but it also means that those who have spent years on the front lines – those who are still alive – are coming home, and many of them are dealing with PTSD at the very least. That’s right, this is the Banished from the Hero’s Party version of The Best Years of Our Lives, and Ruti, for one, is not really sure how to cope with it.

It’s fall festival time in Zoltan! Rit suggests trying to push some of their medications by putting them in nice-looking wooden canisters, so she and Red have their booth all set. Ruti admits that her farm of medicinal herbs is going into the red, so she, Tisse, and Mister Crawly Wawly are going to have a food booth to show everyone how they can be used without needing the Cooking Skill. And Habotan, who is still doing her level best to be a ninja fangirl, is going to sell shuriken and other ninja tools that look really cool. The festival runs into the aforementioned end of the war, though. One man comes back to tell his aunt that her son will not be coming home to her. A young woman was given the fantasy equivalent of morphine on the front, and has developed an addiction. And, of yes, there are still demon lord plans. Which I’m sure won’t impact Red and Rit’s wedding at ALL.

This is very much a book of two halves. Though we hear about the end of the war at the start, the first half is concerned with the series’ usual slow, relaxed pace. Mister Crawly Wawly now has a suit of armor he can control so he can be an adventurer (He has a card with a name. The name is AAAA.), and he and Red investigate forest fires with a mysterious cause. Ruti and Red then go to investigate a very loud mad scientist whose entire plot feels that it was written to pad out an already short book. The latter parts of the book, though, are much better, showing us soldiers that are still dealing with flashbacks, or drug addition, or depression that ends up leading to sexual assault. And while Red has some good answers, Ruti finds she doesn’t feel confident in hers. After all, she left the battlefield… something that comes out at the end of this book as well.

The next book will have the wedding (Yen says it’s the finale – is 15 an “after story” that’s not part of the main license?), so we’re almost done. Still, this book did a mostly good job of emphasizing the “war is hell” part of the series as well as the “relaxed happy life” part.

The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman: Ruination and Resolve, Part 1

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By Kamihara and Shiro46. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijo to Sūki na Jinsei o” by Hayakawa Shobo. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

This review has massive spoilers, and I’m pretty sure that each review I do of this series will have to have the same thing.

When I first heard that J-Novel Club would be splitting the books in half starting from this volume, I admit I was a bit disappointed, the same way that a kid might pout when being told he can’t go on the 20-mile hike. I was looking forward to another 500+-page monster! Having finished this Part 1 volume, I admit that I’m actually grateful to them, as frankly, I’m exhausted. And so is Karen, to be fair. This series can best be described as “Everything happens at once”, and that applies even more so to this volume. The first book at least had occasional parts where a relaxed and happy Karen toured the grounds, or learned about the political landscape with her elderly husband. This volume has no time for that. It needs to run flat out to get to the cliffhanger at the end of the book. Which means resolving the cliffhanger at the end of the LAST book. Which involves… well, read on.

We open with Karen watching in horror as Sven, Nico and Doctor Emma are brutally murdered outside the mansion. Yeah, sorry, it’s that kind of book. As the rest of the cast desperately try to get to safety, it’s become clear that “bandits” are attacking and massacring everyone, and that one of the people they’ve been told to kill is Karen herself. At the end of a very long massacre, the only survivors who are able to stagger to the capital are Karen, younger son Wendell, steward Whateley… and a few townsfolk who managed to avoid being mass murdered. Karen now has to deal with trying to explain to the King how this domain got completely destroyed, try to set things up so that Wendell can inherit as her late husband wanted, and also try to secure her own future, which means NOT going back to her family. Unfortunately, it rapidly becomes clear that even staying in this country is going to be extremely unsafe…

There are some lovely pieces of prose in this series. I don’t normally read things this dark, but the writing pulls me in, which is a plus. My favorite part was probably Karen and Whateley being very angry at the Margrave for not coming back as a ghost and haunting them, so they could feel his presence still. I also like Karen trying to figure out what’s going on (which she MOSTLY does, though not in time to do much but damage control) and also figure out how to talk about what she suspects without getting straight up murdered. It helps that she and Reinald continue to be, frankly, perfect for each other. I’m half convinced that the main reason he does not have someone like her quickly taken care of is that he absolutely cannot get a bead on how she thinks – and he’s not alone. Then again, no one can get a bead on how Reinald thinks either, especially after the climax of this book.

By the “end” of this book, the nation has fallen and Reinald is greeting the invader… his younger sister. And may I remind you this was only HALFWAY through the original book. Riveting and compelling, but I believe tomorrow I will take a “no light novels today” break to rest.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 2

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By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tiffany Lim. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

Oh dear, and it was going so well. Too-Perfect Saint hits that difficult second album, and it’s the worst possible timing for English-speaking readers, as the anime has just begun, so we’re seeing the first book come to life while we read this second volume. The things I really liked about the first book were a) the fact that Philia really struggled with expressing herself and feeling emotions like “happiness” and “hope” after an entire lifetime of abuse, and b) the fact that we had a “my parents hated me but praised my younger sister instead” novel where the younger sister was NOT evil, but was in fact the second protagonist. Now we get Book 2, and Mia gets a much smaller role where she gets nothing to do. As for Philia, she’s dealing with the romantic subplot that I predicted would happen last time. Sure hope another cartoon villain doesn’t show up – oh dear.

Philia is preparing for a giant conference of saints from various countries, which can now happen given she’s purified the world with her giant barrier. Unfortunately, saints have been disappearing one by one, and in fact Philia and Osvalt, who are out on a not-date, almost see one happen in front of their eyes. Worse still, her ex-fiance Julius has vanished from his prison cell. Fortunately, she has some new allies coming to protect her in the form of exorcist Erza and her demon familiar Mammon, who feel like they’re crossing over from a different book (they are, but that one does not appear to have been published) Unfortunately, as the convention gets underway, it’s invaded by Asmodeus, an ancient demon who has possessed Julius. He’s here to resurrect his former love… who happens to have been reincarnated as Philia.

If that last sentence made you roll your eyes a bit, well, congratulations, you had the same reaction I did. Almost every beat of this book, unlike the first which had a few clever swerves, is straight on the beat and not a surprise at all. It’s not entirely without merit. I did like Asmodeus using Philia’s parents as “hostages”, knowing she’s spent her entire life being abused by them, and her reaction – I don’t care about them at all but I am a decent human being so I will not murder them to satisfy you – is quite good. But for the most part all the emotional bits in this book are hamstrung by Philia’s calmness, which feels less like a deliberate choice and more like flat writing in this book. Her conversation with her equally reticent real mother is a low point, and her romantic confession ends up eliciting a mild smile.

This has a third volume, where apparently villains try to make Philia into the Pope. But unfortunately, this probably should have stayed a one-shot.

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, Vol. 16

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Slime Taoshite 300 Nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Tristan Hill.

I was sort of dreading this volume, to be honest. This series never has anything happen to it other than adding new cast, and at the moment the 28th volume is coming out in Japan, meaning we get further and further behind every time we see it. I’m sure Yen Press is trying to renegotiate its light novel contracts to say “surely we can cancel SOME titles, right?”. But if ever there was time for a really good volume, this is the time, as the second season of the anime debuted last week, and is promising more of the same, only in animated form. Great news, though, this is actually quite a strong volume, when compared to other volumes in this series. It’s strong because a) it’s run out of CD dramas to add, so has to include another “Laika’s Schooldays” short, which are excellent. Second, there are fewer, longer short stories within, and that means they have room to breathe for once.

The stories: 1) Pecora is holding a comedy competition, and non-demons are also invited to join. Laika and Flatorte, Flafa and Shalsha, and Rosalie all compete from Azusa’s team, and her daughters ask her to write them a script, because she’s the best at comedy (note this is Japanese comedy, meaning they’re all boke/tsukkomi routines); 2) While visiting a museum, Azusa touches an artifact that turns her into an old lady for a week, and while dealing with this, she’s asked to go to a witch convention; 3) Halkara suggests taking their pet mimic for a walk; 4) Goodly Godly Goddess has written an RPG, and the *entire* cast of the series is brought in to populate it; and in Laika’s side story series, her third year begins with dealing with some delinquents who are doing the dragon equivalent of joyriding.

There’s only one weak story here, with the mimic. The old lady one is also not great, but I was highly amused with its idea of a witch convention being much like a real work convention, with cute games and prizes for the winners. The comedy one I was expecting to be bad, but it really worked well – the routine Azusa wrote and Flafa and Shalsha refined was not only surreal and creepy but also funny, though I agree with the judges that Laika and Flatorte deserved to win, as they’re both naturals. Best of all is the final main story, a giant parody of RPGs like Dragon Quest III. This is the second time that Azusa has essentially tested a game for god (something she points out), but this one is more involved and involves everyone pointing out all the cliches and poor writing that go into these RPGs where you frequently have to smile, nod, and go get the fruit so that the boy will give you a clue. I also had fun trying to figure out who would be cast as what (as does Azusa).

This is not a good book as a book, mind you. It’s a good volume of Killing Slimes for 300 Years. There’s a difference. But if you like the series, this is solid.

Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 9

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By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

It’s always interesting seeing how light novels based around a typical “fantasy RPG’ setting handle monsters. Some of them tend to go in the direction of “monsters are people too”, particularly when it comes to demon lords, to the point the recent manga Frieren was written in part to push back against that. A lot more of them tend to see monsters as simply things that our heroes hit with their weapons for drop loot. Housekeeping Mage tries to sit somewhere in the middle. We already know about the slime familiars, and we get another familiar added to the extended family here as well. But we also get a dragon that is the subject of cruel experiments, and while they can sympathize with its plight and give it the best death possible, they still have to kill it, because the alternative is the loss of human settlements. On the bright side, that does lead to some really cool fight sequences.

Alec and Shiori are called back to Brovito, home of the foot baths, in order to investigate a rumor that there’s a fenrir in the woods. What they do find turns out to be not QUITE a fenrir, but certainly an intelligent wolf variant, one who immediately bonds with Alec as a soulmate, and is made into a familiar so rapidly it’s almost comical. The bulk of the book, though, it taken up with a crisis: an ice dragon, buried in a frozen lake for two hundred years, has woken up, and the knights are unable to handle it, so have called in the adventurers. This will take everyone’s skills, and there’s a big chance there will be some deaths. And to make things worse, this is the fault of the Empire, whose dying embers are still glowing, and who even know have grudges to settle.

The series has gradually been getting more optimistic and less bleak with each book, so I was not too surprised that after the great battle, the casualty count was low. Honestly, it’s more interested in romance, now that Alec and Shiori are lovers and ready to get married as soon as he can sort out his family issues. (His brother always seems to be on the verge of visiting but never quite makes it by the end of each book.) We also get another inevitable proposal here, as Clemens and Nadia finally make things official after he takes an arrow for Alec and almost dies. Speaking of which, the reason he doesn’t die, doctor Ellen says, is because she’s been studying harder and learning more thanks to Shiori’s example. For all that Japan loves to write about folks dying from heart attacks from working too hard, most of these books agree that if it’s a job they love which is rewarding, they want to work ALL the overtime and do ALL the things.

We’ve caught up with Japan, so I’m not sure when we’ll get the next book, but the author says it should wrap up in 2-3 more arcs. I’m still enjoying it.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 20.5

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by RFD.

I have frequently whined about having to review a lot of these .5 short story collections, mostly as they tend to feature things like bookstore exclusives that out of necessity cannot have any effect on the plot. But in something like Kuma Bear, a series that is so dependent on Yuna’s POV that any scrap we get from other characters is most welcome. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned about Yuna throughout this series, it’s that she – still! – hates herself. Every time she talks about her physical appearance it’s to talk about how short, flat, and plain she is, and every time she does anything for others she plays it off as being self-serving or nothing special. But when you see Yuna in the eyes of other characters, she’s described as “slim, pretty and feminine”, and everyone and their brother talks about how kind and nice she is. Honestly, this world warps to that kindness – which is why the darkness of the past is – mostly – not seen anymore.

I say mostly because this volume, for the first two-third or so, adapts the bookstore-exclusive stories from Vol. 10-16, which means it has the beach trip to Mileela, including in the party the women from Mileela who were abducted by bandits. Neaf in particular was raped and had her family murdered, and they HAVE to discuss it here, but it’s elided to “something terrible happened”, as they’re always talking about it to kids. After these stories we get five more written just for the volume, which honestly have the same feel as the stories we’d just read. The last quarter of the book is the most unique, as it has Yuna, Fina and Noa watching the first season of the Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear anime.

Believe it or not, the last section is by far the most interesting and rewarding. If you’ve ever been to the Archive Of Our Own fanfiction site, you may be familiar with a genre called “Reaction Fic” or “Characters Watch the Show”, and this is essentially an official version of that. That said, the best of those fanfics analyze the source and are able to give new fresh takes, and that’s what we see here. I’m sure it’s not canon, but here we see Yuna’s past in Japan and her isekai’d status revealed to Fina and Noa, and Yuna narrating that she regards having to learn to cook and clean for herself because her parents were never around as “cherished memories”, as they let her live on her own here. That’s horrible! She also sees Noa’s optimism and positiveness about herself and thinks that she should learn from Noa as she’s so negative. I agree so much. Lastly, they also watch the anime original parts, including the final episode, which Yuna herself describes as “like a yuri anime”. They’re not beating the allegations.

So this was more rewarding than I expected, and at 400 pages or so it’s good bang for your buck. It’s not all moe cuteness. Just… mostly.

The Hero-Killing Bride: The Blind-Eyed Saint

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By Aoikou and Enji. Released in Japan as “Yuusha-goroshi no Hanayome” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Faye Duxovni.

I think by now most people know that I’m relatively easy to please, and it shows at times in these reviews. And sometimes I can overly gush about things, only to look back later and say “boy, that’s kind of embarrassing now”. I really enjoyed the first volume of this series, and said the best thing about it was the main protagonist. And, on various other social medias, I got pushback from people who were expecting something better, and she really didn’t vibe with her the way that she vibed with me. Honestly, I was actually feeling a bit guilty. So I went into this volume determined to keep a clearer head. And, well, my review is going to be exactly the same. This series has a lot of flaws. But I really, REALLY like the main character. She saves this series in many ways. Despite being driven by a repressed grief into some very ugly choices. Because behind all that cynical narration is someone who cares far too much about people.

Alicia and Cion, having managed to defeat General Heavenfang, are being dispatched to The Holy City, which is currently empty of the biggest holiness, the Pope, as well as most of its knights (guarding the pope). They’re being sent there because someone keeps killing cardinals, and they’re both very strong. When they arrive, they go to great the Saint who is the highest authority there who isn’t the pope. She seems perfect… honestly, a bit too perfect. She gives Alicia the creeps, for some unknown reason. Unfortunately, Alicia also runs into an assassin who has the power of shadows, and who has a resolve to kill anything related to demons – and says that the Saint is a demon. Fortunately, Alicia has her old father figure and mentor there to talk to. Surely he won’t be viciously murdered or anything. that would be terrible! (Sorry for the spoiler, but the guy did all but say “I’m retiring in three days and buying a boat”.)

The best part of this remains Alicia. I’m sorry if other folks don’t like her, but I 100% vibe with someone who things that this is a horrible world and God can’t save you and has stained her hands with blood but still tries to do the right thing and help save people even when it defies all sense. The middle section of the book, after the death of her mentor, is absolute dynamite, as we see her completely snap and almost turn evil, but it remains framed through her bitter, matter-of-fact narration – I was reminded a bit of Sorawo from Otherside Picnic. Unfortunately, the rest of the book struggles to live up to its heroine. Cion remains a cipher, and spends a lot of the climax of the book mind-controlled, which is never great. Lastly, everything that involves sex in this book is awful and pointless, and I hate all of it. It was totally unnecessary.

But I’m still going to read the third book, as I like Alicia, and I want to see if she survives the series. For those who like The Executioner and Her Way of Life and wish there were more series in that vein.

A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO, Vol. 2

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu ZERO” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Melanie Kardas.

One thing I’ve noticed about several light novels series that feature things that are supposed to be cute is that they can get surprisingly dark, at least at the start. I’ve talked before about Kuma Bear and its tendency towards horrific backstories filled with rape and murder for some characters, which we basically never get anymore. And, in the main series that this is a spinoff of, we get how Serafina died, and it also features rape and torture. That too, as the books went on, has been, if not removed, at least rarely mentioned unless it’s very plot-relevant. And the first novel in this spinoff was firmly on the site of cute and adorable, so I was expecting the same thing here. Imagine my surprise when I got another character with a tragic backstory that reads very much like a horror novel. Monsters exist here, and it turns out that they can lead to fates much worse than death.

Serafina is out and about now that she can see, and she’s shown off her cook saint powers to Sirius. So it’s time for her to work with him in earnest, and that also means she needs a cohort of knights to guard her. What’s surprising to everyone but the reader, who knows that Sirius is absolutely obsessed with Serafina, is that the knights chosen are the best of the best, cream of the crop… and they’re wondering why the second princess needs so much more protection than, say, the FIRST princess. That said, she is pretty freaking adorable… and the “special medicine” she makes to cure Canopus’ fever works a bit TOO well. Clearly there’s only one thing left to do: go the the beach. Which, to be fair, also involves a bit of investigation, as this beachside community has been in an economic slump recently. It’s almost as if the spirit who blessed them is dying…

This is, out of necessity, a series where our heroine is six years old, so it lacks any of the romance that the main series hints at. Sure, Sirius is obsessed with Serafina, but that’s meant to be more of a dad/older brother thing, and honestly, she’s more his emotional crutch than he is hers. I did briefly wonder, though, if one of the guards was going to have a childhood friend romance with one of the saints, who turns out to be from his own hometown. Unfortunately, this isn’t a romance, and the guards only get to be as obsessed with Serafina as a powerful saint as Sirius is. Instead, the childhood friend’s plotline is a reminder of the dangers of feeling responsible for things you do as a kid that aren’t really your fault – easy enough to do here, when it turns out the things are so horrifying. (I was honestly a bit annoyed at the girl here. “I know you feel bad about your whole family being murdered, but did you know their souls may also be trapped in torment?”)

So overall, this was quite good, concentrating on the cuteness while also leaving in some darkness for those who like the contrast. It does have a dangling plotline, though, I hope that gets resolved whenever the third volume is out. We’ll get the main series first, though.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 6

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By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

This is getting an anime pretty soon (in two days, in fact), so it’s interesting to see this volume coming out right before it, as it’s essentially starting a new arc for the series. The last volume brought to a close a lot of Beryl’s issues with his dad, and he’s now come to the conclusion that hey, maybe he *is* pretty strong after all. That said, baby steps. He still struggles with his self-deprecation coming to him automatically through this book. And in regards to his quest for a wife, he’s going to have to get past the “no one could possibly find an old geezer like me attractive” stage to get anywhere. He also straight up says that he’s not going to have any of his former students as bridal candidates, which is essentially EVERYONE to date. So it’s unsurprising that we get a new girl introduced here to offer an alternative.

After dropping by the magical academy to see how the sword magic classes are going, Beryl is called into Allucia’s office. They have to go to the estate of Margrave Flumvelk, who is holding a gathering to celebrate Beryl’s accomplishments to date. Beryl is understandably his usual self about this, but he also knows he can’t refuse a request for a noble, so he, Allucia, and a bunch of knights spend a couple weeks traveling out there. When he arrives, he finds that the margrave is one of his old students, and Allucia’s classmate. He also has a younger sister, Shueste, who he wants to have at Beryl’s side in order to fend off nobility who have designs on Beryl, is gorgeous and clever, and pairs really nicely with Beryl… much to the annoyance of Allucia.

This book is OK, but I have some issues. All the action and drama is backloaded into the last 4th, making it feel like the author had a different ending and was told to change it. We’re introduced to two knights to guard Beryl and Allucia, and one is almost killed, but they both have zero personality between the two of them. They cried out for a side story. More to the point, they do address the elephant in the room here, which is Beryl marrying someone. Warren, the margrave, admits to Allucia that he’d be happy with Beryl marrying his sister… but would also be fine with Beryl marrying Allucia. The key is that Beryl is getting older, and they want someone to carry on the line. I’m not fond of “my awesome sword abilities are genetic” stories, even though, in a world with magic like this, it may be entirely possible. Then again, merely getting Beryl to have sexual desires may be too big a hurdle.

So now we have a whole new subplot with new villains to dig into. The next book promises to finally bring back the adventurer who was one of the harem in Book 1 and then vanished. We’ll see if the anime can bump it up a bit as well.

Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 2

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By Syuu and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Tefuda ga Ōme no Victoria” by MF Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight.

The first volume of this series felt very self-contained, but left open the possibility of a sequel hook for the second book. A sequel hook that remains open, because it’s not used here. Instead, this book takes place five years later, with Victoria, Jeffrey and Nonna returning from fantasy China, and is content to do much the same thing the first one did. It divides its time nicely between Victoria having slice-of-live vignettes around the city, reconnecting with the cast of the first book, and raising her daughter to be a wonderful noble girl. This is contrasted with the other half of the book, which is Victoria as spy: she can’t help but decode an ancient book, which reveals the location of a hidden secret, and she’s attacked about five different times in this book, all of the attacks very unsuccessful – she’s not even injured. But the most important part of this book is seeing how Victoria has raised her daughter to be a lovely bundle of terror.

As noted above, Victoria and her family are back in Ashbury, five years after the first book. Nonna is now twelve years old, and has spent the last five years learning Shenese martial arts, which now take up most of her time – when she hears she’s going to be reuniting with Clark, she’s far more interested in showing off her cool kung-fu moves than to talk to a boy who has now grown into a man (with a clear crush on a twelve-year-old – I’ll ignore that for the moment given that in Book 1 he was 12 and she was 6 and it was more cute). She also meets back up with Mr. Bernard, who shows her a rare copy of The Lost Crown a famous adventurer story. This one seems to have some odd typography, and Victoria and Bernard wonder if it’s actually a cipher. This mystery leads to further mysteries which take up the back half of the book.

The best selling point of the book is how matter of fact it is – both Victoria and Nonna are absolutely deadly in a fight, and neither of them are remotely challenged by any of the thugs who attack them in this volume. What’s more, the only real criticism of her daughter following her into a deadly situation and taking out all the thugs with her mother is that she was acting a little too chuuni when she did it. Honestly, the matter of factness even extends to one of the subplots, where the reader (and Nonna to, to be fair) keeps expecting Victoria or her family to win over the heart of the plucky foreign teen they rescued from her country’s outskirts, but we find that in fact the plucky foreign teen is in fact a crook who falls in with a bad crowd and is not in fact redeemed by the power of good thoughts. Sometimes you can’t really do anything about that.

As with the first book, this one ends feeling like it’s the end of the series, but there’s a third in the series out in Japan, so we/’ll see if someone can actually break through the defensive badassery of mother and daughter. This is still a great series.

Confession

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Confession is a tight, twisty thriller that reads like an episode of The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Author Fukumoto Nobuyuki establishes the premise in a few quick strokes: two hikers—one gravely injured—huddle on a mountainside pummeled by a fierce winter storm. As they debate the best course of action, Ishikura—who is bleeding profusely—confesses to murdering a mutual acquaintance, telling Asai, “I killed Sayuri… with my own two hands.” Asai, however, refuses to abandon Ishikura, dragging his wounded friend to the safety of an abandoned cabin. As the two wait for a rescue team to arrive, it finally dawns on Asai that Ishikura might regret what he said.

For a two-hander like this to work, it’s not enough to know what Asai is thinking; we need to feel his growing sense of desperation. Kaiji Kawaguchi’s art is up to the task, creating a spare, claustrophobic environment that’s almost as hostile as the barren slopes that surround the cabin. The cabin itself is rendered in just enough detail for the reader to grasp the layout and size, as well as the lack of good hiding places. Equally important, Kawaguchi’s character designs emphasize the wide social gap between the conventionally handsome Asai and the squat, dour Ishikura, encouraging the reader to question how these two people ever travelled in the same circles.

The artwork is so effective, in fact, that some of Asai’s internal monologue feels superfluous, especially when he states the obvious: “If my suspicions are right, are you and I going to fight to the death?” (Signs point to yes!) Aside from a few clumsy monologues, however, the story never sags under the weight of too much exposition; Nobuyuki carefully doles out information about Asai and Ishikura’s past to reveal how fraught their relationship was before they went climbing, hinting at a long-simmering conflict between them. The final scene is a shocker in the best sense, challenging the reader’s perception of both characters without cheating or taking any narrative shortcuts to get there. Hitchcock, I think, would approve. Recommended.

CONFESSION • STORY BY NOBUYUKI FUKUMOTO • ART BY KAIJI KAWAGUCHI • TRANSLATION BY EMILY BALISTERI • PRODUCTION BY TOMOE TSUTSUMI, PEI ANN YEAP, AND HIROKO MIZUNO • KODANSHA USA • RATED 16+ (VIOLENCE) • 314 pp.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 9

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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.

It’s been a while since we saw the last volume of Dahlia, long enough for me to think that Lucia was the real protagonist and Dahlia was a mysterious side character. But there’s a big difference between Lucia and Dahlia. Lucia may be self-effacing, but she recognizes her own talent and can take an actual compliment. Whereas to Dahlia, taking credit for anything is like being asked to walk over hot coals. We’ve joked about the slow burn between Dahlia and Volf, which at this point may be less slow burn and more a fire that has had water poured over it, but frankly, there’s no way it can go anywhere right now. Not because Dahlia is a commoner – that’s taken care of here – but because Dahlia has no sense of her own worth at all. Which may be partly Tobias’ fault, yes, but could also be due to Carlo, as his desire to protect his daughter seems to have left his daughter thinking she’s TOO ordinary.

As I hinted above, Dahlia’s commoner days will soon be over – she’s getting a barony. As is Jonas, who is equally surprised. This means that she’ll also need to make her noble debut, which will mean… shudder… conversing with others. And dancing. She’d much rather work on magical tools, thanks you, or at least spend her evenings eating delicious food and getting drunk with her bestie Volf, who is so gorgeous but doesn’t see her in a romantic light at all. Right. Dahlia’s lack of perception has never been more annoying. She also gets a tour of the magical tool facility, where she would likely be working if she had enough magic… and the residents of said facility quickly realize that ‘a lot of magic’ is not the be-all and end-all of being brilliant. She’s also helping to bring together different guilds to make better products… really, is there anything Dahlia can’t do? Other than understand her own heart?

There is a genre of Japanese novels where an overworked office worker in a horrible environment dies and ends up in a fantasy world, usually while bemoaning the horrible work standards they have to deal with in modern-day Japan. It’s a typical type of escape. This is its counterpart, where you invent a world where everyone wants to work, work, WORK SO HARD. The heads of the company have to tell their employees to work less. There are literal hypnotic machines designed to force people who have been staying up too much to sleep. What’s more, when you see people that are working incorrectly, or being uncaring or callous, there’s an easy solution. Just add Dahlia, who with a few words and frantic hand waving that it wasn’t anything she did really denials, you can move mountains and get the lions to lie down with the lambs. Or the shoemakers to lie down with the magical tool makers. Honestly, dying and reincarnating as a villainess may be a lot more realistic.

That said, as the “extra” story shows this time around, we may have to do more than just get Dahlia to be noble and somehow hook her up with Volf. She’s special, and it’s only a matter of time before her specialness impacts the plot a lot more than it is now. But till then, please have some nice food, some wonderful alcohol, and for dessert, modesty that is so ridiculous it’s become a literal Tragic Flaw.

This Alluring Dark Elf Has the Heart of a Middle-Aged Man!, Vol. 1

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By Yuhi Shimano and NAJI Yanagida. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Kokoro wa Oji-san de Aru” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

It feels like it’s been forever since I last picked up a Volume 1 of something that was just plain “isekai fantasy”. I suppose there was Land Mines, but that was after I got it recommended to me, and I was a couple years later on it. This one, however, came out today. I wasn’t going to look at it at all, but I saw it had won a few awards, including the “best for middle-aged men” category. How apropos. Given I’m in that demographic as well, I figured I would take a flyer on another isekai, despite the fact that it looked worriedly like one of those “I was a schlub in Japan, but now I’m a hot elf babe” books. Which, to be fair, it is, but that’s not what it’s actually about. This is a “can I regain the sense of justice and righteousness that my life in Japan ground out of me?”. The answer to that is, so far, a work in progress.

Haruka, a middle-aged middle manager who used to be a cute kid till he discovered that being the nail that sticks up and is not hammered down is a bad idea, is startled to find himself in the middle of the woods, and also he’s not in the body of a gorgeous young dark elf. She has no idea what happened, if she was transported or died or what, and no goddess gave her instructions. Fortunately, she meets a passing adventurer, who takes her to the standard adventuring city you get in these sorts of books, and discovers how to make a living in a fantasy world that turns out to be, to no one’s surprise except perhaps her own, a lot more dangerous to someone like her than you’d expect. Fortunately, she seems to have skill at magic. A LOT of skill at magic.

This isn’t terrific, but it’s solid. Haruka is an introvert who has also been somewhat crushed by life, and she’s very god at reading emotions of others but very bad at caring about her own self. (Despite Haruka being a man who ends up in a woman’s body, there’s not too much of a trans narrative here, beyond one interlude which ends by telling us we’ll be using she/her from now on.) The author states that they tried to write some bad guys, but kept thinking of all the characters as “cute”, so it didn’t quite work out. That’s for the better – there’s not many paragons here, and we only see true villains near the end. for the most part her world consists of teenage hotheads, lotharios who are trying to explain it’s different this time, creepy lesbian stalkers who have her best interests at heart but also her worst interests, etc. One of the stronger scenes is done from the POV of the teenage hothead, who yells at her and then, when he goes to apologize, suddenly realizes that she’s completely devastated and near tears from “her own failings”. A lot of this book is Haruka putting herself back together.

The second book should see more of that journey. This is a decent isekai, with only light novel cliche I hate (dwelling far too long on someone peeing themselves in fear). I’ll read more.