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From the Vault: Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer

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This month, I’m reaching into the PopCultureShock vault for a review of Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer, one of those offbeat titles that Tokyopop published back in the aughts. It’s not hard to see why Tokyopop thought there was an audience for Mihara’s work, as she played an important role in defining the Gothic Lolita aesthetic. Tokyopop licensed five of her works—Doll, Haunted House, IC in a Sunflower, Requiem in Phonybrian, and The Embalmer—but they didn’t really catch on with North American readers. That’s a pity, as titles such as The Embalmer, Doll, and IC in a Sunflower were anything but cookie cutter, tackling difficult subjects with sensitivity and style. (Well, most of the time; some of the stories in Sunflower haven’t aged particularly well.) Readers interested in tracking down The Embalmer should note that Tokyopop only translated four of the seven volumes before canceling the series; used copies are relatively easy to obtain through Amazon and eBay, however. A quick search of WorldCat indicates that there are public libraries around the US that still have copies as well.

Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer, Vols. 1-4
Story and Art by Mitsukazu Mihara
Published by Tokyopop

Let’s face it: even in a medium known for exploring a diverse array of topics—cooking, Viagra, Linux, vampires—embalming doesn’t sound like a promising subject, yet Mitsukazu Mihara’s gripping manga is less an examination of death and decay than a meditation on how coping with loss gives meaning to life.

The series focuses on embalmer Shinjyurou Mamiya. At first glance, he looks like the quintessential bad boy with his skate punk wardrobe, rock star ‘do, sloppy digs, and fondness for the ladies. That’s certainly how Atzuki Natsui, his housekeeper and love interest, views him. Shinjyurou, however, proves more substantial than his casual demeanor might suggest. In a country where Buddhist custom dictates that bodies be cremated, his profession inspires hostility and suspicion from grieving families and medical professionals alike. Shinjyurou, however, reaches out to skeptics with the argument that embalming is a service for the living, not the dead. By preserving (and sterilizing) the body of a tuberculosis victim, for example, Shinjyurou allows the man’s young son to hug his father goodbye—something that would have been impossible during the man’s final days in quarantine—while Shinjyurou’s reconstruction of a badly mangled ballerina helps her grieving fiance imagine the wedding and professional debut she was denied by a deadly car crash.

Each volume of The Embalmer has a slightly different rhythm; some read like anthologies of thematically related stories, while others contain more conventional, multi-chapter story arcs involving the lead characters. Volumes one and two, for example, consist primarily of vignettes about Shinjyurou’s clients with a sprinkling of chapters exploring his personal life. In volume three, Mihara shifts gears, delving into Shinjyurou’s past to explain how an aspiring medical student from Okinawa ended up studying mortuary science in Pittsburgh. Volume four returns to the same format as volumes one and two, offering both glimpses of the embalming profession and scenes from Shinjyurou’s muddled courtship of Atsuki.

Volume four also includes an afterword from Mihara explaining her interest in embalming. Contrary to what one might expect from a manga-ka best known for her goth-loli motifs and dark themes, Mihara’s curiosity about the practice stemmed from personal experience, not a general fascination with death:

The inspiration for this book came from the death of my friend. Because of the funeral schedule, I didn’t feel like I was able to properly say goodbye. I think embalming is a technique well suited to Japan, where we often have very little time. So the circumstances led me to investigate embalming…

It’s this personal investment in the material, I think, that prevents The Embalmer from shading into ghoulishness or sentimentality. Mihara did her homework on the subject. Each volume includes extras explaining the practice—origins, tools, training—and the difficulties faced by Japanese professionals in a country where cremation is the norm. At the same time, however, each volume contains vivid, poignant scenarios that dramatize the very human need for closure when a loved one dies unexpectedly, showing us how personal tragedy leads to catharsis. Mihara’s highly stylized figures—often rendered with slender, angular frames, coal-black eyes, and dark shocks of hair—and empty backgrounds amplify her characters’ shifting moods from despair to peaceful acceptance.

Tokyopop has done Mihara’s work justice with a smooth, idiomatic translation, helpful notes explaining pop culture references, and a distinctive cover design in a muted palette of green, gray and black. It’s a worthwhile addition to every serious manga fan’s collection, and a fine introduction to the unique art and storytelling of Mitsukazu Mihara.

This review originally appeared at PopCultureShock on September 18, 2007 at http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga-review-mitsukazu-miharas-the-embalmer-vols-1-4/42616/.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons, Vol. 1

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By Izumi Sawano and Miru Yumesaki. Released in Japan as “Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

I went into this wanting to like it. I’d heard rumors that it was being disparaged on forums because it had one of THOSE shoujo boyfriends. You know, controlling, possessive, etc. The sort that seemed to be in every title from Viz Media circa 2002. The rumors are not QUITE true… OK, they’re maybe half true, but that’s not why this book doesn’t work. The book doesn’t work, chiefly, because its heroine is a dimbulb, and not in the fun way. She wants to be Katarina Claes, but she’s just too manic, too aggravating, and the eccentricities that are supposed to explain why everyone is doing this after ten years just read like her not bothering to try to deal with anything at all. Add to this a writing style that screams “I’m so wacky!” every page, a big brother that makes the sadistic prince look like a cupcake, and the standard “anytime I am embarrassed, I overreact in a ridiculous way” character tic, and this is hard going.

Leticia is a duchess who has been engaged for the last ten years to Clarke, the crown prince. This means she has been getting grueling lessons in how to be royalty for those last ten years. So when she spots her fiance with Brianna, a buxom black-haired beauty, she leaps to the conclusion that their engagement is broken (perhaps she’s read this plot in 87 other light novels) and immediately flees the palace, flees her house, and flees to a backwater part of the country, where she plans to climb trees, fish, and do all the other things that she was never able to do when she was a princess in training. There’s just one problem. She’s still engaged. Clarke really, really, really loves her. And now she’s coming back with him, and will not be allowed to escape once more. Even though she keeps trying. Again and again and again.

I hate reading too much into this plot, because it’s clearly meant to be a broad comedy, and everyone in it should be treated as a caricature. But the moment you try to apply a realistic lens to any of this, it becomes desperately horrible. We only see one flashback of the “princess lessons” themselves, but they’re apparently so brutal that they essentially shut Leticia down for ten years, to the point where she doesn’t even listen or react to people in any normal way. Um… that sounds like abuse? Clarke, at least, calls off the lessons once she is captured. As for Clarke himself, the book can’t decide if he’s a sweet lovestruck prince pretending to be a yandere sadist, or if he really is a yandere sadist. Oh yes, and the entire plot is resolved by the 112th page, meaning the last third of the book is a series of after stories giving us various short clips of what comes next, all with the same thrown together style.

On Twitter I called this the stupidest light novel I’d ever read, which ended up not being quite true. The plot did justify itself within its own framework. But boy was this a chore to get through. Somehow there’s a Book 2, which actually might be better than the first, as it focuses on Brianna, the gold-digging girl who keeps hanging around even after her role in the “plot” is long since dispensed with. That said, it’s not enough for me to read it.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 6

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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.

This is another Bookworm volume that’s more relaxed and peaceful than others. The last book promised a huge upheaval in Rozemyne’s life, and this volume is all about how that upheaval is going to affect everyone around her. Its pretty much got everything you’d want in a Bookworm volume… well, OK, there’s a long, long, extended story told from Detlinde’s point of view. That was nightmarish to read. But other than that. The most amusing thing about the volume is the fact that everyone knows that something is going to happen soon to knock everything off the rails, because Rozemyne’s life is a series of such events. They have a year till she moves to the Sovereignty, those she employs have three years… but they’re all preparing to move at a moment’s notice because bad things always happen to this girl. Admittedly, she always makes them into good things, but that is beside the point.

Returning from the Archduke’s Conference, there’s a lot to discuss, namely how Rozemyne is moving to the Sovereignty in one year’s time. She’ll need servants, but not all of them can go with her, and Ehrenfest can’t lose ALL the people attached to her. So some folks have to choose whether to stay or go, which is made more difficult by the fact that Rozemyne, who is trying to be considerate, is not making her own feelings very clear. Meanwhile, she’s managed to save Ferdinand for now, at least, and proceeds to send him enormously valuable paper, and he sends her piles and piles of gifts in return, along with a letter that even asks, in obscure noble language, “do you like me in a romantic way?”. Rozemyne being the glorious asexual hamster that she is, does not understand this at all. (Yes, I know, Rozemyne’s asexuality will last exactly until the author decides to have her be attracted to Ferdinand, but let me have this for now.)

There’s a lot of great stuff happening here. Wilfried, given everything that’s been going on around him, and his low point in the last two books, took things a lot better than I expected. The scene with the four siblings having a tea party was marvelous, and it was amusing seeing Charlotte and Rozemyne trying to one-up one another in praise. Elvira and Rozemyne also had a long heart-to-heart, and we get a better understanding of just how AWFUL everything was in Ehrenfest before Hurricane Rozemyne arrived a good 20 or so books ago. Of course, there’s still some ominous rumblings going on – the aforementioned Detlinde story is a walking collapsing disaster, and Sylvester’s story basically has to have him talk his way out of a cleverly engineered trap (probably by Georgina, let’s face it). So yeah, even we don’t think everything will go smoothly in a year’s time.

Next tie we’re back to the academy, but no one cares, because if you look at the cover for the next book in the series… it’s finally happening! Join us for literal character growth.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 9

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Well, the good news is the Spellblades anime was not the complete disaster the way, say, Spy Classroom is. The bad news is that it wasn’t all that great, either, and I doubt a lot of folks who hadn’t read the books will be reading the anime and going “whoah, need to read that”. Which is a shame, as these really are a series of great light novels, but alas, “first rule of anime: drop the internal narration” strikes again. As for this volume, it was mostly excellent, with one major exception which I will get to. It also had a hell of a cliffhanger, as for once the author did NOT write the end of an arc with “and I’ve run out of pages, so bye”, but instead teases us with something that I really don’t want to have happen but will also be really interested in if it does. That said, most of this is the last of the tournament, so fight, fight, fight.

There are three big battles in this book. First, Oliver, Nanao and Yuri have to fight Ursule Valois and her other team members, Generic Person 1 and Generic Person 2. This gets into a long discussion of sword styles but is derailed a bit by a flashback that made me want to drop the series. After that, Stacy, Fay and Chela go up against Richard Andrews and his team of final bosses, and do their best despite Chela basically being told “you can’t win because the teacher is your dad”. Finally, Team Andrews and Team Horn get a knock-down, drag-out battle which allows Yuri to actually become a real live boy but gives Nanao her worst nightmare: an erotically charged swordfight between Oliver and someone who isn’t her.

There are so many ways that this series feels like it was written by an emo 24-year-old boy. Sometimes this is awkward but endearing, such as Horn and Andrews battling to see if they get to call each other by their first names and maybe hang out sometimes. Sometimes this is pretty damn cool, such as Katie sticking to her principles so much that she might eventually turn evil and die, or Chela needing to be Bright Slapped by her dad. And sometimes it’s really awful and stupid. I don’t like “let me show you a flashback to my super evil abusive family to show you why I am super evil and abusive” to begin with, but this one adds a kitten to the trauma to make things extra horrible. There was no need for that, and I say this as someone who wrote very similar things when *I* was 24. That said, I’m never going to be able to stop Spellblades wearing its heart on its sleeve, which means that sometimes you get really awesome stuff, and sometimes you get this. It’s all just out there on the page, everything.

So the arc is over, go in peace. Tune in next time to see if Yuri dies, if Katie turns evil, or if Oliver and Nanao finally bang. The first two are far more likely than the third.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 10

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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.

Good news! This is a far stronger volume of Bofuri than the previous two were, and I think I can see why: the last book I really enjoyed was also pretty much just Maple and Sally, with the others barely appearing. I definitely enjoy the rest of the guild, there’s nothing wrong with them. But something about the main duo of the series causes the author to up their game. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s no major character development for Maple here or anything, she’s pretty much the same. (Sally… well, I’ll get to Sally.) But it’s simply fun and relaxing watching these two besties steamroll through the dungeons on earlier floors that they missed just to be able to see a really great view, or have a picnic, or learn about new ludicrous techniques. Well, only Maple gets that last one, as she manages to turn dark angel (scary) and also make her weird Atrocity ball do a Katamari Damacy (scarier).

Everyone’s still on the 7th level, and there’s no sign we’re seeing the 8th right away. So Maple and Sally decide to go sightseeing, going back to the earlier levels and taking in things they didn’t get to the last time around. They also meet new characters while they’re at it, because you can’t JUST have Maple and Sally and no one else, alas. Appropriately, of the two pairs they meet, one feels very Maple (Velvet, a brawler pretending to be an ojou, and Hinata, her introverted backup) and the other feels very Sally (Wilbert, an insanely powerful archer, and Lily, his maid backup… except when Lily is the powerful warrior and Wilbert is the butler backup). These two pairs make Sally worried, as she knows that they’ll be doing PvP before long, and she is concerned that she and Maple don’t have the synergy of the other two pairs… despite the entire book being evidence to the contrary.

The first anime had finished when this was being written, and I’m not sure if the author noticed the Maple/Sally yuri fans and decided to play it up a bit, or if this was always the case. Regardless, there’s a lot more yuri subtext than usual here, almost all of it on Risa/Sally’s end. Risa is a gamer girl who has struggled with the fact that her best friend has never really been able to keep up with her in any of them. Now they have this game, which plays to Kaede’s eccentric strengths, and it’s like heaven. She notes that she wants to keep playing with Maple like this forever (romantic, but hopefully not a death flag – I can’t see Bofuri ever getting dark), but she also wants to FIGHT Maple directly, even as she knows that Maple really isn’t into that sort of gameplay. It’s a combination of competitive tension and romantic tension, and it makes me wonder if the final book in the series will be Maple and Sally duking it out.

That said, pretty sure Maple will win. It’s her series. This was a terrific volume, though, and next time the rest of the cast should be back as well.

A Pale Moon Reverie, Vol. 2

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By Kuji Furumiya and Teruko Arai. Released in Japan as “Tsuki no Shirosa o Shirite Madoromu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li.

This is very much a book of two halves – literally, of course, because this author’s books are always 2-in-1 omnibuses, but also figuratively. The first half of the book is very much in the horror vein, as Sari and Xixu try to figure out why all of a sudden courtesans are closing their businesses and moving out of the city – and why everyone seems to be 100% OK with it. It’s an “eerie mind control” mood. Then we get the second half of the book, which runs on pure frustration at the two leads. I’m used to book where the romantic couple aren’t a couple because neither of them bother to communicate with each other, but here it’s weaponized, as Xixu’s heroic-but-dumb need to put Sari’s desires above literally everything else leads to Sari abandoning her humanity entirely, and it will take a huge shock to get her back to an equilibrium. and no, the huge shock is not going to be a kiss. This is a far darker series than that.

There’s finally a new shadeslayer in town to take some of the workload off the others. He’s… nice. Very nice, but a bit weird. And also obviously super evil? Sadly, the denizens of Irede are very quick to open up to him, and worse, to listen to what he suggests. This includes Sari, much to Xixu’s dismay. It will take outside help to try to fix this problem… and unfortunately, the outside help may end up being even more of a problem. Then Sari turns 17, and she seems to be growing into her godhood by the day. Something that is accelerated when a new courtesan arrived at the pale Moon, and she turns out to be Xixu’s childhood friend and first love. But Sari doesn’t care about that, not at all. She’s a god, after all, she has no need for pesky human feelings.

As you’d expect, this is a very good book, if difficult to read at times. I am starting to wonder if any of the cast bar Xixu are going to live through the series. I like that we don’t snap back to normal at the end of a crisis – the villain essentially brainwashes a large number of courtesans to leave Irede and go to other cities, and… they don’t return when everything is resolved. Likewise, we find that the villain is a normal shadeslayer who was possessed… but unfortunately, the possession “overwrote his ego”, so there’s no saving him. Hell, even the first book ends up having some of its minor victories overwritten here, as one of the characters sacrifices themselves, and another is ALSO possessed by evil. That said, I think in the end most readers will be agreeing with Thoma: if only these two had simply gone to bed with each other and not been considerate to a hellish degree, everyone would be MUCH better off.

The author indicates that the next volume will be the last, which is good, as the books are worth reading but also exhausting. Definitely recommended, though.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 13

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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 have been quite a few antagonists over the course of this series, but, with the exception of a few, they’ve mostly been pathetic mooks whose job it is to get humiliated and destroyed by Lloyd. That said, this is not a series that is really interested in killing off its villains, for the most part, so something had to happen to them. Why not a high-security prison? Because, of course, Last Dungeon Kid also enjoys making fun of various types of cliched plotlines, and “prison break story” is certainly one of them. The only problem there is that imagining Lloyd breaking out of prison is… ridiculously easy. He wouldn’t even break a sweat. Especially if he’s not even aware that it’s a prison at all. Ah well, it’ll lead to some good comedy. Well, right until the end, of course, when Eve makes sure we have a dramatic twist.

Rinko and Alka are trying to research all the evil things Eve has been doing, and have noticed that she seems to be getting a lot of experimental corpses from somewhere. A likely place is Hell’s Lock, the prison for those who commit the worst crimes in the kingdom. Clearly they need to send in someone to investigate, and they do… but somehow, because this is that sort of series, Lloyd ends up taking their place. Unaware he’s investigating, or even in a prison, Lloyd thinks this is essentially a training camp for mental fortitude. The evil warden does not take kindly to his cavalier attitude, and decides to torture and kill him on the sly, because (of course) the warden is the one supplying Eve with bodies. Still, killing Lloyd may prove a challenge…

This took a while to get going, like a lot of books in this series. It tends to run on “farce” principles, and thus is always better when everything is fast and chaotic, rather than providing setup. It didn’t help that I had honestly forgotten a few of the recurring villains, though some of them came back to me more easily than others. (Phyllo’s continued rage at the man who destroyed her family is both in character and very funny. She also gets the best joke of the book.) That said, as I noted last time, there is still a vague serious component to this series that occasionally rears its head. The warden’s sudden realization of who he really is is somewhat chilling, but it’s Eve taking off the bunny suit to reveal her face that’s the payoff. Well, OK, it’s probably the payoff for next book, which I assume will be Selen-based. I also liked Lloyd’s rage and fury, which given his normal attitude was quite refreshing.

All in all, a pretty good volume. More madcap next time, maybe?

The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur

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By Carlo Zen and Shinobu Shinotsuki. Released in Japan as “Youjo Senki” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Richard Tobin.

As we get to the beginning of the end of this series, it’s worth looking at something we’ve discussed before: which world war is this? Tanya states clearly in this book she thinks she’s still in “the first war”, but is also very much fighting communism of a Stalinist rather than Leninist vein. We also have a clear Churchill analogue, as well as Lavrentiy Beria, who remains easily the most disturbing of all of Tanya the Evil’s disturbing villain characters. That said, given that this is a war fought with magic, I perhaps should not worry about it too much. In this particular war, the Unified States have finally entered the fray – at the behest of Ildoa, which the Empire is currently toying with. Given that the Empire is on its last legs, and the Unified States are a juggernaut of money and endless weaponry, you’d expect this to be bad news. You’d reckon without Zettour, though, who has decided to drag this entire war down into the gutter, to the point that even Tanya is aghast.

We pick up where we left off, with the Empire’s forces, including Tanya and company, in Northern Ildoa. Ildoa is not particularly worried about this – after all, they have far more manpower than the Empire, and the US is also now there. In addition, Colonel Drake’s international forces are told to leave the Federation and head there as well, which is incredibly aggravating for him, but that’s politics for you. That said, Ildoa and the US are not prepared for the Empire’s definition of war, which has changed tremendously over the course of the last few years. They still believe in things like honor and reason. The Empire has forgotten all that. Of course, given that Tanya keeps getting directed by Zettour into situations where she’s lucky to survive, she’s not worrying that much about this yet – and honestly would agree anyway.

I always enjoy seeing our heroes actually have to try a bit in the “military” part of this book. For all that Tanya’s attempts to escape this war have always failed on a political scale, there’s no denying her and her mage company are almost impossible to beat. Note the almost – Colonel Drake is in town, and not only are he and the Unified States using shotguns (which are supposedly banned, and Tanya gets so angry about this she literally writes a letter to the enemy in protest), but they also have Lieutenant Mary Sue, whose name may or may not be intentional, but if it is it would not surprise me. Tanya calls her a “bull” several times, and it fits – none of her company can even put a scratch on her, whereas Mary Sue nearly kills Tanya. The end of this series is going to have to have a final battle between these two, mano a mano.

The next books in the series are a two-parter, with the second due out in Japan in a few days. Given how long each Tanya book is to begin with, that’s sobering news. Still, I’ll always be hear to watch Tanya desperately try to figure out how to defect before everyone in the Empire is killed or executed. Also, kudos to the artist for that Mary Sue picture, which is hilarious and not remotely patriotic.

Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad!, Vol. 2

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By kabedondaikou and Yunohito. Released in Japan as “Risō no Seijo? Zannen, Nise Seijo Deshita! Kuso of the Year to Yobareta Akuyaku ni Tensei Shitanda ga” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

“Would you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage”, philosophers once said. It’s something that feels very relevant to this second volume of Fake saint, where a large chunk of it is taken up with locking Ellize in her bedroom forever because that way she won’t defeat the witch, won’t become the next witch, and the kingdom can be at peace. It’s a transparently stupid decision that ends up failing almost immediately, but the book at least shows us why so many people are making this stupid decision. It’s not only because everyone loves Ellize and is terrified at the thought of losing her, though that’s certainly part of it. It’s that this world was SO BAD prior to her birth. People starving, royal family dying in battle, misery and despair everywhere. Going back to that would be a horror show. That said, yeah, don’t lock up your one weapon.

Things are going relatively well for Ellize, who has negotiated most of the “bad end” parts of the plot that her “evil” game self did, and given that the witch is still refusing to come out and show herself, she gets to attend classes and try to figure out how to get rid of the witch without Eterna dying or turning evil. Unfortunately, the royal family, as I noted above, decide to lock her in her room forever so that everything can remain nice. They’re helped in this by her personal guard, including Layla, who feels exactly the same way. Sadly, “almost completely at peace” does not mean “completely at peace”, and the monsters decide that now is a perfect time to do one last huge assault on the capital, intending to massacre everyone. Can Ellize manage to get there in time? And just what is going n with this “game” anyway?

For the most part, if you’re reading this for the “fantasy” parts of the book, I’d say to just read Tearmoon Empire, which is funnier and has a more likeable heroine. That said, this series is doing interesting things with its “isekai” bit. Ellize may still be sounding like a cynical, selfish guy on the inside, but her actions are slowly starting to belie her attitude. She’s not attracted to Verner yet, but… Meanwhile, her actual Japanese self back home, even while slowly dying (every time Ellize appears in front of him for a status update/strategy meeting, another piece of his soul moves to her) is trying to find out why this is happening, and that involves going to see the creators of the game… and confirming that the game is rewriting reality both here and in Ellize’s world. I’m interested to see what’s really happening.

Everything is set up for the next volume to be the big climax, which makes it a bit of a shame that this series has 4 books and counting. Still, this is worth it for all the bits that aren’t done better in other, similar novels.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Savior’s Day of Rest

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By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

I’ve talked before about how at times I am unhappy with the story the author is telling, preferring that he tell the story of Allen and Lydia’s awesome life in the past, which we have been getting dribbled onto us in bits and babs, making us confused but also making us long to have been there. There’s more of that here, including Lily talking about her own past with Allen (and the implications of why she is super duper uber powerful and talented and yet is so determined to be a maid). But of course, the protagonist of this series is not merely Allen, though he’s certainly the primary one. The secondary protagonist is Tina Howard. And we’re seeing events as Tina would see them. She’s just as frustrated and annoyed that she isn’t able to know Allen as well as Lydia does, simply because she didn’t meet him till the first book, which Lydia has known him for years. Sadly, more bad news for Tina: Lydia starts her comeback here.

Well, OK, she doesn’t get the cover – she’ll have to wait till next time. The majority of this book is the epilogue to the arc we’ve been having for some time now, which means there’s less fighting (though we do get some awesome fights) and a lot more political finagling and wrangling. Allen is clearly the hero of the hour, and this time everyone is finally determined to give him the recognition – and title – and wife – he so richly deserves. This can be rather difficult, given that Allen seriously regards himself as powerless compared to everyone around him and deeply unworthy of most of his love interests. He even blows off a major meeting to go and stop Gil from trying to commit suicide by “it’s all my fault, please execute me but spare the others”. That said, the royal family also has its reasons they do not want Allen to get honored – and once they fail at preventing it, they try for the next best thing.

Lydia, theoretically, should be at a low ebb here. She hasn’t killed anyone, but she’s committed massive amounts of property damage, went mad when she thought for a moment that Allen might have been dead, and ended up becoming so overpowered that she has less mana than even Allen, at least temporarily. But none of that actually matters, because it’s clear that when Lydia and Allen are in the same room, she has such self-confidence and swagger that no one else matters at all. Don’t get me wrong, everyone else gets their chance to show off in front of Allen and also try to get him to pet them/snuggle them/other safe kinds of affection. But all Lydia really does is grumble mildly at these, she doesn’t regard any of them as real threats. Because she’s Allen’s partner. Even if that means helping him in the duel to prove he deserves the glory he’s being given. And even if it means fleeing the country with him. In fact, she packed in advance.

So yes, we now get what is jokingly referred to as the “honeymoon” arc, though there’s still no “he chose this girl” romance yet, and honestly the ongoing war would likely get in the way anyway. This remains one of my favorite light novel series.

The Asterisk War: The Grand Finale

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By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan as “Gakusen Toshi Asterisk” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

The Asterisk War has always been a series that not only speaks in cliches, but revels in them. There is not a single original bone in its body, and I think the author knows that and is unapologetic. That applies very much to this final volume, which is half a volume of fighting and half a volume of epilogue, complete with a “where are they now?” flashforward. We get Ayato saying that he won’t kill Madiath Mesa as that would mean becoming like him. We also get Madiath Mesa committing suicide, because the author is not Ayato. We get to see Saya casually disarm six bombs set along the entire arena… offscreen. Of course. We get to see the final fight between Julis and Orphelia literally end with an Ashita no Joe reference, right down to the art. And we get to see the author trying to pick between two harem endings despised by fans, and somehow managing to pick BOTH of them. It’s near genius, I loved it.

Never let it be said the cover doesn’t give things away. In any case, good news, the artist is well again, so there’s actual art to go with this book. We’re down to two main fights: Ayato and Saya vs. Madiath Mesa, which quickly just becomes Ayato when it is revealed that there is are bombs due to destroy everyone watching the final arena battle unless Saya gets off the pages of the book immediately, which she does. Meanwhile, Julis shows off the results of her ludicrous training with a ludicrous fight against Orphelia, one which features being able to briefly see into other dimensions, gravity vs. fire, and in the end just beating the shit out of each other like sensible people. After that we get “everyone’s in the hospital”, and then the aforementioned flashforward, as Julis has finally had to give in and become royalty.

So yeah, let’s get to that ending, the only reason anyone would still be reading this series. I had heard spoilers that everyone confessed to Ayato but he rejected them all and ran away. That turns out to be true, though we only hear about it in passing during the three-year flashforward. Most of the flashforward involves every main cast member making their way to Lieseltania, where Julis is the new Queen, after her older brother decided to pull a Samson act and take out most of the corruption in the country. Also invited is Ayato, who has a moment with Julis where he’s clearly about to confess before being interrupted by the other girls. But even the author admits in the afterword “Yes, Julis wins”. Also, please look at that cover again. So, for those fans of angry tsunderes who are first girl winning, congrats. Though honestly Julis hasn’t been that angry for a while now.

The Asterisk War was a series that knew how to do one thing well: fight scenes. It made it to 17 volumes by focusing almost entirely on those scenes, and the rest of the plot and characterization were like pastry puffs. Still, I’m happy I read it, even if best girl didn’t win. Possibly as she was sent away to disarm more bombs offscreen. Not that I’m bitter.

Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness, Vol. 1

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Esora Amaichi. Released in Japan as “Fukushokushi Lucia wa Akiramenai: Kyō kara Hajimeru Kōfuku Keikaku” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Osman Wong.

When you have a hit series, there’s always the temptation to do the exact same thing. Most publishers do this by having a different writer do something with a very similar plotline, or the same vibe. But there’s also the spinoff route. If you have a character who’s flitted in and out of the series so far, supporting our hardworking heroine, why not write the same sort of book only focusing on her? It would mostly deal with her career but there would also be the potential for romance! That said, Dahlia in Bloom, the parent series, is very much a one-man book. Dahlia may be surrounded by handsome men, but there’s only one man she’s prepared to be in denial over. That may be an issue with Lucia as well, as she’s clearly set up to be the love interest of Forto, her employer and clear frontrunner in the handsome man sweepstakes… and also married. Fortunately, the books always put career first.

Lucia is a young couturier with dreams of owning her own boutique, but at the moment still helps out at her parents’ gloves and socks business. All that changes when Hurricane Dahlia hits the city and the family is approached by Fortunato to go to the Merchant’s Guild with him to see if they can help with Dahlia’s new “toe socks” invention. Since the men of the family are all massive cowards, Lucia is the one who goes, and this ends up leading to her becoming head manager of Forto’s magical garment factory. As the book goes on, we see her overcoming adversity and handling the fashion dilemmas of an old man who wants to look less scary to his granddaughter, twins who have always been treated the same wanting to look different, and a man feeling awkward about wanting his clothes to be a bit more flamboyant. Lucia handles this all with aplomb.

Most of this book takes place at the same time as the second Dahlia in Bloom novel, and we see one scene from that book from Lucia’s perspective. That said, this was clearly meant to be read between the 6th and 7th Dahlia books, which means that sadly licensing difficulties have struck once more, and the book has lost a lot of its impact, because we know what Lucia’s reaction to “will you become my second wife?” will be from that book. The other odd thing in this book is a running theme of the city Dahlia and Lucia live in being LGBT-friendly. Lucia discusses wedding dresses for two brides, says to one of the twins that her partner might be a man or a woman, etc. That said, in terms of the main characters and the romances, the series sticks to what its audience wants and remains very heterosexual. I was sort of expecting the guy who wanted flamboyant clothes to be secretly gay, but no.

That said, this is a very solid spinoff, obsessed with clothes as much as the main series is obsessed with alcohol. It’s a must read for Dahlia fans.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord, Vol. 2

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By Satori Tanabata and Tea. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō Level 99: Watashi wa Ura Boss Desu ga Maō dewa Arimasen” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

Sometimes I am surprised when a book is not QUITE as cliched as I expected. This is a Villainess book, and the first novel had the supposed heroine of the game as the antagonist, so I was naturally expecting her to break out of prison and be an antagonist again. But no, she’s still there, still not recovered from mental trauma, and isn’t in this book at all. (As it turns out, the webnovel version of this book simply killed her off, but I assume the Kadokawa editors asked the author not to do that.) Instead, the “heroine” role is filled by Yumiella’s “friend” Eleanora, a girl so naive that you can sometimes hear the wind whistling through her head, and that works fine. Plus it’s not like we don’t have other cliches waiting in the wings. Eleanora’s father is trying to topple the kingdom, and he’s gathered all the evil nobles together to do so. What a bad guy… OR IS HE?

Yumiella and Patrick have graduated, and she is now returning to her county in order to run it now that her evil parents have been exiled. Patrick, of course, comes along, and seems to be trying to tell her something about the nature of their relationship – what, she can’t possibly guess. Unfortunately, the county is a mess, with poor roads, high taxes, and unhappy people. Fortunately, Yumiella may have very little common sense but she is quite compassionate and also ludicrously powerful, so she sets about fixing things immediately. Minus a few eccentricities. Like selling wooden swords. Unfortunately, she also happens to come across the evil plan I mentioned above, and has to tell the King about it and deal with the fallout – the fallout mostly being that, as the one behind all of this, Eleanora’s father is probably going to be executed. Which would make Eleanora sad.

The core of this book is the classic “two characters think they are having one conversation, but they are really having two conversations that do not interact”. Yumiella can be surprisingly obtuse, and it takes the entire book – during which she walks around with an engagement ring on her finger and also during which invitations to her wedding are being mailed out – to realize that Patrick is in love with her. We get a bit more of her past in Japan this time around – namely, that she was a massive chuuni, and in middle school she used to wave around wooden swords and also wore an eyepatch. If you think of Yumiella as Megumin from KonoSuba, you won’t be too far off. Thankfully, Patrick is NOT Kazuma, and therefore can be there to stop her worst ideas, like regarding the barrier stopping the church from dark magic attacks as a rival she has to destroy. Though, um, later she does indeed destroy it.

This remains fun if you like this sort of character, with the only real issue being that it was far too long. Hopefully the next volume will be a bit snappier.

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 11

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg and piyo.

I was a fan of Fruits Basket back in the day, when the manga was still running. When we got to the chapters where Yuki and Tohru define their actual relationship, I remember being somewhat baffled at the negative reaction by Yuki/Tohru fans. (Yes, I still use slashes. I’m old.) But of course I didn’t get it, I was a Kyo/Tohru shipper. There’s a reason people ship one pairing and not another, it’s because they don’t GET the other pairing. Now, to be clear, that’s not really what happens with Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower. I absolutely get Shusei/Rimi, it’s the primary pairing. But the last couple books have had Shohi have to assure both himself and everyone around him that Rimi ends up being just like a mother to him, and I found myself thinking “Ah, yeah, that’s why they were mad”. In the end, there really isn’t a choice between two love interests. It’s fate aligning so that one love interest can win and nothing else matters.

We begin with the action-packed finale, as Shohi’s forces do battle against Shusei’s forces, who (no surprise) turn out to have far more men than everyone thought. Fortunately, things work out for two reasons. One, the consorts finally realize what the Quinary Dragon thing means, and two, reinforcements arrive from Saisakoku out of nowhere, having been told to come by… well, gosh, it’s a mystery. After all of this, unfortunately, they do sort of have to execute Shusei, who was behind the entire traitorous revolt. That said, they immediately begin to waffle when it turns out that Shusei was in fact behind the ENTIRE traitorous result. On both sides. Meaning they’ve caught up with the reader, who probably realized what Shusei was doing a few books ago.

Despite my gripes, this is a decent finale. Rimi’s feelings for Shusei had been cast away as she was certain that “Lord Ho” had killed the Shusei she knew; once she realizes that it was all a massive trick, they come roaring back full force. Shohi will have to content himself with 2.5 of the 4 consorts (Ho is still going to remain loyal to Hakurei, and Yo hates men, but is starting to waffle). As for the solution of how to get out of the execution, it’s pretty clever, and relies very much on one of the past mysteries of the series also requiring a definitive execution to end it. I also liked hearing of Saigu near the end. Rimi’s one touchstone from her old country has never been seen in the series, but her presence has influenced Rimi’s maturation greatly. Still, I think the best part of the book was Keiyu, whose last middle finger to everyone was very clever.

So yeah, the shipper in me is grumbling, as I felt Shusei burnt too many bridges to have Rimi forgive him so easily. But that’s first love for you, I guess. In the end, I enjoyed this series about romance, mystery, and food.

Liar, Liar: Apparently, the Lying Transfer Student Dominates Games by Cheating

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By Haruki Kuou and konomi. Released in Japan as “Liar Liar: Usotsuki Tenkōsei wa Ikasama Cheat-chan to Game o Seisuru Sō Desu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

Those who have read my reviews for years know that I always try to include the Japanese publisher in some way. It’s something I’ve done before this site came about, when I used to type up the weekly release lists on Livejournal. The reasoning is that sometimes you learn about your tastes and others by knowing what books a company puts out. Hence “my eternal nemesis, Monthly Comic Alive”. And it has to be said, I don’t really get on with MF Bunko J. Sure, it has Re: Zero and Torture Princess. And The Asterisk War and No Game No Life are fun trash. But, well, I’ve dropped a lot of series this imprint puts out. Including, appropriately, Classroom of the Elite, one of those series I just don’t understand the fuss about. I bring all this up to let you know that lightning has struck again, and Liar, Liar, a series trying hard to be Classroom of the Elite, is not a very good book.

Hiroto has arrived at The Academy, a massive elite high school with 500,000 students, as a transfer student. As he tries to find his bearings, he asks for help from gorgeous student Sarasa… and then, in trying to stop her from getting hit by a truck, ends up getting her soaked by a puddle. Now furious, she challenges him to a game, and he discovers that basically the entire school is run around these games. She also turns out to be an elite 7-star student. He, on the other hand, has one star. There’s no way he can win. After winning, he goes to see the provost and finds that he is now basically the most powerful student in the school. Or rather, he has to pretend to be, because of reasons. Can he really win game after game with everyone trying to dethrone him, despite, in reality, having very little power?

The series revolves around lies in every possible way. Hiroto is possessed of a trait that allows him to keep a straight face no matter what he’s thinking, which seems to be part of the reason he was scouted to the Academy despite relatively terrible grades. Sarasa’s backstory is changed, and then changed again a little later, and her personality also does a 180. She should probably get the cover art for the first book, but the publisher knows what readers really want, so we get Himeji the maid, who has much larger breasts, to sell it. Both of them are clearly falling in love with him by the end of the book. The trouble is that the shifting sands and changed priorities throughout the book make it hard to care what happens. Especially when the series revolves around games you know Hiroto has to win, because if he loses it is implied he will be quietly killed off. Oh, have I mentioned that the two girls are both possibly his long-lost childhood friend?

If you want to combine No Game No Life, Classroom of the Elite and Strike the Blood, go read those three series instead, honestly.