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Reviews

Guardian: Zhen Hun, Vol. 1

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By Priest and Marmaladica. Released in China on the JJWXC website. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Yuka, Shry, amixy. Adapted by Ealasaid Weaver.

Its always tricky when you come at a series after everyone else. The hype can sometimes be too much to bear. I was being told about Guardian years ago by friends who had seen the live-action drama loosely based (fans always emphasize the “loosely based”, wanting you to be sure to know how many liberties the TV show took from the source) on this online novel series. When Seven Seas announced it a year or so ago the excitement was greater than almost any other danmei title they’d announced before. Hell, even the cover art draws you into the hype. Just look at those two! That said, the question as always is: is this any good or not? I’m delighted to say that it is. Guardian is a compelling supernatural police procedural mystery, with a great protagonist who’s a classic “jerk with a heart of gold”, and even a lot of the “jerk” is for show. As for the other guy on the cover… well, he’s the mystery.

Zhao Yunlan is head of a special department in the police that deals with supernatural crimes, and he and his somewhat pathetic newbie underling are called upon to investigate the scene of a very grisly disemboweling on the street. This leads him to a university, where he meets Shen Wei, a handsome young professor who Zhao Yunlan is immediately very, VERY attracted to. He proceeds to try to get to the bottom of the case while also flirting heavily with the awkward Shen Wei, who is giving off somewhat mixed signals. As they uncover missing underworld artifacts, a young woman desperate to keep her grandmother alive, and an anthropology field trip that gets somewhat hijacked by ghosts from the past, Zhao Yunlan is determined to find out why Shen Wei is so compelling to him… and so familiar.

BL is not really my wheelhouse, so I will simply note that the chemistry between these two is amazing and those who are here for that will not be disappointed. As for the rest, Zhao Yunlan is an excellent protagonist and a good detective, combining human psychology with a knowledge of the netherworld and various tricks up his sleeve. He tends to put himself in harm’s way a lot, as you’d expect from a “jerk who’s not really a jerk” guy, but he’s savvy enough that it comes off well. The supporting cast are mostly good, though it took me a while to get used to Guo Changcheng, who is the very definition of “comedy relief”, but does vaguely grow over the course of this book. The cases were also well done, though I am hoping when we hit the second book we’ll get a mystery that does not revolve around a woman being the cause of most of this. And the writing was extremely good (and, of course, that means the translation and adaptation as well), despite the need for lots of footnotes for Chinese terminology.

Basically: readers will enjoy this. Go get it. I give it a 9/10, minus one point for falling down right at the end and mentioning the dreaded word “cultivation”.

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 4

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By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun.

This is another one of those books where, after I had finished it, I had to double check the publisher’s website to confirm that yes, there is a 5th book in the series, and it doesn’t end here. It wouldn’t be surprising if it did. So many romcom series end with the main couple getting together, and not to spoil, but that’s what happens in this volume. I’m not too worried about spoiling it because everyone reading this series knows who the girl he loves is, and who the girl he has to reject is. It was all just a question of how long the series would drag things out. The good news is that it’s not that long. This series, despite its “back in time” premise, tends to err on the side of realism, and these sorts of “waffling guy can’t decide between two girls” situations don’t last as long as they do in manga or anime. Now, there is one spoiler left (also not much of a surprise), but we’ll get to that.

It’s back to school for our cast, and preparation for the school festival. Natsuki is still trying to decide between Hoshimiya and Uta… or so he says, but not only do we know that he’s fooling himself, HE knows it as well. He likes the girl that he’s liked since this series began. So it’s just a matter of working up the courage to confess to her, and to reject the other as best he can and hope it doesn’t destroy the friendships he’s come to love. Into this waltzes Serika, the emotionally weird girl we met in the last book, and she has a suggestion for Natsuki, especially after hearing him perform at karaoke: join a band. Join her band, in fact. He did try playing a guitar in his previous life (as well as practice karaoke), so it’s feasible. Is it what he wants to do going forward, though?

There’s a lot going on here given that it’s basically “when will he finally stop vacillating” as the main plot. We get a lot more development from Serika, who is incredibly talented and even writing her own songs. If this were a different series she’d be a new “harem member”, and she does admit to liking Natsuki, but knows that he’s in love with Hoshimiya. Indeed, everyone knows it. Including Hoshimiya, because he literally asks her to help him write the lyrics to the song he’s going to use to confess to her – something so brazen that she has to laugh, and so did I. I also liked Shinohara, the bass player, who allows Natsuki to try to help out someone who is exactly like he was the first life around. That said, the biggest surprise of the book was not that Miori was also in love with Natsuki – we guessed that – but that Reita actually *has* fallen in love with her, even knowing that she loves Natsuki. And Miori is far unhappier than she’s trying to sound about his new love being a success.

So yeah, there is a fifth book, and I assume it will delve deep into that, as well as “wait, how do these books work if we’re a couple?’. This is one of the stronger romcoms out there now. I really enjoyed it.

Spy Classroom: Pandemonium, Thy Name Is Sybilla

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

The author mentions in the afterword to this volume that they were worried about Avian’s impact on the reader, and in particular whether Avian would be likeable enough. It’s a good point. From the moment we met them, they felt like the unpleasant, annoying mirror to our heroines, and it was not helped by the fact that they were better than all of them at everything. Of course, the ending to the previous volume also seemingly cut off any further development there… or so you’ think. But the author’s main strength has always been manipulating the written word and literary tricks (this is one reason the anime failed so hard for me), and so we get judicious use of flashbacks here to show off that really, Avian weren’t as bad as all that. In the end, they’re another bunch of wacky, eccentric spies. Of course, another way of helping to make your new characters sympathetic is to introduce even more new characters and make them worse. The spies we meet in this volume are worse.

The book starts off with Sybilla getting captured by these new characters. Belias are an English team of spies (OK, it’s the “Spy Classroom” version of England, but come on, this is sort of like Tanya the Evil’s version of England) who are trying to find the one surviving member of Avian, who are accused of trying to assassinate the Prince. Sybilla has also been trying to find Lan in order to discover how Avian were all killed so easily. The two have wildly different ends, but the same goal, so they agree to team up – or rather, Belias forces Lamplight to team up with them. This will involve going to an exclusive ball where they will have to dance to attract attention – meaning that Sybilla and Klaus will have to be on the same page, something they’ve been failing at since the series began. Then things get worse, as the Prince really is assassinated.

As I mentioned in the last review, this series can get pretty damn dark. The girls all being flakes is probably the best way to distract from that. I had been wondering if Avian being dead was another fakeout, but no, all but Lan are indeed dead. What’s more, Belias aren’t the real bad guys either, being a classic example of “we were only following orders” spies who don’t bother to question things lest it lead them to realizing that they’re being manipulated. Which naturally makes it easy for them to get manipulated by Lamplight. Avian may be dead, but before they died they managed to train the girls in ways that Klaus has entirely failed to, and they’re now really coming into their own. They clean Belias’ clocks and get the intel Avian left for them before dying. Good end! I mean, provided they aren’t betrayed by one of their own, of course. That would be terrible.

So yeah, another vicious cliffhanger. And a longer than usual wait for the next volume, because we’ve got a second book of short stories coming first. Till then, enjoy a world that is so tragic that Sybilla has to create a happy backstory to keep her going.

The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Vol. 3

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

Again, my favorite part of this series is just out of my reach, which is everything that is happening in it, minus Octavia’s internal blathering. Don’t get me wrong, her narration is not all that annoying once you get used to it, and helps to drive home the fact that 95% of the time she’s improvising desperately rather than having a grand master plan. But I do love seeing her from the outside. Without that narration, she looks exceedingly crafty, mysterious, powerful, and possessed of knowledge that she just should not have. She does not behave the way than anyone thinks she should, her support for her older brother leaves much to be desired, and she comes across as… well, as a villainess. She’s trying to get a fake boyfriend so that she isn’t used as a womb to give her older brother an heir, but to others, she’s… well, trying to become Queen. Which is worrying, given the kingdom’s secret history.

After the revelations of the previous book, Octavia is a lot less keen to make Rust Byrne her fake boyfriend, given who he resembles. Unfortunately, he’s now very interested in her, in particular because she doesn’t react the way almost everyone else has when they see his face. To her surprise, the King is another one who reacted the same way that she did. Unfortunately, as they try to have a chat, traitors are trying something at the party, and have to be put down by armed guards. What are they after? And why is Sil now missing? The answer will draw Octavia into (pardon me, I’m so sorry) a web of mayhem and intrigue. Because there’s a secret room that has a passage to a different, even more secret room. And there are even more traitors there… including Sil? Maybe?

So many villainess books have some variation of “you can’t fight fate” built into them, with the villainess trying hard to change her destiny and the story itself fighting back as much as it can, even when that makes no sense in terms of how reality actually works. Here we see the past starting to repeat itself, despite Octavia’s intentions. And there’s no denying that Queen Idealia, the queen who was written out of history, has a lot in common with her. Hopefully not including being murdered by her brother. And of course there’s also the past of Klifford’s family, which everyone is still boiling mad over. What this means, I suspect, is that at the end of the day everyone’s going to see Octavia finding the tomb of the missing powerful and beloved Queen, discovering the *real* royal crown, and asking her uncle to present it to the King himself but say that she found it, as a massive power ploy. Not exactly what she’s intending.

Basically, if you like gambit pileups and a lot of handsome men, this is a fun little series. I read it for the bits in between the text.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 5

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

The last three volumes of MagiRevo have all had that feeling of “this is the final volume of the series” without it actually being true. It felt as if the author was not sure if it would be a success or not – very common in this medium. This is the first book where I believe that they wrote it knowing that the books were going to be going on longer, as it’s very transitional. There’s looking towards the future, as Anis and Euphie’s road trip is to survey the kingdom and look for new resources, plus they also end up learning of a number of new nations/races/possible enemies. At the same time, the entire book is also about coming to terms with everything that has happened in the previous four. Euphie’s on the throne, but this has not magically settled everyone’s hearts. Particularly Anis, who runs into Euphie’s brother at a ball and ends up projecting her own brother on top of him.

Anis is out of sorts, having essentially been told “try not to be too innovative for a bit, we need everyone to get used to the chaos you’ve already created”. But she can’t exactly turn that part of herself off. So Euphie plans to have the two of them tour the Eastern part of the kingdom, inspecting the damage caused by the previous monster stampedes and also trying to find new areas that they can harvest spirit energy. Of course, as Anis notes, this is a chance to go on a Love Love Honeymoon with her beloved – well, a honeymoon that involves two maids, two aides and a guard – and the guard is Navre, one of the men who was tied up in Lainie’s plotline in the first book. Then, to top things off, Anis had not really been listening when all of this was explained to her (because honeymoon fantasizing), and missed that they are, in fact, going to see her brother as well.

If I were to sum up this book, it would be “not bad, but not as good as the other books”. Part of the problem is Anis, who is still dealing with a pile of repressed guilt about what happened with Algard. (She is also, frankly, still not used to the fact that she is absolutely not the top in this relationship, and Euphie’s frank desires leave her a bit twitchy.) The heart to heart she has with her brother near the end was much needed, if only as I want her to move on from this as quickly as possible. There’s also a new character introduced who isn’t too bad, but seems designed to tick several “isekai cliche” boxes at once, so I was rolling my eyes at her arrival. On the bright side, Anis and Euphie get to have an awesome fight that I’m sure will look terrific if it ever gets animated in a theoretical Series 2.

So yeah. Mezza mezza. Still, we now have the promise of beastmen, and more vampires, and a bunch of other potential new plots. I just hope Anis will be back to being a fun ball of chaos next time around.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 27: Unital Ring VI

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Last time I said that it was a good book but the plot progression was minimal, and I’d say that the plot progression is even more minimal here. It’s also not quite as good a book. Stuff happens, don’t get me wrong. Lives are put in danger, especially in the Underworld, and there is a return there of a villain that I really didn’t care about when they were around in the main Underworld arc and care less about now that their descendants have returned. On the Unital Ring side, we’re headed up to a new level, and we’re interacting more with players from different games, but I sort of feel like Kirito is a metaphor for what Kawahara is trying to do with the series. He’s trying to juggle 3-4 plots at once and can’t devote all his attention to any of them. Frankly, I’d rather that he and Asuna try to figure out if Kizmel has been magically brought back to life (clearly implied near the end) than anything with dragon spaceships.

We pick up where we left off, with Ronie and Tiese staring at Eolyne and wondering if he’s just Eugeo wearing a mask, but the answer to that is still – so far – that he is not. They all then bond in a big bath scene, but then Kirito and Asuna are dragged back to Japan while Alice gets to stay and bond with her sister some more. They head back to Unital Ring to find that everyone else is tacking the floor boss, with Lizbeth staying behind so that someone can bring them up to speed. They then arrive on the new floor… the third “game” to do so, after Asuka Empire (which Yuuki and her friends played) and Apocalyptic Date (where the players are anthro). Unfortunately, these new gamers know Kirito’s reputation, and they’re also desperate because of some poor decision making, so they decide to kidnap Yui. Also a poor decision. And back in Underworld, Alice’s reunion is interrupted by a full-blown invasion.

There were a few scenes in this book I enjoyed. The entire sequence with the robot kitten was not only adorable but also showed off the issues that AI is running into – I loved it when we were told that, if it ran on AI, the kitten would start walking around on two legs like a human. I also liked Asuna and Kirito’s brief panic on returning to Unital Ring, which was sort of darkly funny – was everyone killed off while they were gone? But honestly, the main issue with this book was that there was simply too much going on, and it didn’t give me enough depth to really care about one thing over the other. This is especially true on the Underworld side, where we still don’t quite know who the main villain is, but the ones behind the invasion are frankly a group I would have been delighted to never see again. At least it wasn’t the return of Gabriel Miller. Yet.

If you’re still reading SAO, I’d say keep going. Eugeo payoff looks like it will be coming next time, and hopefully we get some dark elves as well. Just… not in this book.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 8

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By Iori Miyazawa and shirakaba. Released in Japan as “Urasekai Picnic” by Hayakawa Bunko JA. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

For the most part, this book is an emotional journey. It’s about Sorawo, a woman whose emotions have always been something of a foreign country (to herself, not necessarily to others) learning about what love is, what it means to love someone, and how that can change a relationship. And she has perfectly normal fears. She has a great relationship with Toriko now, one defined in the first book: they’re accomplices. But Toriko wants something more, and Sorawo knows it. That said, in case you were worried that this book would be all fluff and lack the sheer horror of the previous books, fear not. The middle of the book is here for you. What’s more, given that the book is about Sorawo’s feelings about Toriko, it makes sense that the horror is all based around Toriko. Let’s just say I hope this is never animated – I deal far better with horror as a written word than I do with horror as a visual medium.

Toriko has confessed to Sorawo, and says she wants a response. But she knows Sorawo is who she is, so she’s giving her a week to come up with this answer. This allows Sorawo to do a minor tour of the supporting cast to get some advice. College friend Benimori gives probably the most sensible advice, and seems delighted to find Sorawo, who has a bit of a reputation at their college, going through a real relationship. She talks with Natsumi, whose advice seems to be more about Natsumi than it is about Sorawo. She talks with Kozakura, who points out that their desire to go to the Otherside constantly, something almost everyone else would find terrifying, is what unites them – but that Toriko would stop doing it without Sorawo. And then finally, after a bus ride home that devolves into a series of Toriko-related visions, she goes to her apartment and confronts the girl she loves but barely knows.

I emphasized the horror, but rest assured there’s a lot of funny stuff here as well. The entire scene with Natsumi is amazing, complete with Natsumi calling Sorawo a “raging lesbian”, which is projecting if ever I saw it. Kozakura’s talk with Sorawo goes off the rails thanks to the presence of Kasumi, and leads to a self-help guide from hell. And the last part of the book, with Toriko and Sorawo opening up to each other, while also filled with sweet, touching moments, has its share of hilarity. We’ve known for a while that Sorawo is an unreliable narrator, but Toriko describing how Sorawo is ogling her constantly ever since they first met drives that home very well. Of course, we the reader have also seen that, but it’s been in the context of her internal monologue, so it hadn’t been apparent that it was written all over her face as well.

The sweet emotional bits are there as well, of course. I loved Toriko trying to do research into what she feels Sorawo’s issues might be – it’s a sign of how much she’s prepared to devote to their relationship, but also a sign of how little Sorawo opens up about her past – her matter-of-factness is disturbing, not edifying, even when she has to bluntly say “my family did not sexually assault me”. We also finally get a long look at Toriko’s mothers, what they did and who they were, as Sorawo finally realizes that in order to be Toriko’s lover, she needs to know who Toriko is and where she came from. And then there’s the part of the book that I think everyone will be talking about, the sex scene. At first disappointing, though very true to what Sorawo has told us, the reader, about her sexuality so far, it then rapidly moves in a very different direction. What follows is not only fulfilling for both of them but also 100% in character – both for them and the book. Kozakura would be completely unsurprised. They’re freaks, of course they have freaky sex.

We’re caught up once again, so I’m not sure where the series goes from here. We were introduced to a new character, who I didn’t have room to talk about, so it may do something with her. That said, this book is for those who’ve been waiting forever for these two to get together.

Accel World: Conqueror of the Sundered Heavens

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By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

There’s more spoilers than usual for the last third of this book, so if you avoid them FYI.

It’s been a while since we last checked in with Accel World. The previous volume was supposedly the end of the long, long, LONG arc and the start of another one, but that turns out to not quite be true, as most of this is setup for a massive cliffhanger. There was also a bit of frustration, as Haruyuki’s sacrifice felt like it was going to lead to a lot of angst for everyone. Which is kind of does, but that angst is mostly kept off the page. One of the more frustrating aspects to Accel World is that so many of the exciting scenes, or battles, or much needed group meetings happen away from Haruyuki, so we don’t really learn as much as we’d like. And the first two thirds of this book is much the same, really. Get ready, though, as the last third is THE PAYOFF.

Things have been happening since the end of the last book. Tezcatlipoca has been running amuck, and everyone in the Accelerated World is blaming the traitor, Haruyuki. Thus they’re challenging him to duels constantly. Haruyuki being who he is, he’s accepting all of them, but he’s really good by now, so he usually wins. Then, after briefly dropping by to make sure the owl is taken care of during the summer, and possibly recruit fellow owl caretaker Reina to join the student council, he goes off to a meeting of his new allies, White Cosmos. For the most part, they’re exactly what everyone but Haruyuki would expect – a bunch of normal, if somewhat eccentric, people with their own agendas. Admittedly, some of those agendas include forcing Haruyuki to total point less, but hey. After all that, though, he’s forced to do something he’s been avoiding all this time: talk to Kuroyukihime.

Or rather, to Sayuki. Yes, Accel World finally gives in and admits one of its biggest mysteries since the start of the series. Haruyuki has known her name since the start, but he hasn’t actually said it till now, and we also get the name of her sister as well. And there’s a very good reason for all of this: we finally get a mutual confession and a kiss. The idea that Haruyuki is not only in an enemy group now but may be forced to fight against all his friends – and possibly get pushed to lose his points/memories, as well as the same anger for Kuroyukihime, leads them to finally take that big step. Unfortunately, any additional progress (as well as the long postponed trip to see Haruyuki’s family) will have to wait, because the mid-range guilds have been trying to take out Tezcatlipoca and have instead unleashed something much worse… more new characters to have to remember. Oh, and a new game. So long, Brain Burst, it’s been nice.

I admit that this book started a bit slow for me, as it had a lot of scenes I didn’t really care about and was putting off scenes I wanted to see. But when it got to the payoff, it was quite good. Also, hey, a portal! Who doesn’t like portals?

Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight, Vol. 2

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By Fuyu Aoki and Minori Aritani. Released in Japan as “Doinaka no Hakugai Reijо̄ wa О̄to Elite Kishi ni Dekiai Sareru” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Dawson Chen.

This series continues to be excellent in terms of how it handles its heroine, who has spent most of her life being terribly abused. In the first book Chloe successfully ran away (after avoiding an attempted murder) and settled in as Lloyd’s “housekeeper”, but the trauma does not magically go away. She notes that she’s gotten better with knives now, but attempting to tell Lloyd about her past sends her into a huge panic attack. What’s more, when she runs out of house to clean and wonders what to do, it becomes apparent that being worked like a dog as a child has left her with no room for any hobbies. She doesn’t know how to do downtime. Fortunately for Chloe, she comes across the same answer that so many of us do: reading books. Indeed, she’s reading romance novels, ones with a lead man who is very, very reminiscent of Lloyd. Unfortunately for Chloe, family is hard to get away from completely.

The first part of this book is relatively light and fluffy. Chloe discovers the world of books. She’s also getting along very well with everyone in town, and even the bookseller is starting to fall in love with her. Unfortunately for him, she only has eyes for Lloyd… even if the two of them are both still a bit too broken to actually confess these feelings. Meanwhile, Lloyd is having to deal with new recruits, including a noble who has good skill but unfortunately is also an asshole who feels he’s above everyone else. This would normally not be that big a deal, but Lloyd forgot his lunch, so Chloe goes to the castle to bring it to him, and the new recruit menaces her. Cue boss music.

I’ve talked before about how a lot of these light novels have “cartoon villains”, which is to say bad guys with no redeeming features who are there to be as evil as possible. Don’t given them pets, they would kick a puppy. The interesting thing in this book is that we get two definite antagonists, but one of them is, when it comes right down to it, just a massive jerk. He’s abusing his privilege, looks down on everyone, and expects the world to be handed to him. But that’s fine, as he’s also a knight candidate with skill, so he can have the jerk beaten out of him by Lloyd. Lily, however, Chloe’s sister, is not going to get an out. This is why Luke merely menaces Chloe (and gets Lloyd destroying him in a duel for his troubles), while Lily beats the crap out of Chloe until help arrives to arrest her and throw her in prison. Now, Luke invited Lily to the town to begin with, something she tries to take advantage of near the end. But he’s not an evil villain. Just a jerk.

There’s a third volume of this, and I wonder if Mommie Dearest will show up. But definitely a wedding regardless, I think. Good romance novel fluff/angst.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 15

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

Spoiler for my last review: she shrugged everything off. Yes, this author loves to play in the psychological trauma kiddie pool but knows which side his bread is buttered on, so instead of dealing with the possible dissociative idea of Yuna and “Miss Bear” being two distinct people, they have decided instead to just have Yuna feel vaguely uncomfortable about it for a bit and then get distracted by a giant floating island. This is one of the lighter and fluffier books in the series, which is unfortunate for me in that normally I’d have far less to write about, but there’s a bit more this time. The author has seen this series’ yuri fandom, and has decided they do not like it. In this volume, despite being propositioned by a girl her own age and having a mother offer her daughter up to Yuna for marriage, Yuna insists a) girl’s can’t get married, and b) she’s never getting married anyway. So if you had “ace Yuna” on your bingo card, congrats!

So yes, identity crisis is quickly forgotten, as the worst Yuna has to deal with in this book is the fact that she’s being forced to wear a different swimsuit every day to please the designer. She does various beach activities with the kids in this one, such as making a water slide, creating ice cream, or shooting off fireworks (without sound, alas). But the big news is the mysterious island, forbidden to go near, that appears and disappears randomly and has appeared once more. Yuna wants to explore that island, and unfortunately due to her lack of stealth Fina, Shuri, and Shia are along or the ride. The island ends up having historical interest, but also being a bit of a spoiler. Let’s just say there are monsters, and Yuna is tented as much as she ever is in this series (which is to say, not much). Then the vacation is over and it’s time to take everyone home.

I have to admit, taking Fina and Shuri to the island surprised me – Yuna is usually a bit more sensible than that. I get why they were taken along, as they totally would have tattled otherwise, and the goal here was to avoid having the “explore the island” secret come out. And yes, Yuna can just throw everyone into her basement via a bear door to play cards, so there’s no actual danger. But still… wait, why the hell am I complaining? This is a series where common sense is useless and you just have to accept we’re in the author’s strange mentality. This is also why Yuna is praised to the skies for giving all the 4-5-year-old orphan kids jobs with a paycheck, and vows to have more child labor in future. Yes, yes, fantasy world, orphans starve otherwise, but come on. At least she doesn’t buy any slaves. We have not quite reached that low point.

So yes, bear series is still “itself”, and aside from infuriating those who ship Yuna with… well, anyone… this is a typical volume in it. When do we get to go to “the land of Wa” anyway?

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 13

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By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Jyuu Ayakura. Released in Japan as “Risou no Himo Seikatsu” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT.

As I’ve mentioned before, this series was originally a webnovel, which ended around the events of the 4th book. Then it became a light novel series, Freya was added to the mix starting with Book 5, and has, frankly, become the main female lead. Sorry, Aura, you just aren’t in this series enough to count anymore. Even in this book, her role consists mostly of either finding out about stuff and telling other people about stuff. Now, to be fair, in this volume Freya does not exactly perform great feats, though you could argue that convincing her family to let her marry Zenjirou counts as one. She is part of the best moments of the book, though, as she has to confess to everyone how this marriage came about – which is this society of fantasy feudalism, is the equivalent of walking up to a married man and saying “I’m down, wanna bang?”. The reactions of everyone else to this news is hilarious, and worth the price of the book alone.

Freya and Zenjirou finally arrive in Uppasala, and get ready to inform the royal family of their betrothal. This goes about as well as you’d expect. That said, Zenjirou revealing that he has the power to teleport shuts up a number of people, and leads to a deal: if Zenjirou can take the traditional coming of age rite that everyone does and succeed, he will earn the right to ask for Freya’s hand. Since Zenjirou is, to put it mildly, not a physical powerhouse, everyone finds this hilarious. They find it a lot less so after they realize exactly how he’s going to win – even if it does end up taking a lot of physical labor as well. As for the other members of the family, the first prince is sent to Capua, there to meet with Aura – but, more importantly, to have a test of strength with Pujol. As for the second Prince, Yngvi, he’s basically Freya, only a guy. No, really, they’re twins.

There’s a lot of good humor in this book. Zenjirou’s plan to survive getting to the hunting site for the coming of age rite is hilarious and also something we should have seen coming. Eric’s reaction to Aura describing Freya arriving in Capua is also highly amusing, as is Pujol’s reaction on seeing the sword that was given to Aura as a gift by Uppasala. There are a few plot points that could carry over to the next volume, such as the fact that Margarette the maid seems to have secret parentage, and the ongoing war between the deeply religious church knights and the less religious rest of the continent. So far the holy wars seem very one sided against the holy, to be frank. And yes, Zenjirou and Freya are now married, and he goes off to spend the wedding night with her – which we do not see. We don’t even get a kiss. They snuggle a bit. These books are now the opposite of horny.

That said, we come to the end of this arc. And good news for Aura fans, the next cover has her on it… and also Freya, because hey, she’s the lead character now. Should start a new arc, though, which is fantastic news provided the series hasn’t ground to a halt in Japan or anything…

I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I’ll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World!, Vol. 1

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By Fukada Sametarou and Sakura Miwabe. Released in Japan as “Konyaku Haki Sareta Reijō o Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto o Oshiekomu -Oishi Mono o Tabesasete Oshare o Sasete, Sekai Ichi Shiawase na Shōjo ni Produce!-” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Yui Kajita.

How much you enjoy this volume will likely depend entirely on how much you can tolerate the series’ one joke. This is a comedic romance, despite a dark premise, which has a basic shtick, and it’s that the characters describe things as “naughty” when they’re not actually talking about sex. Allen keeps telling Charlotte that he’s going to force her into experiencing all sorts of naughty delights… but it’s things like eating a cake for dinner, or going to a hot springs, or sleeping in. “I’m Spoiling the Disgraced Noble Lady” would be a much snappier title, but it would probably get fewer clicks. That said, if you can get past the overdone joke, this is a rather sweet book about a misanthrope with a kind heart who takes in a typical villainess heroine and turns her life around – for the better.

Allen is a sorcerer who lives in a remote mansion because dealing with people is a hassle. His sole contact with the outside world are daily visits by the mailwoman and occasional visits from his sister. Then one day he finds a young woman collapsed right by his doorstep – and several guards who tell Allen she’s a wanted woman and they’re to bring her back dead or alive. Allen doesn’t trust them, and with good reason – after getting rid of them and taking the woman inside, he discovers she is Lady Charlotte Evans, the fiancee of a nearby nation’s price. Supposedly a wicked woman who is accused of countless crimes, she is actually an abused child who has been treated like a servant for years and is now being treated as a scapegoat. There’s only one thing for Allen to do now – show her what the good things in life really are!

The main plot is fluffy because the backstory is so horrid. Charlotte’s life, especially after her mother died, has been an absolute misery, and she has trouble standing up for herself or even having actual wants and desires. You could argue that she is not ready for a romance with the awkward yet very powerful Allen, and you’d be right, but this is a romance series, so you’re going to have to lump it. And they are very cute together, especially in the back half once both start to realize that they’re developing feelings. This is especially baffling for Allen, who’s not nicknamed “demon overlord” because of his kind smiles, and who is having trouble separating family, friend and lover in his head. If you’ve read An Archdemon’s Dilemma, this is a very similar vibe, and will likely appeal to the same people who read that.

All this plus a petting zoo filled with monsters. Despite its cruel backstory, at heart this is a fluffy romantic comedy. Just get ready for its one joke. It’s a naughty joke.

Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 6

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By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

I’ve talked before about how we’ve been edging closer and closer to Alec and Shiori confessing each other’s tragic backstory, and while we’re not QUITE there yet in this volume, we get the next best thing, which is an extended flashback showing us what happened with Alec, his brother, and his first love. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to involve emotionally immature people making poor decisions, and feels almost nostalgic. It also helps the reader to understand how much more balanced and mature Alec and Shiori’s relationship it – indeed, while it dances around being explicit, the two of them bathe together, and it’s implied some other activities happen. If you define lovers as “stick it in”, they’re not there yet, but they are in every way that actually counts. And they’re also there to help each other with mental trauma, which is good, as this is a very bad book for Alec on that account – and that’s not counting the flashback.

Alec and Shiori have moved in together, and experimented with the “There Is Only One Bath” AO3 tag, but there’s an issue. The hand cream that Shiori uses to make her scarred hands less stiff needs mandrakes, and Nils is out of them. So a group of adventurers goes to a cave to find some mandrakes, avoid their horrible shrieks, and also deal with – I swear I’m not making this up – Brain Suckers, monsters that apparently look like aliens form Mars to Shiori, but who also cause traumatic hallucinations if they touch you. Alec gets touched. After this, Alex makes a decision to finally set up a meeting with his brother (and former lover if she’ll come) so they can bury their past together. That said, he and Shiori have something big to deal with before that can happen: a ridiculously long extra story at the back.

I appreciated the flashback, as it showed us how much Alex suffered, and what’s led him to tend towards “everything is my fault” in his post-royal life (to be honest, a trait he shares with Shiori). I also liked that Rebecca was not some stock villainess but a teenager who sees a chance to get everything she wants and forgets all about what that would mean other than “be with the man I love”. I appreciated that her punishment was, in many ways, the best thing that ever happened to her. As for the side story at the end, it reminds you that ghosts, wraiths and phantoms are very real things in this world, and need to be dealt with – but it also reminds you that nothing in this world is quite as scary as the average Japanese ghost story, and Shiori’s imaginative yokai is pants-wettingly terrifying.

I’m pretty sure the next volume is, if not the final book in the series, at least the payoff, with Shiori finally admitting she’s from Japan and Alec finally admitting he’s a runaway prince. This remains a nice romantic fantasy.

Hell Mode ~ The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing, Vol. 3

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By Hamuo and Mo. Released in Japan as “Hell Mode – Yarikomi Suki no Gamer wa Hai Settei no Isekai de Musō Suru” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Taishi.

This book is a very different beast from the first two, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. it’s good in that we get a lot less of Allen, on his own, spending pages and pages experimenting with different combinations of summons while fighting off monsters, which was in my opinion the weakest part of the books to date. He’s gotten so strong that the narrative can either quickly elide his tests, or else it shows him just instinctively knowing what to do. On the down side, this volume is a combination of two of the isekai fan’s least favorite genres: dungeon crawl AND magical academy. On the up side, this means the rest of the cast, especially Krena, has more to do. On the down side, Allen really is the standard OP protagonist now, so scary he can take out the most powerful hero in the land and terrify royalty. Basically, yeah, this is a light novel, all right.

Allen and Cecil are now ready to head off to the Magic School that they need to attend before being sent off to fight in the war against the Demon Lord. Joining them are Krena and Dogura, newly arrived from Allen’s hometown. On arrival, after yet another “your stats are all E, you fail, get out!” fakeout, which is a bit tedious by now, they settle in and buy a 20-room mansion that’s close to their real goal: dungeons. School itself is an afterthought here, what they want is to go through each dungeon, level up, gain skills, and get stronger and stronger. By the end of the book the cast, Allen and Krena especially, are so powerful that only the best in the world can really take them on. Which is good, because, having terrified the aforementioned royalty, they’re being sent off in Book 4 to the front lines.

It’s rather astounding (and honestly welcome) how this series does not care about romance at ALL. You could argue the kids are 12/13 years old, but that hasn’t stopped other books in this genre. Krena and Cecil meet up, and just become friends and allies, no issues. Later in the book they add an elf who I thought might have a crush on Allen, but no, she’s just worshiping him as the one chosen by the prophecy. Romcom is just not what this author is here for. Gamer nerdery *is* what they’re here for, and I assure you that despite what I said above, there’s lots of “let’s look at everyone’s stats here” for those who adore it. The party expands rapidly here from “Allen and a token girl” in the first two books to “Allen and his party of the most powerful students in the country”, including an elf princess, the son of the antagonist of the second volume, and a dwarf girl who gets nothing to do, but we’re explicitly told that she will eventually. And Allen, who COULD do all this by himself, but thankfully does not.

So yes, better than the first two books, and recommended for those who enjoy all the things that the louder light novel fans say they don’t enjoy. Next time: Allen Goes To War.

Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin, Vol. 2

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By Kennoji and KWKM. Released in Japan as “Hazure Skill “Kage ga Usui” o Motsu Guild Shokuin ga, Jitsuha Densetsu no Ansatsusha” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash.

Oh my God this book is garbage. This is not necessarily me saying the book is bad, though I would not recommend it to anyone except the most ridiculous fan of OP bullshit. But it’s like criticizing a sex comedy for having sexual humor in it. Garbage is what the writer is aiming for. In fact, I’m a bit more impressed with this writer than I was when I read the first in this series a year and a half ago. He also writes The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, which is a dead-on high school romcom sort of book. I haven’t read Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist, but I assume that it’s a fantastic example of a slow life series. And then we have this, which is a fantastic example of “what if the lead was always cool and awesome and all the girls wanted him and the men envy him?”.

The book mostly is a series of “ZOMG Roland is awesum!!1!”, with two larger stories that help to show that in greater detail. The first has the king asking Roland to accompany the Princess (who was party of the demon lord hunting party, and is madly in love with Roland but is one of the few women he hasn’t slept with) to a neighboring kingdom for a marriage interview, which goes about as expected till the prince of that kingdom tries to mind control his way to a marriage deal. In the other larger story, we meet one of Rila’s old demonic allies, Dey, a vampire. She seems nice-ish, and Rila vouches for her, but at the same time adventurers have been disappearing. Is Dey responsible? Or is it that smug-looking noble with a torture basement using (again!) mind control?

I emphasize once more – this book is garbage. I laughed a lot while reading it, but trust me, I was always laughing at it. Roland solves the mind control problem in the first and second instances by simply dispelling it, which works almost instantly but is amazingly anticlimactic. The prince’s aide just seems to sleep with Roland for no real reason other than the book needed another sex scene here. (I say sex scene, but it’s not – this book is full of sex that is elided but not shown, so it’s not even good for horny masturbation material.) We also get (surprise, surprise) slaves! Roland frees them by killing the man who broke their spirits, but the slaves (all hot young women of various races) decide they’re going to stick around and try to get into Roland’s pants. This series really just BOGGLES THE MIND. Oh yes, and he resolves the vampire plot by discovering that the noble with a torture basement is torturing people in the basement, so he decides to torture the noble to show him what’s what.

Roland’s deadpan, somewhat baffled “what is normal” attitude is part of his charm, the other part being he treats women as actual people despite his tendency to fuck everything that moves. The book ends with the guild getting blown up, meaning the next volume will be going to a different kingdom. Bet I know what’s going to happen, though.