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Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The False God That Deceived the World

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

This is a long series already – this is the 16th volume – and we’ve just covered everything that’s happened since Allen got baited to flunk out of the academy. I’ve talked before about how I wish we could have seen Allen and Lydia’s years at the academy, and we have finally gotten a few decent flashbacks showing that, though we’re still missing most of the actual important scenes. But it can be easy to forget that this is not a world that has been at peace for years and it’s only with this generation that the world is going to hell. This is a world in a constant state of hell. There’s a reason all of the parents and grandparents of our heroines have fancy titles and superpowers of their own, and that’s because they’re needed all the time in order to make sure that things don’t just explode. Unfortunately, we’re near one of those explosion points again, and even as Allen gets some exposition explaining what happened long ago in the last, the enemy is a step ahead of him.

Battles, battles, everywhere! There are so many battles, in fact, that you’d think we wouldn’t have time for the usual harem banter, but rest assured we do, as even in the most dire of circumstances the girls cannot help but try to get Allen to praise them and say how lucky he is to have them. More lucky than usual this time around, as it turns out he needs almost the full group of potential love interests (sorry, Ellie, you’re still being sidelined) because the bad guys are also bringing their full force of bad guy-ness to bear. There’s corrupted former princesses, ghosts of long dead founders, and of course that pesky wyrm, which doesn’t stay frozen for long, and has to be put down again. To do so, they’ll need to have yet another spell gain sentience and turns into a cute girl… because let’s face it, that’s also the sort of series this is.

There’s a cliffhanger which suggests that one of the good guys is about to be killed off, but I’m not too worried – I think if the author had meant to kill them they’d have done that as the cliffhanger. Plus he has a fiancee. It does make me wonder how the author is going to try to keep the stakes higher and higher while also making sure that no cute girls who are in love with their man suffer too much. Most of them, that man is Allen, and unfortunately for him, the main villain seems to be obsessed with him… and also all her plans revolve around him winning at the last moment. Which he’s been doing. So arguably he’s playing right into her hands. On the bright side, Lydia gets to do an absolutely killer move that makes him blush heavily, and he also calls her his partner again, so she’s still in the lead, for those who are only here for that.

This is another solid volume in the series, though I would not say no to a breather that has less fighting next time.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 14

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

It’s been over two years since the “finale” of Arifureta came out in English, and since them we’ve had even more wannabe Hajimes, looking cool while amassing a large collection of girls who fall for them immediately for the traditional light novel reason. That said, this book does not have to worry about that. We’ve done all that, the final battle has been won, and we can leave future battles to Kouki, who no doubt has lots of making up for being awful to do, but given he’s not a cute girl, I doubt Overlap will publish whatever it is. What Overlap will publish is volumes like this, an After Story that is absolute catnip for fans of this series, showing Hajime with each of his fiancees as they integrate themselves on Earth and deal with coming out to the families as a harem. (Normally I’d say polycule, but come on. It’s Arifureta. This thing is a harem, and they all say so in the book itself.)

We pick up two months after everyone came to Earth, with the occasional flashback showing how they had to deal with their year-long disappearance. Some folks have had it good (Yue, Shea, Tio, Remia, and Myu, who are all ensconced at Hajime’s home with his otaku parents who adore him). Some folks have it less good (Kaori, dealing with an “anime dad” being mad about some cheater taking his daughter, and Shizuku, somewhat horrified to discover she really *is* from a family of ninjas). Some are doing very badly (Aiko, who not only gets the bulk of the blame for everything that happened, but is also a teacher dating a student). Some people are still stuck back in Isekai world (Liliana, as pathetic as ever but Hajime is treating her better now that they’re a couple). And some girls are wondering if there’s room for one more (wannabe chef and former bodyguard Yuka, who, since Hajime and the girls don’t immediately shut her down, likely has a good shot).

This does not pretend to be anything but fluffy, for the most part. Hajime and Yue deal with most of the serious issues on Earth by mass mind control, and he has far more difficulty dealing with the fact that he has eight fiancees than anything else. Most of the girls get a nice spotlight, either with or without Hajime. Yue gets the most, Shea the second most, which you’d expect. Myu gets a lot of attention, and she is cute as a button, has learned to shoot multiple deadly weapons, and swears she gonna grow up to marry her daddy. A typical anime child, in other words. All of this reads like typical anime, in fact. The only times it threatens to get melancholy are, as I said, when dealing with Aiko’s larger issues, or when Hajime has to tell the families of the four dead students why they didn’t come back… and that they were also sort of evil. The book even ends with a big family photograph. After so many volumes where I could describe it as “over 200 pages of just fights”, we now get 280 pages of just fluff.

It’s unclear if there will be more of these – there’s tons of webnovel material, but it likely amounts to what Overlap thinks will sell. Still, fans of Arifureta who read it for the girls and the d’awwwww will be happy.

Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend

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

If you remember my reviews of titles like Babel and Unnamed Memory, you may recall that I yelled at the author and the publisher (Dengeki Bunko) for taking what could easily be two books, divided in half neatly, and making them one huge 400-page monster. This book has the exact opposite problem. The digital version is a mere 139 pages long, and that’s counting the table of contents and the (one) color illustration. I wondered if it was a case where the final volume was too long to combine them, but no, the final volume seems to be the same size as this one. This should have been one book, but it is two, with this the first half. I get the sense, judging by the very minimal illustrations, that there were production issues, but it’s still a mostly frustrating volume where Sakuta has his latest crisis happen, wanders around talking for a while, and then has the series’ Deus Ex Machina help him figure out the issue… but not solve it. Yet.

We start this book with Sakuta having done everything possible to ensure that the dream everyone had of Mai announcing that she’s Touko will not come true. Guess what happens. What’s worse, this new reality sees EVERYONE’S dreams come true. Rio is dating Yuuma, Kaede is somehow now two people, both of whom are living a happy fulfilled life, Tomoe is now going to his college next term, etc. And none of them know reality is different, and none of them want to help him fix it. Fortunately, there is one other person who is unaffected by the Touko dream virus, and it’s very thematically appropriate. They manage to take a Sakuta who is at the end of his rope (in a mild-mannered way) and lead him to the main issue, as well as help him see who’s really behind everything we’ve seen in the last five books.

Despite my carping above, this is not a bad volume, just a mostly frustrating one. The revelations, as well as the one who is giving them, are thematically appropriate, and it’s nice to see Sakuta try his usual “walk around and mope at people until he figures things out” and have it not work at all. Turns out when people have their dream come true, they actually are happy and satisfied with it. Hell, some of the dreams might be the readers’ as well. I cannot think that Saki has any fans who are desperately unhappy that she’s broken up with Yuuma, and even Sakuta admits he’s happier with that outcome as well. (We do briefly see Saki, who is NOT happy with that outcome.) Even Kaede, who would be the one most torn by her incompatible dreams, literally becomes two people to fix everything. Mai is still in love with Sakuta and his girlfriend, she’s just also Touko. Everyone is happy and content. Except Sakuta. And the other two people I deliberately waffled around in the second paragraph.

So the next volume is the last, though there’s already an After Story volume out as well, apparently. I assume, this having mostly been all setup, it will be all payoff. This was good. Should have been combined with the next book.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Minor Myths and Legends, Vol. 2

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By Fujino Omori and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka? Shohenshu” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey.

If you thought it was hard for me to write 500 words or so on the first SS collection, imagine how hard it’s going to be with this one, where I can’t even waste 100 of them describing what it is. That said, at least here there is slightly less of the “everybody loves Bell” show, mostly as he’s far more of a supporting character. These short stories, with one or two exceptions, focus on Loki Familia, and the majority are about either Aiz or Lefiya. Which means it is about romance somewhat – after all, Lefiya has a crush on Aiz at this point in the story (the stories go up to the 12th volume), and Aiz has vaguely warm feelings for Bell. Both of them have something in common, which is they can’t quite work out what Bell is to them. Lefiya settles on rival, and Aiz, strangely, settles on rabbit, but they’re both watching him dash ahead and wanting that.

The cover shows Aiz and Lyu, possibly as this also takes in the first Lyu volume and the Freya volume. That said, those wanting lots of Lyu will be disappointed. Most of these, as with the first, are 1-2 page stories that don’t impact much. They’re also mostly comedic, again with one or two exceptions, usually focusing on Leene, that one character we got to know well before she was brutally murdered. There are larger stories in here as well, which focus on Loki Familiar catching a unicorn, Tiona and her book nerd friendship with Bell, a romcom disaster set around the events of DanMachi 7/DanMachi SO 8, Aiz dreaming of various pasts and futures she could have, Aiz walking around the city talking with most of the regular cast and trying to figure out her own heart, a sequel to the Freya book focusing on Shalzad’s new king, and seeming to tie into Memoria Freese, and the last story, which I’ll go into below.

The final story takes place sometime after DanMachi 19 and Sword Oratoria 13, but not much longer after. It starts off silly, tying back to the first SS collection as Loki Familia are looking at the “character poll” and Lefiya is getting very, very angry that Bell beat Aiz in some categories. She goes off to find out who was responsible for this travesty… and runs into Syr, who is spreading the word of Bell, partly as part of her punishment (which goes over Lefiya’s head, as she missed everything and has no idea why Syr is) and partly as she’s still madly in love with Bell. Meanwhile, Aiz ends up running into Ryu, and the two are super awkward around each other, especially when they recall their first meeting. Naturally, the four eventually come together. This, the most recent story (it was written for the book itself) mostly made me happy as it shows that Syr is not going to just be a meek little good girl, even though she’s given up being Freya. She’s here to spread the word of Bell, and if Lefiya says “rival” and Aiz says “rabbit”, well, that’s fine with her.

So this was solid, but again, for fans only. Next up should be Sword Oratoria 14.

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck, Vol. 2

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By Izumi Okido and Jyun Hayase. Released in Japan as “Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu!” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

I’ve said about a lot of light novel series that reach a second volume that they have the same issue that bands have when they reach that “difficult second album” – they struggle to figure out what to do next. I don’t think that’s the issue here, as I think the author has a definite long-term plan in mind. The trouble is that it is a long-term plan, and I suspect they definitely have “Alicia does something so annoying she gets exiled” for Book Three. As such, a lot of this book seems to be treading water a bit, showing us Alicia being gleefully “villainessey”, and Liz still trying to be an idealist even as events are starting to conspire against her. And this is despite the fact that someone appears to be trying to swing events back towards the game by having the Saint attacked by a horrible beast.

Two years after exiling herself to a small cottage on the family property, with no one allowed to see her, Alicia has finally reached Level 91, allowing her to keep up with the Level 100 Liz. She celebrates by heading over to the village where she can use powerful magic to partially restore Will’s sight… by literally giving him one of her own eyes. Feeling proud, she then unfortunately realizes this has taken all her magic, and it’ll be a week before she can use it again. And so she has to hide from her father, who will no doubt test her Level 91-ness. She does this by going back to school, only to find that while she was gone, and theoretically not able to influence anything, her reputation has gotten MUCH WORSE, and she’s almost the boogeyman now.

As I said, a lot of this seems to be delaying tactics, as we see various arrogant noble girls (or wannabe arrogant noble girls) trying to either attack and defame Alicia or try to get her on their side so that they can trick and defame her later. For the most part Alicia is too clever for any of this to work, but it does give her the opportunity to give herself a cool haircut and give a bullied girl a magical crying room (we are even explicitly told said crying girl is gay, though I suspect it’s less for representation and more to show that Even The Girls Want Her in a tropey way.) Of course there’s also her relationship with Duke, where he’s very clearly in love with her, and says so, and she’s also clearly in love with him, but knows that loving him is bad for the country and bad for her plan. She’s too pragmatic to give in to romance.

As I said, all signs point to the third book throwing Alicia into the enemy country she wants to investigate. Till then, this was pretty good, but felt sort of formless.

Secrets of the Silent Witch -another-: Rise of the Barrier Mage, Vol. 1

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch: Another – Kekkai no Majutsushi no Nariagari” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

Sometimes, when you’re writing a long-running series where the main character is a shy, retiring young woman who literally invented a new brand of magic just so that she wouldn’t have to speak up, and who regards interaction with others as anathema, you need a change of pace. Sure, we all love Monica, but come on, are you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go apeshit? Fortunately, we have a solution, we can do a prequel. A prequel about Louis Miller, Monica’s fellow sage and occasional tormentor. Here we learn about Louis, see how his school life went, and see how he met and fell in love with his future wife, Rosalie. And frankly, he’s an appalling little gremlin. If you ever wanted to see the guy who screams “they all laughed at me at the academy, but I’ll show them… I’LL SHOW THEM ALL!” as a hero, this is absolutely the book for you.

A young boy named Louis Miller is eking out a grim life working in a brothel when he comes across a book of elementary magic, which he inhales like it’s his first meal in weeks. The book turns out to belong to a professor at the famed magic university, who is impressed that in the minimal time he’s had it Louis has managed to figure out so much about magic. Sensing potential, he invites Louis to study at the university. There Louis meets mortal enemies, kind if somewhat stoic girls, and teachers who think that he’s just a violent thug. Because he is absolutely a violent thug. Louis does not believe in using magic in a fight if he can use physical attacks, and he loves to fight dirty. However, he’s also a brilliant prodigy, so he can get away with being hell on wheels. Mostly.

The webnovel version of Silent Witch also had a prequel, but it focused on Rosalie. This rewrites things so that it shows us Louis’ past and how he came to be who he is in the main series. It’s a lot of fun. Louis is, frankly, appalling, but in a fun shonen way. He’s said to have a heavy Northern accent (which the main series gets rid of, as he ditches it to get the approval to marry Rosalie), and I like to imagine him as a Geordie. His chief teacher, Gideon, decides that he’s the sort of person who gets stronger by getting the crap beaten out of him rather than by praising him, and much as I dislike corporal punishment in reality, he’s not wrong. If there’s any sweetness in this it’s Louis and Rosalie, who are a cute couple immediately, though it takes the entire book for them to confess. That said, I suspect in the next book we’ll see more of his nemesis than his lover.

The second and final volume of this is already out in Japan, so we should not be waiting too long for it. If you love Silent Witch but wish that it starred a sociopath with a heart of gold, this is for you.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 27

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I’ve talked before about how the way that these books come out in Japan vs. America can sometimes hinder the English-speaking reader. The afterword to this volume says that the 5th Ex book will be a great thing to read to explain much of what happens at the end. Which it absolutely is. The trouble is that here it came out before the final volume of the 5th arc, and also I’ve forgotten most of it by now. Not great, though I understand why Yen cannot simply match another country’s publication schedule to help the wiki-consulting reader. On the other hand, sometimes we can actually get a release schedule helping us out. The last Re: Zero I reviewed was the third short story collection, which has the debut of Natsumi Schwartz, Subaru’s cross-dressing alter ego. And now here we are with the 2nd book in Arc 7, and who should appear to save the day (well, somewhat) but the same Natsumi Schwartz? I expected to see “her” again, but not this soon.

Subaru wants nothing to do with Abel’s crusade, and so he, Rem, and Louis ask the Shudrack to help them reach the nearest town, which they enter thanks to a brother-sister team of eccentrics. Unfortunately, Subaru then dies. Over. And over. And over again. Without quite figuring out what’s going on, which does not help his state of mind at all. Once he’s able to finally realize who is doing this, he manages to break out of the city and go BACK to Abel – as Abel had predicted he would do. That said, he also brought along Flop and Medium (yes, those are their names, it’s a bit Baccano, methinks), which allows Abel the possibility of actually winning his next battle. Unfortunately, Flop proves reluctant to help, so it’s up to Subaru to remember what he’s best at: dumb-sounding plans that work brilliantly.

This is another book that gets better as it goes along. The first half is basically Subaru learning a lesson the only way he knows how – by dying over and over again till it sticks in his head. And that lesson is that this is not a war that he and Rem (and Louis, who Subaru is finally realizing he cannot simply treat like a criminal anymore) can run away from. Honestly, the best parts of the book are him and Rem. This makes sense, given how much ground Rem lost to Emilia over the last fifteen or so books. She’s still grumpy and distrusts Subaru’s smell, but she’s starting to see what his morals and ethics are… and is there to help support them when needed, and criticize him when he varies from them. Subaru worrying she was going to run away from him again, and begging her to stay not for him, but for all the others who love her, is fantastic.

The cliffhanger suggests we’ll be getting a lot of a certain Royal Selection candidate soon… not a surprise given who Abel actually is. Unfortunately, it’ll be till at least December till we get more, as Yen’s schedule lightens up. Till then, this is great in the second half, and OK in the first.

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 2

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By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li.

I admit, I had expected the build-up to the imperial coup (literally, the Emperor is doing the couping) to be longer than this. In retrospect, though, this actually feels about right. The series knows that there’s only so much we can take of Carmine pretending to be a dumb little puppet while gradually gaining trusted allies and learning vital bits of information. Especially given that he’s also still having to fight off assassination attempts. But it does show, as Carmine reminds us in this book, that the battle against the Chancellor and the Minister of Ceremony is only the beginning, and that we end this book with an Emperor who may finally have revealed his true self but is also left with an Empire that is still on the verge of collapse. This is only the beginning, and he’s going to need more things – allies, military power, and most of all money – to avoid history coming down on him very hard indeed.

This book divides pretty neatly in two. The first part of the book shows him touring the Empire, where he has to fend off another attempted assassination, try to win over some potential allies, and also be exposed to the horrors of war, which he knows very well he bears responsibility for indirectly, puppet or no. He’s revealing his true self to more and more people at this point. In the second half he learns the truth behind the Illuminatus, and that he is not the first person to be reincarnated into this world. And finally, all his plans come together, as he manages to have a faction send their troops to take over the empire because of treason, and then demonstrates – as he’s being crowned – what the reward actually is for traitors.

The first book had a substantial role for Rosaria as Carmine’s love interest, but also teased two other girls who may also end up with him. Nadine gets more focus here, and at first seems to be a standard cliche – Carmine sees her at the start of this volume and thinks “so this is what tsunderes are like”. But she also has to be imprisoned in order for Carmine’s plot to not get discovered too early, and it becomes apparent that she’s the most “normal” of the three girls – and therefore the most vulnerable, especially as she’s not put in a gilded tower like Vera-Sylvie, but put in the traitor dungeon, which is exactly what you’d expect a cliched dungeon to be like. Carmine literally has to send an ally to help her so that she doesn’t kill herself in despair. But her simpleness is also her best quality – she’s determined to mold him into a good Emperor, and though she can’t spot the act consciously like Rosaria can, she does spot it unconsciously – and when the truth is revealed, seems overjoyed to be of use to him after all. These are good kids.

By the end of the book Carmine is 12, in power, and in trouble. We’ll see if he can age further in the third book. This can be dry at times, but is also rewarding for those who like OP politics light novels.

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 14

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joshua Douglass-Molloy.

This is one of the lengthier volumes in the series, as the author notes in their afterword. That said, by the end of it, there’s really only one new piece of information, and I’m not sure where we’re going to go with it. The rest of the book is made up of the usual romantic stasis (Jeord, having once again forced a kiss, ends up getting a fever and taking the rest of the volume off), with one exception that I’ll get to. And there’s also the continuing story of what’s going on with all the black magic and who’s behind it, which we get closer to, but have not quite arrived at an endgame. In other words, this volume is full of sound and fury. That said, Katarina’s clueless narration is always pleasant, and the book is definitely fun to read much of the time. But as always, anyone who came to this from the anime has likely dropped it ages ago.

Katarina and the others attend a palace ball, and given that Maria and her family were recently attacked, this includes extra bodyguarding in Cyrus, who is forced to have to deal with women. Katarina, meanwhile, is delighted to find a kindred spirit, as another woman is also eating far too much food and being chided by her brother for it. This is Haru and her brother Ryo, and as the names might have suggested, they’re from this world’s version of Japan. And, the two plots dovetailing nicely, it turns out that Haru is in love with Cyrus, and has been lurking around palace balls trying to pin him down. This all culminates in a visit to Cyrus’ lands, which are having a disturbingly familiar problem… animals are disappearing from the nearby forest. Is Katarina going to have to fight another dragon?

I try not to be a shipper in these reviews, but sorry, a great deal of this book is devoted to setting up Maria and Cyrus, which is naturally going to make my MariKata heart sad. Katarina, as ever, is very canny about everyone else’s romantic relationships but not her own – she even pegs Haru as the second’ otome game’s version of Mary, and she’s absolutely correct, right down to the rejection that inevitably comes. The key difference between Fortune Lover I and II in Katarina’s universe is that unlike the first book, where almost all the events were killed off by Katarina’s niceness, the second game’s events are actually happening, making it harder for her to avoid her doom. Though she’ll give it a try, as long as she can use her magical staff like a vacuum cleaner (the best part of the book).

The big revelation here is that Sarah, our increasingly distressed villain, is a childhood friend of Raphael’s “alter ego” Sirius. How that plays out will need to wait for the next book. For hardcore fans.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 10

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Just when you thought it was safe to forget about otome games… Yes, that’s right. We had the main game that Aileen needed to destroy. Then we had the sequel. Then we had the other sequel. Then we had the fandisk. But at last, they have run out of game to use, and Aileen and Claude can relax and get down to the important business of Aileen giving birth. Unfortunately, guess what? That’s right, it turns out there’s another game, seemingly unrelated, but in reality it ties into all the other games in a very “legal grey area” sort of way. And you know what that means. War with Ellmeyer, Claude being offered an out by marrying someone else, and Aileen being offered certain death. It’s a bit less “if I make one wrong move I’ll be executed” this time around – Aileen is an old hand at this sort of thing by now – but it’s nice to get back to the basics.

Claude is off to the Kilvas Empire, and for once, Aileen is not coming along. She’s pregnant, after all, and all the games that could destroy her life have been conquered, so what’s to worry about? Oh dear. As it turns out, as noted above, we’re headed into the plot of Valkyrie of the Magic Lance, and Lilia is DELIGHTED to tell Aileen all about it, gleefully noting all the ways that the entire country could be plunged into chaos. So naturally Aileen does have to come along, promising to be very careful, of course. They’re there to attend a wedding of Vica, a young man who looks a lot like Claude, and Diana, a military Valkyrie who seems a bit… obsessive? Aileen being Aileen, she decides to pretend she’s an airheaded trophy wife, and discovers that Diana has secret plans… which involve a military coup.

Diana is one of the more unpleasant women we’ve run into in this series, and since it’s a 2-parter that will conclude with the 11th (and final) volume, we get pretty much no softening of her at all. Instead, we get a few hints that she’s the same as Aileen and Lilia – that is, she’s a Japanese reincarnation. Sadly, she’s also a bit of an idiot, thinking that everyone will just move all the budget of her empire to the military with no arguments. Vica is far more interesting, as he’s Claude’s mirror in many ways, and the two can’t help but feel sympathetic towards each other. And then there’s Aileen, who promises to take it easy, and then does not remotely take it easy. Fortunately, the kid inside her seems of hardy stock. Those who read this book to see Aileen be clever, figure things out, and then leave it all for Claude to do the heavy work while she manages everything behind the scenes will be delighted.

The book ends with (of course) Aileen and Lilia giving birth at the exact same time to twin daughters. (Lilia literally says that she thinks of her child as the result of her relationship with Aileen. Poor Cedric.) Unfortunately, the bad guys got away at the end of this book. So I’m sure Book 11 will have Aileen fighting her fate again.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 12

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By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andrew Schubauer.

Given that a large chunk of this series consists entirely of the same goddamn thing over and over again (Haruka going from level to level of a dungeon, battling monsters, and gaining new power-ups/items), I hope you won’t be too disappointed that I talk about things I’ve talked about in previous reviews. The series’ reputation, both here and in Japan – indeed, more in Japan than here – is that its writing is incoherent and obtuse. This is true. It’s also clear that the author is trying, and slightly succeeding, in making that deliberate. Haruka is so busy telling us about the stream of church guards that he and Nefertiri are slaughtering and the cool +30 Eccentric Item Set A he’s acquired that he glosses over the abused, mentally broken slaves they’re freeing as they do this, the sheer fury that they’ve got on their faces, and Haruka’s battle with trying to save everyone and not destroy his body. Oh, and his depression. Which he hints at briefly. Once.

Haruka and Nefertiri are sneaking into the Cathedral, there to essentially take down the church. On the way there, Haruka comes across a gorgeous woman in a coffin… but he’s just her dead body, there’s no soul. What’s more, seeing her makes Nefertiri start to cry, though she can’t quite remember why. They have to deal with a lot of goons, a lot of monsters (including the husband of his chickenatrice), and the mother of the bunny girl and wolf girl from the previous book, who was tricked by the church and is now in cursed armor. That said, killing the pope and the evil clergy only turns out to be part one of what they need to do, as there’s another dungeon emperor, and Haruka is pretty sure that if he finds them he’ll find the soul that belongs to the body he found earlier.

Haruka’s exterior face and tone when others see him talking don’t always match his narrative blather. Class Rep and the others are used to seeing when he’s actually serious and when he’s just being a loon, but the reader sees it less frequently. That’s why the highlight of the book, frankly, is his confrontation with Faleria, the aforementioned Dungeon Emperor and holy saint, who is drowning herself in guilt and asks Haruka to kill her. You can imagine how well he takes this, and for once it actually shows, as he literally slams her head against a wall multiple times to get her to accept that the people whose lives she is mourning would not want her to simply give up on her own life – indeed, the plot of this entire book was engineered centuries ago in the hopes that someone will come along to save her. Haruka’s not going to let anyone around him (especially a woman) be anything less than insanely happy. And yes, that’s why she falls in love with him.

There’s the usual character bio errors (what is it with these? It’s not just Seven Seas, all the publishers struggle immensely with matching a character bio with the picture), but otherwise this is well adapted… I’d say it reads smoothly but you know it doesn’t, and that’s by design. In any case, next time will likely be Haruka trying to fix his new body, which lacks all the stuff he learned before, so I expect *even more* dungeon crawling and *even more* sex. Recommended for masochists who like puzzles.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 19

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

Despite the cover art, which is meant to match with the previous volume, there is very little romance in this book, and there’s nothing resembling a wedding. Instead, for the most part, we get a half a book of talking and posturing, and then a half a book of a big shonen fight scene. We all know how much I love reviewing big shonen fight scenes. Did you know that these two really powerful characters fight, and for a while it looks like one is going to easily win, but then the other one pulls out some great moves and so it looks like he is going to win, but then the first guy says “I have told you before that all sorcery is useless against me!” and turns the tables again… etcetcetc. On the bright side, I definitely think we’re getting near the end of the series, as this volume ends very badly for our protagonists.

After letting the bad guys stew for a week or so while Zagan and Nephy admire their engagement rings, they finally go to meet with Marchiosas for the first meeting of all the Archdemons in a long, long time. While there, Marchiosas explains why he’s called the meeting: the entire world is going to be destroyed in about a year’s time, because Alshiera’s barrier is finally breaking down. They throw around ideas to try to fix things, but there really aren’t any good ones. After this goes on for a while, Marchiosas boots out Zagan and half the cast and talks to the most important one there, Furcas, who is the only one who actually CAN save the world. Unfortunately, Marchiosas and Furcas are talking at cross-purposes, because Marchiosas wants to save the world by rescuing Alshiera… and replacing her with Lilith, who will become the new living battery. Furcas does not find this an attractive offer.

So yeah, there’s a LITTLE bit of romance here, and it revolves around the only love triangle in this series. Selphy has been fighting a losing battle from the start, as the only gay character in a series that pairs everyone very heterosexually. She knows that Furcas is madly in love with Lilith. She also knows that Lilith, once she actually figures this out and examines her own feelings, will likely return those feelings. So she hates Furcas… but also knows he’s a good person, so is forced, here at the big penultimate battle, to use an “I want my beloved to be happy” move that leaves her half-dead. Good news, though, she’s far from alone. By the end of this book, Furcas, Zagan, Nephy, Foll, and several other people are heavily wounded, and Zagan is actually in a coma. Oh, and one of our heroines is also kidnapped. Basically, it’s a darkest before the dawn moment.

When is the dawn? Well, Book 20 is due out in Japan next month, so it will probably be a while. Fans of the series, especially if they like cool battles with magic powers and punching things, will enjoy this.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 10

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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.

With apologies to Dorothy Parker. At one point in this volume, Yoshin and Nanami are scuba diving in Hawaii, and as they are about to surface, a school of dolphins goes by next to them. And they see two dolphins who seem to be together, and who Nanami watches closely, and as she waves at the dolphins… they seem to be crying. And it is that point, my darlings, that makes the first place in the tenth volume of An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up. I realize that the entire PURPOSE of this series is to deliver overly cute, couple-y scenes that make the reader go “awwwwwww” and make everyone around this googly-eyed couple sick. But I fear that we have perhaps reached a bit too far when the scene near the end where they exchange promise rings and pretend to get married is, somehow less sugary sweet than this scene.

At last, we are on the long-rumored class trip volume, and it is in Hawaii, on the main island. Yoshin and Nanami have been told by their parents to use this trip to get even closer to each other, and have been told by their teachers that they’d better watch themselves because, as everyone seems to know (including them), the moment that these two give in and kiss with tongue they won’t be able to stop and she will get pregnant. Fortunately, there are other really adorable couple things to do, like a nighttime sneak to the hotel pool, the aforementioned scuba diving, a trip to the beach to show off new swimsuits, and a shopping trip to purchase rings that leads to the oldest church in Hawaii (yes, the author very clearly wrote this based on their own trip), where they exchange vows, to the amusement of the elderly priest who catches them in the act. But do they get any closer? Do they finally do it?

Of course not. This is not the final volume, after all. But they do have a bath together, and she does accidentally see him naked in the shower. And they sleep in the same bed two days in a row. That will have to do for these dorks. There’s also a lot more of the other token male classmate in this series, Hatsumi, who is a mild, friendlier version of the “horndog friend of the protagonist” we get in romcoms like this. We also get the beta couple of this series, Teshikaga and Shirishizu, wop become a couple on this trip, and (it is implied) have already gone further than our main couple. Let’s be honest, Yoshin and Nanami are both essentially perfect in every way, so we have to accept the fact that she can’t even let Yoshin touch her boobs without having an aneurysm and calling the whole thing off. C’est la vie.

Next up seems to be Christmas, with the obligatory sexy Santa cover outfit. Till then, recommended for everyone who likes sweeter than pie romcoms.

Welcome to Olivia’s Magic Jewelers, Vol. 1

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By Rinrin Yuki and Suzaku. Released in Japan as “Olivia Maseki Houshokuten e Youkoso: Ka to Mise wo Oida Sareta no de, Outou ni Mise wo Kamaetara, Naze ka Moto Konyakusha to Gimai no Kekkonshiki ni Dero to Iwaremashita” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

The trouble with having so many light novels is that you cannot possibly read everything. This goes double for light novels written for women, because it used to be we never had those. The villainess craze may be annoying people as much as the isekai craze these days, but it has brought to English translation a solid number of series for young women. But you can’t read everything. And thus you have series like this one, which is a good book. Likable protagonist, the traditional evil stepparents and stepsisters are, for the moment, given short shrift, and the romantic lead is attractive and clearly likes Olivia, though I wish he’d tell her who he really is. The main trouble is – why should you read this when you can just read Dahlia in Bloom instead?

When we first meet Olivia’s she’s having a very bad year. Her parents died, and her father’s brother, who took her in, seems to be evil. her fiance started to be less interested in her and more interested in her stepsister. And now she’s being accused of stealing her stepsister’s designs, and thrown out of the house. She then remembers a letter her late father gave her, which turns out to say that if she’s ever in trouble, go to the capital and look up his old friend Gordon. So, after a brief cranky run-in with a nice young man who called her the wrong thing, she ends up at the capital… where the same nice young man directs her lost self to Gordon, who turns out to run a magic artifact shop. Which is good, as it turns out that’s what Olivia is brilliant at.

This is what I call a 4/4 book. Not meaning four points out of four, but rather that it’s in 4/4 time and every plot beat hits on the beat, with no variation. It’s a pure Cinderella story, with Olivia meeting a handsome young man who becomes her friend (and is clearly far more powerful than she knows), exchanging her evil stepmother and stepsister for a parental boss, impressed co-workers, and an older sister type who makes sure that she doesn’t overdo it… well, no, nothing can stop Olivia from overdoing it. Even in books where they’re NOT reincarnated after working to death in Japan (which this one is – no Japan whatsoever), our heroine is trying to impress dead parents, her mentor, and the entire world, which still apparently thinks she’s a thief. (It turns out no one who knows Olivia at all believes this, but that doesn’t really matter when it’s a rumor.) Basically, even if she’s perfect she can never quite match the perfection in her head, so she tends to run on insecurity, despite literally winning a legendary award that will revolutionize the industry by page 140 or so.

This has at least one more volume,l which promises (ugh) more of her evil stepparents and stepsister. It’s good. I liked it. But you don’t have to read it unless you read literally everything.

Welcome to Monstrous Miss Sophie’s Enchanted Salon of Healing, Vol. 1

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By Sachi Konzome and Harenochihareta. Released in Japan as “Bakemono Jou Sophie no Salon: Gokigenyou. Kawa Ichimai nara Naosemasu wa” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Dawson Chen.

There have been any number of series about healers in the light novel world, and there is a powerful one in this book as a supporting character. But the reason this book works so well is that Sophie’s healing, the thing that causes her to set up her business, is relatively weak. She can only heal skin deep problems. But skin deep problems are an issue for so many people, and one that is not easily solved, especially in this “magic fantasy” style world. Scars can prevent marriages, can harm familiar relations, can affect someone’s job. And Sophie is someone who can deeply understand that – not just because of her own skin condition, but (yes, surprise, surprise) of her past from Japan, where her daughter suffered from a similar condition. The dignity of everyday life, the little joys of fashion and being attractive, or even just the desire to get the hell away from an abusive stepfamily – all those can be affected by scars.

Mariko is a young woman who had a very rough life. She married young and had a child young, and then her husband died. Her daughter had a skin condition, and was bullied throughout her school life. And then, when her daughter has finally found a career and gotten married, Mariko suffers a fatal stroke. She wakes up as Sophie Olzon, a 17-year-old young woman who has apparently just “fallen” out of her bedroom window, fortunately escaping death. Sophie has a skin condition (which the novel’s illustrations really try to avoid showing more than once, preferring to have her veiled face just look slightly dark) where the skin all over her body is covered in boils, sores and pus. Also, her magic is weak. She had fallen in love and gotten engaged… only to find that her fiance loved someone else and was being bought off by her well-meaning father. So she threw herself out her window. However, now she has 57-year-ol Mariko’s memories as well, and so knows exactly how to cope with this – helping others.

This book amounts to a short story collection with wraparounds involving Sophie’s life. Each chapter we meet a new person, and Sophie has to hear their tragic backstory, because the more she can visualize what happened and identify with the person, the better the healing goes. We see princesses with a curse, noble ladies whose houses have been usurped by a new stepmother/sister, actresses whose arrogance got them knifed, and exotic dancers who have to deal with a baby and still try to arouse men. We even see one of Sophie’s former classmates, who was briefly sympathetic but gave in to peer pressure. That said, Sophie is the best reason to read this. Mariko’s memories do not magically make Sophie better – she spends all of this book still dealing with the crushing despair of having to spend her life like this, and at one point heals someone so much she almost dies from mana loss. Oh yes, and the guy who’s clearly meant to be her love interest does not really understand emotions. At all.

Basically, this series is an emotional roller-coaster and I was quite moved a lot of the time. Also, it ends with the second volume, so I assume things will eventually look up. Till then, please enjoy our heroine healing others because she cannot heal herself. (Also, bonus points for using a fantasy version of The Pickwick Papers to try to get her hard-headed healer friend to understand the foibles of human life.)