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Reviews

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 15

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

There is not a single thing that happens in this book that the reader could not have predicted. If you finished Vol. 14 and someone asked “so how will it end”, you would probably say “well, Eve will try to break everything and go home, Lloyd will stop her by being Lloyd, and we’ll get a flashforward showing that everyone is older but otherwise resolving next to nothing”, you’d be absolutely correct. That said… is that really a bad thing? This is a wacky, goofy comedy with a bit of heart. If you were asked what you WANTED from the ending of this series, unless you’re a rabid shipper (and I assume any of those dropped this a while back), you’d probably say exactly what I just did above. It’s a chaotic action-packed fight against Eva, followed by Lloyd showing off how much he’s grown and also showing off that no one has gotten (or will ever get) in his pants.

Things aren’t looking good. Eve has a new body, and what’s more, she has access to the powers and attacks of ALL the demon lords. Everyone who tries to stop her is either distracted by her releasing a horde of monsters, beaten into a coma, or mind-controlled into obeying her will (yeah, sorry, Anzu, you’re mostly a comedy patsy this volume. It happens in this series). Rinko has an idea that might be able to take her down, but Eve has about 87 clever plans, and she does not seem in danger of running out anytime soon. Worst of all, Eve has a special spray bottle and, when hit with the contents, the residents of Kunlun become weak and unable to fight back. With all these advantages, even Lloyd won’t be able to stop her!…. right? Right?

So yeah, the “action climax” of this book happens a little over halfway through, and even Eve’s fate is not all that surprising given the type of series this is. The last chapter takes place a few years later, and is from the POV of Asako, who finally gets to be an actual character in this series now that she’s no longer being possessed by Eve. Fortunately she’s no longer dying, and she has cool teleportation powers. Unfortunately, she’s in love with Lloyd, which merely adds her to the pile. It turns out that the entire series has been written by her to tell Lloyd’s true story, a conceit I quite like. As for the others, well, they’ve all got jobs now, but everyone is reasonably happy, except for Marie, who is miserable and who no one can stand. I can’t believe Marie became the most annoying character in a series where Selen exists, but there it is.

This was never going to be a top-rated light novel series, but for something trying for the vibe of Urusei Yatsura (complete with one of those “chaos ensues” endings Takahashi loved to do), it was good. It always made me laugh, which is more than I can say for a lot of light novel authors.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 7

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By Piero Karasu and Yuri Kisaragi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

In the previous volume of MagiRevo, we saw Anis reject the “perfect world” offered to her, as it would render everything that she’s struggled to achieve meaningless. Now it’s one year later (the biggest time jump we’ve seen in this series so far), and she’s finally getting the chance to achieve her dreams… and is still feeling a bit guilty about it. Is it all right for her to do this? To go off and be a weirdo magical researcher coming up with gonzo ideas that will revolutionize the world? Shouldn’t she grow up and be mature, like Euphie is? Leaving aside Euphie’s maturity, which turns out to not be quite as strong as imagined, this makes sense. Anis spent years being the eccentric princess who rebelled, because if she stopped to face reality it would crush her. Now she’s given the opportunity to do the same thing without the same risk. Just one catch: Anis going it alone is a thing of the past.

Anis starts this book, having finally recovered from the events of Book 6, with a startling proposal. Since her magical research and inventions tend to, shall we say, annoy the aristocracy in the capital… why not just build a whole new city and make it a magical Alexandria? As noted above, Anis has to be talked into this, but eventually throws herself wholeheartedly into things, especially since she shocks people with the idea of building the city with both magical and… non-magical means! Me not use magic? That’s unpossible! Moreover, in the massive research that is the back half of this book (it’s OK, it’s interesting for once), we learn that not only might everyone have been learning magic incorrectly, but that there may be more than one KIND of magic. All this means that Anis has a LOT more to do, and is unfortunately going to have to learn to delegate and lead from behind… well, mostly.

Anis is not the only one undergoing crises in this book. Gark is struggling with the fact that everyone around him is a genius of some sort, and he’s just a guy who’s dependent on magic weapons to get anywhere. Tilty is a bit disturbed by Anis going in on making these magic weapons, and serves as her conscience reminding her of the dangers of putting weapons that anyone can use into a world where commoners have massive grudges against the nobility. And we get a new maid in this book, Priscilla, who is also the victim of a noble being terrible – her father – and wonders why Anis, with all the power that she has at her discretion, especially now that she’s a dragon hybrid, not take revenge on everyone who wronged her? The answer Anis has is not what Priscilla really wants, but it works. Anis grew up loved. And she has a wonderful partner. I like Anis sort of acknowledging her privilege here which allows her to be able to take the high road. It’s not as easy for others.

All this plus Anis and Euphie having such a wonderful night (offscreen, of course) that Anis has a hoarse throat the next day. This is the second book in a row with not quite as much Euphie, so the author promises Book 8 will focus more on her. Till then, this was one of the stronger books in the series, setting up the new arc and allowing Anis to feel confident once more in being the little freak we know and love.

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 12

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By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

So yeah, let’s start with the elephant in the room, which is that this volume came out in Japan in September 2022, and there have been crickets since then. I don’t think we can blame the anime, which did a speedrun of the LNs but wasn’t terrible like some other recent LN adaptations I could mention. And no, I don’t think it’s “cancelled” or whatever it is fans say when there hasn’t been a new volume in over 8 months. I think it’s the author. That said, at the moment this is the final volume of the series. And man, if it was, what a nasty dark and tragic ending it would be. I’m not exactly spoiling. We’ve been waiting almost since the first book for everything in Natra to boil over, and it does now, thanks mostly to Caldmellia, who from the moment she first appeared has been ready to take on the mantle of the series’ main antagonist, and does so here. Everything is terrible.

Having helped Lowellmina become Empress, and leaving her to an Empire with far too many problems to deal with, Wein and Ninym return to Natra, where all is peaceful and happy. Unfortunately, the flahm are still gung ho about independence and getting their own country, mostly as they’re being fed information by a snake in their midst. Information like Ninym’s supposed heritage. Worse, Falanya has been growing by leaps and bounds, to the point where she realizes that Wein is perfectly happy to have peace and prosperity NOW, because he doesn’t care what happens to Natra after he dies. Since she loves her country, she vows to oppose him. And then Caldmellia shows up, asking Wein to ally with the West. She’ll even make him a Holy Elite… for real this time. Needless to say, she has another goal. Ninym is basically tortured this entire book, and it ends with the worst possible outcome.

Interspersed with all that tragic drama is the story of how Wein and Ninym first met, why she grew so attached to him (and he to her), and what led her to be his aide. It’s not happy and sweet, but it’s a much needed balm anyway, mostly as it’s not oppressively tragic. Young Ninym is dealing with everyone worshiping her, which is a tough burden for a little kid. Wein is so depressed and jaded that he’s willing to be assassinated because it’s what the majority of the people seem to want. The two of them need each other desperately, and you can see why he calls her his “heart” – and why he brutally murders people who directly threaten her. Alas, Caldmellia is more cunning. I don’t for one moment believe what we’re told in the cliffhanger, but I do think it will force Wein and Ninym to make a decision, and it’s not one that will be good for Natra.

This is definitely coming to an end soon, whenever it comes. Reading this was not what I’d call “fun”, but it was a great volume, which took all the bad things I didn’t want to have happen and has them all happen at once.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 25

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

And so another arc bites the dust, as the 6th Arc of Re: Zero ends with this volume. There are more returns by deaths, there are lots of surprises, there are absolute PILES of cool fights, and there’s even a bit of tragedy. That said, there’s still a whole lot of stuff we don’t really know. Some folks who had their identity eaten by Gluttony are restored, some are not. Gluttony, who of course is three siblings, gets sealed away/killed/we have no clue. As for Subaru, well, he didn’t get a 100% victory, but he did his best. And he did it by knowing his strengths, which is cheering people on, taking their own pain as his own, and knowing that everyone else in his party is ludicrously stronger than him. Emilia gets amazing things to do, Ram is awesome, Julius is fantastic. It’s a pump the air sort of book… at least till that cliffhanger. Whoops, new arc.

Subaru may have decided that now is the time for his counterattack, but about 15 more deaths show that he himself cannot actually affect anything. As such, the one thing that helps him out is spotting his OWN book of the dead in the library… or rather the multiple, multiple volumes of books of each of his deaths. The outcome of reading all these books I won’t spoil, but by the end of it Louis is taken care of and Subaru has all his memories back. Now he’s ready to figure out what should be done to win: give Julius the cheerleader he’s dedicated himself to (who it turns out has not so much been in danger of dying as curling up and sulking), give Emilia a huge morale boost that allows her to pretty much be damn near invincible, let Rem fight with her sister in a very real way to take out Lye, and then go with Beatrice to help Meili to try to hold off Shaula till all this can be done. Oh yes, and can anyone pass the test?

This is a long book, with a lot going on. Emilia fans will eat VERY well in this book, though I get the feeling that the next arc may flip the heroines again. By the end of the book, they have won a bittersweet victory, one that is perhaps more bitter for them than it is for me: I can appreciate the tragedy of Shaula’s existence waiting for her master, but her death doesn’t quite land as tragically as I think the author wants it to. The other really good bit in the book was the climax, where they have Roy captured but not dead, and when Subaru suggests killing him to try to get everyone’s memories back, Anastasia is quick to point out that is a very UN-Subaru thing to say. As for Rem, having had a moment of triumph from within a book of the dead last time, she’s still comatose here, though that does not stop her from unconsciously helping Ram to get more power to defeat Lye. the cliffhanger suggests her fate will change very soon, though, so Rem fans, your long wait is almost over.

The next arc is not only the longest in the series, eight books, but it’s also far less popular than the last two. Get ready for almost an entirely new supporting cast. And go back and read Re: Zero EX 4 and 5, you’ll need them. Till then, this was a mostly very satisfying finale to this round of Re: Zero…. oh wait, we’re finally getting the Short Story volumes! See you next month, back in the Arc 2 days of yore.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Fall Down

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

First of all, big props to the author for actually keeping my attention through the first half of this volume. I’ve talked before about how the first half of these recent books have all been dire, so this is a definite step up. More seriously, I also noticed while reading this volume how compact the cast list is. This is basically a variation of shonen battle manga, in a sci-fi sort of vein, and each volume needs to escalate the danger because our heroes need a bigger threat. But the threats we’re seeing have been around since the start, they’re just coming back because everyone in this series is damn near impossible to permanently kill. Hell, even one of the cast from a thousand years ago is a supporting character in this book due to (handwaves) reasons. The “new” antagonist who threatens our heroines with bigger and bigger guns turns out to have been accidentally stifled by Sahara four books ago, and she doesn’t even remember it. So sad.

Menou, Abbie, Sahara and Maya have arrives in the wilds of the north, where they come across the stunning city of ruins, which is not only still intact after so long but is also technically TWO cities… there’s a second one upside down above the first. Unfortunately, they can’t simply sit around and watch terrible movies about sharks in space – not only is one of the biggest mobster bad guys around trying to kill the woman who killed off Flare, for tragic backstory reasons, but also Pandaemonium is here somewhere as well, and Maya, for obvious reasons, wants to try to stop her. Fortunately, the four of them have some help in the form of an ally thought long dead. UN-fortunately, Momo is there as well, and she’s got her own agenda, one that Menou really isn’t going to like.

As usual, I loved Sahara here, who continues to be forced to care and be heroic against her will. The final scene where she takes out one of the big bads because, among many other reasons, she never got breakfast OR lunch today is hilarious but also dead on. Sometimes you’ve got to let compassion fall by the wayside because you’re too cranky. More impressively, I really enjoyed reading Menou in this book. I’ve made no secret about the fact that Menou is my least favorite of the many “good guys” in this series, but here she’s given subtext that makes you pay attention to her – she’s losing more and more of her self. She’s already forgotten everything about Momo, which does not bode well for when the two inevitably meet up again, but seeing her casually take a scripture because she can’t remember why she wouldn’t be using one is chilling because she REMINDS us why earlier in the book. She’s falling to bits. Still not optimistic this will end with any of the main cast alive.

The yuri may be thin on the ground these days, but it IS driving most of the character motivation deep down, so that’s fine. This was good. I look forward to the 9th book. Which only came out in Japan 6 months ago, so we may have to wait more.

The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 5

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By Daisuke Aizawa and Touzai. Released in Japan as “Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

I really did not need there to be a two-year gap in between volumes, and I don’t really care that the author said they were doing a lot of other stuff. I don’t have any time to reread series, and when it’s been over two years since the last book we’re going to be lucky if I remember anything, especially as I found written word Cid much easier to take than anime Cid. Fortunately, the author is apologizing for the back half of Book 4 (Akane is pretty much absent from this book, no surprise there) by having us go back to the beginning – this volume takes place at school, and there’s a heaping helping of Alexia and Claire, though unfortunately both of them have a very bad time. Actually, no one really has a good time in this volume… except for Cid, who is hilarious when he’s treating everyone as helping him with his dramatic posing but slightly less hilarious when he’s ignoring a subordinate using those he cares about in a demonic ritual… wait, does Cid care about anyone?

Cid returns to his normal class life and tries his hardest to be a generic schlub while also lurking on rooftops and practicing looking edgy. Unfortunately, this world takes itself seriously even if Cid does not. Students are disappearing, including Claire, though she quickly reappears. Rose, who is now the Queen of the Oriana Kingdom, finds that every other country in the land, who does not know the secret bad stuff that forced her to do all this, regards her as evil and are uniting against her. And the fact that there really are a large number of conspiracies all working against each other, and Shadow Garden’s willingness to just be “ominously evil”… well, Cid, in any case… means everyone just lumps them in with the other terrorists. Worst, one of the Seven Shadows may actually be summoning an ancient horror. Oh well, at least she told him and got permission first.

Yes I know, I take these books too seriously. But so does everyone else. Leaving Cid aside, there is a lot of very basic trauma here, with lots of dead students, most of them gruesomely dying by exploding bomb collars. Alexia now has her sister thinking she’s a fool, mostly as her sister is being fed false information. Claire is possessed by an ancient witch, who may or may not be evil. Oh yes, and then there’s Zeta, who we meet in this volume (the anime introduced her much earlier). She’s a therianthrope (beast person), and her backstory is, as with the rest of the Seven Shadows, incredibly awful. Unlike the rest of the Seven Shadows, however, she’s not content to simply pine after Cid and do whatever he wants, and she’s decided that the best thing to do is to revive Diablos’ right arm. This is the first of two volumes, so I’m not sure if Cid will notice what she’s doing or care, but I fear caring is a high bar for Cid to clear.

This is still interesting, and funny in many parts, so I’ll keep reading it. But get used to me whining about it too.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 13

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By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

One of the biggest Achilles’ heels of the Bofuri series, which I’m sure the author is aware of, is that it works best when Maple is being completely weird and bonkers. It’s the reason we read this – well, for those not reading it to see if Maple and Sally get married, that is. But you can’t have that happening all the time, especially since the author really loves to essentially write out game logs and turn them into prose. So the series has a constant struggle: how do we keep the audience’s interest when Maple is not being Maple but is instead just being a gamer girl? The best example of that comes at the end of this book, when we get a big, climactic fight against a very tough boss which Maple has to solo… without any of her bag of tricks except her passive skills. The highlight of the book for me was seeing Maple take a deep cut with a sword, and her face twisting in pain. We’ve beaten the title of the series!

The bulk of this book is setup for the battle royale that’s going to happen in Book 14. Maple Tree arrives on the new floor, and are introduced to two areas – one water and human NPC-based, the other fire and monster-NPC based. They have a while to explore both camps, scope out the land, do quests, and finally, they have to choose a side and fight against those who choose the other side. So Sally maps things, Maple explores how to use the cool new powers she hasn’t really used in public yet, and the twins show off the fact that they can not only octo-wield, but also THROW the hammers they wield. Unfortunately, while exploring the library of the fire side, Maple ends up being tricked into opening a grimoire. Now she’s cursed, and has to do an impressive number of tasks… without anything but her defense, her shield, and her passive skills. Will she finally be killed off?

So, sadly, Sally may fight Maple one-on-one one day, but that day is not coming soon, as Maple still wants everyone to fight together, and Sally won’t do it if Maple’s not at least accepting of it. So Maple Tree are all on the same side. They’re joined by Pain’s gang, which should be interesting. We don’t hear where Mii’s group is, but I assume the other side, as otherwise things would be too imbalanced. The cover art also has Lily on it in her “offense” mode, and I think she (and Velvet, who explicitly wants to fight Maple) will also be on the opposite side. If it sounds like I’m talking too much about a fight that hasn’t happened yet, well, that’s this book’s big flaw – it doesn’t get to the fight it promises. That said, the battle between Maple and her cursed grimoire monster is fantastic, one of the best written fights in the series. Makes it worth the slog.

So yeah, Maple can triumph even without being weird. Don’t expect that to last, though.

The Trials of Chiyodaku: Running the Supreme Court of Another World with My Sister, Vol. 1

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By Fukurou Kogyoku and jonsun. Released in Japan as “Chiyodaku Ōkoku Judgment: Ane to Ore to de Isekai Saikō Saibansho” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Genevieve Maude Hill-Kaminishi.

Siiiiiiiiiggggggggghhhhhhh. Yes, I know. The moment I chose to review a novel with a cover like that, I should have changed my expectations. But I’m sorry, even if you’re here for the tits on the cover, this book really only gives you a few opportunities. It’s odd to see a book that is throwing so many cliches at the wall, most of it deliberate and “it’s OK because I’m winking at the audience”, fall down as much as it does. If it’s meant to be an ecchi title, it’s pretty half-assed about its faux-incest and fanservice. If it’s meant to be a parody of isekai, the entire second half turning serious kind of kicks that in the head. Honestly, the serious second half is the only reason I managed to finish the book, as once the book gets to the main case, it’s quite good. Unfortunately, it’s Phoenix Wright fanfiction. The other characters even admit it’s Phoenix Wright fanfiction.

Akuto Satou, a “typical high school boy” who loves fantasy light novels and games, is going to visit his stepsister Tsukasa Wagatsumu, who is 12 years older than him and a district court judge in Japan. Then, while listening to her complain at the local bar, the two of them are transported to another world! (OK, the exclamation point is likely unnecessary at this point.) Princess Ecstasia Itou of the nation of Chiyodaku has brought them to… a fantasy world that has used magic to make itself as much a clone of Japan as it can, despite also having elves, dwarves, and dragons. They’re even adapting the Japanese court system… but unfortunately, they need a real judge rather than the princess and her magical lie detector. They especially need this as the former hero is on trial for murder… and he insists he’s guilty.

I have so many questions. If you’re going to have Tsukasa regress (physically and mentally) to fifteen years old, why *explicitly* say “except for her breasts, they stay adult”? There is a stressed-out elf girl (ticks box), a stoic maid who also is super strong and falls for the hero almost instantly (ticks box), a wily fox girl who acts older than her five years old (ticks box), but these are used just as character types, nothing is done with them at all. As I noted above, the actual case they’re brought there to try, which ends up showing an immature king who’s forced to take over from his late father stubbornly ruining the lives of the hero’s party who saved the world, their decades-long struggle afterwards, and the hero’s traumatic survivor’s guilt making him suicidal, is a terrific plot… that jars horribly with everything else in this book. Lastly, the “copy paste” gimmick feels like utterly lazy writing, and utterly lazy worldbuilding. Both in universe and out of it.

This appears to have only been two volumes and cancelled in Japan, but had a manga announced last year, so I assume an anime is imminent. But honestly, unless you really love cliches, just play Phoenix Wright.

Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 3

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By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei.

When I have a book where there are things I liked and things I didn’t like, I generally like to start with the bad stuff and work my way up to the good. And there’s definitely stuff I enjoyed here! But we have to address the elephant in the room, and it’s an elephant that every series starring an adorable six-year-old, past memories/abilities or no, seems to have to deal with. The author finds people creeping on Nia hilarious, and assumes the reader does as well. We’ve already had the first two volumes, where her maid is constantly trying to get into her bed. Here we get Reliared’s older sister (yes, another one) wants to paint Nia in the nude (she’s an artist, but it’s also framed deliberately as “this is a skeezy creep”. And the king essentially saying “you will be mine once you’re old enough.” It’s designed for a very specific light novel audience that isn’t me, and I hate it. Anyway, onward.

It’s summer vacation for Nia, but of course that means ENDLESS FILMING FOR MAGIVISION. Once that’s over with, fortunately, she can visit Reliared and her lovely family (and creepy sister), and then head off to the princess’ private royal island… which also has the king, who is also vacationing, and turns out to be not quite as royal as you’d like… or is that just a facade? As for those of you who follow Nia to see her punch things, well, here’s not as much as the previous two books, but she does discover a new dungeon. And what’s more, she assigns her protege (and maid) Lynokis to go out adventuring and hone her new techniques. And earn money. A lot, a WHOLE lot, of money. Which Nia will need in order to realize the next part of her grand plan.

The best part of this book, aside from the ending, showing Reliared for once winning against Nia, if only indirectly, is her discussion with the King. Aside from his creeper tendencies (again, see the rest of the book), he turns out to be one smart cookie. Indeed, he’s much smarter than Nia, who presents an idea of having an annual fighting tournament but can’t think of more than two reasons why it would benefit the kingdom. The king thinks of eight other reasons, tells her how mind-numbingly expensive it would be to do properly, and sets her a goal of two years to raise that ludicrous amount of money. In just two pages he shifts the entire goal of this book from “let’s watch Nia race puppies” to “let’s watch Nia finance a shonen manga”, and I think it’s a good pivot. More of smart king, less of lecherous king.

So yes, a big asterisk next to this title. Assuming you can get past it (and it’s always used for humor, not seriously), this is a good entry in the “overpowered elementary school girls beat up the world” genre.

The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist, Vol. 3

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By Ito Iino and Kinokohime. Released in Japan as “Haraiya Reijō Nicola no Komarigoto” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Joshua Douglass-Molloy.

It is somewhat interesting having a locked-room mystery (which this entire third and final volume is) in the universe of Miss Nicola the Exorcist, a universe that has, since the very beginning, dealt with supernatural threats to her love interest. It’s interesting because for once the initial thought CAN in fact be “hey, locked room is not an issue, because this world has demons and ghosts and cursed people”. And then of course it spends most of the book walking that back, because the author really is trying to do a locked-room mystery. That said, this is not exactly Agatha Christie. Once again, the culprit is obvious, though it helps that they are such a non-entity in the plot that we don’t even notice them till it’s time for the investigation. For the most part, the main reason to read this book is to see Sieghart threatened with execution, and to see what that does to Nicola. Oh. THAT’S what love feels like.

It’s time for the student ball, and this one is pretty important. It’s the last ball for third-years Sieghart and Alois, and they’re both planning to announce without actually announcing who they’re in love with by having the first dance with their respective partners. (OK, Emma is disguised as Charlotte, but it’ll work out.) I was expecting some sort of Villainess plotline where Nicola gets accused, but no, the dance goes off without a hitch. Unfortunately, Sieghart then goes off to do student council things, and when she next sees him he’s standing next to the dead body of a foreign prince, in a situation where there’s only one possible suspect, and it’s him. Now she’s got to try to prove him innocent despite all the evidence pointing towards his guilt, and also come to term with what will happen if she can’t by that evening – he’ll be a political nightmare, and executed without trial.

As with the second volume, the writer is very good at writing some chilling horror. In this volume, more concerned with the investigation (which is the weak po9int, alas, it’s pretty dull, especially the explanations towards the end), it’s the interstitial parts of the book from the point of view of, it becomes apparent, the culprit. They are a true sociopath, and each brief, page-long except of their thoughts features another murder. There’s a reason why there’s only one actual culprit being looked at – the villain is so evil and coated with bad things that, to everyone but the supernatural-blind Ernst, they are literally a CLOUD OF DARK CURSES. This actually makes it harder to figure things out, as they can’t look for facial tells and the like, as the face is masked. I did like the actual solution, which does rely on the supernatural, and is suitably mean.

And then there’s a quick flash forward to Nicola’s kid. We don’t even get a wedding. Still, this was pretty decent, though I will remind the publisher that not everything has to be a series.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “You Wouldn’t Get It”

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

I spent a lot of this volume wondering how seriously I should take the yuri pandering. There is, and I think this is the 4th or 5th time I’ve said this, a ludicrous amount of boob grabbing in this book, to the point where it’s almost every 4th or 5th page. This is partly a consequence of the plot, which is a class trip, meaning lots of scenes of the girls off by themselves, but still. But we also get a suggestion that a girl confessed to Mizuto because in reality she was in love with Yume (which is… not QUITE true) and a lot of bi panic in this book, which is sometimes played for comedy, but also sometimes meant to be taken seriously. Finally, near the end, we get… well, we get something that I am reluctant to spoil because this volume is a mystery, but it at least suggests that there are SOME actual lesbians in this series. And that Isana is absolutely bi. (We knew that already.)

It’s class trip time, and everyone’s off to Okinawa! Of course, there are a few hiccups. Mizuto and Yume have had their first time, and really want to have more, but “surrounded by our classmates” means that’s not gonna happen. Yume’s attempts to hide who she’s dating are spreading all sorts of rumors, and while she’s able to control and dissuade the guys confessing to her, Mizuto struggles a lot more when he’s confessed to… by Asuhain? On the trip itself, we get a gyaru group who seem to be wrapped up in SOMETHING, but it’s unclear how sinister it actually is. We get snorkeling, we get shopping. We get Yume realizing that Asuhain has been avoiding her ever since the last volume, and she can’t figure out why. And, perhaps worst of all, Isana’s breasts are now public knowledge, and everyone wants to grope them.

So yeah, as you guessed, this is still mostly a series for horny guys. That said, there is serious stuff here beneath all the boob jokes. The author tries to tell a mystery, and while the culprit is not a surprise, it is mildly interesting seeing Mizuto doing his detective work while also being smug about it. The subplot with Asuhain is handled seriously and works really well with her character – she’s always felt like “Yume only one year behind”, and this just reinforces the hell out of that. And then there’s Isana, who I think is finally giving up on the polycule. It’s framed as a joke in the end, in that she tried to see if seeing Yume and Mizuto being romantic and loving would give her heartache but she was too distracted by Yume’s sexiness, but that and the other surprise revelation makes me wonder if the author is, perhaps, going to give us a token nickel by the end of this series.

Probably not. Next volume we’re back with Akatsuki, so it will likely back off from Isana a bit. Still, under all the fanservice there’s still a nice little story. But man, you have to dig past a lot of fanservice.

BLADE & BASTARD: Dungeon Chronicle

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By Kumo Kagyu and so-bin. Released in Japan as “Blade & Bastard” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

This was better than the last volume, possibly as it’s a short story collection disguised as a novel. The stories are vaguely interconnected, except for the first one, and are all related to the aftermath of the third book. Iarumas is in deep thought, so is not going into the dungeons, leading the rest of the cast to try to go in without him. They’re helped by some eccentric new cast members, of course, who may or may not stick around. (I’m sure the twins will, not so sure about the chuuni.) And of course, in case you’d forgotten, Aine is not doing anything at all in this book, as she lost both her arms in the last volume. That said, this turns out to be what Iarumas is in deep thought about, so hopefully we can do something about it. Mostly, though, this is a book that allows Orlaya to step up and show that she’s likely to be the second protagonist going forward.

As I said, this starts off looking like a short story collection, as we get a flashback showing how the All-Stars got together and what Sezmar was like when he first got to the city. After that, we follow Schumacher with a party of his own, including twins who “came back wrong” after resurrection and a ninja thief who seems to be really into her role but rapidly finds the dungeon is not a place where she can pretend to be Megumin. We then get a short comedic chapter from the POV of Garbage’s new sword, which is the funniest chapter in the book. Then Iarumas goes hunting in the dungeon for something, but doesn’t quite find it. The last two chapters are interconnected, as the main team, minus Iarumas and Aine but plus the twins (now slightly less wrong) and the ninja go hunting and find a pool with a rubber duck… which may be exactly what Iarumas wants.

As always, the new characters are a) interesting, and b) the author’s barely disguised fetish. In this case it is twins, Rahm-and-Sahm, who are now half and half each other thanks to a botched resurrection. They’re weird and stoic. Then, later in the book, they get a lot more vibrant… and a lot more annoying, having apparently come to terms with basically being each other and deciding they’re OK with it. The other new character is Shadowwind, who as I said sounded like a Crimson Demon when she first arrived, but the dangers of the dungeon shut her up fairly quickly, and by the end of the book she’s gored in the throat (which she survives) and blown up by an exploding trap (which she does not). She’ll be resurrected, but I’m not sure we’ll see her again. She’s just not as… interesting as twins who are each wearing the other half of their twin. And again, by “interesting” I mean “the author’s basely disguised fetish”.

The regulars do all get a lot to do, and Orlaya in particular shows off her skills as more than just “another love interest for Raraja”, so rest assured. And yeah, sorry to spoil, but Aine gets her arms back. I could see the author trying to decide between “battle-crazed nun with a sword” and “amputee nun” for hours before making the decision, and fortunately they made the right one. Next time, royal intrigue? More of Princess Garbage? We shall see.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 11

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

So yes, I have to apologize for my glib remarks in the last review. I joked that Rozemyne’s memory wasn’t affected at all, as she didn’t love anything more than books. But of course, the only reason she remembers Ferdinand is that he was pouring his mana into her (and oh, we have more to say on that later). And, of course, she loves her family more. No, not her adopted family – sorry, Charlotte, she does recall who you are. No, she can’t remember her birth family at all, and it bothers her. More disturbingly, she has also lost all her PTSD related to feystones – very convenient for the plot to actually occur, but also likely putting off a complete breakdown in the future. Fortunately, she does remember enough to know what’s important right now – she and Ferdinand being the most terrifying power couple in the history of the world, and bringing the hammer of justice on anyone who might say otherwise.

We pick up at the end of all the fighting, but we still have to deal with the royal family. Mostly as someone has to be the Zent, and both Ferdinand and Rozemyne are adamant it’s not going to be them. It can’t be Trauerqual, he’s too depressed. It can’t be Sigiswald, he’s too much of a massive dipshit. (Adolphine divorcing his ass the moment she gets the opportunity is a punch the air moment.) So it’s got to be Eglantine, who still hates war but now realizes that being Zent is the best way to prevent it. Unfortunately, Rozemyne is still very, very full of divine mana after the crowning, and it’s killing her. So they spend the rest of the book trying to drain off her mana without her starving to death… and it all comes back when she sleeps. It’s a race against time, where time is a literal hourglass filled with too much mana.

I do appreciate the book allowing asexual interpretations more than most series would. The comedy highlight of this volume is of Rozemyne finally having euphemisms explained to her, and realizing what “dye me with your mana” actually means. Which she’s still too young for, as everyone notes with more euphemisms. But Rozemyne says – again – that she’s never understood what’s so important about sex – not as Urano, and not here in this world. And Ferdinand, I think, is OK with that. I don’t know if a sequel years in the future will show her with children, but certainly the current Rozemyne is content to have Ferdinand merely be the most important person in her life. Which, given who she is, means she will destroy an entire country for him. But not because she’s horny.

There are several side stories as usual, including one with Hannelore that might be setting up the sequel due out next month that she stars in. But for the moment we’ll wait till the next volume, which is, at last, the end of Myne and Rozemyne’s story. I absolutely can’t wait.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 11

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

The author of this book, in the afterword, talks about being happy with this book to clarify plot points and tie a lot of things together, something they don’t really like to do, as leaving things vague allows them to change their mind later. As such, I wish that I was more excited by some of the “revelations” that we get here. More than anything, they remind me of shonen manga revelations, which makes sense because, light novel or no, this series is at heart a shonen battle manga. And indeed, half the volume is a fight followed more another fight. So it’s not a big surprise that most of the revelations are of the “Luke, I am your father” type, with surprise relatives and surprise heiral menaces… well, OK, not so much a surprise, we’ve known something was up with Yua almost since we met her. That said, if all you can recall from this is Inglis punching things, you’ll be fine.

First of all, congrats to those who were sick of Inglis looking like a child, she’s back to being 16 years old again. Well, in body, at least. At the end of the last book we got the start of a bad-guy-on-good-guy pileup, and we get the continuation of that here, which culminates in Inglis accidentally hurling herself into the sarcophagus where Eris ended up… which then sinks to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, time moves much slower in the sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the bad guys are definitely winning with Inglis gone, and are determined to find out how much more mana they can grind up if they use Highlanders rather than regular people. They really need Inglis to come back and rescue them. And she will come… ten years later. Well, OK, ten years later for her. It’s about an hour later for the rest of the cast.

OK, word of warning: This volume ends its main story about page 130, and there’s the an extended story that talks about Eris’ past before she became a hieral menace. First of all, this story has sexual assault. Secondly, this story is SO dark that I basically started reading as fast as possible to get through it. This is even worse than the “oh my god, it’s made of people!” from the previous book, and essentially serves as an object lesson for Inglis about how she’s had it really nice since she was reincarnated, what with the loving family, most of whom are alive, and the monstrous superpowers. I kind of hated that whole story, and the one big revelation in it will I’m sure come up again in the main story, so feel free to skip it entirely. Other than that, this is the same old same old, though I think readers will be happy it ends up back at the academy, with this arc now over.

So yeah, because that story finished up the book, I ended up more annoyed than happy. Inglis continuing to be an overprotective dad type to Rafinha doesn’t help. Still, it’s got some really nice fights.

Too Many Losing Heroines!, Vol. 1

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By Takibi Amamori and Imigimuru. Released in Japan as “Make Heroine ga Ōsugiru!” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson.

Hoo boy. This is one of those books where I have to issue a warning to the newbie reader who knows nothing about it: keep at it, plow through the first half. I get it. The second half has a good payoff. But oh, that first half. When I started to read it, I felt like I was reading an author who had gotten really mad about Nisekoi and The Quintessential Quintuplets and decided to write the romcom equivalent of “guy gets revenge on his high school bullies”. But no, with only one exception, the actual “winning” couples barely get any focus in this series. It’s all about the girls who, while seemingly popular and/or cute, end up on the wrong end of a love triangle. Fortunately, they all have our protagonist, a friendless guy who likes to read bad light novels and snark at his little sister. Surely he can be there to heal their wounded hearts. … Or not, because this whole book is here to get really mad at him too.

Nukumizu is the aforementioned protagonist. One day, while at a family restaurant, he overhears two classmates. The cute, popular girl Anna is telling her friend Sousuke to go chase after the new transfer student, Karen, who he has feelings for. Except, of course, Anna clearly also likes him. And once he takes off, she goes into an anger (and junk food) filled binge… then sees that Nukumizu overheard everything. About a week later, another of his classmates, the dumb-but-athletic and popular Lemon, confesses to the smart, studious guy she likes… but he just got together with his cram school partner. Then Nukumizu is reminded that he needs to actually attend the literature club that he joined… and finds a love triangle there as well, with the small, squirrel-like Chika clearly crushing on the club president, who also clearly is… in love with someone else. Why is he surrounded by losers?

Sometimes I go looking at the novel-updates site to see what comments are on a new license, and I saw a lot of “beta male” chatter from the usual sort who use that term like they would a comma. They’re full of it, of course, but it really is remarkable how much our hero kneecaps himself in this book. He’s terrible, being filled with snark and a grotesque determination to not get involved, despite clearly being the shoulder to cry on that some of these girls need. The “surprise” in the book is that, so far, it’s not actually a romcom – none of the so-called losing heroines have gotten over their first love, and they’re not looking for a rebound but just simple empathy. This comes out much better in the second half, in which the literature club goes on a field trip that turns into another romantic mess, and Nukumizu can’t even realize when someone is asking for a sympathetic hug.

The payoff comes in the last fifth of the book, when everyone makes their own decisions about what is best for the others, and Nukumizu snaps and actually has empathy for another person. Even if it’s accidental. But yeah, this is a guy with an idea of himself that’s so set in stone he has to be told that he’s already friends with someone. Who thinks in light novel cliches, but, unlike, say, Hachiman (and boy, I bet the author loved that series too), does not throw himself at problems like a bomb to sort them out, but actively runs away from them. As for the three “losing heroines”, the book makes it very clear why they got rejected. Each one has a bundle of eccentricities and neuroses, which would make for a terrible girlfriend but which make for good comedy. The main reason you can get through the first half of the book is that they’re goofy and silly, and yet still MUCH better at life than the “losing hero”.

This is currently 6 volumes and counting, so probably will eventually get some rom in its com. For the moment, though, the girls need to have time to recover from their heartbreak, and the guy needs to understand how to interact with others without it being a trope. I was going to recommend this reluctantly, but by the end it had won me over. Provided we keep up the character development. Also, totally abstaining from the “Makeine vs. Roshidere” social media wars, thanks.