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Reviews

Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 5

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By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

I’ve said this before about TO Books’ output, but it bears repeating: a lot of their books are just too long. Now, I don’t mind this when the writing justifies the length, with series such as Ascendance of a Bookworm, where you could argue they needed to be even longer. But as I was reading the latest volume of All-Works Maid, I kept checking the page count to see how long there was to go. Like a lot of webnovel-to-print books, tighter editing is required but not always given. This is especially frustrating given the clever conceit of this book, where we start a whole new setup and then discover over the course of the book that the setup is not going to work at all and we have to go back to basics. I like the idea of starting a plot only to stop and say “nah, nevermind” when it’s deliberate, but combined with the flabbiness of the volume it does feel a bit frustrating.

After the attack the last volume, Melody has decided on a course of action. She – or rather Cecilia, her alter ego – is going to transfer into the academy, so that she can protect Luciana from whatever darkness is coming after them. Now, getting in is not a problem – she has people who can pull all sorts of strings for her, and she is a natural genius. As for the dark mana monsters that we saw last time, they too are lying low… mostly as their mistress is busy figuring out that otome gaming is hard when someone’s already broken the plot. It doesn’t help that there are simply too many villainesses walking around, and the narrative can’t contain ALL of them. Unfortunately, what ends up crippling Melody/Cecilia is something that a lot of AP-course high school kids have to deal with – overextending herself and not being able to be who she really is as she’s too busy being who she isn’t.

As I said, I do like the conceit of the plot twist here. As good an idea as Melody joining the students as Cecilia is, it detracts from the theme of the books as a whole, which is MAID. More Cecilia means less Melody, and that’s very bad for Melody. This is handled comedically at first, as Melody is horrified to find that Micah and Rook have been trained so well that, strictly speaking, she doesn’t have to be a maid in the evening at all. As the book goes on, though, and we see continual scenes of Melody going to bed and being unable to fall asleep, we start to get an idea of where it’s headed – collapse. I did also appreciate that while turning back into Melody full-time did temporarily give her a boost of adrenaline, it did not completely fix the issue, and she still needed sleep and food. I also really liked the new addition to the cast, an artist who wants to avoid her father’s struggles but also is consumed by the ART… and who may be able to spot the thread connecting Cecilia with Melody.

This is 8+ books in Japan, so they’ll have lots of time to plot and scheme in the future. But when they do, it will with with Melody maiding it like she’s never maided it before.

Zero Damage Sword Saint: I Enrolled in a Magic School and Wound Up in a Contract with the Demon Queen, Vol. 2

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By Isle Osaki and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Kenseitan: Osananajimi no Oujo ni Suterare Mahou Gakuen ni Nyuugakushitara, Maou to Keiyakusuru Koto ni Natta ” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu.

I’ve talked before about McDonald’s books, and this series absolutely fits the bill. Some people read to stimulate their brain, to be drawn in by compelling plot and rich characterization. And some people just want to see the bland hero who could almost be themselves if they were in this world defeat every monster, get every girl, and have everyone think “gosh, I made fun of him before, but now he’s so awesome, I feel frustrated and humiliated”. This lacks the latter part, which may be why I’m enjoying it more than a lot of those “revenge on my high school classmates” books. Eugene continues to be the least interesting thing about this, but his supporting cast at least keeps me reading, and I’ll take a flyer on another book. The very definition of “It’s OK, I guess”.

We start with a POV from Sara, the student council president and Eugene’s former partner, showing how difficult it is to be a saint candidate, but more importantly how head over heels she is for Eugene. This helps to explain why all of a sudden she’s decided to accompany Eugene on his dungeon quests… because she’s seen how close he’s getting with Sumire, the isekai’d ifrit girl, and doesn’t want her getting too close. Sumire and Sara both regard each other as gorgeous women who could easily seduce anyone they wanted, but sadly this isn’t that kind of book, so rather than having belligerent sexual tension they just get jealous and “grr” a lot. That said, while both Sumire and Sara are very good at helping to get past monsters, in the end the main reason they’re doing so well is that Eugene can use Eri’s dark mana… and a nasty surprise awaits him at Level 100.

There is a good deal of plot involved here. Now that Eugene is accomplishing things and has dropped the “woe is me” attitude from the first book, we are reminded of his lineage, and also the power of working very hard, attack mana or no, so he is clearly a Man Of Destiny ™. There’s also some amusing angel/demon backstory here, as of course Erinyes is fallen, and she has a cute comedic conversation with the angel responsible for monitoring the dungeon battles. That said, the biggest plot advance was in the romantic potential. Last review I said Sumire better hope there’s polyamory in this world or else she’s doomed. Lo and behold… that said, calling it polyamory feels a bit much, given the poly ships we see here run on the women all hating each other but begrudgingly agreeing to share. “Harem” is more apposite right now. Most importantly, though, Eri can’t leave her prison (with an exception or two covered in the book), so when the book ends with Eugene being called home to visit his family, only the two public girlfriends get to accompany him.

Will we get the full backstory of his ex next time? Probably, and I bet she eventually joins the harem. Which I’m hoping gets closer to a polycule, I’d like some of these girls to actually like each other. For fans of light novels who want light, easy, and with a bit of fanservice.

The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits, Vol. 1

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By yocco and Junsui. Released in Japan as “Outo no Hazure no Renkinjutsushi: Hazure Shokugyou datta node, Nonbiri Omise Keieishimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andria McKnight. Adapted by Lex Reno.

Welcome to Scientific Method, the light novel. Hope you like stats! That said, I did enjoy this book a create deal despite the main character using appraisal over and over again to make sure that her creations are perfect. On the face of it, this is a bog standard “atelier” series, which usually involves a young girl starting up her own shop. Indeed, the Japanese subtitle of the series roughly translates as “I got a bad skill, so I’ll open my own shop”, meaning that we also have the ever-trendy “the gods gave you a job and it’s not popular, so you’re useless now”. This one though succeeds partly due to its main character’s utter charm, but also as it does a few things slightly differently to make it stand out from the rest. Notably, and this may come as a huge surprise, our lead is not an orphan! And trust me, this makes “I desperately want to work a 9-5 job at 8 years old” much more acceptable.

This book starts off sounding like it will be dark. The daughter of a baron gets “Maid” as her chosen God Occupation, and this so horrifies her family that they leave her in a hut to get an illness and die. She’s reborn as Daisy, the daughter of a Viscount, and when her God Occupation is “Alchemist” rather than the expected “Mage”, she panics that the same thing is going to happen. But in this world her family all adore her and are ready to do anything to support her, even if it means building her a laboratory and watching as she quietly invents potions that can regrow limbs, defeat any poison, and force confessions. In fact, she’s the Beloved Child of the Spirit King. Oh, and she has appraisal too. Oh, and she can ALSO use magic. That said… she just wants to run a shop, because in the end this is an Atelier series.

One thing I found very interesting is how quickly the “reborn with my memories of my bad old life intact” is abandoned. The old reincarnation basically sees Daisy’s loving family and happy life and goes “well, nothing for me to do here, bye” and goes off to the afterlife, leaving Daisy only with the worry that she may get a bad God Gatcha Roll. Likewise, as I said earlier, it’s amazing how much more tolerable hardworking children wanting to run a business are when they have their parents and actual adults looking over everything, rather than someone just setting up a restaurant and leaving them to run it in exchange for money (or worse, just food) while they go off to be the protagonist. Not naming any names, though they may rhyme with Nile and Runa. Most importantly, Daisy is cute as a button and sweet as pie, which really helps to take your mind off the act that she is, like so many light novel protagonists, OP as hell.

By the end of the book she’s ready to open her shop, which I imagine will take up the bulk of the next book. This is six volumes in total, which seems about right. I’ll definitely read more.

Reforming an Icy Final Boss: Getting Back at the Self-Proclaimed Villainess with the Power of Friendship, Vol. 1

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By Takamedou and Nemusuke. Released in Japan as “”Jishou Akuyaku Reijou” ni Korosareta Last Boss no Yarinaoshi: Bocchi na Reitetsu Koujo wa, Dai Ni no Jinsei de Riajuu wo Mezashimasu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Sheldon Drzka.

Just as a lot of isekai titles lately throw in so many common tropes and themes that they start to rememble an isekai stew, this new series seems to want to use several of the common shoujo plot devices that are popular right now, including villainesses having to fix their reputation, traveling back in time to an earlier period to do so, and an antagonist who is so otome game-pilled that she literally doesn’t care if she talks about the game to the actual inhabitants of this world. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad. Stew can be tasty. And for the most part, I found this a fun and delightful book… with a couple of exceptions, which I’ll get to later. Its stoic heroine tries to let tragedies wash over her, and that fails. So why not try to do something else?

Milly Asteara is having a very bad time, though she’s coping with it mostly by reading in the school’s garden. Her father has just been executed for treason, which of course means no one wants anything to do with her. And now this arrogant count’s daughter, Angelina, walks up and talks about how she’s the “villainess” and that Milly is the “final boss”. Worse still, when Milly barely reacts to any of this Angelina proceeds to murder her with a spell. Then suddenly Milly wakes up three years in the past, right before she’s supposed to go to school. She realizes that she has to fix things so that she’s not killed, and decides the best way to do this, since she was so isolated and had no friends or allies, is to open up and make friends and allies. Unfortunately, she’s the most awkward girl out there, and still pretty stoic, but that won’t stop her.

The author say s in the afterward that they added content for the print version of this webnovel, and I was unsurprised to find they’re the parts I found most jarring. At times in this book Milly decides to act like a “Bakarina-style” protagonist for no reason at all, doing things like squatting down in her house and pretending to be a delinquent. It’s annoying, and doesn’t fit with the rest of the book, when she’s just a socially inept quiet girl who also tends to get fired up when someone mentions something that upsets her. Like her late mother, who she loved. Or, y’know, accusing her of murder. There are also a few good plot twists here. Angelina also going back in time and getting frustrated things are not going the same as before was expected, but I did enjoy that there’s another isekai’d person here, just trying to quietly live a better life than the awful one she had in Japan, but sadly she ran into the wrong girl. Fortunately, in this new timeline Milly is nice. Oh yes, and there’s her dad, who everyone hates and who is a terrible person, but who we rapidly realize is just like his daughter, and also smarter than he lets on. I want to see more of him.

Aside from the author trying to add things that didn’t need to be added to, this was quite good. I’ll read the obligatory 1-2 more volumes before it wraps up, as this is a DRE series.

Long Story Short, I’m Living in the Mountains, Vol. 4

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By Asagi and Shino. Released in Japan as “Zenryaku, Yama Kurashi wo Hajimemashita” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by N. Marquetti.

The author reminds us once again in the afterword that this is not a romance nor is it going to turn into one. And no, the chickens are not going to become cute girls either. I get it, as I imagine that the audience for this series is looking at the cute girl in the cast, joined in this volume by her younger, also cute sister, and shipping is just happening naturally. That said, if the author really didn’t want any romance I think they could shut things down a bit more. Sure, here Sano states outright that he’s not interested in Rie (good, as she’s underage), but much of the relationship between him and the Katsuragis consists of him basically being a perfect catch except for his horrible depression and self-loathing, and the two of them noticing it. And that’s not even considering the ho yay he’s ignoring between him and Aizawa. Or hell, the fact that he has a chicken wife and a jealous chicken mistress. Romance kind of worms its way in anyway.

As noted above, we get another cast member in this volume. Katsuragi’s younger sister Rie is dealing with a stalker who went from “let’s date” to “what are you doing right now?” to “I need to know where you are 24-7 or I will kill us both” very quickly, so her parents agreed that having her stay with her sister is for the best. Rie is a gyaru in Sano’s eyes, but I think “normal 17-year-old who possibly bleaches her hair a little” is more accurate. Elsewhere in the book, there’s a lot of killing of boars; Sano goes to the very top of his mountain and finds a dilapidated shrine, which he tries to fix up a bit; he learns how to get lotus roots straight from the source, though he doesn’t enjoy it; and he begins to prepare for the winter, which given his remote mountain will mean going to ground, possibly for a month or two.

There’s a very interesting bit about 2/3 of the way through the book where Sano realizes that he hasn’t really prepared for winter fast enough or done enough, and thinks ruefully that he’s always slow to pick up on things like this and maybe that’s why his old fiancee left him. About five pages later, he’s hearing how Rie is finding Katsuragi’s place too cold and worries over it, workshopping solutions and eventually coming over and helping the two of them to insulate it. Sano’s depression is all internal – he still hates it when people tell him not to pay them back – and anytime he has to deal with something that affects only himself (see: his chapped hands), he puts it off or ignores it, but when it’s about anyone else, he basically becomes the perfect boyfriend. Something Katsuragi is deliberately ignoring, and which Rie does not ignore but she’s still 17, so…

The book implies that Sano is going to be alone for several months – given this cast is doing its level best to make sure this fragile guy is part of a community, I highly doubt that. Next time: more now, more chickens, and probably less not-romance.

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters!, Vol. 9

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By KAYA and Naru. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amy Osteraas.

Even if I hadn’t already seen the news that the next volume is the final one, the fact that the book starts with Sara and Allen finally being a couple and dating would probably have made me think it anyway. The author does not seem to be the sort who enjoys focusing on romance, as we saw with Nelly and Chris and as we see here. Allen and Sara’s first date is exactly the same as their normal work, going dungeon crawling. Allen needs a checklist on how to do a normal date like a normal person. It’s very funny, but it also underlines once again that our core cast are not normal people, and Sara may be the worst of them due to where she landed when isekai’d. The best joke in the book has her being asked to take a class on common sense, because she doesn’t have enough of it – and she has to ruefully agree.

Sara is eighteen now, has settled into her job, and is now dating Allen, though that mostly seems to involve them acting exactly as they always have. They’re not staying long in their current digs, though, as they get a request to take Ann, the Invited we met a few volumes back, to the Capital so that she can become a knight, which is the career that she’s decided on. This will likely take a while, meaning Sara and Nelly have a tearful goodbye for now. On the journey there, they’re interrupted by some cotton sheep, which like all cute-sounding animals in this world are actually vicious monsters. Fortunately, the sheep end up going north of our heroes’ destination. Once at the capital, Sara reunites with old friends and former enemies who she can now grudgingly get along with, and that’s probably for the best, as it turns out the cotton sheep have turned again and are heading straight for the city.

There’s one point in the story where everyone finds out they now have “nicknames” that almost read as titles, and I was rather startled at “Allen the Hero”, till I remembered the whole giant turtle thing and went “oh yeah, guess he is”. In fact, every single one of the Invited, as expected, are fast becoming legendary, as are the folks who hang around them. Kuntz is tricked by his brother into helping to train his fellow rookie hunters, and the training, which ropes in the rest of the group, ends up showing everyone in the city why the Invited are so different – their imaginations and otherworld experience means they can simply think of magic and powers differently. This is why in the past they’d been essentially forced to do whatever the kingdom wanted, and the big thematic climax of this book is not the final fight against the sheep, it’s the fact that Liam a) offers a plan that does not require them, and then b) politely asks if they have any other ideas. He too has come a long way.

Will this series end with babies ever after? Almost certainly not. Will it end with wolves? Almost certainly. Good heartwarming isekai.

I Like Villains, So I Reincarnated As One, Vol. 1

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By Kei Takano and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Suki no Ore, Oshi Character ni Tensei: Game Joban ni Shujinkou ni Korosareru Oshi ni Tenseishita node, Ore dake Shitteru Game Chishiki de Hametsu Flag wo Tsubushitara Akuyaku-tachi no Teiou ni Natteta Ken” by Dengeki no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Elliot Ryouga. Adapted by Gray Morrow.

It can be very hard to get past a lousy beginning. When this book began with our title character screaming “hell yeah, I’ve been reincarnated!” and then immediately shouting “Open Status” and getting a list of annoying stats, it dug itself a deep, deep hole. It didn’t help that the other main character is a young maid whose backstory we never learn but who is devoted to Weiss (the character our unnamed Japanese guy has become) to the death, and it was hard not to groan. Oh, there’s also an angry tsundere and a stoic nun who shows her cute side when around animals. This author writes tropes to order, and a quick glance at their other series suggests that, indeed, Seven Seas may have picked the best one. Alas.

Our unnamed hero, whose past consists of “I had a younger sister who was better than me at things”, is reincarnated into the body of Weiss, his favorite villain from a game he liked. Weiss also has an overachieving sister, who was made the heir rather than him, and he turned dissolute and evil as a result. Our guy loves that kind of tragic backstory, and this game is filled with them. Can he turn things around and save himself from an early grave, with the help of Rosalia, his overpowered maid who will do anything for him? (No, not that, the book is very PG-rated.) What’s more, can he save the other villains with really good tragic backstories, the “Evil Bloody Mistress” and the “Cruel False Saint”? And will they all fall in love with him?

By the end of the first book this rose to the level of adequate, though not enough for me to want to read more. Weiss (I have to use the name of the character) is the sort of person who loves a good Draco in Leather Pants – and he specifies they have to have a good tragic backstory and actual reasons for their behavior, when he meets a normal evil slave-owning trading bastard later he has no sympathy. Much as I dislike Rosalia’s over the top loyalty for no stated reason, she and Weiss do make a good team, and while she’d clearly do anything he asked, it’s also clear she seems to have some self-hatred issues that prevent any romance from getting further. Unfortunately, there’s one big reason this continues to not be very good – Weiss has no struggles whatsoever in getting overpowered fast. No, I do not count “passes out after using super cool magic” as a struggle, especially as he usually is caught by his maid. His game knowledge also makes helping defeat the narrative easy as pie. There’s one battle where he visibly struggles, against a literal god.

There are better OP harem romances out there, and indeed better “wow, I’m a villain” books as well.

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 2

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By Gwon Gyeoeul and JINSA. Released in Japan by D&C Media. Released in North America by Ize Press. Translated by Kakao Entertainmnt.

This second volume does not really focus at all on our main character’s past life in Korea, choosing instead to focus exclusively on the “game” world and how Penelope can extricate herself from it without dying. Which makes this feel more like a traditional villainess book, and so therefore it’s much easier to read and more relaxing; on the other hand this does make it a bit more “the same old same old”, at least until the end. It’s been apparent from the start, but this book merely underlines it, that if she is going to clear a “love interest” and escape, the choice that will help her the most is in fact the crown prince, and that Eckles is not remotely the safest bet, but she still can’t quite see people as people rather than as stat counters, and so that revelation is probably going to take another book or so. In the meantime, at least she’s getting to do some archaeology. Though perhaps in a more Indiana Jones way than she’d like.

Penelope and her family are off to the massive hunting party being held by the royal family. Last year Penelope threw a huge fit, hopefully this year will go better. Though honestly, it’s not. She can’t take Eckles, who’s left back at the mansion to slowly turn more yandere by the day. Reynold is being a bit too tsundere, and Penelope doesn’t realize that’s what he is. Derrick simply cannot stop being an asshole no matter how he feels. Oh, and Callisto is there, and wants VERY much to continue their earlier conversation about love. And then there’s the ladies’ tea party, where she runs up against a group trying to get her to do a repeat performance from last year. Clearly it’s time to go hunting… assuming that she doesn’t get lost. Or run into giant bears. Or have to defend the prince from assassins…

The most telling part of the book comes after all of the hunting party and the chaos that follows, where Penelope has ended up restoring her reputation, and gotten her various love targets to fall for her enough… that the game decides she doesn’t need affection counters anymore, and she can only see them if she pays obscene amounts of money. Which, good news, she now has, but it also shows that she cannot stop seeing anyone as a real person here, and gets paranoid when she’s unable to work out how they feel about her. Which is a shame, because when she’s mostly winging it, such as in the first 2/3 of the book, where the game gives her a few basic opportunities but mostly she makes the right choices by simply making the right choices. This is especially true with Callisto, who is rapidly becoming the Final Love Interest whether she wants him to be or not, and I think they’d be good for each other if she can ever get away from gatcha life.

This is apparently 4 volumes + 1 After Story in total, so I suspect things will get really dark next time. Still, this remains a lot of fun, especially if you read the manwha (I haven’t) and enjoy text.

Even Exiled, She’s Still the Beloved Saint! St. Evelyn’s Weird and Wonderful Friends, Vol. 1

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By Harunadon and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Tsuihousareta Seijo desu ga, Jitsu wa Kunijuu kara Aisaresugitete Kowain desu kedo!?” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

We’ve reached the point where there are enough of the “exiled saint” books that they prove themselves ripe for parody. The noble saint, who is massively overpowered. The arrogant prince, who doesn’t get it. The little sister, selfish and greedy, who thinks she can do the exact same thing but is woefully incorrect. The saint being completely and utterly unaware of how popular she is with everyone who is not that prince and her immediate family. And I saw the cover art and the synopsis of this series, so I was ready for it to be goofy. I was still unprepared. This may be the most bananas light novel I’ve read since the days of The Invincible Shovel. It starts off with the saint being a bit over the top, and then gradually the reader realizes she’s actually one of only a few people with common sense in the whole book. You’d better be here for the funny, because it is shoved in your face.

Evelyn is horrified to be told by her fiancé, the first prince, that she’s being replaced as the Saint of their kingdom by her younger stepsister Mary, who he is also taking as his fiancée. In fact, Evelyn throws a fit, mostly as she’s extremely naive and sheltered, and has been kept away from anything that might taint her since she was five years old. Now she’s 28, “too old to get married”, and wandering around the local town. Going home proves to be a mistake, her parents are absolutely terrible people. She’s reduced to looking around for people on the street to heal, then asking for money. Fortunately, she runs into a streetwise young man who is NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL, and he gradually realizes she is a potential cash cow in the making. Meanwhile, back at the palace, it turns out sainting is harder than it looks.

There is a BIT of plot here. Evelyn mostly goes along with this as she’s been the saint for 23 years, and thinks her power has started to wane. Fortunately, there are other people with large amounts of holy power, one of whom is not only engaged to the SECOND prince, but absolutely loves Evelyn. A bit too much. It never quite spills over into “comedy sexual assault lesbian”, but it comes kind of close. The first prince and Mary are both comically awful, so the plot is not so much “how do we fix this” as “everyone immediately realized what happened, find the missing Evelyn”. I’ll be honest, a lot of times I was rolling my eyes and ended up exhausted. If you don’t like everyone in the cast being a broad caricature except maybe three people (Evelyn, the streetwise young man, and one of the princes… and I’m only putting Evelyn on the list barely), or don’t like OMG SO FUNNY books, this is not for you.

But come on, Evelyn goes to a town where she tries to confess who she really is but can’t because everyone in the town names their children… and even pets… after Saint Evelyn. “There are 57 Evelyns in this town.” How can you not like a book like that? (There are two more volumes, which worries me, but that’s for future me.)

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 9

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By FUNA and Keisuke Motoe. Released in Japan as “Rōgo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-Man-Mai no Kinka o Tamemasu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Kodansha Books. Translated by Luke Hutton.

(A reminder that the English Vol. 9 is the equivalent of the Japanese Vol. 10.)

Last time I said that the next book would have Colette get attacked, but I was not expecting this to literally happen on the first page of the new book. It does end up being a good introduction to one of FUNA’s most common tropes, another Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Mile’s group doesn’t do this quite as often, and usually it involves people who try to con them getting humiliated. Kaoru’s moments of extreme violence are taken more seriously, and tend to be in more traumatic situations, though after the time skip she seems to have mellowed to being closer to the other two heroines. And Mitsuha, well, her shtick is that she’s a flake, even more than Mile and Kaoru, so it makes sense that her revenge is the most emotional, off the cuff, and complete. There’s no stopping it, you just have to give in and accept your bad decision has ruined your life.

As Mitsuha and Colette walk down the street, someone comes at them with a knife, and stabs Colette in the back/abdomen. Mitsuha, as noted above, goes nuts. Colette ends up being OK after some surgery, though she’ll have a scar (which horrifies Mitsuha but Colette is proud of). The assassin is questioned, but come on, you’ve read the last few books, you know who’s responsible for the assassination attempt, it’s that empire again. After this, we deal with Mitsuha’s restaurant getting a scheming golddigger, the recuperating Colette getting some suspicious visitors in her hospital room, an accident at the gunpowder factory that Mitsuha has to deal with (not intentionally caused this time); The noble teenage girl group suffering from being too popular; starting a new junior noble girl group for youngsters; and having this turn into an Idol Project.

As always, I try to look at the more serious parts of this series, which have been hard to come by sometimes. But given that the premise is Mitsuha trying to ensure that she has enough of a safety met to live on in both worlds in case she ends up being unable to go back and forth, and she continues to think about the future of everything she’s done even after she dies, it can get quite dark. She pointedly has a discussion with Former Count (now Marquess) Bozes about what to do with her land, stores, and people she looks over in the event she’s killed. To her this is sensible and planning ahead. To Bozes, who still regards Mitsuha as a teenage girl who should be out there having teenage fun, it’s depressing as hell. Mitsuha KIND of gets this (she knows not to have the discussion in front of Beatrice or Sabine), but also does not get it at all.

Not that this series is ending with Mitsuha’s death. It’s FUNA. Oh, and we get the obligatory grateful orphans desperate to work for food, so check that off your bingo card.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 9

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

As with prior reviews of this title, you’ll have to pardon me, there’s very little to actually write about. The brief bubble of ‘what if a sweet girl and a sweet boy dated?’ light novels burst a while back, and we’ve only got a few ongoing in North America, including this series. It’s doing quite well, and there’s a second season of the anime coming soon. That said, there’s really only two things I can really sink my teeth into here: “Boy, these kids are adorable”, and “Boy, their past has caused both of them to think they are completely unworthy of being loved”. That comes up here quite a bit, as not only is it Mahiru’s birthday, meaning we have to give her the BEST DAY EVER, but they’re also starting to think of college, which means moving to a new place… one where they actually would be living together. Even the very concept makes them both go red. We’re a looooooong way from sex still.

Having successfully celebrated Amane’s birthday, Mahiru’s is up next. Unfortunately, thanks to her parents, she regards the day as “oh, it’s just another year marker showing I’ve gotten older”, it holds no joy for her at all. Amane is determined to change that, and wants to do everything he can to make this the best birthday. Admittedly, after they take exams, and after parent-teacher conferences (which Mahiru attends by herself, of course). We’re going to need the help of friends with actual good taste and an eye for beauty to get just the right bouquet of flowers. We’re going to ask the part-time job to help him learn how to bake the perfect cake. We’re going to try to buy a gift for the girl who has no needs because anything she sees that she wants she just buys it. And in the end, we may have to bring in a ringer to put the cherry on top.

One little niggle that I noticed throughout the book: I appreciate how it can be hard to use real-life places and the names of actual universities in fiction. That said, this series goes above and beyond to obfuscate every detail. We know they’re trying for “the same college” and that it’s about an hour commute from their current apartment. That’s it. We don’t know anything about the college, we don’t know what major they’re doing, except Amane wants to use college to get a better job in the future. It’s very… generic, which is something this series, already a bit too sweet, should avoid. The finale of this book, though, was excellent, finally introducing a character we’ve heard about since the start but have never met, and here the plot is just right, with a good balance of “I’m so happy” and “but is that OK, don’t you deserve better than me?”, because these two are both still a bit screwed up.

Yen’s slowdown means I’ve no idea when the next book will be. Till then, enjoy the next season of the anime.

Repeated Vice: I Refuse to Be Important Enough to Die, Vol. 1

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By Kuroakawa Hitsugi and Kushiro Kuki. Released in Japan as “Repeat Vice: Akuyaku Kizoku wa Shinitakunai node Shitennou ni Naru no wo Yamemashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by piyo.

I’ve started to read a few more “villain” novels, the distaff counterpart to the villainess genre. Generally speaking, their strength lies in the fact that they’re not afraid to keep their main character an absolute dickhead, even as he’s trying to change his fate and ends up saving the world. That’s the main reason to read this book. 11-year-old Lofus is introduced to us as an arrogant little shit who is not afraid to beat the crap out of anyone who slights him, and by the end of the book that is, at least on the surface, much the same. He will not be learning how to be sweet and nice. Mostly as the game he’s trapped in seems to make no sense, and his main goal is to try to figure out why he’s being targeted at all. That said… this *is* a male villain novel, so of course he’s ludicrously overpowered and gets two girls to fall for him. Some things never change.

Lofus Ray Lightless is a noble kid and heir to House Lightless. He has piles of magic, but is also a massive asshole, so keeps firing his magic teachers. Then one day he starts having nightmares. Nightmares where he’s at a magic academy, bullies a commoner, and is one of the first ones to die when the plot inevitably turns into a game. He’s horrified. Not because he was killed by the hero, but because he was killed early on as a minor villain. That cannot stand. What’s more, the plot made no sense – why are they blaming him for things out of his control? He therefore decides to set out with his trusted attendant Carlos to a remote fishing village, where he knows three years from now a disaster will occur. Only… it seems the disaster is happening now!

This book has one big weakness, which is the giant battle against sea monsters in the middle of the book. It goes on forever, and mostly just consists of “Here is my big attack!” “Here is my bigger attack!” ad nauseam. It drags it to a halt and bored me. It also has to be said, if you’re going to hide someone’s gender, to the point where the translator uses he/him pronouns through most of the book, it’s best not to put the reveal in a color page. J-Novel Club must assume that now that they put the color pages in the back to appease Amazon, no one looks at them first anymore. Other than that, this is a decent villain book. There’s clearly more going on here, including a very suspicious head knight, and I suspect Lofus will be uncovering a lot more secrets earlier than planned.

If you’re fond of the genre, and don’t mind that our 11-year-old has all the magical power in the world and gets the only two girls in the book to fall for him, this is pretty decent.

Adachi and Shimamura: Short Stories 2

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By Hitoma Iruma and raemz. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

Several volumes ago, I mentioned hearing that the author had worried they would die before the series was finished, which is the main reason we’re getting all these short story books and “Vol. 99.9” in between volumes. You’d think, given that, that the author would also be trying to bring the series to a conclusion, but no worries there. 13 is out in Japan. What it does mean, though, is that the last few volumes have been drenched in mortality – death and what you do after you die, as well as what your loved ones do if you die before they do. We get a few more stories here showing the elderly Shimamura, having lived longer than everyone else, playing an old video game with Yashiro to try to reconnect with her beloved. We also get Adachi waiting in an afterlife parking lot,. unable to move on without their partner. It’s meant to be sweet, and it is, but I also found it a bit grim, to be honest.

The stories, as with many prior books, divide themselves neatly into two. The first part of the book is set from Shimamura’s POV, and shows her life with Adachi as a working adult, with them living together. Adachi has mellowed – a bit – and Shimamura is attempting to be proactive – a bit – and they’re both really fantastic together. The next chunk is from high school days, and Adachi’s POV, mostly showing her interactions with Shimamura’s family and the aftermath of her and Shimamura becoming a couple and sort of trying not to tell anyone yet. We also get a couple of stories in the future of Hino and Nagafuji, showing Hino living at her estate and Nagafuji working there as sort of a part-time maid. And of course we get Yashiro throughout, the same age and mentality even as the characters grow older and move on with their lives. She has a ukulele now.

As the series has gone on, and especially as Adachi’s mother has become one of the main supporting characters, we’ve seen more and more of Shimamura’s mother and her… um… zeal for life. To Shimamura, she’s just an annoying mom. To the Adachis, she is utterly terrifying, as the two of them are both incredible introverts who are terrible at just making conversation, and Shimamura’s mom tries to drag them into that constantly. She can be incredibly annoying, but it’s never malicious, and you can definitely see how Shimamura is a product of her mother as well as her father. As for the short stories themselves, they’re mostly short and sweet. I really loved the marriage proposal, which was very much exactly the sort of thing Shimamura would do. It’s also nice to see that, ambiguous though it is, Hino and Nagafuji are mirroring the relationship Hino’s mom and head maid had. Oh, and we get a semi-sequel to the “Adachi rant”, which is hilarious.

There is, mercifully, no real creepiness in this book, and aside from a “oh no, I woke up and Adachi is a cat” stories, few alternate universes. If you like the couple, you’ll like this.

If the Heroine Wants My Fiancé, I’ll Marry a Yandere Villain Instead!, Vol. 1

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By Kobako Takara and Jun Natsuba. Released in Japan as “Heroine ni Konyakusha wo Torareru Mitai node, Akuyaki Reisoku (Yandere Character) wo Neraimasu” by B’s-Log Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Emma Schumacker.

I admit I did briefly roll my eyes at the ineptness of the antagonists at the start of this book. The titular fiance is a drip of a man who our main character immediately falls out of love with after she gains her memories from Japan. The heroine is one of those who doesn’t actually care about walking up to the crown prince of their nation and saying “wow, great CG art!”. The “yandere villain” is being abused by his family, whose father is actually decently evil but whose brothers are so dumb they can’t even pretend that our main character is anything but a convenient woman to stay home while they play around. It then occurred to me that despite all this, both main characters have to struggle to get what they want, and still barely do. It’s almost like evil does not have to be competent or smart to succeed. Some lessons to learn there for all of us.

Cynthia Rhuddlan is a viscount’s daughter, and engaged to the son of an earl. Sadly, the son of the earl is pretty pathetic, but she still tries to work on their engagement with him. Then she remembers this is a game, and she’s one of the villainesses. And that Elly, the new girl who’s been muscling in on her fiance, is the “heroine”. Since her fiance suddenly no longer appeals, she tries to find another love interest who’s not already engaged, and comes up with Siraiya, the third son of a duke. He has a tragic abusive backstory, and if the heroine helps him he gets very attached to her… which can lead to a murder-suicide if done poorly! Can she try to win over this man, help him overcome his family, and get a happy ending?

Cynthia is very likeable, and is in the “highly competent” variety of heroines, so it’s nice to see she’s not immediately exiled or arrested, and she even breaks up with her fiance herself. A lot of this book requires negotiating the noble title arena, as well as who one can and cannot make a pass at. The game, tellingly, completely ignores all this, because only light novels are interested in delving into class warfare like that. Sireiya, meanwhile, is the sort of boyfriend who, once you give him a nice haircut, teach him things, and treat him like an actual human being rather than a tool, turns out to be nigh-on perfect. Her parents are understanding and supportive, and basically adopt her new fiance. The crown prince even helps after Cynthia accidentally solves his own tragic romantic subplot by virtue of her game knowledge. The outcome is not in doubt… even with rather pathetic villains.

This wraps up nicely, but there is apparently a Vol. 2, which surprises me. For genre fans.

Breaking Up Was the Plan, the Duke Falling For the Villainess Was Not!, Vol. 1

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By Kotoko and Ataka. Released in Japan as “Hakyoku Yotei no Akujo no Hazu ga, Reitetsu Koushaku-sama ga Wakaretekuremasen!” by B’s-Log Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Dawson Chen.

I’ve often wondered what would happen if I ended up in one of these “oh no, I’m dead and now in the world of my favorite game” books. Well, OK, I haven’t wondered it often. But I wondered it as I was reading this latest version of it. It’s all very well and good for the reader to think “well, certainly I would not be so wedded to the plot of the book that I would lose all common sense”. But we’re not stuck in a world that will be going to war unless we make the right decisions. Or in this case the wrong decisions. It’s a lot to ask a young woman who’s already dealing with the fact that she’s now stinking rich and ludicrously evil. If I were in a similar position, would I do my best to forget about the book and just live life as it comes? Would I slavishly adhere to the books events no matter what? Or would I break down in front of my favorite character and start eating weeds?

Our heroine was a poor salarywoman who worked herself to the bone to earn money for her equally poor parents, scrimping and saving. Then she wakes up as Grace Saintsbury, the villainess from one of her favorite books. And what a villainess! Grace is obnoxious, spends money like water, and breaks up with lovers routinely. She’s bedridden as her most recent break-up caused her to be pushed off a balcony… and now she has her memories from Japan. Grace knows that in this world, there will be a war unless Zane, the grief-stricken son of a duke, ends up involved with Charlotte, the story’s heroine. The impetus for them getting together is Grace breaking up with him in a horrible way. She’s hardly the villainous type now. Also, she’s not even dating Zane yet. But we’ve gotta keep that plot on the rails!

There’s a rather pointless prologue set, presumably, after this first book ends, that shows us that we’re meant to think of this as a comedy. It might be there because while the bulk of this book mostly consists of Grace being really nice and sweet to everyone with the occasional “wait, I have to be arrogant” sidestep, there are a few very grim scenes as the actual novel tries to exert its plot. The reason the grief-stricken duke’s son has grief is the horrible murder of his younger sister… who Grace realizes is going to be murdered THAT NIGHT, and whom she only just manages to rescue. (When asked why she rescued a woman she’s never met from a psycho with a sword, we get Grace eating weeds out of pure desperation). Towards the end of the book we get a child slavery ring as well, which it is implied would have happened if Grace had not suddenly become a philanthropist who wants to start a soup kitchen. It’s still MOSTLY a comedy, but the pull from darkness is what makes it interesting.

This has a second book, which presumably will continue to have Grace run from her increasingly infatuated boyfriend. I hope it keeps the dark stuff as well.