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Reviews

The Strongest Knight Is Actually a Cross-Dressing Noblewoman?!

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By Iota AIUE and Hakuseki. Released in Japan as “Hyōgetsu no Kishi wa Dansō Reijō: Naze ka Dekiai Sarete Imasu” by Meteor Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Grantas Sireikis.

The latest of Cross Infinite World’s offerings, I mostly picked this up because I enjoyed the author’s last book released over here, As the Villainess, I Reject These Happy-Bad Endings!. That one was a textbook villainess story, with the writing elevating it despite it having no real twists on the standard plot. The writing is not quite as good in this book, but it’s essentially similar: this is a standard reverse harem shoujo where the heroine has to dress up as a guy, and the plot goes exactly how you’d think. That said, there are a few points of interest. First of all, it does keep the identity of “who is gonna be the love interest” hidden for about half the book, which is better than most books in this genre. Secondly, it’s… much gayer than I was expecting. I know the cross-dressing invites that, but much of this reads like a BL series, and there’s also a yuri fanboy in it. For het romance, it’s not very het.

Bernstein von Eisberk was born very weak and was not expected to survive. Possibly for that reason, her father had her baptized as a boy. The weakness quickly passed, and she grew up to love horses, swordsmanship, and magic, which she excelled in. That said, she lives in a kingdom where only men can be Royal Knights. As such, she decides to take advantage of this and join the military academy as a man. The deal is that if she’s ever caught out, she has to leave the academy and never return… and also never see her childhood friend (who knows her secret) again. As she attends the academy, and becomes the very model of an elegant bishonen knight, she attracts a lot of lovestruck fans, both men and women. As for her own thoughts… she’s seemingly indifferent… but that will change.

As I said, the broad beats of Bernstein’s character arc are vigorously unsurprising. The love interests consist of a) one childhood friend, who has loved her since he was a child; b) one prince of the realm, who believes that he’s fallen for another man, and is OK with that; c) one underclassman tsundere who masks his affection as spite; d) one older brother figure from her home lands who watches out for her, and e) a weirdo court mage who discovers her secret and is now really into the idea of her and the princess being an item. The last one held the most interest for me, as it was the only part that wasn’t from the standard tropes. As it turns out, he and the princess share a deep love of pairing Bernstein with other people, and it’s mildly amusing. The main flaw of this book is that it feels rushed – It was meant to be a stand-alone, but for once I think an extra volume or two might have helped to make things flow better.

Still, if you like shoujo romance, or if you like BL novels and don’t mind that the main guy is a girl, this is a good choice.

You Like Me, Don’t You? So, How About We Give Dating a Try?

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By Kota Nozomi and Azuri Hyuga. Released in Japan as “Kimitte Watashi no Koto Suki Nandeshou?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Noor Hamdan.

I sometimes get the feeling that light novels have a quota system, where the author is allowed to actually get to the plot they want to write about provided they include at least three scenes of the heroine teasing the hero, one where it rebounds back on her, five different descriptions of her voluptuous body, etc. There’s even the standard sudden cliffhanger that is there for no reason than to force people to pick up Book 3 and not drop the series. (That said, I will warn readers: this volume came out two years ago in Japan, and there has been no sign of a third.) Fortunately, when the book does get around to actual interesting stuff, such as Kasumi’s past and home life, it manages to elevate itself to ‘pretty good’. That said, now that we’re in a semi-glut of “cutest girl in school goes out with reader-surrogate’ books, it’s going to have to lift a bit above its weight class, and it’s not doing so.

The first half of this book is essentially plotless, showing the low-level relationship our two protagonists are in, and watching Kasumi having fun trying to get a reaction out of Soukichi. The two of them discuss cheating, and the definitions of what it entails, and it will surprise no one that Soukichi is quite pure. Even if he does read erotic light novels. The second half of the book introduces actual plot: Kasumi’s friend Ann corners Soukichi and asks him for advice on how to hook up with Soukichi’s friend Tokiya, who rescued her from her ex-boyfriend the other day and who she is now smitten with. Also, Soukichi and Kasumi go on their first real date, and it’s very cute and fluffy… except for one point where Kasumi has an awkward meeting with a middle school girl, who turns out to be connected to her.

The good part of this book is examining the way that Kasumi carries herself and behaves around others, which she seems to see as a weakness, but nearly everyone else sees as her strong point. It will come as no surprise to find that she thinks of Soukichi the same way. The balance between growing up fast and still being able to be childish is tough, and she’s found someone she can relax and be immature around with Soukichi. As for Soukichi himself, he still puts her on a massive pedestal, but he’s also still working with his editor friend on a new novel… and then gets introduced to an actual editor, in a crossover from another of Nozomi’s light novel series, You Like Me, Not My Daughter?!. Overall, though, the main feeling I got after reading this series was that it was pleasant but also a bit flat. A bit boring. The family bits were good, the Ann stuff felt shoehorned in to make the book the right length. (And it’s not a very long book.)

So yes, if you read the first one, read this one, because it’s okay. That said, the fact that there’s no third volume yet should not devastate too many people.

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 7

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

Let’s face it, as much as we love the slow burn romance between Sei and Albert as a fictional couple, in real life things are not that simple. Sei is a hot commodity, and her age does not seem to be holding people back. As such, we are starting to see her have to deal with the world outside of her little research and monster hunting bubble, and make contacts with important families while fending off families who might merely want to use her fame and power to advance their own position. This is a problem with Sei, who has a certain amount of social anxiety, something that we may have forgotten about given how good the kingdom is about keeping her surrounded by people she trusts. That said, if you DO like Sei and Albert, the last quarter of the book has some tasty romance for you. And if you’re reading this book but hate the romance (???), I feel I should inform you that there is a giant zombie dragon.

The ball starts rolling with Liz telling us something that I’ve been expecting to happen since Volume 1: her engagement to Prince Kyle has been called off. Because this was due to his own issues (he’s being exiled to China), she does not suffer the reputation hit that you might expect from a villainess novel, and in fact will soon have suitors beating down her door. And so will Sei, who doesn’t have to get married but does actually have to poke her head out and wave on occasion. She manages to get past the first tea party, with Liz’s mother and other “safe” noble women, and from that comes up with the idea of showing off the regional foods of all the noble territories by having what amounts to a food festival. Which ends up being a much bigger deal than she was expecting…

First of all, in case you are wondering about Ten’yuu from the previous volume, there is an extended interstitial story here giving his backstory and also reassuring us that Sei’s medicine saved the day. The bulk of the book is dedicated to Sei having to try hard to be outgoing and friendly despite the fact that public events exhaust her, and she ends up doing a pretty good job of it. She also goes on an expedition with the First Corps of Royal Knights, the only ones not to go monster hunting with her, though this ends up being an excuse for them to fawn over her. Honestly, the best reward in the book (which hasn’t happened yet) is the discovery that in the domain of Albert’s family, which is Switzerland in all but name, they have… hot springs! Which can even have healing properties, something that startles the family when she mentions this. And, of course, there is Sei and Albert. Who get their cutest moment when Sei pulls a Katarina and falls through the wall of a cave.

This is never going to be exciting and heart-pounding, but it’s always going to be relaxing and nice. I enjoy it.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Lightning Wolf and Upheaval in the Kingdom

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

I really do appreciate that this series is finding multiple reasons to keep the harem antics going beyond just “he ignores it all” (which admittedly is better than “he doesn’t notice any of it” in other series). It’s made clear multiple times in this book that the issue is that Allen is a commoner, with no last name, and a questionable reputation, and all of his love interests are various kinds of nobility. The Leinsters have been trying to find ways to have him perform a feat that would get him a title and allow Lydia to marry him, but every time it happens, it turns out to be a state secret that can never be talked about, or it turns out he gives everyone else all the credit. Or both. Fortunately, the series seems to have figured out a way to take care of these problems once and for all, which is to kill Allen off.

Allen and Caren finally manage to get the rest of the cast on a train back to their respective homes. This means the book is divided up. Half of it is spent with the other love interests, as we see Tina, Ellie and Stella plot to try to figure out how to get Allen’s attention while also humblebragging about what they’ve done already; and we see Lydia get completely dragged by her whole family for not simply grabbing Allen, declaring her love, and running away (which is apparently how her mother got married). The other half of the book is Caren, as we see some flashbacks showing why she’s so devoted to him, and a few other cute festival scenes. Unfortunately, the rebellion no one thought was going to happen is happening. And now most of Allen’s hometown is on fire.

No, I don’t think the series is killing Allen off, but his absence from the next book might be a good idea, as the one main problem with his harem is that they’re too dependent on him. We see this with Lydia, the classic tsundere, who nevertheless falls completely to bits on hearing he may have been killed. We don’t see the reaction of the others, but I expect it will be similar. As for Caren, well, she does kick a lot of ass here, but sadly she too has to be sent away at the last minute so that Allen can go on a suicide mission and not return from it. I’m fairly confident the war will not last long – the author drops several not-so-subtle hints that the nobility in charge of it are bad planners – but that’s not really helping things now. And I also wonder if the chieftains of the beast people may decide to go after Allen when this is over for disobeying pretty much every order they gave.

So yes, Allen’s dead, o noes. Please enjoy Book 6, which focuses on Lydia, despite the author stating that he was going to balance out the harem antics by sending Lydia away. I’m beginning to suspect we can’t trust a word the author says…

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 4

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

I’m going to talk about the ending of this book, for the one or two of you who have never read my reviews before and don’t know I tend to spoil. It’s sort of unavoidable. Honestly, it’s something of a surprise to see the book has finally come out – it’s been 11 months since the last volume in English, and I’m not sure why there was such a delay. It could simply be to allow the reader time to recover from and prepare themselves for another wacky adventure with Amane’s self-hatred, which continues to drive the plot, because otherwise the series would have been one book long. Unfortunately, since the last volume of this Tentai Books has released a good 3-4 different series with a similar premise, so it now has competition. Can it manage to be sweet and syrupy while also separating itself from the pack? Yes, thanks to the ending. I wasn’t going to wait 5 volumes.

You know the basic plot. Mahiru loves Amane and is trying to subtly show him it’s OK to ask if that is the case. Amane sees the signs, but cannot possibly imagine anyone liking him romantically, so keeps pulling away. If this annoys you, why are you four volumes in? The main events here are exams, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake; getting in better shape, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake; and the sports festival, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake. He’s nearly got it! He’s almost there! That said, he still needs one last push, and it all comes down to the Scavenger Hunt, where Mahiru chooses to give up on “not rocking the boat” and drops a bomb in the middle of the school.

Not an actual bomb, of course, but she makes it clear in front of the student body that Amane is the guy she loves. She is aware this will trouble him, because the last four books have all been “we need to hide our friendship or else I will get attacked at school”, but honestly, I admire her waiting this long. I wanted to punch him in the face, as did his friends. That said, it is in fact the grandest gesture that makes Amane give in and confess to the rest of the class that he is in love with Mahiru. There’s an undercurrent here, seen in a lot of other high school romcoms, of “looks and shared interests are not as important as simply understanding one another”. That said, this honestly works out a lot better than you’ expect. Amane isn’t disliked or an outcast. he’s just “that tall guy who almost never talks”.

Best of all, now maybe Mahiru can stop0 being such an Angel at school. The author assures us they have a lot more volumes planned, even if this felt like an ending. That said, they also warn that we still have Amane’s self-hatred to deal with. Ah well, if you’re going to buy into a fluffy series you’ve gotta buy into its less-fluffy things, I suppose.

Slayers: A Chance Encounter in Atessa

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

The Slayers main series ended in 2000, but that does not mean that the Slayers series was abandoned by its author. There are 39 novels (!!) starring a younger Lina Inverse with her traveling partner Naga the Serpent, and these continued until 2011 (that said, don’t expect J-Novel Club to be licensing them anytime soon, I expect). There were also two new anime series, Slayers Revolution and Evolution. And then, in 2018, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko was celebrating the anniversary of Dragon Magazine and wanted Kanzaka to write a new Slayers novel in the main storyline. As such, we’re bringing the band back together, at least for this particular book. Well, the band members who weren’t horribly killed in the 2nd arc of the main series, that is. You’ll be delighted to hear that Amelia and Zelgadis are present and accounted for. And there may be someone else, but I’ll leave that a secret -desu. And the plot? Does Gourry meet Lina’s family? Ha. No. Instead, it’s elf wars!

On their way to Lina’s hometown, Lina and Gourry happen upon a city that if having a problem with bandit attacks. The trouble is, these are very well-trained and adept bandits. In fact, notes Lina, one of them seems very familiar… Meanwhile, the situation has grown so dire that Amelia arrives from Saillune to take charge, and also to fight for justice… mostly in that order, for once. There’s also an elf in town, Alaina, who would be very helpful in resolving things if she did not have severe social anxiety. (She has a terrific cap, though. Really, more characters should wear that cap and NOT be a delinquent.) As for the cause, well, it might come as a surprise to the reader of the old, 20th century Slayers novels, because we’ve had Lina hanging out and being allied with elves before… why are we getting cliched elves now?

Because it’s a Slayers novel, that’s why. This one is definitely in a much lighter vein than the previous couple of books, and the body count, while it is there, is minimal. This allows for some more amusing humor, which can stem from Gourry being dumb or Lina being narratively obtuse (her description of a “light” breakfast was pitch perfect.) As for Amelia, I was pleased to see that she really has matured as a princess and acts it. The novels never really had an Amelia problem the way the anime did, but I get the sense the author was listening to anime fans complaining, as she gets a lot of really cool things to do. Indeed, possibly more things to do than Zelgadis, who feels like he’s there because you need to have everyone there. As for the bulk of the book itself… it’s magic battles. Come on, it’s still a Slayers book. It’s ALWAYS 50% magic battles.

Good news! There is another book coming soon, written in 2019. Bad news for fans of “the gang” – it’s a Lina and Gourry solo book. That said, any excuse to reconnect with Lina is a good one, and this was a decent volume that didn’t show any rust after an 18-year break.

Spy Classroom: Thea in Dreamland

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By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Thrasher.

The Spy Classroom books, for the most part, are stand-alone but also very much intertwined with each other, and this is especially true of this fourth volume, which features Thea’s existential crisis that began with the third volume. She’s always felt like the most mature, together one of the group, despite her “sex mad” character tic, and so seeing everyone else continuing to only get better and better while she has what amounts to a book-long panic attack can be a bit depressing. The scene with the most impact in this book comes near the start, where Klaus is praising everyone for the most successful attack on him they’ve ever done, and when he gets to Thea (who was deliberately left out of it) he basically says what amounts to “sorry I got nothing”. Unfortunately for Thea, while the others try to help her as best they can, it’s a mental issue, so it is something she eventually has to fix on her own… with the help of a surprise guest, of course.

We’re going to America! Or the Spy Classroom equivalent, which changes the names but still has the team in New York City. There’s a big Economic Conference there, and the city has been infiltrated by multiple spies from multiple countries to try to either stop it, influence it, or just straight up murder a bunch of spies. That last one seems to be the main plotline, as the enemy this time is Purple Ant, a spy who kidnaps and brainwashes civilians to be his “worker ants”. As such, Sybilla is fighting blind, Monika faces a deadly game of darts, and Lily… OK, Lily is the comedy relief. That said, everything is going from bad to worse, and they really need their leader to save them. Except their leader is having a crisis, OK?

Purple Ant is such a loathsome villain that it actually took me away from the story a bit. Spy Classroom tries to balance the funny and serious parts, but its serious parts can get ludicrously dark, so sometimes it overshoots. (Sometimes it overshoots the other way, too… I found the solution to “76 dead spies” near the end to be amazingly mean to Lily.) This is Thea’s book, though, and how much you enjoy it depends on how much you can empathize with her plight. At times you really feel terrible for her, and at times you sort of want Monika to hit Thea over and over again till self-confidence comes out. That said, I really appreciated the “gimmick” in this book… most of the books so far have a twist, and this one is good, tying in to both Klaus’ previous work and Thea’s past, while also finally giving her the ability to kick ass in a way only she can.

So this was a good volume, despite my reservations about a few points. And the girls are now real spies, rather than trainees! What next? What would YOU do, if you were a Japanese publisher? That’s right… short story collection.

Baccano!: 1931 Winter The Time of The Oasis

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By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

This was fun! Possibly as I wasn’t expecting anything from it. This is another book, like Man in the Killer, that was originally written as extras for the DVD releases and has now been fleshed out into a book. In fact, judging by what Narita says, it was barely fleshed out, with minimal editing and a few additions. It also has a plot that revolves around the Flying Pussyfoot train jounrey… again. Thankfully, the main thrust of the book does not take place on the train. Instead this book is a reminder of the best of what Baccano! has to offer. We get a huge number of relatively new characters introduced to us, and they’re all pretty chaotic and have weird character tics. We get a young mafia heir. We get lots and lots of guns, bombs, and hideous violence. That said, this book is very weird in that almost no one actually dies. This is a big surprise given the events of the book itself, but Narita really wants to mention how they’re not dead. It’s a happy book.

As always with Narita, the plot involves several groups coming together. These include: a) half of Jacuzzi’s gang, who are supposed to get the cargo out of the river after Jacuzzi and company rob the train; b) three young women who accidentally kidnap the heir to the Runorata crime family and (without knowing who he really is) try to get a ransom for him; c) The Lemures who are supposed to negotiate with Senator Beriam once Goose and company have taken his family hostage on the train; and d) twin bodyguards of the Runorata Family, who are here to find out who kidnapped the Young Master and make their life very difficult indeed. And throughout all this, there is another player, skulking in the darkness, someone that absolutely no one was expecting to show up in the woods of mid-state New York…

It really is astonishing that there are still members of Jacuzzi’s gang that we haven’t really gotten to know yet. The only one here that we’ve seen before on a regular basis is Chaini (who actually gets to show us that she can speak and is in fact fairly erudite, she just chooses to say “Hya-haah!” all the time). But we don’t really need to know all the new people (who, except for time-obsessed Melody, don’t even get named) to know that they’re family. Pamela, Lana and Sonia are a sort of family as well, and it was amusing to see that their kidnapping idea fell apart in two seconds once they realized that their victim (who had, in fact, stowed away in their truck) is a total cinnamon roll. Even the surprise character, who I don’t want to spoil but is absolutely amazing, ends up becoming part of a family by the end of the book. Families are important in Baccano!, be they street gang, mafia families, or just three youth thieves. Honestly, Huey’s goons don’t stand a chance – they aren’t family.

This is the last diversion from the main plot, and we’re back to 1935 next time. I expect we’ll be seeing Pamela, Lana and Sofia again, as this entire book seems to have been inserted here to set them up for something. Till then, enjoy a lightweight but incredibly fun Baccano! volume.

Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 3

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By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

The good news is that this is definitely far less heavy than the first two books, with only occasional panic attacks and memories of past trauma. Alec and Shiori are a couple, and while they still have not talked to each other about their secret backstories, that’s mostly because they haven’t had the time. That said, we do get a brief glimpse at Japan, where Shiori’s disappearance ended up being quite a big thing. We still don’t know WHY she was isekai’d, but we do see what effect her vanishing had on her immediate family, and it’s not really that great, though shared dreams end up offering a modicum of hope. The book has made it very clear this was a one-way journey, and I’m pretty sure we won’t be coming back to Japan again, so it’s a reminder that all isekais leave someone behind, and sometimes that can be devastating.

Alec and Shiori, along with Clemens and Nadia, get a new mission. An artistic noble wants to go visit a scenic tower, which is normally not a problem… but it’s in the dead of winter, which is. Her aide found out that Shiori is a housekeeping mage, which would be ideal for the trip, so arranged things. Unfortunately, her aide then discovered Shiori is “an Eastern woman”, and due to his tragic backstory he has an innate prejudice against Eastern women. Fortunately, he’s self-aware enough to realize this is his problem, so things don’t go too badly. The journey itself goes fairly smoothly, aside from the occasional attacks from snow jellyfish and monstrous bears. But why is Annelie so determined to make this journey? And what about the other party of adventurers they stumble upon, who frankly are far too sketchy?

Given that Alec and Shiori are now a couple, and Clemens is obviously still getting over it so there’s nothing we can do with him, it’s not a surprise that we’re getting a new romance written into the series. Annelie is an “artist” sort of noble, which means she’s far more relaxed about things than the other nobles we’ve met in this series. Unfortunately, her aide Dennis is well aware of what other nobles are like, and this has led to him attempting to keep Annelie at arm’s length, despite the fact that it becomes clear very fast that he’s 100% in love with her. He’s also the one with the prejudice, by the way, so he does the bulk of the growing and changing this volume. I feel bad for the other aide, Walt, who gets very little to do beyond being “the other aide”. As for Alec and Shiori, they’re in the sugary sweet part of their relationship, which still has not moved beyond kissing. It’s almost cloying. Which, after the first two books in this series, is fine.

The arc is not done in this volume, so we’ll have to wait till next time to see if dumbass noble and his two beleaguered servants cause problems for our heroes. Signs point to yes. Till then, I am relieved that this has risen from the darkness and allowed its couple to be adorable.

Unnamed Memory, Vol. 6

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By Kuji Furumiya and chibi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Tangney.

I do get into the ending of the series in this review, be warned, spoiler lovers.

Readers of the third volume of this series, where we had a happy ending for our hero and heroine yeeted away fro us at the last minute, may be a bit wary of this 6th volume of Unnamed memory. And they are absolutely right to be wary. This series has had the feeling, throughout all six books, of “what will get in the way of them getting married next?”, to the point where it’s almost felt like a short story collection as Oscar and Tinasha go around dealing with crisis after crisis. At first she was the wary one and he was the one wanting to get married. Now, in books 4-6, it’s the reverse. But it’s essentially the same vibe. And for those who enjoyed Tinasha the Witch, good news, you definitely get to see her again. That said, those who enjoyed Tinasha the Queen may be saying “uh oh” right now. This is the trouble with time travel and repeating lives.

The first half of the book, as noted above, is basically “what can get in the way of the upcoming wedding?”. This even includes plots from previous books/timelines, as the “curse song” from earlier gets dealt with a lot more swiftly and neatly. The main snag is when the king of a neighboring country ends up in a coma, and the culprit seems to be The Witch of the Forbidden Forest… who has been noticeably absent from the second arc of this series. Is she really the one trying to destroy Tinasha’s country? That said, the main antagonist here is Valt, who has been trying to find a way to save the girl he loves and not have her take on his own burden, and is coming up empty. Towards that end, he is now 100% behind “destroy everything, start over”, even if he has to get Oscar and Tinasha to do it for him.

The second half is the best part, as usual with these books. The first half isn’t really filler, but can feel like it. (A queen of one nation stabs the queen of another nation, while in her right mind, and we never hear from her again except that her son is now king. Was she executed?) Valt’s backstory hits a lot harder than I was expecting, and I enjoyed the scenes with him and Tinasha. That said, I imagine the ending can be frustrating – again. We don’t quite get the first timeline back at the expense of the second timeline – this is an all-new timeline – but there is a sense that the Tinasha who we’ve been following for the last three books, the human Queen of Tuldarr, “died”. That said, the framing of the finale is “the two of them still live on in legend”, which fits the theme of the books as well, and ties into the author’s (unlicensed) other series. I also liked the short story at the end, which was basically another Tinasha-as-witch what-if.

There is an “after story” volume out in Japan, but I’m not sure if Yen will pick it up – they’re sort of 50-50 on those kinds of books. In the meantime, while I may have found some of the plotting frustrating, Unnamed Memory is a very rewarding read, filled with luxurious prose and great characters.

The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 3

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

There is a very famous meme in regards to the visual novel/anime franchise Fate/Stay Night regarding Shirou’s obliviousness towards any and all romantic affection from other girls, which has Rin showing him diagrams of sex ending with “Jam it in”, to which Shirou’s response is “..you lost me.” Of course, the real reason beyond Shirou’s lack of emotional sensitivity stems from his traumatic past. Ryou’s past is not quite as traumatic as Shirou’s… despite the cliffhanger to this book… but he is another character whose obliviousness has more depth to it than the standard anime harem lead. That said… it’s been three books, and the solution to all of this seems to have been “add more girl” each time. I’m hoping that Ai Himejima may be the final straw, mostly as she brings something to the table that the other non-Hina girls don’t have: she is also a childhood friend. And, apparently, was also in love with Ryou.

The book starts almost the same way the first one did, with Ryou rescuing a girl from a groper on the train, and almost getting in trouble for it himself. Said girl turns out to be Ai (aka Himeji), who is transferring to their school… in June, an odd time to transfer schools. It is, however, just in time to be part of the annual school trip, which involves lots of shrine visits and cultural education. Himeji is eager to reconnect with Ryou, and also reconnects with Hina, though she’s less thrilled about this. (Ryou finds himself thinking “they must be very good friends” in response to their constant arguing over him… again, this book requires a lot of patience.) Is Himeji going to steal Ryou away from Hina? Why did she transfer in the first place? And can Ryou please stop hating himself?

The main reason that Himeji is interesting is what she brings to the table: she was in elementary school with Ryou and Hina as well, and (as the cliffhanger points out) may have been far more involved with Ryou than he remembers. This series relies heavily on the transient quality of childhood memories, especially when you have a lot of upheaval in your life in between, and I wonder (but doubt, frankly) if this will cause Ryou to actually push back a bit. We also get a sense that Ryou and Hina need each other, if only as without him around she might end up in a lot of trouble. The scene where she tries to give directions to a “lost tourist” and is almost taken off to a dark alley somewhere is chilling, and fits oddly in the midst of this relatively fluffy book. Oh yes, and we get Ryou’s sister giving him condoms – again. She knows someone needs a constant ass-kicking if he’s going to get anywhere.

This is not really an essential high school romcom, but I’m curious as to how things will shake out. It’s not in the genre of “sugary sweet and conflictless” – the love quadrangle won’t let it be – but it’s the next level down.

I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, Vol. 2

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By Reina Soratani and Haru Harukawa. Released in Japan as “Kondo wa Zettai ni Jama Shimasen!” by Gentosha Comics. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Kimberly Chan. Adapted by T. Anne.

It’s been about a year and a half since the first volume of this came out (there were apparently behind-the-scenes difficulties), and I was worried, given that I’ve read 578 Villainess books in the interim, that I would have lost whatever made me really, really love the first volume. Having now read the second volume, I can state my worries were entirely unfounded. This is not a fun book to read. It may take you a while to crawl through it. But it’s an intensely powerful book. Most of the Villainess books either have the main character entirely unaware of how much everyone loves her, or they resolve the “bad end” part straight away and move on to happier, fluffier things. Not here. At the end of this second volume, I can’t think of a single thing that Violette can do to make this a happier, more joyous series. And that’s even including the epiphany she has at the end of the volume!

Most of this volume deals with exams. In her previous go around, Violette did all right, but maryjune got first place for her year, meaning her father yelled at her endlessly. She knows she can’t avoid that, but she wants to at least do well, but lacks any core friends that will help her study beyond Yulan. Fortunately, Yulan would do anything for her, and takes care of this. Then the exams come out, and she does quite well… but she accidentally triggers something new, and now has even more new, terrifying ways to worry about what Maryjune is going to do. On the bright side, she does gain a new friend in Rosette, a princess from a neighboring country who also tends to hide her real self. On the not-so-bright side… the entire rest of the book.

I worry I may be talking this book down by saying how goddamn depressing it is, and I want to reassure readers: this is really good. The author knows how to convey abuse and depression, the day to day grinding down that can happen to anyone forced to live with a family that belittles and hates them. At one point Violette has a panic attack, and it too is perfectly portrayed. The end of the book has her realize just how she feels about Yulan, and we also get several POV chapters showing how he feels about her. That said… I’m not a fan of them getting together. I think it would be bad for both of them. Yulan is not in love so much as obsessed, and that can easily turn out badly, especially with someone like Violette, who already has to deal with Daddy Dearest (you’ll really wish him dead by the end of this book). At least she has her maid Marin, who does not slaughter the entire family in a rage at the way they treat Violette, but certainly imagines doing it.

I’d wait till you’re in the right mood to experience this book. It’s heavy, and downbeat, and somewhat hopeless. But man, it is NOT the same old Villainess story we normally get. Can’t wait to suffer more.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 7

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By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Having taken the last book off due to her One Weakness, Sally is back in action here, and this entire volume, with the exception of a few scenes, is a Maple/Sally two-hander. It’s also the closest the novels have become to literally reading a Let’s Play website. The entire book is the two of them trying to clear level after level of the special event. Sometimes they do really cool things. Sometimes Maple whips out her bizarre logic. Sometimes they even have a terribly hard time achieving anything, which is refreshing – the mods are finally succeeding in finding things that are tough for Maple to Maple her way past. But yeah, while this is a fun book to read, it’s a hard one to review. There’s no plot development or character development in Bofuri. It’s just Cute Girls Do OP Things. It also really makes you long for the upcoming second season, which will hopefully take this and make it even better.

So yes, there’s a 10-level special event, and Maple and Sally have decided to try to do it just as a 2-person team, something that all the other groups think is nuts, though that does not stop Pain and Mii’s groups doing it as a 4-person team after hearing about Maple and Sally. The rest of Maple Tree is also participating, and we get brief scenes of those other three groups struggling with the fairly difficult levels and bosses. As for Maple and Sally, well, there’s ice levels, jungle levels, Rainbow Road levels, and even ghost levels, much to Sally’s horror. Fortunately, except for that last one, the two of them are more than up to the task. That said, their goal was not only to go through all ten levels as a 2-party group without once dying, but also without taking any damage. That proves far, far harder.

There is always one moment in every Bofuri book that is jaw-droppingly hilarious, and I won’t spoil this one, which involves how to get Sally past the ghost level. Other than that, however, this book is very matter-of-fact, as always. It doesn’t have the boffo laughs that the anime has, opting instead for a more laissez-faire style, as Maple and Sally simply trundle through everything they come across. That said, as I noted above, it’s considerably harder for them than any book to date, and a lot of the designs appear to be pure Maple-killers, such as the spikes at the bottom of the cliff that Maple would obviously thing to jump down from. There’s also the relationship between Maple and Sally, which is always wonderful. Fans may enjoy shipping them, but the books really don’t – however, it’s great at showing they’re best friends. Given Bofuri almost never returns to the real world, it’s even more impressive we see this.

The next volume promises that the entire maple Tree gang will be playing it together, and also promises… monster taming? Should be fun. In the meantime, this is The Maple and Sally Show.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 12

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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.

As you can probably tell by the cover art, the entire first half of the book sees Yuna outside of the bear suit, dressed in a school uniform so as not to attract the attention she did as a bear last time. (She still has the bear paws and feet, just in case.) And what ends up happening is one of the more fascinating psychological examinations of a character I’ve seen in some time. Yuna, throughout the series, has complained about having to wear the bear outfit all the time, as well as the fact that people can’t recognize her if she’s not dressed like that. In fact, that’s a running gag here. But as she walks around the festival looking like a cute and pretty 15-year-old girl, and more and more people stare at her, the reader starts to realize how much the bear suit is a shield she uses to avoid attention. Yes, she’s the most conspicuous thing ever, but she’s conspicuous as a bear. Yuna as a real girl is still “one step away from a NEET”.

Yuna and her group are ready for the second day of the festival, this time walking around it with Princess Teilia, who has been shooed away from her class’s booth for attracting TOO much attention. She realizes that Yuna has the same problem, so forces her to remove her bear suit and attend the festival that day as a regular girl. They watch plays, concerts, and sword dances. And they also watch a sexist knight captain trying to destroy the women attempting to be knights, which requires Yuna, bear suit or no, to fight back and teach him a lesson. After the festival ends and they all go back home, Yuna is asked by the King to take the mana crystal she got from slaying the Kraken to a desert oasis that desperately needs it, and so she moves south, fighting hornets and running into old friends along the way.

I joked on Twitter that you should take a shot every time Yuna deflects or denies when anyone calls her cute, or pretty, or is obviously staring at her in astonishment. The series rarely looks back at Yuna’s past in Japan, and I don’ really expect this to ever be anything but a character tic of sorts for her, but it really shows off how little socialization she has before meeting Fina. We’ve seen her being blase about her astonishing OP skills and deeds before, and calling acts of kindness and heroism “common sense”, but here we see how viscerally uncomfortable she is with being the center of attention, or having the idea that anyone could be attracted to her. Even when we get the “comedy” scene where she has to have her measurements taken for a swimsuit, which is filled with “lol I have small breasts and hate it” patter, there’s a sense that Yuna’s bear suit is a mask that she can use to hide from everything when she wears it. (I don’t think it’s quite at the level of “Yuna hates herself” per se. But Yuna doesn’t like herself all that much either.

Again, for the most part this series is “cute girls doing cute things”, and fans of that will be quite happy. But I do admire the jagged undercurrents in these waters, and though I don’t expect any emotional payoff, it serves to make me more interested than I might otherwise be.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Vol. 14.5

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By Wataru Watari and Ponkan 8. Released in Japan as “Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatte Iru” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

Generally speaking, you can’t rely on the cover art of a light novel series to tell you who’s important in that particular volume. This especially goes for romcoms, where it tends to alternate between the heroines regardless of whether they have a presence in the book. This volume of Oregairu, though, is an exception. If you’re here for Yui, expect disappointment. If you’re here for Yukino, you’ll get one really nice scene and that’s about it. No, most of this book, as the cover indicates, is about the next generation of the series. Our heroes are in their third year, talking about preparatory schools and discussing which colleges to apply to. Their mentor has moved to a new school and isn’t even mentioned in the post-ending story. This it’s up to the new generation to decide what the service club is going to be in the future: Komachi (who is a member) and Iroha (who isn’t, but might as well be). Unfortunately, they don’t seem to care.

The book consists of five stories, but only the final one is new to Japanese readers. The first two were Blu-Ray extras, and feature Komachi trying to decide who will be the best “big sister” for her – i.e., who will Hachiman end up paired up with? This takes place before the end of the series, so as you can imagine the answers are mostly comedic. We then get an adaptation of a CD drama, as Hachiman and his sister go to a music festival and run into Iroha, Yukino, Yui, and Tobe (their gofer and bodyguard). This has the most “Hachiman” narration of the book. A fourth story (written for a collaborative project) involves Iroha’s birthday, and her odd but comfortable relationship with Hachiman. Finally, we get a story set after the events of the final book, which is mostly about Hachiman worrying over his sister’s future at school.

I’ve talked a lot before about how I think the relationship between Hachiman and Komachi is one of the best written brother-sister relationships in light novels, and that continues to be true. He has to reluctantly accept that his sister is a lot more socially adept than he is, and thus her classroom life is fine. But they all have to deal with the elephant in the room, which is that Komachi joined the service club to be with her brother, Yukino, and Yui, and they’re going to have to leave it by the summer to gear up for college exams. The one bit of Hachiman/Yukino romance we get is set in a cafe near a college he’s visiting, and is (for this series) syrupy sweet, as Yukino has learned to take Hachiman’s realistic asides and roll with them, and they both have learned to accept actual affection. Just. As for Yui, she plans to go to prep school with Hachiman, but honestly, she gets the short end of the stick here. In other words, just like the series overall.

And so this series has now come to a close. I can confidently say there was not a single time in this volume I wanted Hachiman to shut the hell up, which shows how much he’s grown as a person. Fans of the series should enjoy this slight but heartwarming epilogue.