Archive for the Series Category


I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 5

November 14th, 2022

I have already read, enjoyed and reviewed this volume twice previously. The first time in Japanese and the second time in digital format, because I did not want to wait for the print edition. Now, at last, I have the print edition in English, from Seven Seas of I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 5.

Why did I read it again? Because as much as I love digital books for their convenience and accessibility, I find that I actually do read print differently. My eyes tire at a faster rate when I read text on paper than words on a screen, so a print book is a chance for me to slow down, take time with the words, the emotions, the feel of the story, rather than rushing through it for the content of the story.

In this final volume of the Demon Queen arc, we learn the Truth of The World. So many of the fragments we have been told suddenly make sense.  What was at first a grand, epic, high-fantasy tale, has become something far more complex…and far more interesting because of it.

When I read this book this first time, I reviewed it thusly, “What if you had the chance to remake the entire world in order to save the person you love…and learned that the world was never what it seemed?”

And when I read this series the second time, I said, “Stories in which communities come together to build a better tomorrow. The fact that the leaders of this particular community are queer women is delicious icing on this sweet and satisfying narrative cake.”

In between these two things is a fascinatingly complex series of connections that use everything we have learned in the first 4 volumes, but almost without exception, use them in ways we could not have expected. Things that seemed like they might have become a whole side quest on their own are resolved almost offhandedly, but only to allow space for something far more interesting and relevant. In the end, this is a series about how people form relationships and how complicated it is to make space in the world for those relationships to thrive.

Ratings:

Art – 9 hanagata presents characters as cute and moe, but the art is visibly improved from the first volume
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Service – Very little, for perfectly good reasons
Yuri – 10
Queer – 10

Overall – 10

The worst thing about this series is that it ends. It had nerve making us care so much about fictitious characters and situations. Luckily for the ILTV fandom our enthusiasm has made the series more popular now than ever. If you’d like to lend a hand, drop into the voting for the “Next Light Novel Award” which will begin at 13:00 JT on November 16th and give your vote to inori-sensei’s work – the LNs could use a little love in Japan.

Thanks to the Seven Seas team, and especially to translator Keven Ishizaka for making this book very readable.

 





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-)

November 10th, 2022

As we all wait breathlessly for the formal announcement of an anime for I’m in Love With the Villainess, today I am looking at the Japanese print edition of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-). As a reminder, this series came out in print in English before it made it to print in Japan. So the edition you have read is the English translation of the webnovel which was put out digitally by GL Bunko. The series was licensed for print by Ichijinsha. Volume 1 of the JP print edition was reviewed here on Okazu last spring.

This will make the third time I have read this volume, having read it in the GL Bunko novel and English language editions. Because this is a new, deluxe version, with extra stories that have been written since the webnovel was initially licensed, there was quite a bit of new material tucked in between things with which we are already familiar.

There are several key elements to this content, even aside from the new content.  Lily becomes a major player on the board and we eventually learn several secrets regarding the Royal Family and their advisors. Rae explains her former life and tragic first love to her friends. Claire’s class consciousness is awakened when they visit Rae’s hometown. Manaria arrives and forces Rae and Claire’s relationship to change during the Scales of Love arc, which coincidentally completed in the December issue of Comic Yuri Hime as grandly as I had hoped. ^_^

So while the Yuri goes up significantly, with the addition of Manaria and her boyish charm, as well as the Love Scales, the LGBTQ rating stays high with open discussion of complicated queer lives, once again.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Still portraits of the people rather than the scenes.
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 10
LGBTQ –10
Service – Rae’s obsession about Claire shifts more to her moods than her body, but there’s still some body commentary, Let’s still say 2

Overall – 9

The board is set now for what is to come. In Volume 3, what is to come will be…revolution.





Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

October 10th, 2022

In space, capitalism still sucks. And, with the addition of weaponized armored robots, it looks a lot like war. In a world where different corporate concerns are literally fighting for control of market share, a family is torn apart, but not before a young child bonds with her mother’s mobile suit in a way that no one else can attain. Now, 14 years later, Suletta Mercury has come to Asticassia School of Technology to train as a pilot, only to find herself in a series that was brilliantly summarized by Kat Callahan as “Revolutionary Mobile Suitena.” ^_^

At Asticassia, Suletta functions both as a blithering idiot-type protagonist and a True Hero TM type protagonist. She finds herself in the middle of a duel to protect a girl she doesn’t know and, as a consequence of winning the duel, is “engaged” to the girl, one Miorine Rembran, who lives in a small greenhouse on campus. By now, you’ve probably cottoned on to the fact that Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is honestly, in some key ways, Utena in Space.

There’s no doubt, from the credits to the character named Chu-Chu, (with a mouse-ear like hairstyle) and, of course, the duels for Miorine, this homage is deliberate and not especially subtle.

But this is not Utena, it is Gundam, which has plenty of its own references. Also, interestingly, it may be Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Suletta’s Gundam is named Aerial and the head of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Company, Lady Prospera is a pretty strong nod in that direction. Prospera is also this season’s Char Aznable-helmet wearing character, because if we don’t have one of those is it really a Gundam? ^_^

As many people have pointed out, Miorine is not at all a passive Anthy. She’s actively seeking to effect change and it seems likely that she’ll be a key piece to overturning her father’s influence. Suletta has a normal sense of what is right and wrong, and she can see that there’s a lot of wrong stuff going on. They may be very good for each other. One hopes so. Guel Jeturk is already our Saionji character and we can see hints of the rest of the student council, at least in part. I sincerely dislike the character designs, and the school uniform, but that’s fine, it’s unimportant.

So this season is carrying quite a heavy load of symbolism and imagery in the first few episodes.  But don’t be deceived, this is still a Gundam and is therefore full of politics and business that have a tenuous relationship to how those things work in real life. If it did, Miorine’s father, Delling Rembrand, would have been removed by the rest of the board long ago. Corporate extortion is one thing, but having to listen to the shouting is not. Those 30 other board members could just pool shares and bounce his ass. He’ll be a drag as a big boss.

And then there are the Gundam themselves. Aerial takes on the heroic white/red/blue and yellow “main Gundam of this series”* design, with unrealistic and very cool transforming weaponry. I am a huge sucker for transforming weaponry, apparently. Honestly, the Gundam battles are among the best parts of the series thus far. I’m glad, too, because they’ve had decades to get that right and it would have been depressing if they weren’t.

I have no idea how much of or how long, this series will be wearing Utena cosplay, plot-wise, but I’m hoping that it sheds it and movse on to a powerful story of its own. I’ve only seen a few Gundam series but one that makes strong anti-war and anti-capitalism statements would be welcome, although I wouldn’t bet on that this time. At least we have a female lead and a couple right from the beginning…let’s see what they do with that.

Ratings:

Art – Good on tech, less good on people, let’s give it a 6
Story – Well, since at the moment it’s 3 series trying to figure out who’s boss, also a 6
Characters – Other than Delling, who is stupidly unlikable, I’ll go 7 and hope some of them go up in score
Service – Erm, not really, but I don’t know if I should be reassured or not
Yuri – Again, erm. It’s Utena, but we’re at the beginning and who knows what will develop. Say….2 for the homage.

Overall – A strong 7, with loads of room to get amazing…or not. Guess we’ll find out!

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is streaming on Crunchyroll.

* I know every Gundam is different and fans could tell me in great detail why. They mostly look the same to me, but I feel that way about cars and planes and other forms of transportation, too. Feel free to detail your feelings about Aerial in the comments. ^_^





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Manga, Volume 4 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

September 15th, 2022

Grab a hankie, it’s time to read, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 4 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) In this pivotal issue, the Commoner Movement arc develops quickly and comes to a climax, one that specifically affects Claire. Not only is she a noble, and thus stands in opposition to the commoners, but the collateral damage of this arc will damage her, personally. And, while the commoner’s movement is quelled, we are given to understand that it was also covering up a larger plot, one that will engulf everyone in the cast.

This is the volume where everything, all of the goofy light-hearted comedic moments, fall away and what remains is social justice withheld, love perverted into betrayal and a new, unpredictable, danger. We finally meet Salas, the King’s right-hand man, a key player in the oncoming storm. I mention him because it is often stated how attractive he is in the novels – in fact, without him being attractive, his character fails to make sense…so I was really interested in seeing how he was portrayed. Not at all coincidentally, we also meet Lily, the nun, who also become a major player in the narrative, for the first time.  I believe now all the primary pieces are on the board. The game begins with a huge loss. If you’ve read the novels, you know how huge a blow it will be for Claire, and as the end of the volume comes with a letter from Susse, what that means to Rei having to battle for her.

That’s about all I can say without spoiling anything in this highly emotional and action-packed volume. Aonoshimo-sensei’s art is really just fantastic. Everything, from Salas’ cold beauty to Relaire’s adorable jiggles, is just so good. inori-sensei’s characters come alive in these manga volumes. I hope this series can continue through to the final LN volume, because so many reasons! Nur, the dance, the *wedding*, Dorothea, the Demon Queen, that ending. Let’s all keep telling Ichijinsha how much we love this manga series!

Now that we’re past this volume, I can set aside the handkerchief and get ready for the coming of butchy Manaria-sama, and Rei’s greatest trial for Clarie’s love – until the next one. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6, since it’s not the focus. But it soon will be.
Service – Rei in that outfit at the end is definitely service. Hope we get a standee of those looks.

Overall – 9

I am reading the exact same same scene in this month’s Comic Yuri Hime and in Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 , so that’s kind of fun, getting the scene described, then seeing it drawn.

Volume 3 of I’m in Love With the Villainess manga, in English will be hitting shelves this month!





Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Deluxe Edition, Volume 1

September 12th, 2022

After climate change begins to flood coastal cities and the remaining human population grows smaller, what will become of us? In Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Volume 1 by Hitoshi Ashinano – a series I have loved for many decades, – the end is inevitable, but gentle.

Alpha is an android. She’s a pretty advanced android, because not only does she look human, she cares about things like good coffee and beauty and can taste and cry. Alpha runs a coffee shop in what used to be Musashino City, and is now a small, sparsely populated area where the waving grass is slowly reclaiming roads.

In the pages of this series, we will be asked to experience things both common and fantastic from the perspective of someone who is always open to being moved by those things. Nothing happens in this series, but it often happens in the most breathtakingly beautiful ways.

Among the people we meet in Volume 1, is Kokone, another android . She is both more human, in that she can consume animal products and  also less, in that she worries quite a bit about fitting in with the humans she meets. Alpha will change her world, merely by being Alpha.

This deluxe edition is quite beautiful with color pages and color artbook images.  Yes, I have the artbook. ^_^ I also love the music from the Drama CDs and the stunning animation of the anime, which I would love to see be re-licensed, just for the beauty of the final scene over Yokohama.  I can’t lie – I’m with Kokone and find just staring at Alpha to be utterly entrancing.

The world in which this series is placed is so familiar and yet has elements of both fantasy and science fiction that make one question one’s own sense of reality. Shopping and fireworks and coffee…but also a giant ship shaped like a bird and a wild nature spirit and androids delivering packages… it can be our world, but would we want that? What will have to happen for us to have it?

The dialogue is simple, the scenarios are wholly about experiencing and feeling. There is no plot here. Just have a seat and a cup of coffee and watch the grass. At the end of the world, that’s all that’s left, anyway.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – A bit
Yuri – A little more than a bit, Kokone becomes infatuated, as we do, with Alpha

Overall – 9

My only criticism is that the word “android” is repeatedly translated as “robot.” As a science fiction fan, I don’t understand this choice at all. It is clearly “android” in katakana in the Japanese and the word android has been a word in the English language since 1837, as it happens. It simply makes no sense at all to translate this as robot.

UPDATE: I was mistaken about all of this. CW kindly informed me that it indeed “robot.” My memory was incorrect.  The translator was 100% correct. 

This one quibble aside, I cannot believe I am getting to read this series in English! Thank you to everyone at Seven Seas for such a beautiful volume for this poignantly beautiful series.