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Reviews

Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow: The Traveling Paintbrush and the Hefty Backpack

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By Kazamidori and Nimoshi. Released in Japan as “Sayonara Isekai, Mata Kite Ashita” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT.

We tend to see, with isekai novels, a hero summoned to a world that’s in peril, usually by the royal family. Sometimes the summons goes wrong, or they summon some other person they didn’t want. We’ve even seen a few where the hero was summoned AFTER the big bad has been defeated, leaving them with nothing to do. We’ve seen heroes fail, and usually they go back in time to try to get it right this time or they’re reincarnated long into the future. But this one in particular is a bit much – by the time our hero, who is living in the woods after running away from his family, stumbles across another world, the world has lost almost everyone in it, turned to crystals by a sudden explosion of mana. All our hero can do, really, is drive around, try to get supplies and possibly find the dark man who gave him advice when he first arrived, and find a reason to go on. The last proves the hardest.

Keisuke does not have much, just his watch and phone (which don’t get more reception from Japan here) and a big truck that he doesn’t really know how to drive that well. Then the truck breaks down when he gets to an abandoned train station. Fortunately, he runs into a half-elf named Nito, who is a painter by trade and reluctantly starts to open up to him seeing as her means of transport is also busted. Together they get their respective vehicles repaired thanks to the last mechanic in the world who responds to distress flares, and set out on a journey – him to find the dark man I mentioned earlier, and her to see if her mother was telling her the truth when she talked about the Golden Sea in a book of paintings that are Nito’s most treasured possession.

So, spoiling something important right here and now: no one commits suicide in this book. This is important to note because we have no less than four different suicidal people at some point i this book, either genuinely trying and failing to take their life or having given up all hope on living. The fact that they do live, and that the See You Tomorrow in the title is meant to be uplifting and affirming, is probably the best thing about the book. The other big plus is the evocative prose – there’s a sense of Kino’s Journey to this series, but it doesn’t have an anti-war agenda like that does, and the disaster that wiped out nearly everyone remains a mystery by the end of the book. Instead we get a series of scenes where we see people who want to end their life finding reason to go on by communicating with others. I love that. It’s a series of passing meetings, but each one has impact.

I’d heard this was the most anticipated of the four J-Novel Club licenses that came out at the same time, and I can see why. It’s just a treat to read, though again I warn there are suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in this. If you want a different sort of isekai, this is the one for you.

Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance!, Vol. 2

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By Kei Misawa and poporucha. Released in Japan as “Torawareta Ōjo wa Nido, Shiawasena Yume o Miru” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

This author is very good at making the reader feel tension because something has not happened. For the most part, through about three-quarters of this book, Reset feels like the 2nd book in a two-part series. Annabel is invited to the country where Prince Daniel, her husband from her past life, is from. But… he seems fine? If a little wary. There’s also Princess Karina, the woman who destroyed Annabel’s life and had her thrown in prison. But… she’s sweet and nice? Something screwy’s going on here, and it likely has to do with the sullen, taciturn mage that Karina drags around with her. But it’s OK, because everything gets resolved in the end… well, sort of. The resolution feels rather off. And wait, there’s still how many pages of book left? And then we reach the final chapter, and you realize no, this is going to be a three-parter, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

The intriguing plot does help to cover up the author’s weakness, with is character. As I said in my review of the first book, Annabel is an interesting character to read because, if you’ll pardon the expression, she’s not like those other reincarnated villainess girls. Annabel is not a villainess, of course. She’s not trying every hour of every day to avoid her fate – months go by between chapters with not much happening. She isn’t even oblivious to the affection of everyone around her – this is very much a one-couple romance. We the reader figure out what’s actually happening before she does, which works, as it’s fun to watch her slowly realize that the Princess Karina that she knows is no longer herself. That said… she’s a bit generic? As is her boyfriend Ed, who also feels fairly standard.

Then we get the interesting bits, which are interesting because they grate against the reader’s sensibilities. The actual villain of the piece gets a backstory that talks about how she was taken from her people and forced to be a mage, and that her people later completely vanished. The response from the royalty of the kingdom seems to be “Hrm, well, not entirely accurate but yes, somewhat accurate, we’ll try to do something about it”, and we learn that she has essentially been abused her entire life. This makes her fate rather tragic… except the way it happens is so open-ended that the reader just goes, “And? AND?!?!” It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop, only it takes sixty years. There’s a happily ever after! Annabel and Ed marry and have kids! Annabel dies at a ripe old age! And then we find out what the villain ACTUALLY did, and man, I want to read Book 3 now.

Alas, I will have to wait a few months. Still, Reset is a very good combination of typical characters and not so typical plot, and I hope Annabel can muddle her way through into finding happiness. Again.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: Starting Magic Lessons with a Few Modest Tricks

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By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

Yes, I know, I’m surprised too. Given that I have occasionally muttered that I need to cut down on my light novel intake, it’s a bit of a shock that I picked up a series whose title and cover make it sound like it was introduced by Gilbert Gottfried on USA Up All Night. That said, the book itself is… well, exactly what you’d expect with a title and cover like that. A lot of focus on 13-year-old girls trying to seduce their 17-year-old instructor. Said instructor turns out to be ludicrously good at magic and also has at least three girls in love with him by the end of the book, with the promise of more. There’s a lot of “you are hugging my daughter and are therefore a creeper who must be murdered” schtick. Oh, and there’s a red-headed angry tsundere who flits around the plot, finally showing up at the end. Despite that, I finished it, and I want to read the next in the series. It works despite everything about it.

Our hero is Allen, who has just failed his exams when we meet him, for reasons that we never actually hear until the very end of this volume. This despite being one of the school’s two prodigies (the other being Lydia, the aforementioned redhead). He doesn’t even have the money to return home, so takes a job in a northern dukedom to train the daughter of the family in magic. Tina is smart as a whip and great at everything… except magic. She clearly has a ton of mana, but can’t cast any spells. Allen’s job is to either train her and her best friend/maid/rival Ellie so that they can pass the Royal Academy exams… or else convince Tina, who’s being stubborn about it, that it’s hopeless. That said, Allen has dealt with this sort of thing four years ago, so has a few ideas in mind. Hopefully ones that will not destroy the dukedom…

I always find something to latch on to in these sorts of books, and in this case it’s Allen. He spends the entire book trying to play himself off as a dull, boring, unskilled potato of a protagonist, which might trick the reader at first, but goes out the window whenever he meets anyone and they say “So I see you’re just as big a freak as the rumors say.” I actually wonder if he’s something of a parody, and I’m certain that his constant head-patting, hugging and general close contact with his two charges is tolerable only because he has all the sexual drive of a nerf ball. His world is loaded with little sister figures, with the exception of Lydia, who essentially refuses to let him peg her like that, so he calls her an ‘albatross’ – as in around his neck – instead. Honestly, the book’s big flaw is that we don’t get the story of him and Lydia from four years ago, which honestly sounds better than this one.

If you are the sort to complain about a light novel hero, don’t even start this one. Walk away and never look back. It will melt your eyes. If you don’t take it too seriously, it’s actually pretty fun, and I will read more to see what happens next and if there are any girls in it not in love with Allen.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 4

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

First of all, the big news regarding this 4th volume in the series is that it actually manages to come to a logical conclusion that feels like the end of a volume, as opposed to the last two volumes, where the ending was just “finish the page you’re writing now and we’ll send a courier to pick it up”. That said, the events of the first three books are not forgotten, and have great impact on the 4th, as our heroes start their second year at Kimberly. Everyone is also growing up; our second years are sixteen, and there is a lot of discussion of sex here, why and how it should happen, and who to watch out for. It’s considered as a rite of passage rather than a shameful act. That said, events from the previous book also leave Oliver a bit… pent-up, shall we say. Fortunately, one of his friends notices this and helps him out in a scene that is actually really well written and well characterized. Further, deponent sayeth not.

Aside from talk of sex and relief from sex-based spells, there’s a lot of magical academy stuff going on here as well. We get new teachers, including one with the improbable name of Ted Williams, who stuns the entire cast by being a reasonable, normal instructor. Nanao excels in her broom-riding sport, so much so that she’s promoted to the upper-year senior league… where she finds, for once, someone she can’t blow her way past with natural talent. The kids all go out to the local town, something that takes up the back half of the book, where they get into fights with rival schools, experience the terror of British food, and deal with a mysterious man who keeps assaulting magicians. With all this going on, will Oliver finally find time to get around to why he’s actually there?

On Twitter I posted a poll asking how everyone thought the books would end: with the main cast in a polycule, or with the main cast all dead? Unsurprisingly, the poll was almost dead even, because really both options seem likely. Leaving aside Oliver and Nanao’s deep chemistry, and Nanao’s desire to want to fight him to the death (I’m hoping for redefining death in a future book), it’s pretty clear that Chela also likes Oliver a lot. Pete, of course, is also falling for Oliver. Guy and Katie have that vague R*n and H*rmoine vibe, but honestly that feels like one of the least likely, at least until Guy gets his act together. As for the death part, well, come on, look at the school. If nothing else, I’m fairly certain Oliver’s plan is not going to go swimmingly all the way to the end. Especially since his next target has taken a special interest in Pete…

I haven’t even mentioned half the things going on here – these books are very dense, and there’s a lot going on. If you enjoy magical academy stories and don’t mind them being darker and more adult than the typical light novel fare, this is still a must read.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3

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

Tempting as it is to simply cut and paste my review of the 2nd volume here and call it a day, I will try to find new things to discuss. This series runs on sweet but slow burn, and there are very few surprises. On the downside, that makes it somewhat boring. On the good side, you know exactly what you’re getting and you get a lot of it. The main difference in the third volume is that Mahiru tries to come on to Amane a lot stronger to get past his impenetrable shell of self-hatred. She fails, but it’s the effort that counts. She is starting to get a bit sick of his attitude, though – as is the rest of the cast, including his new friend Yuuta, the “class prince”, who sees a kindred spirit in Amane and is rather startled that the feeling isn’t mutual. By the end of the book, everyone is dragging him constantly to feel better about himself. Will it help? Possibly?

Usually the 2nd paragraph of my reviews is where I summarize the plot, but the plot can essentially be summarized in three words: Mahiru Tries Harder. As such we get a lap pillow, and more spontaneous touching. We get Amane seeing another guy ask Mahiru out, and see just how difficult it can be for her to reject them, especially when they refuse to accept it. We see Mahiru managing to actually join Amane for lunch and get away with it. Most importantly we get Golden Week, where Mahiru asks Amane on a date. Of course, it’s not a romantic date to him – not at all, after all, how on earth would she ever have feelings for him? It’s just going out to a cat cafe, a mall (where much trying on of clothes is done) and an arcade (where there is winning of stuffed animals) but as Just Friends. That said, a return to school shows some folks spotted her on the date, so something may break next time.

The author knows Amane’s big flaw can be annoying to the reader, but instead of trying to disguise this it is shoved in our faces – and his. We do finally get his own tragic backstory here, which amounts to “I grew up rich and naive and then met typical middle-school two-faced jerks”, but it’s left him bitter, mistrusting and thinking he’s the absolute worst. This even plays into the title, as he regards everything Mahiru is trying to do in order to get her feelings across to him as “spoiling him”, so he automatically pushes back. Multiple times in this book she, Itsuki and Yuuta all tell Amane to man up, have confidence, and actually try to show Mahiru how he feels about her. The end of the book implies we may see this in the next volume, but for now, this is painful.

Still, the sweet and cute romance outweighs wanting to strangle the lead man, so I’m still invested in it. Imagine how sweet it will get once these two actually confess. Like eating Pixy Stix.

Arifureta Zero, Vol. 5

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By Ryo Shirakome and Takaya-ki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Rei” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

It’s been a good sixteen months since I last read Arifureta Zero… and come to think of it, eleven months since the last Arifureta in the main series. This is the danger of catching up with the Japanese release, and I knew this meant that a lot of my time was going to be spent trying to remember who everyone apart from the main characters were. Little did I realize that that was going to be ALL of my time. This is the 2nd to last book in the series, and as such it has to gather everyone in the cast together for the big battle in the finale. And I do mean everyone – every single ally we’ve seen in the books to date pops up again, along with new characters we haven’t seen before, and they’re all written as if we remember who they are and are nostalgic to see them again. It’s exhausting. Fortunately, there’s BIT more going on than just setup.

A month after the end of the previous book, Miledi is still in a coma, which has everyone stressed out, especially Oscar, whose fighting abilities are actually being affected by his worry. Fortunately, she wakes up soon after the book begins. Unfortunately, she’s… a bit different. Yes, it’s We Want Our Jerk Back, the light novel. The largest chunk of the book is spent getting Laus, their newest ally, to the rest of them, as he’s being hunted by the entire church… including two of his own sons. (This is framed as a big reveal, but it’s telegraphed so badly I feel no remorse revealing it here.) Once he’s arrived, and Miledi puts everyone through RIGOROUS TRAINING, it’s discovered that three of their allies are going to be put to death publicly by the Church. So Miledi decides now is the time. the Big Battle. (In Book 6.)

The author apologizes for this book being so long, and he should. It’s too long, and a lot of this wasn’t needed. The “checking in with everyone who the Liberators ever met in prior books” section is a lifeless slog. Better were the scenes with Miledi waking from her coma, but she’s missing her annoying. Without it, she’s a cute adorable teenage girl in love with Oscar and not ashamed to say it. This is mined for much comedy, and for once it actually works quite well, especially her reaction once she returns to normal. Speaking of love, Miledi and Oscar don’t confess here, but that’s because they want to wait till after the battle – their feelings are known to each other. Oh yes, and there’s an incredibly annoying bunny girl in this as well, who seems to combine all the worst parts of Shea and none of the good points. The author loves to write “incredibly annoying but secretly goodhearted and awesome” people – indeed, the lesson of this book is that all of the Liberators are eccentrics – but sometimes I feel they overdue it.

So next up is the finale, and it’s not a spoiler to say that Everybody Dies – this is a prequel, after all. But it’s not the journey, it’s the destination, and so we’ll see how it all happens and how many times our heart can be broken. If you like Arifureta, you should read this, but be aware – it’s long and has boring bits.

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl

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By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

In my review of the last volume in this series, I mentioned I wasn’t aware of what happened in the next two books beyond it being sad. I’ll admit: I was lying. Generally these days, if you are following a series in any capacity on the internet, and the anime has already come out, there is no real way to avoid being spoiled. I didn’t have the main story beats of this book spoiled to me, but I knew what the last five pages would be, and so they are. That said, let’s not talk about those, let’s instead discuss the previous 250 or so pages, in which we find that Sakuta’s own adolescence syndrome has a very different cause from what he (and the reader) thought, learn exactly what’s going on with Shouko, and discover that it’s still hard to say you’re different from Bakemonogatari or Oregairu when you decide the best way for the hero to fix things is to sacrifice himself to save the girl.

Sakuta’s apartment is getting a bit crowded. Kaede is back, though with her “original” personality, and is struggling to catch up with the two years she’s lost. College-age Shouko is there, being very mysterious and Kasumi Tendo-ish. And Mai stays over once as well, because frankly the situation screams “my boyfriend is cheating on me with an older woman who’s also a middle-school student”, and who among us hasn’t felt agitated when that happened to them? The drama starts then Sakuta discovers that Shouko is back in the hospital – and getting worse. She has an old elementary school assignment about dreams for the future she never completed, as “die” would upset the teachers. Now it’s mysteriously being filled out… and the details seem to match up with college-age Shouko very well. Sakuta is concerned about the “get married’ part, though…

One of the more interesting things about this series is that it has all the wacky misunderstandings that harem anime usually has, but without any of the actual misunderstandings themselves. Mai and Sakuta are simply too sympatico with each other to really believe that there’s cheating or lying going on. Indeed, the fact that they’re so in tune with each other is what leads up to the tragedy in the final pages. Other than that, the most affecting part of the book for me may not have been the ending but everything leading up to it, as Sakuta drifts through school looking like a man who’s about to die. When even Kamisato is deeply concerned with him, in her own “drop dead” way, you know things are bad. And Rio and Mai’s scenes are even worse. Everyone seems to know what’s going to happen, but they also know that talking Sakuta out of this is next to impossible. As indeed it proves to be.

So what’s next? Well, if this were the movie, we’d only be halfway done. But it’s a book, so we’ve got to wait a few months. Rest assured I doubt it will kill off a main character, but I’m not as optimistic about its dreaming girl. Till then, enjoy an emotional gut-wrencher.

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace, Vol. 3

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By Yu Sakurai and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Tenseisaki de Suterareta no de, Mofumofu-tachi to Oryouri Shimasu: Okazari Ouhi wa My Pace ni Saikyou desu” by M Novels F. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Emma Schumacker.

Generally with any slow life series you have to find the right about of balance between “nothing is happening because this is meant to be a slow life series” and “there are things happening because this is a narrative people will want to actually read”. It can be tricky, as many authors find. A lot of slow life books tend to lean towards the second of those two, where life is not really all that slow at all. This one doesn’t do that, but it needs to find the right time to dole out its plot. As an example, one of the main mysteries of the book is “when will Laetitia realize that her king and her wolf are in fact the same?”. Wait too little and there’s no tension, wait too long and you risk making Laetitia look dim. This book waits just the right amount, though what happens next is left open.

We get a couple of new additions to the cast here. Lelena is the daughter of former maid Krona, who is a bit busy being in jail to attend to her sibling, so goes to live with Laetitia, bringing along a cat and a guilt complex a mile wide. Also introduced is Liddeus, who is an incredibly stereotyped science nerd, only this is an otome game-style romance, so he’s a very handsome stereotypical MAGIC nerd. You get the sense he might actually be a love rival if he could for one moment get his mind off of spells, which he cannot. And there is, of course, all the politics – Laetitia arranges a tea party between the two queen candidates she’s already won over, and the other two who clearly scream “I am fodder for a later book’s plot”. This is pissing off the anti-beast person faction in the country, of course, and so they decide to take stronger measures to express their displeasure. Can Laetitia negotiate all this and still make delicious treats?

Well, I mean, of course. Have you seen the title? Laetitia has two main weapons, her food and her animals, and she uses them both here. Indeed, she gains another furry friend, named Tweety, though if you’re expecting the Looney Tunes bird you may be disappointed – possibly the Hyde and Go Tweet version. Admittedly yes, she is also monstrously overpowered in her magic, which literally breaks the device they use to measure it. This is clearly more due to her reincarnation than to her innate powers (though we do get more “amusing” stories of her and her butler being abused as children by her siblings in the name of magic training. They look back on those days and laugh, so I suppose we must as well). And yes, by the end of the book Laetitia finally realizes – after the king gives it away – that King Glenreed and Lord Aroo are one and the same. She seems devastated this means no more fluffy petting. I am 100% positive she is mistaken.

I do wonder if we’re heading towards a war, and if so how this book would handle it. Bit hard to cook for your fluffy friends in a trench. Still, so far the book does quite a good job of walking the tightrope. I look forward to the next volume.

The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 1

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By Kennoji and Fly. Released in Japan as “Chikan Saresou ni Natteiru S-kyuu Bishoujo wo Tasuketara Tonari no Seki no Osananajimi datta” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

I have not read the two other series that this author has out in English. Hazure Skill and Drugstore in Another World are both in genres that I’m gradually trying to read less of. But ‘syrupy sweet high school romance’ is still a relatively new genre in English-translated light novels. Honestly, the marketplace changes a lot these days, and yesterday’s down and outs are today’s up and comers. Remember 15 years ago when we all said sports manga was impossible to license? Even just five years ago I was saying that you couldn’t get a LN title licensed unless it had some sort of fantasy or supernatural plotline in it. But now here we are. That said, to be honest I picked this up because of the artist. Fly is best known here for Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, and this is in the same basic genre. That said, the two books are doing different things. Tomozaki is a deconstruction. This book is what it deconstructs.

Ryou is a typical light novel romance protagonist: nondescript, doesn’t have many friends, school skipper, thinks of himself in terrible ways. One day on the train he sees a girl being groped by a salaryman, and decides to make a scene and get the guy caught. Later, in school, it turns out that he’s sitting next to said girl in class… and that it’s Hina, his childhood friend. They had been inseparable in grade school, but in middle school she got super gorgeous and popular, and he got more self-conscious and so they drifted apart. But while he may have mostly forgotten about her, she certainly hasn’t forgotten about him. As the book goes on, Ryou starts to notice that Hina is asking to walk home with him, and making him food, and asking him out on dates. Does this mean… she has feelings for him? Nah, let’s not overthink this.

As always with this genre, whether you can tolerate it or not depends how much you like ‘oblivious’ teenage boys. I’d say it was unrealistic except I was also a teenage boy, and no, it really is this bad. That said, at least the series gets a confession out of the way by the end of the first book, even if it leads to “I’m not sure how I feel about you”. Hina is cute, and the reader is meant to understand her frustration with Ryou and sympathize, and it works pretty well. I also loved Ryou’s younger sister Mana, who does not have a shred of the standard “younger sister of the protagonist” character to her and is quite happy wingmanning for her brother, though buying condoms for him turns out to be a mistake. (There’s no sex in this book, sorry to disappoint. Everyone’s very pure.) And the love rival role is handled pretty well, as she’s good at analyzing Ryou and Hina and knows that’s why she doesn’t really have a chance.

There’s nothing outstanding about this book, and it doesn’t have a good gimmick like Tomozaki. But it’s decently written, and there are no terrible people in it yet. If you like the genre of “pretty girl tries to get guy to admit that someone might actually like him and it’s her”, this is a good one to try.

Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons, Vol. 3

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By 616th Special Information Battalion and Wuhuo. Released in Japan as “Doushitemo Hametsushitakunai Akuyaku Reijou ga Gendai Heiki wo Te ni Shita Kekka ga Kore desu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Shaun Cook.

This is, as of my writing of this review, the latest volume in the series, and it’s been about a year and a half since it came out in Japan. I know that fans here in the English-speaking world tend to dislike those sorts of books, wondering why publishers would license it when it grinds to an unfinished halt. (The answer is almost always “because it was still ongoing when they licensed it”, in case you were wondering.) But yes, nothing is really resolved in this volume either – we’ve gotten up to the point where the “game” part of this would start, where the heroine is about to arrive at Astrid’s school. That said, I’m not exactly crying if this is all we’re going to get. The author loves writing morally bankrupt heroines, and even in a villainess light novel, a genre I’m particularly soft on, I think I’m starting to reach my limit with Astrid’s evil antics.

Astrid is still trying to figure out ways to avoid her fate (but not realizing that everyone loves her – it’s that sort of genre). She’s socking money away in a separate non-family bank account in case she has to go on the run. She’s getting familiars who are far more powerful than mere fairies. She’s conducting experiments on other students to see if they will murder small animals just because she tells them to. There’s a beach episode! You know, the usual stuff. Even as she tries her hardest to learn better magic/get more firepower, the world edges closer to the actual war that will likely trigger these events. And even her grades aren’t assured anymore, as she’s reaching the limits of what her previous life can achieve and realizing that science in another world is hard.

There are some cool set pieces in this. Astrid’s battle with the fenrir is pretty cool, and he seems to be a cool wolf familiar, albeit one that doesn’t really care if she’s got no soul. It is occasionally amusing seeing Iris having to deal with her friend’s crushes, and trying to help them along by drugging the crush to get a result… but not TOO much. Astrid’s mother, again, seems to know exactly what her daughter is doing despite Astrid’s best efforts to conceal it, and I wish we’d see her more than once a book. But yeah, I think I have reached my limit on watching “what if the villainess reincarnated decides to be more villainous” as a plotline. It doesn’t help that there are other areas of the book also starting to annoy me – Iris’ former bullies are now stealing her used underwear, because nothing says teenage lesbian crush like making it creepy.

This author pretty much does this type of character, regardless of the genre, and if you enjoy Her Majesty’s Swarm you’ll probably like this as well. If you like Villainess books, though, feel free to stop, as I’m going to.

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 5

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By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri. Released in Japan as “Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Julie Goniwich.

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent may be an atypical light novel in some ways, but it is still an isekai when you get right down to it, and that means that the isekai cliches are still there to be walked into. Our heroine has ended up in the fantasy equivalent of medieval Europe, as is typical for these sorts of books. She really misses the taste of home, with good old fashioned rice and miso, as is also typical. Generally these sorts of books fall into two types: either our isekai’d Japanese person tries to make rice and miso and the like themselves in the kingdom or they hear about a country far across the ocean that just happens to have the exact foods they’ve been looking for (and sometimes samurai, but hopefully the Saint series isn’t going there). We get the latter here, as Sei happens upon a slow boat from China – or its fantasy version – that gives her the meals she’s been craving for so long.

After discovering not only that her cooking can deliver magical power ups to those who consume it, but also that Turkish Coffee is being imported nearby, Sei is on a cooking tip. She also has to do something about her cosmetics company, which has become so popular that the nobles are taking *too* much interest in it. As a result, she has a new umbrella company founded for future Saint developments. Disguising herself as the daughter of said company’s head (which is, in reality, her) she travels with Johan to a nearby port town to track down the rice she’s wanted to find for so long. Getting a hold of this proves to be an adventure in itself, and features Sei almost giving away who she really is multiple times. Then, back at the capital, she has an even more dangerous event lying in wait… her debutante ball.

After waiting nine months between books 3 and 4, the wait between books 4 and 5 hasn’t even been one month. Which means I have a bit less to say than I normally do, as I just talked about all this. I will note that Sei’s aversion to romance is starting to not only get on people’s nerves, but to be a genuine problem. Albert is trying to be aware of her feelings and courting her at the speed of a glacier, but she’s the Saint, and is also very much of marriageable age. She can’t simply stay in the back of the research lab and make potions for the next ten years. She manages to get through the ball designed to introduce her to society, but is terrified of dancing with any men she doesn’t know. Fortunately, the palace agrees with her – they certainly don’t want other nobles getting a chance to woo her. Given the author does not really seem to care much about the romance in this series, I’m not sure where this plot will go, but it’s what is interesting me most at the moment.

All this plus Sei teaches Aira how to make a magical Coleman Stove. Thankfully, Vol. 6 of The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent is not coming out in December. That said, I’m still interested.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 2

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

After a first volume that seemed to take 200 pages to finally get to its point, we finally have a bit of meat to its sequel. There’s a lot going on here, both in terms of more action, more ongoing backstory and plot development, and more of a daughter who loves her father perhaps a bit too much. Note, as I said last volume, that isn’t the way you think it is. Unlike seemingly every other daddy-adopted daughter series out there the past few years, there are no romantic or sexual feelings here at all. But it is true that when Angeline is around her father, she tends to regress several years and act like a spoiled kid. Not to mention that she puts her dad on a massive pedestal. Of course, he does actually seem to deserve some of that. By now the reader realizes that his description of himself as just some guy with a sword is absolute crap. But then, he is living in Backwater Town, USA.

The start of this book is indeed the promised vacation, with Angeline and her two companions staying for a while and enjoying Belgrieve’s hospitality. That said, things can’t stay slow life forever. There’s a young albino girl and her stoic companion who are proselytizing in the big city, and seem to be secretly evil. And when Belgrieve and his daughter’s party arrive in the Bordeaux capital, they find that roads to their remote town are not as easy as they’d like as the local lord is kicking up a fuss. Indeed, the local noble, Count Malta, is actually allying himself with the religious duo, and his goal is simple: kill Helvetica off so that things can go back to how they should be, with nobles having all the power and abusing the common people. Can Angeline and the others save the royals?

Two points to make. First of all, we are getting a harem here, it’s just not the usual one we see in fantasy light novels. Belgrieve isn’t attracting lovers, he’s attracting girls who want a father figure. With the exception of Helvetica (who still really wants to marry him, and has annoyed Angeline by being obvious about it), the girls in this series are the kind who want a pat on the head or a shoulder carry. Even Charlotte, the Ilyasviel von Einzbern clone we meet in this new volume, seems to suddenly realize revenge is wrong after just a brief moment of being treated like a daughter would. Secondly, this book gets quite dark in places, and it works very well. The evil noble is exactly the stereotype you’d expect, but it’s Helvetica’s character who does the heavy lifting here, as she realizes what it truly means to lead for the good of the people and makes some hard, bloody choices. Hope to see more of her.

Angeline returns to the capital at the end of the book, so I assume the third one will be in two different places. Till then, though, this volume improves on the first, and is a great one if you love dads being great dads – to everyone.

Slayers: Delusion in Crimson

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By Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

It can be somewhat annoying to come at the Slayers novels from someone who grew up with the anime and realize how a huge chunk of them are Lina, Gourry, and one-off characters. Zelgadis and Amelia stuck around for a bit, as did Xellos, but they’re gone now. We’ve had Luke and Mileena come in with an attempt to add a new supporting duo to the cast, but they’re more of the ‘we keep running into each other’ sort than actual party members. They’re also not in this particular book either. We do get a villain from two books ago… but she doesn’t appear, she’s just an offscreen catalyst. It can be rather disheartening. Where’s the wacky fun times? Where’s Lina accidentally destroying things? Where’s Gourry being rock stupid? But this isn’t the anime, these are the light novels. And because of that we get something here which the anime almost never tried to do unless it was a huge world-shattering crisis: we get a straight up tragedy.

Lina and Gourry arrive at a city that is telling any and all sorcerers to report to the local sorcerer’s council at once. Doesn’t say why, and does not appear to be from the government. Lina, who has just been through sorcerers trying to take over a city a book or so ago, thinks we’re seeing much the same thing here, and she’s mostly correct. She teams up with Aria, a young woman who is trying to rescue her sister from the lord who killed her fiancee and forcibly married her, and Dilarr, a passing adventurer who just seems to like Aria, though he does find Lina somewhat terrifying, to her displeasure – her reputation is now that death and disaster show up whenever she arrives. Sadly, this book does not really change that reputation. Once they arrive at the city where Aria and her sister Bell live, we get a Chthulhian nightmare featuring lots of monstrosities and lots of death.

Despite the fact that these books frequently seem as if they’re written without an outline by the author simply going to the typewriter and typing till he stops, there is some decent character work here, particularly in regards to Aria’s sister Bell. Set up as the unwilling victim through most of the book, the reality is far darker than we’d expect. The second ‘series’ of light novels were never adapted to the anime, and this one shows why – the sister who is forcibly married after her fiancee is killed sends her little sister off to safety because she loves her, but also has hatred in her heart, as her sister is safe and can be happy while Bell is trapped. It’s a very real look at family dynamics that can stem from a family member being abused. Unfortunately, Slayers is still a fantasy, not a realistic look at power dynamics and coping mechanisms, so we get a massive bloodbath.

As Lina and Gourry walk away at the end, both are subdued and disturbed, and the reader has to agree. This is on the darker side of the Slayers novels, a series which is already much darker than its anime equivalent. I hope the next book has a bit more jollity.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: The Cage of Iron Sand

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

This series continues to go back and forth between things I quite enjoy and things that kind of irritate me, and in this book they’re about fifty-fifty, meaning it gets a reluctant recommendation. There’s far less Akari in here than I’d like, though her scene with Momo was the highlight of the book, and promises good things for the book after this. We also get an amusing new addition to the cast, a colleague of Menou’s who seems to be a airheaded flirt, though it’s implied throughout that this personality is a front. Which is a shame, as I liked it better than the personality that showed up later. There’s lots of cool fights, all of which seem to point to the value of “being pretty good at everything because of working really hard” rather than “has an innate natural gift”. Which I’d appreciate more if it was not undercut by the implication that the supposedly hardworking woman is in reality Very Special Indeed.

Menou and Akari are making their way through the desert, which turns out to be another area that was completely devastated because of a Japanese isekai gone horribly wrong. Things start off badly as Akari has already been kidnapped as the book begins, and Menou has to infiltrate a criminal organization to rescue them. There she runs into an old colleague from the orphanage, Sahara, and the three of them proceed to a nearby oasis city, with Menou now having to suffer the attention of *twp* bokes. Arriving at the city, she and Momo get the help of Princess Ashuna, who is essentially in this book to be cool and not much else. Unfortunately, she and Menou have to fight off a dangerous crime lord, so Menou sensibly leaves Akari back at the hotel. Which ends up being the biggest mistake she makes in the book.

The problem I have with Sahara is likely down to the character skewing away from my tastes. I really like the ‘sleepy ditzy flirt’ sort of character, and when Sahara is revealed to in fact be a ball of jealousy and envy, I wonder what the point was in having her be likeable for 3/4 of the book at all except to annoy me. Then again, when the reverse happens – i.e. when Akari gets her suppressed memories back – I actually tend to like her more, so hey. And yes, everyone is angry at Menou for being ‘the chosen one’, and Menou keeps insisting that she’s not all that great and is just a fairly normal person, which is fine except it’s pretty clear that she’s also got a past that’s been completely suppressed. Which just makes me more annoyed.

Basically, it’s hard to like anyone in this series because they could turn into something completely different down the road. I know that “change is a process” is the theme of the books, but there’s a bit TOO much change. Right now, Momo is my favorite character because she’s at least consistent. That said, sure, I’ll read more.

Also, naming the new character in your desert-themed book Sahara is kind of like naming your dog Spot.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 6

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

After starting the series off showing us a terrifying, lethal, transforming Otherside, it is somewhat amusing to see that the parts of this book that actually do take place in the Otherside are the most relaxed. Essentially, Sorawo and Toriko decide to settle in and do some dry-walling, and they have a great deal of fun. They don’t have any terrifying experiences there because the real world, and the space between the real world and the Otherside, is scary enough as it is. Starting the book off with a Sorawo who seems to be a normal, non-urban legend loving college student, the book takes off running as our heroes battle T-san, a man dressed like a monk whose features seem to invite unreliable narration. Akari gets involved as well, and before we know it we’re dealing with someone who is perfectly happy to walk into their psychiatric hospital/prison and wreak havoc. This is Otherside Picnic: the Movie, kids, so buckle up for a roller coaster ride of thrills.

As you may have guessed, this book is one long story, involving a young (?) man (?) who is tall (?) and wears monk’s robes (?) and is currently in Sorawo’s college seminar. As I noted above, at the start of the book Sorawo has amnesia, her “Otherside” eye is not working, and she’s rather startled by these other two girls who seem to know her. That thankfully gets resolved quickly, and we’re back to our normal Sorawo who insists that she doesn’t really care about other people even if her actions belie this quite a bit. T-san the Templeborn is another urban legend, though the author, who I already suspect is making up all of their ‘cited sources’, admits this one is probably more fictional than the others. Instead of the Otherside, T-san is threatening the real world, erasing the connections between people and that universe with a shouted “HAH!”. Can they stop him in time? And are they going to need the help of an old enemy to do so?

Gotta admit, my favorite parts of this book are the parts with Runa Urumi, who is (possibly?) trying her best to be the Hannibal Lecter to Sorawo’s Clarice. She’s awake once more, bored out of her gourd locked up in DS Research, and promises to be a good girl if they just let her surf the internet a bit. Needless to say they are very distrustful of her, especially as remorse does not seem to be happening anytime soon, but a later scene where she ends up, somewhat reluctantly, helping the other inmates when T-san visits the facility makes me suspect this plotline is not going to be dropped anytime soon. As for Sorawo and Toriko’s relationship, it’s notable here mostly for Toriko’s jealousy when it comes to Akari, which is so obvious this time around that even Sorawo, never the brightest bulb when it comes to social cues, has to reassure her that she does not like Akari in that way. I also don’t see this plot going away anytime soon, though.

Oddly, for something that was supposed to be a grand movie version of the series, this was rather sedate, with only a bit of action in the final parts, and very little shooting of guns. This is, of course, because most of it took place in reality, and I suspect that the link between the two worlds will continue to fluctuate in future. But yeah, good book, go get it.