Category Archives: reviews

To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You, Vol. 1, Part 2

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By Kori Hisakawa and Airumu. Released in Japan as “Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu” by Media Works Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Carley Radford.

I had not realized when reading and writing the review of the first book that it’s literally half a book – the books were released in Japan as Part 1 and Part 2, and that’s what we’re getting here as well. As such, it’s not really a surprise that the book concentrates more on the political climate going on around our main couple, which is not only getting dangerous but also might implicate them personally. This is not nearly as lethal as The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman, but I was thinking of that series while reading this, and believe fans of one might like the other. Byletta is a young woman trying to run her own life and have as much freedom as possible, despite this being a world where noble wives are expected to look pretty and give birth. Arnald is someone who finds he’s fallen in love, and simply does not have the communications toolkit to deal with it. Basically, they need to talk but don’t.

Byletta, frankly, has a bit too much on her plate at the moment. She has to rush back to the flood control project because outbreaks of violence are breaking out and the nobles who own the hot springs hotels nearby claim the project is taking their water. The city where she lives is under constant threat of a military coup, with destruction, bombs, and many injuries, and the supposed person behind this coup is said to be her husband. And then there’s her own marriage, as she still struggles to understand Arnald, who usually seems cool and uncaring but occasionally shows a more comforting side. Worst of all, he’s still insisting on acting like her husband in bed at night, and it turns out that, after the horrible first time she had, he’s actually an amazing lover. Is she going to be able to get her divorce after all?

Arnald’s mindset is comparatively easy to understand, and once he realizes what he’s doing wrong, very easy to change. Byletta is a much harder nut to crack, frankly. She’s haunted by the fact that everyone sees her mother in her, she’s desperate to be her own woman, be that by learning to use a sword or start a revolutionary fashion industry, all because she does not want to be trapped by marriage. It’s astonishing how many times she refers to herself as Arnald’s whore or prostitute throughout this book – and it’s using the terms because she means them to be derogatory, she has to think of herself as that, because otherwise she would have to accept that she really is falling in love with Arnald, and in her eyes, that means giving up. She’s a fantastic character, and I appreciate that Arnald realizes the only way to keep the one he loves is to essentially give her everything she asks for. All the freedom she wants, just stay married to him. It’s sweet.

This volume ends definitively, as we see a flashforward to them living a happy life with their two children. Nevertheless, there are seven more books in Japan. We’ll see if we get more, but if we do, I’m happy to read it, even though I suspect it won’t just be post-marital fluff.

86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 2: Fight, Magical Girl Reina ☆ Lena! Go, Starship San Magnolia!

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

This ended up being a bit of a headache for me. I didn’t mind the parody. Look at that subtitle, I was expecting a lot of goofball antics. The trouble is that it’s also trying to tell a serious story in there, albeit less serious than the main 86 story. I didn’t mind when everyone was talking about using the star grapheme when shouting the name of their colossal killer weapon, but it feels a bit off when it’s in the middle of a dramatic reunion between family, one of whom is the enemy. Which, I note, happens twice in this book. That said, for the most part this Alter is a bit different than the first one, which was essentially a short story collection. This is basically telling one big alternate universe story that combines magical girls and Macross-style space battles, where men and women get to have cute nicknames, and the 86 get to be cute l’il fairy companions. Will everyone live happily ever after? They certainly have a better shot here.

It’s 86… in… SPAAAAAACCCCEEE! Our heroes have been fighting a hundred year war against the Legion, most of whom are, as the main series indicates, the rampaging grudges of dead wartime soldiers. They’ve got huge battleships, and can use huge beam cannons. However, they also fight in person, in space, in magical girl armor. No, the guys get to wear pants, but they do have to have the ridiculous names and poses. The first chunk of the story shows us Lena and Annette as they fight their magical girl battles with the help of the 86, cute fairies that used to be soldiers. Including her new fairy Shin. In the second part, Shin is now the 86 for Frederica, who is part of the plan to end the war once and for all, despite her young age, immature ideals, and tendency to lake the star grapheme. The third story gives Vika and his family something to do, and can easily be skipped unless you love Vika and Lerche.

As noted, this is far more serious in places than I was expecting, in that it’s not a 100% parody. The basic concept is ridiculous, but it takes its worldview seriously, and when the 86 “die”, which they do (though note the quote marks), people get upset about it. That said, overall, this is very much a yay, happy ending sort of book in the end. Most of the named cast we care about are brought back in some way, shape or form, even a couple of the Legion, and the war is over. Certainly that’s wishful thinking for the cast of the main series. And while I found the tonal dissonance jarring, some of the humor was pretty funny. I liked the fourth-wall breaking noting how little we’d actually seen Vika’s family, and that one of them only appeared in an online only story. LOL.

There aren’t any more Alter novels out in Japan, but the good news is that the 14th volume of the main series came out last fall. Expect less cute magical girl names.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 9

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By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

It’s been over a year, but we finally have a new volume of My Happy Marriage. (And it’s likely going to be another year till the next one – Vol. 10 just came out in Japan earlier this month.) We’ve now resolved most of the difficulties between Miyo and Kiyoka, and the title is no longer ironic. They’re married and happy. Which means, of course, that normally you would end the series. But the anime of this did quite well. As a result, it’s time to continue, and since you don’t really want to mess up the lovely couple – yet – we need to concentrate on the other part of the plot. As such, this volume returns us to the Earth Spider that is such an important part of Kiyoka and Godou’s backstories. It also introduces new enemies, this time from abroad, who basically want to kidnap Miyo for her powers. But most of all it reminds you that extended family is still family, and it’s really hard to get away from toxic relatives.

Now that Miyo and Kiyoka have dealt with the issues of his own family, as well as Miyo’s horrible former family, we are told that the Kudous are actually a splinter family from the main one, the Miyakoujis. As such, they have to go to the old capital to introduce Miyo to them and try to get their blessing. Miyo is nervous, Kiyoka just seems disgruntled. The head of the family is a very nice guy. The women in the family, fortunately, turn out to be great, and they quickly take Miyo under their wing. The men of the family, sadly, turn out to be horrible arrogant drunks, who are easily manipulated, especially if a passing English “shaman” is trying to stir up trouble for his own benefit. Kiyoka is also distracted because the Earth Spider has escaped from the seal that was put on it years ago, and no one knows where it is.

There’s also a little subplot about Miyo trying hard, now that she knows how powerful she is, to not use her dream powers that much. Naturally, we come across several situations where she has to use her dream powers, one of which helps a young girl (good) but also uncovers a history of family abuse dating back centuries (bad, though getting it out in the open may be good). The My Happy Marriage title and concentration on Miyo’s depression and growing love for her husband has made this feel like a romance most of the time, but the supernatural element is still very much present. Miyo is a hot commodity, and now that the series is willing to go outside Japan, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before she’s kidnapped, like most incredibly powerful people who are also introverted. Still, for the moment, she’s happy and back home.

I’m sometimes wary when a series that reached a natural stopping point keeps going, but this was a really solid volume. Fans should be pleased.