Archive for the Light Novel Category


Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3

December 24th, 2020

Capping this weird, and horrible and amazing year off is the volume that I have been waiting for since April, when I raved about the Japanese edition. At last I can share with you, the joyousness of Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3!

Saeki Sayaka, a girl who tends overthink most things, is confronted by a situation that requires faith in the future.

I almost don’t want to tell you anything about it, because I want you to enjoy the whole thing on your own, without my prompts. I’m also tempted to just quote huge chunks of my initial review at you, since the things I loved about the book in Japanese hold up beautifully in English, thanks to the deft translation by Jan Cash and Vincent Castaneda and Jenny McKeon’s adaptation. They captured Sayaka’s cool, reflective, outside voice and the increasing turmoil inside her head beautifully.

The humor fit perfectly, even the one thing I *felt* but wasn’t entirely sure was real, was communicated well. Everything here is as polished as it needed to be, with the result that I picked this long-waited volume up after dinner and did not put it down until I had finished it.

The Regarding Saeki Sayaka series was an unexpected bonus for this reader of Bloom Into You. Sayaka was the reason I kept tuning in. This novel reminded us again of the importance of Miyako as an older role model for Sayaka. How much angst and loneliness might she have to struggle with without someone to just talk to? Instead, this series had carefully, cleanly laid the path out for us to see Sayaka become a person who understands she likes women and feels neither shame nor confusion about it. Having cleared the way of negativity, we are allowed to watch Sayaka become interested in someone for their own sake, for the first time in her life. And, so, we can fully enjoy that moment, alone in her room, when Sayaka says, “I have a girlfriend.” out loud, to her own amazement. ^_^

I tip my hat to Hitoma Iruma whose work here – which included a brief conversation about gaydar, as well – is some of the best they’ve done.  I am so very much looking forward to Iruma and Nakatani’s next collaboration. With this book, Bloom Into You is over, but we have End Blue (エンドブルー) to look forward to.  They really seemed to bring out the best in each other, and here we are, able to reap the benefits. Even if you weren’t a huge Bloom Into You fan, I recommend this LN series.

My sincerest thanks to the folks at Seven Seas for their work on this series. Clay Garderner’s interior design was lovely, Nicky Lam’s cover, as well. And thank you Seven Seas for crediting *everyone* who worked on the book. It’s a pleasure to see the team get their due.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 9
Character – 10
Service – 3
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

Spending time watching Sayaka bloom into herself is absolutely worth your time.





Girls Love of the Dead, Shi ga Futari wo Waka..tanai?, Volume 1 (ガールズラブ・オブ・ザ・デッド〈死がふたりを分か……たない？〉)

October 15th, 2020

It’s October, which means all my friends are finding virtual ways to celebrate Halloween. I’ve decided to join in with Ooooohhhh~~~kazu on Twitter. Every day I’m sharing a spoooooky review from the last 20 years of Okazu, starring witches and vampires and ghouls of all kinds. It’s not in order, because hashtags and threads are smart and I am not. Here’s a link to a Twitter search. ^_^

While I was collecting up 31 days of creepy reviews, I came across a news item I had bookmarked. Because of Ameko Kaeruda’s work we’ve talked a lot about Syosetsuka ni Narou, the free website for web novelists that has spawned a couple of new faves. But there’s also Yomuco, a by-the-chapter service where a number of novelists have paired up with well-known artists to created serialized-for-pay webnovels. Yomuco webnovels are also available on Global Bookwalker and Amazon JP Kindle. There are a ton of Yuri stories on Yomuco and I’ve been meaning to get to reading some for a long time.

Well, here I am reviewing a jaunty seasonal little story called Girls Love of the Dead, Shi ga Futari wo Waka..tanai?, (ガールズラブ・オブ・ザ・デッド <死がふたりを分か……たない？>) written by  Hoshii Nanao, with illustrations by Morishima Akiko.

The story begins on a dark and moonlit night, as Mitsuki decides she must leave her life behind…her beloved Rin is gone from this world and there’s nothing to live for. So she has come to this secluded old school building to die. Only, for a secluded place, it’s awfully full of…zombies!

Chased by zombies, Mitsuki finds herself in the art room, where she paints herself to look like a zombie. And so, Mitsuki finds herself in zombie school…sitting next to none other than her late lover Rin! Rin doesn’t remember Mitsuki, but that’s okay…Mitsuki says we have all the time in the world (since Rin is dead) but no, Rin only has 6 months of undead existence before her life force will dissipate! Mitsuki has to find out what Rin wanted to say to her before that or she will never know.

There’s a mystery in the middle of all the screamers. Rin was on swim team, so how was it even possible that she drowned and was never found? And who is the girl whose eye keeps rolling out? And why is there a school for zombies at all?!?

Tune in to Volume 2 to find out, because as of now, I have no idea. ^_^

This novel is very much formatted to be read on a phone screen, so is much like a VN, with about 3-4 of text lines per screen. Morsihima-sensei’s art is both fabulous and hilarious. For some reason all the zombies are blonde with golden eyes, which provide a splash of color in an otherwise gloom- and death- filled story. A cute death- and gloom- filled story, with adorable dismemberment and moe eyeballs rolling across the room. What more could you ask?

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7 Goofy, might still be great
Characters – 7 Rin’s a bit deadpan, (hah)
Service – I don’t even know how to score this….
Yuri – 7 Well, yes, dammit. Even if they are a inter-biological couple.

Overall – 8

If you’re into horror Yuri, as befits the season, and want a little something that isn’t too challenging, is good for practicing reading, I think there’s a good case for webnovels generally, and Girls Love of the Dead, ‘Til Death Do Us Part…Not?, one specifically. ^_^





A Lily Blooms in Another World

October 12th, 2020

The land of Pajan, we’ve learned, has a real problem. Women are forced to do more, for less, and given very little respect for it. In Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! powerful and skilled women in the villages are dismissed and demeaned because they are women, while mediocre men are given rank and power they do not deserve. In A Lily Blooms in Another World, we learn that life is not much better for women among the nobility.

“I’m Still Talking.”

Miyako Florence is the daughter of the noble Florence family, who has just learned that her engagement to the powerful Klaus Reinhardt has been canceled. Her reaction is the very opposite of unhappy, as she ecstatically runs off to use her new-found freedom and confess her love to the reason she’s here in Ode in the first place, the lovely, talented Fuuka Hamilton.  Miyako has a secret that Fuuka can’t possibly know…she not from the capital…she’s not even from this world. Another unappreciated and overworked corporate drone from our world, Miyako has found herself in the world of her favorite game and…she’s ready to romance the villainess, Fuuka Hamilton.

Fuuka has good reason to want to escape her circumstances, but being seduced away by a rival was not among them. Nonetheless, she gives Miyako 2 weeks, 14 days to convince her to say that she’s happy.

It is obvious to us that they are almost instantly happier in the country together than they ever were in the capital, with oppressive rules that treat them as not much more than fodder for trade negotiations. But it will take a lot more than just a country idyll to convince Fuuka that there are alternatives to a toxic system that poisons men against women, and women against each other.

“Nevertheless, she persisted”

This Light Novel is so adorable and fluffy and sweet, with a cute magical creature and bathing and cooking, that you might be tempted to not notice the gigantic hammer that crushes up the patriarchy, and all the little razorsblades that slice it into ribbons as you read. And that’s okay. A Lily Blooms in Another World isn’t a treatise, it’s a grin-making little Yuri romance. A grin-making Yuri romance that wields a powerful message nonetheless: There is power is recognizing and appreciating what women are capable of.There is power in love.

“Sisterhood is powerful”

As I noted in my review of the Japanese webnovel back in July of this year, “In the way that Sexiled creates a female revenge scenario in which the man is merely made to be seen as foolish as he actually is, and the women’s skills and power appreciated for what they actually are…in Isekai ni Saku ha Yuri no Hana the woman is finally seen and appreciated for what she can and does do. In a lot of ways, I found this story, as gobsmackingly silly as it is, to be more touching and personal.”

Back in July I had one small, request. I hoped that the art for the Light Novel would be better than the cover image…which, honestly, makes the leads look 10 years old. Well, I am very pleased to report that the teenagers look like teenagers in the final art. ^_^ And, although I would have gladly traded Miyako’s fantasy image for one of Maria coming home…or would it kill anyone to illustrate the epic climax?…I’ll take what I can get.

I know I am among legions this time as I was with I’m in Love with the Villainess, but I do highly recommend A Lily Blooms in Another World, for a spoonful of sweet Yuri sugar wrapped around a bitter pill so many women are still being forced to swallow.

Top marks to translator Tom Harris, who pretty much nailed the tone of voice and all the goofinesses in the dialogue, especially that of magical creature Umi. And thanks to the entire team at J-Novel Club for bringing us another great read!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2
Yuri – 9
LGBTQ – Yes. Wait for it.

Overall – 9

In 2020, Kaeruda’s stories are doing something extraordinary – they are fun, romantic, epic and meaningful all at the same time, without anything having to be sacrificed to make anything else work.

The Yuricon Store link leads to the Bookwalker Global version of this book, but it is also available on Amazon Kindle  and other sites where J-Novel Club sells their books.





I’m in Love With the Villainess, Light Novel Volume 1

September 17th, 2020

I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 1, written by Inori, illustrated by Hanagata, out from Seven Seas, was an extraordinary read. I mean that in the most positive way. This book was surprising in ways I would never have imagined it to be, in ways that blew me away.

Oohashi Rei, an adult who has always loved games, finds herself waking in the world of Revolution, her favorite otome game. Armed with encyclopedic knowledge of the world of Revolution, and skills given to the PC, Rei, now known as Rae Taylor, sets out to do the one thing she wants most….to romance the villainess, Claire François.

From the beginning, there were little touches that had me intrigued. For instance, the novel lacks Truck-kun. No one dies. Rei simply wakes up in the game as Rae.  Although Rae is a teenager, she has not lost her adult perspective and there are decisions or commentary we get from her which are decidedly mature. About a third of the way through the story, Rae discusses something with us, the reader, and I just sat back and said, “huh.” No child thinks that way. It was about that moment, I realized I was reading something completely different.

In my review of ROLL OVER AND DIE, I said, “The premise makes it completely possible to kill your brain cells reading [the violent scenes] and not feel much. In that, I think the author does the readership a disservice.” and I’ve called My Next Life As A Villainess, “lazy writing.” These are not capricious comments. I believe in world- and character-building being key elements in making an excellent story. I have been a voracious reader since I was a child, I’m usually reading 6-8 things at once. I was a comparative literature major in college. I care about the way writers write as a reader and as a writer. I expect that world-building be done with a thoroughness that provides the story a solid three-dimensional base, even if most of the details don’t apply to this story specifically. Overwhelmingly, light novels do not do this and isekai (or isekai-adjacent) LNs tend to rely on tropes and handwaves to skip the relevant world- and character-building. I’m in Love With the Villainess does the work.

And then you hit a moment when Misha, Rae’s best friend, roommate and foil, turns to Rae and asks, “Are you gay?”…and the characters have a frank discussion about sexuality. Rae analyzes her experiences and feelings and we watch her do so – in so many words – then watch her reach an unusual conclusion, given that this is a webnovel.

But wait, there’s more. This little web novel, this penny-candy confectionery of literary effort, doesn’t stop there. There will be discussions of abuse of authority, and unfair sentencing, of political protests and economic inequality. And, they will make sense in the context of the story. The otome game is called Revolution, after all. ^_^

While all of this world-building is happening, Rae is cheerfully teasing Clare into bullying her, and enjoying every second of it. Never for a second does Rae stop enjoying herself. The more we learn about Rae, the more we come to learn about Oohashi Rei, who seems like a decent person, one we might be able to be friends with.

The only complaint I sincerely have is that there is a scene (I refuse to spoil) that ought to have been illustrated but was not. That is the only negative for this book. Thankfully…there is a manga! Yesterday I mentioned that I’m reading the manga for this series as it runs in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. There are some small differences in functionality, with each medium providing positive and negative qualities. We have not yet reached that specific scene in the manga, but I fervently pray for a few good screencaps. This is where the manga will definitely provide a benefit. On the other side, the novel format allows Rae more internal monologue and she is, IMHO, more relatable as a result.

Absolutely shout-out to Jenn Yamazaki and Nibedita Sen for the translation and adaptation here. Some of the translation lines were in and of themselves, sublime. I’ve never thrilled so much at the use of “There it was.” George Panella’s logo also gets a tip of the hat from me. Everyone at Seven Seas really pulled out the stops here for what is definitely, positively going to be one of my Top Ten Yuri of the Year. No question, this is the series to beat right now.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Adequate, but once again fails completely to illustrate anything significant or interesting
Story – 9 Takes the banal set-up and flies
Characters – 10
Yuri – 7 one-sided in this volume, but…
LGBTQ – Yes!
Service – 2 Implied and some other stuff

Overall – 9

Author Inori thanks their partner in the author’s note. That might have something to do with that discussion of sexuality.

I’m in Love With the Villainess is available digitally on Kindle and Bookwalker Global next week, in print at the end of November.

The novel series, Watashi no Oshi ha Akujyaku Reijou! (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is available in full in Japanese on webnovel site Syoetsu ni Narou!. Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 are available in Japanese on JP Kindle. The covers for V2 and V3 are full of spoilery goodness.

Along with Yagate Kimi ni Naru Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite, Volume 3,  which will make it over here as Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3, in December, Yuri Light Novels got a lot gayer in 2020. ^_^

Many thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy.





My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Volume 3

September 14th, 2020

There is no one more surprised than I am that I’m here reviewing My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3 he Light Novel. Why? Because the Yuri in this series is 100% pure queerbaiting, written more lazily than one can countenance…and yet, it’s pretty enjoyable anyway. So here we are. ^_^

After Volume 2 and after the finale of the anime, Katarina is still in Magic Academy with her friends. Although Nicol has graduated, Sophia, Mary and Maria, Alan and Jeord are all at Katarina’s side to celebrate the school festival. The first half of the book is a description of a pop-up gourmet food and high-end goods town that passes as this absurdly weathly nobles’ school “festival.”

We meet Alan and Jeord’s older brothers…and their wives, which is going to clearly mean something at some point, because everything and everyone in this series is a gun on the wall. Katarina, despite her inability to remember the lines, is roped into playing an evil stepsister in Cinderella, so she draws on her memory of evil Katarina from the game and becomes a star actress. And then, she’s kidnapped.

I call the series “queerbait,” because while Katarina does go on at length about how charming and beautiful Maria is and how, if she had been a man, she’d have already asked her to marry her, and Maria’s machinations in order to stay near Katarina…and of course Mary’s open desire for Katarina…it’s only ever the men who get a kiss. I consider the writing lazy because every chapter’s dialogue, once written, can be used whole for the next, necessitating only rewrites for perspective. The most time-consuming part of the writing would be devising means by which Katarina explains away obvious, normal  behaviors through ridiculously convoluted contrivances.  These qualities might surely be flaws if this series were not obviously brainless fun from the get-go. But it is brainless fun, so one enjoys the obvious queerbaiting and takes to Pixiv to find art that does not make one wish to scream.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Not bad, per se, but not relevant either
Characters – 10
Story – 7
Yuri – 5
Service – 0

Overall – 9

I’m in desperate need of entertainment that requires no thinking right now, so this volume totally hit the mark. 
I purchased this on Bookwalker Global, but it is also available in print and on Kindle from J-Novel Club.

I adore the cover of this volume, because we finally get to see the Villainess Katarina.