The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods, Vol. 5

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By Yanagi and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Mori no Hashikko no Chibi Majo-san” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nathan Macklem.

As I was reading this fifth volume, I mentioned online that Misha almost dies, and was warned about spoilers. Is it a spoiler, though? Now, “Misha dies”, that would be a spoiler, and we’d have to find a different tiny witch to take over. But no, if there’s one thing this book shows us, it’s that Misha may have dramatic things happen to her, but she is blessed by the author, and therefore everything revolves around her as it should. She’s on a ship filled with salty old sailors, but she’s so shiny that they all love her. She fishes in the sea for the first time, and the fish all bite. She sees dolphins, they do a little dance for her. Even when bad things inevitably do happen to her, they are part of the action and designed to get her to the next place where the plot demands. Which, and again, this is not much of a spoiler, is not going to be the village of the People of the Forest after all.

Misha and Ryne, along with a seasick Ren, are on a boat headed towards their village. They had to choose between a dangerous land voyage and a dangerous sea voyage, and went with the faster one. For the first third of the book or so, things are great. Misha gets along with everyone, catches some tasty fish, helps out when a sailor falls and breaks a shoulder, and is generally a plucky young girl, in the cheerful sense. Then pirates attack, and she becomes a plucky young girl, in the stressful sense, as when the pirates fail, one tries to kidnap her as she looks rich, and she ends up falling in the sea. Fortunately, ridiculous things happen, and she ends up being helped by a young man in a fishing boat, who takes her to his village that is hidden away from the rest of the world. Which is… bad news for those trying to find her.

I suspect we’re going to be at this village for at least a book or two, and we get introduced to a lot of new regulars. I really liked Ella, the apprentice to the village doctor who is a whole bunch of quirks all at once. She’s a bit hyperactive and ADHD, she has a perfect photographic memory but hates studying, she was a mother at 15, and she both really likes and also feels a tiny bit jealous of Misha, who is a couple years younger than her but already an experienced apothecary. We also get introduced to the village gods, who, it should not surprise readers who recall the last time we met this world’s gods, are not what they seem. Misha, of course, can’t leave this alone, which I think will be both good and bad for her, and I hope she does not end up burned at the stake. And while I joked about it a bit, the village having magical “even homing birds can’t find us, you’re totally stuck” powers made me roll my eyes a bit. Not Deus ex Machina or Diabolus ex Machina, just a “Well, whatever” Machina.

Next time, no doubt, Misha will be plucky, get into trouble, and win people over by medicine and being really nice. Should be fun.

From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress!, Vol. 6

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By Masamune Okazaki and Hayase Jyun. Released in Japan as “Mob Dōzen no Akuyaku Reijō wa Dansō Shite Kōryaku Taishō no Za wo Nerau” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Caroline W.

Every so often with these Villainess books I have to double check the imprint to make sure if they’re a Heart title or not. You’d think with this one it would be obvious. The entire premise is that all the men in the series are in love with Elizabeth, and she is unaware that they are. And to be fair, the series does a good job of keeping a “balanced harem” so you’re not sure who the winning guy will be, or even if there will be a winning guy, as Elizabeth states multiple times that she has no real interest in marriage and doesn’t even know what being in love is like. But we’re six volumes in, and I admit that I’m probably biased towards the one yuri option, but still, I have to say: these guys are kinda dull? I really cannot imagine Elizabeth with any of them, and clearly neither can she. Isaac is her bestie. Robert is a loyal dog. It’s a bit sad.

We’re back at school, and Elizabeth has suddenly realized that what with all the stuff happening to her this summer, she never finished her homework. (Let’s be honest, she wasn’t going to do it anyway.) After attempting to copy off Isaac, she ends up having to do extra studying, which ends up with her and Isaac getting caught up in the Witch subplot from the last book, and Elizabeth accidentally being a bit dumber than usual (impressive given she’s not that bright) and giving away that she knows who her teacher really is. Oh yes, and her masochistic foreign stalker is worse than ever. Given all of this, it should probably come as a relief to her when she actually does get influenced by the ghost, but in fact it ends up being terrible for all concerned, because an Elizabeth with nothing holding her back is the most terrifying thing ever.

As always, the series is at its best when it’s deconstructing the otome games tropes it’s filled with. The identity of the witch appears to be something entirely out of left field (and, like Elizabeth, I had completely forgotten they existed), but if you remember the audience for this game, things make a bit more sense. I also like the fact that the second game was actually a bit of a failure, and they never made any more. For one thing, it helps make losers like Yoh a bit more tolerable. But yeah, sorry, once again it’s the chemistry between Elizabeth and Lilia that most interests me – mostly the fact that they have chemistry at all. The fact that Lilia has actually confessed means that she’s the only one Elizabeth consciously seduces in order to get her way, or to prove a smug point, or just for the hell of it – Elizabeth clearly loves being seductive. Which is good news for her, and whichever guy this series may end up choosing, but bad news for Lilia, who is quite rightly pissed off at all of this. Though admittedly her yandere tendencies are not helping at all. Also, Lilia, please decide if you are gay or just Liz-sexual.

There’s at least one more book in this series, but I must admit I find it far more interesting to see how Elizabeth’s mind works (notice how often she calls herself a villain in this book) than in who gets to marry her.

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 8

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

(This book, by necessity, goes into spoilery detail about what happens in this volume, bar the final scene.)

This is an ongoing series in Japan, and I think the 13th volume just came out. That said, I was starting to wonder if we were getting near the end of the “main plot”, as it were, especially after the revelations from the last volume. Not only was I correct, but I was very correct. If I can misuse the expression for a moment, this entire volume is busy taking all the rifles off of Anton Chekhov’s mantelpiece and firing them all at once. It’s thrilling, if also quite tragic, especially in the first half. And it leads up to what we’ve been waiting for since this series began. Monica has to decide which is more important to her, the leaps and bounds she’s made as Monica Norton, or her old life and secret mission as Monica Everett. Her choice is the cliffhanger ending of this book, and one the author says they’ve wanted to write since it began. I admit I’ve waited for it as well. Bravo.

We’re getting closer to the end of the school year, Felix graduating, and the end of Monica’s mission. We’re also getting closer to the throne war coming to an end, as Duke Clockford and Felix go around using and/or killing off various pawns at their disposal. And then there’s the Empire, who decide to threaten Monica. They end up reaching a deal. Either Monica stops the war, or she has to personally kill the entire royal family. We then get an extended flashback, which shows the backstory of Isaac Walker, as well as the fact that Monica doesn’t need to worry, one of the royal family is already long dead. Unfortunately, Felix misjudges how important he is to the Duke, and when one assassination attempt fails, finds himself accused of being an imposter, arrested, and locked up in preparation for execution. Given that all this is true, it’s gonna be hard to stop.

I will admit, apart from the dramatic climax of the book, it’s the tragic bits that stand out more here. Isaac’s memories of his past are just as depressing and horrifying as you’d expect, and pretty much tie in with everything we know about him. And when Monica gives him the name of her father, he also discovers that he is, technically, responsible for her father’s death as well. All this causes him to have a massive death complex, so things are not just going to be as easy as “let’s have you escape”. Monica too is not having a good time, though it’s quite noticeable how much better she’s gotten at communicating since she became Monica Norton. Cyril is also handled well here, though I have bad news for him, as Monica “senpaizones” him. Isaac probably has the best chance, though I still think the most likely romantic option for Monica is “none”. We also see the return of a character I never thought I’d see again, and it was wonderful to catch up with them.

The 9th book is not scheduled yet, and I hope it doesn’t take the 9 months it took to get from 7 to 8. Fantastic stuff.