Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Reviews

Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for my Villainous Fiancée!, Vol. 3

by

By Shakushineko and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Betabore no Kon’yakusha ga Akuyaku Reijō ni Saresō nanode Heroine gawa ni wa Sore Sōō no Mukui o Ukete Morau” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Mittt Liu.

It makes sense that a series which I would describe in general as ‘okay, I guess” has a final volume that also can be described that way. We get a number of plotlines that can be described as “clearing up the worrying loose ends”, such as Vincent’s mother and her checkered past, as well as the facade that Vincent has been putting on around Elizabeth. There are also a few plotlines that made me smack my head and say “OK, really?”. But for the most part this book has a goal, which is getting these two shy kids married, and it proceeds to get to that goal. We even get a flash forward showing they have at least two children, which is good because I like them and they’re sweet, but also a bit annoying as it means that most of them getting over their crippling adoration of each other happens offscreen. I wanted to see the walls come down more.

We start off with one of the most cliched plots of all. Due to a magical accident brought on by an old… enemy?… of Vincent’s mother, he has lost all his memories of Elizabeth – though it’s notable that despite this, he still falls in love with her the moment he sees her. This is relatively quickly resolved, mostly as I suspect the author did not want to rebuild the wheel, but instead Vincent has the knowledge of his kingdom that he’s been learning for the past few years wiped from his memory. This is bad timing, as arriving at the kingdom as this happens is King Ricardo from the neighboring nation, who was in love with Vincent’s mother as a young man but now appears to be there to try to judge in Vincent is a good enough potential ruler. Can Vincent manage to get all his memories back and still marry Elizabeth?

There are a couple other things I want to talk about. The first is that this reminded me a bit of Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, in that we get discussion of Vincent’s mother’s backstory, which sounds incredibly cool. Unfortunately, unlike Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, we appear unlikely to get that story anytime soon, meaning it makes the main plot feel a bit wanting. The other thing is Raphael and Yulisse. I mentioned at the end of the first review that I found his treatment of her by the end of the book a bit creepy, and that stayed the same in the second book. Here we find that this is apparently a family trait, and that his mother is also essentially a “yandere”, with his father essentially having been bullied into the relationship. Honestly, I find this relationship more uncomfor4table than romantic. Thank goodness it’s not the main pairing.

So yes, if you got through all three of these as I did, well done. Now move on to another Cross Infinite World series and forget all about this.

Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary, Vol. 1

by

By Syuu and Muni. Released in Japan as “Soup no Mori: Doubutsu to Kaiwa Suru Olivia to Moto Youhei Arthur no Monogatari” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

Every so often these days, especially with light novel titles for a female readership, we see “this was popular, let’s license everything else they ever wrote”. Indeed, sometimes there’s a feeding frenzy – the same author’s Victoria of Many Faces comes out later this year from Yen. But we already saw A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy, a title I enjoyed more than I expected, so I was quite happy to give this new title from the same author a shot. Despite the Soup Forest title, which makes me think of the old Stone Soup children’s magazine from my childhood. But after reading in their previous work about a determined young woman who makes her own destiny and takes no prisoners, this book is far more relaxed and passive in tone, as fits it very broken romantic leads.

As a child, Olivia was able to hear the thoughts and emotions of animals – and humans, though this was harder. She assumed everyone could do this, but just ended up being “the weird one” to the point where her noble grandfather demanded she be taken to an Orphanage of Evil (TM). Being able to sense this future from her caretaker, she decides to escape to the forest, where she is fortunately found by a loving elderly couple. Twenty years later, they’ve passed away but Olivia has grown up to be a beautiful but very guarded young woman, more comfortable with animals than people, who runs a restaurant in the woods, The Soup Forest. (It sells soup.) The story really starts one day with the arrival of a mercenary who just retired from his work after fourteen years as he had grown weary and despairing of killing anyone else. He is also a very private, guarded person. The book’s plot is these two realizing they’re perfect for each other.

This is a relaxed story about two wounded adults finding each other, but I was surprised to find it had a very active subplot, and that subplot is our old favorite “nobles suck (except that one good noble)”. Olivia and Arthur rescue a loud, boisterous noble who turns out to have an equally extroverted sister, who immediately decides Arthur will be her new beau. This goes very badly – for her.n And there’s also Olivia’s parents, who pop up towards the end of the book and end up being the seemingly happy to see their child alive types that of course end up being “we just hope you’re NORMAL” now types. This is the main reason why Olivia thinks of herself almost as much of an animal as a person, and why her adoptive grandparents did their best to try to make sure she still remembered her humanity. The relationship between her and Arthur, in contrast to their tragic pasts, is sweet and wonderful.

This is another story that feels very complete in one volume but also has a big ‘1’ on the cover, so we’ll see what comes next. Recommended for introverts and animal lovers.

Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court, Vol. 7

by

By Satsuki Nakamura and Kana Yuki. Released in Japan as “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den” by Ichijinsha Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tara Quinn.

For the most part, the idea of romance has been about 4th or 5th on the list of reasons to read this series. We know that Reirin is loved by more than one man, but honestly until recently Gyoumei has not really had enough focus to make us care about him enough. But (perhaps because they realized that the readers were starting to wonder if this was going to be a yuri series given the relationship between Reirin and Keigetsu) this volume starts to concentrate a bit more on the romantic chemistry between some of the potential couples – indeed, we get new potential couples here. The other major aspect of this volume, which has again been touched on but not overused in previous books but they’re usually too serious to do it for long, is farce. The entire plot is that our party is split up and slowly converge at once place, and when they get there they all open doors at the same time. All it needed was a plate of sardines.

After the events of the last two books, Reirin and Keigetsu need to switch back to their own bodies. Unfortunately, the Emperor is apparently searching for evidence of magic practitioners, who are supposed to be dealt with with great prejudice. The main characters suspect the Emperor is just doing this for show, but they decide it’s safer to do the switch out in the outside world, so they all agree to leave the inner court, go to a restaurant, and switch there. They split up to avoid being obvious. Reirin, with Leelee (and Gyoumei trailing them) comes across a girl trying to find her mistress, who was sold to pay off debt. Keigetsu and Keishou walk around looking at jewelry, with Keigetsu in full “every word out of my mouth is full of spite and anger” mode, but find illicit goods. Tousetsu and Keikou hide out at a restaurant that turns out to be in the process of a shakedown by thugs. And Shin-u, joined by Unran, goes to a teahouse which they find is actually a brothel. All of this ties into one gambling house.

In case that lengthy description did not clue you in, this is a caper book, and decidedly lighter in tone than the previous six, though there is an ominous cliffhanger at the end that suggests the party is over. It reads a bit like a short story volume, and as such there are some that are better than others. the highlight of the book for me was the incredible fight/flirting/takedown of bad guys by Keikou and Tousetsu, as she realizes that he does not, like every other man she’s ever dealt with, hate women who can fight, and he realizes that she’s able to keep up with him. It’s also a hilarious scene. Speaking of which, as always Reirin is a hoot, ending up in a gambling den where she immediately disquiets everyone by throwing a knife at an erotic piece of art that penetrates the member of the rapist portrayed, causing every man there to feel… uncomfortable. She also has terrific chemistry with Gyoumei, though, much to Leelee’s horror, they don’t balance each other out but instead are like a gasoline fire and a bigger gasoline fire combining.

If you aren’t already reading this, I don’t know what more I can do to convince you. Every single volume is magical.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 6

by

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.

Yeah, sorry, the days of solving ghost crimes are officially history, unless you mean the overall plot, which is more like God vs. God. Though we do get to see everyone trying to solve the mystery of Jusetsu’s ghost, sort of, and Shiki still has the arm of his dead sister, who actually ends up saving the day. But really, this is the first part of a two-part finale, and as such it’s taking all the political drama and intrigue and fantasy deity stuff from the past five books and setting off all the guns at once. Honestly, it’s hard to put down, as it barrels along till it gets to the final chapter, which slows way down but has more of a devastating impact because of that. In general, if you really enjoyed previous volumes of this series, you will enjoy this volume, and the wait for the final volume will likely prove quite difficult.

There is, frankly, too much for Koshun to deal with right now. After the events of the last volume, everyone knows that there’s a member of the Ran family, who were supposed to be completely wiped out, in the Inner Palace. Jusetsu is no longer in her body, which is now possessed by the Raven, who is only partly helpful after having been betrayed for so long. And there are any number of political allies and enemies looking to take advantage of this. Fortunately, he’s able to calm things down a bit with a few well-placed cabinet meetings, as well as one of our main characters finally having to bite the bullet and admit that he’s a lot closer to Jusetsu than anyone thought. Meanwhile, Jusetsu herself is in limbo, depicted here as a river (the cover shows this), but has to deal with Kosho, the one who started all this, who has been trapped there forever by the gods and really wants someone else to join her in despair.

The last half of the book continues to deal with the main plot, but away from the two leads. We get Senri and Shiki acting as a sort of Holmes and Watson as they try to work out how much of the volcano story is actual history in order to try to get the other half of the Raven’s body back. This is particularly difficult for Shiki as he runs into the man he wants revenge on, the very revenge that his sister is trying to stop him getting. This was very good. The last chapter returns us to the family drama of the Saname family, which, and for once I mean this in a GOOD way, reads a lot like a Sam Shepard play. In fact, it reads like Buried Child. Shin suffers very well, as every around him tries to convince him to get the hell away from there, only in the most awkward and counter-intuitive way. This is excellent, and possibly the highlight of the book, provided you don’t mind awfulness.

Everyone’s arrived at the volcano site by the end of this book, and it’s going off again for the cliffhanger. Can’t wait to see how this wraps up.

Earl and Fairy: The Changeling Princess

by

By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

This feels like it was inevitable. Throughout the series we’ve seen our two leads struggle with everything about their love affair, mostly the fact that it exists at all, but also Edgar’s attempts to be a better person (he keeps failing, but he’s making an attempt, and makes it far more often this book) and Lydia’s self-doubt in regards to not only everything Edgar does but also his past and her own life. Her confession halfway through the book that she worries that she’s a changeling feels a bit out of nowhere at first, but gradually the reader comes to realize that it’s informed a lot of her actions in this series. If Lydia can’t trust her own self, can’t even believe that she’s human, then there’s no way she can trust Edgar, and no amount of reassurances and reenactments of the Orpheus legend are going to change that. This leads to a cliffhanger ending that sure feels like, if this series was not a runaway success (which it was), would lead to the 7th book being the last.

Some more of Edgar’s past is catching up with him – this time a pirate crew, which includes Lotte and Pino, two young people who were with him in America. They watched him toy with Betty, another young woman in their group, who apparently turned out to be a long-lost princess, but more importantly, is also missing, and allegedly kidnapped. This also ties in with a request form one of Edgar’s holdings to look into a baby kidnapping which might be down to fairies. Edgar and Lydia, with Raven and Ermine in tow, thus head off to the village, where they find that Ulysses had not only been there before, but was much better at pretending to be the heir than Edgar is – particularly when it comes to getting the village to commit atrocities in the name of “prosperity”. Now Edgar and Lydia have to rescue Betty, defeat a giant dragon wyrm, and also somehow resolve their tortured courtship. Two of those things end up happening.

I appreciated that Ermine got more to do here, and I also appreciate that she’s still not 100% trustworthy. Leaving aside Lydia’s belief that Edgar/Ermine is the real OTP, which has more to do with her own self-image than anything else, there’s the scene with her and Kelpie, shown to the reader but very pointedly not revealed to either Edgar or Lydia. There’s something else going on with her, and I hope it doesn’t lead to her dying – again. Her own fluid identity between selkie and human, and the fact that she doesn’t see herself as anything other than human unless forced, also serves as a mirror to Lydia, whose every move in this book seems to be about resolving what she believes – that she’s a fraud, a fake, and that once she returns to the fairy world everything will be fine and happily ever after. Lotte may set off the cliffhanger in this volume, but honestly I think she did both Lydia AND Edgar a great service. These two need a break.

This was one of the stronger volumes in the series, really showing off the reasoning behind both leads being basket cases. I really want to see what happens next.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 7

by

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

The ‘horny’ parts of this series are becoming increasingly hilarious, as it has become apparent the author’s goal is to get the reader as mad as possible at everyone else who is trying to stop Yoshin and Nanami from going further. Which, my guess is, also includes editorial at Hobby Japan, who want this series to go on for a very long time and possibly get an anime while continuing to have them occasionally kiss each other and sometimes sleep next to each other. That said, even Yoshin and Nanami are starting to lose patience with the author. Nanami at one point invites Yoshin to touch her breasts, which he does not. There is a “could you put suntan lotion on me” scene that is filled with erotic tension, including moans. I appreciate that this is meant to be sweet and fluffy, and I enjoy that greatly. But please let these sweet, fluffy teenagers bang each other like drums.

Yoshin and Nanami have a lot going on. The class rep appears to be the one who left the note about the dare, and they’re trying to figure out what she actually wants. Yoshin has started a new part-time job which has a hot college-age gyaru waitress who is very extroverted and quick to get in your personal space. And the combination of both of those sets Nanami into a spiral, as she worries that if Yoshin meets any other girl who likes him, she might be dumped. This despite the fact that everyone who sees her talks about how amazingly hot she is. It just goes to show that self-image does not have to match outer appearance. Most importantly, it’s Nanami’s birthday, and she wants to spend the ENTIRE day with him, from midnight to midnight. Will they be able to resist temptation? (See first paragraph for answer.)

The afterword talks about how easily the tense drama in this series is defused, but that’s good, because you don’t want tense drama from a series like this. With the co-worker it’s a really easy defusion – she’s in college, not interested in 16-year-old Yoshin, and is mostly just bad about personal space. The class rep is harder, mostly as she’s bringing her own bad past into Yoshin and Nanami’s own relationship and laying it over, thus she can’t understand why the two of them are so happy when she’s so miserable. Yoshin lays out the theme of the books to date – we constantly communicate, and don’t let things simmer and fester. (There actually is a brief 2-day fester in this volume, which feels like a month to the two of them, but even in that period everyone around them talks about how they can’t stop flirting.) The resolution to class rep’s issues feels a tad forced for fictional purposes, but I’ll give it a pass, as long as Nanami’s worries can eventually calm down.

These two are basically married, so the rest of the series is going to probably be high school events (Book 8 looks like it’s school festival time) and watching these sweet kids not screw each other till the cows come home. Can’t wait to be frustrated more.

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 3

by

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.

Sometimes this series can be heartwarming, and sometimes it can be horny. But the one thing it cannot be for more than two pages is serious. The prologue to this volume suggests that the demons are ready to make their comeback, and we anticipate a serious, gripping battle. What we get it… well, it’s a battle. But this series is also dedicated to being funny as well as heartwarming and horny, and I will admit, to its credit, it did much better at cracking jokes than a lot of its light novel contemporaries. You could argue the final battle was a bit TOO ridiculous, but the basic premise of this series, as well as every single chapter that begins “Then”, is just as bad if not worse. There may very well be a serious final battle, but I doubt it will be till then end of the series. Which this isn’t. So please enjoy +20 Squeaky Mallet Of Doom.

The hero’s party are doing their best to include a rather puzzled and exasperated Liz in their party and their training, and if this means that she has to train while wearing a bunny girl outfit, well, technically that’s her own fault. One of the demon lord’s minions has started attending school, which worries her, though it’s a different transfer student who she should be concerned with. And she also goes to a drag bar which turns out to be a secret information bureau for top secret missions, which… is handled much better than I was expecting when I saw it was a drag bar. Unfortunately, the demon lord sends the hero a challenge to duel at the demon castle, and the hero’s party can’t just ignore it. That said, of course Liz is staying behind… except she’s not allowed to.

There are fewer and fewer chapters set in the past as this series goes on, mostly as we’ve now met all the main cast. But it does help to not only show off what a shameless pervert Liz was back when she had her memories, but also why she was so beloved by the party anyway, and why they’re desperate to get her healed. After the final battle in this book she gets to have her old self back for the rest of the day/evening, and while she ends up making a big thing about turning it into roleplay (helped out by Sylphie, whose masochistic depths we have not begun to plumb, though this volume helps a lot in that regard), she ends up spending the night making love to Cain, because they DO love each other, and not having her around to get exasperated by but also be at her side is killing him. The others may tease him the next day (next to a baffled, re-amnesia’d Liz) about his nighttime activities, but they’re all really happy for him. This was not just getting his rocks off, there was more to it.

If it sounds like I’m making this silly series too serious, well, probably. One of the “good” horny light novel series.

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 6

by

By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Matthew Birkenhauer.

This is not the first time I’ve seen this happening, but I am noticing that, having established the fact that Serafina was raped for weeks before she was murdered in the past, and that this is really the main source of the PTSD she still suffers, the novels are doing their best to dial that back so that they don’t have to make the reader think of it again. It’s become a sort of general demon trauma, but it’s also become specifically “that one guy”, who we (but not Fia) already know is not the “demon lord’s right hand man” at all. The front half of this book actually deals with that trauma, giving us an actual demon, and is quite good. Unfortunately, I think we have hot a new record, as the main part of the book ends just before the halfway point. We now have more side stories than regular plot.

Fia is still on vacation with Green, Blue, and Kurtis, and, since it came up when she returned to her childhood home, she goes into greater detail with them about her fear of demons. And it’s just in time, as while they’re up on the mountain they happen to run into a young woman with black hair and black eyes, who is clearly a demon but enjoys toying with them, calling herself a poor defenseless human. Unfortunately, she *is* a demon, “The Bird Cryer”, and much as they’d like to tell a panicked Fia to stay back and let them handle it, she’s more than the three others can handle. Fortunately, this is not the one demon Fia is traumatized by, so she’s able to pitch in. The rest of the book is, well, Fia being Fia. Which let’s be fair, might be why people are reading this book more than folks who are here for the plot.

So yeah, Fia is a giant silly person, who doesn’t get that she is obvious and unsubtle and super powerful. She hands out potions that can restore someone’s health from a coma without thinking about it. She hands Blue and Green (and yes, despite them giving it away several times, she still doesn’t know they’re royalty) a curse-destroying hairband for their sister, not thinking anything of it that she’s basically given her peace of mind and stopped the trauma. She gets her commanding officer one of the most powerful griffons in the land. Accidentally. She rediscovers magical hearing restoration potions as she didn’t realize that in the 300 years since she made them, they became unknown. If she put her mind to it, she could easily take over the world. Everyone but her knows this. Fortunately, she is 100% avoiding this. She’s just a knight, after all!

I really wish we had more main story and less side stories, but this remains funny and cute.

RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’, Vol. 2

by

By Punichan and Canarinu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō wa Camping Car de Tabi ni Deru: Aibyō to Mankitsu Suru Self Kokugai Tsuihō ” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by sachi salehi.

When this series is playing to its strengths, it really works. Mizarie has a camper van, and it is basically her OP Sword or her “my magic defeats everything” item. We may one day find a monster that her camper van cannot defeat by simply running it over, but that moment dies not occur in this book. And that’s not really a spoiler, because this sort of series has no plot you have to care about. The only real dramatic thing from the last book, which is Raoul’s injured arm, is basically the “what drives me” plot here, but otherwise there’s no real danger or worry here. The camping is great. The cooking and eating is also great. The bits that are not camper van or cooking are not as great, but that’s the trouble with writing a series which revolves around one gimmick. Fortunately, there aren’t many points where that’s the case.

Mizarie wants to find an elixir that can heal Raoul’s damaged left arm, and for that they’ll have to go into a dungeon. So they head towards Labyrinth City, which is exactly what you’d expect, and we get the usual guild stuff. Mizarie also learns how to fight monsters, which worries her at first. But in this book, slimes really are ludicrously weak, so she’s fine with them. As for anything else… well, turns out the main dungeon they end up going to is, especially as they get lower down, wide enough for her camper van to pass through. So, good news: monsters are not an issue. (Admittedly, going back for drop items can be a pain.) When they finally reach the bottom of this dungeon, they’re met with a great spirit, who is pretty ticked off that they’re invading her home.

Again, the camper van remains the reason to read this, though there are many things here that will appeal to foodie isekai readers, such as Mizarie and Raoul selling filet-o-fish burgers to hungry adventurers for marked up “I’m at the airport” prices”. She levels up quite a bit in this book, mostly as, well, she runs all the monsters over. As a result, she gets things like an extra bedroom, a bathtub, a microwave and a dishwasher put into this magic storage space. Honestly, though, the best part of the van, aside from its sturdiness against orcs and goblins, its its GPS, which allows them to map the entire dungeon, locate monsters and other adventurers, and also solve the final puzzle that the Great Spirit has for them. No wonder the elf they’re traveling with decides to stay behind – she’s too jealous.

The third book is coming out in Japan in a month or so, and shows them going to the fantasy equivalent of Japan (boy, remember the villainess part of this book? The author doesn’t). To my surprise, it does not say it’s the final volume from the “three is enough” company Drecom. I’ll be reading it regardless. This remains the fluffiest sort of fun.

Like a Butterfly, Vols 1-3

by

Like a Butterfly, Volumes 1-3 by Suu Morishita

Suu Morishita series are an automatic buy for me, after Shortcake Cake, I went against my self-imposed ban on buying digital first series to get A Sign of Affection (one of my favorites of all time), so I was delighted to have a chance to read an earlier series, Like a Butterfly. It deals with communication issues in a different way than Sign of Affection but is extremely compelling.

Like a Butterfly

Suiren is incredibly beautiful, but her beauty is actually a burden. People have an oversized reaction to her outward appearance, and she chose to go to an all girls middle school because of the unwanted attention. Unfortunately she received just as much attention there, but did have the benefit of some fierce female defenders who would fend off boys at the school gates. Over time, she began to develop a self-defense mechanism of speaking very little and having almost no self expression in order to not provoke any type of unwanted attention. She thus has the nickname “the mysterious flower”. Suiren’s old friend Aya is her main companion, and helpful social navigator. Suiren notices Kawasumi, a quiet boy with glasses who is consumed by karate a couple times at school. He comes to her rescue when an upperclassman takes her bag and announces that he’s going to walk her home. His method is to use some karate moves but expertly pull his punches so his opponent knows full well that Kawasumi could absolutely destroy him. With Kawasumi, Suiren has found someone that she wishes would notice her, but he’s not really able to talk to girls either, even though he notices her back.

An additional complication is introduced in the form of Koharu, a forthright girl who has developed a crush on Kwasumi and starts asking him out. She comments to Suiren that she doesn’t want to be a passive flower but a butterfly who will fly towards whatever she wants. Suiren is struck by the contrast in their personalities and also wants to go after what she wants. Like a Butterfly develops at a glacial pace, but due to the nature of Suiren and Kawasumi’s communication difficulties any interaction between them is charged with meaning. Their friends serve as both cheerleaders and sources of running commentary when they aren’t really able to express their feelings. Suiren gradually makes some overtures, but Kawasumi’s radar for dealing with attention for girls is so broken that he isn’t able to understand what’s happening very well. By the third volume, the not-quite-a-couple has been to a festival and Suiren has actually cheered Kawasumi on at a Karate tournament. The art for this series is great, I was continually amused by the many variations of Suiren’s expressionless face that end up actually telegraphing her feelings. I was predisposed to like this series and the first three volumes did not disappoint.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 9

by

By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Eric Margolis. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

Good news, we’re back to a normal page count for Loner Life. Which is still over 400 pages, but at least it doesn’t break the 500-page barrier like last time. As for the content, honestly, a lot of this is set up for a battle we haven’t gotten to yet. It’s clear that we will eventually be fighting the Evil Church, and the way that Haruka is stressing about it, in his own bananas way, suggests that he’s sure they have a secret weapon similar to Nefertiri. As such, everyone in the cast takes turns attempting to go and fight the battle, while keeping the others safe. Haruka wants to go alone. The girls all want to go. Angelica and Nefertiri want to protect Haruka. It’s a vicious circle of self-loathing and love. I appreciated Merielle lecturing Haruka towards the end of this book, telling him that women are stronger than he thinks, and eventually they are going to have to (as Marielle has) kill people. Stubborn Haruka still wants to avoid this.

On the cover is Arianna, the cleric who arrived at the end of the last book. She’s from an offshoot of the Church that isn’t evil, and has come to the group to ask for help. If you look at the “inner cover” all these volumes have, you’ll see her looking crazed and holding a sword, but I think that’s a deliberate deception – she’s not secretly a bad guy, she’s just being put through Haruka’s Training from Hell (the funniest part of the book, as he grabs her and the other folks in her party and literally swings them like swords (they are also holding swords) until they level up enough). And then the Church holds the royal family hostage, so something has to be done. And that something is… MORE leveling up, as Haruka is still trying to learn how to fight normally, and the girls are all still one step behind when it comes to being strong enough to go fight a major enemy on their own.

As with previous volumes in this series, it requires the reader to have a lot of recall about all the books books and who all the characters are, even when you haven’t seen them in a while. I appreciated the plot twist with the merchants (and it helps to set up future arcs), but I could have used a quick reminder about where we were with the elves, as I forgot they came back with Haruka and everyone else. I did really enjoy one moment near the end as Haruka struggles because his body is moving faster than his brain, where he appreciates how, unlike himself (who has to level up the weird way) or the nerds (who are gamers and think like gamers) and meatheads (who are strong enough to simply punch things till they win), the girls are having to deal every day with leveling up and their body being slightly different, having to learn how to move slightly differently, not being able to trust footwork… he really does see how they’re struggling and improving vastly. Even if he won’t say it to their face.

I left out all the sex stuff, but be assured it’s still there, and this book drips with horniness. As always, though, the interest lies in the other stuff. Next time, the church battle? Nope, judging by the cover, Beastmen are next.

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 4

by

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.

So, good news and bad news with this volume. The good news is that, mostly due to Luke being recovering in bed till the climax, there’s very little of the annoying pining going on. We get Noelle resolving the “he told me he loves me” cliffhanger at the start of this book, and she does it in the most Noelle way possible: “Oh, he totally means as a friend”. Unfortunately, in place of the tortured romance we get another one of THOSE nobles. You know, the ones that aren’t just evil but super duper evil with bells on. They murder, they blackmail, they poison, they rape, they’re pedophiles. I bet they also signed up for the Columbia House CD program without paying too. They’re so ludicrously bad it was almost distracting. But that’s the nature of these series, and no worries, once Noelle and Luke reunite, they’re basically unstoppable.

Despite what the cover shows, the subplot with Evangeline becoming Noelle’s bestest friend is only at the start of the book. It’s actually rather sweet, showing Evangeline as sort of a Yunyun type, who has no idea what friends actually do, so Noelle basically takes her out on a typical commoner day, eating, drinking, and having sleepovers. After this we get the more serious plot: the 3rd prince, who is 8 years old and has always been sickly, has been poisoned and is slowly dying. This is because the king is trying to have the nobles pay tax again, and the rich corrupt nobles object. Now Noelle, seconded to yet ANOTHER unit, must not only find a way to save the prince but also has to figure out the mole in their department who has been gathering evidence on the corrupt nobles and is trying to take matters into their own hands. Could it be the most obvious suspect?

Well, yes, it is the most obvious suspect. This is not a mystery, it’s a romantic suspense novel with comedic undertones. As such, Letitia is clearly going to get her tragic backstory now, though that’s less interesting than the fact that the relationship between Letitia and Gawain in school mirrors almost exactly the relationship between Luke and Noelle, and it’s also pretty clear there’s a romantic thing going on as well, which both are avoiding and which likely won’t happen as long as there’s “I need to lie in order to protect them” going on on both sides. Luke and Noelle don’t have that issue, but they may have a new issue carrying into Book 6: Luke’s attempts at getting Noelle by his side for good are upset by the Prince coming in and demanding that she move to HIS side. Everyone Wants Noelle. What can she do? Honestly, possibly continue to study as hard as possible to defeat her rival!

This remains great fun, and had some nice dramatic tension near the end. Just remember the Evil Noble Who Is Really Really Evil lurks within.

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table, Vol. 1

by

By Yushi Ukai and Nekometaru. Released in Japan as “Shibō Yūgi de Meshi o Kuu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Yuan.

It’s my own fault, really. I get lured in by people assuring me, no, this one is really good, it’s different from those other ones. And don’t get me wrong, it is! This is a good book. It’s got really nice twists, the few characters who last more than five pages are interesting, and the heroine is a fascinating headcase. I can see why fans of death game books will really enjoy this. But I don’t dislike the death game genre because they all tend to be generic and cynical, or because they’re badly written. I dislike the death game genre because it involves people playing a game where they die. And I mean, spoilers, that happens here. Not counting our heroine, there are only a few other characters who survive these games. That said, if you’re not me, this is really good, and does have enough twists and turns to make it a quite interesting book even if you’re not a death game fan.

Yuki wakes up on a bed, dressed in a maid uniform. But it’s OK. She’s done this sort of thing before. She gets up and moves to the main room, where she meets five other girls, also in maid outfits. They’re here to play a death game, which is known to some of them but a total surprise to others. Yuki has done this 27 times before this, so is an old hand at knowing what to do and how to survive, and tries to guide the others through it. Unfortunately, the game is filled with deadly traps that require deadly choices, and it won’t let them go without at least a couple of deaths. Can Yuki manage to take all the experience she has and keep the others safe?… not really. That’s not what this book is about at all. Yuki is here to survive. And to do that, well, sometimes you need to do bad things.

The book starts off saying this takes place in a “deranged world”, and it’s not wrong. This is a world where constant death games are the entertainment, with contestants coming back over and over for various reasons if they survive. Oh yes, this may change in future books, but all the guests are young women or teenage girls. I get the feeling I know the exact audience this world is aiming for. The book also does a clever thing where the first half shows us Yuki in her 28th game, blase about everything, and the second half shows us Yuki in her 9th game, still with a bit of soul left in her. Yuki is, not to put too fine a point on it, a mess. Far from being there to put food on the table, it feels like she plays death games as she’s unable to really cope with any other kind of life. That said, she’s not an actual killer, like some of the other contestants. She’s just sort of broken.

Again, this was good, and I can see why it won awards (though I can’t really see why they had the judges do two of the three afterwords). But, again. Death games. I’ll stick with Higurashi and Umineko, but leave the Dangan Ronpa generation (which gets mocked in this first book) to its own.

You Are My Regret, Vol. 2

by

By Shimesaba and Ui Shigure. Released in Japan as “Kimi wa Boku no Regret” by Dash X Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight.

It’s a good thing these books are relatively short, because wow, I really cannot stay too long in the depths of the teenage drama we get with these books. When the funniest joke in the book involves taking a box cutter away from a girl clearly using it on herself, saying he’s borrowing it and to ask for it later, you know you’re not on the light and fluffy end of the romcom scale. I mean, we all knew that Kaoru was in love with Yuzuru, and that he was unaware of this, but trust me when I say that solving that little problem turns out to be the easy part of this book. Because Kaoru also has her own life to deal with, and it’s one that Yuzuru is unaware of… but that will soon change. I suppose the good thing about being a teenager is you’re allowed to make mistakes while you’re young, but man, I really wanted to punch him about 3/4 through this book.

That cover image sort of sums up the entire book, but let me try my best anyway. Kaoru is coming to club a lot more erratically after the events of the first book, mostly as she sees that Yuzuru and Ai have made up, and clearly they’re a couple again. (That’s not quite true, something that allows the climax of this book to happen.) But Kaoru is also dealing with a lot of home trauma, some of which Yuzuru has heard about before. Her mother has had a string of bad men in the house, and apparently thinks little of having sex with them anywhere and everywhere in the house, which Kaoru has walked in on more than once. Worse, the new guy *seems* like a more respectable dude, but clearly isn’t. The stress of this combined with her first love being shattered leads her to try to push Yuzuru away as hard as possible. Unfortunately for her, he’s figured out how he screwed up with Ai, and is now over-correcting too hard in the other direction.

I am glad that Yuzuru’s mother emphasized how dumb he was when he intervened with Kaoru and her mother, as I dearly wanted to throttle him. I get it, the last time he didn’t talk things through and pulled away, it all went to shit, so there’s no way he’ll do that again. But here, not only does he get into physical danger thanks to a guy who (surprise) does turn out to be a piece of shit, he also manages to be Kaoru’s hero, which means there is absolutely no way she’s not confessing to him now. Fortunately, the girl whose problem will take up the third (and final?) volume does not appear to be in love with Yuzuru. Yet. I also felt that the resolution between Kaoru and her mother happened WAY too fast. I could say the same about Kaoru and Ai, but Ai has been presented to us as “flaky” since the start of the series, so I’ll give it a pass here.

So, if you like the Higehir author, or teen angst, this is still worth your time. Just.

Babel: A Girl Embarks on a Journey of Words

by

By Kuji Furumiya and Haruyuki Morisawa. Released in Japan as “Babel I: Shoujo wa Kotoba no Tabi ni Deru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Amelia Imogen Mason.

I will admit this review is slightly harder now that the Spring Anime season is al;most over. “From the creator of Unnamed Memory, the hot new anime, a semi-sequel!” would be a much bigger deal if the anime had not been a lifeless mediocre adaptation determined to get through the story as fast as possible. Which is a problem when you have an author that writes books as long as Furumiya does. This one is 460 pages, a good 300 pages longer than the average KonoSuba. It doesn’t lend itself well to a speedrun. So, I will amend: if you enjoyed READING Unnamed Memory, and also enjoyed the author’s series A Pale Moon Reverie, this is more of the same, with good character writing and some exciting action scenes. And yes, it is a sequel, but it takes place 300 years after the first series, and you don’t need to have read it to get a lot out of it.

Shizuku is a young college student dealing with a massive case of middle child syndrome when one day she is confronted with a mysterious hole in space, which transports her to another world. She is lucky to survive landing in the middle of a desert, and ends up in a town that is clearly nothing like the Japan she knows. Fortunately, she comes across a stoic but kind mage, Erik, who promises to help her try to find a way back home, if she will teach him about her mystery books. As, while Shizuku can speak the same language as everyone else in this world, that does not extend to reading or writing, so she just has her college textbooks, which are in Japanese. And English, and German, which she’s also studying. Can she get home without getting involved in plot stuff? And can she learn to read and write from the handsome but remote young man with a mystery past?

Shizuku is easily my favorite part of the book, yet another heroine with massively low self-esteem who doesn’t understand how fantastic she is. Her older sister had extroversion and charm, her younger sister had focus and anger, and Shizuku seems to have seen herself as someone who wasn’t really much of anything, floating through life. That said, she’s able to stand up to a lot of situations in this book that would give most people the screaming heebie jeebies. The isekai part of this book (which was rewritten and expanded from a version that came out in 2016) is new to this author, whose Unnamed Memory was known for avoiding the standard light novel cliche. But it’s handled well here – Shizuku only has her college freshman education, which means that she struggles to explain things she learned through cultural osmosis, and she will not be inventing mayonnaise anytime soon. That said, the fact that she isn’t of this world allows her to save the day at the end of this book, and I expect this to continue.

This has already ended in Japan, and so we know there’s 3 more books, no doubt as big as this one. I’m here for them. I really love this author.