By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

I am prepared to eat a bit of crow here. Last time I mentioned how all the characters were getting something to do and character development except maybe Ellie. Well, character development is still thin on the ground (she’s meant to be the pure, naive one, and I think at times the author overdoes it) but certainly in terms of plot function and battle readiness she’s advanced by leaps and bounds. Her magic is strong enough to be able to take on giant monsters to protect Allen and Stella, and we also find out that she’s a Great-Tree Warden, something that was thought to have died out. Oh, and she gets to link mana with Allen. So yes, this is absolutely the book for Ell.ie fans. That said, this harem is large, and you know that no one can stay in the spotlight for too long, so by the end of the book she makes way for Book 14, which promises to be all Stella. Who, um, may be evil now.

We’re now back from the City of Water, after leaving everything to Niche Nitti (which, for some reason, makes Felecia intensely jealous), our cast return home so they can set up for the next part of the plot. Some of that is put off till future books – the Church is still lurking in the background, and every single bad guy who hasn’t died seems to have converged on the same country that’s right next to our heroes. But some of it needs to be dealt with now. There’s an oracular prophecy that may help to fix Stella’s magic issues, but it requires Allen, Stella and Ellie to go visit an underground archive that happens to be controlled by the very people who despise Allen. Now, this would not be an issue if Allen had a title – but he keeps rejecting, deflecting, and avoiding them. So we just have to make it so he can’t refuse…

Allen’s position makes a lot more sense after this book – there are some people who are doing their damndest to try to not only make sure he’s a failure but also, if the ending is accurate, .literally kill him. It’s all related to the Beastmen, because surprise, there’s prejudice. As for the harem, for once we actually get a long look at the Princess, Cheryl Wainwright. The author apologizes for his being unable to shoehorn her into past volumes, but it makes sense – she’s in line for the throne, and unlike Lydia can’t run away at the spur of the moment just cause. She was fun, and at times seems to possess the common sense the rest of Allen’s harem lacked. But I’m sorry, even with that title, she’s lagging behind the rest of the harem.

I’m not sure when we’ll get the next volume – it’s unscheduled in English at the moment – but it’s likely to finally resolve Stella’s issues. Whether she actually does turn villainous is up in the air… well, not really. This isn’t that kind of series. But she may turn for a while. Till then: good job, Ellie. Sorry I doubted you. Headpat from Allen!

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

While it’s a light novel series, and therefore technically above genre distinctions, I don’t think anyone would argue with me if I said Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter falls under the shonen umbrella. As such, it feels inevitable that it would eventually fall prey to one of the big dangers of shonen battle series, “shonen creep”. You start off with a powerful villain, and our heroes hold on to defeat them. Then you get an even more powerful villain. And then, of course, an even MORE powerful villain. And this series just features a very exciting civil war arc with multiple antagonists, backstabbing, and lots of really cool battles. As such, this volume, ending the arc after it, can’t help but be a bit disappointing, as not only are the villains in this arc ludicrously powerful compared to the previous ones, but they all live to fight another day. We’ve hit the actual series villains, rather than arc villains. Which is great news for the series, but makes this book feel like a letdown.

Of course, just because there’s a desperate battle in which everyone might be horribly killed doesn’t mean that this series is not also a harem romcom. As such, the first half of this book has Allen and Lydia gradually getting back into fighting shape and coming up with plans, while all the while new Allen-lovers show up one on top of the other. This even happens during and *after* the battle itself, which actually makes it funnier. They tried to stop the war, but the Church really, really wants war, to the point where they’re murdering all the peace-loving leaders. And the main warmonger is being kept in place by his comatose wife, who they’re promising a cure for. Any day now. Really. And then there’s our bevy of villains, including the vampire who beat Allen and Lydia so badly last time, who’s pretending to be someone she’s not.

This is the end of the “Allen and Lydia Love Love” arc, though I’m sure nothing is genuinely resolved till we see a wedding. It’s got some really great payoff if you’re a fan of the couple, though, which I think most readers of this series are. (Seriously, if you ship, say, Tina, I assume you moved on long ago.) Indeed, there’s so much payoff that Lydia is starting to regard all the other love interests – including her own sister *and* her own cousin – flying around Allen like bees to be more cute and amusing rather than sparking jealousy. Well, to a point. Lily still makes her a little annoyed. And Alice doesn’t count, she’s evil. As for the climax of the book, not only do the villains get away, but it also undercuts some of the danger. The kidnapped victims turn out to be fine, and the badass who valiantly sacrificed her life in the prologue turns out to also not be dead. Given the villains got away, I suppose killing off anyone we care about would have felt mean, but again, disappointing.

Next time we get a new arc, and I look forward to seeing how Allen once again does not get a title and gets to avoid getting engaged. Till then, OK but not great book in the series.

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter is hardly the first Japanese series to feature what are, for want of a better term, “battle maids”. They’ve been around for as long as there have been anime. Generally speaking the key two aspects of battle maids are that they are ludicrously good at combat, but also incredibly proud of being maids, also to a ludicrous degree. That said, Leinster maids also have one very important aspect to them, one that can even get in the way of maid duties or combat: they like to watch Allen and Lydia be sweet together, and gush over it. In essence, they are us, because that’s exactly what I did in the last book, and in the parts of this book that feature the same thing. Oh, yes, and as if that weren’t enough, some of the maids are also orphans, kids who were discriminated against, or in one case a literal experimental child soldier. None of that matters, though, as long as you can protect Lydia and take video of her being tsundere.

When we left off, Allen and Lydia had just lost to a hideously powerful vampire woman, who fortunately had to leave before she could take care of them once and for all. Now they’re recovering their strength, trying to research vampires, protecting the boy that everyone seems to want to kidnap, and of course Lydia is also putting in the “you’re in love with me, right?” press every second of every day. (Allen’s response is ambiguous, as you can guess, but it’s clear he’s mostly lying to himself.) Unfortunately, the vampire’s reason for leaving them was to help the Church make sure this war absolutely starts, and by the end of the book they’ve pretty much almost succeeded. While back on the Southern Continent, everyone is trying to assault an impregnable castle, and they will need to combine all their “in love with Allen and badass” powers to make it happen.

Tina, once again, gets some stuff to do but is not the focus, though that should change by the next book. The main narrator here, aside from Allen, is Lynne, who has always suffered a bit from being “smaller, more sensible Lydia”, and indeed her big spell is Firebird, only this one is not backed up by an ancient hard to control spell. Lynne, like the rest of the female cast, is mostly defined by “being in love with Allen”, and you get the sense they’re all doing this not so much to save the country as to not disappoint him. Caren also gets a lot to do here, and she and Lynne have a final confrontation against a smug Church kid, and Lynne, Caren and Tina are headed off to the City of Water for the next book. Stella is still suffering from Magical Plot Device Disease, but she’s better at being a general anyway. Only Ellie suffers, as it’s frankly clear that the story has outgrown her since Book One, but the author hasn’t the heart to get rid of her, as she’s simply too nice. (And clumsy, but only around Allen. The girls know how to abuse tropes in universe.)

So yes, after a huge arc, we’re getting another huge arc, as this war (or near war) is not ending anytime soon. If you enjoy watching girls beat the shit out of people and pine for a perfect guy, keep reading, you’ll get more of it.