I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 2

By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

In the first volume of this surprisingly fun series, we meet Lisalinde, the beloved, perfect and pure student at the academy, and over the course of the book we discover that she has amnesia, and is actually Liz, a succubus who was part of the hero’s party to defeat the demon lord but also a raging pervert who slept with half the party and can turn anything into sexual innuendo… or indeed just sex, period. The contrast is what makes it funny, and that’s still true here. Here, though, we also get an added dimension, and it’s the reason why this series works beyond one volume. Liz is a perverted succubus, yes, but she’s also a hero, and is basically kind, good, and wants peace in the world. We see that kindness a lot more here too, and yes, it’s tied in with a lot of the sex stuff, but that’s the point of her character, and it’s why the hero’s party are frustrated by all this. They want their Liz back.

We pick up where we left off, with Lisalinde trying to live her normal, peaceful school life but having to deal with these occasional weird urges. She’s attending a fancy dress party (and sniffing Cain’s shirt after he’s forced to change due to a drinks spill); she’s helping to finish the combat uniforms that have been ordered at her friend’s shop (and also dress in erotic outfits provided by said shop); she’s going out shopping with friends and dealing with the hero party’s massive tsundere Rachel (and, in the past, helping her get stop denying her feelings and get together with another member of their party); and she’s dealing with Aina, who is certain that she’s making moves on Cain but is mostly just jealous… and honestly, Aina’s evilness is rather pathetic. Unfortunately, near the end of the book, the hero’s party goes off to take care of a crisis… but it’s a trap, and now the school is being attacked, and only Lisalinde… or rather, Liz… can save them.

I don’t want to make this sound TOO heartwarming. It’s absolutely not for anyone who is not ready for unrepentant horniness. I quoted a passage on Twitter where Liz (past Liz) is doing a perverse sentai performance, and demanding children love underpants, but was advised to remove the tweet as, well, it’s deeply, deeply, wrong. Honestly, I was rather surprised that it’s not the ENTIRE hero’s party who are part of Liz’s sexual polycule, and that Rachel and Mitter appear to be a separate couple (albeit sexual, thanks again to Liz). Even the final battle, which is mostly a dramatic fight showing how, when she actually HAS her memories back, Liz is stupid powerful, is triggered by her huffing Cain’s gym shorts for an extended period. Unfortunately, while she’s recovered enough to regain her memories for emergencies, she’s not recovered enough to keep them beyond that, so it’s back to horrified pure Lisalinde at the end.

So yes, better than it sounds, again, but only read it if you’re interested in what it sounds like.

Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 5

By Saki and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Albert-ke no Reijō wa Botsuraku o Goshomō Desu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Ray Krycki.

I am pleased to say that the antagonist of this new volume is not a new heroine or villainess fro yet another spinoff of the original game this world is based around. No, we’re going back to first principles here. Remember how this series began in the first place? With Mary Albert trying to cause her own doom because she knew that her family becoming too powerful would lead to bad things within the kingdom? Well, um, she failed, if you recall. And thus, well, her family, as well as Patrick’s, have gotten so insanely powerful, at least in the minds of some of the lesser nobles, that the worry is that soon there be be no need for those lesser nobles. And since attacking Mary Albert has, well, worked very badly for the last four books, it’s time to try to do the next best thing: go after Alicia, who even Mary says lacks any behavior at all that makes her a royal.

I appreciate that this series knows how to have the broadest possible caricatures of characters and yet also use them seriously for plot purposes. One of the best things about Alicia has been that she’s basically a bullheaded puppy who only cares about Mary (and Patrick, if she’s forced to admit it), but now it’s come back to bite her, and seeing her cowed and doing her best to learn manners (even if she’s quickly distracted) is something new. Likewise, Mary’s desires to exile herself and start her own fried migratory bird stand are all very well and good, but there’s a reason that her brothers have been absent from the last four books. We finally meet them… and they’re exactly what you’d expect from a couple of opposite personality twins who are also siscons. If I told you just that sentence, you could write all their dialogue. Marty may not want to be, but this book makes clear she NEEDS to be the next family head.

And she manages to win the day without ever really changing at all. Sure, she does end up giving in and throwing her hat into the succession ring, mostly to save Alicia, but the rousing speech that she gives at the climax amounts to one giant tsundere hair flip, thrown at the (increasingly pathetic) oppositional lords. And there’s even room for the sensible straight men of the series as well. OK, Adi is not always sensible, but he does the detective work here, which involves Mary’s old drill hair, believe it or not. And Patrick and Gainas help to remind everyone WHY Mary is so powerful and influential – every family and house that tries to go up against her becomes an ally, and they all (remotely) rally to her here.

So yes, no worries, Alicia is the princess, and she’s allowed to tackle hug Mary again. And Mary might be the next head of the family, but she’s still far more interested in croquettes and etiquette. Still a very fun series.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 24

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I had assumed, since the end of the last volume was one of those “I have been a dumbass for a while but now I have turned the corner and am fighting back” endings, that there might be a bit less Return by Death in this book. Hardly. All that means is that the deaths are not “Subaru dies by being an idiot” but are instead “Subaru dies as he tries to figure out how to escape a damn near impossible situation”. Which means going through everything bit by bit and breaking it down into manageable chunks. but it does mean that this book is pretty exhausting, and features a lot of the cast getting their asses handed to them, as well as a lot of supposed allies turning out to be secret antagonists – though honestly, the latter should not be too surprising to a reader who is paying attention. This book is all the detective work, and the payoff will presumably be next time.

Subaru, now determined to fight back, goes back to square one and confesses to all that he’s lost his memories. He’s already worked out how he died the first time, by being pushed off the staircase, and solves that fairly quickly. The next step is to try to find Reid Astrea’s book in the Library, so that they can read his memories in hopes of finding a weakness – what killed him, for a start. Unfortunately, that ends up going badly, as when Subaru goes into Reid’s book he instead finds… another Gluttony. This one is named Louis (pronounced the French way), and she almost manages to break Subaru entirely before he’s saved by the least likely savior out there… and also the most likely, let’s face it. Unfortunately, they now have multiple Gluttonies running around, Reid running amuck, and that pesky killer scorpion. What’s up with that, anyway?

There are many amazing fight scenes in this, which the author has started to specialize in. This arc in particular continues to be a gift for Emilia fans, and that’s despite the fact that she (in one loop) gets her identity eaten by Gluttony. A fight that ends with her sneaking up behind Lye (Gluttony #2) and hitting him with a giant ice hammer while yelling “Sneak Up And WHAM” is possibly in my top five moments in the entire series. There’s also Subaru doing what he does best, which is rallying the troops and getting them to do what they do best… though sometimes even that isn’t enough. It all comes to a head in the final scene of the book, when he confronts Shaula and gets her to admit what she’s been hiding and why. It’s a very sympathetic reason – tearjerking, even – but honestly, I suspect that she’s absolutely correct and knows it. And that’s why she’s breaking down.

The next book is the final book in this arc, and I suspect it will need to be a much longer volume in order to fix everything up. Till then, this was a solid volume, and had a minimal amount of Subaru being a dumbass, which is always my measuring stick for how enjoyable it is.