Monthly Archives: September 2018

Otorimonogatari: Decoy Tale

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By NISIOISIN and VOFAN. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc. Translated by Ko Ransom.

This was one I was always going to be very interested in. Long-time readers of this blog will know that “Sean loves to defend hated characters” is a thing I do, especially when the characters are young women and the haters are mostly men. And while I’d argue that the most recent Monogatari anime has meant that Nadeko Sengoku isn’t hated anymore, I think there’s still a lot of ambivalence about how to react to her in the fandom. Now, having read the book that features her, I can see why that’s the case; Nisioisin is trying to lead you that way himself. There are a LOT of elements in this book designed to set the reader up to viciously turn on Nadeko. Rumor has it that the story idea came to Nisioisin after Kana Hanazawa, the voice actress who played her in the first Bakemonogatari series, said she’d like to play a Nadeko who’s turned evil. And that’s what we get here, even though I can’t help but see it as a stressed introvert at the end of her rope finally snapping.

Even Nadeko’s narrative voice is leading the reader to think “OMG, FAKE CUTE!”. She thinks of herself in third person, and speaks that way as well, which is common for children in Japan, as well as “girls who are trying to be cute”. She also has a tendency to quote and misspell certain words, which I’m not sure about – is it something to do with katakana? I’d like translation notes on that, but again, I think it’s meant to be seen as an affectation. Most notably, though, when she uses the personal pronoun ‘I’ it’s in lower case, showing off the fact that Nadeko debases herself to a large degree. That said, for all the narrative tricks, Nadeko is basically going through the ever-popular “middle school syndrome” to a large degree, and most of her personality problems that aren’t “is a terminally shy girl” are based around that. It’s telling that she gets called out big time by Tsukihi, who one can argue is the extroverted version of Nadeko, but also owns that and doesn’t try to deny it.

There are a lot of great set pieces in this book. Tsukihi’s teardown of Nadeko, which is not so much about Nadeko’s fake cuteness – Tsukihi even praises that – so much as Nadeko’s desire to not try to move forward or have a goal. (There’s some light subtext here, not helped by Nadeko wondering if she actually fell in love with Tsukihi rather than Araragi.) And then there’s Nadeko finally losing it when her asshole teacher asks if she’s managed to fix their classes’ problem, as she starts screaming, swearing, and kicking in doors in one epic tantrum that is, frankly, awesome. Unfortunately, things go south after that. For all that the “villain” of this piece points out that he’s imaginary and this is all Nadeko’s delusion, we can finally start to see a sort of arc villain: Ogi Oshino seems to actively be pushing against Araragi, and it’s concerning, especially as this book ends unresolved – Nadeko is now a Missing Person, and the god that took her place is holed up at the shrine fantasizing about blockbuster action-filled finales that, I hate to break it to her, are not going to take place.

Next time, after Hanamonogatari leapt forward nine months, and Otorimonogatari about 2-3, we finally go back to August to resolve a few plot points there. In the meantime, enjoy Nadeko Medusa, but try not to think of evil scorned Nadeko as her “real” personality any more than cutesy Nadeko was. If we see a “real” Nadeko in this story, I think it comes from a repeated line of dialogue: “It’s just… tiring.”

Silver Spoon, Vol. 4

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By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley.

Through the beginning of Silver Spoon, we’ve seen Hachiken interact with the other agricultural college students, and gradually learn wheat they do and how tough a job it is. He has a reputation, as is stated in this book, for being “stupidly honest”, but doesn’t quite have the life skills that are needed yet to wear that well – he just comes across as stressed most of the time. Still, he is slowly making an impact, and we see that the graduating third years know that he can use those skills if given the chance when they choose him to be vice-president. What’s more, his own ideas are starting to influence the others – we get the resolution of the “pig meat” arc here, and it shows off the way that he forces others to think of new ways to try things and new options to explore, as well as proving Hachiken is never going to become stoic about the slaughter of animals.

Of course, while Hachiken is the main character, there are others to think of. And not everyone wears their heart on their sleeve the way he does. We already know that Mikage is coping with needed to take over her family’s farm even when she’d rather be working with horses, and now it looks as if Komaba is having issues as well. Since they’re both farm kids who grew up together, it’s natural they’d confide in each other. Since they’re both very good at pretending everything is fine in front of other people, it’s natural they’re both unwilling to confide in Hachiken. Still, they both need social skills development, as the blunt “it’s nothing to do with you” they give him over and over pretty much eats into his heart. Unlike Hachiken, who is still a bit lovestruck, I don’t think that this means Mikage and Komaba are dating, I think it just means they’re not good at showing weakness. Which is why, in the end, Mikage ISN’T picked to vice-president of the club.

There are a lot of things going on in this series, and it seems planned out in advance quite well. The chapters do a good job alternating between character drama that advances the plot, learning about farming and agriculture, and goofy fun comedy. The goofy comedy this time around involves all the guys escaping so they can go to “Area 51” to see the amazing spectacle that only comes there at night. Yes, that’s right, it’s… not UFOs. It is, of course, something that would excite everyone except Hachiken (and Tamako, for an extra added punchline). At this point, Silver Spoon seems like a series brimming with its author’s self-confidence. Next time around it looks as if we’re getting the Ag School equivalent of a Culture Festival. Let’s hope Hachiken remembers to have fun. (Who am I kidding, he’ll be a wreck.) Every volume of this is a joy.

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Princess of the Six Flowers

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!: Chūnibyō demo Majo ga Shitai!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

The subtitle of this volume should be very familiar to Yen On fans, as it’s a take on the light novel series Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers. Whereas in the Rokka series you spend each novel wondering who’s going to be accused of being a traitor, in KonoSuba you spend each novel wondering who’s going to be the designated straight man. Here it’s Darkness, who is forced to act the noble lady far more than she’d like, given that most of the book takes place in a royal castle or in the homes of noble lords. That said, Megumin is mostly under control here as well, with a few notable exceptions. Heck, even AQUA, of all people, shows off her skills during a big battle and is revered by the city for keeping casualties to a minimum. Yes, the entire cast are fantastic… with the exception of Kazuma, who as usual needs to descend to his lowest point before he can rise again.

The cover girl is Iris, the young princess of the realm, who Kazuma desperately wants to see as a little sister so he can add to his list of fetishes (no, really, that’s basically what he says, though at least he has no romantic interest in the 12-year-old princess). She is, for the most part, content to go along with this, as her real big brother is away fighting the demon lord and Kazuma treats her like a normal little girl rather than a royal princess. Unfortunately for Kazuma, he rapidly runs out of cool stories to tell her, and the stories he does tell, as we’ve seen, involve him being clever but the others doing the heavy lifting. And then there really IS a demon lord attack, and Kazuma proves why whenever he’s headstrong and impetuous, he is the absolute worst. Given the rest of the squad saved the day, he’s basically ripped a new one by the princess’ bodyguard in a vicious yet 100% accurate takedown.

She has a point. Aqua, Megumin and Darkness, in a group of four, are all eccentric, impossible to handle weirdos. The same group, however, in a pack of 200 adventurers, are able to function far better. But of course, for better or worse, Kazuma *is* part of their group, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. And he does get to show off his actual talent, finally, in the last quarter of the book, where he helps Chris the thief (remember her?) try to steal a dangerous artifact that has made its way to the princess. When he’s in trouble and actually thinks, Kazuma is very impressive. He’s the opposite of a hero like Luffy. There’s also the standard KonoSuba humor here, which most of the audience is expecting, but it’s a sign of good writing that I’m ignoring it in favor of discussing Kazuma’s character and how he can be incredibly frustrating at times.

A cliffhanger makes me think that the next volume will be Darkness-oriented, and I hope she gets to be silly again. Till then, KonoSuba fans will like this even as they yell at Kazuma for being… well, Kazuma.