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Reviews

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 14

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

No series has quite managed to make me eat my words quite as much as Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, a group of books that is about an overpowered shut-in who wanders the land defeating powerful monsters and acquiring a string of little girls to follow her around and hero worship her. The start of the series balanced out the “cute girl doing OP things” vibe with some truly dark and weird plot points, with young girls being abducted, raped and killed, or Yuna having to repatriate a group of women whose families were murdered and who were *also* raped. To no one’s surprise, as this series got an anime, almost all of this was thrown out the window in favor of “let’s watch Yuna finance a bakery” and similar things. But it still occasionally dips its toe in darkness. Last time I was grumpy about Yuna’s pathological avoidance of praise being treated like a quirk of her personality rather than a genuine problem. In this new volume, it’s clear the author knows that, and is sending us to dark places again.

It doesn’t really seem that way at first. The majority of the book is Yuna coming back home after her trip to the land of giant scorpions. She presents a “Mission Accomplished” to the King, then relaxes in her bear house, only just remembering to tell Fina and the others that she’s back. She then prepares for the massive vacation to Mileela, which by the time it starts has about fifty people going (mostly the orphanage who are Yuna’s main child labor force… let’s not go there right now) and requires Yuna to create not only a big bear bus but two bear minibuses, powered through her mana. This requires her, on the journey there, to switch from her normal black bear outfit to the reversed white bear outfit, as she’s going to be using mana like a sieve. This leads to people not recognizing her at first, which merely irritates her… for now.

So yeah, once they get to the ocean and the beach, Yuna has to give in and remove the bear costume. She’s done this before at a palace function, but that was mostly filled with people who had no idea who she was anyway, so it was mostly her own personal safety that worried her. Same with the school festival. Here she has a bigger existential crisis: when she walks around as Yuna, dressed in a swimsuit and without her bear things, almost no one recognizes her. Literally, they stand next to her and ask Fina where she is. Fina, bless her, seems to be the exception to this rule. (Note that everyone, once they DO see it’s Yuna, immediately praise her pretty and petite body, but Yuna being Yuna, she doesn’t take this as praise at all.) At first Yuna is merely annoyed, but as it goes on and on, and as she attempts to do normal things (like teaching girls to swim) and failing as she has NO STAMINA without the bear suit, she gets more and more depressed. As she states to herself, no one is friends with Yuna, they’re all friends with “the bear”. The bear is the one that does everything. The bear is their savior. The bear is their friend. Yuna? Yuna is just an out-of-shape shut in.

Frustratingly, the book goes from Yuna’s spiral of depression to the usual end of book side stories, so we’ll need to wait till next time. Fortunately, as this book ran a bit late, next time is next month. Join me then to see if we get to see Yuna on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or if she simply shrugs everything off. Again.

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Fantastic Days

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By Hirukama, Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Spinoffs can be hard. Spinoffs written by someone other than the original author are harder. And when you get a spinoff written by someone who’s not the original author based on a mobile game that likely was also not written by the original author, well, you’re really starting to get into trouble. Hirukama is best known over here for the Reborn as a Vending Machine light novel that’s currently getting an anime. He also writes the longest running KonoSuba spinoff, Ano Orokamono ni mo Kyakkou wo!, which focuses on Dust, the loser guy who seems to linger around the edges of the main series. We’re unlikely to get that, if only as it doesn’t star Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin and Darkness. This book we are getting does feature three new girls who have the plot built around them, but it has healthy doses of our main cast as well, so fans will not feel cheated. Is it good? Eh.

For those wondering where in the main story this fits in, it’s left deliberately vague, but I’d say around Volume 8, mostly as Megumin and Darkness show no signs that they’re in love with Kazuma at all. While trying to stop a disaster, Megumin blows up a wagon containing a) a monetary tribute to nobility, causing him to go deeply in the red, and b) the supplies to a dance troup/adventuring party. The troup consists of Lia, the theoretically sensible one with the mysterious past; Cielo, a noble whose upbringing caused her to develop an extreme fear of men; and Erika, a girl who tries her hardest to be cute, and is also searching for her birth parents. Kazuma, on seeing them, is reminded of Japanese idol groups, and decides to make them stars!… mostly as making them stars will help pay off his debt. Unfortunately, these idols have fanboys, and they’re also trolls. No, not internet trolls, real trolls.

The three new girls, of course, are deliberately meant to contrast with the three regular stars. Cielo and Darkness are both blonde nobles trying to get away from all that by adventuring. Erika focuses on cute as much as Megumin does on cool. As for Lia… well, OK, she’s not that much like Aqua, except perhaps for her pathological messiness. She is, however, the character whose plot matters the most, as her amnesia turns out to be an important key to defeating Daniel, the troll lord who has decided to stan her. Everyone gets to do their bits. Megumin fires off explosions, Darkness is masochistic, Aqua screws up everything, etc. Unfortunately, it really does feel likely someone trying to write an “original flavor” fanfic with their own OCs, to be honest. By necessity, this cannot grow or develop any character except the new girls… and actually, it ends up just being Lia. That means this rides on how funny it is, and the answer is: not as funny as the main books.

If you really love KonoSuba, you can certainly enjoy this. As a spinoff, though, I’d rather read the Megumin books.

Sabikui Bisco, Vol. 5

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By Shinji Cobkubo and K Akagishi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey.

Sabikui Bisco tends to coast along on three elements. The first is what I would call “high concept”, coming up with fantastical ideas, people or places that make the jaw drop when they’re described. The second is the wall-to-wall action sequences that make up the bulk of the book. And the third is Bisco and Milo getting closer and closer to just making out, even as each book seems to add a new girl to fall in love with Bisco and sigh as she watches he and Milo declare themselves to be soulmates. The good news is that this fifth volume has all of those things in abundance. The bad news is that it does tend to lean a bit too much on the action scenes this time around. Bisco is not really someone who ever slows down or stops to smell the roses, but reading this book is like watching an action movie that’s all the last 15 minutes. It can be utterly exhausting.

After the events of the last book, Shishi is now apparently evil, and Bisco is very definitely a 10-year-old. As he and Milo try to catch up with her so that he can do something about that, they end up on Hokkaido… which it turns out is basically a giant floating space whale. That was not in any of the guidebooks! Unfortunately, Shishi got there first, and is trying to take over the island with camellia flowers… which have already taken over the prison wardens from the previous book. Fortunately, they have allies in the native peoples of Hokkaido, which include (yes, try to contain your surprise) another teenage girl who thinks Milo is pretty hot. She’s not into Bisco, though, as he’s just a kid. Will they be able to stop the island being used for a mass terrorist event? And just how evil *is* Shishi anyway?

The book makes an effort to try to keep it ambiguous about Shishi’s motivations, saying that it wasn’t just her being possessed by an evil flower but her own desires that led to her murdering her dad. But given that this motivational speech is coming FROM the evil flower, it’s a bit hard to take this as anything more than “sorry, bro, I was possessed”. Indeed, it’s not the only possession of the book, as the climax of the volume shows that there is no character the series will not bring back to make another appearance. Speaking of which, Pawoo is kept far away from her husband, but Tirol is around to be the absolute worst again, and Amli also shows up to try to save her god/crush delete where applicable. This is a series that thrives on barely controlled chaos, so it works, but eventually the “controlled” part is going to be lost, I suspect.

Still, overall I was less grumpy about this book, despite it basically just being Bisco and Milo screaming for 260 pages. I’ll keep going.

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 10

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By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

As the series hits double digits, it’s pretty clear that it’s at least sauntering towards a conclusion. Wein is closer than ever to becoming the King, but (see premise of the series) he really does not want this, and would much rather leave things to the little sister who’s been growing by leaps and bounds over the course of the book and just run off somewhere with Ninym to do all the things he could not do with Ninym when he was heir to the throne. Of course, what’s stopping him is the rest of the plot. For one thing, he’s made such a name for himself that people are not yet taking Falanya seriously, though I expect that will change in a big way after this book. For another, there are too many people whose ongoing plans really need Wein to be around and also as clever as he normally is. Lowellmina is the obvious one, but the Church has an eye on him too… or rather, on Ninym, by his side.

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After events in the last book, Wein’s country, or more accurately the vassals in his country, really want him to stay home. Unfortunately, Delunio is holding a big event to celebrate their alliance with Soljest and Natra, and have asked Wein to attend. He’s not going to, but he can send Falanya… despite the fact that the disgraced prime minister of Delunio is now Falanya’s adviser. Of course, this does not mean that Wein gets to sit around either, as there’s a more serious crisis in the Empire. Lowellmina has too much power now, so her brothers have come up with a clever scheme: fight each other, let the casualties pile up, and then tarnish Lowellmina’s name because she, the peace loving princess, did not intervene. She wants Wein’s help. And as if this weren’t enough, in Soljest… Gruyere has been overthrown?!

The fun of this series is the fact that not just the main characters, but EVERY character seems to have one main scheme and seven backup schemes all going at the same time. The best scene in the book features a most unlikely pairing, Gruyere and Nanaki, but of course the main thing to talk about here is Falanya. She’s finally gotten to the point where Wein does not have to worry about her when she’s trapped in a dangerous political hothouse, and while she does need his help near the end, 80% of the victory in this book is down to her own clever scheming. There’s a reason that Sirgis has decided to make it his goal to have her become ruler rather than Wein, though I’m not sure I buy his “he doesn’t care about the people of the country” – if that were the case, Wein could have schemed himself out of this a while ago. But it definitely feels like we’re headed for a sibling throne war, which is good, as Natra has experience with that.

So very glad to have this back, and I am pleased that it won’t take as long for the 11th book to come out here. Recommended for political intrigue fans.

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 2

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By FUNA and Touzai. Released in Japan as “Rōgo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-Man-Mai no Kinka o Tamemasu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Kodansha Books. Translated by Luke Hutton.

Sigh. There was no good way to do this. Kodansha Books re-released the first two volumes of this light novel series as an omnibus, which is good! It meant folks didn’t have to re-buy two books that they already had from the late, unlamented Sol Press and we could get to new content faster! But it also means that this second volume is the third in Japan. And that will be the case going forward. That’s why this is another review of the 2nd volume – it’s really a review of Volume 3. Got it? Good. That said, the first volume of this series originally came out here in 2019, the second 19 months after that, and here’s the third, about 30 months after that one. You might be forgiven for completely forgetting what’s been going on. Fortunately, there was an anime! It covered Books 1 and 2, so go watch it, then come back here. Because this is more of the same, and it’s fun and mind-boggling and a little disturbing. See: this author.

Things are getting busier for Mitsuha – so busy that she seriously considers, near the end of the book, stopping the “go back and forth between here and Japan” thing and permanently settling. She has a new territory to run. She’s being asked to attend all sorts of society balls. She’s trying to get board games to be a thing in this country, specifically shogi and reversi. She’s trying to create popcorn, with the help of some adorable… if somewhat mercenary… orphans. And of course she’s looking to make that money so that she can retire, though several times in this book she admits to herself that she needs to stop inventing new things and let this world relax and catch up a bit. That said, the biggest problem may be when three huge ships show up in her domain. Maybe they’re friendly!… OK, probably not.

Fans of FUNA will be happy to know there is quite a bit of what I call “the heroine goes completely batshit” in this book, the biggest being how she deals with the invading foreign army. As with I Shall Survive Making Potions!, the heroine’s morality is firmly in the grey area, and her solutions do sometimes involve “there’s no way I can do this without killing a few people, sorry”. Much of the “fun” in this series is seeing her do something along these lines, then act surprised that everyone is staring in disbelief at her. She actually has another crying breakdown here, after the Count who has become her surrogate father has to remind her that people actually love and care about her here, and she should not treat her life as disposable. Which, let’s be honest, she is. Almost all her decisions in this volume have a form of “what if I die, how will they deal with this then?” Which is great in a worldbuilding way, but not so good in a psychological one.

If you hated Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average and I Shall Survive Using Potions!, you’ll hate this too. If you loved them, you’ll love this too. It’s as simple as that. See you next time for the third (fourth) book.

Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 2

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By Saki and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Albert-ke no Reijō wa Botsuraku o Goshomō Desu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Ray Krycki.

Most of the time, when you hear about a light novel protagonist who is described as “no one has any idea what they’re thinking”, there’s a fairly obvious reason for it. usually it’s because they were reincarnated from Japan, or (as in Mary Albert, theoretically) a villainess in an otome game. But we, the reader usually know why they’re thinking what they’re thinking. it’s just the poor supporting cast who have it rough. That’s not the case in this series, and I have to hand it to the author: there are many times in this volume when I *really* have no idea what Mary Albert is thinking. It’s not even a case of “trying to sabotage my future” like the first book in the series – she did that (well, OK, the opposite, but you know what I mean) and has moved on. But in the case of Mary Albert and her feelings for Adi, even she has no idea what she’s thinking. Until WELL after you might expect.

Everything’s coming up roses for Mary Albert at the start of this book. Despite attempting to be a villainess, she actually managed to work things out in a different way, so the ending of the otome game is not going to happen. She’s going off to a foreign land to study management skills. Hell, even her trademark drills, previously unable to be tamed, are now gone thanks to the power of the game being over. But there is a second game, the sequel to Heart High, that takes place at the school in that foreign country. One with a “heroine” and a ‘villainess”. That said, Mary’s not in that game at all, so she can simply sit back, watch the enfolding disaster, make good friends with a wet blanket of a noble, and also get married to Adi. Wait, what? What was that last part?

I admit that I *was* expecting the events of this book to some degree, but the author really threw me off by the order in which they happened. Mary is not yet finished dealing with/watching for villainess pointers at her new school when she’s called back to her country to get married, something that she does unconsciously and without think9ing about it, to the amazement of everyone. It’s only after she and Adi are already married that she’s forced to confront the fact that it happened, and why she was so blase about it. Mary Albert is a rare “villainess” who’s retained very little of her Japanese self, and simply associated marriage with “political move”. Marrying for love never was a thing she expected. As such, when she realizes it happened, her freakout is possibly the best part of the book. As for the second game and its resolution, it’s yet another example of why “harem” endings are good in a funny way when you’re a gamer, but terrible if you try to consider them seriously – see also Endo and Kobayashi Live.

And so, we’ve reached the end of the series. Um. There are HOW many books left? Let me guess, short story volume? (checks) Yup. We’ll be back next time for the obligatory short story volume! Till then, this is much more fun than I expected, with a great heroine.

Earl and Fairy: Beware the Enticing Trap

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By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

I was very excited when Earl and Fairy debuted from J-Novel Heart, but I will admit that I underestimated the backlash that the series got from some areas of the community. This is an old-school shoujo series, and it stars an old-school shoujo love interest. If you don’t know what that means, look up “Black Bird” or “Hot Gimmick”. Though Earl and Fairy does not go nearly as far as those two series, it is definitely in the school of romance that is “he starts off as the worst, but gradually gets better due to the influence of our heroine”. And given this is a long-running series, it’s going to be very gradual. Edgar is not going to suddenly soften up and tell Lydia his deepest secrets. Moreover, given that he thinks Lydia would be perfectly happy to walk off and never see him again, don’t expect him to stop giving affectionate overtures that may be unwelcome. That’s how these series roll. Tender romance will be along in a bit.

Lydia has been hired by Edgar as his Fairy Doctor, meaning that she’s now living in London. Of course, this being a supernatural mystery series as well as a romance, trouble is following her around. Or, more accurately, following her employer around. A young woman has disappeared, and was last seen in a carriage with none other than Edgar. There’s a bogey-beast in the vicinity, and it’s not clear who its master is. Rosalie, cousin to the missing girl, is very much attracted to Edgar, and thus very annoyed that he only seems to have eyes for Lydia. The fog, always terrible in London of vaguely Victorian times, is even worse because of the threat of the Fogman. And possibly worst of all, Lydia is finding herself wanting to get closer to Edgar, and she has absolutely no idea why.

Lydia, I will admit, does suffer from some of the worst traits of a shoujo heroine. When she blithely walks into an abandoned warehouse with a girl that she already knows is antagonistic towards her, you will want to smack your forehead. She’s no shrinking violet, but sometimes that gets her into trouble as well – her desire to take quick and decisive action is what gets her soul trapped near the climax of the book. As for her relationship with Edgar, she’s not close enough for him to open his heart to, but that also means that she’ll never take any affectionate overtures he makes seriously. Nico, Lydia’s walking, talking, sarcastic cat (just throwing that out there for those who are still on the fence about this series) tells Edgar if he wants to win Lydia over he needs to stop lying to her. Unfortunately, Edgar has been hurt so much by so many people – and had nearly everyone who trusted him die – that this may not even be possible.

To sum up” great shoujo potboiler. Lydia is naive but awesome. Have patience with Edgar. Give Nico some tea and fish.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 6

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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 Eric Margolis. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

It occurred to me as I was reading this volume, this lacks one of the main parts of “summoned to another world” books, which is the summoning. I was thrown off by the god at the start of the series, who actually does summon the class to a different world, presumably to save it, but the world itself is not involved with the summoning, and (while we see some small evidence that past heroes may have also been summoned), there’s no sense that anyone is used to new people suddenly showing up all at once. As a result, try to imagine what the people in the capital city must be thinking when they see Haruka and twenty gorgeous young women, all with black hair and black eyes, show up and save the day almost instantaneously. Seriously, this 413-page book only takes up one week of real time in the book. They’re all absolute monsters. It is, frankly, amazing that more people just give in and go along with it… though given their situation, maybe it’s not so surprising.

Despite various attempts to try to negotiate, war is becoming inevitable. The king’s brother is there to try to work out a compromise: the first prince has said he will spare the frontier if they give up Haruka. Literally everyone except the king’s brother knows this is a trap, but Haruka goes along with it anyway, because it’s just easier to trigger the trap and then massacre everyone. Yeah, there’s a lot of death in this book, this isn’t the manga. Having fixed that problem (and killed one prince), everyone then arrives at the capital, where the king is dying, the second prince is allied with evil merchants, and there’s an orphanage filled with kids who would make Oliver Twist look like a plump spoiled brat. This lights a righteous fire under all the main cast, who proceed to turn into villains in order to save the civilians who are being ground down by the real enemy… capitalism.

These books are starting to struggle a bit with the “wacky” side of things. Don’t get me wrong, Haruka is still damn near incomprehensible and incredibly annoying. And there are still an incredibly large number of pages devoted to Haruka making underwear for all his female classmates, which involves using his “magic hands” to grope them into unconsciousness (with their consent – the underwear is JUST THAT GOOD). But there’s no sugarcoating how awful everything is this arc. The majority of the nobility are cartoon villains, the merchants are greedy scum, and while we haven’t met the church yet (next book), they’re implied to be worse than all of the others. The orphanage is played for maximum mawkishness, except when you see things like the girls all finding the nobles most responsible for it and using status effects like “Pure Pain” on them. And even saving the capital doesn’t fix things, as in the meantime the church’s forces have gone to destroy Omui.

The series, for once, ends with a genuine cliffhanger, as we wonder if Haruka vs. 30,000 troops will finally be what gets him killed. The girls all worry this as well, which is why they’re racing there as well. As always, once you dig past the nonsense, Maria-sama Ga Miteru and Mary Poppins references, and endless descriptions of tits, there’s a whole lot to sink your teeth into. And not in the mean girls way.

Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta, Vol. 3

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By Toshizou and Kuro Shina. Released in Japan as “Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tristan K. Hill.

Either this book is wearing me down or I have an undiagnosed concussion injury, because I did not find this third volume of Yuri Tama nearly as annoying as I did the previous two. There are a couple good reasons for that, of course. The godawful incest plotline that plagued the second book seems to have been quietly shelved, and Yotsuba’s sisters, while still overly affectionate, have dialed themselves back. Yotsuba’s self-loathing is still very, very prevalent in everything she says, but at least her girlfriends are now telling her to stop doing that, so we’re getting there. Koganezaki continues to represent the reader’s frustrations, and is awesome. And, of course, there’s a ridiculous new love interest, but frankly, it’s handled about as well as can be expected, given that the premise of this series is Yotsuba doing something amazingly foolish and every other woman in the cast thinking “God, I can’t not fuck her”.

Yotsuba has only just managed to recover from the events of the second book and is trying to quietly enjoy the rest of her summer break, but then her sisters bring stunning news: the idol Maki Amagi is taking a leave of absence from show business. Her sisters are devastated, Yotsuba is nonplussed. Who? Then suddenly a new girl moves into the house next door. No prizes for guessing who it is. It turns out that Maki Amagi is really Makina Oda, who was childhood best friends with Yotsuba before she had to move away. As Yotsuba tries to process this, Makina asks a favor: the paparazzi think she’s dating a guy, so to throw them off the trail, can she pretend to be dating Yotsuba? Yotsuba is immediately taken in by this story that does not sound remotely fake, but how will her actual girlfriends react?

I’ve mentioned this before, but given it’s one of the most notable things about her, I’ll mention it again. When Yotsuba turns off her self-doubt and constant second guessing brain and just goes with the flow, she manages to be a fantastic romantic partner. On her date to the aquarium with Makina, we see this in action, and we also see what’s obvious to everyone but Yotsuba: the “paparazzi” thing was just an excuse, she’s been in love with Yotsuba since she was five years old. The series revels in its cliches (we get the good old “childhood marriage promise” here), but honestly things are handled about as well as I could have expected them to be. Yotsuba has a heart to heart with Rinka and Yuna (followed by offscreen sex with Rinka and Yuna – Yotsuba worries she’ll be terrible in bed, but honestly, given her personality and general vibe when moving on instinct, I think she’ll be a natural) and is still in love with them, but Makina is very much still in the picture.

There’s no fourth book yet, but the author is hopeful, and says it will focus on Koganezaki (who might get to be part of the only yuri pairing in the book that doesn’t involve Yotsuba). Till then, this is very silly but fun, especially if you ignore Yotsuba’s parade of insecurities in her narration.

A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince!, Vol. 2

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By Micoto Sakurai and Kuroyuki. Released in Japan as “Konyakusha ga Uwakiaite to Kakeochi Shimashita. Ōji Denka ni Dekiaisarete Shiawase nanode, Ima sara Modoritai to Iwarete mo Komarimasu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by A. M. Cola.

Villainess books (and I’m including the separate subgenre of “not reincarnated but still a noble lady whose engagement is broken” there) tend to fall into “hard mode” or “easy mode”. “Hard mode” are books like I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, where our heroine is constantly threatened with death and execution if they put even one foot wrong, and each volume is flying by the seat of the pants. Easy mode is generally the Cinderella sort of story, where our heroine’s prearranged marriage was really dreadful and she’s immediately snapped up by a much better catch, and the rest of the book is just “how much happier she is now”. A Royal Rebound is definitely in the easy category, to the point where it may even be the “here’s how you play the game” tutorial. Even when we get our heroine put into mortal danger here, her fiance comes along and can fix things relatively quickly.

Amelia is still in seventh heaven as we start Book 2. She’s now engaged to Sarge, the third prince, and the two of them can spend all day (and night… and some of the next day) doing nothing but research agriculture till they drop. Yeah, it’s that kind of relationship – these two don’t even kiss. Nevertheless, she has Sarge, and the royal family, all of whom adore her. Being part of the royal family also means that she is now being asked to go on diplomatic missions, including one to the nearby kingdom of Janaki, who are also having agricultural issues but lack the magic powers that most folks in Bedeiht have. Of course, the kingdom of Janaki is dangerously close to the Beltz Empire, where Amelia was almost kidnapped to last volume by her ex-fiance. But surely there won’t be a second kidnapping, right?

Again, this book is super relaxed. The princess of Janaki, who is the fiancee of one of the other princes, appears like she might be a spoiled brat who’s fallen in love with someone else… but no, it’s OK, she’s just being brainwashed. In reality, she’s like every other woman in this book, sweet as pie and ready to dedicate everything to the nation. Hell, even the bad guy, who comes in with a hate on for the entire nation state, ends up being convinced that her mother really didn’t abandon him out of choice and that he really was loved, and turns around. Even Reese, Amelia’s ex-fiance… well, OK, no, Reese still stays in prison. There are limits. But Amelia thinks about what a shame it is his Earth magic can’t be of use to the country going forward. This is a nice series to read, but its main fault is that it’s so idealistic it squeaks.

But again, that’s probably why folks bought it. I suspect this is the final volume (if there is a third, it might just be a pile of weddings in a row), but if so it’s just really… nice. In a good way. Mostly.

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte: Disc EX

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By Suzu Enoshima and Eihi. Released in Japan as “Tsundere Akuyaku Reijou Liselotte to Jikkyou no Endo-kun to Kaisetsu no Kobayashi-san” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Minna Lin.

The “Disc EX” should tell you exactly what you’re getting with this volume. This is not a new volume in the series per se, nor is it a sequel or a side story. Even as a collection of short stories, that description feels inadequate. It’s the sort of bonus content you get when a game has done well and the creators are taking a victory lap. It’s not going to have any drama or threats – indeed, the one scene where there is a brief threat of actual consequences is quickly resolved by simply deciding to ignore the problem. Instead, you get exactly what you want from a fan disc – more of the cast being themselves. More of Lieselotte being tsundere, more of Sieg being overwhelmed by how cute she is, more of Endo and Kobayashi narrating out loud (even when they’re in the actual world itself). You don’t have to read this. But it will bring a smile to your face.

The goddess Lirenna has made things so that Endo and Kobayashi can be there on the day that Lieselotte and Siegwald’s wedding day, as we saw in the final scene of the 2nd book. They have most of the whole day there, so while there they ask about various things they didn’t see or missing pieces from the first two books. We hear about Lieselotte’s Memoir, which here is a simple diary of her last few years but in the fan disc at the end of the game Endo and Kobayashi played it was a dark chapter that showed you what Lieselotte was really like and drove home the tragedy. (We don’t get excerpts from the bad diary, that would be depressing, and against the premise of this book). After various short stories show off the supporting cast, the two are wed, and Endo and Kobayashi return to Japan permanently – except the game now has a video epilogue from its cast.

As I hinted above, the most interesting part of the book is where Endo and Kobayashi express surprise that Fiene gave in and got engaged so fast, as they know that she’s suffering from subconscious trauma due to being Eve and having her husband (Adam, aka Baldur) murdered in front of her by Kuon. They debate telling her about this, but realize that there’s really no good reason to do so, and a few good reasons they should not, so they just… don’t. I appreciated this. No need to lift lids off cans of worms. I was also amused at the side story devoted to Leon, and why he showed up with everyone at the final battle. The cast are all frustrated that they don’t know why, but we all know why – he’s madly in love with Fiene’s mother. I suspect he might eventually wear her down, but this is – again – a fun little bonus that readers know about but most of the cast don’t, which fits the fan disc theme.

I’d have liked more about Endo and Kobayashi’s relationship – they’re on first name basis now, but that’s about it – but this is fine. As a volume likely only commissioned because of the anime, it does its job quite well, and fans should be pleased.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 16

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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.

These books are getting increasingly hard to review, as there’s simply not much that’s left in terms of “dangling plotline” beyond one or two minor things introduced here. Zagan has gotten to the point where he’s ready to propose to Nephy, and has a ring, but a) is waiting for Nephy to be emotionally prepared for a proposal, and b) has to use the ring as a magic tool when battling a demon. Barbatos and Chastille are still trapped in tsundere hell, but are at least able to go out on dates now, and it won’t be long before they manage to somehow get married while denying it to the last breath in their bodies. The only real ongoing new plot of interest is Asmodeus, who, as predicted, is trying to pretend that the whole Lily thing didn’t affect her, but it totally did.There’s also getting spirits out of angelic swords, but unless we meet any of these spirits, I don’t care.

Chastille’s birthday is coming up soon, and Barbatos is *so* bad at romance that Gremory actually asks another archdemon for help, Vepar. Vepar would rather chew glass, as he regards Barbatos as evil and thinks Chastille is being forced into this, but after a while hanging around Barbatos he starts to get the picture – Barbatos is just lame. Vepar, meanwhile, wants a chance to fight his former master Asmodeus. While this is going on, Barbatos is also approached by Astrologian Eligor, who is trying to recruit Barbatos to switch sides and fight against Zagan. Most of what follows is a string of wacky misunderstandings. While this is going on, actual demons have been appearing in the country more and more, and both Zagan and Asmodeus are trying to stop it. Though Zagan’s may be hard, as it’s 10.000 demons standing on each other wearing a trenchcoat.

There’s nothing really wrong with this volume. The humor is funny if you like tsunderes. The couples are cute, though I’m less fond of Selphy, Lilth and Furcas’ love triangle, possibly as I suspect Selphy will end up on the losing side of it. Zagan gets to do cool things, Nephy gets to do cool things. And another innocent kid walks down an alleyway when they hear a noise, which has happened in this series already about four times, and I feel the need to remind the populace about taking basic safety lessons. But while there’s nothing wrong with the book, it’s not exciting either. It’s there to incrementally move things along, but it has the air of “I can drag this out as long as my publisher lets me”, and it’s starting to show. The manga spinoff that just started probably isn’t helping.

So fans of the series should read this, but don’t be surprised if you, like me, feel a bit tired of the whole thing.

The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent, Vol. 2

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By Kosuzu Kobato and Yasuyuki Syuri. Released in Japan as “Kusushi no Majo Desu ga, Nazeka Fukugyō de Rikon Daikō Shiteimasu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

When reviewing the 2nd volume of The 100th Time’s the Charm, I talked about all the ways that it was a good example of how NOT to do a 2nd novel for a series that seemed pretty wrapped up with the first, and suggested that it might be because DRE didn’t want a lot of one-shots to start their novel line. Feeling a bit guilty about that, I’m happy to say that the 2nd volume of The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent is a good example of how the author SHOULD do this. It gives us a lot more details about Carla’s past, but also leaves us a lot of mysteries still to solve. It also touches on Thane’s past, and why he has such a mad-on about witches. Both characters still flirt by being sarcastic at each other, and are mostly unaware of their own feelings – at least Carla is. Basically, if you read the first book and thought “more of this, please”, good news.

It’s the time of the year when all witches have to convene at a secret spot for their annual convention, and much to Carla’s annoyance that includes her. Thane wants to go with her, as he wants to ask the Fortune-Telling Witch, who used to be the Foresight Witch, about his past – as the Foresight Witch was supposedly related to the death of his father and downfall of his family. He can’t go to the convention itself, but Carla mentions it, and said witch agrees to meet with Thane after Carla does a job for her – and yes, it’s another divorce request. A noblewoman is not only puzzled why her husband and father-in-law are conspiring late at night, but lately she’s been unable to move out of bed at night to check. Is this a genuinely bad marriage that will allow Carla to successfully negotiate a divorce at last? What do you think?

There’s a subplot here involving the Queen from the first book, and how she turns out to be tied to Carla’s past far closer than we’d imagined. We do learn a lot about it, but it’s mostly along the lines of “this was no accident, it was murder”, which honestly is such a non-surprise I’m not even worried about spoilering it. It does help us get a lot more insight about why Carla is the way she is. On the magic side, it’s fairly clear that her magic is suppressed in some way, likely due to emotional trauma and memory loss, and no doubt when she regains her memories she will become a lot more powerful. On the personality side, everything I like about Carla’s attitude is also a major flaw – she has almost no regard for her own person or safety, barely eats at the best of times, and does not understand why this is odd at all. It’s no surprise that Thane’s sullen personality is explained very well in this book, while Carla is the ongoing story.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I enjoyed this book just as much. I’m really hoping for more, this is one of the best DRE licenses.

The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?!, Vol. 2

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By Yuji Yuji and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “99-kai Danzaisareta Loop Reijō Desu ga Konse wa “Chōzetsu Aisare Mode” Desutte!?: Shinno Chikara ni Mezamete Hajimaru 100-kaime no Jinsei” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu.

Despite what a lot of writers will tell you, it’s pretty easy to write some more of what you’ve already written. When you’ve done a volume, introduced the character, the situation, etc. you can think of some ways to extend it out, add another subplot, new villain, etc. This is especially true if your publisher is brand new to the light novel market and does not want to have a bunch of single-volume series lest people think they’re failing. But honestly, sometimes the author has to take a step back, look at what they’ve already wrapped up in a satisfying manner, and say “I could write more. But do I *need* to write more? If I write another volume in the series, will it actively damage everything that I’ve created to date?” Unfortunately, we have a textbook example of that here, in a second volume of a series that really should have been a one-shot.

This is a book of two halves. The first half is fine. Alphina, who has mostly succeeded in running away from her suitors, infiltrates the school her brother Carl is attending to make sure he’s doing all right. She disguises herself as an assistant teacher, and the biggest problem she has is a classmate of Carl’s, Hipper, who seems to hate Carl for reasons that go beyond simple “jealousy” or the like. Alphina ends up uncovering a plot by religious cultists, which she is fortunately able to stop. Unfortunately, in doing so she reveals her identity, and has now been captured by the royal family and will be marrying the prince, someone that absolutely delights everyone except Alphina. This leads to the second half of the book, which is not fine.

I have complaints. The first volume found a good balance between “funny” and “annoying”, this second one tips it too far towards the latter. The comedy is so broad in places as to beggar belief. The use of the time loop, which frankly I thought was a gimmick we were done with after the first 10 pages of the first book, could actually have been clever were it not attached to the aforementioned annoying comedy, so it seems like a wasted opportunity. Most importantly, though, isn’t this supposed to be a romance? It’s a J-Novel Heart title, am I right? Why is it then, after two volumes, that every single love interest remains shallow at best and creepily possessive at worst? The book thankfully ends with a marriage averted for the moment, but the reader can’t help but agree with Alphina – marrying any of these zeebs would be a nightmare. Even the cover art has that “this is the final volume of a romance, let’s end on a wedding shot” art, except Alphina’s sweatdrop shows us she really, really doesn’t want to be here.

All this plus the return of a character I never wanted to see again. There’s room left for a third book in the series, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see one, but man, if you want to give Alphina a happy ending, try making the guys more than cardboard cutouts for the sake of the comedy.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “Just a Bit More Like This”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

I’ve talked a lot about the fact that this is in many ways a very typical Japanese high school romcom. There’s an obvious winning couple. But there’s also a second, losing love interest who is far more interesting than the main one, mostly because she has no filter whatsoever. Isana would be a nightmare to deal with in real life, as Mizuto and Yume have both observed, but as fiction she’s wonderful. And there’s also the fact that these are all teenagers, about 17 years old, and they are seriously horny. And this series has never been shy about its fanservice, having a very, very high “count the number of times the main characters think about breast size” ratio. This only increases with this book, as we get a new supporting cast when Yume joins the student council. There’s a cute-first year who’s short but stacked. There’s a spunky second-year who’s also… seemingly… top-heavy. Yume’s not small. Isana is very large. You get the ideqa. This book is for guys.

Yume is now on the student council, and is dealing with several things at once. The most normal is that the sports festival is coming up, and the council have to help out there. Also, one of the council members regards Yume taking first place as offensive, and declares herself a rival who will take first place in the next exams… even if that means studying a bit TOO hard. But most importantly, there’s Yume’s desire to try to break down Mizuto’s emotional walls. There’s humorous ways to try (which I’ll discuss below) and heartwarming ways, such as their joint birthday party, where we also learn that their parents actually met much earlier than either of them knew. That said… all of this may be for naught when Isana’s bra breaks during the sports festival and creates misunderstandings galore.

The funniest part of the book, if only as it has the most characters acting completely ludicrously, is where Yume gets advice on seducing Mizuto by taking a bath with him. This idea comes from Akatsuki, who does just this sort of this with Kawanami, but Yume does not really realize that Akatsuki is a TERRIBLE person to get seduction advice from. The scene almost turns heartwarming, but is also seriously funny, especially when Mizuto’s towel drops and… well, Yume’s not disappointed, at least. Other than that, Isana has pretty much resolved herself to being as blatantly forward as possible until Mizuto stops her, and most of the sexual humor in the book is hers. (Most of the painful comedy is hers as well – falling on your breasts while not wearing a bra and getting dragged along HURTS.) As for the main romantic relationship… baby steps. The presents were nice, but Mizuto is still not quite ready yet. This may take till graduation.

So yeah, another decent volume in this series. It won’t light a fire under you, but it’s cute and fun and has likeable leads.