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The Twelve Kingdoms, Book Two: Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea, Part 2

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By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan.

Last time I assumed that things would get better for Youko over the course of this second book, and to be fair they do SORT OF, but it does not remove the trauma of what has happened to her, especially once she discovers that this journey, much as she would like it to be otherwise, is pretty one-sided. By the end of the first book she was betrayed twice over, and is mentally and physically on her last legs, and so at the start of this book she regards any act of kindness at all as an attempt to soften her up before they betray her again. It doesn’t help that she’s still getting attacked by youma, which she’s getting quite good at killing – her sword skills are improving by leaps and bounds! – but it does also mean that she’s starting to regard herself as a bad person… and perhaps not even a person at all. Which, um, turns out to be correct. Except for the bad part.

After the events of the last volume, Youko is in bad shape, and unable to trust anyone. She ends up, fortunately, getting picked up by the best possible rat that she can. And no, I don’t mean a rat as in a terrible person, I mean an actual walking, talking rat. Rakushun is a Hanjyuu, a half-beast, who is smart and kind but unfortunately in the wrong kingdom to be able to get ahead. He spends a large portion of the start of the book trying to convince Youko that he’s not going to sic the guards on her the first chance he can get. He also gives her a lot more information about this world, which will come in handy when they are inevitably separated on their journey and she has to go on alone. Eventually she ends up in the kingdom of En, which is a LOT better than where she was. Unfortunately, the youma keep attacking her no matter where she is.

I was prepared for this to feel a lot different from the anime, as Sugimoto doesn’t exist in the novels beyond the very start. But wow, this book is concerned with Youko and her situation, and everything else about it is secondary. Not to spoil too much, but there’s a huge battle between an army of soldiers trying to protect a false queen and Youko and a number of crack troops, and it starts on page 209 and is done by page 210. The false queen herself takes up half of the cover art. We never meet her. This book is laser-focused on Youko and her thought process, and it’s absolutely riveting. We see her start at the lowest possible ebb, and as she gradually learns to trust again and gains more and more information, she realizes how intertwined she is with this world and how it’s practically impossible for her to run away without causing a catastrophe. The climax of the book is not the battle – it can’t be. It’s Youko’s choice. The rest is just an afterthought.

Now, the next book does not in fact focus on Youko, but moves to a different kingdom, as if to remind us that the title of the book is indeed The Twelve Kingdoms. I still can’t wait to read it.

The Adorable Dungeon Master, Vol. 1

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By Hunger and Llo. Released in North America by J-Novel Club.

This is the 2nd of the J-Novel Club original light novel contest winners I’ve taken a look at, this one with illustrations by the artist who does Reincarnated as a Sword. Unlike An Unruly Summon, I don’t think the author has a large number of similar-looking webnovel series lying around the internet, so this is definitely the first I’ve seen of them. This won the Bookwalker Prize, which was as far as I can tell the one the Bookwalker Judge wanted to single out, and the judge commented on how cute it was. And they’re not wrong. Though you may not guess it after reading the prologue, this book is called The Adorable Dungeon Master and that’s exactly what you will get. Lilac’s inner narration can be a hoot, as she alternates between being a sensible gamer bringing modern-day knowledge to a “based on a game medieval fantasy” world and a chatterbox young women with no off switch. She loves cute things, and there’s a lot of them as well. That said, be warned: this is about as deep as a puddle, and the one or two times I thought it might get deeper, it ran away from it.

Luicia Morales has big plans. Sure, she was a bit of a nerd in high school, mostly interested in linguistics, and with an overprotective family making sure no guys came anywhere near her. But now her family is getting ready to move out of the dangerous neighborhood they live in, and she’s going to study to be an interpreter! Unfortunately… no, not Truck-kun… as she’s about to get in the moving van, a nearby turf war means she’s shot and killed as a passerby. She wakes up as (try to contain your surprise) the character in the old game she loved! She’s a Sprigian (fairy), she’s about half to a third of the size of a human, cute as hell, and she’s stacked and has a big ass, which I merely mention here because she mentions it an awful lot. She’s also very OP, and as it turns out she’s the Heir of Balance, which means she’s Very Important. Which is good, as she’s in the nightmarish forest of monsters.

This is, as I said, a lot lighter in tone than the grim beginning might suggest. Lucia/Lilac has one brief moment where she grieves about her death and thinks of her family, but her grief causes bad weather in the fairy castle she’s in (it’s controlled by her emotions), so she basically moves on to make things nicer. There are actual bad guys in this new world, but they’re all of the “cartoonishly evil noble” sort, and the biggest surprise in the book is that the fate of one of them isn’t just “killed off in the worst possible way”. The best parts of the book are when Lilac is either making new minions and interacting with them (I particularly liked the bear who turns out to be a bear mascot who is cripplingly shy), or when she’s actually thinking about the linguistics that she wanted to be her specialty back in Japan… wait, no, this is an OLN, back in America, I assume. She bonds with an ancient human scholar in the new world, and their relationship was pretty cute, and possibly the healthiest she has given that her default way of looking at those she’s created as minions tends to be “oh no he’s hot”.

There is an exciting battle against a giant frog/crocodile lake monster near the end, but for the most part this book is for people who don’t want to see its lead break a sweat, but they do want to see her snuggle cute giant wolf puppies and make teddy bears for young princesses.

Long Story Short, I’m Living in the Mountains, Vol. 3

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By Asagi and Shino. Released in Japan as “Zenryaku, Yama Kurashi wo Hajimemashita” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by N. Marquetti.

I’ve talked a lot about this series as a slow life series, and about the romance or lack thereof, and even a bit about how it’s sort of a bizarre fantasy only not quite. But this volume really hammers home the title of the book, which is that Sano and his fellow emotionally damaged neighbors have bought a mountain and are living on it now. And sometimes this can be difficult. Mountains require a lot of maintenance, you need to keep an eye out for dangerous animals and insects, and there’s always the danger of a typhoon coming through or a harsh winter. And sometimes having a mountain with animals on it can be useful, especially when you’re feeling smothered and still trying to avoid your core issues, so your visit to your parents can take place in less than an hour before you beg off and flee once again to the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Life goes on for Sano, though he finds he needs to be more careful and perhaps also get more exercise at several points during this book. While cutting grass he gets a very bad cut, and has to get some help from others to get it stitched up. He visits his parents, as I said before, and then comes right back the same day. He makes sure that the murder hornets on Katsuragi’s mountains are taken care of, mostly thanks to his chickens wanting to eat them. He deals with chestnuts, and excess crayfish. A typhoon is coming, and he has to manage preparations, calm his animals, and then deal with the aftermath, which can sometimes involve huge trees on your mountain path. And, as the book ends, he prepares for his first real winter on the mountain (he arrived near the end of the last one).

Aside from “owning a mountain is hard”, we also see Sano’s desperate desire to be left alone and not owe anyone anything, which does not come up explicitly in his dialogue but is implicit with everyone else. He seems baffled by the fact that people keep offering him dinner, or stuff to take back home, or that they’ll help him free of charge. He needs there to be a transaction of some sort, and that just isn’t going to happen on this mountainside. There’s also the bizarre harem he’s acquiring – not in a romantic way, mind you, but both Katsuragi and Aikawa are angling to become a person who is close to him, someone he can open up to. So far Aikawa is winning, but that’s mostly due to underlying sexism on Sano’s part. That said, it’s also due to hsi chickens. One of whom is essentially acting like his wife. Add this to the lamia who is acting as Aikawa’s girlfriend, and you can see that the fantasy animals in this series are sort of psychological trauma write large… or the solution to said trauma.

Next time we apparently introduce a new regular, which might shake things up a bit. Till then, this is slow life for slow life fans, with no pesky danger or plot twists getting in the way.

BLADE & BASTARD: Drag Him High

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By Kumo Kagyu and so-bin. Released in Japan as “Blade & Bastard” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

I’ve talked before about how a reader should not be angry that their genre book is in a genre. For example, being annoyed that an isekai has people transported to another world seems a bit petty. And I do occasionally have to remind myself of this rule. Blade & Bastard is a series where there’s a lot of mysteries going on behind the scenes that I would like to find out about, and we even get a glimpse of some of them at the start of this book, making me quite happy. But then I am reminded: this is a book whose sole purpose is to advertise the game Wizardry, and it’s never really going to get out of that wheelhouse. As a result, after about 1/3 of a book where we tease stuff we’ve wondered about for a while, it’s back to the dungeons, back to fighting demons and zombies, and of course back to folks dying horribly and needing to be resurrected. Well, hopefully resurrected. There’s a cliffhanger, and some of those folks are still dead.

All the adventurers have been called together, as the Crown Prince is coming, and they all have to at least bow a bit. All except Iarumas’ group, of course – they’re off in the dungeon, and don’t show up. Festin, said crown prince, is somewhat grumpy about this, as he really wanted to see Garbage – and is very ticked off when Garbage finally does show up, and is not very happy either. We also hear a bit about the tragic backstory that every woman in the royal family has – one princess had a demon attack the palace while she was there, one Queen reigned during a hideous calamity, and one queen had her sister turn to evil. And then there’s Garbage, who… well, we keep hinting about what’s going on with Garbage, but that’s all we’re gonna get, still. Because unfortunately, somebody kidnaps the prince and all his maids, and kills all his guards (and also turns them to stone, so I think they’re dead dead). And takes them… to the dungeon, of course.

There’s a large number of folks in this book who have red hair and compelling eyes, the same as the royal family. Not only Prince Festin (who I have used male pronouns for as the book does, but I won’t be surprised if that changes) and Garbage, but also Flack, the monster who is the main antagonist of this book. When they say the royal family is cursed, they’re not kidding. That said, there is some nice character development in amongst all the grim dungeon horror. Aine fails to stop the abduction/murders, and feels very depressed about it (going to, in one of the most surreal moments in the whole series, a fantasy baseball game to clear her head) and Iarumas has to cheer her up. (They still have romantic subtext that likely won’t go anywhere, but it’s very present here.) As for Iarumas, he helps everyone else get character development by dying horribly, meaning the rest of the group has to not only bring his corpse back to be resurrected, but they also want to defeat whoever killed him. They’re getting strong. Even if they all deny it.

If you like dungeon crawl fights featuring every stereotype in the book, this remains a fast, compelling read. We’re caught up again, though, so have patience.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 8

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By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

The author, in the afterword to this volume, discusses the anime, and says that they asked for the long subtitle to be removed to make it easier to take. Which I agree worked very well for the anime, which was more concerned with Beryl’s sword feats than about which girl will win. The novels, though, are definitely concerned with which girl will win, so the subtitle seems appropriate. Previously, Beryl had stated that he could never take a wife that was one of his former students, but also, when offered what amounts to a perfect marriage to a woman who really likes him, he backs off like she’s on fire. Beryl simply cannot accept that people find him attractive and a good partner. He knows Allucia is in love with him, but his immediate thought is “she can do better”. Something’s got to give here, and since Beryl isn’t doing it, stronger measures are needed.

This volume is essentially three short stories. In the first part, Beryl and Allucia try to find her the perfect sword, and Beryl is dissatisfied till he remembers he still has that monster core from four books ago. He then goes off with Mewi to have dinner at a nice seafood restaurant, courtesy Surena, who promised him she’d find a place for him. In the second part, he watches the new hopefuls try out for the knights, including the twins we saw when he returned home to his dojo, who seem to have lots of flaws (particularly the hotheaded Adel), but are also still good enough to make the cut in the end. (This is not a spoiler, come on, everyone he teaches turns to gold.) Lastly, he and the new recruits head north to a town by the mountains, where he meets a friend he hadn’t seen since they were kids, who now heads the knight order there.

Kennith is the old childhood friend, and he’s also on the cover art. He’s the one who can try to kick Beryl’s ass about picking a wife. Mostly as it is blindingly obvious to everyone on the planet that Allucia is in love with him, but is basically quietly waiting. Beryl’s “but they’re my students” protest gets a reminder that a) he’s not the one pursuing them as a teacher, and b) they’re all in their twenties by now, and no longer his students – there’s not the power imbalance that comes with such a relationship normally (indeed, Allucia is in a higher position than Beryl), and relationships between mid-forties guys and early twenties girls in a fantasy setting might raise an eyebrow, but that’s about it. Most importantly, though, a trip to a hot spring prods Allucia to take the initiative and force Beryl to confront her feelings and the fact that he thinks she’s gorgeous. His response is “give me time” – no surprise there – but she’s content, especially as it seems that her only rival right now is Shueste.

That may change with Book 9, which seems to star Surena, and I do wonder if we’ll get another go round of “different girl in love with him each book” before he makes a decision. Till then, this remains solid and unassuming, much like its lead.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 21

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by RFD.

This is a long-running series – 21 volumes plus a .5 or two – and it’s been interesting watching the series evolve. While its tendency to have a cast of adorable kids doing adorable things has remained constant throughout, as has Yuna being hideously overpowered but also seeming to hate herself more than a bit, there are several things that we used to see that we don’t see quite as much anymore, notably that this series can be very dark. There has been murder, sexual assault, abuse of countless women and children, etc. in the early books. Once the books started getting really popular, that seemed to be dialed back a bit, with less of “let’s go rescue the people locked in the basement” and more “let’s watch Yuna build a bear bakery”. This volume, though, gets back to the OG a little bit, as we meet a noble girl who has quite a tragic backstory, and unfortunately the tragedy is still impacting her present. Fortunately for her, Yuna is still hideously overpowered… wait, is she?

Noa is headed to the town of Yufaria, there to see her sister Shia compete at a matchup between the Crimonian school and the Yufarian. Yuna is going there as bodyguard, but has been asked to tone it down – no bear suit – and has acquiesced, though she still wears her bear paws and shoes. Unfortunately, a noble girl, Seleiyu, spots them and is horrified at Noa walking around without protection. Yuna, with her pitifully puny body and weak, flabby arms, could not possibly be able to protect this important girl. (Yuna’s reaction to this, which is more “sigh…” than anything else, is appreciated.) After Yuna proves that even without a bear suit she can still take out teenage girls, no matter how talented they are, they proceed to cheer Shia on in the competition. Unfortunately, Seleiyu seems to have a secret weighing her down… and does not think she has much longer to live.

So yes, the tragedy is back for this book, and I appreciated that the book stays true to its roots, as the bad guy is not only incredibly evil but also truly petty and deluded. We’re not getting any shades of grey in THIS series. We also definitely have another applicant for the role of Yuna’s wife, though there’s a pretty high wall of “I don’t really know what romance is” to climb. The author seemed at first to be ambivalent to the yuri they almost accidentally created, but especially after the anime has leaned into it more (see the previous SS volume for Yuna’s opinion on her own anime). Seleiyu over the course of the book goes from “who does this girl think she is trying to protect Lady Noir?” to “If you were a boy I think I could fall in love… actually, even if you are a girl…”. Yuna, needless to say, ignores this – hell, just accepting that someone thinks she’s pretty in a dress is a huge hurdle.

We’re caught up with Japan – no Vol. 22 on the horizon – so it may be a while before we see Yuna. For now, enjoy our new cast member with a one-sided crush – and she’s Yuna’s own age this time!

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 11

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite romcom with one running gag. It’s still great. They’re both still really sweet. But the entire series has one joke, used throughout, which makes it hard to review. The joke is the fact that everyone in the world thinks these two have gone further than they have. This is not helped by Yoshin and Nanami themselves, who feed each other oranges in the cafeteria with no care (well, Yoshin cares, but he simply ignores the rest of the school because he’s in love with his girl). But the class can’t get over the fact that the two cannot stop flirting with each other, little girls on the street are ready to see them becoming parents soon, and their own parents are torn between wanting them to get sexually active (as it’s what they did in high school) and wanting to prevent it at any cost (because once they get a first taste, these two will never be able to stop screwing until Nanami is pregnant).

The class is back from Hawaii, and it becomes very clear that Japan is in a different season. December is around the corner, and Yoshin gets a cold, and has to have a strangely enthusiastic Nanami take care of him. Next is Yoshin’s birthday, which he has to admit he’s never really cared about much before. But now he has friends, a girlfriend, and something besides video games, so it’s time for birthday-related events, Nanami-style. And of course there’s Christmas, which is a couple’s holiday in Japan. Sure, they’re going to do a class party, with Secret Santa and prizes. But the main reason to get excited is sexy Santa outfits. Well, that and the fact that their parents are letting her stay the night at his place… alone. Will this be the volume that they finally sleep together?

I mean, technically yes, in this volume they both mutually agree to sleep next to each other. But no overt touching, because, as I said above, once they pop they can’t stop. But yeah, come on, you know there’s no sex, and that’s the only real plot – will they sex? No. Instead, let’s talk about the title, as I saw someone recently say that the title is telling a lie as Nanami is not remotely a gyaru in the way that most otaku see them. I’d have to agree that in terms of her general attitude she’s more of a yamato nadeshiko with a teasing side. and a touch of the dojikko as well. The gyaru part mostly comes from her fashion sense, and her careful cultivation of outfits, both for herself and for her boyfriend, throughout the series. “This male fantasy is head over heels for me” does not sell nearly as many books, though.

We’re caught up with Japan, as the 12th book just came out last month. It promises a hot springs trip for two! Will it be 200 pages of porn? (I’d settle for half a page of porn.) Recommended for those who love cinnamon rolls who are too good for this world, too pure.

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates, Vol. 4

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By Choko and kaworu. Released in Japan as “Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru” by Dragon Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sasha Schiller.

This series makes no bones about the fact that it is a comedy. So much of this volume is utterly ridiculous, and it’s not just the Tanaka family being giant overpowered weirdos. They’ve also influenced everyone around them to be better, and the knock-on effects of that are not only heartwarming but also funny. (I enjoyed the running gag of “the wait for grandchildren was extended”.) Other folks in this series are also loopy eccentrics, mostly as they love Emma and would do anything for her. And the entire back half of this volume is the folks in not-Japan trying to get the Tanaka family to leave them to die and return to safety, followed by 10 pages or so of them screaming “what the hell is wrong with you?”. There is a hint that the 5th book in the series may have a darker, more serious plotline… but we know it won’t. Emma will just be shiny and the problem will solve itself.

Having heard about the disaster currently destroying the Eastern Empire, and now that it’s summer break, they’re off to solve the problem and get themselves some Japanese food!… and also save everyone. Right, that comes first. Maybe. This leaves most of the rest of the supporting cast behind in the kingdom to have their own adventures, such as learning about the horrible slum life of the orphans (Edward), turning heads at a ball (Emma’s friends), suffering from the lack of their goddess (everyone back at the their domain, which they won’t be going back to this summer), and getting dumped in a poor village with bad food and worse shelter in order to learn how the non-noble folks live (Robert). Meanwhile, the Tanaka Family, Joshua (who is coordinating shipping and fanboying over Emma), a spare orphan who seems to be there to learn how to be a ninja, and the 4 Empire ninja/cooks, who Emma has renamed as Hispanic cooks for some reason, are going to the Eastern Empire to see what can be done.

I could not get over how much I enjoyed seeing every single Tanaka go full ham once they reached the Empire. This is foreshadowed a bit by Emma’s pilfered bugs growing to massive size by accident, and Emma convincing her furious mother that they will just be able to cut through those horrible monsters with GUTS! Much to the surprise of the bugs, who seem to doubt this. But sure enough, on arrival, and after boot camp with the monster cats, Emma’s bugs are indeed able to do everything that she says they can. All of this is done with maximum LOL factor, as Emma is far more concerned about getting monster parts and tasty monster food to worry about, y’know, everyone giving up and accepting death. Hell, by the end of the volume they “accidentally” build a hot springs inn, complete with multiple rooms, made from the corpses of the monsters that were supposedly unkillable. Silly monster, you cannot defeat the narrative.

So, now that they’re heading back home, will Emma be forced to move to another country and be the cruel plaything of religious zealots? Hardly. Bet she’ll do something completely bonkers, though. This is amazingly silly, but if you accept that it’s great fun.

The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat, Vol. 1

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By Yukiha Kuroyuki and Uodenim. Released in Japan as “Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Ben Trethewey. Adapted by Kylee Yasin.

I haven’t really dipped my toe into the smaller pool of “villain” books, which is to say the genre and basic plot beats are the same, but it’s someone being reincarnated as a terrible man rather than a terrible woman. This also is one of a small number of books where the reincarnated person and the “bad” person they’ve replaced/overwritten actually struggle to see who’s really in charge. Luke was supposed to be another stereotype of these fantasy books – the snobby, coasts by on his family name, rude to absolutely everyone sort. But our new reincarnated guy knows that that is, as Katarina Claes would put it, a path to doom! So he tries to change. Can he be nice?… no. Can he reach out to others to ask for help?… provided he frames it as an arrogant command. This will be tough. Fortunately, he can actually put in the work and study. Also fortunately, the series he’s in is a comedy.

Luke Witharia Gilbert has just remembered that he’s actually a character in a light novel. What’s worse, he doesn’t really remember all that much about the light novel except the basics. He knows that he’s a talented but lazy arrogant ass who is doomed to be killed by the “you can do anything with enough willpower!” hero in a few years. While the real Luke inside his head won’t let him stop being an asshole to almost everyone he meets, he can at least do something about the lazy. So he demands his butler (an ex-soldier) teach him the sword… and he’s brilliant at it. Then he demands a wandering magic lecturer teach him magic… and he has rare and powerful dark magic. He’s told by his father to find himself a girl to get engaged to… and ends up with a talented bombshell who is cold and sneering to everyone… till she meets Luke, and discovers what she really wants in life. Frankly, maybe it’s the hero who should worry.

The author in the afterword straight up admits that it’s tough to take a book in this genre and set it apart from the others. Their solution was to make everyone a “pervert”, though how you define that depends how you feel about such things. Certain Alfred, the butler, is not a pervert in any sense but his desire to see Luke grow to be the strongest in the world. Alice *is* a masochist, as she discovers once Luke effortlessly defeats her in a duel, but her desire to be worthy of staying at his side makes her also a genius who tries. Mia, a young girl who has talent but also a case of the self-doubts gets crushed when she duels… and turns to Luke to make her better. Basically, he’s warping the entire narrative around himself. The hero, Abel, is a nice guy who reads like a Jump hero, but he has no chance in a series like this. I also worry about his obvious love interest Lily. I can see this series going the NTR route as part of its comedy. Luke is just that good. (I was amused that the one time he actually “lost” is when Alice basically stripped naked and started to kiss him. Some things you can’t sneer your way out of.)

If OP characters bother you, steer clear. But I honestly found this a hoot. I look forward to seeing Luke be mean to others and force them to be the best that they can be in the future.

The Devil Princess, Vol. 2

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By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I got startled 3/4 of the way through this book, but this time it was more because I forgot the premise than for any “what a twist” reasons. I was so distracted by our little evil princess’ “reincarnated as a villainess” style storyline that I forgot about the first part of Volume 1. And so when we got her four lazy, eccentric and just plain awful retainers, I was expecting it to be either the standard “she whips them into shape with the power of intense training”, or, later on, “she whips them into shape by putting the fear of god into them”. Then the actual plot kicks in, and each of the four retainers gets a lovely little “this is why I am a terrible person deep down” flashback, and I realized that this was not the direction this series was going. And then I was surprised, and reminded of the first part of Volume 1, which explains everything. Gotta pay attention to things.

Over the course of the book Princess Yulucia goes from four to six years old, and it’s an eventful time. She has her debut at a ball where everyone is absolutely overwhelmed by her (or terrified of her), but her sisters still manage to act just like wicked stepsisters always do in these sorts of books. She gains the aforementioned attendants, who are, respectively, bad and obsequious, bad and lazy, bad and angry, and bad and ditzy. She heals people with crippling diseases (yay), and cures the early male pattern baldness of various loser nobles (less yay). Unfortunately, another very striking young noble is inviting girls to her own nighttime tea party… and some of them are not coming back. Time for Yulucia to investigate… and do something about her sucky servants.

The last quarter of this book is not quite as striking as the first volume, but Yulucia makes it very clear that she does not suffers fools gladly, and if they don’t improve, well, their souls will be destroyed. That’s how it rolls with demons. Fortunately, she’s able to save their bodies, and it turns out she has some very capable folks to inhabit those bodies. We also see some innocent lesser nobles get invited to Miss Mylene’s tea party, and we never see them again, so clearly this is not a case of “and then we found them in the attic and returned them to their parents” but “and then we found their corpse with the others”. As with the author’s other series, this is not for the faint of heart, and gets pretty horrific… but it can also be very funny at times. Sometimes at the same time. As for Yulucia, her stepsisters may be a bigger issue going forward, as the older one seems to be the one person who sees her true self.

I hear that future volumes go even further off the rails, so I’m not sure where this will end up. For the moment, though, I’m happy to be following along.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor: Operation Records

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By Sasara Nagase and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoshi Reijō wa Ryūtei Heika o Kōryaku-chū” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

Yes, that’s right, it’s short story collection time. Indeed, this is the first of two short story collections, as the one next month is sort of a “what if we were on the original timeline” collection of Bad End stories. This one, though, consists of stories that take place in the first four books. The content is varied, as you might expect, but in general it’s happy to play around with the core conceit of this series: Jill is 11 years old, she is engaged to the Dragon Emperor, and the reader is never, ever going to be able to handwave that away the way folks do with some age-gap romances in anime and manga. Because Jill and Hadis can’t handwave it away either – they are touched by destiny, very much in love with each other, incredibly jealous when someone else takes interest in them, and incredibly insecure about themselves. This is cute, this is romantic, this is cool, but again – she’s 11. (Well, 17 if you count her former life, but only she does that.)

About half these stories are short, 1-3 page bits that I won’t recap here. The longer ones: 1) We see just before the series begins, from the perspective of Hadis and Rave, as well as the immediate aftermath of Jill’s actions. 2) A teenage girl helps out at the local bakery, and finds one day that the new baker is a very handsome man… in fact, it’s the Dragon Emperor. We then get the “Mr. Baker” part of the story from the bakery POV. 3) Jill, watching Hadis dance with other noble girls and feeling like she doesn’t measure up, is given a makeover by Hadis’ sisters. It works a little TOO well. 4) Hadis keeps getting accosted by girls in Cervel “tripping” and needing to be helped by him, while Jill worries, again, one might succeed. 5) Jill’s younger twin brothers discover what’s happened to her, and are rather upset at it. 6) Vissel struggles to deal with a possible impending war, as well as his own arranged marriage, with a fiancée he’s barely met. 7) Hadis and Jill go to the graves of the former Dragon Consorts, and discuss the past and the future.

For the most part, this is pretty lighthearted. The comedic highlight is definitely Vissel’s fiancée Gloria, who seems pretty ticked off at him, and so decides to go and become a tuna fisherman. Trust me, it works in context. And while it does get a bit old, there are times when Jill and Hadis each trying to make the other one fall even more in love with them is quite funny – the aftermath of the Jill Makeover Plan does not go well for anyone involved, and Jill is left to realize that if she’s going to do this again she needs to stop being a size that Hadis can easily carry around. There is some serious stuff going on here, though. Jill’s decision impacts her family greatly, and while eventually some of them warm to Hadis, she’s never going to be able to be as close to them ever again. And there’s also the reminder of the tragic past of every dragon consort, and that Jill could one day join them. Though, given this author, probably not.

Fans of the series should be very happy with this. That said, I think next month’s book may be even more interesting.

The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman: The Price of Glory, Part 1

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By Kamihara and Shiro46. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijo to Sūki na Jinsei o” by Hayakawa Shobo. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

For the most part, Trials and Tribulations is content to wallow in the genre of “political intrigue”, as Karen finds herself getting involved in everything under the sun despite her best efforts. There’s also a bit of romance, though only a bit, as Karen has to literally be told about her growing feelings and she’s still pretty much in denial about them. That said, occasionally this series has dipped into straight up horror. Until now that’s also been part of the political intrigue, as we get politically-motivated massacres and regicide. The start of this third volume, though, is horror for horror’s sake, as Karen ends up trapped in a house with a bunch of rooms with corpses in them, and then is pretty much told without words “please become the next corpse”. The whole thing is unsettling both to her and to us, and things are not helped when Six, after rescuing her, admits that she was bait so that they could find out what was in that trap. This makes her unhappy.

After being freed from the murder house, Karen understandably comes down with a fever, which is what nobles do when they have too much stress. The fever is not helped when her brother Arno arrives to check on her… with Wilhelmina, who the family is now supporting. Of course, Karen is supporting Reinald, and as such things are a bit difficult between her end of the family and the main one now. Especially as Karen’s mysterious parentage is now the subject of rumor, and even though it’s not proven everyone seems to think her real father is a big-shot military man in the Empire… who is neutral in the throne war, so Karen is an even more useful pawn. Things then get even more troubling when the Emperor himself invites her to a ball… which means she will be forced to dance, and yes, dancing badly can mean you need to leave nobility entirely. She’s beyond bad. Finally, there’s a big fight with her best friend Ern, about which more below.

For the most part, the isekai in this book is used to show that Karen does not think like other nobles born in this world think (the funniest part of the book is when Karen, desperate to try to pay Reinald back for everything he’s done, offers to skin a deer and serve it for dinner to him, which causes his jaw to drop). But she’s not the only reincarnated character, and one could argue that Ern has had an even greater impact on this world. Karen is just dealing with politics and everyone wanting her to join their faction because she’s nice to them. Ern had a far worse life in our world, and a far worse death, and she is desperate to make something for herself in this new world,. despite a) the fact that she thinks she’s not doing anything but copying our world’s stuff so feels like a fake, and b) the fact that she’s starting an arms race by introducing modern weaponry to a society that’s not ready for it. The climax of this book (OK, the halfway point, but it’s a very good break) is her and Karen having a big fight about this, and I’ll be honest, the title of this arc does not make me optimistic she’ll get a happy ending here.

Karen will probably be OK, though she will no doubt suffer. But that’s why we read this. As always, this is addictive reading and highly recommended.

D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared, Vol. 4

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By KONO Tsuranori and ttl. Released in Japan as “D Genesis: Dungeon ga Dekite 3-nen” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ian Sacks.

Because I didn’t get into this series until 9 volumes down the road, and I still have to keep up with everything else coming out, I’ve been reading volumes piecemeal, about 25 pages a day or so. This works well to get me caught up, but can make reviews tricky, as I try to recall what I was reading three weeks earlier. Fortunately, the bulk of the interesting things happening in this book are in the back half, so I should hopefully be OK. It also helps that the biggest nerd series J-Novel Club is putting out still includes things to appeal specifically to me. Miyoshi doing her press conference dressed as Yomiko Readman from Read or Die – no, really, she even namechecks her – just gave me a big smile. She and Keigo may not be able to escape being famous for much longer, but at least their attempts to avoid it are hilarious. They may want to lay off the huge discoveries, though.

Keigo and Miyoshi continue to try to set things up so they can do what they want without several nations attempting to kill them – again. They’re forming a company to be their business front, they’re starting a course in how to increase your stats for dungeon exploration (including a drill sergeant who finds herself in way over her head when she has to increase her agility via rhythm games), and they’re trying to see if they can grow crops in the dungeon (so far, limited success). The press conference itself goes very well, though the religious cult that was mentioned in the 2nd volume seems to recognize D-Powers as a threat to their livelihood. They also make another trip to the “haunted mansion” part of the dungeon, but end up being joined by their actress and model friends, leading to a very dangerous escape – one that gets filmed.

The mansion reveals a big secret, and I suspect that secret will continue to be relevant. We probably could have guessed that this is not a series where “and then suddenly, dungeons appeared one day” would be allowed to stand, and sure enough, the scientists who all “died” that day may have been trying to create something – and may not actually be dead. This leads to the other wonderful nerd reference in here, which is that part of the dungeon language appears to be written in pIqAd, which is to say Klingon. (The fact that they figure this out because Saito happened to be a “minor trekkie” and picked up a big of the language is perhaps one coincidence too many for me, but it’s not as if I expect anything else in this series to be realistic.) This actually makes things MORE difficult – it’s a lot easier to give out “dungeon translation” orbs than to say that the secret dungeon info is written in Star Trek. You’d lose credibility.

Next time I expect we’ll get the “dungeon training courses” going full blast, which will be nice. This remains ridiculous fun.

Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 4

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By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

This is still primarily a comedy, and it enjoys seeing its main characters be goofy. But with each volume, The Game is making itself known more and more. Now, this world may not actually literally be a game, but certainly something is trying to make sure that events happen the way that they did in the game, and if it has to create a new heroine from scratch – and make her evil – then so be it. Meanwhile, it’s becoming apparent that it’s not just Melody, Christopher, and Anna-Marie. Everyone on that plane that disappeared is in this world, and the more Melody works her huge magic, the more they suddenly realize it. Schue, the “smiling villain” I mentioned who showed up out of the blue last time, turns out to have a far nobler background… that he’s desperately trying to escape. And that also means that the incoming Prince from a foreign land is now a Princess, and she’s straight outta Takarazuka. This game is off the rails!

Melody, Luciana, etc. are done with saving Luciana’s holding and are ready to return to their mansion and to school… which is good, as they both completely forgot that the Summer Ball is coming up. Lect will be taking “Cecelia”, and Maxwell has invited an increasingly panicky and embarrassed Luciana. Lect, meanwhile, is very confused, as after returning to the Count he finds that… they found his missing daughter. Who has the hair, and the eyes. And is named “Celedia”. Not suspicious at all! What’s more, to the annoyance of Christopher and Anna-Marie, the game has thrown them another curve, as the handsome lothario prince who’s there to cause a war has been replaced with a handsome lothario princess… in male clothing… presumably there to do the same. Oh yes, and what about the monster attacks on the heroine? Still going on, unfortunately.

My favorite subplot of this series is that Melody has accidentally resurrected the soul of her dead mother and put it into a robot maid that she created. The doll seems to be 100% aware of this, but isn’t saying anything, but Melody does not consciously realize it. Consciously being the word, as one scene that is very heartwarming shows that she may be leaning that way anyway. I’m also amused at Anna-Marie, who the book can’t seem to decide if she’s just a massive game otaku who loves to look at the CG of the heroine or an actual lesbian… honestly, I think she’s not sure herself. She gets a full quarter of the book side story where she (in disguise) and Melody go on an extended date, but for the most part she’s unable to penetrate Melody’s maid facade enough to check to see if she’s really the heroine. And then there’s Luciana, who keeps attracting important nobles by virtue of hitting everything she dislikes with her giant harisen as if she’s Kaname reborn from Full Metal Panic!. Nobles like a feisty heroine that beats things up.

This remains a fun series that generally runs in the “villainess” genre at a fast clip, though the Villainess plot has been broken by Melody so much that the bad guys have to invent a new girl to start doing game things. For fans.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 4

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By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

It’s now Volume 4 and we’re getting the wedding cover art, which is very good for a shoujo light novel series, where the 2nd or 3rd volume not only has the standard wedding art but is also the final volume. This is not the final volume, but they’re running out of ways to put off getting our heroine married, so it’s time to bite the bullet and… what’s that, Lassie? The dreaded incurable disease? That killed off Elizabeth and Philia’s birth father? That’s right, we can’t possibly get married yet, not when there are still impossible things to do. Fortunately, she has Mia for help, who is equally powerful. And they have their friends Erza and Mammon, who do a little bit of their “I will cut off your head again” comedy routine but for the most part function as a very convenient taxi service, as this book takes place over multiple countries.

It’s almost time for Philia and Osvalt’s wedding. unfortunately, her birth father is dead, and her adopted father is in prison. She was going to have Mia walk her down the aisle, but apparently conservative tradition would balk at that, so they need to go ask Hildegard to stop being a terrifying drill instructor and be her mother again… even if mother and daughter are still being very awkward about rekindling that relationship. Philia also takes the time to ask for more anecdotes about her late father, and finds that he spent years trying to find a cure for devil’s seed, a disease which ended up taking his life and the life of Osvalt’s brother’s fiancee. But wait! Her father had a brother, who currently lives in not-Egypt and is an apothecary! Philia can go visit him to get more details! Gosh, I sure hope he isn’t dying of this as well…

It is fun watching the author try to retool a few characterizations on the fly. Having Philia’s natural lack of emotions be due to her trauma from childhood is all very well and good, but when you’ve saved the day, the parents are in jail and she’s getting a happily ever after, you need to move past that… unless it’s her defining trait. As it turns out, her mother is also very reticent and stoic, so it works well to leave Philia this way, and her reaction even when presented with near-death by explosion is basically “well, darn”. As for Mia, she has absolutely gotten over any guilt or trauma she had before. She’s almost become comic relief, with her sister complex coming out even further when she’s drunk, and her using her own engagement as a threat to get her fiance to agree to let her join her sister in near-certain death. Fortunately, it’s these two, so there’s no death by horrible explosions, just a cure. Cinderella did not go back to the stepsisters to suffer more after marrying the prince, after all.

Next time, the honeymoon! This remains a fun series about two sisters who can functionally do anything.