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Strawberry Princess: The Time Loop Defying Villainess

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By Hanami Nishine and Renta. Released in Japan as “Shiitagerareta Maihime wa Seijo no Loop ni Ichigo de Aragau” on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Zihan Gao.

Now that we have so many of them, to the point where protagonists are actually familiar with the genre, I think it’s appropriate to say that some people are getting a little too into the “trapped in an otome game” mindset. Admittedly, in this particular case it appears to be a coping mechanism to try to ignore the main character’s wretched life to date, but still, a lot of things happen here because Amelia, the titular princess, is stuck in “there’s nothing I can do to stop this route from happening, so I’ll try something else”. Now, as it turns out, it is quite difficult to stop the route, but generally speaking, I’d like people to try. That said, I will forgive Amelia for this, as she is also a bit of an airhead, even before she gets her memories from Japan back, and therefore knows what can save her. Strawberries.

When we first see Amelia, she’s being pushed to the ground and having her late mother’s necklace stolen from her by her stepsister. She currently lives in bare poverty in the Fifth’s Consort’s home, which barely gets any food or supplies, forcing her to learn how to farm and climb walls, giving her a tanned look. (The artist presumably saw “silver hair” and proceeded to ignore this entirely.) She has one major thing she can do: she can summon strawberries and strawberry-themed things. (This is not as bizarre as it might sound, given her late mother summoned watermelons.) She’s very familiar with this scene, however, as this is the 5th time it’s happened. Her tormenter is looping routes, trying to complete every target male, and the last one on the list is Amelia’s own fiance. Time to fight back! Wait, no, she has little confidence and hasn’t seen her fiance in four years. Time to sell strawberries!

Amelia is a very familiar type, being naive, a bit daft, and unaware of her own charms, though that last one is explained by the abuse she’s suffered. Her one remaining servant is her butler/father figure, who stays on partly as he had a crush on her mother but mostly as it’s the right thing to do. As for the absent fiance, I liked him a lot as well. Once he figures out what’s actually happening, he’s quick to take steps. He also cries a lot, which is rare even among shoujo romantic male leads, and it’s not made fun of. The solution to all this comes as a slight surprise, but the clues are there if you look for them, so I accepted it. Most of all, this book, despite its dark backstory, has a light, silly core, doing things like tripping up the main villainess by having her slip on strawberry jam, etc. The heroine has a motif, and by god, she’s going to use it.

This is done in one, which makes sense – hard to see this plot getting stretched more. The author also writes The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess!, but that doesn’t have strawberries, so can’t be as good.

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 9

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

Natsuki’s do-over has been going pretty well. He’s got friends, he’s slimmed down and folks think he is handsome, he is able to hold conversations and help others – sometimes to a ridiculous shonen degree – and he has a girlfriend, and their relationship is sugary sweet (what little of it we see in this volume). So it makes sense that it’s time to move on to the next generation of socially inept malcontents, and that means Saya, the first-year who knew him in middle-school and is trying to achieve the same thing he did. Unfortunately, she’s blunt to the point of being mean, and doesn’t care about other people. Or anything other than music, really. And given that she’s in a band with Mei, whose self-confidence is low at the best of times, that’s not great. Is this band that he’s trying to help Serika take to Budokan doomed before it begins? Meanwhile, back in Natsuki’s original timeline, the author takes every reader who was socially inept in high school and murders them.

Let’s leave original Natsuki for later and talk about the main star of this series. He’s more visibly struggling this time around, which I regard as a positive – by now, everyone who is close to him knows that he’s not naturally extroverted and is working hard to change himself. He has been practicing like crazy for the band, but it’s notable that by the end of the book he’s still told he’s not very good – he can’t simply magically gain years of musical experience. It’s also a good thing Hikari is his girlfriend, because he still has a bad case of harem protagonist disease, not really understanding why all those girls want to be in light music till he has it explained for him. As for Saya, she’s also very relatable. One of the hardest things to do as a person is to listen and respond, and that means paying attention to others – knowing their names, hobbies, etc. She’s got to put in the work! At least her love song was so blatant that even Natsuki picked up on it. Oh yes, and Mei’s girlfriend had some of the funnier moments in the book.

So, interspersed with the main chapters we have the original Natsuki Haibara, in the first timeline, trying his best to have a high school debut. It’s genuinely painful to read. Much like Saya throughout this book, he just doesn’t get it, and the person who is trying their best to fit in and be active but cannot understand any social cues is a very hard person to be around when you are neurotypical. Why don’t they just get it? This leads to the epilogue, set in an original timeline where Natsuki did not go back in time to have a do-over. We see a 28-year-old Natsuki, who, without the benefit of time-travel and his past life memories, has had to do what the rest of us eventually did and learn how to be social and function in society by grinding it out day by day. He’s rewarded with a new co-worker… honestly, this final scene felt REALLY fast and tacked on. I understand that the author wanted to throw original Natsuki a bone, and probably does not intent to revisit this timeline. But sheesh, that feels like one of those fake game routes where everything looks fine and happy and then you realize there’s something wrong. It was too pat.

Still, that’s other timeline’s complaint. This timeline is going well, and things look great. Provided there’s not a new volume coming out soon in Japan with an oddly ominous cover, I think Natsuki should be just fine.

My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone!, Vol. 1

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By Yu Omiya and Ale. Released in Japan as “Kanojo ni Uwakisareteita Ore ga, Koakuma na Kouhai ni Natsukareteimasu” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Benjamin Daughety. Adapted by RFD.

I try not to carp too much about a book that fulfills all its goals and doesn’t really do much wrong, even if I personally was not entertained. I picked this up because it promised to be about college kids rather than the usual “second year of high school” start we tend to get in romcoms. Indeed, everyone in this is in college. There are drinking parties. The main character is not a virgin. (Well, according to him, but given the plot of this book, I’m not sure I trust his word.) The flirty underclassman is very cute. And very flirty. Our hero not only has a flirty underclassman, but also a BFF, who is also hitting on him constantly, not that he is aware of this. And there’s even the ex-girlfriend, who shows up in a couple of scenes. The main character makes questionable decisions, but rises slightly above “everyone falls for him as he treats women normally”. But only very slightly. As for my opinion? Meh.

Yuuta is preparing for his one-year-anniversary with his girlfriend Reina, but when he goes to her home he sees her holding hands with another man. Naturally, he breaks up with her. (I will pause in case you need to see a doctor for being unable to unroll your eyes.) Now, it’s Christmas, and he’s started smoking and is generally miserable, with only his incredibly hot best friend Ayaka to keep him company. Then he accidentally runs into a girl handing out flyers dressed as Santa, and helps pick them up after they fall. She’s Mayu, and she gloms onto Yuuta immediately, going out for a meal with him, then offering to clean his house, and by the end of the volume she’s almost moved in. Meanwhile, Ayaka keeps inviting Yuuta out to mixers and parties, which he reluctantly goes along with because they’re besties. Oh, and Reina? Says she wasn’t cheating on him.

If you thought “is this cheating going to all be one big misunderstanding because our college-aged young man has the emotional maturity of a nine-year-old?”, congratulations, you have read enough books in this genre. The girls in this are mostly fun, and Mayu, albeit a bit invasive, is genuinely likeable. Yuuta is frustrating. He’s mature except when the narrative needs him not to be. He knows how to compliment a woman, he knows when to ask what’s wrong and when to shut up, and he’s “safe” in a way that some other guys in this volume aren’t. But boy, you’d better be ready for “gosh, why are all these women in my life can’t imagine” obliviousness. As for the “she was holding hands with another man so I broke up with her”, we’re never actually shown the break-up or the aftermath, we just hear about it after the fact, so it could have been maturely done… but doesn’t sound like it.

If you like harem romcoms, this isn’t a bad one. I assume if you like harem romcoms, you’re used to the oblivious lead male. I do warn you, if you’re rooting for his best friend or his ex, please remember who’s on the cover of the first volume and in the title. I think I’m good with stopping here, though.

The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 7

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

Please note that spoilers are far more unavoidable than usual this volume. If you want to remain unspoiled, please try to read the review after the book. I’ll stick the cover art here to hopefully mask it.

So, let’s talk about the Unreliable Narrator. Starting off by spoiling a 100-year-old book for you, the most famous example is probably Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It upset a lot of people when it came out, and folks who were especially invested in trying to figure out the mystery, rather than reading it as a cracking good yarn, especially felt betrayed. They said it was cheating, not playing fair. The author said that all the clues were there if one kept an open mind. And the narration did actually play fair. There were omissions, and subterfuges in it. But you didn’t see a whole chunk of book being given first-person narration by someone who then turned out to literally be lying solely to the reader. That’s why this volume makes me mad.

The book alternates, at least for the first half. Claudia’s part of the book has her learning that the Church has chosen a new Saint, and that she is one of the two who have been chosen to help the Saint during her canonization, which will involve not touching men, not eating meat, etc. She’s also dealing with a refugee problem, which is tricky because, as both her brother and her maid/best friend point out, she gets too emotionally invented in everything. She also gets very mad at herself for not seeing things that are only obvious in hindsight and not being perfect. Typical Claudia, in other words. The other half of the book follows a sister in a girls-only monastery who gradually opens her heart to the injustice of the world, saves a young boy from being whipped to death, and uses her new Saint position to help war-torn refugees. Then the author says “whoops, I had the switch on her back set to good by accident” and everything turns terrible.

I’m not sure if I was supposed to be fooled by the Sister (nun)/Sister (sibling) thing, but it was made pretty obvious from the start that this was supposed to be Fermina. And I thought I was going to see… well, exactly what I saw, but I thought we’d go about it a different way. The first half has lots of Fermina’s POV, as we see her viewpoint gradually change as she’s exposed to good people and also the injustice of this world. And then she’s picked up by the Church, who we’ve already seen are going to be evil so Claudia can suffer. I was pretty sure we were either going to see sweet lies poured into her head, or literal brainwashing, but that had been signposted, so I was fine with it, and the Claudia stuff was excellent. Then the Saint POV disappears from the narrative for about 100 pages, and I went “uh oh”. Then we get the final Fermina POV chapter, where she reveals that in fact this was all a setup from the start, which she knew, and she’s secretly been as evil as ever. This is not a case of “if you read the unreliable narrator right you can guess it”, this is a case of “LOL, you fell for it!”. SO ANNOYING. Especially as I was OK with Fermina learning a hard lesson and getting better only to fall again, and am very unhappy she’s as one-dimensional as ever.

This has a nasty cliffhanger, which you can likely guess, and I’ll keep reading. But boy, this left a bad taste in my mouth.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 12

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

Given that the bulk of this series is our two main leads flirting hard with each other, deliberately or no, it makes sense that this is also what’s going on with the author. Oh, sure, the start of the series was different. We had the push and pull of “when will they discover they both know and admit their feelings”. But ever since they got together as a real couple, the books have been the author as Lucy, holding a football, saying, “I bet this is the one where they finally give in” and the reader as Charlie Brown running up to kick it, even as we know intellectually that no sex is going to happen until the final volume of the series, and probably not even then. This doesn’t run on porn, it runs on horniness, and the true tease knows that you need to keep the audience on edge as long as possible to make the release all the sweeter. If it happens at all.

Christmas has passed, which means both Yoshin and Nanami are going off to visit their respective grandparents, and will be apart for about a week. Though come on, this is the modern era, they just video chat every night. We meet Yoshin’s grandparents, who are astonished how much he’s changed, as well as his tall, cute older cousin, who you’d expect would be a subplot involving a jealous Nanami till you remember what series you’re reading. (Nanami does get jealous later, no worries.) After that it’s time for a shrine visit, where they run into Nanami’s two besties and their problematic significant other, as well as the problematic class president. Finally, the two of them convince their parents to let them go on a hot springs date in Hokkaido for two days and one nights – with one condition. You can guess what that condition is.

The reason, of course, that this remains so horny and yet so wholesome is that Nanami is absolutely the one pushing harder to go further, while Yoshin is steeling himself to not even do anything beyond kissing and hugging till they’re married. This gives her all the power, which is why it’s relaxing. We see that at the shrine, as he wishes that the gods help him nail down his libido so he doesn’t do anything he’ll regret, while Nanami’s, I suspect, were probably the opposite. At the hot spring hotel, they get closer than they’ve ever been – thanks partly to an in-room open air hot spring, and in part thanks to some horny college girls hitting on Yoshin without realizing he’s under 18 and also taken. They’ve now seen each other naked – by accident, and the interstitial art has to give Nanami the largest hand towel known to man to make it OK – but that’s as far as it gets. This series knows it’s in it as long as the publisher demands.

Next time, Valentine’s Day! Which will be a bit, as it only came out in Japan a month ago. Till then, enjoy these sweet kids not banging.

One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future, Vol. 2

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By fukurou and johndee. Released in Japan as “Jiji Baba Yuusha Party Saigo no Tabi: Oita Saikyou wa Iroasenu Mama Mirai e Susumu you desu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

I do enjoy some good foreshadowing. It’s the kind where you know this is going to be important later, and think “ah yes, the author is doing that deliberately”, but also not enough so that’s it’s constantly on your mind. By the time we get to the big reveal in this volume, I remembered the ominous mentor guy, as well as the terrible country that sat out the war because they were simply too terrible, but I was distracted by the main plot of the first half, which is the same as the main plot of the first volume. The hero’s party are all now 90 years old, and no one recognizes them, but at the same time everyone knows what they achieved back then. Or at least what the history books say. The funnier first half of this book shows that history is not always written by those who make it, and distortions can be… horribly embarrassing.

Our group of six, making their way slowly to see Ferd and Elrica’s great-grandchild, have arrived at the large magic academy that is run, in part, by Lara and Sazaki’s son. We also meet their own great-grandson Connie, who looks much like Armin from Attack on Titan, and has fallen in with a group of students who include “the shonen guy who has a creepy intuition that is always 100% accurate” and “the girl being forced to relearn everything she knew as her mentor was a lunatic”. There’s also classes, which the hero’s party sit in on. And Connie has everyone over for a round of tabletop gaming… though they are a bit frustrated by the fact that the game appears to be unwinnable. Everything is light and fluffy, and everyone’s smiling the same as a-a-a-a-a-always…

Trying not to spoil TOO much about the last half of the book, but that does make it difficult to write more, so here we go. I do love a good Lotus-Eater Machine, and that’s what we’re getting here. This allows some things to happen that would otherwise have horrible consequences for all involved (Hagen would likely have to leave school, and Emmeline might honestly have to be executed) but still allow everyone to look cool. As for the party themselves, well, this is possibly the one part of the book I wasn’t fond of. I read this series for the fun of seeing powerful old folks doddering around and being powerful but mostly passive. Here they need to get involved in past battles all over again, only the script is rewritten so it’s not as good. This means a lot of fight fight fight. Not why I’m here.

Still, the day is saved, our heroes are off, and we meet more young kids who may be the next generation of heroes. We’ll find out more… when/if we get a third, and presumably final (check the publisher) volume. Good stuff, clever gimmick, did not need the shonen battle arc.

In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 4

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By Rika and HIROKAZU. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

Despite the fact that Patience is 11 years old going on 12 in this volume, this is still a series full of nobles, and as such we know that marriage is going to always be on the table. And yes, arranged marriages can be made at a young age, though obviously just “waiting till they’re older”. And Patience, as everyone tells her but she refuses to believe, is a very hot property, financial woes or no. Who will she end up with? Obviously the music-obsessed father and son are out, though the son is certainly a better choice than the father. If she continues to try to invent all the things, Caesar is probably the best choice. Prince Keith is a really obvious choice, but let’s face it, Patience is never going to be royalty. And then there’s Percival, who offers to be husband and wife diplomats with her, which would allow her to do everything she’s already doing and travel the world. Sometimes an obvious choice is really obvious.

Most of this book consists of Fun Academy Life, and there aren’t really any climactic conflicts, other than trying to keep Patience away from the music-mad noble who will kidnap and marry her. She continues to take classes in nearly everything, and passes nearly everything. She’s in the Music Club, still locked in eternal political battles. She’s also in the Alchemy Club, inventing so many things that listing them would take the rest of this review. (Hrm… nah.) And she’s preparing for the noble equivalent of the Culture Festival, along with a ball where she and the other students have to make their own ballgowns. She’s definitely standing out with the polka dots, but since she’s trying not to use household magic even she’s struggling to make it in time. And she’s also attracting the notice of damn near everybody, as I said.

There’s actually little to no household magic in this volume aside from Patience occasionally using it as essentially a Sonic Screwdriver. For the most part she’s relying on her knowledge from Japan and her drawing ability (which is remarked on twice in succession, which made me wonder if it’s an error or a gag) to so the usual “inventing mayonnaise” sort of thing we always seen in these reincarnation isekais. Fortunately, she struggles – yes, she can draw a bicycle and get a reasonable facsimile, but rubber, if it exists here, is unknown, so they have to make do. And she also is not particularly good at noble politics. She can certainly freeze out petty teen Louise, who is trying to intimidate Patience without success, but Margaret can still wrap Patience around her finger, and Patience’s noble relatives can also make demands. This means she barely has time to see her brothers… except no, the brothers are all over this book. She sees them all the time. She’s just obsessed.

Next time we get the ocean, and possibly a resolution to Patience’s “but we are poor disgraced nobles” problem – the Queen hints her fortunes will soon rise. In the meantime, this is fun relaxing “let’s invent all the things” isekai.

The Fearsome Witch Teaches in Another World: A Remedial Lesson in Crime and Politics

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By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

The running gag of this volume, and indeed this series, is that people meet Aoi, underestimate her because she’s young and small, get their asses handed to them (physically or mentally), and immediately become her minions and/or supporters. Not the first time I’ve read this sort of plot, and it can be funny provided there’s more to it than that. There’s a BIT more. Aoi is absolutely dedicated to advancing sorcery throughout this world (theoretically so she can return to Japan, but I get the feeling that’s not happening), and does not actually care about all of the political mess and possible wars she may cause along the war. In fact, it’s brought up that if two countries *do* go to war, Aoi can probably just, y’know, stop them. You will be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era of magic. And believe me, some folks here are kicking and screaming. Because they’re being used as test subjects.

This volume is essentially divided into two. In the shorter part, Aoi wonders why she’s seeing fewer students, and discovers they’re being lured into a gambling den run by a crime syndicate. With the “help” of Prince Rox and his men (but pretty much just taking out everyone on her own), Aoi reforms all the crime syndicates in the city to be good businesses from now on. In the longer second half, Aoi and her posse of important supporting characters go to the Holy Maple Leaf Empire, as part of an exchange to learn about their healing magic. What we end up learning is that their healing magic is impressive, but Aoi’s “literally everything” magic is out of this world. Which is a problem, as this Empire believes magic has reached its final form, and does not need any new research. She’ll fix that.

This is another one of those light novels where you get a chunk of the book from the main character’s perspective, and then switch to someone else to get their view of things. While that can normally be a bit exhausting, I’d suggest it’s welcome here, simply as Aoi’s deadpan, emotionless point of view can be a bit off-putting. At one point we discover, as I noted above, that the Empire tests its holy powers on either mortally wounded adventurers, or criminals. We are treated to a gore-filled hospital with the screaming of patients, and everyone else looks sick, but we’re in Aoi’s POV, so she’s just like “Yup. Well, anyway”. Even when she’s threatened by a knight of the crown, and taken before the Emperor for having gone way beyond what she was permitted to do, her response is “so what?”. It would take a lot to make Aoi really angry, I think. If only we had a bullied student in the cast who’s there to suffer… oh, good news for the next volume!

I’m still enjoying this, but I do wonder how fresh it’s going to feel several volumes down the line (it’s at 9+ volumes in Japan). For those who like people who kick ass while barely cracking a smile.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Sacred Shield, Guardian of the Key

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

This review will contain a lot of spoilers, so let’s start with the synopsis. The book is pretty much balanced between checking in on the bad guys, who are bemoaning the fact that our heroes are so good at what they do but still also clearly taking the lead in the “who wins” race. As for Allen and company, they’re in the home stretch, but still need to get lots of vital bits of information, such as more details of what happened generations ago and who was involved, and – most importantly – who Allen really is. Was he really found by his adopted parents the way they say? As for the current generation, well, they’re all concerned with the most important thing: getting Allen that last name, that title, and that nobility so that they can finally write off “but he’s a commoner!” on the reasons no one will accept every single powerful woman in the kingdom being in love with him. Of course, this assumes that the ceremony actually happens…

This series has been hammering home for over ten volumes the fact that Allen’s achievements in this current time are comparable to Allen the Shooting Star, the legendary man from the past whose name he shares. It hasn’t remotely been subtle. As a result, the fact that “Allen’s backstory is more than it seems” is not exactly a spoiler. What’s more, given that we’ve seen any number of formerly good people turned to the forces of evil in this series, including Allen’s best friend, it’s also not that much of a surprise who Allen faces off with near the end of this volume, even if they seen to be an amalgamation with a traitorous noble. Allen the Shooting Star was always destined to meet his Successor, Allen the Head Patter. Unfortunately, the meeting is not really all that much, mostly as it’s a fight because we’re at the point in the book where extended backstory is cut short, but also because another blast from the past shows up.

Leaving aside surprise evil dead sisters, the big surprise here is that Lydia takes a near-fatal wound, and appears to be at death’s door as the volume ends. I’ve always been fairly cynical about this author, so I don’t think there’s any question that Lydia is not going to die from this, but if she did, well, it’s pretty much exactly the way that everyone in the cast worried that she – or any of the other girls in love with Allen – would go, sacrificing herself to save his life. I expect she’ll be sitting the next book or two out, and while I’d love to see Allen go completely feral like she did when she thought he was dead, we know that’s not happening. The author likes to keep the harem balanced, but Tina throws the scales off too much, so sometimes she’s just written out for a bit. With that, let’s see, who’s on the cover of Book 20…

Yeah, there we go. Tina is, alas, still acting pretty immaturely, which may be one reason why she’s not only not #1 in the rankings (Lydia), but not even #2 (Stella). Now she has a book to do something about that. Let’s see what happens. Or maybe… maybe Lydia really IS dead!

(Nah.)

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 14

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By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by A.M. Cola.

Another day, another attempt to squeeze 500 words out of “Yuto sure is a main character”. I’ve even compared it to Bofuri before, but the obvious comparison comes up again here. The designers of the game suddenly find that Yuto has done several random things that, when taken together, accidentally open up a boss battle well before they’re ready for it, so they have to make the boss more powerful, then they have to also give the players an out so that they don’t get too discouraged. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the help they give, and where the event takes place, and the connection means that guess who saves the day and gets the biggest bonus? Honestly, it’s a good thing that everyone adores Silver-Haired (some a bit too much), because they’re right, this game’s balance is always in danger of collapsing. Sorry about your daughter, my technician guy, it’s probably doomed. On the bright side, Yuto isn’t eating poison… yet. And romance is unlikely to be even one-sided here.

Yuto has always done things his own way, sometimes deciding to just relax and take it easy, so it should not be a surprise that he finds an area where he can literally weaponize being “chill”. (Later, he finds another one for being “rowdy”, with opposite yet comparable skill sets.) This allows him to do what he does best, which is make friends with NPCs, do things that make you smile, and then suddenly find he’s actually unlocked the key to the universe again. Then he’s asked by his friend Hamakaze (who seems like the sort of person who’s an overly stressed class president in the real world) to help her defeat some yokai… which ends up getting him more cute monsters. That he can play with in his new additions to his house, or take out on monster hunting quests, or break Alyssa’s mind again.

I do appreciate how we get the standard Alyssa breakdown here, but we’re also dragging in her co-worker… whose name, possibly deliberately, is Maple. It doesn’t matter who he tells, because he lacks the gamer common sense that everyone else has. This actually leads to the funniest joke in the book, where, during the final boss battle, he sees some of his weirder friends going all out, and asks Hamakaze if the more eccentric players are more powerful. She stares at him like he’s in The Office, and I get it. Yuto being oblivious to his own eccentricity is great. But it also underscores the other point of this series (and Bofuri), which is that there’s no way to play a game wrong. Just do what you want to do. Well, provided the designers agree with you. We do see in this volume that the folks who invented a game to be the complete opposite of this one bombed badly.

This series is in no danger of ending, and in no danger of having character development I could talk about. It is what it is. Relaxing fun.

Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain, Vol. 6

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By Ageha Sakura and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

This series continues to be pleasant. It has a nice cast, and after the drama of the last book, I was expecting a more lackadaisical one. That said, I’m starting to feel like Agnes does through most of this volume. I wish that the book would stop coddling me and actually go places. It’s been very clear for a while now that the author’s idea for the way the series goes began and ended with the first book. This is quite common with light novels, where the publisher says “It sold, write more”, and the author says “more what?”. I was wondering if the series might end with Agnes giving birth to her child, but no, that’s the beginning of this book, and it ends up going so smoothly and easily even Agnes is surprised. Worst of all, the author is aware that there is a certain lack of conflict in this volume, and brings back the series’ worst villain, Robin. Who is still the worst.

Six volumes in and we’re no closer to figuring out why the cover art always has a little chibi-Agnes floating around. I had wondered if it might be their future child, but no, Agnes gives birth to a healthy baby boy, named Solis. What’s more, not only does he have rare soil magic, but he’s seemingly been able to use it from inside the womb, as it turns out that was the reason behind Agnes’ magic soil powers in the last volume. That’s not to say she doesn’t do a lot of Cool Magic Tricks here, including essentially putting up a dome to protect the entire estate from a nasty storm. Unfortunately, Robin has escaped from his light novel stereotypes prison, and is helped out by an apathetic, aggrieved man from another country. They’re supposed to flee to that country, but Robin can’t help going to Sutrena to try to make Nazel’s life miserable.

To get the bad stuff out of the way, I hate Robin. I know that’s deliberate, but I hate how he’s written too. It’s interesting that one of the funnier things in the book was how Agnes got Robin to stop being obsessed with her – she put her old pancake makeup from Lady Bumpkin days back on. But yeah, Robin is stupid, arrogant, and terrible, and him being put back in prison also means we get a lot more “hah, it’s funny because prisons have lots of gay rape!” bits. On the bright side, I quite liked the aggreived foreign aide, who seems to realize that he’s on a mission where everyone will abandon him when it goes wrong, and when it does, he’s absolutely right. Fortunately, he’s in this series, so it turns out his magic is far more amazing than he expected. Also, because he’s in this series, Agnes wins him over with the sheer power of niceness, though he doesn’t fall for her.

So yeah, I’m basically reading this series on inertia, but I still want to read more, unlike her other JNC series I dropped recently. And we may get another child soon, if Nazel’s behavior at the end of this volume means anything. For fans of series with chibi-versions of the protagonist floating in the air for no reason.

Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat, Vol. 4

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

I do love it when a character I 100% vibe with arrives on the scene. I love, as I have said in a few reviews before, incredibly strong, powerful women who are also dumb as a bag of hammers. It just tickles me. And we get that in spades here with Julia, a vampire who’s on the side of the bad guys and actually forces Mercedes to try. See, she’s not only strong, but it seems to be entirely instinctual – she hasn’t been taught anything, but when she sees a move she’s able to work out counters and the like just on her own. And she’s also the funny kind of dumb, which is important. She will fall for them pretending to be on her side and spill all sorts of secrets. The big bad, when their plans inevitably go south, assumes it’s her fault simply because she causes chaos wherever she is. I was so happy she wasn’t killed off.

Things are going pretty well for Mercedes, though she’s still struggling with the whole succession thing. Unfortunately, Sieglinde may be the official princess, but the country does not really want her to rule, especially since the empire next door were all misandrists. So she’s got to get married, and the person who marries her will have all the power. Then Mercedes gets a visit from a guy named Basil, who she notes looks exactly like a typical anime bad guy (he looks a lot like Gin from Bleach, in fact). Basil says that there is, in fact, another royal with a claim to the throne – and he has a dungeon. Sure, he’s a naive ten-year-old who is clearly being set up as a puppet king, but that’s irrelevant – he has a dungeon, and he’s male. How are they going to handle this?

As it turns out, the backstory that led to all this turns out to be rather convoluted, especially since it means that there’s another person with a connection to the royal family. My favorite part of the book was possibly Mercedes’ unreliable narrator moment. To be fair, it’s not without signposts – there are several points where she notes that she’s being too kind or too soft, and we think “wait, back up, Mercedes? Too soft?”. But her father clocks her right away, and instantly lays out her entire thought pattern in three paragraphs. It’s very clear that whenever this series ends (I’m estimating 1 or 2 more books), it’s going to end with Mercedes battling her father for supremacy. In the meantime, congratulations to the country, which now has its royal who can be king, and he’s at least semi-competent. Oh yes, and the little boy who was being manipulated is not killed but put in prison instead. I’m sure that will be FINE.

The 5th volume is not out yet, so get ready to wait. This is a decent little OP cynical vampire series, even if I could have done without hearing about how vampire’s breasts never sag because of their eternal youth (or, in the case of Mercedes, eternal tweenhood).

True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends: The Secret of the Rose

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By Kosuzu Kobato and Fumi Takamura. Released in Japan as “Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki” by Maple Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Moon. Adapted by Max Machiavelli.

There’s not actually any art forgery in this book – all the paintings that Fiona gushes over throughout the book seem to be genuine. This is probably because the mastermind behind everything is behind bars – note that I did not say safely behind bars. A novel needs a climax, after all. This allows the book to delve deeply into the other outstanding plotline, which is Fiona and Giles’ fake relationship. Both really don’t want to break it off, but know they have to. Well, Fiona knows she has to. Giles has an epiphany in this volume, and suddenly is finding that he’s absolutely not in favor of that anymore. Unfortunately, he’s still an earl and she’s still the daughter of a baron, so there are issues. What’s more, her father is unhappy with the idea. And this book sees her uncle returning to town, and Fiona just loves him. (No, not that way.) That said, we may be more familiar with him than we thought…

After the events of the last book, Gordon has been taken into custody, which means that Fiona can finally go home and stop imposing on the Heywards. (She is the only one who thinks it is imposing.) As it happens, she gets home just in time, as her uncle Reginald has returned from abroad, and he’s brought paintings to sell. In fact, they’re paintings from the famous Raymond, which is even bigger news. Reginald, however, does not like Giles at all. He knows Fiona wants to be independent, and having her as the plaything of an earl is the last thing that’s good for her. Unfortunately for Reginald, Fiona is not the only one unaware she’s fallen in love – Giles is as well, or was, until Reginald makes him realize that he is. Things will all come to a head at the grand ball which is supposed to be their final one as a couple…

As noted, 4/5 of this book is a romance. Reginald doesn’t like Giles, but he quickly realizes that Giles is not a manipulative bastard and just settles for glaring at him a lot. There is, though, the last fifth of the book, where you realize that both of the main antagonists of the series aren’t dead, and so of course bad things can still happen to Fiona, who has a kind heart even when facing off against a broken woman calling her a whore. Sadly for Caroline, who has spent her entire life planning to be Giles’ wife, reality is not kind to her. I’m frankly stunned by her fate in this book, which is more than she deserves, as everyone else points out. As for Gordon, well, guess what, they never found the body, so I guess we’ll see him again in Book 4. At least he gave us some good royal backstory and angst.

The webnovel is done, with enough material to finish with Book 4. When the published book will be out in Japan is beyond my predictions. Till then, if you like romance and nobles and art, this is still a very good sampling of all of those.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 5

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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 Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

I always enjoy it when a series that has long since evolved away from its title decides to backtrack and remind us of it. Sure, we remember the “tossed aside’ part, mostly as her fiance is such a clown, but it’s easy to forget the ‘sold’ part, especially because she was sold for a lot of money – money that had to come from somewhere. It’s never really come up since then, mostly as the purchase of Philia as the Saint turned out to be the best one they’ve ever made, but it does make you wonder where the money to pay for her came from. As it turns out, their world is not all that different from our own, and it turns out that a lot of the money came from grants being given to various research and development facilities around the kingdom. Which can be a problem if some of those researchers are, shall we say, a bit obsessed.

Having finally wrapped up the wedding (and sent Mia home, so alas she is not in this book), Philia and Osvalt are finally ready to embark on their honeymoon… but Philia is still Philia, which means their honeymoon involves a lot of research. She’s touring the ruins of the country to try and figure out if there’s a way to stop the magic fluctuations in the volcanic area so that they can get more flowers. While there, unfortunately, they come across what seems to be an attempted break-in… and then, at another site, they catch those responsible. The main culprit is a merchant named Harry, who smiles but seems to lie as easily as he breathes, has been selling arms to the country just in case of foreign invasion, and has a far closer connection to Philia… or rather, Philia’s attendants… than anyone realizes.

Leaving aside the spoilery relationship that makes up the bulk of the last half of the book, it is entertaining seeing Philia actually coming to terms with herself as an emotional being. Getting married seems to have freed up her body to actually do things like smile and cry, and I don’t think she’s come to terms with it yet… nor has she come to terms with losing somebody near and dear to her, which we come close to this time around. She’s mirrored by Osvalt, who his brother doesn’t trust to deal with tense political situations because he’s too empathetic, but he ends up doing really well here, showing off that empathy can also be “really good at reading people”, which is actually quite handy for political situations. Lastly, a brief wish: I really hope we’re not suggesting Grace will marry Reichardt when she grows up. I like her as the little sister of the group, and hope she stays in that role.

That said, if she keeps saying things like “I’ve never seen a magic tool that large before”, I may have to reconsider. Oooooh, Matron!

The Isle of Paramounts: Reborn into a Slow Life Among the Strongest in the World, Vol. 2

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By Heiseiowari and Noy. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Saikyou Shu-tachi ga Sumau Shima deshita. Kono Shima de Slow Life wo Tanoshimimasu” by SQEX Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alex Castor.

The general theme of this book seems to be that everyone has a certain amount of stress in their lives, and that the best way to get rid of it is to totally relax in a place where your work can’t get to you. The two mages who were sent to check on Reina, and don’t really like her much, by the end of the book are just another part of the extended family being built up here. Of course, it helps when everyone on the island is so ludicrously powerful that there’s no point in stressing – you’ll just die if you don’t relax. Above everyone else is Arata, who gets annoyed every time someone implies he’s not human but by the end of the book is starting to get why they say it. As far as we can tell so far, he’s literally omnipotent. Even the vampire, who is able to take anyone else out no trouble, has issues dealing with him. He is OP Guy personified.

Arata and Reina have gotten completely settled in on this island (and are essentially acting like husband and wife, though his cluelessness and her shyness means they’re not really going much further than “we’re really good friends”). They’re also getting new visitors: as I noted above, two of Reina’s fellow mages wind up washed ashore on the island, and are quickly forced to get used to what life is like here. (Notably, they both specialize in an element and are jealous Reina can use all of them, while she’s jealous they’re really strong in one of them, calling herself a jack-of-all-trades.) We also meet the ancient dragons and ogres… or at least their teenage versions, who are fighting for supremacy but refuse to let Tailtiu join… not because she’s a girl, but because she’s too strong.

There’s a glorious scene midway through the book where, I thought at first, Arata had been yeeted to a completely different light novel to solve their problem and then yeeted right back. As it turns out that’s not true – while the Saint and the Hero were trying to summon someone to solve their problem, they exist in this world as well, and as it turns out Arata can solve the killer dragon problem but can’t help with church politics. I get the feeling we’ll see them again. I’m also not sure if this series is going to go polyamory, and if it does how many wives Arata will get. Reina is a given, of course, but Tailtiu, who is currently in the “little sister” role, does not look as if she’s prepared to stay there, especially as, once again, Arata solves all her personal issues by punching a few people till they understand. That said, give his “no, no, mustn’t have sexual thoughts about anybody” attitude, I doubt I need to worry for a while.

This is sort of a slow life series, even if the life is hanging around on what is basically the island where the gods live. I enjoy it.