Agents of the Four Seasons, Vol. 6

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By Kana Akatsuki and Suoh. Released in Japan as “Shunka Shūtō Daikōsha” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

So the first two-part arc of this series involved the past and present trauma of Hinagiku, the Agent of Spring. The second two-parter gave us even more trauma, mostly present, for the twin Agents of Summer. Now, after a one-volume “break”, we’re ready to dip into Autumn. Nadeshiko has been involved quite a bit in the last few books, both as a victim of kidnapping and as an Agent in her own right. That said, she’s still an eight-year-old girl who has been through far more than most eight-year-olds should. And, as is pointed out several times in this book, she’s much more mature than someone of her age should be when confronted with all this. She should be more like… well, like Ruri, to use an example Ruri herself would probably get mad at. In this book, though, we hear more about Nadeshiko’s life before she became an Agent… and it’s a very depressingly familiar tale. There’s no supernatural forces or twisted destiny here, just a young girl whose parents quickly realize they don’t want a child after all.

Nadeshiko is not having a great time at the moment, though it’s certainly better than it’s ever been for her. Rindo is running himself ragged trying to avoid having to answer a summons from Kyokoku, which is this world’s equivalent of the United States. There used to be a mutual aid policy between countries to help out when an Agent needed it. This is no longer the case, for many reasons, some of which might be that Kyokoku is a very dangerous country filled with religious fundamentalists whose Agents live fast and die young. (If you are looking for light, subtle political commentary, this is not the series for you.) Eventually Rindo realizes that he can’t avoid this, so Nadeshiko is going to not-America… along with a passel of guards and aides, as well as the Agent of Winter and his Guard, the Agent of Summer (Ruri version) and her guard, and Tsukihi, the National Security Agent we last saw with the Agent of Twilight. They expect treachery. They get it.

The author of this series has been talking with the author of My Happy Marriage, I expect, as they included in the Afterword a bit about how readers who would like all the trauma to stop soon are reading the wrong title. “It is a story for the scars you bore back then.” It certainly is, as Nadeshiko’s past of neglectful parents goes down like you’re choking, and her present is worse. The two on the cover are the Kyokoku Agent of Autumn, who is a year younger than her, and his Guard. They’re both unable to fight back against the Church. (Anyone reading this series who loves American unconditionally or is deeply religious may want to drop it here.) I also warn that there is the most dreaded of literary devices here, which is the overheard and misunderstood conversation. That said, when you have so little regard for yourself as Nadeshiko does, it’s hard not to misunderstand that people might care about you.

On the bright side, Ruri is fantastic in this, and I love the banter between her and Rosei. They’ve both grown so much. I hope Nadeshiko is allowed to do the same. In any case, we need to wait for Book 7, which… yeah, is not yet scheduled by Yen. Essential reading for fans of the series or those who love to read about good people overcoming suffering.

A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans, Vol. 3

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By Kurusu Natsume and Sai Izumi. Released in Japan as “Jingai Kyōshitsu no Ningen-girai Kyōshi: Hitoma-sensei, Watashi-tachi to Mirai ni Susundekuremasuku…?” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by airco.

In the long interim between the second and third volumes coming out over here (there was a gap in Japan as well, plus a translator change), we had the anime version of this title, and while I’m not sure if it was a success in Japan, I do know that it went down over here like a lead balloon. I didn’t watch it, but a lot of folks made it sound like it was a romantic fantasy of a nebbish guy meeting a smorgasbord of supernatural monster girls, rather than what the novels make it clear that it actually is, which is another in the long line of “teacher arrives at school and proceeds to make the kids’ lives better whether they like it or not”. That said, there was a past trauma that made it sound like maybe he had a teacher student romance in his past? This third volume makes it clear that it was a lot more ordinary than that… while also maybe making you think the anime had a point.

It’s a new year, with two new students, who as usual appear on the cover. What’s that? No, the third girl is a human… and Hitoma’s new assistant teacher. Which is a problem as Haruna is also the high school girl who caused him to resign and become a shut-in for two years as well. The bulk of the book is in the present, but each chapter ends with a past flashback to the two of them in their previous school, and why things happened the way they did. (Spoiler that isn’t one: bullying is omnipresent, and teachers who try too hard to stop it get destroyed.) As for the new kids, Wakaba is a cool elf girl with a surprising past, and Okonogi is a gyaru-type oni girl with a depressing past. That said, we’ve had one graduation per book so far, and given that Haneda isn’t going anywhere, the end of the book becomes “what’s going to happen with Usami?”.

The Usami plotline is easily the best part of the book, to be honest, which makes sense given she’s the student we’ve known the longest who’s still there. As for the new folks, Wakaba’s origins are a terrific idea that ended up being less interesting than I expected, and she doesn’t really feature after her spotlight. Ononoki provides some nice drama, but I was a little uncomfortable with the reverse of the usual blonde vampire rule – instead of “she’s 800 years old but looks 8”, here we have a girl who looks like a 16-year-old high school girl who’s much younger. And then there’s Haruna. I clocked what was going on with her long before Hitoma did. That said, I’m not sure how I feel about her feelings for him even though she’s now a colleague. We see Hitoma rejecting Ryuzaki here as well, so I don’t know if he’d go for it regardless, but… it does make me wonder if this was meant to be a romantic fantasy after all.

I had assumed that the series would end with the third book, and it definitely wraps up the major plotlines from the start. But there’s two more to go, and I think we get a seed of that when we see Hitoma telling the director that his goal for next year is to see Haneda graduate. This is an awkward series that either doesn’t do enough or missteps, but you end up liking it a lot anyway. Much like its main character.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 9

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By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn.

There was only so long that the main mystery of this series that doesn’t involve “who will the winning girl be” got cleared up. (And honestly, “who will the winning girl be” is not much of a mystery, either – this isn’t the sort of series that’s going for a last-minute swerve.) So yes, Masachika admits to Alya what the relationship between him and Yuki really is, and then goes to visit her. That said, the series still wants to be a romcom, even in what amounts to the most serious volume to date, and so it also flashes to Alya’s POV during these scenes, which amounts to “OMG we’re holding hands no stop I’m comforting him, shut up brain” over and over again. Alya may be a romantic wreck, but thanks to the boy she not-so-secretly loves she’s found a way forward in life. In this book, Masachika also finds a way forward in life, but sadly he manages to botch that in a really bad way.

Yes, that’s Yuki on the cover, only the 2nd person to feature on a cover that isn’t Alya. She’s looking surprisingly serious as well, which fits the tone of this serious volume. After arriving at his sister’s house, and seeing how far Yuki has relapsed, Masachika decides that it’s time he stop running away from everything and has a long chat with his mother about why she started to reject him. Unsurprisingly, the answer turns out to be that they have a lot more in common than they possibly imagined. He then comes to a decision – he’s going to return to the family and become its head, which means Yuki doesn’t have to. He talks with his father about this, who is as easygoing and hands-off as always. He talks to his grandfather about this, who is grumpy but will let him try. He does NOT talk to Yuki about this. That’s where he botches things.

Of course, not all the upcoming chaos is going to be caused by Masachika. Nonoa still exists, of course. I’ve talked before about how much I appreciate her role in this, and I still do. I really liked her showing up late to “comfort” Masachika, and being genuinely a bit annoyed at Alya for getting there first. Which leads to what she does best, making Alya doubt Masachika. She frames things she found out by coincidence – which she freely admits – as if Alya ended up being the last to find out, and this plants seeds that I’m sure will extend this series into at least three to four more books. She’s also seemingly working on Ayano, and I have a sneaking suspicion that will be Nonoa’s downfall. Don’t try to outplot the woman who freely tells Masachika he makes her womb tremble.

I also did not mention Yuki’s complete meltdown when she hears what happened, or her heart-to-heart with Alya, where we realizing just how much all the incest subtext we love (OK, everyone but me loves) is an act – ALL of it. Basically, the next volume promises to be filled with a lot of repressed rage and tension…..short story volume? (checks) Oooh, differently numbered short story volume! So may be 10, may be BTS, which I assume stands for Behind The Scenes rather than a crossover with the KPop band.