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Reviews

Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love, Vols 1 and 2

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Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love Volumes 1 and 2 by Ayuko Hatta

In today’s stressful times, reading determinedly uncomplicated romance can be quite soothing, which is why I’m enjoying the angst free and sometimes silly series Ima Koi. Satomi was too shy to confess her feelings to a crush in middle school, so she’s determined to be different in high school and seize her next chance for love. When stoic, incredibly tall Yagyu saves her from a train groper and she finds out that he goes to her school she follows through on her vow and asks him out. He says yes, and thus their romance begins.

Ima Koi

Satomi is cute, with her quick entry into dating she’s fulfilled her main goal, but she’s still figuring out what to do now that she’s in a relationship. Yagyu is a bit more enigmatic, but he’s won over by Satomi’s forthright nature and her tendency to fling herself on top of him from the subway stairs. He’s interested in getting to know her, and they soon start dating. They deal with complications that beset any new couple as Satomi has to navigate around Yagyu’s suspicious best friend and his obsessed younger sister. While this manga doesn’t reach the hilarity of My Love Story!! there are plenty of funny situations, such as when Yagyu and Satomi go on a date to the zoo and his younger sister Juri tags along. Juri becomes more and more enraged as Satomi keeps not reacting to her attempts to undermine the date, until she transforms into a menacing side character from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Ima Koi is a fun escape, and the way most issues get resolved by the end of every volume makes for a relaxing shoujo series.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Vol. 14

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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.

I will note that the ending to this series feels very much like you’d expect. The whole thing has involved people avoiding the subject, ducking the real issues, and trying to take care of everything without getting anyone else involved – all things that are impossible if you want to be an actual romantic couple. So somebody is going to have to take a step up here. It’s not going to be Yui, who communicates her feelings to Hachiman in the best “Hachimanese” she can, but he knows and won’t say anything. It’s also not going to be Hachiman, who will never do anything the honest, straightforward way if he can possibly duck out of it. No, it’s going to have to be Yukino, still trying to get the approval of her mother, and putting on a very nice compromise prom that has no problems… but still is not good enough. It’s going to require working together to get a happy ending… and possibly an actual confession.

So yes, they have the prom, and it goes well. Yui gets to dance with Hachiman. Yukino gets to validate herself in front of her family. Iroha gets to feel important and be really annoying. It’s good… but is it good enough? There was a bigger, cooler prom that got shot down, right? Shouldn’t they have fought harder for it? What’s more, it involved another high school, and they’re busy asking “hey, what about that joint prom?”. It’ll take a lot of work to fix this, as well as some brazen lying and bluffing. Fortunately, they have someone who is fantastic at hard work and someone who is fantastic at brazen lying and bluffing. Unfortunately, they’re both acting as if, once this is over, they’ll drift apart and never see each other again. Can Hachiman and Yukino be kicked in the ass enough to confess to each other?

This doesn’t spoil too much (if you think it’s a spoiler Hachiman and Yukino are the final pairing, I urge you to reread Vols 1-13), but it feels absolutely right that Yukino is able, after the 2nd prom, to finally come out with a sincere “I love you”, but Hachiman’s confession to HER is about as oblique as “the moon is beautiful tonight”, basically saying that he wants to continue to get involved with her problems and be in her life. But that’s huge, for him. He wants to be close to someone. He even admits he’s going to get a job after college, rather than the bullshit “househusband” thing he’s always said before. As for Yui… I’m sorry, this is not the sort of series that was going to end with an OT3, though at least she is still trying to stay friends with them. In the end, the only one who exits the story here is Shizuka, who gets transferred to another school, but not before one last dance with her favorite student.

This is the final volume… except there’s a short story collection coming after this. It’s mostly “bundle up the short stories that came out with Blu-Ray boxes”, but has one taking place after this book. In the meantime, this feels like a very appropriate ending for the series.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 2

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By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

The late lamented manga Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei had as one of its characters a girl named Ai Kaga, whose name was a take on “guilt complex”. She constantly blamed herself for anything that happened around her, even if it had nothing to do with her. This was mined for considerable humor, as was everything in that manga, to the point where Ai’s apologies could actually be weaponized to take out soldiers. Now, take that sort of person and play it 100% seriously and tragically, and you have an idea what reading another volume inside the head of Miyo Saimori is like. Yes, the title continues to be the most ironic one ever, as just because we’ve removed Miyo from her abusive family does not mean that we’ve actually solved her problems, especially since her husband is also a past master at non-communication. The result is that this book feels a lot like the first one did: beautiful and well-written, but not something to read if you’re in the mood for a “light” novel.

Having settled in at the home of her fiance, Miyo is trying to learn the art of being a bride, complete with lessons on “how to act at parties” from Kiyoka’s bright and outgoing sister Hazuki. Unfortunately, she’s started to have horrible nightmares every night, which has made it hard for her to get any rest and has caused her mental health to once more deteriorate. This is not being helped by the fact that she has no idea how to ask for help or to say she needs to rest, and Kiyoka himself has no idea how to offer help if Miyo does not ask for it first. The result is that both of them are once again doubting their partner’s feelings. So it’s a very bad time for a man to show up and turn out to be her cousin, related to her mother’s side of the family… which has as many dark secrets as her father’s side.

As you’d expect with a book like this, once we reach the breaking point for Miyo and she is allowed to become proactive, she shows off that she can be a terrifyingly powerful and gorgeous young woman. It’s just that we kind of have to get through 150 pages, a break-up, more family abuse, and a heaping helping of despair first. I’m not surprised that Miyo’s actually not just powerful, but one of the most powerful Gift-Users around, as this was signposted in the first book. Possibly the most interesting part of the book was Miyo’s feelings towards her mother, who had deliberately suppressed Miyo’s powers in order to protect her… but this also led to Miyo’s abuse by her family for years. She finds this very difficult to simply accept with just a “she did it because she loved me”. I also really enjoyed Hazuki, a desperately needed outgoing and extroverted young who also has a sad backstory but is still strong.

I’m still looking forward to the next volume of this series, but I suspect it will once again be “no, this is still not a happy marriage”, because the plot seems to be “overcoming obstacles”. As such, let the reader beware.

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 6

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

It’s become a commonly known thing by now that Slow Life books, for the most part, aren’t really. They’re “I started with a slow life and then” books. No one is going to read 200 pages of JUST farming beans. You need to get a wide variety of cute young women, old friends trying to drag you back into fighting, monsters threatening your peaceful farm, etc. That applies even to a seies like this, where all the hero work was at the start and now Red and Rit are just trying to run a small apothecary shop and find the time for occasional hot wolfgirl sex. But Ruti is different, and the book is continuing to let us know that her deciding not to have her entire life destroyed for the sake of her hero blessing is not something that is simply going to be accepted. The world needs a hero.

Yes, Rit can turn into a wolfgirl, though honestly that’s the least important part of this book. On the heels of the three assassins seen at the end of the previous book, a massive ship appears in the harbor, there to block all trade until they get what they want. What they want is to search the church records of everyone in the town till they find a specific blessing, something the Church finds abhorrent. Ruti and Tisse start to investigate, and find the story of a prince who is searching for his birthright, a kingdom in turmoil, and a pirate elf woman who just wants to protect what she already has. Now Ruti has to try to play detective without simply solcing everything the way the hero would, and Tisse has to go after some former assassin classmates who have gone rogue.

You may notice I did not mention Red and Rit there. They’re both very much still the stars of the book, but are content to leave the dangerous stuff to Ruti and Tisse – their own job is to try to find alternatives to the things that the town can’t import anymore, like oil. It’s refreshing and heartwarming seeing them deliberately not help out with the monstrous plot on the horizon. Now, yes, this is clearly the first of a multi-book arc, and I know they will both be dragged into it in the next volume, especially since Red seems acquainted with the current Queen of Veronia, who has all the signs of being, if not a Big Bad, at least the gateway to the Big Bad. But that’s next time. For this, it’s about finding out how to get oil from coconuts, trusting your sister and her wife and their spider to handle things, and investigating new fetishes you’ve just discovered.

The book feels a bit slight, but that’s not uncommon with the first book of an arc – or of this genre in general. The slow life may go away eventually, but it’s winning for now.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 7

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By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

Sometimes you can concentrate so hard on your goal that you lose sight of basic things like resting, recuperating, and daily life chores. This is the dilemma we see Akiteru facing here, as he realizes that he needs to have the game team do even more if he wants to get popular… but they’re honestly working pretty hard already. Does genius still work when it’s too tired to function? What’s more… can he really rely on just his core team of brilliant specialists? Most game studios would use more people and sacrifice a but of quality, y’know? And it does not really help that he’s having to deal with his fake girlfriend’s mom hiding out at her daughter’s home, or his friend’s little sister’s mom also moving back home for a while. they both seem very aware of the relationships between the group. In fact, honestly, I think the mothers between them have both figured out everything. Which is probably not very good news for Iroha.

So yeah, Akiteru’s got problems. Leaving aside Mom #1 and Mom #2, both of whom seem to be very suspicious of him in general, he’s running up against the fact that their game has plateaued in terms of popularity. Now he’s got to think of other ways to get around that, and do it fast, as the class trip is coming up soon. He could try getting a popular Instagram star to be seen playing their game… except she’s a incoherent mess of a girl. He could try getting his illustrator to create even more really awesome art for the series… except doing that, combined with planning for the class trip, ends up hospitalizing her. He could try doing what Iroha’s mom suggests and actually hire other people for his niche game company composed only of geniuses… but that would involve compromising his vision. What’s the best solution?

This is a solid volume. The romance, oddly, feels a bit on the back burner here, partly as there’s not much that can go on with both moms present. That said, Book 8 promises a lot of Akiteru and Mashiro, as Iroha, being a first year, cannot go on the class trip with them. (And yes, I am fully expecting the author to get around that somehow.) Most of this volume focuses on the game and Akiteru’s future plans for it. It’s not surprising to see the direction he takes, but it is rather relieving, as I was worried he was close to napping. This is not a major game for a major company – that’s his goal. It’s a indie project. And the game DOES have enough fans so he can get away with it. I was also amused at Mashiro’s mom and the revelation about what’s going on with her and her husband, which is both hilarious and also twistedly heartwarming. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens with her and Iroha, especially as the moms clearly have a bitter rivalry of their own.

So yeah, good romcom stuff. Anime coming soon, I believe.

The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-Up, Vol. 1

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By Rino Mayumi and Machi. Released in Japan as “Jimihime to Kuroneko no, Enman na Konyaku Haki” by M Novels F. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

First off, this isn’t a villainess novel, and no one has any memories from Japan. That said, there is a certain sub-genre of villainess novels we’ve started to see more of recently, which is the “noblewoman breaks up with her fiance” genre. These are often a part of the villainess genre, usually with a big public break-up and possible exile/ruination in the offing, but not always. And this particular book looks as if it’s going to head in that direction. Our heroine, who the title has already conditioned us to believe is the mousy, plain one, overhears a group of teenage boys, including her fiance the prince, praising her pretty younger sister to the skies while disparaging her. We know what’s happening here. What a bastard. He doesn’t deserve someone as good as the heroine. And while that may be true… is that really what she overheard? Or did she overhear a bunch of teens who have no idea how to say they like someone?

Seren is the older sibling and has spent most of her life preparing to be the Queen, engaged to Crown Prince Helios. Sadly, she’s now heard how he really feels about her (or so she thinks). Devastated, she runs off to cry, and is discovered by the court mage Viol, who has long black hair and is gorgeous but has a reputation for being aloof and unfriendly. That’s why it’s a problem when she sees him grinning at a cupcake he’s about to eat. She ends up blackmailing him into finding her a magic teacher something she has a talent for. If she’s a court mage, she can break up with Helios, he can marry Marietta, her younger sister, and everyone will be happy. As for Viol, he decides to teach her himself, by turning into his “familiar”, a black cat. Except… she’s not just good at magic, she’s a prodigy!

So many books in this genre have a narrative trick where you see the heroine narrating something, and the next chapter is the same thing narrated by the love interest. This does that as well, though Seren and Viol alternate POV. In between those, though, we see POV of some other characters which explains things and gives them depth. Helios turns out to be an earnest young man who had never really understood what his fiance was like until recently, and he’s head over heels for her. His friends, including the son of the prime minister, ALSO love her. The fact that all that “Oh, Marietta is so great” at the start was all of them trying to push her onto another one of the boys so they could have Seren to themselves is hilarious and also really sad. Even Marietta, who seems at first to be the stock selfish and jealous younger sister, fares well here – she *is* jealous, and does want Helios for herself, but it stems from a love for her sister and a desire not to see the two of them, who have similar personalities, work themselves to death.

The book is not perfect. Seren’s low opinion of herself may be textually justified, but that does not make it less irritating to read, as she gives herself no credit at all for nearly 300 pages. The other problem is that this is Volume 1, and we’re just setting everything up. We haven’t even had the break-up – she’s said she will, but hasn’t done it (and good thing too, as the King and Queen love her and have planned everything out 4expecting her to be royalty). So the narrative car crash I expected didn’t happen. Still, I enjoyed this well enough to get another volume.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 3

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

One of the conceits of many villainess novels is that the heroine is not aware that she’s already achieved the goal almost from the start. The love interests in the game who shun her are besotted with her, the commoners and servants all adore her, and she’s got this in the bag, even though she insists that one false step and she’s toast. That is not a problem that Aileen has to worry about here. She is reminded over and over that one false step and she is indeed toast. The threat of execution hangs over her head for this entire volume, her demonic allies are on the run and trying to avoid the kingdom performing a mass murder, and the Queen Mother is literally plotting against her. But that’s OK, because she has Claude and his incredible powers, not to mention his love for her. Except… Claude’s lost his memories. And his powers. Um… uh-oh?

The book starts in medias res, with Aileen and her allies trying to infiltrate a secret high society auction of Bad Things… where she’s surprised to see Serena, the villainess of the second game. She also meets Elefas, one of the love interests from the Fan Disc (which means Aileen barely knows him, as she skipped things that weren’t the main route), who asks her to ask Claude if he can ally himself with the demons, as his village of mages is being persecuted. Unfortunately, that night Claude is stabbed, and ends up as I said above. Now Aileen is in trouble – the crown does not want him remembering his Demon Lord powers, so wants her away from him even if they have to kill her – and they’ll find any excuse to do so, because they also have Lilia, the “heroine” of the games, in their corner.

Probably the most interesting part of this volume is what it does with Cedric. He’s not remorseful over the end of his relationship with Aileen, who he knows very well but does not seem to actually like,l and the feeling is mutual. But he’s come to realize that Lilia, who he DOES love, sees him as… well, as a character rather than a person. And that bothers him a lot. To the point where, throughout the book, he winds up helping Aileen surreptitiously, much to her annoyance. Aileen herself is emotionally all over the map here, at first headstrong and brash, then sulking and trying to forget about Claude (which doesn’t work for even five seconds), then cheerfully sadistic, which is our favorite side of her. the actual fear she’s truly feeling throughout the book only comes out near the end.

The book ends with a wedding, and it would make a very good ending to the series itself if I didn’t know there were 5+ more volumes. And once again, the illustrator has failed us in terms of duck drawings. That said, this is in my Top 5 Villainess series, and I can’t recommend it enough. The anime is coming soon as well.

The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes, Vol. 4

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By Bisu and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru” by Arian Rose. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Tom Harris.

It could just be that I’ve grown so used to it that I’m actually starting not to notice it, but this volume seemed a bit less creepy about most of the cast being in love with Rosemary. And that’s despite the fact that a chunk of the book revolves around one of the cast kidnapping her to be his bride. (It turns out to be a lot more complicated than that.) But for the most part there’s less leering and more worshipping, as we get another of the classic reincarnated villainess tropes in force here, that of the villainess as messiah. Rosemary’s can-do attitude, combined with her knowledge from Japan and minimalist knowledge of the plot of the game (which is getting increasingly unreliable) has led to her winning over everyone around her (shades of Katarina Claes) and inspiring them to also be the best person they can possibly be (also shades of Katarina Claes). She’s savvy, too. (Sorry, Katarina.)

We pick up where we left off last time, with Rosemary being kidnapped. The book is about 60% her narration as we follow her… and she ends up in the village that she’s been looking or anyway, which is having trouble surviving (fewer children are living past infancy) for unknown reasons (Rosemary figures out pretty fast that it’s inbreeding). Now she has to win over the village, explain why she’s there, and get them to help her. And she has a time limit, as the other half of the plot involves her brother Johan, as well as Princes Nacht and Licht of Vint, discovering that the disease Rosemary has been trying to head off at the past has already ravaged this area of the kingdom… and is being covered up by a desperate noble. Will Rosemary make it in time to save everyone?

The best scene in the book is the one where the village chief convinces Rosemary to act the part of the Goddess from their past, using some stuff she has that can pass as “magic”… and she simply cannot do it, admitting she’s just a princess and winning them over with her earnest pleading instead. Over and over again we see that what matters most about Rosemary is not her past knowledge, but her ability to plead her case and get across how much she cares. She struggles at the daily physical tasks of the village, but she does them anyway, rather than complaining or half-assing it like a princess normally would. To be fair, this is not unique to her, and a lot of villainess books are like this, but it works quite well. It works for other characters as well – Nacht is beloved by his people, even though he’s a pessimistic grouch, because he clearly cares a great deal about everyone and everything. Deception does not win anyone’s heart here.

Fortunately, we don’t get a cliffhanger of “will the doctors arrive in the nick of time”, as Rosemary manages to gather everyone around her and get to where Johan is… even if that requires fudging how time works in a very Shakespearean way. That said, I won’t complain. I like Rosemary as well, and want to read more about her.

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 6

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg.

Sometimes there are series that start as one thing and become a completely different thing. That’s normal narrative progression, but it always seems to be a shame when they lose sight of what drew people into the series in the first place. Good news, however, that is not a problem with Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower. Sure, we may now be watching the world’s slowest coup, filled with danger and soldiers lining up for war and betrayal and famine and more betrayal. But, in the end, Rimi still solves the entire problem by delicious food. And that’s the series’ brand, it’s what makes it different from others of its ilk. Rimi has OP powers, but they’re not ‘to make everyone fall in love with her’ (though yes, there is a love triangle), they’re ‘cooking will automatically make everything better and easier to understand’. Even in this book, when she goes full artisan, giving the Emperor and his administrator a 100-plate meal with one bite of food on each plate.

Rimi and Shohi are still reeling after the events of the previous book, so much so that the emperor decides to postpone the “Nocturnal Liturgy” that would consummate their relationship. Neither of them can figure out why Shusei would do this, and he is being 100% unhelpful about it. Unfortunately, they don’t really have much time to dwell on it. An administrator from the outlying areas comes to inform the emperor that they will not be paying taxes this year. Is it rebellion? Do they want to get rid of Shohi the way so many in the Inner Court do? Or is there something deeper afoot? And whose plan is this in the first place? To solve it, Shohi is going to have to put his trust in far more people than he ever has before, and the Four Consorts are going to have to play detective.

I have to admit: I’m not sure I want Rimi and Shusei to happen anymore. I feel he’s burned his bridges too much in this book. I would be fine with Rimi and Shohi, but unfortunately that requires love on both sides, and Rimi seems to think of Shohi more the way a mom does than a lover does, which means it’s probably a good thing their Nocturnal Liturgy was postponed. Shohi really comes into his own in this volume, showing some real character development and pulling away from the clutches of his ministers to figure out what the real problem is… though unfortunately, that turns out to play right into Shusei’s hands as well. Politics is hard. As for Rimi, she’s getting sharper, despite being told she has “flowers for brains” multiple times in this book. She’s empathic, making connections based on her feelings, so when she gets much needed information everything just slots together at once for her. It’s terrific to see how much she’s grown.

I know a lot of people dropped this for being a cut-rate Apothecary Diaries, but it’s really come into its own, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace, Vol. 4

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

Sometimes your worst enemy is yourself. Sure, you could be reincarnated as a stunningly attractive noble lady. And yes, you could be married off to a cool yet attentive king of a neighboring country and end up their (temporary) queen. And you may also be possessed of truly staggering amounts of magic powers. And you could also be a genius chef, continually coming up with ideas that astound the nobility of this pre-industrial land, such as pizza toast. You could also be surrounded by cats, wolves, and other animals who all adore you and want to do your bidding. And yes, it could be that one of those wolves is ALSO your husband, the King. You’ve got a pretty good thing going on here. Unfortunately, if you are Laetitia, only one single word in the preceding paragraph stands out, and that word is ‘temporary’. She can’t get it into her head that the king has fallen for her.

The kingdom is about to be visited by representatives from the Wildam Empire, which is to pegasi what her home base is to wolves. Unfortunately, it gets off to a bad start when one of the Pegasus Knights ends up picking a fight with… a little dog that barked at him. Believe it or not, this does almost cause an international incident, but Laetitia helps to smooth things over through her negotiating skills and her prowess at flying her gryphon. Then there’s a ball where she has to meet and greet, and she discovers that… well, no, she does not discover that her husband is jealous of anyone who comes near her, please see above. Things then go even further south when a lady in Lady I-Liena’s camp supposedly helps the disgraced Pegasus Knight escape, and is now in prison. Which… makes no sense. Can Laetitia figure out what’s really going on?

I must admit, sometimes it can be hard to tell “this is background informatoin I’m giving out to give a character depth” from “this is a clue and hint for what happens later on in the book”, and as such, I was rather surprised at a revelation that happens late in the book. Mind, I knew that there was something deeply suspicious about them, and that they were likely a spy… which was true, but the rest of it was news to me. Speaking of being news to me, I had assumed that laetitia was the only one in this world who had been reincarnated from Japan, but the more we hang around her older brother Claude, the more I think that he is as well and she’s just in denial about it. Which works, given everything else she’s in denial about. Honestly, given that she already hits a lot of the “overpowered character” buttons, we can grant her this flaw.

If you enjoy romance, political dealmaking, or are simply hungry, this is a fun series to read.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 8

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

Tearmoon Empire is a very funny series. There are tons of scenes of Mia being silly or smug, other people misunderstanding her to comic effect, etc. But the series also knows when it’s time to be 100% serious, and that time is whenever get get a glimpse of what life was like in the original timelines. We’ve already seen how things progressed in Bel’s world (and see why Dion is her absolute hero, something that baffles both the Dion of this world as well as Citrina), but we’ve also seen the main cast occasionally have dreams of their prior lives. They’re never good dreams. It’s Tiona’s turn here, and it hits especially hard given that Mia was thinking that she hopes the Tiona and Sion of her past life, the “perfect couple”, lived happily ever after. Instead, in both Tiona and Sion’s case, we see that the need for vengeance, justice and revolution ended up driving them away from each other, and nobody ends up happy. Everyone should be relieved Mia went back in time.

Because no Tearmoon Empire volume can ever QUITE get the arcs to line up properly, we start with the end of the previous arc, as Mia fosters better relations between the Empire and its domain by doing the one thing that even the narrator admits she’s fantastic at: dancing. Feeling good about things, but reminded of her previous complacency, she decides to read her Bloody Diary. It’s a good thing she checked – now it says that Sion is assassinated in a month’s time. Coincidentally (or is it?), Esmeralda comes to Mia in a panic, as her father has said she'[s to be married off to a Sunkland noble. Realizing that she can go to Sunkland and stop Sion getting killed if she tags along with Esmeralda’s engagement party, Mia and her entourage visit Sion’s country for the first time. And, as it turns out, getting assassinated by bandits may be the least of Sion’s worries…

We do sometimes get the device of seeing Mia’s POV of a scene and then seeing the same scene again with another character, though not nearly to the extent of, say, My Next Life As a Villainess. And sometimes we don’t even need to get the other half of the scene because we can infer the heartwarming in our heads. Now that Citrina is no longer an enemy, she’s ready to do anything she can to help Mia – including, she assumes, what she’s be best at – killing people. But Mia assures her that she will never ask her to kill someone else for her, something that poleaxes Citrina. Yes, it’s framed around Mia wanting delicious mushrooms (as is most of the book, really) but the sentiment is also genuine. Mia wants as few people killed as possible, even if that might affect her end goal. It inspires Citrina, who is really crafty for such a young girl, to try to help Mia in slightly less permanent ways. Her growth was my favorite part of this book.

This volume spent most of its time setting up a stack of dominoes, but unfortunately we have to wait for the 9th volume to knock them over. Till then, this remains one of my absolute favorite light novel series.

The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, Vol. 6

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By Yu Shimizu and Asagi Tosaka. Released in Japan as “Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lampert.

One of the sure fire ways to give a character suitable pain and determination is a good tragic backstory. And there’s no tragic backstory quite like the death of beloved family members. That’s what Sakuya, the Japanese — sorry, Sakura Orchid — swordswoman in Leo’s cadre of hot, powerful friends has dealt with since she was six years old. The death of her older sister right in front of her still gives her nightmares, and it informs not only her actions and, to a degree, disregard for her own future and safety, but also others also from Sakura Orchid, who are being far more, well, kamikaze about the whole thing. (Look, you don’t get subtlety in this series, read some other one for that.) As such, if you need to up the stakes a lot and devastate your character with the tragic past, nothing quite gets it across like resurrecting the family member who died in front of her. it’s not clear if Sakuya’s sister is actually still alive or merely a zombie of some sort, but either way, she’s still better than Sakuya in combat.

Leo may have taken over a terrorist group, but he’s having a lot of trouble keeping them from, well, doing terrorist things. Which is especially bad news when they find a cargo hold filled with… voids? How? Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sakura Orchid is having a festival, and our hero and heroines decide to attend it. It’s very much a standard Japanese summer festival, complete with yukatas (that Leo is reluctant to wear) and fireworks (that Leo thinks are an actual attack.) Unfortunately, there actually IS a real attack, but it’s not attacking the festival but the core of the entire Seventh Assault Garden. In order to stop it, Leo may not only have to push himself farther than he’s had to before, but also make another pact similar to the one he has with Riselia. Is Sakuya prepared to be no longer human?

Again, the calling card of this series is that it does not really do things well but it doesn’t really do things badly (apart from, as always, Leo being ten but being treated like he’s sixteen half the time). The fights in this one are particularly good, especially near the end, where Sakuya has to figure out what her new ability is and how it works while in a match where one false move would mean her death. On the down side, the threat of the Kenki gathering was rather pathetic – kamikaze or no, having them all suddenly be betrayed and turned into monsters was a bit too pat given they had not really accomplished much of anything. And of course there’s still the cute slice-of-magic-academy-life stuff, which such boffo gags as Leo’s minion using her spy work as an excuse to find the best places to snack and Leo’s monstrous wolf familiar essentially becoming Sakuya’s pet dog.

The next volume of the series has not been scheduled by Yen yet, so we may have to wait a bit. but that’s fine. This series does not require us to remember much about it except what’s on the surface.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games
Though I was, of course, aware of the fervor surrounding this series, I’d never read it until now, nor have I seen the movies. (I do own some nail polish inspired by it, though!) Still, I managed to absorb a few facts through cultural osmosis.

1) The heroine is named Katniss.
2) There is also a boy called Peeta.
3) There is an MC lady with pink hair.
4) A competition and various districts?

I came close to immediately casting the book aside when Katniss casually admits to having once attempted to drown a kitten in a bucket, but this turned out to be an effective way of showing how her impoverished, hardscrabble existence in “the Seam” of District 12 has forced Katniss (now 16) to become ruthlessly practical in order to keep her family alive after the death of her father five years previously in a mining accident.

Katniss lives in Panem, which we learn “rose from the ashes of a place that was once called North America.” There were originally thirteen districts, but when they rebelled against the Capitol, District 13 was obliterated and the Hunger Games were established to discourage future rebellion attempts. Each year, during a ceremony called “the Reaping,” a boy and girl from each District are selected to fight to the death in the games, which are televised across the nation. Watching them is mandatory. It’s the Capitol’s way of saying, “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do.” The person Katniss loves most in the world is her 12-year-old sister, Prim, so when it’s Prim’s name that gets drawn at the Reaping, Katniss immediately volunteers to take her place. A boy who once showed kindness to Katniss when she was starving, Peeta Mellark, is chosen as the male “tribute.”

I’m extremely thankful I didn’t abandon this book at the outset, because what ensues is fascinating YA dystopia at its best. Katniss and Peeta are assigned a drunken mentor named Haymitch (a past victor from District 12) who advises them in various aspects of strategy, part of which is keeping Katniss’ archery prowess a secret from her competitors and part of which is creating a narrative that the two of them are actually in love. Katniss believes for a long time that Peeta is faking it every bit as much as she is, but that’s not the case.

Katniss is an extremely resourceful protagonist, and watching her brainstorm solutions to tricky problems reminded me a fair amount of Sarasa in Basara, which is quite a big compliment. There was a little more of the romance stuff than I really wanted, mostly Katniss being confused about what her real feelings for Peeta are and what that means for her relationship with her hunting buddy, Gale, back home. But most of the time, she’s extremely capable and badass and yet not emotionally closed off.

I loved learning about her world and am sufficiently worried that she’s now under increased scrutiny from the Capitol due to her actions in the games. I cannot possibly start book two soon enough.

Catching Fire
As Catching Fire begins, Katniss and Peeta—rich, famous, and hated by the Capitol—are about to embark upon their victory tour. After President Snow puts in a personal appearance to inform Katniss that she and Peeta must convince the nation that they defied the Capitol simply out of love for one another, they do their best but are unsuccessful. Unrest continues to foment. As Katniss debates whether to flee with her family or stay and fight, President Snow announces the rules of this year’s Quarter Quell, a special Hunger Games that occurs every 25 years. This time, the tributes will be chosen from past victors, which means Katniss and Peeta are going back in.

I found the first half of the book to be pretty slow. Katniss spends a lot of time being wishy-washy regarding her feelings for Gale and Peeta and it becomes tiresome. There’s literally a line that says, “I really can’t think about kissing when I’ve got a rebellion to incite.” “NO YOU CAN’T, KATNISS,” I wrote back in my notes. However, the action picks up considerably once the rules of the Quarter Quell are announced.

This time, Katniss has half a dozen allies in the arena, so doesn’t have quite as many opportunities to solve tricky problems entirely on her own. (Mostly, she’s focused on keeping Peeta alive and has extracted a promise from Haymitch that this time he will prioritize Peeta’s survival over her own.) Yet, she is the one who understands what brilliant Wiress, who struggles to communicate clearly, is trying to tell the group about the arena and, later, quickly grasps what inventive Beetee is really trying to achieve with his electrical trap.

I did not see the ending coming at all, and while I don’t think this book is quite as strong as the first, it still ends with our characters in an interesting place. Haymitch has broken his promise and saved Katniss because she is the one who’s the face of the rebellion and she’s absolutely furious with him, and yet is that something she can walk away from? Meanwhile, Peeta is in the grip of the Capitol. Onward to the final installment!

Mockingjay
Mockingjay is quite a bit different than the other two books in the trilogy, and wound up being my favorite. Katniss, Finnick, Beetee, and a small group of survivors from District 12 find themselves in District 13, which had not been destroyed as the Capitol claimed. Katniss blames herself for the destruction of District 12 and spends the opening chapters in misery, not knowing whether Peeta is alive or dead, hating everyone and herself most of all. Meanwhile, she’s being pressured by the rebels to take on the symbolic role of the Mockingjay to unite the districts against the Capitol. It’s only after Peeta appears on television, calling for a ceasefire, that Katniss agrees to the arrangement, forcing President Coin (leader of District 13) to agree that Peeta won’t be executed as a traitor and also hoping to negate his influence on the populace.

I loved that District 13 is not some utopia, and is almost as controlling as the Capitol. I loved that Katniss, a volatile teenager, isn’t actually leading the revolution, but is initially just a figurehead who features in propaganda videos designed to inspire the districts. I loved the scenes where the people of District 13 flee to caverns during an air raid, and the fun-starved citizens are entertained by the antics of Buttercup chasing a flashlight beam. I loved Prim’s growing skill and confidence as a healer. I loved Finnick and his revelations about how Snow abuses victors, particularly attractive ones, and how we see a totally new side to him when he’s able to finally marry the woman he loves. I loved that, after the districts are united against the Capitol, the rebels have no more use for Katniss and intend to leave her behind until she manages to complete a grueling training course and qualifies to go to the Capitol as part of a sharpshooting squad, led by Boggs. I really loved Boggs, who acts as a sort of father figure to Katniss and wants to protect her from President Coin’s machinations. I loved all the scenes of battle in the Capitol, especially the fact that Katniss doesn’t storm the president’s mansion and take Snow out single-handedly. The ending is great and very satisfying.

I didn’t love the romantic triangle stuff, though it’s obvious by now that it isn’t really a triangle anymore. Katniss loves Peeta, but she hasn’t realized it yet. Things are complicated when he is rescued from the Capitol and immediately tries to kill her, having had his memories altered as part of Snow’s torture. It takes a long time for glimmers of his real self to emerge, but once that happens they begin to grow back together. I did feel that some of this was rushed at the very end, which is a complaint I could also make about the deaths of some major characters. I realize that in the heat of battle there’s no time to stop and grieve, but it was still kind of a bummer.

All in all, this is an excellent trilogy. I regret that it took me so long to read it but am happy that I finally did!

Note: Ten years after Mockingjay was published, a prequel was released. Alas, reviews are not good and I’ve decided not to potentially sully my opinion of the series by reading it.

The Festivities of Marielle Clarac

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By Haruka Momo and Maro. Released in Japan as “Marielle Clarac no Shukusai” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Philip Reuben.

We’re nine volumes into Marielle Clarac, and she’s been happily married for quite a few of them. That said, the audience is still more interested in her as the heroine of a mystery/thriller than it is her as a socialite and wife. Which she would probably think is a good thing, as Marielle is starting to doubt herself as a socialite and a wife. Growing up inevitably means feeling that you have not grown up enough, and Marielle is worried that she is not really bringing to her marriage the things that wives should be doing. Instead, she’s getting kidnapped, solving crimes, causing international incidents, etc. Fortunately for her, her husband is having the same sort of issues, wanting to always be there to protect her but knowing that that’s impossible, and still dealing with being jealous of any other man who’s remotely close to her. Which, in this series, is pretty much every man. Basically, they’re both awkward dorks, and made for each other.

The main plot of this book concerns Prince Gracius, the orphaned son of Orta’s former king. He’s recovered his memories, but is now having to deal with something that all rich and powerful people have to: sycophants and hangers-on. Indeed, the people around him seem particularly bent on making sure he listens to them, and they seem to hate Marielle in particular. She doesn’t really care about that, however, as she wants to make the prince experience Noël, their Christmas equivalent, without fear of getting assassinated. Even if this means having to call in Lutin in order to disguise him. For once things actually work perfectly, but Marielle does not endear herself to Gracius’ entourage. And now there are rumors that she’s being unfaithful?!

There’s a running gag in this book that’s actually about the series’ main running gag, which is that Marielle still thinks of herself as being able to blend into the background and be dull and plain, and it’s increasingly untrue. Sure, she can get away with it while hiding from those who want to frame her by having her sexually assaulted (a rare unpleasant part of this otherwise pleasant book), but when she’s around her peers she is now increasingly the center of attention… mostly because of what she’s been doing the previous eight volumes. This also means that the rumor doesn’t really go anywhere – anyone who knows Marielle even a little bit will know how ridiculous it is. I was also amused to see that she’s learning – she suspects a letter from Gracius is fake, brings her servants and a guard, tells Simeon where she’s going… and STILL gets drugged and kidnapped. Sorry, Marielle, it’s the genre, not you.

This series is simply a barrel of fun, and also one that is easy to recommend to casual readers, as Marielle’s BL obsession is the sole “this is definitely Japanese” element – no reincarnated villainesses, no isekais, and no game stats. Just a series of mystery thrillers.

Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village, Vol. 6

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By Mizuumi Amakawa and Mai Okuma. Released in Japan as “Fushi no Kami: Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki” by Overlap. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Maurice Alesch.

The last volume of Fushi no Kami finally resolved the burgeoning romance that’s been in this series since the first volume, as Ash and Maika are now old enough, at least in Ash’s opinion, so that he can’t get away with “she’s too young for me to be attracted to”. As such, they are now engaged, though not yet married, and apparently haven’t really consummated anything, despite Maika’s murmurings about wanting a baby. That said, fear not, romance is still in the air, as beta couple Reina and Hermes are still working on it… mostly because they’re essentially carbon copies of Maika and Ash, which is amusing but also lazy writing to an extent. And of course there is “foreign spymaster” Seire, who is clearly still very interested in Ash, not to mention Princess Alicia, aka Arthur. That said, everyone had better get on Maika’s good side if they want to get anywhere, and even so, I’m pretty sure this is not a polycule sort of book.

Ask and Maika may be engaged, but that’s not the plot of the series, the Industrial Revolution is. As such, we see the attempts at making a gas-powered engine (which sadly blow up), a steam engine (more successful), and other instances. Unfortunately, their little city has gone up in the world a bit too much, and the nearby areas have leaders who are Very Unhappy. Thus they’re seeing more bandits than usual, more refugees than usual, and, when all else fails, a full-blown invasion, supported by a few very familiar traitors who have always been jerks in previous books so it’s no surprise to see them being the bad guys here. That said, our good guys have Ash and Maika, who between them are good enough to stop any human plotting. Unfortunately, towards the end of the book, we get what every city fears – a demon invasion. We’ve seen Ash beat a werewolf beast before, can he beat over 200?

This remains a good series provided you accept all of its faults. Ash’s narration is always trying its hardest to pretend that he is just this ordinary dull normal guy, and sometimes it succeeds more than the author intends. Maika’s attachment to Ash and desire to protect him is funny much of the time, but when she has to be reminded not to murder people it’s a bit less fun. And, as noted, Reina and Hermes’ not-relationship is less interesting to me precisely because we’ve seen this sort of thing before. An attempt is made to give them a rival to draw them closer together, but he’s such a horrible person in every way that the big surprise at the end of the book was that he was NOT in fact a spy working for the bad guys… and I’m still not 100% convinced. On the bright side, the worldbuilding and fight scenes are still fun, and the humor can be very good.

This will probably always fall under the definition of “solid” rather than “good”, but sometimes solid is all you need.