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Reviews

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 2

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

Technically this book has a real plot. We even see it here! There’s an assassination attempt against the second Prince. It is, in fact, the climax of the book. And Monica stops it, which is why she’s at the school. That said… I highly doubt anyone reading this series is on tenterhooks to find out who’s behind all this. We’re here for the adventures of Monica at school, being bullied and feeling panicked but nevertheless persevering. If I’m going to be honest, the highlight of the story was not that big climactic scene near the end, with math magic and Monica exhausting all her magic. It was in the middle of the book, where a bullying attempt on Monica goes horribly wrong and consequences are slowly but surely dripped out against the perpetrators. I’d argue this was more of a tense atmosphere because Monica has minimal to no regard for herself, and if the book were about someone trying to assassinate HER, this series would be much shorter and probably more depressing.

Despite all her best efforts, Monica is managing to gain friends and slowly adapt socially to the academy. Even if she’s sometimes not good at spotting tsundere friends. We also get a couple of new cast members in Glenn, a loud and somewhat obnoxious mage who was probably added to the cast because it lacked someone of that type; Casey, a tomboyish young lady fro0m the sticks who quickly takes a shine to Monica; and Claudia, who has clearly been watching the Netflix series Wednesday and taking it a bit too much to heart. Someone IS definitely trying to kill the second prince, that’s for sure, but most of this book is about Monica’s school life, as she learns the joys of chess, the horrors of ballroom dancing, and just who she can trust.

Isabelle is on the cover of the second book, and has a major role in the middle, which pleases me, as I thought she was merely going to be a one-shot gag. She *is* a gag, yes, but the gag is that she’s not an actual petty teenage bitch, but a “villainess”, which means that she has the nobility and knowledge of who to protect that regular petty teens do not. When she goes up against the girl who poisoned Monica (even if it wasn’t MEANT to be attempted murder, it still was), it’s quite a sight to see. I also liked seeing her bond with Felix over the Silent Witch. That said, I am a bit worried about Felix, who proves to be a bit of an obsessive fanboy about Monica’s alter ego. I fear that when the secret gets out their relationship is going to change, and not in a way that Monica will like.

This is not that long a series – I believe there are only four volumes, plus an “After” volume, so my worries may be answered in the next book. That said, I love reading Silent Witch because it’s FUN, and Monica is a fantastic lead character. Get this one.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 15

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

We now know that the series will be ending with the 16th volume. We know this because in Japan, the 15th and 16th volume came out one month apart, because the author and editor thought that the 15th book was all setup and no payoff. Unfortunately for English-speaking readers (but perhaps fortunately for the translator), Yen On decided not to do this. The final volume of Spider is currently scheduled for June 2023. As such, well, we get this book, where there’s one fight, and it’s 4/5 of the way through the book. Instead, what we get is functionally a class meeting to discuss their circumstances. That part was OK, I didn’t mind it. It was boring, but… I like the human part of this book more than most fans. With one exception. That exception is unfortunately back as well, and since Potimas is finally dead, there’s a new character riding to the “most hated” list. Hi, Sue. Please stop trying to screw your brother.

After the events of the previous couple of books, the elf village has seen better days. White and her crew now have a) a demon lord who’s used up most of her life, b) a giant pile of corpses littering the landscape, and c) a bunch of prisoners-of-war, aka the students who got reincarnated here from Japan. Explanations would be good, but unfortunately, White is terrible at speaking, and Sophia is terrible at caring about her fellow classmates, so things go badly. Then suddenly the endgame starts. White must now battle “Black”, aka Guliedistodiaz. The Demon Lord has to rush to the place where the series began, the Labyrinth, to try to save Sariel. The leader of the Church is trying to get humanity to reject Sariel so that they can be saved. And all of this is being watched over and influenced by a very amused D.

The scenes with Sue and Shun are awful, especially since they come after we’re reminded that she a) killed her father, seemingly under mind control but she doesn’t seem to care at all, and b) sided with evil so that she could get into Shun’s pants. She’s AWFUL. Things are not helped by a tug-of-war with her, Yuri (who is no longer evil but still not right in the head) and Katia (who the author, having resolved her plotline in Book 4, seems to no longer care about). This isn’t the only thing wrong with the book, of course. Hugo/Natsume’s “sorry I was evil, better now” shtick made me roll my eyes, as did everyone’s non-reaction to it. And while I like the students, hearing them argue about who had the harder life in their reincarnated world was, frankly, boring. As for White… well, she’s the bad guy. The funny parts of the book are her justifying that in the usual manic narration she has, but she’s essentially the Final Boss – as she says herself.

I wouldn’t have liked this even if Book 16 did come a month later, but as it is I’m left with very little desire to read on. I will read Book 16, as it’s the last, but this spider has worn out her welcome.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 20

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

We have now reached the end of the 5th arc! That said, as the author notes, this is less of a resolution and more of a change of scenery. In terms of achievements, our heroes do not make out very well this time around. They do succeed in stopping the destruction of the city, and they capture one of the archbishops. But before this arc there were five “camps” for the Who Wants to Rule The Country?” sweepstakes, and two of them are decimated after it finishes. Even the fights here are bittersweet rather than satisfying, with the exception of Garfiel, who gets to unleash his inner shonen protagonist. Reinhard gets to finally tell his wife what he never managed to say, but it’s hard to call that happy or heartwarming. Al doesn’t win but merely survives. Otto is grievously injured. Crusch is still not healed. That said, I think the Anastasia Camp wins the prize for “Bad Things”. Oof.

The bulk of the book is fighting, as we basically get the fights that were happening while Subaru and Emilia were busy with the previous book. Garfiel is fighting (and losing, most of the time) to the eight-armed legend, but his fights run on pure shonen, as I said, so he’s good. We get a double dose of Gluttony, which goes very badly for many soldiers who get their names stolen, though Otto manages to figure out something about how their powers work. Wilhelm is forced to realize – again – that this is a fantasy world, and therefore hard work hardly works. Fortunately, Reinhard is there to finish off his grandmother. Unfortunately, their relationship is not magically healed. Al is fighting Lust, which mostly involves a lot of banter and a truly excessive amount of property damage. And then there’s Julius and Anastasia… let’s save that for the next paragraph.

This is one of those series I do tend to spoil myself on, given we’re still so far behind Japan (and also you never know when a short story volume may be relevant to the main series, cough), so I was aware something was going to happen with Anastasia. It’s not nearly as bad as Subaru or the reader feared, though that reveal is a killer. And at least this was done with Anastasia’s consent. But it’s still depressing, as I liked her, and I fear it will be a while before we see her again. Julius is a pure gutpunch, though, and meant to be the truly devastating consequence of this arc. At least he has Subaru, who (like Rem) can remember who he is. And , unlike Rem, he can at least walk and talk. In any case, we’re all now going to consult with the Great Sage to see how to solve everyone’s problems. I’m sure it will go fine.

Rem is, by the way, still in a coma and no one remembers her. We’ve now had far more books with Rem than without Rem. I fear the fans may have forgotten her. In any case, this is well-written, but intentionally leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Strike the Blood, Vol. 22

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By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque.

Strike the Blood remains, to the end, a very good action series and a really lousy harem series. Kojou, despite the bloody nose indicating arousal, is one of the most asexual harem leads I’ve ever read about, and frankly I have no idea how he’s going to sire the two future children that we know about. The scenes towards the end where he does some sort of weird vampire mojo thing and makes all the girls have an orgasm (not explicitly stated, but implied) made me roll my eyes. But when it’s being a Shonen Jump style series, or when it treats his cast as an extended family, it’s much, much better. This pretty much wraps up all the outstanding plotlines with the exception of “who does he end up with”, which is left vague but implied to be twelve wives. Only one of whom bothers to say the words “I love you” directly to him in this book, so nice job, Asagi, you’re the winner in my eyes.

Yeah, for those hoping the final volume would have the entire cast on the cover, or at least more than one girl, I don’t know what you were expecting. In any case, the terrorists who have been driving the final arc’s plot are here, and they want Itogami Island. Kojou, who now has vampiric blood vassals again, is the logical choice to negotiate with them, though it’s worth noting that the obvious solution as to how to stop the terrorists is in fact “destroy the island”, not good. Meanwhile, Avrova is attending an upside-down high school in the sky… which makes no sense until halfway through the book or so… and then there’s Japan, who of course have several agents working for the government on the island, who saw what I said two sentences ago and agree with me.

Without question, the best scene in the book is halfway through it, when Natsuki, Yukina and her mentor, and Koyomi head down to the keystone holding the island together to destroy it. They can evacuate everyone in time, and with no island, the terrorists lose. The trouble with this idea is that literally everyone else hates it and regards it as giving up on Kojou, so the rest of the cast go to war against them. (This includes Sayaka, who is mind controlled into fighting, but it’s implied she would have agreed.) Seeing Yukina’s anguish and frustration as she ends up fighting half of Kojou’s love interests at once could almost sum up the series. As for the rest, yes, we get the “no, sempai, this is our fight!” line, so we’re good. The Nod stuff was a bit less interesting, with apologies to Those Two Girls And Their Dragon. It also comes with an almost literal Deus Ex Machina, as the daughters from the future help to do a spell that essentially makes everyone forget who Kojou is again. Well, except his love interests, of course.

The author says this series went on much longer than expected, and I can’t say it was entirely deserved. Still, in the end, Strike the Blood was exactly what it wanted to be, an action adventure series with vampires, girls kicking ass, and the occasional “whoops I walked in on you in your underwear” harem bullshit. Who could ask for anything more?

The Asterisk War: The Golden Bough Conflagration

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

OK, this took about a year longer than I was expecting it to when I wrote the review of Vol. 15 in February 2021. Part of the reason is that this took a long time to come out in Japan. The complete lack of interior illustrations may tell you why – the artist was ill, and the writer really did not want to change to a different artist. Still, we get a cover! Sylvia is on it! That said, you know what Asterisk War cover appearances are like. Fans of Sylvia will probably be unhappy with this book. The book itself tries to balance its three genres – harem romcom, tournament fighting, and counterterrorism thriller – but, to no one’s surprise, the last of those is going to get the attention in this penultimate book. We get set up to most of the big fights, with the help of our main cast, as well as Minato Wakamiya! You remember Minato. From the spinoff series? That never got licensed? Yeah. (She was briefly in Book 13-14.)

We begin with the fight between Saya and Orphelia, which… goes about how you’d expect, but Saya gets crucial information and also doesn’t die, so I’ll call that a moral victory. So now we know why Julis is pushing all her friends away, and also what the villains hope to achieve… though the villains are not really working together because they like each other. As such, while Julis prepares for her fight against Orphelia, which will no doubt be the centerpiece of the next volume, the others go to take out all the villains they can. Ayato, Saya and Kirin face off against Madiath Mesa… as well as his mind-controlled underling. Meanwhile, Claudia and Sylvia are fighting Varda-Vaos, bringing along Minato because they believe she will prove useful, and possibly also as her personality is basically “I’m gonna do my best!” with a massive anime hammer.

This series really works best when writing fights, and they are well-written, so I appreciate that. As for the villains, I feel it acknowledges that they’re a bit meh, though two of the three fights are still to come. And then there’s Dirk, who pretty much behaves exactly as you’d expect Dirk to behave. I’d say he’s a problematic fave, except this series has no fans anymore, so who really likes him enough to call him a fave? The fights basically exist to have the supporting cast do really cool things, but then end up unable to go on any further. Kirin wins but is unconscious, Sylvia… well, we hope she’s back to normal, and Claudia seems to have sacrificed the rest of her life in order to win. She’s probably the one I worry most about. As for Julis and Ayato (and Saya, but you know she’ll be written out fast), wait for the next book.

Which is the final book in the series. Hopefully it won’t take a year and a half to come out here, but given this is not one of Yen On’s top sellers who knows? The Japanese volume came out in June, and had the reaction you’d expect for a harem romcom with fans that get Very Angry Indeed. For those who enjoy this series (it’s pretty much just me, isn’t it?), this was a solid book. Which it had pictures, but oh well.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 11: Dies Passionis

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

And so we go back to the beginning of the series, and back to the Republic. Honestly, I’m sure many fans would have been perfectly happy to never have to see the republic again. That said, the 86 series is not about giving fans what they want, as the opening epigraph certainly shows. It’s about the horrors of war, what war can do to people as individuals and as a group, and the depths to which people are willing to sink to justify their moral righteousness and cowardice. This book is very well-written, delivering a series of emotional gut-punches. That said, holy Christ, it’s depressing. At the end of this book the entire cast is left wondering what the point of the previous ten books was, and if they’ve really achieved anything whatsoever. It’s a question that I’m asking myself as well. What do I want out of 86? It’s well-written, but is this going to be a “this will go full tragedy and everyone will die” series, or will their be a glimmer of future hope? Signs point to no right now.

The book starts off with bad news right from the get go, as the Legion starts dropping satellites from orbit onto the Federation and its allied countries. Devastation follows, and everyone is forced to retreat from the gains they’d made over the last several books. Oddly, there is one country that did not get bombed from above: the Republic. And now the 86 have perhaps their least appetizing assignment of all: go to the Republic and evacuate everyone. And yes, they’re aware that it’s likely a trap, but what other choice do they have? Needless to say, back in the Republic we are reminded of why we hate the Republic so much, though we also get glimmers of good people just trying their best. Unfortunately, we are also reminded that a lot of Legion soldiers are made up of Former 86. And they REALLY hate the Republic.

The last third of this book should probably have a content warning, as there is mass death and slaughter, with innocents napalmed, butchered, and otherwise murdered in a variety of ways. And this doesn’t even get into the fact that our heroes are there to escort some very reluctant Republican citizens to another country, and grateful is not part of their vocabulary, to the point where Lena has to essentially make herself an even bigger source of hatred to motivate them to not just sit down and die whimpering. By the end of the book, we’re as exhausted as the cast. This is the sort of book where the only thing that will make it feel better is to read the next book in the series. And that’s not out yet in Japan, so expect about a year till we hear from them again.

I don’t want to downplay how this is a very good book. The action is well-written, the emotions are powerful, and the heartbreak is real. It’s just… as with real war, it’s hard not to come out of it wondering why you’re here at all.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 5th Squad Jam: Start

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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.

It’s been about a year since the last volume of this series, and many might be forgiven for thinking that it ended. Including the author, who admits it was supposed to end about here. I mean, in terms of plot threads to resolve, there aren’t many left. Karen is no longer being forced to get married, though the denouement for that may not appeal to her. Elsa’s issues are, for the moment, somewhat resolved. The real world has never really been a big part of this series, but even so, I would not blame the author for wanting to move on and write a few more Kino’s Journey books. But here we are anyway, with another Squad Jam, and the sense that Dengeki Bunko is asking the author to please keep the series going because it’s selling well and Llenn merch is cute. As a result, we get this new volume, the first of a two-part (?) story which seems to have one purpose: mock the author mercilessly.

OK, technically every single volume of this series has done that, but this one really makes the effort to get nastier. There’s a new squad jam, and the teams are the same (meaning Clarence and Shirley are still part of the squad). There’s complicated new rules which basically amount to “one team member gets to carry alternate gear for another team member”. Oh yes, and there’s one brand-new rule that is sent to everyone BUT one player. Yes, after essentially being the poster child for every single Squad Jam since the start, Llenn has gotten TOO famous, so now the added rule is that she has a bounty on her head, and whoever kills her in this game will get a pile of REAL money. Now she not only has to try to survive, but she has to find the rest of her team – they were all separated as the event began, and there’s mist everywhere!

For all that everyone in the book hates the author for not just letting them fight, this is a fairly clever setup that allows for what people REALLY want to see in each Squad Jam, which is something different. Separating everyone in particular is a great idea, as it allows us to get interaction we would not normally see, as Llenn forms a reluctant alliance with Vivi, the leader of the machine gunner’s squad. Speaking of which, this is just a game, unlike the original SAO, but there’s still a fair amount of violent death or near death. Vivi’s fate towards the end of this book is horrifying, and would likely have to be edited from the anime if one ever gets to this point. There’s a small attempt at plot, showing Vivi and Fuka are rivals in another game, but that just sets up a cliffhanger more than anything else. It’s pretty much pure action scenes and small characterization.

So yeah, as a book it’s light as air, and you’ll be hungry again right after reading it, but it serves its purpose. Maybe wrap it up soon, please, though?

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3

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By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

Good news! After two trauma-inducingly depressing volumes of this series, we finally get a volume of My Happy Marriage that is working towards the title. That’s not to say that this volume is all sweetness and light – honestly, this series is never going to be that, I expect, until the final 5 pages of the last volume. But compared to the first two books, this is a pleasant walk in the park. Indeed, I wonder if the author thought the same thing, given that the entire subplot that is being investigated by Kiyoka seems like something invented to give the book a bit more drama and heft. Miyo is still suffering, of course, but this time it’s straightforward, normal abuse that we’ve seen in many, many series like this – the abuse of a mother-in-law who hates her son’s choice of wife. And while she and Kiyoka are not quite on the same page yet, they do at least now understand how the other person thinks.

Kiyoka and Miyo are invited by his father back to the Kudou mansion, as there needs to be a “meet the parents” event. The only trouble is that Kiyoka and Hazuki seem to have minimal respect for their father, and they both absolutely despise their mother. Neither one wants Miyo to be anywhere near her. Unfortunately, Kiyoka also gets an investigation that’s in the same town that his family home is, so and and Miyo (Hazuki can’t make it) have to go and meet Mommie Dearest anyway. It goes about as well as you’d expect, especially since Kiyoka has to be away from the mansion for the investigation much of the time, leaving Miyo to deal with her all on her own. And while this is going on, there’s a huge horned monster terrifying people near an out-of-the-way shack…

How much the reader enjoys this probably depends on how much they can tolerate Fuyu, Kiyoka’s mother and a thoroughly unpleasant woman. Her verbal abuse towards Miyo is loathsome, and the novel’s resolution appears to be a combination of “I have seen that you can be useful so I will allow the marriage” and “I am a 50-year-old tsundere, the worst kind”. Miyo still has horrible self-hatred issues, which don’t help when Fuyu is belittling her (she simply agrees with everything Fuyu says), but she rapidly realizes that the reason Fuyu’s abuse actually hurts her is that she’s now experienced what it’s like to be loved. The joy of being accepted makes the pain of rejection harder to bear. That said, Miyo still tends to ignore her own emotional despair, something literally pointed out to her by Kiyoka… who, to be fair, does the same thing.

I can see people disliking this book, mostly as Fuyu does not really suffer any consequences for her abusive behavior. That said, it honestly felt like a lighter, softer volume? Which probably says more about the first two in the series than it does about this one. Still valiantly hoping for the title to be accurate one day.

The Holy Grail of Eris, Vol. 3

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By Kujira Tokiwa and Yu-nagi. Released in Japan as “Eris no Seihai” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

Boy howdy, this wrapped everything up just the way I wanted. OK, I admit, there was not enough Abigail, but I’ve come to terms with that. (And we also get Kimberly Smith, who is James Bond, as the author admits, and also wonderful.) And unfortunately the plot demanded that Connie essentially be stuck in a cell for the latter half of the book. But this actually turns out to be important as it allows us to see that a) everyone around her knows what a good and forthright person she is, and b) it allows Scarlett to have to take action on her own, rather than just stand behind Connie and snark (and occasionally possess her). And while we don’t get Abigail, we do get her daughter Lucia, who is made of 100% pure awesome and who I desperately want to see a sequel series about. She even has her own sidekick! Who is a foreign prince, sure, but let’s not sweat the details.

After discovering the truth of why Scarlett was executed ten years ago, Connie and Randolph go off to confront Scarlett’s father. That said, knowing this doesn’t actually CHANGE anything. Especially as Ulysses’ kidnapping is coming closer and closer to bringing nations to war. Not to mention that Princess Cecilia is still around. Oh yes, and Abigail’s daughter Lucia is also accidentally kidnapped, and added to the pile of children in danger. Connie is very good at running around, finding clues, and getting into trouble, which is what’s needed to find the real culprits… which is why the culprits decide to blame her for the kidnapping, lock her up, and execute her. Problem solved! Except that, unlike Scarlett ten years ago, everyone adores Connie…

By the way, if you are looking for a series with kickass women in it, this is a great choice. Even the villains kick ass, and get dramatic yet thematically appropriate death scenes. The throne war in the neighboring kingdom ends in a way that made me laugh, and also want to go back and read the second book again. The little ‘Character biographies’ that appear throughout the book, designed to read like otome game bios where they update as events happen, are laugh out loud hilarious. The climactic finale is heartwarming and heartbreaking. If there’s one flaw here it’s that I think the author and publisher wanted to leave room for a sequel, so we get a somewhat tacked on addition near the end, featuring the very first thorn in Connie’s side returning like Sadako. But I’ll forgive it, if only as it leads to what is essentially a polyamorous marriage. One man, one woman, and one ghost, as God intended.

The series ends here, but there is a fourth volume in Japan that has a sequel, with Connie and company going to the land of Scarlett’s late mother. However… it only came out in Japan digitally. I highly doubt that GA Novels would let Yen release a print book when Japan hasn’t, and I doubt Yen would license a digital-only 4th volume. So I suspect this is it. Oh well. Great finale, great series. Highly recommended for fans of thrillers.

Fox Tales

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By Tomihiko Morimi. Released in Japan as “Kitsune no Hanashi” by Shincho Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

After getting a couple of books in the previous few years, this is definitely the year of Tomihiko Morimi in North America. The Tatami Galaxy, one of their most famous works, in finally getting a translation into English next month. Tower of the Sun, their debut work, came out in August (though I did not review it as I read the first 20 pages or so and decided that I hated the protagonist so much I wanted to burn the book). And now we have Fox Tales, a short story collection that came out the same year as The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. But while that book was mostly whimsical fantasy with the occasional bout of melancholy, Fox Tales is straight up here to be scary and unnerving. It’s basically a yokai book, with four stories interconnected by a curio shop and also a mysterious fox/dragon creature that seems to act as a harbinger of bad things. The stories vary in quality, but the book is definitely worth a read.

In the first story, which is also the title story, a young man works part-time at a curio shop run by a middle-aged woman who falls under the dictionary definition of “mysterious”. Unfortunately, in an effort to protect her, the man gets involved with a nasty person who engages in trades, and has a way of making you REALLY want to make the trade. In the second story, our narrator falls in with a man who can’t stop telling stories of his past. The third story has a tutor of a high school boy run afoul of a mystery person who is going around beating people up, possibly due to something the family of his student did years ago. And in the final story, a young man (it’s always a different nameless young man, by the way) goes to his grandfather’s wake and ends up nearly drowning in family obligations and past sins.

One of the stories has a “twist” ending, but the twist is fairly easuy to figure out almost immediately, so I’d argue it’s not really meant to be a mystery. Mostly the stories set a mood, and succeed admirably. They have a lot of Morimi’s quirks, such as characters walking around back alleys, used bookstores, and how people actually feel buried in the things that they don’t quite say. It can also be scary – the first story is almost straight up horror, and the third story ends so abruptly I wondered if there were pages missing – it’s as if once we figure out the “why” there’s no reason to type any more. The final story was probably my favorite, digging deep into family history, the oppressiveness of funerals, and (as with all of these stories) the supernatural. The only story that didn’t work for me was the second one, which went for “melancholy” rather than “eerie” and didn’t seem to fit.

If you enjoy Morimi, this is a must buy. It’s also a good addition if you like spooky stuff.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 1

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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.

High school romcoms have made a big comeback in recent days. Technically, they never really went away in Japan, but like sports manga in the 2000s, non-supernatural tinged light novels in the 2010s were forbidden. The gateway has now burst open, though, helped by the breakout hits such as My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki and Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle. And we have the “sweet” subgenre, characterized by minimal conflict and a lot of “awwwww” moments. Now there’s a good chance that when a new series hits big numbers in Japan, and makes the end of year lists, it’s likely to get a license. And this year’s golden girl is Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. If you are asking “apart from the Russian, what’s so new about this variation?”, the answer is not much, though it does have an interesting twist I won’t spoil. But the main goal of this genre of books, being sweet and relaxing, works just fine.

Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou, aka Alya, is our heroine. She’s half-Russian, and is a transfer student into a school known for academic excellence who nevertheless ends up at the top of the grade charts. She’s known as the “solitary princess” for her general attitude, which is standoffish. Sitting next to her is Masachika Kuze, who is… look, just read any of the other books in this genre and you’ll know exactly what he’s like. Seemingly lazy and shiftless, secretly plagued by backstory and works hard when no one else can find out. That kind of guy. In class, Alya treats him harshly, scolding him, reminding him of the school rules, and calling him an idiot. That said, in reality she has a crush on him, and occasionally says things to herself in Russian to blow off steam about it. Unfortunately… Masachika knows Russian.

This is a good book. Likeable characters, fast and breezy writing, some amusing lines. Alya is a kuudere who does not really take much poking to get rid of the ‘kuu’ part, and honestly the main surprise was that they did not end up together at the end of the book – I suspect this was written with a longer series in mind, rather than as a “contest winner” one-shot. Masachika’s “tragic” backstory is rather mundane, but that ends up working well here, and reminds us that most teens don’t really need much to get derailed from their dreams. A divorce, a childhood friend disappearing, a realization that being a winner means there’s a loser… it’s standard stuff, but fits well here. And there’s also a lot of cute romcom scenes, helped out by Yuki, a fun character who appears to be the “other woman” in this book but ends up nothing of the sort.

Basically, I get why this is popular. If you like the genre, read it. If you want fast progress or more compelling drama, don’t read it.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 5

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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.

The fact that I still greatly enjoy this series despite it moving at a pace that would make a snail speed past it is testament to the good writing and strong characterization of the two leads. Last time I said that I didn’t feel Dahlia was quite mature enough to enter into a relationship, and that’s still true, but it has to be said that the exact same thing can be said about Volf. Plus, let’s face it, they’re essentially already married in how they act around each other every day. It just lacks the acknowledgement of attraction and desire. But boy, we’d really like to see that attraction and desire, huh? Volf is one slight step ahead of Dahlia in that he occasionally can admit his feelings (see his reaction when he hears Oswald has recommended Dahlia get a “large black-haired dog” to guard her at night. (Dahlia, of course, does not pick up on this at all, and starts asking about actual dogs.) Slow burn isn’t the word. Slow heating pad.

It’s a new volume, so we must be getting a new person who’s challenging Dahlia to verify that she’s not after Volf’s status or wealth and that she really is who she says she is. This time it’s Volf’s brother Guido, who tries to bribe Dahlia with a pile of cash, which works about as well as you’d expect. After this misunderstanding is cleared up (and Volf, who arrived late, expresses his displeasure at the whole thing), she bonds with Guido pretty quickly, as well as his bodyguard Jonas. She’s also becoming fast friends with her mentor Oswald, who is teaching her the proper, safe way to make tools (as opposed to the various not safe things she’s been doing to date), and giving her a protection bracelet made from precious materials. This triggers Volf’s jealousy… not that he’ll admit it. And she doesn’t notice it anyway.

Probably the most interesting part of the book is when Dahlia is convinced to actually outsource things so that she’ll have time to come up with new ideas. The problem with this is that the best company to outsource to is Orlando & Co., home of her ex. It is rather fitting how the company has fallen on hard times. At times you might think it’s a bit too much, and if you do I urge you to go back and read the first volume and see what Tobias did. Dahlia, of course, goes nowhere near the place, which is just as well, as she might be tempted to be too nice – indeed, she’s being too nice just subcontracting to them at all. Ivano’s scene with Ireneo is dark and chilling, both for his attitude towards the company and also for his ability to see that Tobias’ mother (who blames herself for everything that happens) is suicidal, and pauses things to make Ireneo stop her. This is a long way from “Dahlia and Volf drink and drink and drink some more”.

That said, rest assured we have that as well. (Also, have we even seen Tobias’ wife since she arrived to be the other woman? I will be 100% unsurprised if she did not bail as soon as the world turned against him.) Dahlia in Bloom remains a top-tier Heart title.

Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole, Vol. 1

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By Aloha Zachou and Tetubuta. Released in Japan as “Maryoku Cheat na Majo ni Narimashita: Sōzō Mahō de Kimamana Isekai Seikatsu” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Emily Hemphill.

A lot of new writers these days tend to start off writing fanfiction of their favorite series, or of the popular series of the time. The good authors know how to skillfully take the original world and add their own take and characterization to it. The less good authors simply rewrite the original as prose, adding the occasional difference but largely having events go the same way. I am starting to feel that way about a lot of these “reincarnated into a fantasy world with OP stats” books. They may have different villages, or dungeons, and this one at least lacks a harem of slave girls (instead having a golem daughter-figure… I’ll go with daughter as the alternative skeeves me), but for the most part if you’ve read Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, you’ve pretty much read the same sort of things that happen here. It’s not a good sign when even the chapter titles are pleasant but boring.

We start off with our main character dying and meeting God. We don’t hear a single thing about their past life, though they appear to have been a woman named Chise. In any case, God reincarnates her into a different world, and she chooses ‘Creation Magic’ as her one cheat skill that gods inevitably give dead people in this genre. Ending up in the middle of absolutely nowhere, Chise slowly begins to figure out how this world works and how her powers work. Very, very slowly. Eventually she creates a golem, and then by feeding the golem magic stones the golem evolves into Teto, a very strong and naive young woman who is deeply devoted to Chise. Together, the two of them rescue adventurers, gather herbs, fight ogres, and help a village to acquire basic survival skills.

This is from Micro Magazine’s GC Novels imprint, and I’ve talked before about how this imprint seems to have a very high miss ratio for me. I’m afraid this is another one. It improves in the second half with the village, and when it tries to focus on the fact that as a consequence of Chise raising her magic powers so high she’s also accidentally making herself immortal. Unfortunately, the first half is an absolute slog, especially for non-gamers who do not care how Chise tries various ways to kill things, or create things, or raise her magic. Also, and I blame the editors more than the translator here, one thing Chise creates to help her level up is named, repeatedly, a “strange fruit”. Even if that was its name in the Japanese romanji, or if it turns out it’s a familiar RPG thing, it should have been changed to ‘weird fruit’ or ‘bizarre fruit’ or something similar. Please google the words, or search on Spotify, if you don’t already know why.

If you’re a fan of overpowered characters who look like 12-year-olds walking around being incredibly powerful… there are STILL better books to read than this one.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 7

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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 Seven Seas. Translated by Andria Cheng.

If the first book in the “Accomplishments of the Duchess” prequel was about discovering the hellion that Merellis once was, this volume is about showing us how she came to be the woman we know from the main series. In essence, this is also a book about her training for battle, it’s just the battles she’s going to face are in society rather than in the military, and the enemy is anyone who dares to look down on her. And, frankly, she takes to this just as well as she took to being a swordswoman. Frankly, as I’ve said before, Accomplishment of the Duke’s Daughter is not a series to read if you want to see protagonists struggling valiantly against impossible odds. For the most part, it’s about seeing women kick ass, in a variety of settings. In that regard, this volume works perfectly fine. And, in case you were worried we’d lose the awesome swordplay and butchering of enemies, no worries, we get a bit of that as well.

There is an ominous beginning, where Merellis’ father forbids her from taking up the sword and announces she’s going to be engaged to be married to the son of Duke Armelia, a political marriage. She suffers greatly over this for about five pages, but the reader is in on the joke, so we know everything will be fine once she figures out who the duke’s son is. After that it’s just a matter of shifting gears. If she can protect the most people around her through politics rather than the blade, then politics it is. As such, Louis’ mother gives Merellis a crash course in nobility, something she has assiduously been avoiding for the past several years. Just in time too, as it’s time for her to make her debut and attend the academy. Let’s hope it goes smoother for her than it did for her daughter…

I enjoyed seeing how Merellis’ training in military and the sword can be of use to her in society, particularly in how she watches the way people move and stand. Twins who are indebted to her father for saving their lives arrive at the estate, and Merellis can tell very rapidly that a) they have some basic fighting skills, and b) they’re OK to trust. These skills will serve her well. The book’s pacing is sometimes a problem, and sometimes the plots it drops can be more ominous than intended – Merellis’ old maid injures herself and is forced to return home, and there is a suggestion that she will die… which she may indeed have done, as we never hear from her for the rest of the book. It’s at times like these that the series shows off its seat-of-the-pants webnovel roots.

Fans of the main series may still be a bit put off that Iris is only in the wraparound at the start and end of this, but for those who found her mother to be a cool character, good news, here’s more of her.

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 2

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By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

It’s probably time to bring up Michael Moorcock and the series Elric of Melnibone, a series that I’m 100% sure that Maito Ayamine has read over and over again. This particular light novel series happens to feature a silver-haired protagonist who wields a sword that supposedly takes the souls of those it kills and gives them to their patron. Which, well, is exactly what happens in Elric as well. That said, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade does not remotely have a sense of tragedy or pathos in it, running instead on “gosh, that murderous military scamp, isn’t she adorable?”. In the Elric series, you can be reasonably certain that everyone around Elric, particularly his love interests or close friends, will die. Olivia has Ashton has her not-quite-love interest, and Claudia as her “in my heart, this is an OTP” best friend/morality chain, but I have little worry that they’ll be killed off anytime soon. The same can’t be said for anyone else on the side of the Empire.

After the events of the first book, Olivia has gotten a bit of a reputation. In fact, she’s being called a monster, something she is not happy with. (Later she gets upgraded to “God of Death”, which pleases her much more). The book rapidly becomes a series of battles where the moral of the story is “if Olivia is here, or able to get here in the nick of time, we will win. Otherwise, bad things will happen.” The Empire tries sending some of its strongest warriors to fight her, and then a few of its generals. The outcome is the same. It helps that she has Ashton’s tactics, of course, which are also rapidly being appreciated more and more, by her allies if not by the Empire. Can someone come along that causes Olivia to reflect on what she has become? Or is it just “I want to eat delicious cake and butcher enemies, and this town has no cake?”.

In case it was not crystal clear, you should only be reading this series if you have no trouble with a moral void of a main character. In any other series, Olivia would be the terrifying villain. Indeed, I was sort of expecting Claudia to turn to Ashton at some point, possibly after Olivia had decided on the blood and skulls-themed family name as the one she’ll take going forward, and say “Are we the baddies?”. No, you’re not, but that’s really only because there are no goodies in this book, really. Everything can be abandoned in the name of military victory. There is some lip service paid to what it means to be a good lord of a city, in terms of protecting the people who live in that city from harm, but even there the lesson is taught by the execution of the errant lord.

Essentially, this is a very dark series, but it’s not written in a dark manner. It’s written as if this is Haruhi Suzumiya with a sword. That sort of dissonance is probably what makes it interesting.