By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

Oh God, microstories. My old nemesis. (Yes, I know Monthly Comic Alive is supposed to be my nemesis, but I feel that was a me-from-20-years-ago nemesis. Sorry, Monthly Comic Alive.) It was going to be hard enough to review this, given it’s been almost two years since the last book and I’ve forgotten so much about the series. But now I find that most of the stories are the 3-5 page ones you get as freebies when you buy it at a certain chain store, or ones published exclusively to the web. It’s also the most recent volume in Japan, where it came out over a year ago, so get ready for me to forget even more of this when the 7th volume comes out whenever. On the bright side, the stories do remind us of the main reason why people enjoy this series and it got an anime. and it’s not the hair. Well, not JUST the hair.

While this came out after the 6th book in Japan, the stories here only go up to the fourth book. They’re even grouped by book, i.e. the Vol. 1 extra stories, then 2, etc. Among the more interesting ones, we see some flashbacks to Rishe’s past as a merchant, as as a maid, and rescuing Raul and learning to be a hunter. We see a number of stories where Rishe and Arnold go out “in disguise” to go shopping, or scout some area, etc., which shows how very bad at it they are. There’s an AU where this is a Magical Academy story, which honestly seems a lot more relaxed and pleasant than this one is. The largest story, written for this book, has Rishe and Arnold on another trip, and this time they’re pretending they’re already married. Which leads to, well, the reactions that we’ve gotten from Rishe the entire volume, if I’m being honest.

If you read this series to enjoy Rishe being clever and badass, with perhaps an action scene or two, feel free to skip this one and wait for the next, as there’s none of that here. If you read this series to see Rishe blush and get embarrassed around her very hot fiance, then this is going to be catnip for you, as that’s all it is. Story after story of Rishe being in love, not wanting to admit it, and blushing and getting embarrassed. That said, this author does excel at making this as cute, adorable and sexy as possible, so it never feels boring even if it is a bit repetitious. There’s also some stories about Theodore and Oliver as well, which don’t really add depth, but that’s the trouble with microstories. Everyone is who they are in the main books.

And now we wait for the next book. But boy, those kids are cute, aren’t they?

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

I actually had to go back and double check to make sure that this plotline had not been done before. “Trying to catch pirates who have been kidnapping noble women to sell as ‘merchandise’ to other customers” is a plotline that so obviously fits in with the sort of series 7th Time Loop is. No one is more well-suited to having a sword fight on board a pirate ship than Arnold and Rishe. And, as usual with this series, one of the better examples of its genre, it sticks the landing with ease. This gives us a lot of what we’ve come to love from this series. Another figure from Rishe’s past lives who clearly was in love with her and who makes Arnold jealous. Rishe getting far, far more involved than she has any right to be. Rishe getting intensely embarrassed and blushy whenever the idea of genuinely being in love with Arnold comes up. It’s all just adorable.

Rishe tells Arnold that she needs to go to the country’s main port city to get last-minute alterations on her wedding dress. But, of course, she has an ulterior motive. She knows that at some point around this time, Prince Arnold “kidnapped” shipbuilders from the naval country of Siarga, but kept it secret, so that when he inevitably went to war with them, they would be unaware that they actually have a real Navy. She wants to stop this in order to prevent the war, but she and Arnold also come across the kidnappers mentioned above, who are doing a trade in young, virginal noble ladies with few family attachments that can be sold to *those* sorts of buyers. The odd thing is that this sort of piracy and kidnapping is very high-risk, and would not remotely justify the sort of reward they could expect from selling off the women. If there something else going on here?

We get a few more details about Arnold’s past here, and see how his mother was killed by his own hand. Needless to say, it’s even more tragic than was hinted at previously. I honestly kind of wish that we were getting more. The series is clearly leading slowly up to its climax, especially given the cliffhanger with Rishe wanting to speak to Arnold’s father. But for all that Arnold clearly has fallen for Rishe, and you would expect that everything Rishe has done has managed to change the future, the plot requires that we worry that it will all be for naught. So every once in a while, usually when he’s looking at Rishe’s sleeping face, we get the occasional narration showing that his eyes are cold and unfeeling, just in case you didn’t think he could still start a war and kill everyone. It’s meant to keep the tension up, but… I would like a bit more insight into what’s in his head, to be honest.

Despite that, this is still another excellent volume in the series. Fans of the anime who were waiting for more will be delighted. Unfortunately, the 7th volume is not out in Japan yet, so be prepared for a long wait to see what Rishe has to say to the king.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

The best part of this book I already quoted on Twitter: it’s Arnold pointing out how utterly ridiculous the premise of this series and all others like it really is. They’re going back over the party that began this series, one which, 5 volumes in, is a lot more suspicious than it felt at the time, and he says, and I quote, “A one-sided dissolution of an engagement in a public venue isn’t something that should happen in the first place.” To be fair, a lot of other authors agree, and this is hardly the first book showing the whole thing is a setup. But it’s always fun seeing Rishe be very clever and then finding that Arnold has already worked this out months ago and was waiting for her to catch up. Because yes, Rishe’s denunciation turns out to have been orchestrated by outside operators, and its goal was – you guessed it – to cause war between Arnold and literally everyone else.

Rishe and Arnold are taking in the opera, which Rishe has been looking forward to. Two surprising events happen: the leading lady collapses, and Prince Dietrich, Rishe’s old fiance, is also present at the event. Rishe is delighted to get closer to Sylvia, the opera singer, who has a reputation for a string of love affairs (and is thus highly amused at a very virginal Rishe) but also finds herself falling in love for real with one of Arnold’s guards. As for Prince Dietrich, he’s mostly an object of scorn and mockery throughout the book, having supposedly run away from home to get away from his beloved Mary, who it turns out has taken over from Rishe in trying to get Dietrich to learn how to be a good prince. That said, is that really the only reason he’s there? And is there really a spy in their midst?

The other best scene in the volume has Rishe and Arnold, walking the battlements in order to try to figure out the best way for a spy to get in, accidentally running into Arnold’s father. They only see each other from a distance, but Rishe can immediately sense the murderous aura, and her first reaction was to try to draw Arnold’s sword in order to protect him – never mind that he’s a better swordsman than she is. I expect the series will end with that final confrontation. Other than that, Arnold continues to soften up, finally giving in and realizing that things work out best when he just lets Rishe do whatever the hell she wants – though he does give her extra sword lessons so that she can properly hit flying arrows out of the air with one. Honestly, of all the couples in villainess books, this may be the best power couple.

The anime had just been announced when this came out, and it’s since aired and was a relative success. And the 6th book is out in Japan as of the end of last year, so hopefully we see it soon, cause this remains terrific.