Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 13

September 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette.

I really enjoy the fact that, even though there are many characters who are introduced into this series to be goofy and comedic, no one is allowed to stay only goofy and comedic. Mia is obviously the biggest example, but we’ve seen a few others pop up. Here we notice that Bel has not only returned from the future slightly older, but she’s also slightly wiser, and while her grades may still struggle, she knows the value of studying and can start to think cleverly on her own. It’s fantastic to see, because “Bel is dumb” was getting as old as “Mia is getting fat”, another punchline we don’t see here. Even the narrative is getting in on being clever. I love the discussion of how Bel’s time-travel (and Mia’s) not only is affecting the present/causing alternate futures, but it’s also reverberating into the PAST, changing the past before it can become that present. Which might make fixing the Patricia problem easier… but also possibly harder, if Mia keeps accidentally acting like a comedy villainess.

The book starts off with the end of the last arc. Julius has been revealed as the villain, and it also turns out he’s Barbara’s son. This comes as a big surprise to Barbara, thanks to the efforts of the Chaos serpents. Still, everything ends up sort of okay, and while some people are punished, and even imprisoned, no one has to be executed. After this it’s summer break, and Mia returns to Tearmoon, with a rather large entourage – not only is Abel coming along, but so are Yanna and Kiryl, the orphans who would rather not go back to their orphanage, and also Aima, who is happy to be checking out the horses of other countries. Unfortunately, new problems abound. Ruby comes to Mia sobbing as she’s being engaged to a noble… and in a world where no one really objects to political marriages, that’s hard to fix. Worse, the Chaos Serpents are still around and still trying to kill Mia.

Just because we’re getting rid of some running gags doesn’t mean they’re all gone. Near the start of the book we get another hilarious sequence where everyone decides to make sandwiches and Keithwood tries desperately to stop them accidentally poisoning everyone (though he also finds a potential future partner, because Tearmoon Empire enjoys pairing off everyone almost as much as How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom does). I also really enjoyed this book leaning into how horse riding has now become equal to dancing in being something Mia is really good at. When she took that huge jump I cheered along with everyone else. If there’s one down side to this series, it’s that the author and publisher can’t figure out a way to have each arc end at the end of a book. This is another book that’s one third the climax of the last arc, and 2/3 the start of the next one, and since the climax is mostly explanations, it means we don’t get much oomph here. Oomph will have to wait for Book 14.

Which isn’t scheduled here yet, but I assume it will be along before too long. I really appreciate how this series has matured along with its heroine.

Filed Under: reviews, tearmoon empire

The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone!, Vol. 1

September 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Kureha and Yoko Matsurika. Released in Japan as “Liefe no Shukufuku: Muzokusei Mahō Shika Tsukaenai Ochikobore toshite Hottoite Kudasai” by Arian Rose. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alex Castor.

This one took me by surprise a bit. The opening suggests it’s going to be a much darker book, with a girl who has “useless magic” getting physically and emotionally abused by her terrible father. But after her mother divorces said father and returns to her life as a commoner, everything starts to get much better, for the most part. Oh, sure, people still bully her, and she’s forced to endure verbal abuse from various folks. But there are a ludicrous amount of people in her corner, and as it turns out (please tell me you’re not surprised) her magic that’s useless unless you spend years studying it really hard turns out to be fantastic when you actually do this. In the end, she wins battle tournaments, scores high in exams (by accident), and even helps to heal, both with magic and the heart, the second prince, her childhood friend and a man who is deeply in love with her. Something she, of course, does not get at all.

Yui O’Brian (later Yui Curtis) is born with non-elemental magic, in a world where the ‘fire/water/wind/earth” dichotomy is everything, and her magic is seen as support, and something not to be bothered with. As such, not only does her father despise her, but kids make fun of her, and once she’s in school, arrogant nobles look down on her. Fortunately, it turns out that Yui has had, for some time now, a ludicrous number of allies. Her twin older brothers adore her. The second prince sneaks out of the castle and meets up with her, and since she’s the only one who can touch him and his over the top magic and not be injured or killed, the former king is absolutely fine with this. Her mother remarries another noble who turns out not only to be devoted to his wife and daughter (to an annoying degree – see below), but is also the prime minister to the current king. And her friends in the “losers” class at school all seem to be far too powerful for that class. What’s going on here?

At one point, Yui is called to the castle after a magical accident traumatizes the second prince, and as she goes off to his room I was expecting her to pose dramatically and say “It’s OK. I’m a light novel protagonist.” There is… frankly, a distinct LACK of drama and trauma after about page 10 or so, and while I think the story works better for it, folks looking for actual struggle may be a bit annoyed here. Speaking of annoying, while I don’t think that the stepdad is incestuous like some other folks discussing the book, he is a ludicrous example of the “overaffectionate/overprotective dad” trope we see a lot of in Japanese anime and manga. Usually they end up being the comedic butt of jokes, but alas, Layce has too much power for anyone to push back against him (except Yui). I did also enjoy seeing a “noble marrying a commoner” love story go the way it likely really would in a non-light novel: Yui’s father wanted to marry Yui’s mother, a commoner, harassed and bullied her till she gave in, and then hated her once something did not go his way. Even in a series like this where Yui has allies everywhere, nobles are mostly scum.

We get a confession at the end of this book, but Yui is not emotionally prepared to respond, and there are some other subplots that haven’t finished yet. I’ll definitely be reading more, but this feels like a series where someone has entered cheat codes for the heroine’s life.

Filed Under: blessing of liefe, reviews

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters!, Vol. 6

September 6, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By KAYA and Naru. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amy Osteraas.

First of all, let’s get the most important thing out of the way: this volume features the triumphant return of “I’m good on wolves”, the running gag that made the first volume such a delight for me. It’s very welcome, and yes, the fact that it’s back means that Sara ends up going ALL the way back to Rosa this volume, courtesy of the plot. Also returning is the author continuing to not confirm but nevertheless convince me that Sara is a monster attractor, and that anywhere she goes will see an increase in their population, ranging from hellhounds and wyverns to the surprise guest monster we’ll be talking about in a bit. Oh yes, and we also get more attempted marriages, with Sara turning all of them down. She’s still not thinking of Allen as anything more than her bestie and family, but we may finally be starting to crack that a bit. His almost dying in this book helps, no doubt.

Sara has returned to Hydrangea, where she is living the happy apothecary life, despite acquiring another suitor – Liam’s younger brother Noel (I see what you did there), who fortunately is a lot nicer than his sibling. Unfortunately, suddenly a lot of dangerous monsters appear in the dungeon where they shouldn’t be, including crossing supposed no-monster zones. After finding mysterious invisible portals in the dungeon, Sara and company come across something much bigger and more dangerous – a continental turtle, which has decided to get up and start to walk. It’s the size of a three-story building, and the last time it did this it caused untold destruction. Now everyone’s got to get together to try to nudge its path slightly so that it does not run through any major cities. What? Kill it? Don’t be silly, it’s invincible. Who would be stupid enough to try that?

So this book is filled with a lot of people learning their life lessons at last. Ted has been exposed to life outside the noble city he grew up coddled by, and gets as close as he ever will to thanking Sara. Liam may be coming up with dumb plans, but he at least is self-aware enough to know that “find a scapegoat and throw them in jail” is not the answer when said plans don’t work, and he DOES apologize. As for Sara and Allen, it’s amusing that they both accuse each other of going with the flow and avoiding confrontation too much. We’re more used to seeing it in Allen, as Sara is the POV character, but he’s right – for all her snarking and complaining, she’s only now getting around to actually refusoing to do things. They’re not together by the end of the book, but they’ve basically admitted that they’ll never be apart from each other.

That said, the cover of the 7uth volume suggests another slow-burn romance may get resolved first, and we might see that next time. Till then, enjoy your fill of wolves, turtles, and teenagers who try to do far too much, and mostly succeed.

Filed Under: reviews, taking my reincarnation one step at a time
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