#Shuuen no Hanayome

[beneaththetangles]

Reader’s Corner: Cat + Gamer, The Bride of Demise, and Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami

Epic wars, yokai, budding romances, and a kitty mark the releases our writers cover for this week’s column. The reviews include a couple of first volume releases—The Bride of Demise and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World—along with continuing volumes of other works and even a one-shot period piece light novel.

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Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle, Light Novel Vol. 2

Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle continues to perplex in volume two, featuring strong characterization for its titular character and a satisfactory conclusion, but also filled with a lot of mediocre and even discomforting material. Take, for instance, the entire first half of this volume, in which Chitose embarks on a fake romantic relationship with one of his friends (I could name her, but she’s as equally bland as the next girl in this series, so it hardly matters) to scare off a would-be stalker. We’re privy to his thoughts, which seem to confirm that this story will be about little more than defining infatuation as “love.” But about halfway through, Chitose explains to a just-introduced character what he thinks it means to be in love: it involves sacrifice, hardship, conflict, and authenticity—all things he and his friends tend to avoid. But as he also explains to Tomoya, he is also aware of this shortcoming: Chitose’s “harem” is filled with selfish kids whose “kind” actions are more self-serving than other students believe them to be. There are a few striking conversations, and a pretty smooth ending, but they’re few and far between. Instead, most of the novel features Chitose’s interactions with and thoughts about the various girls in his group, who are barely distinguishable from one another except by archetypal superficialities. At various times, I wondered if that was actually the point—that the author, Hiromu, doesn’t mean for the characters to stand out yet, both to build them up through their own arcs and to make a statement about superficial relationships. But ultimately, the banal conversations and unoriginal “romantic” situations suggest that Hiromu just doesn’t do high school romance particularly well. And while I appreciate the strength he does ultimately give this volume’s main female character, he also sometimes pulls the story into disappointing directions: at one point, Chitose pretends to sexually assault her to force her to become stronger (a common tactic these days, it seems, based on a similar situation in the Classroom of the Elite anime this season). To this, she responds that she’s leveled up, calling Chitose (albeit with some sarcasm) her “hero.” Yikes. The idea that his “girlfriend” needs to learn to move forward from trauma and stand up for herself is sound, but the execution is thoughtless, the character is too superficial, and the situation doesn’t ring true—something that could be said for too much of this volume and series so far. I hope the weaknesses improve as the volumes move forward, because there’s some great content in Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle—there’s just not enough. ~ Twwk

Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle is published by Yen Press.

READ: Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle Vol. 1 Review

The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, Manga Vol. 1

Sometimes a generic series is exactly what you need. Ray White, ordinary and non-noble incoming student to the prestigious Arnold Academy, is of course not normal at all. He’s the “Iceblade Sorcerer,” a powerful magic user who was vital in a war three years prior. But he’s at the academy to enjoy his youth—beginning, of course, by forming a party (including a roommate/best buddy and a romantic interest) and facing a dangerous challenge in their first test. Yes, this volume resembles dozens of other similar fantasy series, including Dawn of the Witch and Didn’t I say to make my abilities average in the next life?! But the volume also knows it isn’t covering new ground: like its laid-back protagonist, it’s okay just going along with it. (And frankly, with how quickly things develop in these first sparse panels, it feels as if the writer knows that there isn’t much creative about these opening chapters and is hoping to make it quickly through the perfunctory material to get to the real tale.) The artwork for this manga adaptation of a light novel is similarly unpolished but functional, and the frequent and goofy humor lands pretty well. The volume is a fast read, a reasonable way to spend 15 or 20 minutes; I enjoyed the characters, snickered at the laughs, and wondered whether references to The Ancient Magus Bride (another magician named Ainsworth) and Fullmetal Alchemist (a powerful Bradley family and an Armstrong who also likes to take off his shirt and talk about his muscles) were intentional or lazy. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter, because this volume is mostly fluff, and if you expect as much, this just might be the pleasant read you’re looking for. ~ Twwk

The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World is published by Kodansha.

Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami: A Tale of Living Alongside Spirits, One-Shot Light Novel

In the Taisho period Japan of a parallel universe, Pokemon yokai are caught have their stories recorded in pokeballs books called Kotogatari by trainers Narrators, who can then call upon the power of these Kotogami to neutralize further yokai. Office worker Akari (coincidence, but funny!) hates stories like the legends and folktales recorded in Kotogatari. Why? Good question—one she herself has trouble answering. But when a rampaging yokai demolishes her apartment, she finds herself reluctantly involved with spirits, forcing her to confront her curious aversion to fanciful tales. This one-shot volume is a fantasy mystery in a historical setting; contrary to most Cross Infinite World releases, the only “romance” here is in the literary sense of that word, so don’t pick this up expect anyone to fall in love. I enjoyed this story both for its historical setting and the mystery, which did a marvelous job of being just simple enough that I could catch some clues and feel smart, while still keeping secrets from me till the end. And no, it’s not actually similar to Pokemon; that’s just me being silly. Recommended. ~ Jeskai

Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami: A Tale of Living Alongside Spirits is published by Cross Infinite World.

A Silent Voice, Manga Vol. 3

A Silent Voice is one of those unique series for which there really are not enough words to fully reflect your thoughts and feelings. Despite the personal turning point I reached in volume two (no longer strongly disliking Shoya), volume three was far from easy to read. In another attempt to befriend Shoko, Shoya unexpectedly finds himself in a position not only of being befriended but also of being the key player in Shoko forming new friendships with old classmates. Some reunions he creates will bring a smile to your face, while others leave a more-than-bitter taste in your mouth. Thankfully, the plot twist at the end took that awful taste out of my mouth! (Well, mostly, I think.) While I know this volume was more about focusing on Shoko and her encounters with old classmates, I absolutely loved seeing how Tomohiro and Shoya’s friendship has grown! In fact, the way that Shoya was so vulnerable when he told Tomohiro he was the only friend he could talk to really pulled at my heartstrings. On the flip side, there was one character that we meet who I did not like! I don’t care what this character’s reasons are, but it was wrong of her to want to see Shoya the way he used to be. Shoya is a totally different person now, and I was so glad that he stood his ground, telling her he didn’t want to be like her and have a dirty mouth. Despite my anger at this new character near the end of the volume, I still really enjoyed this installment and am very curious as to what will happen now that we have met these new classmates. ~ Laura A. Grace

A Silent Voice is published by Kodansha.

READ: A Silent Voice Reviews: Vol.1 // Vol. 2

Cat + Gamer, Manga Vol. 2

Ever seen a cat in berserker mode? If you’ve owned one, I’m sure you have, but what Cat + Gamer does so well is to get us get us thinking of a kitty’s actions in the language of gaming. Riko, the titular gamer, sees the world through the lens of games, and that’s where most of the humor in Cat + Gamer comes from as, chapter by chapter, she interacts with and learns more about her new kitten, Musubi. While the series is neither uproariously hilarious nor deeply affecting, it is a relaxing, cute read, and volume two is better than the first, settling nicely into the pattern of 1) Musubi causes a problem 2) Riko finds her cute and irresistible anyway 3) Riko discovers something new about cats. Each chapter’s final page, which shows a scene from the preceding material but from Musubi’s point of view, is an adorable addition. The entire volume, in fact, exudes a sweet energy in every panel. And that’s exactly the kind of manga, I think, that could find a place in many readers’ bookshelves—though as Riko learns, beware of displaying anything you like because they might just become your kitty’s next plaything. ~ Twwk

Cat + Gamer Volume 2 is published by Dark Horse Manga.

READ: Cat + Gamer Vol. 1 Review

The Bride of Demise, Light Novel Vol. 1

There’s a whole lot going on in Bride of Demise. The sci-fantasy adventure dabbles in cyberpunk, is tonally grimdark, and takes place in a post-apocalyptic school setting. Combining elements of Starship Troopers, The Terminator, Re:ZERO, and The Executioner and Her Way of Life, this ambitious series is a thrilling read—though it tries too hard to be too many things at once. The prologue (and shorter intros before each chapter) do a wonderful job of introducing the dark fantasy elements of a world in which much of the population was killed off by “kihei.” Kihei are creatures who combine organic and mechanic elements and are immensely dangerous, even to soldiers—most of whom are students attending a school that offers a number of different tracks for studying or learning to fight these enemies of mankind. Kou, our protagonist, is not in the combatant track—until a mission gone awry leads to him “marrying” the mysterious and powerful White Princess, which leads the pair to a secret class at the school and missions of epic proportion. In fact, volume one turns the dial up to 100 from early on. Keishi Ayasato has so much story to tell and so much ground to cover that he skips months at a time, jumping from major event to major event. He ultimately brings the tale together in a compelling and surprising finale, though like the rest of the volume, it’s a bit rushed. So to with the relationships in this book, particularly between the brides and grooms, who are supposed to have bonds that run deep and intimate. But the only bonding moments between Kou and the White Princess are in either action sequences or lofty words of love that unfortunately come across as rather melodramatic and mechanical. The dialogue is clunky and stilted, and the climactic emotional scenes aren’t quite as fulfilling as they should be. A shame, because Ayasato has an inventive mind and weaves a pretty tight tale that should land better than it does. Here’s hoping that volume two, which can’t possibly pass the heights of action in volume one (can it?), lets this story and its character breathe a little before throwing them into more daring and violent adventures. ~ Twwk

The Bride of Demise is published by Yen Press.

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

[mangabookshelf]

Manga the Week of 8/17/22

Manga the Week of 8/17/22

SEAN: We’re having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave… the temperature’s rising, it isn’t surprising, she certainly can Can-Can. Yen On has three debuts, though one has already come out here from another publisher… sort of. The Bride of Demise (Shuuen no Hanayome) is a new series from the creator of Torture Princess, and seems to have much the same vibe. A soldier is about to die when a girl in…

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Shuuen no Hanayome 1

Author: Keishi Ayasato (Author of Isekai Goumon Hime/Torture Princess)

Illustrator: murakaruki

Label: MF Bunko J

Release Date: 20 July 2020

My Score: 4 out of 5

I really enjoyed this volume because I thought that a lot of the concepts were interesting, the action scenes were solid and there were some great twists towards the end and the characters were very likeable. I do think that the romance was a bit rushed but it was sweet enough and made sense in-universe that I didn’t really mind it. I recommend it to people who enjoy action series and want to read a darker take on the battle school genre.

Story:

Genre: Action, Dark Fantasy, Battle School, Romance

The series takes place in a world where humans fight against dangerous beings named “kihei” and focuses on Kou, a boy who attends an academy designed to allow humans to fight against the kihei. One day, when out in the field fighting the kihei, Kou is dying when he is rescued by a mysterious and beautiful girl named Shirahime. He ends up not dying and finds out that Shirahime is a kihei herself and that they have formed a contract called “engagement” and that they will attend a special class full of “brides” and “grooms” who use their bond to fight against enemy kihei.

Content Warnings: Ayasato-typical violence and gore

I really like the concept of kihei and the relationship between the grooms and brides. I also like that not all of the kihei brides are humanoids like Shirahime is and not all them are woman and they all have some really interesting designs. I think my favourite design is My Kitty (yes, really). He’s just this dude in a bondage outfit and he’s among the humanoid kihei. We also have a fire horse, a literal snake and a golem-looking thing. I really like how different all the kihei are and it’s a shame that Shirahime is the only kihei that’s properly explored in this volume.

The relationship between Kou and Shirahime is very sweet. Kou mentions how he feels more complete now that Shirahime is by his side and how feels like she’s filled in something that he was missing and it’s very easy to root for their relationship. I did think that their romance was a little bit rushed but it worked due to how the bonds between grooms and brides work in-universe so I was still able to enjoy that aspect anyhow.

The action scenes were really solid and exciting and there some great twists in the volume towards the end that worked really well and the characters were, for the most part, really likeable and I want to know more about them all.

I wouldn’t rate this a full 5 stars because I do think that this series is a bit underwhelming after Isekai Goumon HIme, the romance and characters could have used more development and I had some issues with the protagonist (which I’ll talk about more below) but I still really enjoyed it and it’s definitely among my favourite series debuts of 2020 so far.

Characters:

I really liked most of the characters but I found Kou underwhelming at first. At the start of the volume, he actually felt to me like he was a blank-slate protagonist like you’d see in a video game as he keeps on “remembering” his surroundings and the people he’s talking with but he does get much better as the volume goes on and you learn more about the story and him feeling that way at first is definitely intentional. I loved Shirahime. She’s very cheerful and cute and, like I said, her relationship with Kou is so very sweet and easy to root for. 

The rest of the class are all very likeable and memorable but don’t get much development here and I hope we see get to know them more in future volumes. I think my favourite character of the lot was Hikami because he’s the class mum and I have a weakness. I also really like Yaguruma who is a shy boy but they were all cute and precious in their own ways.

Recommended for:

If you like action series and battle schools but want to see a darker take on them, I would recommend this. If you like series with a lot of characters who have distinct personalities, you may really enjoy this.

The next volume is planned for a September release and I will definitely be getting it.

[recentanimenews]

Anime NYC 2021, Day Two

If the first day was defined by the lines outside, the 2nd day was defined by the lines INSIDE. My schedule for the day had to be adjusted a bit as it became clear that if you wanted to go to a panel, you’d better line up early. The afternoon was filled with staffers screaming “The Fate panel is full!”. Despite this, I was able to attend four excellent panels, and will regale you all with my experiences.

We start off with Yen Press, who had quite a few announcements, which I suspect are May and June 2022-ish. The Geek Ex-Hitman is a Shonen Ace Plus title about a sinister hitman who sees a cute anime figurine and decides to just abandon his entire life and move to Japan to get more. It was described as along the lines of The Way of the Househusband. The Other World’s Economy Depends on the Bean Counter (Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai) is from Enterbrain’s B’s Log Comic, and combines Isekai with BL. Nights with a Cat (Yoru wa Neko to Issho) is a Comic Walker title that is exactly what it sounds – cat manga. These are the sort of sketchy biographical titles you used to see at the back of seinen magazines but you know they’d never get licensed. Now they are.

After some giveaways, we got the manga version of Chitose-kun Is in the Ramune Bottle (Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka), whose light novel has been announced by Yen On already (and will have a digital release as well, I checked). It runs in Square enix’s Manga Up!. Hi, I’m a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion (Doumo, Suki na Hito ni Horegusuri o Irai Sareta Majo desu) comes from Kadokawa’s Flos Comic and will be familiar to Cross Infinite World fans, as they’ve been putting out the novels. See You Tomorrow at the Food Court (Food Court de, Mata Ashita) is a 1-volume title from Comic Newtype about two unlikely friends who meet up every day to eat. This one interested me the most of the manga announced. And because its spinoffs are almost as endless as Cells at Work, we get Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica Gaiden: Another Story. It’s a spinoff.

Light novels! There were… well, let’s call it 2 1/2 announcements. The Bride of Demise (Shuuen no Hanayome) is a dark fantasy from the creator of Torture Princess, a series I find compelling if depressing. Sasaki and Pi-chan (Sasaki to Pi-chan: Isekai de Slow Life o Tanoshi Mou Toshitara, Gendai de Inou Battle ni Makikomareta Ken – Mahou Shoujo Up o Hajimeta You Desu) has a subtitle from hell but looks quite interesting, about a pet bird who turns out to be from another world and the business of selling isekai’d stuff with the salaryman who owns him. An the reason I said 2 1/2 announcements is the third is that No Game No Life 11 will be coming out over here in chapter installments! The prologue hits digitally November 25th.

The next panel was Dark Horse Comics. They didn’t have any new manga announcements, but did have a fun panel where they reminded everyone how old the company is and how far manga has come since the late 1980s. I remember buying some of those 32-page floppy manga comics, and wish You’re Under Arrest could come back out, despite the bad art at the start. They also mentioned the fact that Japan, of course, imports Western Comics and translates them to Japanese. Adam Warren’s versions of Bubblegum Crisis and Dirty Pair can be seen in stores there translated. They also talked about artists who are well known for Western comics but are clearly manga-inspired, like Wendy Pini with Elfquest.

Speaking of the blend of east and west, Shigeru Mizuki was a huge fan of Hellboy, and wrote blurbs for its Japanese release. And of course Monkey Punch’s Lupin III is famously influenced by the Mad Magazine work of Mort Drucker and Sergio Aragones. And the creator of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt does doujinshi for Umbrella Academy, which sounds hella cool, not gonna lie. There were a few announcements that were at least new to me. Yoshitaka Amano has two new artbooks that recently came out, and this also led to a discussion of the Vampire Hinter D omnibuses also being released. Good for fans of that author. They are also quite happy with Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and the third volume is out next month.

After that I was supposed to meet up with Erica Friedman for a late lunch, but Zack Davisson got to her first, so instead I went to the Localization panel, which also had Carl Horn, Mari Moromoto, and Lynzee Loveridge. In other words, an all-star lineup. It was a very good panel, and the audience actually managed to be engaged and polite about it, which if nothing else shows you the panel did not happen on Twitter. Indeed, Twitter harassment of translators was mentioned at the panel, with Caleb Cook’s being a particularly painful example. The panel had a lot to talk about, but I think what came up most often is that a lot of “correct/wrong” answers depend on the material, the publisher, and the editor. Sometimes end notes are frowned upon, sometimes they’re beloved.

Erica mentioned that the ideal localization for her should be a seamless reading experience. The goal is not to see the mechanics of translation under the hood. There’s also slang – Zack avoids it, but it’s usually there in the Japanese, and Mari uses it. It can date a title, but it also means that the words don’t just lie flat on the page. Naturally, Squid Game also came up, and the kerfuffle over what turned out to be closed-captioning titles. Sometimes it’s not even something the translators can help, as they get overruled by editors, Japanese creators, etc. (I remember how ADV, way back in the day, had to fight tooth and nail to not make Ryo “Joe” Saeba in the City Hunter anime.)

We also got a reminder that Japan can see things differently than we do here. When Scarlet Johannsen was cast in Ghost in the Shell, there was a lot of pushback here. Meanwhile, Japan was like “OMG TOP HOLLYWOOD STAR!!!”. They’re far less stressed in Japan about things that we here in North America freak out over. Mostly as fans still tend to prefer titles be translated as “literally” as possible, usually meaning “I Like ‘Em Big and Stilted” (with apologies to Julie Brown). It was an excellent panel that I am happy I attended, and afterwards I was about to pass out, so I had a very late lunch and then decompressed for an hour or two. This con has 50K people, and even extroverts can get overwhelmed by it.

The last panel I did before I gave in and went back to the hotel (sorry, Manga Magazines panel, I am not 23 anymore) was J-Novel Club, with Sam Pinansky and Kristi Fernandez giving us 10 new titles – all light novels. We started off with Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!), a J-Novel Heart title about an isekai’d woman (though that rapidly becomes unimportant, a with a lot of isekai titles where they clearly want to write fantasy but know what sells) and the adventurer who loves her.

Fantasy Inbound is a title that may have a lot of hardcore fans saying “but what about Campione!?, as it’s by the same author. It’s a story where the isekai comes to OUR world… and things do not go well. After the apocalypse, can a student survivor and an elf girl try to salvage something? Prison Life Is Easy for a Villainess (Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life) is a short two-volume series where the villainess happily accepts her ex throwing her in prison… because she STILL has all the power. I’ve actually recommended this as a license request, it’s supposed to be hilarious.

To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai Teni, Jirai Tsuki) has a class transported to another world and all getting cool powers, but our hero seems to be one of the few people taking it seriously as a real-life (and possible death) matter. Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu) is what it sounds like a villainess title where the heroine tries to avoid her fate by doing something else. My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: Why Can’t We Move On? (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta) is a high school romance… well, ex-romance about a middle-school couple who broke up but are now siblings.

Magic Knight of the Old Ways (Furuki Okite No Mahou Kishi) is similar to Fantasy Unbound, as fans will say “But what about Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor?”. Indeed, they may be doubly annoyed as this seems to have a similar premise of magic knights teaches a group of students. Saint? No, I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamonotsukai desu!) is a series about a chosen one who decides she’d much rather pet furry animals, from the creator of Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World (Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life) is a slowlife isekai about a guy who (no surprise) finds out he’s super powerful, and also that the cat he asked for is a catgirl. Like most slow life titles, the goal is to keep having it and not get dragged back in. The most surprising announcement (well, almost) came next, with When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de), an older LN series from the writer of Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? and the artist for The Devil Is a Part-Timer!. What if you got super-awesome powers to help save the world… and nothing happened and you’re still going to school like normal?

Finally, the surprise announcement came via a very familiar voice. We’re getting Slayers in audiobook form, read by the legendary Lisa Ortiz herself! I’m interested in seeing how this goes, as I think Lina in the anime and Lina in the light novel are two very different beasts. In any case, it was a very fun panel but I was wiped, so I went back to the hotel to… well, type this all up. But I am going to go get a late supper now, I promise! And there’s still SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! Though give the lines from today, I think I will limit myself to two panels.

By: Sean Gaffney

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Shuuen no Hanayome 3

Author: Keishi Ayasato

Illustrator: murakaruki

Label: MF Bunko J

Release Date: 25 February 2021

My Score: 2/5

Apparently, this is the last volume of the series. There was still so much that could have been done with the characters but it just didn’t sell well so that’s unfortunate. Anyway, in this volume, Asagiri confesses to Kou, gets rejected because he has Shirahime/Kurohime, reveals that she knows about the existence of the kihei brides, and goes missing, with the implication that she could hurt herself.

This volume was really rushed and really boring. There’s a bunch of concepts and plot points shoved in that are resolved quickly with little expansion and I just don’t care about Asagiri. She’s barely in the first two volumes and I just wasn’t convinced in her friendship with Kou that him really wanting to rescue her didn’t feel that natural. Even as a yandere, she’s not charming at all. I don’t care about her well-being so the main plot of the volume is just a slog to get through. Also, the Hikami/Mirei romance subplot continues in this volume and I hate it.

I have to be honest: I think I enjoyed the short stories featuring the characters that Ayasato and murakaruki put up on Twitter more than the series itself. I think the series biggest issue is that it focuses on Kou instead of any of the far more interesting side characters. Kou’s just not a good protagonist and it sucks that we’re stuck with him thoughout this story. I feel like this series could have gotten good later on if it explored the other characters but this is the last volume and it’s a really disappointing one and now it’s just a series with unfulfilled potential.

The only reason I didn’t rate this a 1 is because I enjoy Ayasato’s prose and I still like the side characters enough that they were enjoyable.

While this series was really disappointing, I’ll still be reading whatever Ayasato comes out with next in the hopes that it will replace the Isekai Goumon Hime shaped hole in my heart.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Shuuen no Hanayome 2

Author: Keishi Ayasato

Illustrator: murakaruki

Label: MF Bunko J

Release Date: 20 September 2020

My Score: 4/5

Spoiler Warning: While I won’t be spoiling THIS volume, I will be talking about late plot twists from volume 1 and some of them are big enough to warrant a warning.

After the events of last volume, Kurohime has transferred into the class but no one else knows that she is really a version of Shirahime that went through some trauma. She settles into their relationship as Kou’s second bride and it’s cute. Really, if it wasn’t for Shirahime and Kurohime being technically the same person, I’d say that this has the potential to be good poly rep. Meanwhile, the cultural festival is coming up at the school and the class decides to do a haunted house. The story really starts when, at the haunted house, Kou is reunited with Asagiri, his classmate from before he met Shirahime, and, when he tells her that Shirahime and Kurohime are basically his fiancees, she stabs him. He manages to rewind time before he dies but he has no idea why she would kill him.

Once again, Ayasato just really knows how to get me interested in a story and characters and the story was as interesting as I expect from them. I also really liked the conclusion to the climax of the volume. Kou has to make a decision in this volume and what he chooses makes him a much more interesting and compelling character, even if I still don’t think highly of him as a protagonist. Just like with the first volume, Kou’s relationships with the other characters are so sweet and I loved them.

I said last volume that Class Mum Hikami was my favourite character but Kurohime surpassed him in this volume. She’s just so freaking cute and I loved seeing her trying to fit into the pre-established relationship between Kou and Shirahime. She tries to keep her distance because she doesn’t want to make Shirahime feel like she’s being replaced but they’re both so welcoming anyway and seeing Shirahime encourage the two of them to bond was a highlight of the volume for me.

My complaints for this volume are largely the same ones I had in my volume 1 review: Kou is not that great of a protagonist and the other characters don’t get focused on enough to be as truly interesting and complex as I want them to be. I also found that the main plot in this volume kind of felt like it was going around in circles for a while and, while the volume was interesting overall, I’m not sure that the premise justified an entire volume dedicated to it. There was also a sub-plot involving Hikami and Mirei that just felt unnecesarry to me. I still rated it 4/5 stars because the plot was interesting and I had fun with it and the creepy and mysterious atmosphere was so well created.

I will be reading the 3rd volume but I do hope this series goes on to become more of an ensemble story and we get focus volume for all of the other characters because they have so much potential that it feels like a waste to spend all of the volumes on Kou. I’m also a bit worried about where the series is going to take Asagiri. The epilogue to this volume has me feeling a bit anxious about that.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

March 2021

(Series: Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut | Artist: Kasuga Ayumu)

No. of Reviews: 16

Digimon Adventure: - This has been a surprising joy ever since Tailmon appeared. I tried not to be too optimistic at first but the Tailmon and Hikari episodes were both adorable and interesting and the episodes focusing on the non-Taichi characters were really entertaining as well. By the end of episode 38 I was even thinking “you know, a new digivolution would be deserved here” which is far more than I can say for any of the episodes in the Ultimate digivolution arc.

Laid-back Camp 2 - Easily my AOTS and the only anime that I was actively excited to watch each week. It was just so calming and entertaining and satisfied me every week.

LasDan - There were some good gags in this but I feel pretty meh about it overall. I liked the first and last arcs well enough but the middle was boring and I didn’t have any attachment to the characters. Also not pleased by the use of a villainous queer character. I didn’t hate it but I doubt I’ll be reading the light novels any time soon.

Log Horizon 3 - Log Horizon arcs tend to be pretty hit-or-miss for me and the first arc of season 3 was a definite miss. I really liked the Krusty episodes and I wish that had gotten more screen time instead of being so rushed. I’m pretty mixed on the 3rd arc as well so far. I’m interested in the raid stuff but I could do without any useless Minori love triangle drama.

Otherside Picnic - While there were certainly some episodes that I didn’t care for, I feel mostly good about this adaptation overall. They didn’t have the budget to completely convey the creepiness of everything that Sorawo and Toriko covered. A good eample of this is the Walking Gallows in episode 5 where you can’t really tell visiually that there are corpses hanging underneath so it’s not as creepy as it should be and I’m sure that TV content guidelines didn’t help in that case. The monsters that were 2D animated fair better, the Kankandara in the last episode being a highlight for me. While I wasn’t delighted by the anime original episodes, I do want to note that they were written by Iori Miyazawa themself which helps them feel more natural. I think the anime could have been better if it had received a better budget but I enjoyed it in the end and I particularly liked the last episode.

Yashahime - This went downhill fast. While first half wasn’t anything amazing, it still had it’s episodes that were interesting enough but the second half has had so many awfully executed episodes. With a few exceptions, the episodes are just so bad that if it wasn’t for my stubborness I would have dropped it long ago. I truly lost hope in the series at episode 21 in which the romance between Towa and Riku was introduced and it makes no sense and they lack any chemistry and it’s so unnecessary and I hate it, especially since one of the reasons why I liked the first half despite it’s shortcomings was because of the lack of romance. There are still a couple of scenes that I liked but I was so annoyed by the second half of this season. I likely won’t be watching the second season unless I hear of a big improvement.

Honestly, this season, I ended up looking forward to the days where I didn’t have any new episodes to watch more than the days that I did (the exceptions being Digimon Advanture: and Laid-back Camp 2 days) so next season I’m thinking I’ll limit myself to sequels/spin-offs for a while. I’ll definitely be watching SSSS.Dynazenon, and hopefully Zombieland Saga Revenge, depending on how it gets streamed, and then maybe I’ll pick up one more show if I hear good things about it.

List of Reviews:

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut 7

YouZitsu 2

Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru 1

[Manga] Hamefura: Zettai Zetsumei! Hametsu Sunzen-hen 2

Eris no Seihai 2

Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road 5

Shuuen no Hanayome 3

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut 8

Eris no Seihai 3

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut 9

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut 10

Honzuki no Gekokujou 2

Honzuki no Gekokujou 3

Hamefura 10

Sword Art Online Progressive 7

Urasekai Picnic 6

There’s a new volume of Watanare out next month but I’m undecided as to whether I’m going to read it or not. I am pretty curious about Ajisai but I don’t know if I can put up with Mai’s shit.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

January 2021

(Series: Urasekai Picnic | Artist: Shirakaba)

No. of Reviews: 21

Just going to do a brief summary of what I’m watching this season because I’m still unsure about some of the shows I’m watching. Out of the new shows, I picked up LasDan and Otherside Picnic. Lasdan is pretty funny so far and I love hearing Ai Kayano going overboard with Marie. I wasn’t going to watch Otherside Picnic at first because I’m not a fan of some of the animation choices but I ended up starting it and I do think that it has done a good job of adapting the light novel so far. I’m watching the new seasons of Log Horizon and Laid-Back Camp and it is weird watching Log Horizon and not hearing Database or a nice ED song by Yun*Chi but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I was reading volume 5 of the Laid-Bank Camp manga in between watching episodes 1 & 2 and I can definitely say that I much prefer the anime’s version. It adds a lot and the music and art are so peaceful and relaxing. And I’m continuing with Digimon Adventure: and Yashahime. I actually liked the Pegasmon episode of Digimon, even if a lot of the bonding moments between Patamon and Takeru weren’t really earned. I kind of managed to replace them in my head with the original anime’s version of them and their moments worked really well in that context. Still waiting on Tailmon. Yashahime has had some really questionable moments lately but I still like Muroha and I’m still invested enough in the story to continue so it’s not that bad. Apparently, Cruchyroll isn’t releasing the new Re:Zero episodes for non-premium users yet, at least not in Australia. I’m frustrated but I’m too cheap for premium so I guess I won’t be watching it unless they release it for free users.

I also wanted to talk a bit about my favourite anime of 2020. Top 10 anime: 10. Kaguya-sama?; 9. Brand New Animal; 8. Eizouken; 7. Re:Zero 2; 6. Priconne; 5. BOFURI; 4. Hanako-kun; 3. Railgun T; 2. Hamefura; 1. Sleepy Princess. Sleepy Princess was a perfect comedy anime, and Hamefura was a perfect adaptation of a series that I was already very fond of. Railgun T was so damn entertaining, the action scenes were amazing despite all the delays due to COVID, and it introduced Misaki, who I love enough to be tempted to read Index, even though I know I would be going to go through 30+ volume to get to her first appearance and I don’t have the stamina to binge Index. I know that she’s got a spin-off manga coming out and I may read it, provided it’s not too tied to the Index or Railgun main series. Bit of a tangent but I remember first watching Raildex in 2013-ish and at the time I was really into Index and was bored by most of Railgun, but having rewatched all of the seasons + the movie at the end of last year/start of this year, I’d say it’s definitely the best part of the franchise, anime-wise, and I think that’s mostly down to it being a lot better at “show, don’t tell” than the other entries. The rest of the series that I ranked, I don’t have much justification for aside from them being very fun and enjoyable.

List of Reviews:

Watanare 2

Hataraku Maou-sama! 0

Toradora! 2

Danmachi 14

Vamp! 2

Toradora! 3

Binbou Reijou no Kanchigai Seijouden 2

Urasekai Picnic 2

Vamp! 3

Toradora! 4

Urasekai Picnic 3

Vamp! 4

Toradora Spin-off! 1

Urasekai Picnic 4

Vamp! 5

Toradora! 5

Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou 3

Akuyaku Reijou ni Natta Uchi no Ojou-sama ga Yakuza Reijou datta ken. 1

Urasekai Picnic 5

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 1

Tales of Vesperia: Ryuutsukai no Chinmoku 1

Also did a quick “review” for Ishura 1 on Twitter here.

New volumes of Shuuen no Hanayome, Shoukei Shoujo no Virgin Road and Hamefura next month!

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! 2021

Release Date: 24 November 2020

This is my first time actually buying KonoRano because it’s the first time it’s been available on BookWalker! I can’t help but feel somewhat accompished now that I’ve got my hands on a copy at last. Anyway, for those unfamiliar, KonoRano is a yearly guidebook to light novels intended to get the information out there about series that readers may not have heard about. Votes are collected from collaborators and online voters on the best light novels of the year. There are rankings for bunko (regular light novels), Tankobun (light novels like Overlord or Honzuki no Gekokujou that aren’t technically sold as lns but are definitely ln-adjacent), an overall ranking that combines the two previous rankings, as well as rankings for characters and artists. This year also includes a new ranking that counted only the votes from lady voters, seperate rankings for each age group and a ranking that only includes new series, as well as many other rankings by demographics. There are also some interviews, some recommendations by genre, discussions about recent light novel trends and recommendations and comments from collaborators. I must confess that the collaborator section interested me the most because I’m familiar with several of the bloggers there.

This year, the big winners were Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka and Ishura. I’ve been meaning to check out both books since they came out but haven’t had the chance yet so this will motivate me to do so quicker. The book includes interviews with both authors. Chitose’s author’s interview included some recommendations, which included NANA and Casablanca, among others. Most of the high ranking series this year were romcoms which don’t interest me much but there were plenty of series in the genre-based recommendations that I hadn’t heard of so I have plenty to look into.

My votes (and the ranking they got):

Series:

1. Isekai Goumon Hime (Didn’t rank and I’m super salty about it)

2. Sayonara Isekai, Mata Kite Ashita (#18 in the Bunko category, #20 overall, #9 in the new works category)

3. Overwrite (#20 in the Bunko category, #22 overall, #11 in the new works category)

4. Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road (#79 overall)

5. Hamefura (Didn’t rank in any official category but did rank #21 in a new ranking that only counted votes from lady voters)

I’m surprised Hamefura didn’t rank at all in the overall rankings. I thought the anime would have given it a good boost but apparently not. I’m super salty about Isekai Goumon Hime not ranking at all, given that it’s the last year it’ll be elligible. At least Shuuen no Hanayome ranked in the overall rankings.

Lady Characters: 

Elizabeth (IGH), Nito (Sayomata), Momo (Shokei Shoujo)

Dude Characters:

Kaito (IGH), Keisuke (Sayomata), Yoshi (Overwrite)

None of these characters ranked, unfortunately, but I’m not too surprised, since most of them are newer series.

Artists:

Saki Ukai (#18), Karei, Nimoshi

Karei and Nimoshi aside, Saki Ukai deserves to be more popular. Their art is just so breathtaking and the cover for the last volume IGH is amazing.

If KonoRano 2022 is also available digitally, I will definitely be getting it. I’m glad I can finally support the rankings by buying them.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

October 2020

(Series: Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai | Artist: Kippu)

No. of Reviews: 17

This season is pretty packed and AnimeLab, an Australian anime streaming service which I prefer, actually managed to get most of the shows that I was interested in so I’m watching more shows than normal and there were a few shows that I was planning to watch but ultimately decided to wait until they were finished before watching them so I didn’t overload myself (namely, Adachi to Shimamura and Last Crusade).

Digimon Adventure: I feel like this show is gaslighting me at this point. There keep on being great episodes which get me excited to watch more followed by some really bad ones (ie episode 9, which preludes the ultimate evolution arc, and episode 16, which preludes yet another Omegamon appearance). I should be clear that I have no issues if the reboot just wants to be pure fanservice for existing fans but the reality is that Omegamon just does not work for me as fanservice. I still have some hope for the show but not a whole lot of it at this point. There are two things that I would still like for the reboot to do though: a recreation of the Seraphimon & Holydramon evolution sequence from the Golden Digimentals movie and an early appearance of Ken. I would love it if they either gave Ken a small cameo or even made him the focus of an episode. It could be so interesting if the reboot made it so that the Adventure children met Ken and maybe were even part of what led to the creation of the Digimon Kaiser by rejecting him somehow. I don’t think the series will do either of those things but they are fanservice things that would make me personally happy. I��m mostly just in it for Hikari/Tailmon at this point.

Higurashi: First, a bit of background: I have not read the original sound novel but I have seen the first anime and read all of the main manga and several spin-offs. I have also read the Umineko sound novels and manga adaptations. Higurashi is really a mixed bag for me because sometimes I find that the pacing works really well to build the creepy atmosphere but sometimes I think it takes far too long on the build-up and gets boring before the pay-off happens. So far, I’m enjoying the new anime well enough and I like seeing all the little easter eggs for people who have prior knowledge of the series but I’m still finding the pacing to be too slow. I look forward to seeing what happens with it though and I am enjoying it. The music and voice acting are so good and really help to build the atmosphere the series is going for.

Danmachi 3: tbh, I thought this season would start by adapting Syr’s story from volume 8 to introduce all that stuff with Daedalus Street and some characters that show up later but whatever. I’m enjoying how the anime is adapting this arc, anyway. It’s been a while since I’ve read the arc so I’m not really comparing it to the light novel while I’m watching it but I enjoy how they’re portrayed Wiene. I do wish that they had spent more time building up Wiene’s relationships with the other familia members. I can’t remember if it was actually well done in the anime or if I’m just weak to found family and loved it regardless of development but I felt the anime could have done more to get the watchers to get attached to Wiene quicker.

Yashahime: Backstory time: I read the manga twice, the first time I absolutely loved it and the second time I still liked it and thought it was very engaging but it didn’t have quite the same effect on me. I don’t think I ever watched the anime all the way through but I remember watching some of the Kikyo episodes. It’s hard to say how I’m going to feel about Yashahime, given that we’re still in the introductory episodes but I really like the characters so far, especially Moroha, and I’m intrigued by the story so I’m enjoying it. Great music too.

Wandering Witch: I’m so glad this series is getting the adaptation it deserves. The show looks gorgeous and I especially love all of the backgrounds. It’s just so pretty *_*. I kind of wish they would fuck around with the source material more because so far they just seem to be adapting from volume 1 and one of the advantages of the light novel, I think, is that you can adapt the stories in any order you choose. I feel like they should’ve limited themselves to 3-4 stories per volume. I’m hoping we’ll get the Runaway Bride chapter and Amneshia’s story. I still love the former and I think the latter story would make for a good closing episode for the anime. The girl with horns story would also make for a good conclusion to the anime given the tone of it.

Love Live! NHSIC: I’m not too involved in the Love Live fandom but I did really like the Sunshine anime and I’m a Kanan Matsuura fan. I played the game for a bit but quit after a couple of months because it was taking up too much of my time. I did watch SIP when it aired but I never got around to watching the second season and I barely remember it so I have no stake there. Anyway, you can tell that the show has a ridiculously high budget and I’m surprised at how it feels more like a musical than anything else. I’m enjoying it so far but I’ve no idea whether it’s going to be very memorable for me so we shall see.

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle: This is definitely the funniest show this season and each episode fills me with joy and laughter. Also, I always love things that turn the damsel princess in distress trope on it’s head and this is probably the best twist I’ve seen of it since Galavant.

List of Reviews:

Skill Daidokoro Shoukan wa Sugoi! 2

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho 9

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 1

Only Sense Online 1

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho 10

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 2

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho 11

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 3

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 4

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 5

Shuuen no Hanayome 2

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 6

Overwrite 2: The Fire of Christmas Wars

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 7

Usotsuki Senki, Meikyuu wo Yuku 3

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 8

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai 9

I don’t have any exciting new volumes coming out next month. I must confess that I’ve kind of given up on new releases after going through several bad ones this year that I regret paying for. I’m still buying new releases from authors I already love or new series that I’ve heard are good but I’ve just fell less inclined buy things at full price unless I already know that I like the author. Regardless, I did buy the next volumes of Danmachi, Hataraku Maou-sama and Saekano (finally!) so I shall likely read them next month.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

August 2020

Artist: murakaruki | Series: Shuuen no Hanayome

No. of Reviews: 15

My reading slowed down a bit this month because I’m back to studying at Tafe but there are a couple of more volumes that I read that I didn’t cover on the blog - I talked about Kono Nukumori wo Kimi to Yobunda on Twitter here but Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon was so bad that I didn’t bother writing about it anywhere. Also, I started to read Akuhomare no Otome 2 but I wasn’t really feeling it and Claire was threatened with sexual assault by a new character which really put me off the volume and the series, unfortunately.

In other news, a couple of months ago, I got into BookTube thanks to a friend and that reignited my interest in reading some Western books (read: non-light novels) and then my library opened up again a short time later so I’ve been reading a lot of them this month and, despite all of the shit in 2020, I have to admit that it’s been a great year for books. My favourites so far are Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans, Loveless by Alice Oseman and Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. Raybearer is a African-inspired fantasy book and it has too many cool concepts to really get into here but, while I did wish that certain characters had been developed more, I loved it and I’m really looking forward to reading the second book when it comes out. Loveless is the first book that I’ve read with an aro-ace protagonist and it was so satisfying to finally see that part of my identity represented in a book. While I did find that the book got a bit too dramatic at times and I wanted to see more of Georgia loving herself (most of the book, she’s not entirely happy about her lack of attraction towards other people), I did really resonate with the book and I absolutely loved Georgia’s friendship with Rooney. Euphoria Kids focuses on 3 trans kids and is just about them bonding and there’s very little conflict. I ended up rereading this book about 5 months after I first read it and I do think that we could have had more exploration of the boy (he is called this throughout most of the novel because he doesn’t know his name yet and this side-steps any issues of dead-naming), as well as more explicit characters of colour (there’re 2) but this book still meant a lot to me and it was a perfect fit for my tastes.

List of Reviews:

Shuuen no Hanayome 1

Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Outaishi ni Dekiai Sareru 1

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 12

Akuhomare no Otome to Eiyuusou no Kishi 1

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 13

Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Outaishi ni Dekai Sareru 2

Hataraku Maou-sama! 5

Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road 4

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 14

Hataraku Maou-sama! 6

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 15

Hataraku Maou-sama! 7

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho 4

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 16

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance Elemental Festa

Second volume of Shuuen no Hanayome is out next month! I did also see that there’s a new series by Satoshi Wagahara coming out but I think I’m going to try to catch up more with Hataraku Maou-sama! before I give it a go.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

June 2020

Series: Hataraku Maou-sama! | Artist: 029

No. of Reviews: 24

Favourite volumes of the month: Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag

The only two anime that I watched to the end were Hamefura/Bakarina and the second season of Kaguya-sama. I ended up putting Arte on hold after episode 7 with the intention of picking it back up again later. I was just really annoyed when I realised that they didn’t animate Dacha’s debut chapter as I was really looking forward to that, though I acknoweldge that it isn’t a particularly important chapter, story-wise (though I would argue that it’s important from a thematic perspective). I did end up dropping Wave, Listen to Me but, again, I may pick it up once it’s finished airing (as an aside, I really love the ed song, Pride by Harumi) and Digimon Advenure: went on hiatus due to covid.

I definitely liked the second season of Kaguya-sama more than the first. I laughed more and I enjoyed the new characters. That being said, I still can’t get myself to root for the main couple and I don’t care enough about the characters to be able to get interested in the serious episodes so I still didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, though I had enough fun with it that I would recommend it to romcom fans.

I couldn’t be more satisfied with the Hamefura anime. It adapted everything perfectly and I really enjoyed the anime original content. It definitely does have a lot of the same flaws as the source material but it was really good overall and I’m looking forward to the second season. I’m not a big fan of most of the volumes of the light novel after volume 2 but I trust the anime team to do something with it to make it more enjoyable for me.

Assuming that nothing gets delayed and everything is easily available to me, I’ll be watching the new seasons of Oregairu, Re:Zero and SAO next season.

List of Reviews:

Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei 2

Otaria 7

Sword Art Online 24: Unital Ring 3

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 2

Heroine na Imouto, Akuyaku na Watashi 1

Baccano! 1931 Another Junk Railroad

Sword Art Online Progressive 5

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 3

Genjuu Chosain 2

Hataraku Maou-sama! 2

Otaria 8

Sword Art Online Progressive 6

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Logical Witch no Yumo wo Minai

Heroine na Imouto, Akuyaku na Watashi 2

Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 4

Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Katte Mimashita 2

Hataraku Maou-sama! 3

Otaria 9

Heroine na Imouto, Akuyaku na Watashi 3

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai

Baccano! 1933-Summer: man in the killer

MAMA

Seireitsukai no Blade Dance 5

There are two new Ayasato Keishi series starting next month: Shuuen no Hanayome and Majou no Itoshi ko and I will definitely be getting them both. There are another couple of new series that have been advertised as yuri so I will likely be checking them out as well. They are called Joshikousei Doushi ga Mata Koi ni Ochirukamoshirenai Hanashi and Kono Mekumori wo Kimi to Yobunda (this one is illustrated by Nakatani Nio, who is the mangaka behind Yagate Kimi ni naru (Bloom Into You)).

I’ve given it some thought and I think, next month, I will be starting to add scores to my review. I think it would be a more effective tagging system than just “positive review” and “negative review” because sometimes I fall in the middle and I think it will give me a bit more to talk about because I can talk about why I rated it a certain way. Also, I’m scoring them on BookWalker anyway so I might as well.