The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor, Vol. 6

October 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Sasara Nagase and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoshi Reijō wa Ryūtei Heika o Kōryaku-chū” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

As I write this, we are less than a day away from the premiere of the anime version of this series. As such, I wish to make it clear that I am well aware of the problematic nature of this series. We’ve discussed it before. The series opens with incest, and then it ends up hitting “I’m going to marry a ten-year-old”. It is the definition of “oh dear”. And I am here to tell you that the author is absolutely reveling in it. Given a chance to, say, have a timeskip, or perhaps move away from the incestuous kingdom, she instead insists on doubling down on everything. This volume in particular talks about how awkward it is for Jill to be eleven years old multiple times, and it also manages somehow to double the incest! Unfortunately… or, well, fortunately, to be honest… that does not double the fun. I can tell you that both plotlines are for plot-related reasons, and the plot is insidious, and REALLY wants war.

After the relative light-heartedness of the last volume, we’re bundled back into political intrigue at Jill and Hadis’ home base in this volume. There’s been a poor harvest, and the three dukes whose support Hadis need are 100% ready to throw Jill under the bus at a moment’s notice. They propose an impossible task – revive the Dragon Flower Crown Festival, something which will require the help of all the other consorts who stay at the Empress’ palace. Unfortunately, they’re all (well, almost all) trying to sabotage Jill – clearly at the behest of some mysterious party. Oh yes, and Jill has been getting mysterious love letters confessing to her and urging that she meet in the Garden of Resting Dragons… a place well known for adulterous affairs. There’s a mad old man setting traps in the Dragon Consort’s Palace (a place Jill didn’t even realize was there). Oh yes, and Minerd’s back, and totally not planning something evil.

It’s refreshing to see this series come back to “at any moment, history will revert and Jill will die” territory again. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re one step closer to war, thanks to the events near the end of this book, which lean heavily on the squickiest of the series’ plotlines and rub it in our faces. it’s chilling. As for the actual bad guy, well, they’re rather pathetic and sad, but that’s the point, and fits pretty well with everything that we’ve heard bfeore. Much better are the other consorts, who theoretically present an enemy that Jill simply can’t beat to submission with her fists. She is being forced to actually think politically and scheme… and then, when that doesn’t work, she beats them to submission with her fists. Jill does not quite shout “IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME!” once a volume, but it’s not for lack of trying.

After that nasty cliffhanger, it’s a good thing we’ve got the next volume coming s–what’s that? Short story volume? Sigh. Of course. In any case, please enjoy this series, which rampages through its problematic aspects with TINY FISTS.

Filed Under: do-over damsel conquers the dragon emperor, reviews

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 45

October 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

After the events of Vol. 43 (44 being a SS volume), you will not be surprised to hear that this is a very serious affair. There’s almost no humor to be found, and even the romance, with the exception of Elfaria (who joins everyone else in the cast in trying to make it clear, but not TOO clear, that he’s the only one for her) is absent. The reason for this is that after the events of the last book, Koutarou is depressed and uncertain how to go forward. It’s a good reminder how little time this series has taken place in – we’re only about two years later here, and much as the girls are all cognizant of their own feelings and able to support each other, when it comes to the man they love they don’t have the fortitude to kick him in the ass, and have to leave it to Kenji, who of course can baseball it out of him. No one is quite mature enough to confidently be in a polycule revolving around one man just yet. Least of all the man.

We pick up just before the cliffhanger of the last book, as we see Ralgwin’s final moments before his soul is overwritten by Maxfern’s. He seems rather calm and accepting of this, and is apparently assuming that Koutarou will somehow save the day. Unfortunately, that point is not this volume. Koutarou, as I said before, starts off in a big funk, especially once Maxfern goes on live TV to declare war on the royal family and ask allies to join him. Now they need to avoid another war, and in order to do this have to infiltrate the enemy… which is a lot easier given that they’re bringing in a lot of new troops and staff. Unfortunately, they all fail to realize that Maxfern is, unlike every other villain we’ve seen in this book, someone who does not care about ANYONE. And that troops don’t necessarily have to be alive.

So yeah, I hate to break it to you, but once you take zombies out of the box, you really can’t put them back. That said, this is part of a new theme with this book. All our previous villains, be they Ralgwin, or Elexis, or even Darkness Rainbow, have all had someone that they care about and want to protect, in some way, shape or form. Their goals are not 100% genocidal. Maxfern is different. He died swearing vengeance, and he will get vengeance, no matter who dies or is left unhappy. The second half of the book sees our heroes infiltrate the e3nemy for clues, and they barely escape with their lives, because the villain doesn’t care about just throwing death at a problem until it goes away. It’s genuinely scary.

We get a cliffhanger suggesting Maxfern is going to attack the “smart girls” in the group – Clan, Kiriha, and Ruth – next time. Till then, this is still good, but it’s a bit less “fun”, per se.

Filed Under: invaders of the rokujouma!?, reviews

The Villainess and the Demon Knight, Vol. 1

October 6, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Nekota and Asahiko. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō to Kichiku Kishi” by Ichijinsha Melissa. Released in North America by Steamship. Translated by Christina Chesterfield. Adapted by Arisia Santiago.

A word of warning before we begin: this is a sexually explicit book – in fact, that’s pretty much the book’s main purpose. That said, I’m not going to be reviewing the sex writing. It’s fine, particularly if you are a fan of what I believe the kids today call “dubcon”. I will say that there is, in my opinion, a bit too much of it, though honestly there’s also a bit too much of the book in general. This book is 413 pages. It’s Loner Life sized. it’s Tanya the Evil sized. That’s possibly too much, especially since I’d estimate the writing of sex scenes by themselves take up one-third of that. That said, I enjoyed almost everything about the book when it wasn’t talking sex. The exception I’ll get to, but for the most part this is a fun and amusing cast, and has a “villainess” who is having trouble just keeping up with everything.

(Don’t like the cover, which is true to the way Cecelia is described, but also makes her look like she’s been broken.) You’ve seen this plot before. Cecelia Cline has been reincarnated in an otome game as the villainess. Unlike Catarina Claes (surely a coincidence those names are so similar), she barely has time to realize who she is before her fiance the second prince is publicly shaming her and announcing he now loves Mia, a girl of much lower station. And then suddenly Cecelia is sold off to a brothel! That was fast. What’s worse, her first customer is Lucas Herbst, a duke’s son and bodyguard for the Imperial Family. Lucas has purchased her for the entire night, and proceeds to spend it… well, you can guess how he spends it. Once we get through the sex, which starts on page 20 and goes to page 58, we start to get the actual plot, and learn – surprise – that not all is as it seems, and that Lucas and Cecelia may be a couple who have more between them than just really good sex.

The weakest part of this book is Lucas – even if I did like yandere guys, which I don’t really, he’s just less interesting in general, and doesn’t have enough soft, sweet moments to balance it out. Cecelia is pretty good – most of the book is her POV, and while a lot of it is “I am freaking out in my inner monologue” style narration, we do see that she’s working hard to become a good partner for Lucas – b oth in bed and outside it. The main thing I liked, though, was the rest of the Herbst household. Lucas’ siblings are all basic variations on “smug sarcastic asshole”, only they’re both good guys, so it’s fun. Best of all are the maids, who were also my favorite part of the manga when I read it. I love assassin-style maids, and these three are also firmly in Cecelia’s corner, and not afraid to remonstrate with Lucas when he goes too far. I hope for more of them if we see a second volume.

Yes, there are at least three more volumes to this, and it was decent enough for me to pick it up. I won’t be reading it for the sex, but the sex isn’t a reason not to get it, either. Just be aware that you’d better like that “Non-Consensual/Reluctance” tag.

Filed Under: reviews, villainess and the demon knight
« Previous Page
Next Page »