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This Gyaru’s Got a Thing for… Vampire Hunters?!, Vol. 2

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By Wasan Kurata and Kewi Hayashi. Released in Japan as “Vampire Hunter ni Yasashii Gal” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner.

This appears to be one of those rare series that is not based on an ongoing web novel, and the last volume (this one) came out in June of 2023, so I think we can assume this is the last one. It’s definitely open-ended, but not unsatisfying or anything. As it does seem to be the wrap up, though, I find myself asking once again: is this yuri? Last time I said it was the sort of series I’d call yuri in 2004-2005 or so. This second volume, I’d say, moves that forward a decade. Ruka says once more here that she’s not interested in dating guys right now. She thinks of her relationship with Ginka in very romantic terms. When a girl in the series says she has a confession to make, Ruka assumes it’s a love confession and gets flustered. And, of course, she decides to make it her life’s work to ensure that she and Ginka can be together forever. I mean, they don’t kiss, but come on.

After the events in the last book, all Ruka wants to do is spend the summer hanging out with her new bestie and showing her the fun side of life, and maybe also figuring out what she wants to do after graduation. Unfortunately Suela, a 13-year-old vampire hunter (who hero worships Ginka more than a little) arrives to say that after the fuss that just happened, she’s been assigned to monitor Ginka for a month. Still, that just means they get a cute Mexican vampire hunter to hang out with them! The beach is conquered, albeit with some difficulties. Final exams go OK. And Ruka even thinks she’s decided on her future career… though everyone she knows is against it. Unfortunately, Suela is trying to get Ginka to return and take control of what’s left of the falling apart vampire hunter organization. And she’s not the only one…

I think the thing I liked best in this book, aside from the relationship between Ruka and Ginka, is how it looks seriously at career paths and the dangers that are inherent in all of them. The dance club is being asked to collaborate with a popular influencer, but that involves investigating everything about both the influencer AND the company behind them, to make sure it will be safe for the club members. Ruka thinks she has what it takes to be an influencer, but is reminded how almost all of them fail to make any money or fame doing it, and that it will require a lot of fine details that Ruka normally glosses over. And the vampire hunters can’t figure out what to do with no vampires, especially give that they have no downtime and no hobbies. This all dovetails into Ruka once again rescuing everyone with the power of niceness and optimism, and her decision is very HER. And makes Ginka happy as well, even if she has trouble showing it.

This isn’t as lights-out terrific as the first volume, but it’s still a great deal of fun, and I love the two leads. If it ever gets a Book 3, I’ll be here for it.

The Fearsome Witch Teaches in Another World: Pay Attention in Class!, Vol. 1

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By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

Light Novel readers are very familiar by now with the trope. Our hero ends up in another world and gets all the girls, all the swords, all the magic. And if their high school bullies aren’t literally brought along so that he can destroy them, than the antagonists that he meets will all SOUND like high school bullies. It’s the author living vicariously through the character. But what if the author isn’t really all that bothered with their high school career? What if, instead, it’s teaching that’s the problem? Students unwilling to learn, who are quick to say that their parents donate to the school. Fellow teachers who put in minimal effort and show bias against other students. An administration that wants the teachers to go with the flow and not make waves. Does that make you mad? Don’t you wish you could change it? Don’t you wish you could teach kids in an unbiased way with the help of near-absolute power? This book is for you.

Aoi Konominato dies (we’re not told how) with many regrets. She was trying to become a kendo master, but failed. So she went into teaching, but kept running into problems. Her father must be so disappointed in her. With these thoughts, she wakes up in the middle of a fantasy world, having been taken in by an elf who turns out to be one of the strongest magic users in the world. Over the course of the next decade, he teaches Aoi everything she knows, and she proves to be a fantastic student. Now he wants to send her to the premier magic academy – not as a student, but as a teacher, to instruct the future magic users of the world. There’s only one slight problem, which is that this is a typical isekai, meaning arrogant nobles who look down on commoners and abuse their position. Aoi will have to do something about that.

For the most part I quite enjoyed this, though if you’re a student who dealt with an abusive teacher Aoi might set off a few red flags. She means well, but her personality is very stoic (I’m not sure she expressed an emotion in the entire volume) and she can come across as terrifying, especially once she shows off her magic. I did enjoy the way magic works here – there are ways to teach it, and basic spells everyone should know, but you can modify and alter as you see fit, and people are creating new spells and researching new magic all the time. I also quite liked her teaching friend Elisa, a dwarf who likes to do research. For the most part she’s there to be a bit of a tsukkomi when Aoi does something outrageous, but she’s loud and lovable. And while it was a bit cruel, I admit I laughed a lot at the king and queen giving their son a good talking-to.

So yes, assuming you don’t mind Aoi’s vibe, this is a solid debut. It’s got quite a few volumes, so we’ll see where it goes from here. And no, I’m not sure why Aoi’s teaching outfit consists of a skintight short leather dress and fancy stockings. But I can hazard a guess.

One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future, Vol. 1

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By fukurou and johndee. Released in Japan as “Jiji Baba Yuusha Party Saigo no Tabi: Oita Saikyou wa Iroasenu Mama Mirai e Susumu you desu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

I was looking forward to this title from the moment it was announced, and I’m pleased that it did not disappoint. It’s not that surprising, but that’s not what you want from a series with this premise, which is comforting and happy, even when it’s dealing with terrible people who are murdering squads of faceless guards. I especially enjoy seeing elderly men in their 60s and 70s, who are among the most powerful in the world, suddenly becoming shy fanboys in front of their senpais when faced with the titular characters. Every grand master was once a young boy or girl, and the same goes here, where we meet the powerful mage’s teacher, or the guy who taught the incredible swordsman what he knows. It also helps to underline the other point of this series, which is that those folks are, while mind-numbingly powerful, at least on the human scale. Our protagonists not only left that behind long ago, but were never like that.

Once the world was on the brink of destruction. The sky was blood-red, monsters were everywhere, many died, and everything was about to fall to the Demon Lord. Then the Hero and his party won the day, the sky turned blue again, and they all lived happily ever after. Now, over seventy years later, the hero and his wife the saint, now in their nineties, decide that they are going to be dying soon, and want to see their great-grandson for the first time before they do. He’s not on that continent, so it’s time for a journey. Along the way they meet the other surviving members of the hero’s party – a drunken swordsman and his witch wife, a bald “exhibitionist” monk with a muscle fetish, and a lying merchant who keeps changing his name. They’re all incredibly old… but I would advise against thinking they’re feeble.

There’s a lot of shonen stereotypes here, as you may have guessed. There’s one character who reminds me a lot of Usopp, but he has a surprising backstory, and also a surprisingly hidden power. The big guy who loves muscles and walks around with only a loincloth comes up a lot (I saw it in Last Dungeon Kid, and it wasn’t new there). That said, the main thing is that all of them are now called “eccentric” but back then had nastier names applied. Ferd the hero is so powerful that after the final battle he has to live on a remote mountain as almost no one can get near him, Elrica the saint was literally built to fight against evil (and has all the cliches you’d expect from that role), and Sazaki the swordsman is from the school of “If I sword good enough, I will be best at sword”, with an added drunken master aspect. This shouldn’t work as well as it does, as they’re all such types. But it does, as they’re all fun. I love it when Ferd and Elrica play at being a feeble, elderly couple. I also liked seeing the next generation of heroes, who are far more “normal” than Ferd and company but also appear to be writing their own story.

I’m not sure how much more of this we’ll get, but there’s at least a second volume out. Given the first book ends with them actually starting out to see the grandkid, I’m not optimistic we’ll get there. But I’m gonna love the ride. On a robot horse carriage.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Divine Gun, Piercer of Darkness

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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.

This series does, believe it or not, have a bit more to it than simply a lot of cool fights and all the women in it fighting over who gets to be Allen’s #1 girl. We get lore dumps every volume, and this one is no exception, and while that can be difficult sometimes (all the old great families of yore had last names ending in -heart or -field, and while that’s aesthetically pleasing it does mean I wish this had a more comprehensive wiki), it also lends this story an epic take, a bit of gravitas that, frankly, it really needs so as not to overbalance into harem antics. 500 years ago or so was a lost age of powerful families and races that are mostly long gone, but the relics and dregs of the age still survive, and they’re either fighting to regain power or preparing to pass that power on to the next generation. Of course, finding where the power is hidden can be even more difficult…

In the aftermath of the death of apostle Io, the hero’s brother Igna, and Grand Marshal Moss Saxe, Allen can’t put it off any longer: he’s got to get a last name and some perks for saving the world – again. He tries to pawn this off on someone else as usual, and even when he figures something out it manages to be something beneficial for all – Allen simply doesn’t have many worldly desires, as those trying to get him to love them most know very well. Now they have to go off to the north to try to find another Sealed Archive so that they can gain access to a sealed book. It makes sense that Tina plays a big role, given that her late mother Rosa was the one who did most of the research into this. But why on Earth does business genius Felicia need to come with them? Only the cat knows…

I would normally avoid talking about spoilers, but it’s literally on the cover. Just as the last time Allen faced a secret archive he had Stella possessed, we now get Felicia’s body possessed by Anko, who has been lurking around this book as a black cat but of course turns out to be far more. That said, mostly what this battle serves to do is to make Felicia realize that in terms of girls who loves Allen, she’s at the bottom of the list. Allen, who is hated by a large portion of the population for various reasons, most of which are bullshit, needs someone at his side who can keep up with him – which means fighting, and Felicia is far better suited to, well, being a businesswoman. While she doesn’t say it to his face, she’s basically removing herself from the Allen sweepstakes here. As for the others, well, the title character might make more strides if she stopped acting like a child, but that seems impossible for her for now.

This was a solid volume, though I am starting to feel that this is being dragged out a bit too much. If the author wanted to make sure the series kept going till after the anime, no fear, feel free to wrap it up now.

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 9

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

There are many examples in the light novel genre of “slow life” books, where the main character seemingly spends the entire book farming, or running a store, or petting fluffy animals, and not much of substance happens. After reading nine volumes of Secret Saint, I’m starting to wonder if the writer of this series is actually from another world, and was reincarnated in this one to live the slow life putting out the plot one drip at a time. The author actually anticipates this, writing defensively in the afterword about how we all have to be patient. But come on. It helps even less that, as usual, this book is 60% main plot and 40% side stories. We get one major plot beat here, which actually functions as a cliffhanger into the next book. Little sister is still in a coma. Fia’s cover is still not quite blown. Everything is moving forward very, very, very slowly. Fortunately, Fia is an airheaded savant, so it’s all very readable.

After the events of the last book, Fia is spending part of her days in the royal garden, trying to get the roses to have the magical power to wake Colette from her coma. She’s also meeting the other saints, who are… well, in a power struggle with each other, as the position of saint these days is very political and those whose powers don’t measure up find themselves sent to the remote countryside very quickly. Meanwhile, the Queen Dowager is returning to the capital. She’s the head saint, and she has chosen a woman who is sure to be the next head saint. This comes as a surprise to Fia, who was expecting the grumpy but good deep down Priscilla to get the job. That said, Fia is even more surprised by who the king reveals will be his candidate. (Fia is the only one surprised by this.)

The side stories in this book are based on the 2nd character poll, with the top 6 getting a story of their own. It includes the ZERO spinoff, so no surprises, Sirius is in first place. It actually feels a bit odd to see the younger, Serafina-focused stories in the main series now that she has her own spinoff to play around in. As for the book itself, it’s mostly fun, aside from the Queen Dowager, who has “end of level Boss” vibes to her, does not seem to like either of her sons, and I suspect will really not like Fia once she sees what Fia can do. There’s a ton of humor here, especially when Fia decides, for no good reason, that walking around with her pet dragon on her shoulder will be fine after all. Fia is all heart and no head, and that can be a bit frustrating, both for the reader (if she figured things out this series would be over by now) and for the romantic leads (she doesn’t recognize a date even when told “this is a date” and she’s given presents).

If you’ve been following this series, well, don’t expect huge plot and character development. But it’s fun.

The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place, Vol. 4

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By Toryuu and hamm. Released in Japan as “Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru” by Overlap Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Josh DM.

This was a stronger volume of Dorky NPC Merc than the third one, despite the fact that John is generally in far less danger throughout. I don’t really need him in peril here, though it is nice to occasionally see him struggle. But for the most part we read this to see him do a lot of cool space battle things, and then react to most of the aftermath with a sort of flat stare. It’s just the sort of guy he is. Aside from that, this series has one agenda, and it’s “rich arrogant nobles suck”, and it gives you a lot more of that here. That said, like most of these series which do not want to bite the hand that feeds them, it’s only the BAD nobles that are terrible and deserve death. The good nobles, like, say, the Empress who rules, are absolutely fine. THEY don’t treat people horribly. But fear not, that still leaves lots of terrible failnobles to go around.

After then events of the last book, John spends the start of this volume getting himself a new ship, which basically seems to be “my old ship only newer and with better radar and a better ability to store my doujinshi”. Unfortunately, the noble rebellion that’s been hinted at for a while finally starts, and martial law is declared as the mercenaries are all called in to fight for Empress and country. This goes better than you’d expect – the Empress is acting a bit less competent than she actually is to lure out bad nobles (I’m not sure if her “tits out” royal outfit is also meant to obfuscate, but I suspect it’s just part of the artist’s vibe), and the rebels think they have a mole when in fact he’s being a double agent and has betrayed them all. After this, a lot of now disgraced nobles turn to piracy, so John spends a lot of time tracking them down and basically doing his job for money.

As with Book 3, there’s less overt romance here. First Girl Fialka still seems to be the only one who has extended interaction with him, though her default tsundere state makes things difficult. And Second Girl (and default “childhood friend”) Scuna sees him carrying out an investigation by borrowing a prostitute’s bedroom and gets the wrong idea. The most interesting part of the book is the rebellion – we get the POV of a few noble families who are essentially being blackmailed into doing this, and there’s mention of a horrible financial penalty to all who participated but were coerced in the rebellion – though this too turns out to be a ploy by the Empress. I have a sneaking suspicion, especially after she and Fialka have a relatively friendly meetup at a noble reception, that the Empress is going to meet John pretty soon, and may end up dragging romance back into things. Over his dead body, of course.

This is never going to be required reading, but if you’re bored with fantasy isekais, and would like a bit of space opera that manages to avoid being a misogynistic hellhole, this is a good choice.

Restaurant to Another World, Vol. 6

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By Junpei Inuzuka and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan as “Isekai Shokudou” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Elliot Ryouga. Adapted by Rebecca Schneidereit.

It has been over five years since the last time I reviewed this series, so pardon me for forgetting literally everything about it. Which is a shame, as this is a series that very much rewards the sort of reader who keeps a spreadsheet showing the main characters and when they first arrive and what their favorite meals are. There was a two and a half year gap between the 5th and 6th books in Japan, but the likely reason this one took so long is a) renegotiating the contract with a publisher that is famously cool towards translating its stuff, and b) the fact that we still don’t have a Book 7. Nothing since 2021. Well, the manga is still running. That is to say, the second manga, which is digital-only and chapter-only, apparently. Basically, this is a somewhat cursed series, but at least there’s delicious food throughout. It still makes you hungry as you read it.

As with previous volumes, this consists of 20 chapters, each titled with a food dish of some sort, and gives us a little story about who is ordering it. That said, there are a few other plot-related things going on here. There’s an infestation of moth monsters that’s going to go out of control unless something is done, and this will involve getting the hiding Princess Victoria involved – under her code name Pudding, which makes it especially amusing when she runs into fellow diner Heinrich, aka “Fried Shrimp”. We also meet a new waitress from our own world, who is the niece of the Master and is trying to learn so that she can be a chef and start a restaurant of her own. Fortunately, she has her uncle’s temperament as well, so takes the otherworld stuff in full stride. Though Aletta might be a bit jealous of Saki’s reading and writing skills…

The fact that this takes place across a long period of time, and you never know when each new chapter will be, keeps the mind alive in among the long, lingering descriptions of people eating food. One chapter shows us a woodcutter and his wife, along with their two kids, showing a noble who has gotten lost the restaurant. Two chapters later, we see a younger woodcutter proposing in the same restaurant. And in another we see the late owner of the restaurant running the show, with the current Master just a newbie who’s still learning the ropes. A large chunk of this seems to take place before Kuro arrives at the restaurant, as there’s very little of her here, but we do get a lot of Aletta, who constantly worries she’s not being useful enough (hence why Saki’s arrival sent her into a panic.) Unlike the anime, there’s little to no romance – while the restaurant is encroaching on the fantasy world more and more, it’s in terms of establishing bonds of friendship that will allow them to reach out in times of need.

This was really good. I hope it’s not the last one.

Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 1

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By Rei Kazama and Fujiazuki. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijō wa Seirei ni Aisarete Saikyō Desu…… Dakedo Futsū ni Koi Shitai)” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by okaykei.

I am, as readers of this blog know, a sucker for many things. One of those things is “girl tries to be a normal, average person but it immediately fails because she’s so utterly bad at it”. It’s underlined and enhanced in this new series, where she ends up working out as a small baby, is controlling multiple spirits before she’s a year old, and is talking in complex sentences before she’s three. Fortunately, she’s in luck, as she also has two older brothers who are also freaks, though it takes till the end of the book before we get the full story on both of them. As you’d expect, a lot of this book is Deirdre trying to get everyone to treat spirits well so that they can all be more powerful while, at the same time, trying not to get involved in political disputes as she wants to fall in love and get married normally. Good luck, honey.

A young woman, working to finish a doujinshi in time for the deadline, dies and wakes up in the body of a tiny baby. As it turns out, she’s now Deirdre Abel von Belisario, the daughter of a margrave. She’s got maids! She’s got two older brothers, She’s got a very doting family. And she’s got these spirits that hover around her. As she tries to use context clues to figure out where she is and what’s going on, she finds the traditional “one cheat item you get to take with you when you go to another world”, which is magical Wikipedia, which gives her a lot of information on this world… namely that it’s a political hotbed. Unfortunately, as she grows up, works out, invents radio calisthenics, and gains the attention of more spirits, it rapidly becomes apparent that avoiding politics is simply not happening.

Generally speaking, any series where the main character has magical Wikipedia (and yes, there are multiple series with that cheat) should be ridiculous, but this one has more depth than you might expect. The empress and her sons are in the middle of a power struggle with rich nobility, and it’s led to the royal capital being deforested and bereft of spirits. The empress uses Deirdre and company in order to get the jump on her enemies… but this does not win Deirdre over, and instead puts her more on her guard. Deidre is beloved by the spirits, including the Four Major Spirit Elements, but this is not great when they’re supposedly subjects of the Empire, and the spirits make it clear they support Deirdre over the royals. Even middle child Alan, who seems to be the normal one of the trio, shows off in a side story how that’s only a matter of degree, as he goes on a rampage to stop some kidnappers and does seven impossible things before breakfast.

So yeah, there’s a lot of meat here to get your teeth into. Which is good, as this is 12 volumes in Japan, so we’ve only just begun. For fans of tiny terrors who are trying to keep a low profile but failing miserably.

High School DxD: Professor Valkyrie

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By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

This is a shonen series, as I’ve said many times before, and one of the ways that it is most like a shonen series is that the cast is simply too damn large. And no, I don’t just mean trying to remember that minor villain from 7 books ago who pops up again, I mean that I actually had to use the wiki to remind myself about Rossweisse, who’s been around since Book 4 or 5 but who doesn’t stick in my head quite as much as everyone else in Issei’s orbit. This is definitely a series where you think “Thank God there’s a wiki page”. That said, I’m not all that sure that failing to remember exactly who someone is matters all that much at this stage. There are the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys want to do good things and protect people. the bad guys want to do bad things and kill people. Hell, the entire motive rant of the main antagonist here is “I want demons to be seen as bad guys”. Very shonen indeed.

As Issei and the women in his orbit enjoy a nice bath together, Rossweisse comes to them to ask for a favor: she needs Issei to pretend to be her boyfriend. She’s getting a lot more family pressure, especially from her grandmother, to get married and have children, and this will help to delay that a bit (and, of course, she’s got the hots for Issei as well). It becomes more relevant when the main cast all visit Sona’s new school, one that teaches all demons rather than just the rich or powerful ones. This is a controversial school right from the get-go, as you’d expect. Unfortunately, in addition to people disliking the concept of the school, there’s something else going on: mages are being kidnapped, and they’ve all got one thing in common: they’ve researched the Number of the Beast. As has Rossweisse.

This volume is relatively light on erotic aspects, at least from Issei himself. Asia’s dragon going full Gordon Ramsay on everyone showing the best way to cook and eat Asia’s panties was probably enough, frankly. Plus this book is very much about the fighting. Issei is still too intuitive and relying on “punch everything hard”, but he’s gotten better, and we see his analysis of things has grown leaps and bounds since the first few books. He also gets to work together with some former enemies, including Sairaorg, who is frankly Buff Issei, and also likes to punch things. As for Rossweisse, she’s realized she loves being a teacher, which is good, and I hope that we’ll see more of her with the main harem girls so that I don’t have to look her up again. That said, she struggles to stand out among the heroines even in her own focus book, so that’s not all too surprising.

Apparently next volume will see the demise of my running gag, as it apparently *is* an Irina focused book, where everyone goes to Heaven. Till then, boy, this has a lot of characters and fighting.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 8

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By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn.

I’ve talked many times before about the stark contrast between the backstory of Masachika and Yuki and their family drama, the romantic plots with Alya and Maria both being in love with Masachika, and the wacky comedy shenanigans. The drama gets more attention this volume, and the shenanigans are confined to the middle of the book for the most part, and almost feel perfunctory. They read like the author watched a random anime and used that plot as the antics of the book. When I say “there’s a party with chocolates that have a small bit of alcohol in them”, the average fan could write the rest of that scene in their head and be 100% accurate except that it’s only one girl who gets drunk, not all of them. And there’s also an invented game that involves penalties, but since we already had the sexy antics earlier, these punishments are more just silly. The drama, though, is the main reason to get this.

The festival is over, but the aftermath of its events are still reverberating. Masachika’s mother was ill after his performance and had to go to the nurse’s office… and what’s more, Masachika found his father comforting her! Oh, and she’s also now sleepwalking. Masachika himself is filled with all-new self-loathing about his piano playing, which briefly impacts his ability to play until he gets some good advice which is basically “stop overthinking everything you do”. Oh, if only that advice would stick. As for Alya, well, she’s admitted that she’s in love with Masachika, at least to herself, and is briefly really, really happy. Can’t have that, of course. Enter Nonoa, who levels up here from minor supporting character to possibly the main antagonist of the entire series.

The big news here comes right at the cliffhanger for the book – Masachika is finally going to admit the truth about him and Yuki to Alya. This is good, because after overhearing him saying that Yuki will always be the most important person in his life, Alya has spent most of the volume dealing with agonizing unrequited love issues. These two are, frankly, very similar, which is why they’re such a good couple – or at least they will be, eventually, when the series is allowed to end. As for Yuki, she gets less to do here, but is also part of the cliffhanger. I’m not sure if her relapse will last longer than the next book, but it’s a reminder that she’s just as tied into the dark backstory as her brother, and is not simply about being a tease and making incest jokes. There is also a lot of Maria, of course, but even though she’s clearly deeply in love with Masachika, all her plots here are comedic. We know what that means.

And then there’s Nonoa, but let’s save her for another time. Till then, I enjoy wading through the most predictable comedy ever to get to the good bits.

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 20

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By FUNA and Itsuki Akata. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Tara Quinn. Adapted by Maggie Cooper.

One of the very first things I observed about this series, back in the first volume, is that it gives its heroine a supporting cast and then replaces with with another, seemingly similar supporting cast. Now, as the series has gone on, we’ve found that this works fine: the Wonder Trio, for all that they came first, are basically three very similar girls who are “upper class”, “middle class”, and “lower class”. Reina, Mavis and Pauline have been given far more opportunity to show off they are more than just that and also they are lunatics. As is Mile. The Wonder Trio can be a bit eccentric, but compared to our main girls they are common sense personified. That said, now that they’re here, they can help develop the main cast, as they are nearly perfect at everything – and Reina and Pauline, as it turns out, are not.

Our two groups have settled into their new country, and are able to easily fend off merchants who are trying to lowball them on jobs. That said, there is an elephant in the room: Mile has her fantastic Storage Magic. Mavis can now also use it. The Wonder Trio has Inventory, which they are quietly pretending is Storage. But Reina and Pauline, since they’re not Nanomachined up, are struggling. Perhaps… the problem is how they’re being taught? After this, everyone decides to take a quick trip back home to check in on folks, only to find that when you’re the heroes who saved the world, a lot can happen in the little hometown you came from. This hits Reina especially hard.

This was a solid volume, with the usual good points and bad points (Mile once again tells us how AWESOME child labor is if you’re an orphan). I liked how the difference between Mile’s teaching (teaching magic as it’s learned here, trying to convey the power of imagination) and Mavis’ methods of teaching (we must use the power of EMOTION and FEAR to make your storage POWERFUL!) and, as it turns out, this is exactly what Reina needs. She gets the climax of the book, which has some wonderfully black comedy (what’s happened to her parent’s graves in the interim) and some triumphant power-ups (about to be murdered when trying to save a group of children being sold into slavery, she unlocks her inner storage through the power of not wanting to die), and you really feel great for her. Pauline also gets some nice development (quiet, you) as she realizes that maybe, with the Crimson Vow’s weird party makeup, she needs to learn how to direct a battle rather than be the support.

All this plus our heroines asking each other about marriage and gradually realizing that they’re all gay (no, not really, but yes, really). FUNA fans will have a ball.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: Invitation from Vivi

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By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

After fourteen volumes, it has not escaped my attention that the volumes of GGO that I enjoy the most are the ones that do not have the words “Squad Jam” in the title. Possibly it’s because of their one-off nature, possibly it’s due to them being a change of pace, and possibly it’s because the Squad Jams all tend to combine a VRMMO game with the most annoying aspects of reality TV where we’re all watching waiting to see when they figure out who the traitor is. So this volume was always going to be starting off well for me. It finished well, too – this may be my favorite volume of the series to date. There’s some really cool game battles, lots of ludicrous things happen to Llenn, everyone’s reasonably funny, and there’s even a surprise or two. This may be Keiichi Sigsawa’s vanity project, but since we’re never getting his main project (thanks, Tokyopop), I’m cool with seeing him work his chops here.

After the events of the last Squad Jam, our core cast are celebrating in a virtual karaoke room when they get a request from David, the leader of MMTM. Vivi, the leader of the machine gun squad XEMAL, has issued a challenge, and if David wins he’ll get to meet her in real life. The challenge doesn’t say that he can’t invite others, so of course he’s turned to our girls, who are reasonably happy to help him with his live life – after all, this is just a game, so if they lose badly, it doesn’t mean anything. Miyu, aka Fukaziroh, is especially excited for this – she’s lost time and again to Vivi in ALO, and thinks she has a good guess as to who she is in real life. That said, first they have to clear Vivi’s challenge… which ends up being nearly impossible. Fortunately, they have a Llenn.

I’ve always been a fan of Fukaziroh as comedy relief, and we get a lot of that here, but this is a really fantastic volume for her in general. She gets to do clever and explosive things during the challenge, and her guess as to Vivi’s identity is… well, it’s wrong, but it’s only wrong by a very little bit. (There is also the joke that she and one of the machine gun players share a name, and will get married in the future, which makes me wonder if Sigsawa has been sitting on that for ages or if he just realized he used the same last name twice and decided to make it into a joke). As for Vivi, not spoiling too much, but this not only makes for a satisfying reveal, but also ties back into the main series. It can sometimes be hard to remember this takes place in the world of Kirito and company, and that VRMMOs can be used for reasons other than just having fun and shooting each other.

There’s no new volume in Japan yet, and if the author wanted he could probably end it here, but I suspect we’ll get another Squad Jam at some point. In the meantime, this is pretty much the series hitting on all cylinders.

Notorious No More: The Villainess Enjoys Feigning Incompetence, Vol. 2

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By Hanako Arashi and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Kitai no Akujo, Sandome no Jinsei de “Musai Munou” wo Tanoshimu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Jeremy Browning.

As with the first book, it frequently feels as if our main character is in a different book from everyone else. This makes sense, of course. Here is a woman who loved as a princess and died young, then lived for 85 years in modern Japan before dying and being reborn as the granddaughter of… well, the backstory of the “villainess”, while a lot clearer than it was before, is still missing a lot of data. In any case, she’s got the mind of an old woman, and she also really does not care for all the drama that her kingdom wants to throw her into again. As such, it makes sense that she wants to spend her time writing smutty romance novels and avoiding anything to do with responsibility and consequences. Unfortunately for Laviange, there’s someone manipulating things behind the scenes, and they’re not done trying to screw everything up. And they get a willing accomplice in Sienna, who is simply terrible.

After the events of the first book, Sienna is rapidly becoming persona non grata, the second prince is basically no longer in this series, and Heinz has been reduced to huddling in his room and avoiding everything. Unfortunately, a mysterious hooded figure is still trying to manipulate things, and gives Sienna an egg that she promises will allow her to get all that she desires. As for Laviange herself, she’s busy composing new books, getting rare and hard-to-cook meat from her friends, and working hard to at least show up to school (if not bother to try to get good grades) so that she can get the lunch special from the cafeteria. Unfortunately, Heinz shows up looking near death, Sienna is in full “I am a bratty younger sister” mode, and students are dropping like flies, their magic appearing next to them like a ghost. How can this be solved? If your answer is “giant paper fans”, you get this series’ vibe.

I understand that this series is not for everyone. Laviange makes a lot of her own problems by her sheer willful desire to not care, and the fact that she’s turned her older brother into a tsukkomi factory does not really offset that. It also clashes badly with a lot of the vile abuse of children that appears in the pasts of several important characters, especially her own past. There’s also a section about 3/4 of the way through the book where the characters stand around for a good thirty pages while the plot is explained to them, and it’s even more irritating that it’s still not the whole plot. This series has not once flashed back to Laviange’s first life, and I suspect it really wants to keep it vague. On the other hand…; Christ, Laviange is just a HOOT. The paper fans and ofuda, as well as her desire to have everyone shout out anime catchphrases as they’re used, cries out to be animated, if this ever gets one. I’m almost ready to forgive her everything. As are a lot of people, really.

So if your need in a villainess book is “complicated but funny bitch on wheels”, this is for you. If not, reader beware.

Engaging with the Plot: A Former Cat’s Attempt to Save Her Now Temporary Fiancé, Vol. 2

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By Usagi Hoshimi and Qi234. Released in Japan as “Konyakusha-sama ni wa Unmei no Heroine ga Arawaremasu ga, Zantei Konyaku Life wo Mankitsushimasu! Anata no Noroi, Kiraware Akujo no Watashi ga Toicha Dame desu ka?” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Minna Lin.

If I’m going to be honest, this series is, for the most part, fairly generic villainess stuff. We meet the heroine in this volume, and she’s very similar to most heroines who are not either evil or gay: she’s simply too earnest. Needless to say, this makes her face off badly against Lucille, who was a cat in her past life and is a cat in this one, even though she’s walking around in a human skin. Everything Lucille does is informed by her being a cat, including slapdash explanations, poorly thought out plans, and of course the inability to really recognize romantic love when it’s planted in front of her. She’s what makes the series worth reading, even as the plot rapidly advances towards the apocalypse… well, not really, but at least the destruction of their domain by demons.

Things are going swimmingly for Lucille at the start of this book, but she’s startled by the appearance of Elvira, the heroine, and like most villainesses in these books starts to try to get things to go along the lines of what she remembers even though she’s already completely messed up the events of the game. This means getting Elvira and Felix closer to cure his curse, which works on Elvira’s end, but he only has eyes for Lucille, not that she notices. Meanwhile, Lucille discovers that the “Great Sage” is her last owner, now locked into his unaging child body after making a literal deal with the devil. Unfortunately, this deal means that he’s also going to die, which is good (he’s the origin of the curse, so if he dies the curse can be removed from Felix), but also bad (he would die, and that would make Lucille sad).

The epilogues to the book may be more interesting than the actual plot (which ends with Lucille breaking the curse, in case you could not easily guess that). Felix is now free to return to see his parents again, despite the fact that his mother was driven nearly mad on hearing about the curse, and now that he’s better is dealing with guilt and misplaced anger. I liked her discussion with Lucille, who does not really believe in holding on to the past at all, despite her own past influencing the entire country. As for Elvira, she and Lucille get into an argument that amounts to “the few or the one” argument from Wrath of Khan, and no prizes for guessing who’s on the losing end of that one. I like that Elvira sees it as a learning experience (and also perhaps a way to get away from her crush who doesn’t love her back), and that she’s going off to a holy country to learn how to magic better and smarter.

Theoretically there could be more of this, despite a fairly definite “the main plot is over” ending here. After all, Lucille still regards Felix as just a swell guy, not a romantic lead. The author has written a bit more in the webnovel, but I suspect not enough for a third book, and this is probably it. It was fun.

Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother, Vol. 6

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By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

At last, we are back at the school, and Ekaterina is back to worry about the plot of the otome game. Literally, she is worried that this plot makes no sense. As many other fans of villainess books have noted, if your family is ludicrously powerful, and you are found to have tried to murder a commoner… you’re not going to get the death penalty. At worst, you may get house arrest. But otome games in light novels (as opposed to real otome games, which until recently have rarely had villainesses in them) rely to a large degree on bad writing, which is what makes things so difficult… or easy… for the villainess. In this case, Ekaterina’s memories of her past and ability to use those memories to advance society (or write hit songs) allow her to evade this fate, but just as she can’t see that everyone is in love with her, she can’t see that getting executed is not in the cards anymore. For her, at least.

Alexei and Ekaterina are at last back in the capital, and Ekaterina can finally go back to school, catch up with her friends Marina and Olga, and do her best to avoid tripping any otome game flags. Unfortunately, given she’s the unparalleled prime candidate to be the next Empress, trouble is still going to find her. In this case, trouble is in the form of Lydia, the daughter of a marquess and another theoretical candidate for Mikhail’s hand… though he doesn’t really seem to care for her much. And she really doesn’t like Ekaterina. And since this is otome game world, it turns out that just as art is really important here, so is music. And as Olga’s barony is under Lydia’s marquessery, and Olga has a beautiful singing voice, Lydia discovers a way to make Ekaterina face a very difficult choice.

This is not nearly as silly as Bakarina, but it’s coloring in the same lines, and one of the ways that it does that is that anyone who comes into contact with Ekaterina seems to fall under her spell. In this case it’s not the God of Music,. mostly as he’s found two prodigies, but it is the former Emperor and his wife, as it turns out his wife is also one of the best singers in the country. And, oddly, it even turns out to be Lydia, who is smart but runs on anger and being told what to do by her parents, and after a hefty dose of humility, appears to actually learn her lesson. This series doesn’t like to have villainesses fall, lest Ekaterina join them. On the bright side, romance is resolved here. No, not that one. But Olga meets a music nerd and the two of them fall in beautiful music nerd love together, only we barely see this because the series is filtered through its protagonist, who has to literally be told they’re a couple by the prince. If only he could be more explicit about his own feelings, but I get it. It won’t work while she’s like this.

As long as there’s no sexual attraction, she and her brother can say they love each other and jump into each other’s arms as much as they like, IMO. A good villainess series for fans of “otome game analysis”.