The Devil Princess, Vol. 5

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By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I had some worries when I began this 5th book that it would be difficult. After all, we’ve basically abandoned the world of the first four books to go back to Japan (albeit a Japan with a lot more magical-powered shamen and spiritualists than I suspect are really around). And this does start a bit slowly as we get used to the new background. That said, not THAT much has changed. Yulucia may be Yuzu now, but she’s a spoiled rich kid here just like she was back home, she’s beloved by all despite being pretty creepy just like she was back home, and the entire climax of the book is her snapping and just going full horror movie, just as in previous volumes. Rest assured, this is still the Devil Princess you know. We even get her servants popping in and being hilarious and disturbing again. Honestly, “hilarious and disturbing” is a good summary of the series as a whole.

This series began with a young teenager with health problems dying and being reincarnated as a demon, then being reborn as Yulucia, the Devil Princess we all know and love. Now, after the events of the 4th book, she’s back in Japan, and back to her old life – a decade before she died. She’s still sickly, but for some reason that only the readers really know, has become terrifyingly beautiful for a little girl. There’s also other oddities. People keep trying to kidnap her, and it’s not *just* because she’s from a rich family (though some of it is that). People keep going crazy around her and trying to murder her. And for some reason when she comes across obviously bad people, with hearts as black as coal, she cannot help but think how incredibly TASTY they look.

As with previous books, Yuzu manages to be thoroughly evil without actually doing many bad things… except to those who deserve it. The climax, not to spoil too much, is basically a yakuza massacre, and there are several pieces of excellent art in this showing her as basically Your Worst Nightmare(tm). But she also makes friends with other children, loves her family, and helps her best friend and potential marriage partner lose weight so he becomes a bit more bishonen. It’s just that because the narrative is presented through her “I don’t really care that much” narration, it can be hard to pick up on. There’s also plenty of humor here – special points to the otome game heroine who shows up a decade early as well, tries to warp the narrative, and immediately gets arrested for her troubles. I wonder if we’ll see her again.

This “arc” finishes in Book 6, so don’t go thinking that we’re back for good. The author says all our questions will be answered, but I don’t have too many. As long as I can see a little girl gleefully murdering bad guys and eating their souls like jelly donuts, I am content.

Genius in the Library: This Bookish Rookie Will Save the Day!, Vol. 1

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By Misa Aoi and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Toshokan no Tensai Shoujo ~Honzuki no Shinjin Kanri wa Boudai na Chishiki de Kuni o Sukuimasu!~” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Dawson Chen.

I’ve written several times about “sometimes you want McDonald’s”. This is not quite that. This is going to a place that you heard was pretty high-end, that served elite, expensive food. The sort of restaurant you’d dress up for. And it does look just like that. Nice ambiance, fancy waiters, impeccable service. And then you get your meal, and it’s… chicken fingers and fries. Now, don’t get me wrong. These are some of the best chicken fingers you’ve ever had, just the right amount of crispiness. And the fries are not only perfectly done, but just the style you prefer. You couldn’t ask for a tastier meal. But come on. You were expecting fancy French food in a wine sauce, eight courses, food for the elite. And you get freaking CHICKEN FINGERS? That’s sort of what reading Genius in the Library was like for me. It has Chicken Fingers at its center, and their name is Martina.

Martina is delighted. She’s passed the civil service exam, and is going to be one of the rare commoners who is allowed to work for the Crown. She is incredibly happy as this gives her access to MORE BOOKS. You see, Martina is a voracious reader, and has already read every single book in the commoner’s library, now she will be able to get to the Royal Library. And things go well, mostly! Her co-workers are mostly nice, except for That One Guy. She gets to be in the library whenever she’s not at work. And they don’t really find her photographic, perfect memory weird at all! Well, OK, yes they do, but in a good way. And frankly, it’s very good for the kingdom that Martina is there, as the monsters, which had been quieter recently, have been getting worse. A dark miasma is spewing them out. They may need to…

Well, that’s a spoiler, but one I was quite amused to see. It’s nice to come to this kind of book from the preparatory side. I really liked this book. The cast are nice, the pacing is good, and… well, OK, let’s talk Martina. I don’t like using a word that rhymes with Barry Blue, but yeah, Martina is pretty much perfect here. She’s not overly shy like, say, Monica Everett, she’s nice to everyone, her book learning translates perfectly to applied learning, she’s a natural born leader, even if she doesn’t realize it, and she rapidly has at least three guys (and one girl?) who seem into her. Hell, even the prejudiced guy who sneers at her does a 180 so fast in the middle of the book your head will spin. This plot is driven by one thing alone, to make Monica the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you hate that sort of thing, you’ll want to read another book. If you don’t mind it as long as it’s well written, enjoy your chicken fingers.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that I’m very interested to read. I presume we will not be changing main characters in Book 2, but you never know. For fans of Bookworms without any real flaws.

The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place, Vol. 6

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By Toryuu and hamm. Released in Japan as “Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru” by Overlap Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Josh DM.

The highlight of each volume of this series continues to be John vs. the plot. The plot has John involved in major battles, John being highly desired by everyone around him, both professionally and personally, John being colleagues with most of the movers and shakers in the galaxy, John is the star of this book. John, meanwhile, considers himself “just a guy”, makes sure to be one of the nameless mercs involved in battles, avoids interaction with other women as much as he possibly can, with the exception of his friend Gonzalez, who is a man in a woman’s body. John resolutely regards getting recruited as being a huge hassle and a mistake. And, as we see at the end of this volume, John is right. I wish that it didn’t come down to “I hate him because he is fat” as much as it does, but it’s also because, while the Empire is trying its best, nobles still think commoners are there to get glory for the nobles and then be sacrificed. No thanks.

What was implied in the last book becomes reality here: the Empire is at war with another Kingdom, who are very much on the “nobles rule, commoners drool” side of things. As such, John and most of the cast are corralled up to be part of the army fighting them, which mostly goes well until the kingdom shows off that they have a literal planet destroying weapon. John eventually does have to subtly ask for help there. The rest of the book involves the aftershocks of this war, as John’s “mind the store” mission goes south due to a sandstorm and robot dogs, and escorting a corporate group goes very badly as the group ends up killed, which leaves a bad taste in John’s mouth – he may be an NPC but he hates failure. Heck, even seemingly kind old men turn out to secretly be watching him very closely. As are the many women in this series.

Last time I avoided mentioning it, but I will briefly discuss the elephant in the room here, which is Scuna’s subplot. She’d been seen the least of the main girls, mostly as it’s just harder to find excuses to get her in John’s orbit. This works very well. It will probably also have repercussions down the line, and I’d worry about her chances of surviving if this weren’t a series with cover art like what we have. I also liked Shiora, and the fact that she was straightforward and earnest because, as the author says in the afterword, he already had a tsundere in the group with Fialka. John’s advice on how to be a great pilot like him amounts to “do it over and over and over again”, and I hope we see more of her. I also liked the Mei Hatsume addition to the cast. Every light novel seems to get its own Mei Hatsume these days.

The next volume in the series came out in Japan literally two days ago, so we’ll be waiting a bit. Till then, assuming you don’t mind a harem that goes nowhere due to the lead’s total lack of interest, this is great fun.