Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ Short Story Collection, Vol. 6

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Makoto Fugetsu. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: Tanpenshuu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

I started to notice the trend online over the last few months in various corners of the Re: Zero fandom. The “Subaru is trans” discussion. Now, I’m not sure how much of that if any is deliberate on the part of Tappei Nagatsuki. I will say, however, that this book does not at all discourage any of that talk. There is an event which requires a solution, and Subaru’s solution, which he arrives at by himself with no other suggestion, is “dress as Natsumi Schwartz, my female alter ego”. Natsumi also contrasts nicely with Garfiel and Otto, who due to various reasons are also dressed as women to go to this event. Sometimes this works like you’d expect (Garfiel), sometimes it works well until you’re told at the end folks weren’t fooled (Otto), but Natsumi puts in effort. Not breaking character even when circumstances would welcome it. Practicing the voice after previous embarrassment and getting it just right. It doesn’t feel like a performance. Just saying.

We get two large short stories and one small one. 1) Ram wants to thrown a surprise party for Rem, but Subaru and Emilia can’t figure out what the event is actually celebrating. It turns out Ram should ALSO have a party, and the two sisters proceed to fall over themselves deflecting back to the other one. (Set after Arc 2, published at the same time as Book 11.) 2) Ram is sick, so cannot go to an important event where Roswaal is a guest. And it’s an event that requires a woman to accompany him. For various reasons, Garfield, Otto, and Subaru all end up dressing up and going to the event. Unfortunately for them, the event becomes a locked-room mystery. (This takes place after Arc 4, and was published around the time of Book 19.) 3) A young girl who lives alone in a shack outside a village rescues a woman who calls herself Omega from a freezing river. As Omega warms up, she discovers that there’s something very strange going on with this village and the Beast that menaces it. (Takes place sometimes after Arc 4, published around Book 22.)

First of all, the third story may require the loyal reader to reread the 4th arc to remind themself who Omega actually is… though, erm, the cover may also help. The bulk of the book is the 2nd story, which not only has lots of dressing as women but is also a giant mystery parody, with Otto as the detective. It will likely remind most folks of Ace Attorney, complete with over the top characters, over the top schemes, and contradictory statements that are then revised which Otto has to then go through again. The story also reminds us once more how high a bar Emilia has to clear to get anyone, not only to support her candidacy, but to like her at all. The answer we get here is simply “meet Emilia and have her talk to you”, which is nice. As for the first story, it’s heartwarming and also a nice callback to the start of the series, where Subaru was screwing up a lot and Emilia’s airheadedness was sky high.

A nice solid collection. Fans should enjoy it. And folks who support Subaru’s eggness will definitely enjoy it.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Curtain Call

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

Siiiiiigh. I should not really be surprised, but this final volume of The Executioner and Her Way of Life turned out much like many of the previous ones I’ve read. It had a slow start that made me want to skim, an interesting middle bit where I thought it might achieve something, and a disappointing ending where the author doesn’t really give the readers the resolution they want. It’s a bit of a mess, and I guess that fits. Fortunately, there are good bits in the middle. Also fortunately, the characters that I didn’t want to die don’t. But the epilogue has a bit of an “and the adventure continues” feel to it, like you might see in a Shonen Jump anime cancelled prematurely. “Rest assured, everything is still happening much the same.” That said, if there’s one character I blame for this disappointing final volume it’s Gadou. She’s a pill, she’s not fun to read, and she’s brought along her evil alternate self. She sucks.

We pick up right where we left off, with Menou and company trying to defeat Hakua, despite Hakua being nearly omnipotent. They finally manage to do this, mostly thanks to Akari snapping out of her funk, but end up getting pulled into… modern Japan? Well, not quite. It’s a modern Japan that’s basically been set up as a perfect environment for Hakua, now the teenager who was in hospital her entire life, to “get well” and go to school, make friends, etc. Sadly for Hakua, Menou, Akari, and Gadou are also in this reality… and another person, who allows our favorite princess her own life back but decides instead to go body-hopping and ruin everything in this reality just to try to kill Gadou. And look, I get that, it’s Gadou. But this is still a tantrum. Can Menou fix everything, save Hakua, and return to their own world with Akari?

To get to bits I liked: the brief look at Akari’s awful life before she ended up isekai’d was quite effective, and helps tie in to a scene later on when she has to deal with Hakua’s new reality, which is definitely NOT the Japan she was taken from. Hakua’s plotline in general was also handled well, and was probably my favorite part of the book, giving a definite closure to her story. But the epilogue was just meh. Everyone’s cleaning up after the events of the previous ten books. There are still splinter terrorist groups, so Menou and Momo are still basically fantasy cops, now helped by Akari and Ashuna. As for the yuri, no change there. Momo and Akari still love Menou, but that’s as far as it goes, and everything stays status quo. I was vaguely amused at Maya, who no longer has to be a little kid forever, suddenly shooting up like a weed. And it’s kind of amusing seeing Sahara, who is a born administrator, whine about how she can’t stop administrating.

Really, I can’t quite explain why the ending didn’t land for me, except it didn’t. If you watched the anime and wonder what happens next, I’d recommend fanfics.

Rise of the Lowborn: Ascending the Ranks by Crushing Incompetent Nobles, Vol. 1

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By Kosaka Hanane and Kurogiri. Released in Japan as “Heimin Shushhun no Shōkan, Munō na Kizoku Jōkan o Jūrin Shite Nariagaru” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

Yes, it’s time for another episode of “Sean reads a title way outside of his wheelhouse”. Much to my surprise, there isn’t a specific event here that necessitates our protagonist spending the rest of the series getting revenge. Instead, it’s merely the crushing weight of disappointment and betrayal from his previous life that has led him to regard this one with disdain. But make no mistake about it, this book is basically “you know your boss who lords his status over you? Or those rich kids at high school who mock you when you can’t afford the nice things? Wouldn’t it be great if you could destroy them forever?” Hazen is especially good at doing this, and is frankly a villain in all but name. Fortunately, he’s surrounded by one or two interesting characters, but I have to say, much of this reads like a teenager’s spite diary.

After graduating third in his class at the military academy… but getting his diploma last because he’s a filthy commoner… Hazen briefly talks to his two (2) friends, verbally destroys an arrogant noble who drops by to mock him and then heads off to his new assignment, a frontier post where commoners have been assigned for some time now and “mysteriously disappear”. Hazen is not like those other commoners. He’s different. He arrives, is assigned to the worst unit on the frontier, and proceeds to take command by cutting off the heads of two of the worst sergeants in charge, forcing everyone to actually be physically fit, and generally treating the soldiers like human beings… provided they’re not nobles. He also manages to make peace with the local native tribe, and then prepares to invade the fortress that no one has ever been able to invade. He does all this with 100% no emotion whatsoever. It’s all logic. His twisted logic, but hey.

First off, as always I warn readers, there’s slavery in this. In fact, there’s slavery used as comedy – the schmuck of a noble that Hazen spends the entire book destroying is told the only thing he’s good for is being a slave, and that he’s probably not even good enough to be a high-grade slave. Hazen’s shtick is that he’s utterly blunt about everything, but assumes people will be OK with that since he’s just telling the truth. It also helps that he’s almost all-powerful at magic and combat, too. Fortunately, the book has a few upsides. At one point he finds an orphan girl whose sole purpose is to be a tsukkomi and yell at Hazen, and she does it very well. I also liked his bodyguard, the massive woman on the cover, who he realizes will be ground up by the military machine, so he makes her his bodyguard so that he can use her but not grind her up. (In case you’re wondering, the third girl on the cover appears in the book for about 3 pages, despite multiple color pictures and a bio. This is odd, as there is a plot-relevant woman who could be on the cover but she doesn’t even get any art at all. Possibly as she’s one of the native tribe and not a green-eyed blonde.)

If you .like series where the hero always acts with “cold logic”, with the exception of one or two moments where he goes “you know what? That makes me mad” like Droopy, this should be like catnip for you. I’m not sure I plan to read any more, though. Hazen is just not fun.