I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 5

May 3rd, 2024

Two women, one with long blonde hair, one with medium length dark brown hair, wearing lab coats, hold hands and smile gently into each other's eyes, while sparks of lightening flash behind them.In I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 5, Rae, Claire, the main cast and we, the listeners, learn the “Truth of the World,” and it is not anything we could have expected.

But, first, the combined power of Rae and Claire and their children, Aleah and May, will unlock powerful magic, will complete a coup, and remake the world entirely…. and then they will take on the three Archdemons and finally the powerful Demon Queen herself.

And we will marvel as this fantasy isekai turns into something else, entirely.

And, then, they will all go home to live, one presumes, happily every after.

This final volume of inori’s epic fantasy series pulls in a lot of the random loose ends that had been strewn about the narrative. Why, for instance, does Rae keep running into people with her exact face? Why does magic work the way it does? Why does the Demon Queen want to destroy humanity? All these questions will be answered. If you have not yet read the ending, I expect it will surprise you. It certainly made me rethink everything I knew about this story and the characters.

Once again, the whole has been narrated by Courtney Shaw and she has done a fine job. She committed to the choices made in earlier volumes, so anything that rubbed me the wrong way remained, and, once again, a choice was made for pronunciation that was at odds with my choice, but I’ll get over that. ^_^ I hope inori-sensei was happy with the choices made and that really is all that matters.^_^

Ratings (for the adaptation only):

Overall – 10

If you haven’t been moved to read the books (and I am not the person to insist you do) or you have, and really love them,  I highly recommend listening to the audiobooks for a new way to appreciate them, to engage with the story or just to sit back and hear the characters come to life.

And the story is not quite done with! Next moth will see the debut of I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner Audiobook, Volume 1, the first of three volume telling the story from Claire and others’ points of view. As I said with the LN editions, these contain a lot of original content, so don’t skip them. There is a lot happening from other people’s perspectives. Only the Google Play link is available so far, but I’ll add the rest as they become available.

 

Posted in Drama CDs & Audiobooks, I'm in Love With the Villainess, inori, Light Novels | No Comments »


Hana no Asuka-gumi Infinity, Volume 8 (花のあすか組 ∞インフィニティ )

May 2nd, 2024

A young woman wears an elaborate costume of faux-miltary-style uniform with lavender sash and gold brooch, her hair done up with flowers and a veil. She wears fancy white glove, ear piercing and heavy white makeup. A few weeks ago, I reviewed HabuCore F, the 10-years-later epilogue to Hayate x Blade (はやて×ブレード), which I described as “a gonzo battle/school manga series.” I really meant “one of the greatest gonzo battle/school manga series ever written.” Today, I am about to revisit the other.

Hana no Asuka-gumi is the other greatest gonzo battle/school manga series ever written. Where HxB is hilarious and everyone is an idiot is the most delightful ways, in Hana no Asuka-gumi, everyone is deadly serious. Hardly anyone ever smiles.  To remember where we were, and why I was screaming at a volume of manga, please go back and read my review of Volume 7. It is critical that you understand that I began this volume in mid-scream.

Hana no Asuka-gumi Infinity, Volume 8 (花のあすか組 ∞インフィニティ ) begins with former Area Master Kanae having completely broken Asuka’s cool (something that never happens, but happened twice last volume) by appearing to look like the dead and gone love of Asuka’s life, Yohko. It throws Asuka off a notch and….she loses a fight.

For reasons, Kanae lies and tells everyone that Asuka won. Asuka is, finally, done. She’s done with being the target of Hibari-sama’s gangs and all her little weird groups and she tired of seeing decent kids ruining their lives. So she decides to face Hibari-sama and peace out of the Zenchuu Ura’s bullshit, at last.

The cover image you see, is the costume Asuka is dressed in when she faces Hibari-sama for what Asuka expects to the be the last time.

Hibari-sama, enraged at Asuka’s refusal to come back to her, still, slaps Asuka across the face with her fan. Asuka gets to walk away, but she does manage to kick the shit out of Kurenai on her way out. Snort.

This is the whackest love triangle ever. A 14-year old warlord, the 16-year old empress of the girl gangs of Tokyo and a dead two-bit teenaged criminal who talks to Asuka from the great beyond.  Asuka walks away, still done.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

The School Wars are over, but the Battle of the deities has begun and undoubtedly, Asuka will be at the center of it, once again. One more volume to go.

I’m on Team Dead Yohko.

Posted in Hana no Asuka-gumi | 1 Comment »


Blank The Series, Guest Review by Frank Hecker

May 1st, 2024

Viewed from above, a girl lays her head on her homework on a table. She is holding hands with an older woman who sit next to her, listening to musicA young woman on the cusp of adulthood latches onto an older woman and pursues her, but a sheltered adolescence causes her to come off more child-like than her age might suggest. The older woman, burned by past relationships and not looking for another, thinks of the younger woman more as a daughter than a potential lover, but eventually finds herself reconsidering what they mean to each other.

Wait, didn’t I review this story several weeks ago? But, no, this is not Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 2 , it’s season 1 of the Thai live-action yuri production Blank: The Series.

Blank: The Series is an adaptation of a novel by Chao Planoy, the author of GAP: Pink Theory, and is set in the same universe. It’s squarely targeted at fans of GAP: The Series, although its age-gap premise has occasioned online controversy among some in that fandom. 36-year-old Neung (the older sister of Sam from GAP) is a mature woman burned out on relationships, four years on from ditching rising politician Chet at the altar in the series’s opening scene. As previously seen in GAP: The Series, Neung is estranged from her grandmother, has rejected her place in the Thai aristocracy, and is pursuing a life on her own as an artist (partially subsidized by Sam).

Into her life comes 20-year-old Neung (the identical names are not a coincidence). Young Neung (or Aneung, as older Neung refers to her) is a young woman denied a normal adolescence; she’s still in high school, held back by ill health. She has no friends her own age, and her only family is her demanding and censorious grandmother. Aneung’s only escape is reading yuri novels, and when she meets older Neung (whom she calls Ar-Neung or “Aunt Neung”) she immediately sets out to win her over, alternately flirting with her and pouting at the older woman’s rejection of her advances. As for Neung herself, she goes from finding Aneung annoying to struggling with her ambiguous and growing feelings toward her.

“Faye” Peraya Malisorn is excellent as Neung in a role that calls for subtle acting to show Neung’s slowly evolving emotions. “Yoko” Apasra Lertprasert generally acquits herself well as Aneung, although her performance at times threatens to become repetitive. “Ice” Papichaya Pattaralikitsakul and Marissa Lloyd have the thankless jobs of following in Freen’s and Becky’s footsteps as Sam and Mon respectively, but they are very much the side couple here.

Like GAP, Blank has its share of melodrama, especially involving Chet (“Kun” Kittikun Tansuhas) and Phiangfa (“Ploy” Preeyaphat Silahom), Aneung’s long-absent mother. The producers toned things down somewhat from Blank the novel — for example, they aged up Aneung — and hopefully will continue doing so with the second season, which apparently has even more melodrama. They could have toned things down even further, for example getting Aneung out of a high school uniform and dialing back her childish aspects a notch or two. In terms of production values, the major problem with the series is the mediocre to poor English subtitles, which sometimes left me struggling to figure out the meaning of certain lines.

Despite that issue, Blank season 1 is a welcome addition to the GAP extended universe. The core relationship is handled well (except for Aneung going overboard at times), and there’s minimal “service”. I liked it enough that I’ll watch the second season, which begins airing in May. It will presumably deal with the fallout from the final episode of season 1, which ends on a cliffhanger.

Rating:

Story – 7 (unless you hate age gaps)
Characters – 7
Production – 5 (the subtitles drag it down)
Service – 2
Yuri – 6
Overall – 7

 
Posted in Frank Hecker, Guest Review, Live Action, Thai Drama | 5 Comments »


Kase-san and Yamada. Volume 3

April 29th, 2024

Two young women, a tall one one with short brown hair and a shorter one with collar length pale hair, dressed in white berets and red coats, surrounded by images of pastel christmas tree balls College life has become a little more normalized for both Kase-san and Yamada. Yamada’s got a job, and loves her classes. Kase-san is still struggling with her unregulated emotions about Yamada, and with her so focused on Yamada, she’s not really noticing what’s going on in her her own dorm room, where Kase-san’s roommate, Fukami, is going through some stuff on her own.

When the school festivals collide, Kase-san finds herself making bad choices – again – but this time it’s Yamada who stands up and talks Kase-san down. And it’s Yamada who asks Kase-san to move in together. It’s pretty clear that Kase-san’s imagination is still a problem, but Yamada…she’s grown. And in doing so, she’s going to help Kase-san do so as well.

It’s so interesting that we still have this manga, more than a decade after it began. As a result, we’re still watching Kase-san and Yamada mature in slower-than-real time. As a result, this manga retains the sweet, slow style we became familiar with originally and we’re just that much happier when these two find a moment of special joy.

Now we just need Kase-san to get over that issue with jealousy. She’s about to feel what it’s like on the other side of that equation.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8, Yamada is a 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

As always, the team at Seven Seas has done a bang-up join in bringing over a manga that I am still amazed continues! I kind of want to see them both graduate and move into the adult world together…and still keep growing together.

Posted in English Manga, Kase-san Series, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation

April 28th, 2024

A lit lantern sits glows with a golden light on sandy soil under a dark night sky. An ephemeral moth flies towards it. The Lantern And The Night Moths / 灯与夜蛾 is written in English and Chinese.The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation is an outstanding read.

For reasons that are discussed in the book itself, translator Yilin Wang, found themselves the center of attention after the British Museum used her work without permission or pay, and when asked to please address that, they responded in the most British Museum-ish way ever, by pulling not only the translation, but the original words of feminist poet Qiu Jin from their exhibit, symbolically silencing both the women that had made them look foolish.

So, when Wang said that their translations were forthcoming in a new book, I hastened to pre-order it to show my support for both Wang and Qiu Jin. I am so glad I did. I’ve been reading this books slowly, savoring each poem, delving into the translator notes and realizing how much I have missed by not attending to Chinese poetry.

Qiu Jin is best known as a revolutionary in post-revolution China, but in her poems it is clear that she did not appreciate the gendered nature of clothes, or life choices. She was known for dressing in men’s clothes, learning to read, write, ride horses and doing activities that were (and, in some places, still are,) assumed to be “for men.”

“To always strip off hair ornaments to pay for books” – Qiu Jin was clearly one of us. ^_^

I loved her poems so much. Although her loneliness is not mine, I share her rage for the unjust treatment of women. But, perhaps, even more powerful than the poetry itself, is Wang’s essay about their connection to Qiu Jin through time and space. Wang’s insights into the poets she is translating are a form of poetry themselves. I described Wang’s work as “translating and enriching” the work, because we learn the how and why of their choices, when both Chinese as a language and poetry as a medium favor ambiguity and layers over clarity or specificity.

As much as I really enjoyed Qiu Jin’s poems, it is Dai Wangshu‘s single line, “I think, therefore I am a butterfly” that has changed my life. The way he so deftly combines two iconic globally recognizable philosophical statements actually made me gasp out loud. By combining Descartes and Zhuang Zi, Dai Wangshu is able to combine two of his own multitudes – as he was a translator of western work into Chinese.

Fei Ming’s work gave me the sense that the New Culture Movement was oddly akin to Dada, and then, suddenly, I am reading Xiao Xi, writing about a world I know and I have lived in.

Sometimes, one anticipates a book and finds it to be…satisfactory. The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation exceeded my every expectation.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

I’ll be watching Wang for more work and will be taking recommendations on Chinese feminist poetry now.

The links above are directly to the publisher’s site, but The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation is also available on Amazon and other online bookstores.

 
 

 

 

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »