Monthly Archives: June 2020

Banner of the Stars: Dinner With Family

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By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

This volume takes us right back to the start of the series… and also cuts its ties with it, making it clear that whatever future Jint might have, it’s not going to be on the planet he was born on, or even with the guys he hung out with in college (or its equivalent). Unfortunately, it’s hard to get past the fact that he is taking on the sins of his father in many ways. That and his future lies with Lafier, but everyone and their brother knows that, from his former crew (who he reunites with in this book) to the people who raised him (who at least reconcile with him), the latter going to far as to essentially give Lafier their blessing. As for Lafier herself, even she admits that she’s just hanging around in this book – she’s here because Jint is, but her future absolutely lies in space, and just thinking about how she would want to do things she can’t is making her envious.

The cover art has the two of them looking quite cute, and that fits with the tone of this volume. After the prison drama and watching Jint suffer last time, here there’s a breather, as he has to deal with his world, which is in rebellion once more, and harboring soldiers from the enemy. He’s also trying to accrue some staff so that he can start earning money to pay back the massive debt he’s increasing – Lafier is just fine with him borrowing more and more, but then Lafier seems to be just fine with most everything in this book. This actually becomes a bit of a character point, as when Jint tries to recruit his old friend Durin, who rejects the offer because, frankly, he finds Abh creepy. He’s not wrong, to be honest – we’ve gotten used to the Abh’s tendency to banter in the face of danger in previous books, but to those on the outside, the fact that there’s a total lack of anger or rage can be unsettling.

The other half of the book sees Sobash and the rest of Lafier’s former crew take part in a mock battle which, coincidentally, involves getting to Jint’s home system and having the battle there – its remoteness from everything being a plus. Unfortunately, Martinh decides to fire at one of the ships – which does basically no damage – and the other ship fires back what they assume s also a shot that will cause no damage – it in fact causes a fair bit, though we’re not told how much. The reason we’re not told is that the planet makes it very clear that, in exchange for returning nominally to the Empire, Jint himself has to vow to never even go near the star system again. It’s total rejection, and the fact that it’s coming from the couple who brought him up hurts a bit.

Still, by now Jint, who’s always been a bit weird, is a lot more Abh than he’d perhaps like to think – and his future is definitely in space, with Lafier, though they’re still no closer to being a real couple except that everyone except them knows they are. This also brings this ‘arc’ to an end, though we’re not getting a ‘________ of the Stars’ title change this time. As for when we’ll get the next book here… not sure. I suspect they were licensed in chunks of three, so sales may need to tick up a bit. Till then, this is a good, if low on action, volume.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 24

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

It can be very hard to stop something once it’s gotten started, and when that something is “war”, it becomes ten times as hard. At the end of the last volume I thought we’d get a long section of Yona and Su-Won debating the subject, but no, Su-Won knows that now is not the time to have Yona whisper sweet words of peace in his ear. Instead we get some very clever tactical maneuvering on both sides, relying on Hak’s reputation with the Wind tribe, Yona’s ability to make Tae-Jun do anything she says (though at least there is a bit of “it’s not because I like you or anything” to the logic), and Su-Won figuring BOTH of these things out and making his own move to ensure that yes, there is going to be a war with a lot of dead people. Because sometimes that’s how you king, especially given the previous king.

The cliffhanger implies that the next volume may be different, but this volume reminded me how good the author is at maneuvering things so that expected events do not take place, or go in different directions. It’s a good skill to have, especially as the reader does not feel manipulated. Despite negotiating with Ogi, the meeting with Su-Won does not happen, and instead we get retainer Min-Su, who sympathizes heavily with Yona but also serves the King, and explains that this war can only end in a bloody battle. And yet we don’t get that battle here either, though we come close. (We also don’t get much of Kouren, and I hope that there is some focus on her soon.) As ever, Yona is trying to solve things by being an idealist who can back her ideals up, sometimes with violence, but here through negotiating attempts. It’s hard to negotiate when the other side avoids you, though…that said, more and more people are discovering she is alive.

As you would expect, there’s not really a lot of humor in this book, although the reaction to Jaeha’s leg may be the high point there. This also brings me to Mizari, who is probably the most fascinating part of this book. Let’s face it, it’s rare that ‘the guy with the slasher smile who’s clearly not all there’ gets deep character development. He’s fascinated with the dragon warrior captives (this is why we see Jaeha’s leg), and when he sees the soldiers that are going against Su-Won’s forces, he kills one just because he realizes how weak they are. His logic – he would have died immediately on the battlefield anyway – is twisted but also shows that he too is thinking about how this war is going to go for Kouren’s side. Badly. And that’s why he wants the power of the Dragon Warriors, because he wants to protect her. I don’t like Mizari as a person, but as a character he’s fantastic.

The cliffhanger implies we’ll finally be getting the confrontation that we didn’t get this time, but honestly I suspect that despite all of Yona and Hak’s maneuvering that we’re going to end up going to war anyway. In the meantime, please keep reading one of the best shoujo series out there.

Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! ~A Sign-on-the-Line Wedding Story~, Vol. 2

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By Tsuredurebana and Rin Hagiwara. Released in Japan as “Dareka Kono Joukyou wo Setsumei Shite Kudasai! ~Keiyaku Kara Hajimaru Wedding~” by ArianRose. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mattias Hirsch.

Despite everything seemingly being resolved at the end of the last book in terms of their marriage, the title of this series still fits, as Viola continues to not really believe it. A combination of her own low self-worth and the guy who’s now trying to win her love being astonishingly bad at it means that any romantic progression we see here is minimal at best. To Viola’s credit, she does actually blush near the end of the book when Cercis gets in her face and says he wants them to be a real couple. But even then, there’s no real sign that she’s fallen for him, more that she’s taken aback by his actions. In order to win the girl, Cercis is not only going to have to get a lot better at not being a rich playboy type, he’s also going to have to hammer into her again and again that he loves her. Fortunately, he has several more volumes to do this.

We begin where the last book left off, with Cercis’ Mistress moving out after dumping his sorry ass. I appreciated the fact that, although she was clearly the “other woman”, the story treated her with respect anyway, and I wonder if we’ll see her again. After that, there’s various events that Cercis uses to try to get closer to his wife who just wants to hang around the mansion and pretend to be a maid. There’s balls (where Viola completely trashes a stereotypical “princess curl” rich girl by simply using her low self-image as a weapon), there’s dates (where Viola continues to be appalled at how much rich people spend, and Cercis begins to vaguely catch a clue), there’s visits back home (where we see a lot of what made Viola who she is today… her mother certainly didn’t go out of her way to praise her), and in the end there’s yet ANOTHER rumor that Cercis has taken a mistress, showing that it’s hard to reform when everyone already thinks the worst of you. Through all this, Viola blithely glides along, with her inner narration providing the snark and her outer face being mostly the perfect duchess.

I praised the translation on Twitter, as Viola’s narrative voice is the main reason to buy this. There is a caveat, though: if you’re bothered by the use of ‘modern’ language in a series with horse and carriages, you may find some of Viola’s remarks jar – at one point she uses the term “helicopter parent”, for example. But honestly it didn’t really bother me, and I found it gave Viola a snap to her lines that was perfectly in character. I do hope that future books work a bit more on her self-loathing… there’s a point where she (having slept poorly the night before) accidentally breaks a vase and she immediately loses it. She’s sent back to her earldom to recuperate for the day, but is convinced in her sleepiness that Cercis will divorce her now. The fact that this isn’t really panicked or upset but just as matter of fact as her other thoughts makes it hurt all the more. Someone needs to teach this girl confidence.

That said, right now it’s Cercis who needs to be learning lessons more, as he starts to figure out that expensive food and presents is not going to win him jack shit, and he slowly begins to see what Viola actually likes. If he continues to be a better person, and someone kick start’s Viola’s self-image, we could see this couple on paper become a real couple soon. In the meantime, I enjoy Viola’s snark a whole lot.

Oh yes, and the entire book is made even better by Cercis’ trio of drunken lady knights, who are a stitch.