Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 7

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By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

Last time I talked about the fact that this world is still trying hard to re-rail things so that they go the way the game wants them to, and that’s still true, but it’s also astonishing how many “doubles” this has led to, and in some cases triples and quadruples. We have Celesty, of course, now Melody, maiding it up. And reincarnated. And not Cecilia, at least not anymore. There’s Serena, a walking, talking, living doll who Melody accidentally and unknowingly put the soul of her dead mother inside. There’s Celedia, who is really an evil minion of darkness, but is also a young girl who’s also a reincarnate. There’s the missing foreign prince, busy being a lothario servant. There’s his sister, who has lived her life as a man, till given the chance in this book to see what the life might have been like. There’s Luciana, who isn’t the tragic dead one anymore, and Luna, who got her role, and Olivia, who almost got her role. Hell, even Anna-Marie disguises herself as her own maid. And then there’s Maika, and the end of this book, where she may be adding to the heroine pile. It’s a Heroine Pileup.

It’s finally time for the school festival! Given all the fuss about the maid cafe, we don’t actually see very much of the cafe itself. Instead we get a lot of the before and after, as everyone tries to finish the uniforms in time and ensure that everything is perfect. That said, Melody can’t participate, so she’s at a loss for what to do. She’s reminded she promised (without thinking) to tour the festival with Schue, so she does this for a while, until Schue’s own subplot comes smashing through the narrative and he literally flees. Then Lect is told to escort her around, which actually goes pretty smoothly, though her lack of romantic interest in him (or indeed anyone) is very obvious. Unfortunately, there’s still supposedly an event that’s due to happen tonight… in the game. Is this world now so different that it won’t happen after all?

Honestly, of all the characters I thought I’d find most interesting in this volume, Celedia would not have topped my list at the start. And yet, here we are. It’s fascinating the way that she’s written, in an almost Umineko-esque way, not quite multiple personality disorder but something else. Tindalos is filled with darkness, rage, evil plans, and an increasing desperation that nothing is going right. Celedia, meanwhile, is clearly suffering from depression. She’s an absolute mess throughout the book, collapsing twice, and even when she’s out and about she’s so clumsy she causes disasters just by walking around. Honestly, her evil side taking over may be good for her. As for Maika, well, she finally has her magical familiar, but as expected with this series, it’s not quite as it should be. It does allow us to get a magical girl parody in here as well, that was fun. That said, the most interesting thing in the book may be the cliffhanger into Book 8.

So yeah, what’s Melody going to do now? Can Celedia use this chance to actually, y’know, achieve a thing? Anything? And will the anime, which ends next week, get a second season? We’ll know in a few months. For Maid fans and Villainess fans.

Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 4

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By Rei Kazama and Fujiazuki. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijō wa Seirei ni Aisarete Saikyō Desu…… Dakedo Futsū ni Koi Shitai)” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by okaykei.

First of all, I feel the need to apologize to Karla, who I clearly jinxed in my last review. Thanks to her family, not only is she no longer a candidate for Prince Andrew’s hand, she’s barely in the book at all. She’s not particularly happy about this of course, and I think is quietly trying to get herself disowned as well. In the meantime, this is good news for Monica and Susanna, the other two candidates. First of all, because hey, Andrew is a catch and you get to be Empress, but also because the “loser” in the wife wars gets Chris, who is himself just as much of a catch. Of course, there’s also the elephant in the room, which is who Deirdre is going to marry. The longer she waits, the worse her options get, and the political kudzu that is her home nation means that there’s a limited number of partners available there. Fortunately, there is one obvious option.

Just as everyone learns about House Johannes blowing up Karla’s social status, the spirits come to take folks to Kohaku’s domain, so that the spirits can meet Andrew properly. This actually ends up defusing another small crisis, as the second prince, Eldred, has been feeling so guilt-ridden over what happened in previous books that he wants to leave the royal family altogether. Elsewhere, Deirdre is busy with her various projects, such as a book – one for children, one for young adults – about how to care for and raise spirits; getting a decent edible chocolate, with the help of Kamil and his country; watch how her other brother proves to be far more romantically adept that her and Chris will ever be; and also meet the spirits of other nations, who quickly get involved in a bidding war for her favor that promises to turn nasty in future volumes.

I appreciate the fact that, by the end of this volume, Deirdre has acknowledged her own ineptness when it comes to perceiving romantic interest, and she’s rapidly also coming to realize that her choice of potential partners who will not somehow make her life a misery is down to one. It was pretty clear in the third book that she and Kamil would be endgame, and it’s made crystal clear here. That said, the combination of Deirdre’s reluctance to get engaged at the age of ten, and her own discomfort with the fact that she’s not only an adult in a child’s body, but an immature adult n a child’s body, lead her to kick the can down the road. Fortunately, a road trip in the next book may help there. As for the rest of the book, there are a few dark suggestions of Deirdre’s future in the story of another woman who was found to be beloved by spirits, and possibly a reincarnator, who ended up killing herself out of depression. Let’s avoid that Bad End, please.

We’ve got a ways to go, though (this is book 4 of 13), so I’m sure there will be drama a-plenty before Deirdre gets both old enough and politically savvy enough to tie the knot. In the meantime, this is a great deal of fun.

The Twelve Kingdoms, Book Six: A Thousand Miles of Wind, the Sky at Dawn, Part 2

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By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan.

This is a book – well, the whole series is, but especially this book – with a message. This whole volume shows us what life is like in a city, and indeed a county, that is so used to corruption and venality that it doesn’t even matter that the new queen is supposed to be better than the old one, things will still continue. We see, over and over in this book, the normal law-abiding folks turning away whenever there’s something horrible going on – or worse, cheering it on – because they’re scared that if they speak up, it will happen to them and their loved ones. The trouble is… sometimes that happens anyway. Youko’s friend in the village, whose name I couldn’t remember from Book Five so I just called her “tragic girl who’s going to die”, lives up to her name. Fortunately, things do get better by the end of the book, as Youko finally comes to terms with that fact that, advisers or no, in the end, she’s the Queen.

Our three heroines continue along their journey of self-discovery. 1) Youko goes touring around the land of Wa in disguise, occasionally helping people out, and discovers that things are much, much worse than she expected… then goes back to the village where she’s staying to find death and disappearance; 2) Suzu decides, after the death of her friend by the evil guy in charge of the city, that murder is okay, but fortunately before she can put her poorly thought-out plan into action she hooks up with the local resistance group, who are here to tell you “murder is okay but only if you have a plan for post-murder”; 3) Shoukei, having finished being shown the life of an abused commoner and also having finished being educated about life in other countries by Rakushun, manages to hook up with the OTHER local resistance group. Eventually the three women meet each other, and they all agree that while murder may be OK, revolution is the way to go here.

The bulk of the character development here goes to Suzu, who got the least last time. She spends most of the first half of the book in a rage, snapping and deciding that murdering Shoukou will solve all her problems, then realizing that in fact it doesn’t solve the most important part, which is that she blames herself for Seishuu’s death, and then realizing that her entire life here to date was built around passively accepting abuse without doing anything, and that changing that is what she needs to do. Youko, meanwhile, simply needs to be galvanized into being proactive, and once she gets past “I don’t know enough about this world” by going on the road and finding out, she quickly cleans house and starts what will hopefully be a prosperous reign. As for Shoukei, she’s not only had recent experience as an abused commoner, but also years as a pampered princess. I admit her character arc here was a bit too “I’m suddenly mature now”, but hey, talking with Rakushun for weeks on end can do that to a person. I’m not sure we’ll see those two again (Youko I’m sure will turn up), but it was nice to follow their journey.

Next up… short story collection? Short story collection. Till then, please read this lovely series that reminds you that overthrowing the state can be a good thing… though admittedly it helps when the leader of the state is on your side.