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Reviews

86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 1: The Reaper’s Occasional Adolescence

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

On the bright side, this is one of the short story volumes coming out in the same order it came out in Japan – this book was released after the 12th volume. So I don’t have to worry about events in this book spoiling future volumes of the main series that came out here first (Re: Zero, Index,. etc.). On the down side, I doubt I’ll have to worry about that anyway, as I think this is definitely one of the short story books you do NOT have to read in order to appreciate the main series. It’s made up of various stories that were released as bonuses when you purchased books at a specific bookstore, or a DVD/Blu-Ray release, etc. There are one or two stories new to this book, of course, but for the most part the ‘Alter.’ of the title is meant to show that this is a volume where we don’t have to worry about characters dying. That said, we do get a lot of dead characters in it. It’s just they’ve already died.

The book is largely divided into five chunks. The first bit deals with the cast back in the Republic, around the time of the first light novel. The second has events after getting to the Federation, both before and after Lena joins them. The third has a few stories set in the United Kingdom during those volumes, and the fourth has short stories that take place after that arc, basically filling in bits of Books 8-10 or so. The final story is a bonkers fourth-wall breaking paintball battle royale featuring every single character in all the novels, alive or dead, and can best be described as “what if Among Us relied on being able to pick out the right perfume?”

So this is fine, it’s just very hard to review. Leaving aside the final story, which is not meant to be taken remotely seriously and thank God for that, the stories can be divided into 1) Funny slice-of-life; 2) Sweet, heartwarming slice-of-life; 3) The 86 are just like this; and 4) Melancholic dream sequences involving the dead. The last of those probably hit the best for me. I really liked a story showing Shin celebrating a sakura festival by drinking sake, joined by Kaie and all the other comrades who were killed off over the course of the first book. It’s pointed out that if this had really happened while the team were alive, it could have been water, but in Shin’s imagination he can have a full-scale viewing party. And this is followed with a very funny scene where Lena, after drinking some of the sake, shows she’s a very bad and clingy drunk. The weakest part of the book was probably the birthday stories, which felt the most like they were being written to order.

Still, I would not mind a second one of these. Perhaps after the main series itself is over, though. Luckily, we’re back with 13 in a month or two, ominously titled The Deer Hunter. Please, let’s NOT have Lena and Shin playing Russian roulette.

Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1

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

There is a commonly used expression that goes “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail”. That can apply to jobs as well. If you’ve been doing a job for almost twenty years, particularly if you’ve been doing it since you were eight years old, you get into certain habits. You look at people differently, you always check for easy exits and verify that no one has searched your room. And when problems crop up, even if they’re not necessarily problems you have to worry about, you try to solve those problems in the way you’re accustomed to. That’s the issue that Victoria, formerly Chloe, has in this book. She’s trying her hardest to turn over a new leaf, adapt to a peaceful life, and find happiness. But that pesky job of hers won’t let her alone… even when it’s in her own head.

Chloe has been a spy since the age of eight, sold by her parents, who needed money. She doesn’t hold that against them, though, and sends money and gifts back home to them and her sister for the next decade or two. But recently she discovered her family died in a fire, and that fact was kept from her so that it wouldn’t affect her spy work. Resolving to quit her job (impossible, as any spy will tell you), she fakes her death, moves two countries away, and takes on the identity of Victoria, a woman who’s been missing for ten years but whose appearance and age generally match our heroine. There she quickly gains a girl who was abandoned on the street by her mother and several jobs she takes on to make ends meet. Boy, she’s really good at those jobs. How did she learn all those talents while still being a commoner. Gosh, I hope she and the captain of the capital’s police force don’t fall for each other. Oh dear.

I always love it when I pick up a book I know little about and it blows me away, and this book did just that. I’m familiar with the author, who had two titles published earlier this year by Cross Infinite World. But this is another level better than both of those, in a genre that could almost be called “slice-of-life thriller”. Much of the book is watching Victoria gradually lower her guard and make friends with the denizens of this town, while still having to worry about getting caught by her old country, or anyone finding out what she used to do. The fact that she’s absolutely terrible at keeping a low profile is a selling point (the artwork finds all the best scenes to draw, usually involving her kicking a man in the head). And she and Jeffrey make an excellent couple. It’s just a book that’s fun to read, and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s also a book that really feels like it could end with this volume… were it not for one scene taking place back in Chloe’s homeland, which promises an ominous future threat from a spy who… well, honestly, is nowhere near Victoria’s level. She can handle it. But it’s definitely a sequel hook. In any case, very highly recommended to anyone who loves spy thrillers, cute romances, found family, and girls who beat the shit out of men.

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 4

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By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Once I’ve reviewed about two or three volumes in a series, I really should not have to worry about new readers when I write these things. New readers are not going to start a title like this with Vol. 4, it’s only going to be read by those who read the first three volumes. That said, I also know there are some folks who read my reviews just as a matter of habit, and may not know about this series. So, as such, fans of the series can skip to below the cut. Everyone else: Christ alive. This volume is absolutely drenched in “ha ha, pedophilia is funny!” humor, and you cannot escape it. There’s no actual pedophilia in the volume, the humor is all “a 12-year-old has a crush on the 19-year-old guy who saved her life, and the entire cast proceed to drag him for being a pedophile (and yes, the translation uses that rather than lolicon) over and over and over again, to the point of arresting him. But, again. This series is like that in general, about everything.

The humans and the demons, after the events of the last book, are holding a peace conference. This means the arrival of Princess Sylphonia’s siblings: older brother Anzel and younger sister Remiphinia. What’s more, Remiphinia is specifically there to meet Wolfe, who saved her life three years earlier when she was kidnapped by the demon forces. She’s fallen for him hard, and tries to get advice on how to make herself attractive to him (don’t be twelve, kid). Meanwhile, the main cast do a maid cafe… including Miter, who it turns out looks really good dressed in women’s clothing. Unfortunately, not everyone wants the humans and demons to make peace, and those who desire the extermination of all demonkind may be closer than the royal family thinks…

Liz is still, of course, the star of the show. For once she doesn’t get a late in the book power-up where she gains her memories briefly. Instead, throughout the book, her true self is just seeping through more and more, to the point where she’s unable to stop it most of the time. Taking photos of everyone as maids, giving salacious suggestions on how the young princess can get her man, or just using her forgotten hero training to perform superhuman acts and save the day, the line between the Liz who’s a student at the academy and the Liz who’s a horny succubus with insane power is growing thinner and thinner. That said, I’m not expecting her to be back for good until the end of the series, so it’s mostly just tease. As for the rest of the book, if you ignore everything about Remiphinia and Wolfe, it’s fun and funny, exactly what readers want. And, if I’m being honest, most readers of this series probably laugh at the pedophilia “wacky” humor as well.

The book has a cliffhanger that will presumably tie into the next in the series, which promises to have 100% more catgirls than this book. I the meantime, if you love maids or precocious twelve-year-olds, this is fine.

From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers, Vol. 1

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By Nekomata Nuko and Cut. Released in Japan as “Saikyō Death Beam o Uteru Salaryman, Isekai o Yuku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nolan Good.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I interest you in reviewing a fantastic debut light novel?”

“Aren’t you Aqua from KonoSuba?”

“Don’t be silly, sir, I’m nowhere close to being as well-written as Aqua!”

“…uh-huh. What do you have?”

“This is a new series about a young man who’s accidentally killed by a beautiful young goddess–”

“You?”

“(clearing throat)–and is transported to a new world with fantastic powers!”

“…what makes this different from 80 other books?”

“It has laser beams and beast people!”

“There are many other books with beast people, but I’ll grant you the laser beams. So he basically has a cool gun?”

“Oh no, his lasers can also be a shield, a broomstick so he can fly, they can heal, they can clean…”

“So it’s an “I can do anything I want” power.”

“But with laser beams!”

“And he struggles to get by and goes through character growth?”

“Oh hell no, he’s far too powerful for that! Everything is solved by the laser beams!”

“…and the beast girls?”

“Are totally in love with him, of course! One is plucky and one is tsundere!”

“Two girls.”

“Two girls SO FAR.”

“And he wins them over by…?”

“By being the only person who’s nice to them! And by stroking their ears and tails!”

“Which are erogenous zones, I’m gonna guess.”

“…only the tails?”

“How about slavery?”

“No slavery!… sort of.”

“?”

“OK, the beast people are treated like crap, and it’s legal to kill them, and they’re barely paid anything, and they are worked to death.”

“…so slavery without the actual slavery.”

“Oh, and there’s a bad guy! He’s horrible, a real loathsome person with no redeeming features!”

“Well, we know how much I love those guys.”

“Right?!”

“(stare)”

“(clearing throat) Anyway, you always talk about things you liked, what about it?”

“So we’re assuming that I read this while you were prattling on?”

“Yup!”

“The idea of a man that is so depressed about his current life that, when offered a new life, decides “no thanks”, is interesting…”

“Isn’t it?”

“…that is, until you brainwash him into only thinking of it occasionally because he’s too busy being obsessed with lasers and beast girls.”

“And collecting!”

“And collecting, yes, because apparently the whole book was based on the “pick three random words and write a story about it” meme.”

“Anything else?”

“The identity of the main villain – his actual identity, that is – made me smile for reasons that would spoil it, and his grand plan was grotesquely overblown to such an extent that I was briefly impressed, at least until our hero proved that there’s nothing he can’t defeat with the power of lasers.”

“And?”

“That’s it, really. I ended up being reminded of Rearguard, but Rearguard reveled in its ridiculousness, whereas this is content to merely be a run of the mill OP fantasy.”

“…really, that’s all you got?”

“I guess if pressed, I could say that reading it made me decide to write a review in this format. Will that do?”

“Hrmph. See if I bring you “The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters” in a month!”

“…yeah, I was planning on skipping that anyway.”

“Waaaaaaaaahhh! Kazuma, Sean’s being mean to me!”

“I thought you weren’t Aqua?!?!”

Matcha Made in Heaven, Vols 7-9

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Matcha Made in Heaven Volumes 7-9 by Umebachi Yamanaka

Time to check in on this low-key extremely slow-burn josei series! Chaco and Isshin are continuing with their faux marriage of convenience, which has of course led them to develop feelings for each other. Isshin is an intense, grumpy tea-making perfectionist, while Chaco is much more free spirited. Despite growing up in a family of tea producers, she’s been away for so long that she’s not super familiar with the business, so her support of Isshin also means that she’s connecting with her roots in a new way.

Matcha Made in Heaven 9

After a separation where Isshin is working in the corporate tea business, he returns home. Chaco is excited to take their relationship to the next level, but childhood friend Jin appears with a girl named Roa, who happens to be a tea social media influencer! The traditional craft of tea-making clashes with Roa’s approach, which seems to stir up some distressing sentiments against the small business that Chaco’s family is trying to take to the next level with Isshin’s help. The trash-talking is mild, and the stakes are fairly low in this extremely relaxing manga where one can always count on respect for tea to further bond the characters and see them through any crisis. While Roa ends up not be as terrible as Chaco originally assumed, she leads Isshin into accepting a challenge at a high stakes tea blending competition. With Isshin, Jin, and Chaco’s brother who is such a non-entity it is not really worth remembering his name as the main competitors things are surely not going to go very smoothly.

For fans of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, this series delivers. I find myself constantly rooting for Chaco and Isshin even though they cycle through excuses to not progress in their relationship. The latest barrier is Isshin’s nobility, as he doesn’t want to ask Chaco’s dead father for her hand in real marriage until he has proven himself as a tea master. As always, the illustrations are clear and dynamic. Chaco’s niece is reliable both for comic relief and expressing the readers’ point of view that Chaco and Isshin should just get together already.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 7

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by T. Burke.

Probably the most startling thing about this final volume of Raven of the Inner Palace is how little Jusetsu is in it, and when she appears, it’s not really her actions that save the day, just her actual presence. She’s spent her life being a vessel for a higher power, and being involved in a God vs. God battle is something that she has to get dragged into or else bad things will happen. But it’s not what she herself wants. Honestly, I think she’s still flailing around trying to figure out what she wants until this final volume, and it’s not saving the day and unleashing her inner raven. Nor is it headed back to the palace to deal with the unstated romantic feelings she and Koshun have dealt with since Book 1 – that ship has run aground already. That said, we do get to see the resolution of a ship, sort of – the trouble is that it’s Jusetsu/merchant marine life. Which, refreshingly, is not what anyone was expecting.

This book is essentially divided into two plotlines, one on and going to the island, and the other up in the mountains. They’re actually mostly completely separate. We already know about Jusetsu, who needs to somehow get past an underwater volcano exploding to get to the island so that she can reunite the two halves of the raven. She’s got to do this despite the turtle god resorting to threats, more threats, and possession in order to win the day. The other half of the book is still drenched in Saname family drama, which we already got a heaping helping of in the last book. Ko has been sent by his father to use the mountain tries to incite a rebellion, which won’t succeed, but will mean that they’ll have to kill Jusetsu in order to calm everyone down. If you think this makes no sense, well, it doesn’t make much sense to Ko either, but it’s hard to go against Daddy.

I’ll be honest, this book was not quite the big finale I was hoping for. As noted, Jusetsu is just present rather than active for the battle, which makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying. Likewise, there’s no rebellion, because in the end the stability of the country is more important than an old man trying one last time to exercise his power. And yes, Koshun has almost been the co-protagonist of the series, and so seeing him so uninvolved in the finale – he doesn’t leave the palace – makes sense but is dramatically unsatisfying, the second time I’ve typed that. I did like Jusetsu’s career choice – she can’t stay in the palace, after all, especially not with an Empress and two kids from other wives – and so traveling the world and seeing other cultures makes sense. And I’m delighted she takes her entourage with her – I love Jiujiu.

So yes, something of a mixed bag finale, but overall this was a good series, and a worthy addition to “intrigue in the inner court of the emperor” genre.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 18

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By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

There is a moment in this book that initially made me roll my eyes at the stupidity, but upon reflection I realized it actually makes perfect sense in the context of the books. Zagan is reaching out to other archdemons, trying to ally with them before they ally with Marchosias, and Acheron is one of these powerful archdemons. He plans side side with Zagan, but then Eligor, an archdemon working for Marchosias, arrives to threaten him into joining the other side. Not to spoil too much, but Acheron is killed because it never occurred to him that she wouldn’t arrive without backup. But then I realized that at the start of the series a big deal was made about how none of the archdemons trusted each other, and that Zagan’s big change is actually forming partnerships and gaining allies. So yes, the enemy can now do that too, as our archdemon learns in his last moments. This has come down to just two sides.

Oh my God, cover, spoilers! I think the author knew what the cover would be, as we open with Zagan and Nephy in wedding outfits, blushing heavily at each other, and then flash back to try to show how we got here. As I said above, both sides are still trying to recruit the few remaining unallied powerful people to their side. We saw the fallout of one of those attempts last time, and now Zagan’s castle as additions of a porcelain robot girl trying to be human and her twitchy archangel minder. The most powerful of these people is Phenex, whose name might give an idea as to her powers, and she is (like most of the cast) deeply eccentric. She’s also lived longer than the rest of the cast, due to the nature of her existence, and Zagan might be able to do something that no one else ever has before.

I managed to get to this point without discussing the romance, go me! It’s still here, and the couples continue to be obvious, with the one exception of the love triangle between Lilith and her straight and gay options. Micca and Furfur are the newest at this, so they get the most focus, and they’re adorable. Shax and Kuroko are the old hands at this, and they also get to be adorable. Chastille and Barbatos… are still in denial, and aren’t really in this till the end, but yeah, they’re adorable in a way where you want to punch them both. As for that cover image, I admit I was expecting it to not amount to much. It’s signposted that this is a setup by Chastille as a petty revenge for Zagan broadcasting her own supposed relationship to the entire world. But for once, Zagan steps up when it comes to his love life rather than everything but his love life, and even if we don’t end up getting a wedding, we do get a punch the room, “Finally!” moment.

This is apparently Part 1 of a 2-part arc, and I expect the next one to have far more fighting. That said, it will still have schmoopy romance. The plotlines intertwine, they can’t be separated.

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 5

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By Shusui Hazuki and necomi. Released in Japan as “Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu! ” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Mari Koch.

I swear that the main villains of this series are not dedicating themselves to evil in order to destroy the royal family and ensure that the nobles have the power to crush commoners whenever they want. The villains are evil for the sole purpose of getting in the way of love confessions. We were so goddamned close! We finally resolved all the things that could possibly stand in the way, Noelle is finally in the frame of mind where she might possibly get it if given a direct confession at point blank range (which is more than I can say for Letitia), and Luke has invited her out to finally pop the question. So you know what happens? Yup, cliffhanger ending, love interest in peril, film at 11. Fortunately, it’s Luke in peril, so maybe Noelle can really kick ass and take names. But gosh darn it, I want my resolved love!

Luke is now the captain of a new Magicians’ Division, and Noelle is his lieutenant! She might even get an office! Well, no, she does not, because Luke is still a little too obsessed with being around her all the time. She does, however, get a bunch of new recruits, which are, surprisingly, not ALL eccentric misfits – just two of them. Fortunately, neither difficult recruit is able to hold up in the face of Noelle’s aggressive goodness and niceness. Unfortunately, the nobility is very angry at this new division. They think it’s a waste of money. They think Luke doesn’t deserve it. And boy, do they hate Noelle. Honestly, the nobility is acting a little TOO aggressively awful. Maybe they’re getting too close to finding out who’s been behind every bad thing that’s happened in the last five books? Time for a stakeout… OK,, that went badly. Time for another stakeout… OK, that went even more badly.

The subtitle of this series hasn’t been relevant since the start of the first book, but I do like how it manages to tie into one of the new recruits, somewhat, who also loves magic but was railroaded into an awful job and abused. Unlike Noelle’s Pollyanna personality, he gets broken down, and is now deliberately half-assing everything as a sort of petty whining. As for the other recruit, she’s the standard genius who’s never been beaten by anyone at anything, and her specialty is… magic! Yeah, you can see where this is going. Getting Noelle to mop the floor with her cures most of this. I also enjoyed how the first half, which was basically “train the new guys”, paid off near the end, which was basically a Police Academy ending only serious, as the new recruits fight for their lives and show they really can protect each other and fight back if they try.

Unfortunately, the author is still writing Volume 6 on the webnovel version, so expect a wait. Still, we get very close to a resolution here… but alas, no.

Lacey Longs for Freedom: The Dawn Witch’s Low-Key Life after Defeating the Demon King, Vol. 1

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By Hyogo Amagasa and Kyouichi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alex Honton.

One of the more popular genres recently, which I read a couple of but in general I’m not a fan, is the “thrown out of the party” genre of fantasy. In this genre, our protagonist, who tends to either be overly specialized, too competent, or just in the way, is either told they aren’t needed anymore and abandoned (the “good” kind) or attempted murdered (the “bad” kind). Inevitably, things don’t go well for the party afterwards. I am very relieved to tell you that Lacey Longs for Freedom is almost the polar opposite of this genre. Here we have a party of misfits, each one overpowered but weird except for the hero who binds them all together, defeating the demon lord, parting company… and staying good friends who have each other’s backs. It’s just wonderful to see. It’s also something of a relief, as our heroine is the sort where, if she were abandoned by the hero’s party, would just quietly lie on the side of the road till she died. Yup, another OP introvert.

The Demon King has been defeated and our heroes have returned to the kingdom. They all get one wish, anything they want. But their mage, Lacey, doesn’t use her wish. She already knows her future. She’s engaged to be married to the son of a duke, and will spend the rest of her time being expected to give birth to other powerful mages. She seems depressingly okay with this, even though she’s aware that her fiance doesn’t like her. However, when she sees her fiance cheating on her with the princess of the country – right after she’d seen him cheating with yet another woman – she stands up for herself a bit. And is promptly screamed at by the traditional appalling fiance these books have. Fortunately, the hero is on her side, and is able to help her get what she really wants – not to be tied down to anyone.

For the most part, this is a very good book, especially once we get past the obligatory engagement guff at the start. Lacey is magically super-powered but socially inept, and has to be reminded to eat and sleep. She wants to improve, though, and over the course of the book, as she settles into a nearby village and sets up a shop where she’ll do anything, anytime, anywhere (sadly, though she’s as short as Bill Oddie, there’s not much else similar to the Goodies), she comes out of her shell a bit and can interact with folks – especially when there’s a problem that needs solving. That said, she’s clearly in love with Wayne, the hero, but unaware of it, determined instead to become independent of him taking care of her. Amusingly, Wayne, who is clearly besotted with Lacey, also has not quite hit the point where he’s ready to admit it’s romantic love – he frames it, as she does, as taking care of her as he worries she’ll just fall over dead if he looks away. They reach an understanding at the end of the book, but aren’t quite a couple yet.

This is a good series to read if you like seeing painfully shy girls who can change the weather, heal life-threatening injuries in seconds, and tame magical phoenixes. I think we all like that, really.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 9

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Everyone loves a good harem series. But, unless you’re reading The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You or other polyamorous titles, you’re going to wind up with fans of one love interest happy and the fans of the other love interests disappointed. This is even true in a series like this one, where there’s been no doubt since the beginning of the first volume that Aileen and Claude were the OTP. This series was based around a series of otome games, and as a result there are any number of hot guys that you could, theoretically, pair a heroine with. Sadly, Lilia blew all that up, and Aileen kicked fate in the nuts, so we’ve got a few guys who are dedicated to their work. Can’t have that, though. This is a romance, and romances with lots of unattached love interests get hit with “pair the spares”. That’s the entire purpose of this volume, taking place a little while after the main series.

This book consists of three stories, but honestly it feels like the author had a complete volume that didn’t quite meet the word count and so they added a (normal-sized) short story to the start and a (very small) short story to the end. The first has Elefas going back to his homeland to find that he’s suddenly married to Neifa, one of the harem queens of Baal’s that he has no use for now that he has Roxane. He thinks he can quickly get out of the marriage, but sadly she’s brilliant *and* has big boobs, a deadly combination. In the final story in the volume, Claude and Aileen try to go on a date where it’s just the two of them, despite everyone trying to stop them. The story that takes up the most time, though, involves Walt and Kyle, who get involved, once more, with demon snuff, as well as a very mysterious “fairy” girl.

The reason to read this is the middle story, though I did like Neifa, whose use of “all-ages” a la Lilia makes me wonder if she’s another import from Japan. (Lilia is fantastic in her one scene, where she looks like she’s being serious for once but later turns out to be a troll as always.) But Walt and Kyle – OK, mostly Walt – are the reason to pick this up. Walt tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, so even as he’s told to investigate a teenage girl who’s suspected of making and distributing a highly potent demon snuff, and even after discovering that yes, she is doing that, he still wants to prove that she’s innocent, because it doesn’t match with her character. In fact, her character doesn’t match from one day to the next, which is a bit of a spoiler except that the cast portraits at the start of the book give it away anyway. This is basically a thriller where they’re working against the clock trying to stop a horrible chain of self-sacrificing against a virulently disgusting bad guy who’s been sexually abusive (so yes, warning for that), and thankfully the day is saved.

The day is saved without Aileen, who only makes small appearances in the first two stories – after all, they don’t involve her being executed if she makes one wrong move, so what should she care? The next book, though, sees us back in familiar territory once more, as the author admits that the series isn’t ending just yet.

Spy Classroom: Sara’s Meadow of Opportunity

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By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Thrasher.

The basic premise of this series, more than the spy shenanigans, or the moves and counter-moves, or the traumatic cliffhangers, is fairly simple. The narrative lies to the reader over and over again, and we have to try to figure out what’s going on before we have the rug pulled out from under us again. We get a lot of that in this volume, as Lamplight use the idea of narrative convenience to plant doubt in their colleagues’ mind. Everyone knows Avian were really amazing spies. Everyone knows that their symbol was a phoenix, the symbol of rebirth. And everyone knows that faking deaths for drama is something that books have been doing ever since there were books. Surely it’s possible that we were all bamboozled, especially considering THIS author. But that’s not all we’re here to doubt. There’s piles and piles of lies here, and therefore it’s doubly ironic that the star of this book is Sara, who is the most straightforward, honest, and true cast member.

Lamplight is smashed to pieces. Monika is a traitor, and presumed dead. Klaus and Thea are imprisoned. Annette, Erna, and Grete are hospitalized. That leaves the three “weakest” members of Lamplight to figure out who set them up, find the traitor and save the day. Unfortunately, no one trusts them, and they aren’t really allowed to do anything without a watchdog. Despite this, they try to figure out how to stop White Spider, whose backstory we get here, from doing his damndest to kill Klaus – and see exactly why he wants to kill Klaus. There’s traitors galore, there’s one of their members going off the rails and deciding to go full evil, and there’s everyone calling them weak, stupid, and saying they’ll be executed as soon as they blink. With all this going against them, can they find a way to rescue Klaus, stop White Spider, and clear their name? Well, as much as it’s possible to clear their name.

I’ve gushed about Sara before, and want to avoid repeating myself, but man. This is her book, and it’s here when she finally gets a purpose, a reason she wants to be a spy. She’s also brilliant, using her abilities and talents in the best possible way – when White Spider sneers at her and says he saw through it all, I wanted to yell at what a dipshit he was being. I don’t care that he saw through it, it was incredible! I also liked her final conversation with Klaus, and hope she gets that happy ending. Lily and Sybilla, of course, also get their chance to shine, though Sybilla also gets a heaping helping of verbal abuse – EVERYONE seems to loathe Lamplight beyond all reason in this book. I also liked how the ending to this 8th book was a dark, serious mirror to the wacky comedy ending of the 4th book – one involving Lily, the other involving Monika.

This was an excellent ending to this arc. And now it’s time to start a new one… after yet another short story volume. The SS volumes come fast and furious with this series.

A Certain Magical Index NT, Vol. 3

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By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Shinyaku To Aru Majutsu no Index” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

The first volume of New Testament did not really feel like the return of the beloved/infamous series, mostly as Touma was entirely absent until the very end of it. The second volume consisted almost entirely of exposition, so also felt like an oddity (sorry, Kaori, I know you tried hard). This one, though, is Index hitting the ground running and announcing that it’s back for good in a full-throated roar. The series has never shied away from action setpieces, of course – that’s its bread and butter – but it’s never felt more like an American action movie than it does in this book. That’s clearly by design, of course – everything’s set up to have the maximum number of explosions and volcano eruptions, everyone gets a chance to show off their cool powers, and even the President of the United States feels more like a movie star than he does an actual President. Unfortunately, Touma ends up figuring out that World War III ending did not, in fact, return everything to normal.

Leivinia Birdway has led a group of all-stars to Hawaii – Touma, Mikoto, Accelerator, Misaka Worst, and Umidori, the villain of the first book, now reduced to mostly being Misaka Worst’s toy, though she gets to be cool near the end, as is traditional with Index books. Unfortunately, from the moment they get to Hawaii, they are caught up in non-stop attacks, explosions, more explosions, terrorists attacks up the wazoo, the aforementioned volcano eruption, and an actual coup by a media mogul who wants to make the United States a theocracy, and also really wants to find her estranged daughter. All of this converges in Hawaii, along with the US president, who has run away from all his handlers as he can’t trust anyone anymore. In fact… can Touma trust anyone anymore?

I mean, probably. Despite her annoyingly evil words to Touma at the end of the book, I doubt that Birdway is really involved with GREMLIN. But it simply works better for her to have Touma in a constant state of righteous fury, and that’s what she gets here, despite the best efforts of Mikoto. Mikoto has, honestly, suffered almost as much as Index (that’s the character, Index, who wears a nun habit, in case everyone had forgotten) since this series began, with whole volumes in a row where she barely does anything. For most of this book, it looks like that may also apply here, given she spends much of this Hawaii trip trying to buy matching promise rings for her and Touma that supposedly tell you if your boyfriend is cheating. Even Misaka Worst points out that she’s been far more relevant than the original Misaka lately. (Every time Misaka Worst mentions the “Third Season”, I roll my eyes.) But Mikoto is pretty much the only one who can try to talk Touma down from the “it’s all my fault, and I alone will shoulder this burden” complex he’s got. I don’t think she succeeds. But she does better than anyone else might have. Touma’s a stubborn nut.

We will be headed back to Academy City next time, but the 4th book isn’t solicited yet. Which is fine, I think we need a small break, this book was exhausting but fun.

Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 6.5

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By Hiromu and raemz. Released in Japan as “Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Evie Lund.

To my surprise, this isn’t a normal short story volume, where the author inserts either stories that fit in in the earlier volume timeline, or uses the chance to officially release all those stories that came as bonuses with various giveaways in Japan. This says Vol. 6.5, but that’s mostly as it doesn’t feature Chitose’s POV in it. What we really get is the continuation of the fallout from the 5th book, in the form of four very long short stories. All the girls have “what now?” on their minds, either wondering how to interact with Chitose again after confessing and getting rejected (Yuuko) or realizing that just continuing to do what they’ve been doing and hope those days last forever isn’t really an option (everyone else). There’s a lot of talk of college and the adult world in this book. The future is coming. And these girls want Chitose in their future, even if he’s still not chosen them. So, they move forward. Bit by bit.

If you’re wondering who that is on the cover art, why it’s Nazuna, the girl who seems to clash with Yuzuki a lot and has been the one supporting female cast member who’s not in love with Chitose. She’s in the first short story, where Yuuko, after the events of the 6th book, is still struggling with reconnecting with her friends and figuring out how to treat Chitose, so invites Yuzuki and Nazuna on a shopping trip in a nearby city. The second story has Asuka get to see what editing is like in a local ‘style’ magazine, and she invites Chitose for moral support… only to come up against the giant wall she still has to climb. In the third story, we get the mirror image of Yuuko’s story, as now it’s Yua who is trying to figure out how to treat Chitose after the last book, and she decides to ask him on a date to try and shake things up. And in the last story Haru is a mess, and it’s affecting her basketball, so the coach asks some old graduates to stop back at high school and be incredibly mean to her until she snaps out of it. This… doesn’t work till she gets a “remember to actually like the sport you like” call from Chitose. Then it works.

The Asuka story was easily my favorite one in the book. In a volume discussing where everyone’s going to be headed in the future, it makes sense that it’s the one closest to that future that would resonate the most. The moment Asuka started to “interview” the editor on her time at the magazine, I winced, because I immediately recognized what she was doing wrong. Worse, when Chitose is given the chance, he doesn’t make the same mistakes, and gets a much better interview. But, as multiple people point out, she has passion, and feels the frustration and anguish at her inadequacy, whereas Chitose doesn’t really mind how he does. It’s the passion that she has to hold on to. I also enjoyed Yua’s story – she’s possibly my favorite at this point, despite the fact that I know she won’t “win” – where she tries to figure out what happens to her current role in Chitose’s life – being his wife figure – if he gets an actual girlfriend. The scene where Chitose meets Yua’s dad is also a big highlight.

So yes, this actually is a short story book you need to read. Next volume we’re back to the main plot, and with a girl I don’t recognize on the cover art, we’re sure to shake things up. One of the best romcoms out right now – well, romdram.

The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Vol. 6

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By Mamecyoro and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Gotsugou Shugi na Kaiketsu Tantou no Oujo de aru” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

I find it amusing how the author goes on in the afterword about the fun romcom parts of the book. Now, to be fair, there is a bit of that, but I… am I reading this book wrong? Are the bulk of the readers less interested in the intrigue than in seeing if Octavia and Klifford will realize they’re in love with each other?” Is this Earl and Fairy? Well, no, probably not, but it has to be said that the far more interesting part of the book is Octavia trying to discover the real past of previous generations while the narrative literally tries to sabotage her. The two plotlines converge when she finally decides on her fake boyfriend, and everything is ready for her to introduce him to her parents and finally get a clue as to how to resolve this and make everyone happy. Boy, sure hope that no one is trying to destroy her schemes! That would suck!

After a brief prologue showing us who our “villain” might be, though like half the cast they’re dealing with past memories and evil manipulation, we see Octavia trying to meet up with Hugh… only to find he’s been moved too a secret location. Unfortunately, Sirius is back to being brainwashed, so he’s no help. Her father the king knows where Hugh is and will tell her, but under one condition: she has to introduce her boyfriend to everyone in a week. You know, the fake boyfriend she still hasn’t nailed down. After briefly doing some boyfriend math, she settles on Derek, and he seems amenable to it. She also discovers a lot more about the relationship between Derek’s father and her own, and finds that her father may not be as happily married as she’d thought. Turns out just because a couple is hot and BL, it doesn’t mean they can’t be torn apart by… well, that’s still a secret.

Let’s get back to that romance. I think by now both Octavia and Klifford are very, very, unconsciously aware that they’re in love with each other. It’s the unconsciously that’s the problem. Octavia is held back by the whole “I will obey every order you give, please give me an order” thing coming from Klifford, and the climax of the book features him dragging her kicking and screaming into finally giving him a real order rather than one of her requests. And Klifford, as is pointed out by the king, is supposed to be unable to feel love like a real human being, though anyone who has read the previous six books might be snorting at that. It helps that immediately after this we get Klifford’s perspective briefly, where he wonders what these strange feelings are? The rest of the book was the usual excellent intrigue, though I am annoyed that the only way to get our leads to step up was the brainwash the opposition. If nothing else, that means one less ally, and Octavia needs allies, as the world is out to get her.

And now the words everyone dreads: we’re caught up with Japan, and Book 7 is not out there yet. So get ready to wait. But till then, yay, they’re fake lovers! Yay? Maybe?

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 7: Finale

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By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

I’ll be discussing the final pages of the book, but only under the picture, so be warned.

Before we get around to how this series seems to love to lead me around by the nose, we need to, I suppose, address the fact that this is definitely the second part of Book 7, not a book in itself. I probably should have saved the two books and read them as one. If only as this is 95% fights, and I just don’t have it in me to talk about those. Wow, those undead really are hard to kill. Oh man, the goofy scientist is mortally wounded (and then never seen again). The large cast means that we have a lot of viewpoints to flit between, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t care about most of these people. I like them well enough, and wish them well. But in the end, I’m here for Olivia, Ashton, Claudia, and maybe Felix. If pressed.

Felix and his knights, along with the sleeping emperor, have defected to Olivia’s side in hopes that she can do something about the emperor (easy) and the man currently causing the undead to overrun the entire country (difficult). Fortunately, while they may not have Ashton anymore, they do have that old librarian from previous books, who also turns out to be a strategist, and she comes up with a plan: Fernest, Mekia, and Sutherland all join forces and offer a deal: one big battle against Darmes’ undead army, and if they lose they’ll surrender. Olivia knows he’ll take the deal, but that will also give her and Felix the opportunity to run straight for the castle to take out both Darmes and Xenia, the evil God supporting him. That said… they still have to fight scores of undead. No getting around that.

Even given the fact that it’s the second part of a 550-page book, this book is still badly paced, and needed an epilogue that was longer than the 4 pages or so it gets. I was starting to get a bit suspicious of the ending around 3/4 of the way through the book, when we see Claudia and company fighting valiantly but NOT dying tragically. If this book was going to keep going the way it had been, we needed a lot more death, and no, that one woman from Mekia doesn’t really count. Then at the end, when Olivia wins (yeah, sorry to spoil, but you guessed that) and she is told she can get one wish that’s anything she wants, I knew where it was going. So yeah, I was wrong. AGAIN. And it’s fine, I’m OK with it. I’d be a lot more OK with it if the epilogue was 20 pages rather than 4, and showed ANY of the other characters in the book. Which, um, guess that means I did care about people other than Olivia, Ashton and Claudia.

I think I’ve now run out of “military battle fantasy” series that I’m following, and this certainly was one. It’s worth reading for Olivia’s eccentric, striking personality, but also in seeing how much she grows and changes, particularly in the last two books after Ashton’s death. And she has only more room to grow.