The Theater of Haruhi Suzumiya

December 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito. Released in Japan as “Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekijo” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

I suspect how much you enjoy the latest book in this series depends on what you enjoy most about it. If you’re the sort who likes the sci-fi trappings and everyone trying to figure out what’s going on, you’ll be in clover, as that’s basically what this book is about, especially the back half, which features far more discussion of quantum mechanics than any light novel really needs. If you enjoy Haruhi doing funny things, Mikuru being adorably clumsy yet cute, and Nagato saving the day, this is also a strong book. Kyon’s narration is not quite as caustic as it’s been in the past, but I’ll forgive it. Unfortunately, if you read this series for character development, this is not the book for you. It’s an extension of two short stories that ran in The Sneaker 20 years ago, and seems to take place before the 4th book/movie, meaning most of the softening of Haruhi’s character is absent. It’s a fun book, but it’s not necessary as the next in the series.

We open with what looks like the most 2024 thing ever, even though it was written in 2004 – Haruhi and company get isekai’d to another world to save the kingdom from the demon lord. Haruhi being Haruhi, she proceeds to do whatever she wants, and only saves the world because Mikuru blows up the demon lord’s castle with magic. Suddenly they’re now in an outer space setting, and have to rescue two nobles from space pirates… something that’s also screwed up due to Haruhi’s gung-ho approach. Then all of a sudden they’re in a Western setting, with a shootout, and Kyon, Koizumi and Nagato are starting to realize something is wrong. Unfortunately, they can’t trust their memories, and as they go through more and more pulp fiction scenarios, the question becomes whether they can stop it at all… or even who they really are.

The idea that the cast are trapped in a bunch of tropey fictional settings is a good one. As you’d expect, the weakest part of it is the start, with the two stories written so long ago. They’re pure comedy, not really doing anything with the characters. Once Kyon and Koizumi start discussing what’s really going on, things pick up a lot more… or at least they do if you can put up with Koizumi’s philosophizing. There may be more of that in this book than any other in the series, so reader beware if you’re not in the mood for it. The one scrap of characterization we got was near the end, when Koizumi suggests that they’re likely just virtual reality mindselves, and that escaping the game might mean death. Nagato explicitly says that she wants to return to the real world, to be in the club with everyone. It’s pretty nice.

If you wanted another volume in the series, this sure is one. Still no actual continuation, but I’m not really expecting that anymore. For fans.

Filed Under: melancholy of haruhi suzumiya, reviews

A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO, Vol. 1

November 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu ZERO” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Faye Cozy and Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Melanie Kardas.

If you have a prequel series, it helps to have two really important things: a reason for the author to write it, and a reason for the reader to read it. The author explains in the afterword the reason that we’re getting this prequel: it’s a story they wanted to tell as flashbacks in the main series, but it rapidly got far too huge, so it was decided to make it a series of its own. As for the reader, I will admit I was a bit worried. The general premise of the main series is that, whether it be in the present as Fia or in the past as Serafina, our heroine is an extremely lovable goober who everyone adores. Technically that’s true here, but there’s a very important difference, which is that this is the story of Serafina at six, not sixteen (we get those flashbacks in the main series). As a result, she’s an ADORABLE lovable goober.

Sirius, the most powerful man in the kingdom of Nav, is sent out by the King to go gget the second princess, Serafina. Six years ago she was born blind, which is still frowned on when you’re royalty, and so she was sent to a detached house in the forest to stay so that she did not get bullied at the royal court. But circumstances have changed, and now she’s needed back at the palace. So Sirius and his beleaguered colleagues (who can’t keep up with him) head into the forest to find an extremely adorable six-year-old redhead. She can’t open her eyes, but she can apparently see spirits. When monsters attack, and prove too strong for most of the knights, a panicked Serafina calls on her Saint powers, regains her sight, and proves to be the Most Powerful Saint in the World.

This book has an agenda, and that agenda is CUTE. Sure, Serafina can still be a colossal airhead some of the time, but for the most part that’s explainable as her being a six-year-old who lived in a jungle all her life, rather than as her having none of the common sense of everyone she grew up around like the main series. Everyone who meets Serafina seems to adore her immediately, except (briefly) her brothers, who give in after Sirius trains them to death. We also meet Canopus here, and get a sense of the prejudice that he and his people go through… which ends up being steamrolled through the power of Serafina’s really liking him. And what do you know, he does indeed turn out to be really strong. She even manages to tame a griffon and a fenrir, which sort of serves as a replacement for the dragon she has in the main series. Basically, she’s a bundle of cute, and also packing ludicrous power, which Sirius is not yet ready to show off just yet. He’s too enraptured by her to do so.

The recent light novel rankings came out in Japan, and the main series placed a LOT higher than I had thought. Which explains the prequel. Fans of Fia will love seeing cute l’il Serafina wrap everyone around her finger.

Filed Under: a tale of the secret saint, reviews

Management of a Novice Alchemist, Vol. 3

November 29, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Mizuho Itsuki and fuumi. Released in Japan as “Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

As I noted earlier, I watched the anime of this series before I read the novels, and I’m rather surprised at how a) the anime did a whole lot of adding/cutting and pasting in a different place, and b) how it usually worked pretty well. The anime is paced like an anime, and gives viewers a reason to be really sympathetic to Sarasa from the get go. The light novel doesn’t bother with either of those, and Sarasa can be quite a morally ambiguous character. Here, we see her having to struggle with the fact that she has friends she cares about and wants to help, even if it might lose her money. There’s never any doubt she’s going to, but just seeing her inner monologue is revealing. She cannot stop thinking of how much everything in her life costs, and how much ingredients cost, etc. It’s not quite presented as a savant thing, but she certainly would do much better with more sensible people around her. Good news there!

After the events of the last book, and a comedic interlude with raw honey and horrible diarrhea, our intrepid gatherers, along with Sarasa, go on a mission to find out why the Hellflame Grizzly stampede happened. This takes them to an inactive volcano which has fire lizards, which they can harvest, with some difficulty, for materials, but also a far more dangerous salamander further up the mountain, which isn’t being hostile so Sarasa ignores it. But when Iris’ father, a noble in charge of two villages, arrives to tell her that in order to solve their own hideous debt (separate from Iris and Kate’s debt to Sarasa), he has to marry her off, Sarasa recognizes the husband Iris is getting paired with as being related to the corrupt merchants she took out last book, and, eventually, makes a decision to help with the debt by going after that salamander after all.

When the anime aired, I heard some talk that the books were yuri, but when I investigated, the answer seems to be “eeeeeh, kinda?”. Having read this volume, I get that. On the one hand, in this world, men can marry men, and women can marry women, There are even (very expensive!) potions to allow you to change sex temporarily for the purpose of siring an heir if you are an LGBT couple. And, to solve their issues, Iris is clearly VERY happy to marry Sarasa, offers Kate as Wife #2 (which Kate seems OK with), and says “your preference might change, who knows?” On the other hand, Sarasa says she’s not interested in women multiple times, and also says she’s too young to get married. I suspect what we’re going to get by the end of this series is Sarasa married to her three wives (no way Lorea’s not getting in on this) in a familial marriage with no sexual aspect to it. I have no idea if that’s yuri or not. But it’s fine, I’m much happier with these four as a family.

Sarasa was a little less terrifying this volume, and we’re starting to see that being in the village is very good for her. Unfortunately, she seems to have pissed off the local lord, which I have a feeling will be the plot of Book 4. This is the last one that had the anime mine it for materials, and it was pretty good.

Filed Under: management of a novice alchemist, reviews
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