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Reviews

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 41

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

No short stories this time around, we’re heading to Forthorthe and things are about to get serious. The start of this series, forty-odd books ago, was very much a slice-of-life comedy, with the aliens, magical girls, and underground girls essentially acting as wacky neighbors in a high school romcom. Clan’s arrival, and Koutarou’s subsequent trip back in time, started to kick that in the head. And now here we are, with the back half of this volume featuring a thoughtless disaster on the part of the villains turned into an even more nightmarish disaster by the most unhinged villain, and you get things like living corpses (I’d call them zombies, but they run very fast, so that might give you the wrong idea) in the remains of a burning factory being weaponized and turned on a nearby city and you realize that this has actually gotten pretty dark, hasn’t it? Fortunately, the first half, which involves introducing cool new tech to the masses, is more relaxing.

Our heroes are now back in Forthorthe, and the big question on everyone’s mind is: who is the Blue Knight going to marry? Sadly, for reporters, the Blue Knight is still running away from that question, so there’s no real progress there. There is much more success in introducing a personal force field that can, among many other things, act as replacement limbs for disabled people as demonstrated by Nana doing various gymnastic maneuvers with just a force field for support. Koutarou thought that would be it, however, many other companies, including the military, quickly realize the other uses this sort of tech could provide, and now he’s even richer, to his quiet despair. There’s no time to enjoy it, though: they’ve found one of Ralgwin’s bases, and it’s time to play catch that villain!

As hinted in the first paragraph, catch that villain does not go very well. Rokujouma!? has gotten more serious as the books have gone on, even including a war, but I don’t think we’ve really taken as much time to appreciate the loss of lives as we did here. Now, these are all factory workers we’ve never met before, so it’s not like the author is killing one of the main characters, but the fury at how this came to be from our heroes is very well done. Meanwhile, on Yurika Watch, she gets to do cool things, and her running gag of “magical girl uses evil powers” is still funny, but this is Ruth’s book to shine,. as the author admits that if he’s going to have a balanced harem series he has to work hard to maintain that balance, and Ruth, mostly, rarely gets to fight at the front line. That gets fixed here, and shows off her awesome analytical skills (and love for Koutarou) in a fantastic manner.

Sadly, the villains get away, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them. Till then, enjoy a more serious volume than usual.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

As I was reading this volume, I was reminded of that meme that went around a while back from the Buzzfeed Unsolved show. “I did meet some of the most insufferable people in the world, BUT they also met me.” Maomao may spend a great deal of time bemoaning the folks she has to deal with, but there’s no denying that she’s even more of a pain in the neck on a regular basis. “Please ignore that man, one of the most powerful in the country, who keeps stalking me and says I’m his daughter. Please ignore that I am good friends with the Empress and Consort #2. Please ignore that I apparently love to ingest poison for fun. I am just a normal woman and want to quietly go about my day… oh look, another murder attempt.” Honestly, some readers might feel less exhausted if this were the adventures of Maomao the cat, back at her apothecary house, avoiding snuggles and yawning, rather than the prickly Maomao the human.

Maomao is forced to take the Civil Service exam once more, and is told that She. Will. Pass. She reluctantly passes, and is now back in the palace, one of five new medical students. Erm, three medical students, as two get culled for essentially being extra baggage. The other two are Yao, who seems like a bullying ojousama at first but turns out to merely be a sheltered and earnest girl, and En’en, her friend and attendant who enjoys watching everything that Yao does. As the three of them learn their trade, we also pick up with events from previous books, as the Shrine Maiden of neighboring Shaoh is now ensconsed in a remote part of the palace, and there seems to be something wrong with her. Is she hiding something? Is she really who she seems? And is she going to be publicly assassinated in a way that might lead to war?

First of all, the best part of this book, by far, are the two new characters. Yao is wonderful, and frankly I was very, very worried that she was going to be killed off for tragedy. (It’s a near thing, and the book lampshades that she’s avoiding the very real consequences of what should have happened to her.) En’en allows us to see a smart, crafty woman who doesn’t have Maomao’s natural bitterness and eccentricity. She’s also in love with Yao, something that is mostly used for comedy here (Jinshi picks her as his attendant as he knows she won’t be there just to hit on him), but which I’m hoping might be taken more seriously later on. And while Apothecary Diaries is not a foodie book like Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, a lot of this volume relied on food knowledge and what it can do to the human body. It’ll make you hungry, but good luck eating what’s in here.

All this plus zero sexual assaults! A strong volume, and I hope that Yao and En’en become regulars going forward.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 15

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By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

If the 13th volume in this series was the big climactic finale, and the 14th was a short story interlude, then this new volume is very much “start of the next season”. We are reminded that there are a few archdemons that we still have not met, and that many of them are terrible people in almost every way. We also have fallout to deal with from the previous “season”, which means that Kuroka has to go into hiding and Foll needs to get used to being one of the main players on the board. And of course there’s also room for love – Nephy’s birthday is coming up, as is Chastille, and the men in their lives are scrambling for the BEST present. Alshiera’s old crush has been resurrected… as has her old husband, Zagan’s dad. Love triangle? Not so much. Zagan’s dad may, in fact, be there to torpedo the one yuri relationship in this series, alas. In any case, A LOT OF STUFF.

After the big battle from Vol. 13, there are new Archdemons galore… though unfortunately, there’s no room for Barbatos, as there’s a missing sigil meaning he doesn’t get to join in the fun. Fortunately, he’s too busy competing with Chastille in “who can be the lamest possible person” sweepstakes to care. Foll, meanwhile, has been designated by Zagan to handle the Nephilim, who regard Zagan as The Enemy but might be more amenable to a dragon girl. Foll is pretty much sweet as pie and also hella strong, so things go well… till an amnesiac girl arrives. Though she calls herself Lily, her true identity is Asmodeus, one of the Archdemons, and a mercenary who will steal anything and sell out anyone. Is she faking her amnesia? And if so, is it right to just kill her?

The book does not really answer that last question all that well. It’s framed by Asmodeus towards the end of the book that she was faking it all along, but given that we even had POV narration from “Lily” that belied that, I’m inclined to believe she’s lying, possibly to herself. She’s an interesting character… but there’s also a sense that we’ve seen her character arc before with different people. It’s even pointed out they have ANOTHER amnesiac girl to help her out, in a case of non-subtle lampshading. As for the other new Archdemon (well, the one who gets actual screen time), he’s clearly not here to be redeemed by the power of niceness the way Asmodeus is, so is allowed to simply be a terrible monster, though his debate with Zagan about what you should feel when murdering something is interesting in a “cool motive, still murder” sort of way. And for all that this book starts off making a big deal about getting Chastille and Barbatos to admit they’re in love, it really doesn’t follow through at all, does it?

So an OK volume of the series, that will probably read better when this new “season” really gets going. Who knews, maybe the anime will have a release date by the time the next volume comes out, and I can’t see this series ending till that airs.

How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart, Vol. 2

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By Kakeru Takamine and Ichigo Kagawa. Released in Japan as “Kouri no Reijou no Tokashi Kata” by Monster Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Callum Conroy and Alejandro de Vicente Suárez.

This may be the most unfortunately timed light novel volume I’ve seen in some time. The first volume of How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart, which I quite liked, came out in July 2021. Since then, Tentai Books has been dealing with the various things a small publisher has to deal with in terms of scheduling, and the co-translator also changed, meaning that the 2nd volume has come out in February 2023. And between those two dates there has not only been a giant pile of “sweet romance between a couple with little conflict to speak of” stories (some of them also put out by Tentai Books, to be fair), but The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten has exploded in popularity and gotten an anime running RIGHT NOW, whose quality you can argue about (I certainly will), but whose takeover of the “couple charts” is indisputable. And Ice Queen’s Heart is basically Angel Next Door with the genders swapped. Well, to a degree. it’s still a male fantasy.

We pick up immediately where we left off, right after Christmas, and with Asahi and Fuyuka feeling very close to each other. Asahi in particular, however, has trouble putting a name to this feeling until the very end of the book. In the meantime, there’s a New Year to have, which includes a shrine visit. Which also means introducing one half of this cast to the other half of this cast, and fortunately they get along fine despite the obnoxious couple being an introvert’s worst nightmare. There’s a birthday, which Asahi nearly blows simply as he never really converses with Fuyuka about anything but cooking. There’s Valentine’s Day, where Asahi can’t actually blow off this year the way he usually does. And there’s also Fuyuka’s maid returning to the apartment, which he fears will mean the end of their relationship, which of course only involves his cooking lessons. Right?

I mentioned this was a sort of inverse to Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten. Asahi has a similar personality to Amane, but Amane’s the one with the troubled past that has led to his personality being like this in that series. In this one it’s Fuyuka with the tragic past that has led to her being the “ice queen”, as we see when she talks about visiting her mother to tell her all about Asahi. This seems an awfully big step till you realize fairly quickly that she’s visiting a grave. Fuyuka’s story did not get as dark as I feared it would, which is good. It’s just a case of a loving mother passing away and a daughter now left bereft of any emotional support. Now that she has this, in Asahi, she’s opening up and starting to care again. And this, more than anything else, is why Asahi realizes he loves her at the end of the book. (Her own love for Asahi is far more obvious throughout.)

Are they a couple? Not yet – admitting love to yourself is not the same as confessing it. What’s worse, this volume came out two years ago in Japan, and the afterword suggests there may not be more (The Japanese publisher has very little patience with underselling ongoing series). This was a sweet little series, and I quite liked both volumes. But it drowned among more popular titles in this genre.

The Inconvenient Life of an Arousing Priestess, Vol. 1

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By Makino Maebaru and Hachi Uehara. Released in Japan as “Konyaku Hakida, Hatsujō Seijo” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

The danger of getting a killer premise is that you have to go through with the killer premise even though it will require reassuring some readers that it’s not THAT killer. So, let me reassure you, the reader. This book is a shoujo romance, basically Cinderella, and the lead heroine remains chaste throughout. That said… the premise of the book means that this heroine is frequently horny a great deal of the time, and sometimes imagines naughty fantasies. (Her powers also arouse the men she uses them on, and be warned there are a couple of sexual assault scenes in this book.) The author is not just interested in writing about Monica being aroused, though there are a few funny moment there. The book is more about why slut-shaming is terrible, and how treating women with respect and dignity will be its own reward. Plus, y’know, being rescued from an abysmal fate by a hot redheaded prince. Still a Cinderella story.

Monica, the priestess of the title, is not reincarnated from Japan or suddenly in her favorite game, but boy, the start of this book seems familiar anyway. Her fiance the prince publicly breaks up with her, and calls her a harlot. Her powers, which are fantastic when battling monsters and can heal nasty injuries, have an unfortunate side effect – she, and the person or persons she is healing, get aroused. And the more she uses them, the more aroused she gets. At first exiled, and then finding out that even worse is planned, she is fortunately rescued by Richard, a knight in the city she previously worked out of, and (as it turns out) the prince of the Empire next door. His country has a problem – the King is impotent, and this is leading to political difficulties. Can her powers help things along?

As you might imagine, this is mostly better than it sounds. I appreciated that the king’s impotence is NOT magically healed by her arousal powers, but instead requires months of repairing the infighting in the kingdom and restoring the self-confidence of the Queen to the point where they are no longer battling hideous stress every day. Monica herself has an odd combination of self-confidence and self-hatred – when it comes to her powers, or, by extension, her expertise in battle (being a monster-battling priestess, she’s basically had to be a general much of the time), she’s got it all down pat. But her upbringing and the attitudes of the kingdom she lived in prior to this have left her believing herself to be a worthless commoner, unfit for someone like Richard. Who, by the way, she is convinced is asexual, possibly the funniest part of this book.

The book enjoys its tropes – there’s a literal sadist maid here, as well as a knight who’s a bit TOO devoted to his master. But it uses a light touch to ensure that we’re not too put off by it. Basically, the author wanted to write a book that runs on horny but is still a pure shoujo romance, and mostly succeeds. I’ll read Volume 2, which I hope is not as long as Volume 1 was.

Reincarnated As the Last of My Kind, Vol. 5

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By Kiri Komori and Yamigo. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shitara Zetsumetsu Sunzen no Kishou Shuzokudeshita” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Roman Lempert.

The danger of being a good-hearted, pure, perfect heroine is that apparently you are contractually obligated to walk into obvious traps. Tina, halfway through this book, is safely ensconced at the fort whose entire job is to stop her being kidnapped. Then, mysteriously, all of her important family and allies happen to be away from the fort at that moment. Then, mysteriously, a group of soldiers she’s never met before show up and beg her to help to save their grievously wounded colleagues, who they have not brought with them. The lead soldier is also holding a big sign that says ‘I AM NOT A TRAP HONEST”. (OK, not really.) What’s a Saint to do? Naturally, she selflessly goes off by herself with no guards to help the soldiers… you’ll never guess what happens next. If that paragraph fills you with rage, you may want to skip this one. If it merely makes you sigh, read on.

The start of the book is original to the light novel, not part of the webnovel, and is a nice return to the antics of the earlier volumes, as Tina is goaded into making a truth potion so that Shida and his father will open up to each other. She’s also really into creating fish sauce. Sadly, we then have to move on to the actual plot, which involves the aforementioned kidnapping. Tina then ends up meeting the ruler of Edesa Kura, who has grand twisted plans for the world that they’re both in. And, what’s more, the massive planetary disaster that has slowly been coming their way the last couple of books is finally here, and Tina and Renge still need to solve that problem with a minimum of lost lives. But the humans haven’t listened to any of their warnings at all!

The parts of this volume I enjoyed the most were the smaller, more character-driven bits. Tina and the court alchemist, Reiden, geeking out and bonding over the concept of magical vending machines is absolutely hilarious and wonderful, especially as it briefly stops the kidnapping plot dead for a few pages. I was also amused by Nakona, who all of a sudden has finally realized that she has at least four people in love with her, and is somewhat poleaxed by the idea. (Since she’s engaged, and later married, to Shida, she solves the problem in the best Nakona way – by beating the shit out of her other suitors.) Unfortunately, when the book broadens out to take on larger, more devastating problems, I was less interested. The revelation of the enemy ruler and what their deal is was interesting, but Renge remains a flat, boring boyfriend, and the resolution of this book pretty much hinges on him being even more powerful than everyone thought.

The author says there will be a 6th volume, but it sounds more like n epilogue than anything else, as the main plot is resolved here. In the end, this series was OK, but I liked it a lot more when Tina was back at the inn than when she was the Saint of the World.

Grand Sumo Villainess: This Reincarnated Rikishi’s No Pushover!

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By Kawausoutan and Murakami Yuichi. Released in Japan as “Ouzumou Reijou ~Seijo ni Hirateuchi wo Kuratta Shunkan Sumō Budatta Zense wo Omoidashita Akuyaku Reijō no Watashi wa sute Neko Ōji ni Chanko wo Furumaitai Haadosukoidosukoi~” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam.

One of the more famous Monty Python sketches, written by Eric Idle, is called “Nudge Nudge”. In this sketch, Eric’s character accosts a businessman played by Terry Jones, implying through innuendo and double meaning that the businessman and his wife are sexually active. Throughout the sketch, Terry’s character endures, looking thoroughly frustrated and fed up at Eric’s constant snide jabs and double entendres. I mention this because that’s sort of how I started feeling midway through Grand Sumo Villainess, a book that is trying to be funny but mostly ends up being thoroughly exhausting. The author has a central idea and desperately wants us to realize what a fun idea it is, but it’s ONLY that one idea, with nothing else to it, and so unfortunately the book ends up being a one-trick pony. None of the characters have depth, nor are they meant to.

This is a villainess book, so you know where we start. The prince and his newfound girlfriend accuse Floortje, his fiancee, of horrible crimes and he breaks off their engagement and prepares to have her executed. This comes as a surprise to Floortje, who genuinely hasn’t done anything, but everyone around her seems to be brainwashed somehow into following the lead of the “heroine”, Jaromíra. Then suddenly Floortje gets memories of her past life in Japan… where she was dedicated to being a sumo wrestler! Suddenly, despite having the standard villainess body, she gains the power to defeat those around her! What’s more, “sumo” seems to be an ability rather than just a sport here, as it also has magic powers, can convert into wind and lightning, and honestly can do most anything at all. Now it’s time for Floortje to strike back!

Let me briefly mention the things I liked. The start of the book, when the concept is fresh, is pretty fun. The names of the heroines, being Dutch (Floortje) and Czech (Jaromíra) I quite liked as well. That’s about it. Floortje ends up being pretty one note in regards to sumo, which is basically the standard “OP power that can do anything” that we see in a lot of isekai. She also has a bit of a shotacon streak to her, something else I didn’t enjoy. Her ditzy maid is basically there for Floortje to abuse and threaten, though fortunately she never actually does anything. I will grant you that the maid’s eventual role in the story was pretty clever, but again: exhausting. All the antagonists follow the same shonen path: enemy, get defeated in sumo, friend. The only attempt at depth is near the end with the final Big Bad, and even then it’s somewhat undercut by the epilogue.

There’s a sequel to this, Grand Sumo Villainess Z, which I assume we’ll eventually be getting. But honestly, this is for villainess completists only. Even sumo fans might be annoyed at how it’s used here as “magic”.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 6

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Osman Wong.

There’s a lot going on in this volume of Dahlia in Bloom, but the most important part involves a conversation that really should have happened ages ago. This series began with Dahlia’s fiance, Tobias, being SUCH trash that he gained an almost memetic reputation as a trash man, and several volumes in we’re still piling on the humiliation for him, his family, and his company. But there’s also a backstory here. One of Tobias and Dahlia growing up together and knowing exactly how the other works. One of their marriage being one of convenience rather than romance, something that even Dahlia’s father is aware of. And it also helps show exactly why Tobias did what he did, and so rapidly: he’s never remotely felt romantic love before, and certainly not with Dahlia. It was a bolt from the blue. As such, when a crisis unfolds that requires Dahlia and Tobias to work together again, they’re finally able to sit down and have a conversation about what happened, and begin to move past it.

The crisis takes up the first half of the book. What was thought to be an illness turns out to be that her friend Irma is pregnant. Unfortunately, this is one of those worlds where magic is biased against the lower classes, and Irma’s husband turns out to be a noble’s illegitimate child, so he has far more magic than she does. As such, the pregnancy might kill her. To solve this, there’s a complex enchantment of a bracelet that needs to be done, and when Oswald and Dahlia find their magic is not compatible enough, they’re forced to turn to Tobias. Who, to be fair, helps immediately, and is quite chastened the entire time. We also see Dahlia’s influence and creativity inspiring others, either to expand on her inventions or expanding into their own companies. And, rest assured, food is eaten and alcohol is consumed.

I will admit, one thing in this book really surprised me, and that was the presence of Emilia in it. Emilia was not really a character so much as a macguffin, there to jump start the plot, and I have to admit that I was expecting, after Tobias was disgraced and everyone in town started to shun him, that she’d have simply vanished. But it actually works better for the book that she and Tobias really ARE in love, and that she’s still with him even after all that’s happened. And even though the two are very bad at talking with each other – she’s mostly convinced herself that if Dahlia tried to win Tobias back from her, it wouldn’t take much. I still don’t like either character, but I respect their poor choices. I also want to note that I hate the “nobles have stronger magic” system. We also see it in Bookworm, and I hate it there too. It’s an excuse to keep the common folk where they are. Dahlia’s inventions help a bit, but she has a ways to go before she’s Princess Anisphia.

Dahlia in Bloom continues to be one of the best J-Novel Heart titles, even if those waiting for the romance to happen must be groaning at another volume where neither party get any closer to admitting their feelings.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 7

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By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

It’s been a long time coming, getting to this part of the plot. This is the seventh book of 10, but they’re pretty chunky books. And we’ve had a few flashbacks before to Belgrieve’s time as an adventurer in the past, but now at last we actually get to see the scene where he’s lost his leg, and really see how it affected everyone else. Including him, of course. He’s finally away from the comparative safety of his hometown or the big city where his daughter is based, and it shows almost immediately, in that he’s out of his depth. This is not to say that he falls behind or ends up being a liability – the opposite, in fact. But this is a series that has, as its main plot point, a daughter talking about how awesome her daddy is, so it’s nice to end up in what is essentially a Hellmouth so that we can see what he left behind.

Having finally left the village, the first three-quarters of the book is the journey, as Belgrieve and company set off to find Percival, who is rumored to be at the Earth Navel. Fortunately, the rumor turns out to be true, as Percival is there, but he’s a far cry from the happy-go-lucky lunkhead we’ve heard Belgrieve talk about before. As the group get clover and closer to the Earth Navel, the area gets hotter and more dangerous. In addition, Belgrieve is not the only one who has to confront his past, as Kasim runs into the guild master of a city they pass through, who not only has a clear crush on him still but is very bitter about this “:Bel” Kasim was always obsessed with. As they get closer to the Earth Navel, will things really resolve so easily?

There are times when I can feel the hand of the author on the plot a bit too much, such as when, just before arriving at the Earth Navel, Belgrieve is struck by a bad illness, so that he can look at death’s door when he finally meets Percival and cause even more angsty trauma. That said, I did laugh at the way that their past is resolved – Bel hits Percival till he feels better. I also really liked seeing Yakumo and Lucille again, especially Lucille, who still tends to slip old song lyrics into her speech (Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Thing Twice, It’s Alright” is the most obvious here). I also enjoyed Percival and Angeline bonding over killing monsters, even as Angeline is starting to slowly realize something she has been ignoring – spending years traveling around adventuring with her dad is probably not in the cards.

We’ve only got one more “past” character to reunite with, which I suspect will happen in the next book. Till then, of all the “Daddy and Daughter who really loves her daddy” series from Japan, this is probably my favorite.

The Bride of Demise, Vol. 3

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By Keishi Ayasato and murakaruki. Released in Japan as “Shūen no Hanayome” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

When I reviewed the second volume of this series, I noted that the first was a fantastic stand-alone, but the second volume was not nearly as good as the first. It would appear that most of the reading public agreed with me, as apparently the series’ sales were so bad the author was allowed to comment in the afterword that this third volume is the final one because of low sales. Unfortunately, I am here to say that this third volume is not nearly as good as the second. It has big Shonen Jump “please look forward to the author’s next work” vibes. The first half, at least, looks like it’s setting things up for future volumes down the line. But about 60% of the way through, you can almost see the point where the author was informed by the editor that this is the last book, and the rest is just a race to a finish line. Not the best finish line, but one that will have to do.

Things are back to normal with Kou… relatively. After the last go round of getting murdered over and over again, and rewinding time over and over again to fix it, Kou’s powers are no longer an immediate ‘get out of jail free’ card, and he can’t always use them when he wants to. That said, he’s also got to deal with more teenage boy problems. Let’s remember the warning that Asagiri was the only one who murdered him last time WITHOUT being mind controlled. And now she has been told – by someone unknown – that he has White and Black Princess, and so decides to go all out in confessing to him. And is rejected. Adding to this teen drama, their fried Isumi is in love with Asagiri, knows she’s in love with Kou, and is busy trying to keep himself from having a complete breakdown. That’s right about when Asagiri completely disappears.

This book didn’t help itself by having a couple of things I really don’t enjoy in my fiction. I’ve never liked the “yandere” trope in general, especially since it tends to be overused by fans to describe any girl who gets angry at all, but it’s definitely in place here, and I still don’t like it. There is a new character introduced here whose role is very obvious almost immediately, and especially when the author starts trying to wrap everything up all at once. On the bright side, the overall message of “you can’t always protect everyone equally, you have to prioritize those you care about” is a good one well handled, even if this also involves abandoning an entire school of students to their inevitable deaths.

The author said that if the series had continued, more of the regulars would have had to tragically die, so this is a decent place to end it. If I’m honest, two volumes ago was a decent place to end it. But if you’ve read the first two, this is here, I suppose.

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel!, Vol. 9

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By Rhythm Aida and nauribon. Released in Japan as “Buta Koushaku ni Tensei shita kara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Zihan Gao.

For today’s reading we have Exhibit A in “the suspension bridge effect is bullshit”. Slowe and Alicia are put into a situation where they’re supposed to band together to survive and slowly realize their feelings for each other. There are, however, a few minor problems with this scenario. 1) Slowe is in love with Charlotte. 2) Alicia is MUCH more stubborn than even those who knew her imagined. And, most importantly, 3) They’re just not that into each other. This book starts with the cliffhanger of the last volume, which has the rumor about Slowe and Alicia being engaged again, and both are determined to break it off – Slowe for obvious reasons, and Alicia because, even if she does think Slowe is not as bad as he used to be now, an arranged marriage is anathema to her. I really like Slowe and Alicia’s dynamic, but as “put upon heirs”, not as a couple.

So yes, the campus is abuzz with the rumor about Slowe and Alicia, to the point that neither of them can even have a moment’s peace without the gossip reaching their ears. And a lot of the gossip is nasty, on both sides. Plus Slowe is now having nightmares where he’s married to Alicia and Charlotte is crying. Theoretically, they should team up, but Alicia is not that sort of person. Instead, Slowe and Charlotte have to sneak off after her when she flees the campus. She’s going to one of the most dangerous dungeons in the world to get back a priceless royal heirloom that was taken by a slime monster. If she can return it to the royal family, she’ll have enough clout to get the engagement called off. To help she’ll have Slowe, Charlotte, Charlotte’s “pet cat”, and the world’s most suspicious guide.

The weak point in this book is Blau. She’s a good character, but a lot of her felt underdeveloped. Given what she’s got planned for Alicia in the dungeon, I expected her to be a lot more morally grey than she ended up being, but she was more of a dumbass than anything else. Also, her character really needed a cathartic last meeting with the one she’s been searching for, and just did not get it. Honestly, both of those problems seem like poor editing – I wonder if she was meant to be a villain but that was rejected? Charlotte is also much stronger here than in previous books, which is good, because given the cliffhanger to THIS book she’ll need that strength. And I also appreciated the repetition of Slowe never quite realizing what his reputation is with the kingdom now that he’s saved the day multiple times. He’s still trapped in that damn anime.

The next book promises a confrontation we’ve wanted to see since the start – Slowe vs. his family. Till then, this was a strong volume of Piggy Duke, and had a bunch of cool fights as well. Plus, skeleton warriors. Always terrific.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 8

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By Reia and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andria Cheng.

This has been an oddly paced series, mostly due to the prequel being almost as long as the main series itself. We do get an epilogue showing Iris and Dean’s kids at the end, but for the most part Iris’ story ended in the 5th volume, and the last three have just been her listening to her mother finally explain her past. The reason for the secrecy ends up being the fact that most of how she and Iris’ father got together revolves around treaties, state secrets, and nearly averted war, so it’s not something that makes for great anecdotes to tell the kids. It’s also darker than Iris’ story, with more deaths – Iris very much had the fairytale “villainess” story, where almost all obstacles were overcome and they all live happily ever after. Merellis’ story shows that peace was temporarily won, but they didn’t ALL live happily ever after, and there are future tragedies shaping up that she can also do nothing about.

There’s trouble brewing in a neighboring principality, and the first quarter of this book shows us Louis’ father visiting all the lords of said principality and seeing how their power structure works. Some are pawns, some are noble, some are secretly led by their spouse, etc. In order to try to avoid being tricked into war, there’s a huge party held in Tasmeria, inviting all the neighboring lords, and Merellis attends as well… which is good, as it turns out there are also planted guards there to kill off most of the attendees. Fortunately, Merellis is able to stop this with a little help. Unfortunately, it turns out that when all the secret plots are unraveled, one of the main forces behind it is a lot closer to Merellis and her family than anyone would like, and may lead to her being unable to marry Louis.

I did worry that this book would completely slide into political battles and that we would not see Merellis fighting anymore, but no need on that score, as not only do we get her saving the day at the ball through judicious use of murdering the bad guys, but we also see her leading a private army to kill more bad guys, though that does not go nearly as smoothly, and does lead to deaths of some named characters. For the most part, though, the lesson of this book is that you CAN marry the true love of your life, but the politics has to line up as well. With Louis and Merellis it does. For Edgar and Sharia, they get what they want, but are tricked/forced into a compromise that will lead to massive tragedy down the road. And also to the events that kickstarted Iris’ story itself. Being a duchess is hard.

And so this series has come to an end. It took a while, and we got the manga first, so it seems longer, but this was a good example of the “sensible” end of the villainess scale, and had lots of fun worldbuilding. Just be prepared for the extended prologue.

Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1

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One of shojo manga’s most time-honored plot lines goes something like this: a young girl’s life is turned upside down when her mother or father remarries someone with a teenager of their own, usually a cute boy who’s smart, athletic, and insufferable. Over the course of six or ten volumes, however, the heroine gradually moves from indignation to infatuation, finally admitting to herself what everyone else could plainly see: she likes her stepbrother. There are a usually a few complications on the way to a blissful relationship—say, a crazy ex-girlfriend who won’t go away—but the step-siblings eventually realize that they’re meant to be together.

Wataru Yoshizumi’s Marmalade Boy adds a new wrinkle to the formula, however, by engineering a crazy scenario for bringing her romantic antagonists under the same roof. In the opening pages of volume one, fifteen-year-old Miki Koishikawa’s parents come back from a trip with shocking news: they’re getting divorced. Making matters worse is that the Koishikawas have decided to swap partners with the Matsuras, a couple they met while traveling, and combine their families into a single household that includes both Miki and the Matsuras’ son Yuu. Yuu, of course, is a quintessential shojo prince: he’s gifted at tennis, an ace at math, and popular at school and—naturally—Miki hates him. She finds him smug in his refusal to criticize their parents’ impulsive behavior, and is furious that no one seems to understand her reservations about their new living situation. 

Their blended family life is established with great efficiency, setting the stage for plenty of misunderstandings and fights between Miki and Yuu. Yoshizumi also wastes no time in introducing other romantic prospects for both leads; a good part of volume one, in fact, follows the complicated friendship between Miki and Ginta, a cute tennis player who Miki used to like. Yuu, meanwhile, has his own romantic travails when his ex-girlfriend Arimi tracks him down at his new school, determined to rekindle their relationship by any means necessary. And if all those potential entanglements weren’t enough to fill thirty or forty chapters, Miki’s best friend Meiko starts hooking up with her hot homeroom teacher in the school library.

If I’m reading the story in Responsible Adult Mode™, it’s hard to ignore all the WTF? shenanigans. In one of the weirdest scenes in volume one, for example, the Matsuras and Koishikawas stage a fight to see whether Miki truly disapproves of their living arrangement, confessing their deceit only after a tearful Miki begs them to follow their hearts. The sight of all four parents gaslighting their daughter is comically awful; I’d be the first to admit that I’m on Team Miki, as she seems to be the only person who grasps the impulsiveness of the adults’ spouse-swapping arrangement. Then there are the usual shojo red flags: student-teacher relationships, stolen kisses, and characters whose behavior sails over the line between friendly interest and stalking.

If I allow myself to reconnect with my inner twelve-year-old, however, I have to admit that Marmalade Boy is funny, silly, and engrossing, offering a teenage gloss on Dynasty or Melrose Place. It’s the kind of manga in which two romantic rivals settle their differences with a high-stakes tennis match—in front of the whole school, of course—and characters state their intentions in a bald fashion: “I won’t lose you to him,” Arimi cheerfully warns Miki over a sundae. (A sundae!) Yoshizumi’s ability to balance the absurd with the everyday lends an air of plausibility to these scenarios; there’s always a kernel of emotional truth to the interactions between the characters, even when they’re dreaming up soap-worthy schemes.

Though the plotting is intricate, the artwork is clean and unfussy; backgrounds, hairdos, and clothing are rendered in a style that keeps the focus on the characters’ faces and body language. Miki has big, dramatic reactions to everything, but Yoshizumi avoids too much deformation or mugging to convey Miki’s distress. More surprising is how gracefully the artwork has aged, aside from an errant headband here and there; it wouldn’t look out of place at Barnes & Noble in 2023. (Well, that’s not entirely true; Yuu has a major case of 90s Shojo Prince Hair™, notable for its height and for the artful way it flops to one side of his face.)

All of this is to say that I enjoyed Marmalade Boy waaaaaaaaaay more than I expected, given my advanced age and my strong preference for stories about, y’know, adults. I cheerfully recommend it to anyone looking to recapture the feeling of reading their first shojo manga, or the palpable excitement of being a manga fan in the early 2000s, when Tokyopop published these kind of stories by the truckfull. Recommended.

MARMALADE BOY: COLLECTOR’S EDITION, VOL. 1 • BY WATARU YOSHIZUMI • TRANSLATED BY AMBER TAMOSAITIS • ADAPTED BY KRISTA GRANDY • LETTERING BY JENNIFER SKARUPA • SEVEN SEAS • RATED TEEN+ 

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 5

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

There is a trope sometimes known as Moonlighting Syndrome, named after the 80s TV show, which refers to a series failing because the romantic couple got together and all the tension was removed from the show. Leaving aside that this is not at all why Moonlighting failed, I think it’s a trope that is honored more in the breach than in the observance. It also depends on the genre. If this were a standard harem comedy, with Amane attracting the love of five or six different girls, then the one where he picks one would definitely be the final volume. Fortunately, this is not that, it’s a syrupy sweet relationship book. In fact, the thing that separates this from the pack is how long it’s actually taken Amane and Mahiru to get together. But at last Mahiru has managed to convey her feelings and the two of them are dating, and so now we can finally answer the age old question the above trope asks: now what?

Well, first of all, they’ve got to let the school know that they’re dating. OK, they don’t HAVE to do this, but given how much they accidentally flirt with each other constantly now, it will become rapidly apparent anyway. Surprisingly, it goes very smoothly – Amane is serious and withdrawn rather than a “loser protagonist”, so doesn’t get as much backlash as expected for dating the Angel of the school. Plus she’ll kill anyone who tries to get on his case about it with an angelic (fake) smile. After this there’s two more important relationship goals to conquer. Going to the local pool, which will involve swimsuits and attractive bodies. And going back home to visit Amane’s parents, which will involve a lot of Amane getting teased, but also an encounter that will hopefully let him close the book on his past trauma.

Generally speaking, whenever you have these “my personality is broken because of kids in my past”, you are inevitably going to meet those kids again. So the question is will it be the “it turns out we were really sad about what we did and want to apologize” version or the “no, we really are massive assholes” version. Angel Next Door takes the latter tack, and it’s probably for the best. Amane’s psychological damage has been what’s held the romance back in the first place, so having it be due to a misunderstanding wouldn’t have worked. That said, instead of a past trauma, we have a new enemy for readers: Amane and Mahiru’s own innate pureness. It takes the entire volume for them to get around to a kiss on the lips, and you get the sense that any sexual activity will be long after this series has finished. This is syrupy sweet romance, but that means you have to put up with them being two massive cinnamon rolls.

So still decent, if you can put up with the two leads being gaga over each other but rarely getting past the “holding hands” part.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 2

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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.

When this was licensed, I jokingly called it “The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Russian”, and my review of the first volume talks about this being in that “syrupy sweet romance” genre, but this second volume seems to have shed a lot of that, and it feels much more like a standard romcom now, complete with other potential romantic interests and a better look at Masachika’s backstory that shows it was not, in fact, as normal and mundane as I thought it was. Basically, the first volume was a bigger success than the author expected, o now we have to go back and make things a bit harder for our couple. Admittedly, given Alya’s deep embarrassment at, well, anything, that’s not too hard. The goal for the series seems to have changed as well, going from “get this tsundere girl to admit she likes the guy” to “get the guy to take up what he had abandoned and also kick his family in the teeth”. Which, yes, may include his sister, who’s happy to play the villain.

The last book ended with Masachika deciding to help Alya become student council president, and most of this book is about the fallout from that decision, as a lot of people have feelings about it. There’s Yuki, who is conflicted, but mostly seems to be happy that Alya has finally gotten Masachika to care about something again, even if it isn’t Yuki. There’s Ayano, who is Yuki’s maid (and used to be Masachika’s), and who is mostly comedy relief but also feels a bit betrayed by Masachika abandoning Yuki. And there’s Sayaka, the girl that Yuki and Masachika beat our for the student council in middle school, who is furious with Alya for using her looks and feminine wiles to steal Masachika away from the OTP. (Said OTP being his blood-related sister, I remind you, which is why he finds this so baffling.) Clearly there’s only one thing left to do. Debate.

This is decent. There’s one line from Ayano that I could very much have done without (I mentioned it on Twitter), but for the most part she’s an amusing “ninja maid” addition to the cast, and I hope she gains actual depth. As for Masachika, it’s now clear that his issues are not just “my parents split up”, but that he was the scion, and deliberately abandoned that role, pushing it onto his sister and adapting a “whatever” personality that everyone around him hates. Alya has been the only one who can really get him to break out of that, and he’s also proving to be the best thing for Alya in return, giving her confidence and the drive to succeed in her goals. (She too has a sister sacrificing things for her – the series is not ashamed to have its thematic parallels hit you in the face.)

So they’re a good couple… except they’re not a couple yet, and this series being the kind it is, I expect that won’t change soon. But will we have the student council election next time? If you like romcoms, this is solid.