Reviews

By Kore Yamazaki. Released in Japan as “Mahou Tsukai no Yome” by Mag Garden, serialization ongoing in the magazine Monthly Comic Garden. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

There have been so many fantasy series released over the past few years that it can be a bit difficult to sort out the wheat from the chaff, and you find yourself looking for some plot point or character that makes the new license stand out from the pack of selkies, vampires, goblins and fairies that dot the manga landscape. I’m not sure that The Ancient Magus’ Bride possesses anything that makes it immediately leap out at a reader, expect perhaps for the skull of said magus himself. But what it does have it a strong plot, likeable characters, solid, pretty art and a desire to get the next volume in the series the moment you set the first one down. In other words, no flashy stuff here, just a very, very good book.

The premise is that a teenage girl who has spent most of her life shunned by friends because she can see “invisible things”, and whose mother has passed away, is kidnapped by a bunch of alchemists, who realize that she is a Sleigh Beggy, which is to say a giant magical sponge. Luckily for her, the one who purchases her is Elias, who may have a face like a cow skull and claim that he plans to make her his bride one day, but in practice seems happy to take her on as an apprentice, showing her the joys and dangers of a world where magic is slowly dying but still present, and allowing her to use her considerable power to try to help those in need.

As I said above, I’m not sure where the ‘bride’ thing is going, but given that Chise is 15, I hope it’s nowhere anytime soon. Chise herself is a fairly quiet, reserved type, as you’d expect from a child with her past – we see her pondering suicide in one flashback – but she is also very much attuned to the wonders of the world she is now part of. This can be dangerous – in the first chapters, she’s almost kidnapped again by “helpful” fairies who try to take her to their own land – but also tremendously heartwarming, as when she’s kidnapped AGAIN, but this time manages to help a dying dragon have a vivid and wonderful final dream before he passes on.

It’s a bit difficult to know what else to say in a review like this, as I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that I was smiling a great deal as I read it. There’s likeable supporting characters – Angelica in particular is awesome, and there are some interesting bad guys who pop up near the end as well. As I said before, the art is excellent, showing off the world it’s creating without being too complex or showy. And you really want to see Chise learning more and growing into her power fully, as well as realizing what life can hold for her and learning to love herself after spending so long on the edge of despair. There’s also some humor, mostly from Elias – or rather, against Elias, who gets beaten up for not remotely recognizing the trembling of a young maiden’s heart.

There’s nothing specifically outstanding about this title so far, but it doesn’t put too many feet wrong, and as such ends up adding up to something excellent. Mag Garden’s titles are somewhat genreless, but I think this is a title that could appeal to both men and women, even if it has a bit of a shoujo feel to it. Seek it out immediately.

By Yoshitoki Oima. Released in Japan as “Koe no Katachi” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

There have been many manga releases here in North America that deal with the subject of childhood bullying – it’s a theme in Japanese manga that is getting more and more of a workout lately, as the ability to simply blame the victim and look away gets harder to do. This doesn’t mean, however, that it’s always accepted or welcomed. A Silent Voice won an award for its original one-shot chapter, but took years to get released as a series – in fact, there were apparently lawsuits. This is likely due to the fact that it has not one but two things that there is a desire to gloss over and not bring out into the open – childhood bullying, and disabilities.

The blurb on the back cover says the word heartwarming was made for a manga like this, and I can only imagine readers will finish the first volume and want to give the writer of that blurb a good swift kick, as this initial volume is all heartbreaking instead. You can see why this title was shied away from. It’s not shy about showing exactly how a culture of bullying works, and how quickly it can turn against anyone. It shows the apathy and outright cruelty of teachers, how parents can seethe with anger or merely stand there unable to do anything. And in the end our hero, who’s a childish brat who discovers that harassing a deaf girl is a good outlet for his anger and boredom, is driven to the point where at the end of this volume he’s looking to put all his affairs in order so that he can kill himself. This is a heavy book.

If there’s a fault in this initial volume, it’s that there’s really TOO many characters who we simply don’t like. Shoya’s boredom and desire for excitement (and lack of desire for learning) is understandable, but you desperately hope he will mature, and cringe as the book goes deeper and deeper into how he feels about Shoko’s mere presence. The children are quick to go along with what Shoya does, mostly as they find it incredibly annoying to have to deal with Shoko’s disability. And the kid’s teacher is loathsome, wanting nothing more than to shuffle these kids on and make sure they don’t do anything embarrassing, with a side dose of cruelty.

As for Shoko, she’s a bit of a cipher right now, aside from being shy, but there’s a bit of deliberateness in that. She is the outsider, the different one, the one who NEEDS special attention over the other kids. It’s notable that she’s deaf but doesn’t know sign language – a well-meaning but easily cowed teacher tries to get the kids to learn it, but that goes precisely nowhere. Shoko’s disability doesn’t automatically make her better, faster, or stronger like other cliched works – she’s an average kid, can’t sing because of her hearing… honestly, it’s seeing her insistent effort on trying to br friendly with everyone despite all the abuse that is the most heartwarming part of this series.

We end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I suspect that this reunion will go poorly, but I really want to see more. Most of these characters are horrible, but the author does a great job of making you want to see them mature. And it’s also a good, non-shiny look at how disabled children might be treated in a society that believes the nail that sticks up must be hammered down. Definitely recommended.

By Yuyuko Takemiya and Akira Kasukabe. Released in Japan by ASCII Media Works, serialized in the magazine Dengeki Daioh. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

Sometimes a series has to work hard to get out from under the preconceptions it carries and also the tropes it seems inspired by. Evergreen is from the author of Toradora!, something I was rather surprised wasn’t mentioned at least on the back cover, and therefore already has some expectations since Toradora! is one of those rare harem series that actually is enjoyed by female readers. Unlike the author’s other series, this one is a manga original, though. It also has the extreme misfortune of coming out scant weeks after Kodansha’s shonen series Your Lie in April, which features a sullen teen who has given up on any hopes or dreams who is inspired by a gorgeous beauty who turns out to be rather eccentric. As it turns out, the series don’t really share much in common besides that, but there is a threat of “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” hanging over the whole thing.

Having gotten that out of the way, there’s a lot I enjoyed here. On-chan (if she gets a full name, I missed it) is really fun, carrying most of the comedy on her back, and having a nice love-hate relationship with Sora, who she will clearly end up with but for now is content to simply beat up. As for the two leads, the awkwardness both of them have interacting with each other is handled very well, and I like Hotaka’s imaginary “I am smooth and cool” fantasies that occasionally intrude before reality ensues. The awkwardness doesn’t just end with his relationship with Niki, though – his past guilt and physical condition have left him a bit broken, and I empathized with him a great deal when he visited his paternal grandmother, who is dying in the hospital.

I am interested to see if the plot goes in the direction that it’s hinting at, and how the manga will handle it. Hotaka’s heart condition seems to have a parallel with the sudden nosebleed that Niki got, and the visit to the grandmother reveals that there is another sibling who is supposed to be involved that we don’t know about. It’s not hard to put two and two together, but if I skipped every manga because of potential incest these days, I’d never read anything. I am pretty confident, having read Toradora!, which handles various serious plots like parental neglect and abandonment with a deft hand, that Evergreen is not likely to go down that road. And the art is quite pretty (fanservicey color page aside), making this a very smooth read. It’s only four volumes long, so I don’t think that any of the major plot bombs hinted at should drag on too long, and these are good kids, so I want to see them overcome their difficulties.

To sum up: Evergreen is not exceedingly original, and may rely a bit too much on some well-worn cliches, but its heart appears to be in the right place, and I want to see how it deals with the reveal I have a sneaking suspicion is coming soon.

By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa. Released in Japan as “Toaru Kagaku no Railgun” by ASCII Media Works, serialization ongoing in the magazine Dengeki Daioh. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

I have to be careful not to repeat myself too much here, as the third Index novel is out in a couple of weeks and covers similar themes. But Academy City, as we’ve seen, breeds superheroes. Which is fine, except that you’re left wondering what they want an entire city of superheroes for. And when you get to the Level 5s, and the quest to get one of them to Level 6, be it Accelerator, Misaka, or what have you, it’s no longer about superheroes but about nuclear weapons testing. Many of the scientists we’ve seen in Index and Railgun regard morality and ethics as something that gets in the way of results – in fact, Yoshikawa may be the only nice scientist we’ve met to date (in Index), and she ends up almost dying for her sins. Gensei, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to wipe out the entire city in the name of science.

You’ll note that Misaka’s in the background of the cover art, while Misaki and Kuroko take center stage. That’s a somewhat accurate look at the volume itself – given that she is the weapon being tested, Misaka doesn’t get much to do here except be used. That said, the other two end up carrying the “women in this series are awesome” load very well, and Uiharu also provides assistance with her amazing hacking skills. Kuroko in particular is impressive, and reminds us how brilliant she can be when she’s not scheming to get into Misaka’s pants. Misaki outgambits not only the villain, but also herself. And then there’s Mitori, the main miniboss of this arc, who may be trying to help Gensei but is still, like the rest of the weapons being created in Academy City, just being manipulated herself. So after a mammoth beatdown we see her bonding with Misaki, and the two of them reuniting with their past.

I should also mention Touma, as he’s here as well, though doesn’t do as much as expected. (For Railgun readers wondering why Touma’s arm can turn into a dragon, the 2nd Index novel can help with that.) The author is quite fond of the grand gesture of “saving the girl”, and it’s not going to go away – the only way to keep it out of this title is to have him not appear. A better appearance here was Gunha, another Level 5 who had barely appeared in either series till this point. He’s even more of a shonen hero than Touma is, dealing with problems by punching them and insisting that “guts” is the solution to absolutely everything. He’s a nice light-hearted moment in what is otherwise a very serious book.

The arc wraps up here with almost a sitcom ending – Misaka is forced to dance with Touma at the conclusion of the athletics festival and Kuroko naturally kicks her way in between then – but overall this arc with Misaki and Misaka was one of the most satisfying of the entire series. Which is good, as it may be at least another year before we see a new volume here.

By Mamare Touno and Kazuhiro Hara. Released in Japan by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen Press.

As I’ve said in a few Manga the Week of posts before this, the first I ever heard of Log Horizon was when I was researching Sword Art Online after reading that series, and TVTropes saying that the two series had a “fandom rivalry”. This is unsurprising, given that the two series essentially share a very similar plot – gamers suddenly find themselves trapped inside a game and have to find ways to deal with it. That said, once you get past that there’s a lot that’s different. In SAO you have “if you die in the game, you die in real life” lending an air of tension and menace to everything. Log Horizon, on the other hand, generates its tension from the opposite: even death merely has you regenerated at your start point, so there’s no point to anything at all.

Our hero is a quiet, thoughtful, introverted sort, who has those “mean eyes” that fans of Toradora! might recognize, and a tendency to see everything in a cynical way. He’s partnered with a big, outgoing guy who enjoys making perverted jokes as a way of breaking the ice (though, as we later see, he can’t take it when it’s dished out to him), and a quiet, even more introverted assassin who, once she’s in her proper body, proves that Ayanami Rei expies are still alive and well in the world of anime and manga. Much of the novel has them figuring out what the rules of this new-yet-familiar world are, realizing that a lot of combat techniques they did in their sleep seated at a computer are much harder when a genuine threat is speeding towards you, and trying to rescue a young girl trapped in a faraway city that has fallen into lawlessness as some people realize that since there’s no real consequence to death except that you get to loot their stuff, that that’s a great way to pass the time.

This is very much a novel for experienced MMORPG players, and has a lot more mechanics in it than SAO did. Given that I’m not a gamer, I found myself skimming the explanations at times. The characters fared much better – Shiroe and Akatsuki I especially liked, and I enjoy that the two suggested couples (though nothing’s likely to happen for at least 10 volumes is my guess) are both similar types – there’s no “opposites attract” cliche here. It’s actually refreshing seeing two introverts driving an action series at all, and that also came across very well. And the series’ worldbuilding is excellent, taking its time and showing us what you can and cannot do – the food problem is particularly frustrating for all involved.

I would say that I find Sword Art Online more exciting and gripping – Log Horizon has a certain dry tone that matches that of its hero. But it’s a very good start to a series, and I look forward to seeing how things go, and if “returning to the real world” even becomes a plot point at all – it’s mentioned very little here, with a lot of folks just assuming they’re trapped forever. In any case, between this, No Game No Life, DanMachi, and SAO, gamers certainly have their hands full of Yen On titles right now.

By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press.

Of the five titles I’m reading in April from Yen On, this is the odd one out, as it’s the only one that does not involve gaming in some way, shape or form. Instead this is a straight up fantasy/comedy, and reads as the most “traditional” of the lot. Our hero is our villain, who is forced to come to Japan and abandon his fantasy world, pursued by his nemesis, the hero, who seeks to destroy him. That said, Japan is not as laced with magic as they would like, so our hero is forced to bide his time and save his strength, instead deciding to try to use his part-time job as a stepping stone to world domination. Which is fine, except his part-time job is with McDonald’s… sorry, McRonald’s.

The main reason to read this title is the comedy – it’s very funny, in ways that come out of the personalities of the characters, which is one of the best kinds of humor. Maou is intelligent and capable, but has taken to life as a lowly paid wage slave in Japan a little *too* well, as everyone immediately notices. His Demon General/Househusband Ashiya is in turns nagging him about eating properly and returning to their world, but can also be an emotional drama queen at the worst time. Chiho is a normal lovestruck girl you’d see in any anime romance series, which is why it’s so funny that she’s stuck in the middle of all this. As for Emi, when doing research on this title I found a TVTropes quote about her that noted “She’s generally hated on /a”, which is always a true sign that I will love a character. She was wonderfully fun and emotional.

We do not get too many flashbacks to Maou’s time as the demon lord, notably. This is deliberate, I imagine, given that he is supposed to be the destroyer of many, many lives… including Emi’s father. We do see a bit pf her past, mostly as she is forged into a weapon used to take out the Demon King… and then tossed aside so that the real evil guy can get on with his behind the scenes manipulation. When she confronts Maou with his deeds, his response is to half-heartedly apologize, indicating he hadn’t really thought much about what he was doing. This is really dissonant, and I’m not sure how much of it is deliberate. We’ll see if it comes up again in future books.

There’s also many cool battles, and our hero and villain show that they’re definitely a force to be reckoned with if they team up and if the hero can stop screaming at him for long enough. I don’t expect Emi’s essential tsundere character to end anytime soon, as that’s her type, but I do think that a lot of her rage in the latter half of the book is more due to finding out that the entire life she lived was based on a lie than anything else… it will be interesting to see how she handles her black-and-white morality getting grey tones.

Mostly, though, this book is just plain fun. If you like comedic fantasy/romance, and don’t mind that some of the characters (everyone but Maou, basically) are stereotypes, this is definitely a book to pick up.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press.

So yeah, I know a lot of people were taking bets to see when I would stop being a raving fanboy about this series. This is not to say that there weren’t parts of this novel I greatly enjoyed, but there’s simply a lot of things wrong with the climax of the book, and they take away from a suspension of disbelief that has already been in danger of snapping since SAO began. I am rather happy that things are resolved, everyone’s back in the real world, and if this weren’t a franchise I’d be mostly satisfied with the ending here, but… your villains need work, Kawahara-san.

Let’s start with what I liked. The first 60 pages or so were completely skipped in the manga adaptation I read, and are a terrific look at Kirito and Leafa’s similarities and differences, where choosing to save a monster from being attacked by another monster, and later on defending it from a party trying to kill it, even if it means losing all forward progress, is greatly rewarded. It’s just a nice sequence that shows why people still want to play these games even after the deathtrap that was SAO, and really shows off Leafa’s compassion. She’s only human, though, and still a teenager – her relationship with Recon is not one of equals, and I think she needs to sit the boy down and tell him she’s not going to be returning his feelings.

The whole Suguha falls for Kazuto/Kirito plotline was handled better than I thought given that its existence is enough to provoke a groan these days – I remind myself it was originally written as a web story around 2004-2005, when “pseudo-incest” was not overwhelming the market like it is now. Her anguish on discovering Kirito’s true identity is very well written, as is the duel that eventually follows. I also liked the epilogue set in the “SAO survivors” school, which not only gets to see our lead couple be extremely cute, but also gives us cameos of the rest of the cast, particularly Lisbeth adn Silica, who it was great to see.

All right, let’s talk Sugou, and by extension his conspirators, who we see in the form of slavering tentacle insects. First off, there was no reason to include those guys in that form for any reason other than to titillate a certain segment of fandom which is not remotely me. I’ve hated it in the manga, and hate it here, though thankfully there aren’t explicit illustrations. Secondly, Sugou is insane, and thus dull – you’re just waiting for him to get his just desserts, and the fact that he’s so over the top means there’s no real suspense that he’ll achieve anything. But probably the thing that irritated me most was the “return” of Kayaba as a ghost in the machine, who gives Kirito magical GM powers to finally be the godlike cheat character everyone accuses him of being. It’s a deus ex machina of the worst kind, and comes out of nowhere. I also think that the writing was a bit too sympathetic towards a man who murdered thousands of people for a thought experiment. Kazuto thinking he was similar to both Kayaba AND Sugou also didn’t help.

So not as good as the first couple of books, but hey, it’s finished, and I’m still invested in the franchise. Next time we’ll meet a new heroine, a new gameworld, and Kirito will get in touch with his feminine side.

By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On.

My initial review of this title was a bit lukewarm, mostly expressing surprise that I didn’t immediately hate it given the premise and ‘light novels with long titles’ cliches. After reading the second volume, I’ve had to change my mind. This isn’t merely adequate, it’s quite good. Yes, there are still a few issues with Bell as the typical harem hero, and Hestia can be a bit annoying at times, as you’d expect from a series like this. Yet as with the first book, both seem to recognize their flaws and try to grow from them. Actually, I’d argue Hestia’s biggest issue is how little she’s been in these books given she’s the heroine, and also apparently the next big meme now that the anime is appearing in Japan.

Instead, this volume has as its main female lead Lilly, who is a hobbit (yes, I know it’s translated differently, but come on, she’s a hobbit) with a tragic backstory, who fills the role of supporter in Bell’s party, since this is not one of those worlds where you have infinite inventory. This also serves as another look at how this ‘game world’ would work in a semi-real-life setting, as supporters are basically the lower class poor here, sneered at and abused by adventurers who regard them as little better than pack mules. Needless to say, Bell is different, but Lilly is so beaten down by the cruelty of everyone else in her sphere that it takes her the entire book to realize that.

I did have issues with Bell’s response to “Why did you save Lilly?” at the end. “Because you’re a girl,” was the first thing that came to mind, which is annoying, as “Because I felt empathy for your situation and could have been like you if things had gone a different way” is far more accurate. There *is* still a major harem aspect to this book, don’t get me wrong. Lilly clearly falls for Bell a bit here; Hestia is going on “dates” with him; Eina admits to herself that she has feelings for Bell; Aiz, the object of his intense adoration, spends much of the book in a depressed funk as he ran away from her in a panic; and of course Freya wants to hug him and squeeze him and call him George. Indeed, the other issue I think I have with the book is that the nature of Bell’s ‘skill’ makes him get far too good at things too fast. This is lampshaded by others, but still, I’d like to have seen more actual work put into it given we already have a glut of perfect fantasy heroes at the moment (hi, Kirito).

The main reason I think this works as a novel is that you don’t get the sense, as you often do with series like these, that the world vanishes once Bell walks out of the picture. These characters have lives and ambitions that don’t all revolve around Bell, and certain teases from the first book are followed up on here. (I was very happy that a character who I thought was a red herring in the first book turned out to be me being right here in the second.) When I finished the first I thought “Well, I guess I might as well get the second volume.” After finishing the second, I’m really looking forward to the third. Though I’d still pitch this more to fans of fantasy than fans of harems.