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Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 4

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason.

Usually when you see character development, it’s meant to be heartwarming, or affirming, and generally a good thing. And there is that here. Seeing Jusetsu gradually open up to being around others, helping people, and growing more comfortable in her own skin is absolutely a good thing, and the Emperor knows it. That said, the fact that she is the Raven Consort makes this a bit of a double-edged sword. The classic joke “I’m not like other girls” is eerily true here, and that’s why there’s a sense of this series moving faster and faster down a hill towards a crash that Jusetsu is not going to be able to stop. It does not help that certain factions in the court are trying to apply the accelerator rather than the brakes, and suddenly instead of being fond of Jusetsu, or looking up to Jusetsu, they are WORSHIPING Jusetsu. And that’s definitely a bad thing, give that’s she’s already a part of a god, and the other god who is the enemy may be getting back to full strength.

The main plot shows the Crane Consort’s father, Choyo, arrive at the palace, supposedly in order to apologize to the Emperor for what happened in the last book, and grace him with some of their most valuable silkworm cocoons. In reality, Choyo is there to blackmail/threaten the Emperor with the knowledge that he knows who Jusetsu is and that she should stay isolated in her own quarters. Meanwhile, the man responsible for the events of the third book, Hakurai, may have lost an eye but is not remotely down and out, and he’s here to try to kill Jusetsu *and* destroy her reputation – and nearly succeeds at the second. And, of course, these events are interspersed with the meat and potatoes of this series; a ghost is in the palace, let’s figure out why.

Generally speaking the main reason to read any of these “inner palace of the Emperor” series, be it Apothecary Diaries, Though I Am an Inept Villainess, or this one, is for the court politics, and that’s no exception here. Jusetsu is trying her best, helping people and making sure to right wrongs and save those who can be saved (and send to the afterlife those who can’t). But by the end of the book she’s basically been asked to stay shut up until further notice, and while I doubt that will last long, it feels like a loss for her. This is not to say that Choyo wins, however. Banka easily gets the most interesting plotline and the best moment in the book, as she’s seemingly ineffectual, useless, and getting sicker and sicker over the course of the book. I say seemingly because she confronts her father angrily near the end, reveals a secret she’s been holding back that upends a lot of what will be coming, and basically says “I’m not your toy anymore”. It’s great. I can’t wait to see how she nobly dies in a future volume.

Good intrigue, great characters, worrying that it will end with half the cast dead, but hey. Romance is sort of vaguely there but very much in the background. To sum up: read this, it’s good.

Maiden of the Needle, Vol. 2

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By Zeroki and Miho Takeoka. Released in Japan as “Hariko no Otome” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kiki Piatkowska.

I’m still really enjoying this series, possibly more than it deserves. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, being another variation on the Cinderella story we’ve seen come up a lot in light novels lately. The first volume features Yui being rescued from her terrible fate and given all the love and comfort she’s ever wanted, but the second volume shows that things are not exactly happily ever after yet. There’s still far too many curses around this kingdom, be it from the old king’s late wife or from Yui’s twisted family. But Yui is developing at just the right pace, not abusing her “I’m from Japan” buttons too much, and frankly still unable to eat more than half a plate of dinner or speak for longer than 30 seconds without coughing. I appreciate that the abuse has not gone away no matter how loved she is. As for the rest of the cast, well, this is a book filled with people discovering their old family bonds. Sometimes they were deliberately hidden, and sometimes they were nearly destroyed.

Due to her constitution, Yui is leaving Rodin’s employ for the moment and going with Argit to Menesmetlo, which has winter weather – and also a labyrinth where they might be able to find some things to help undo all the curses. Once there, all the girls quickly check out the hot springs – but what at first seems like a “wacky” comedy scene with everyone trying to stop Mimachi from sexually harassing Yui gets more serious when she accidentally activates a long-buried underwater terminal, which can apparently transport certain people to the Gods’ dwelling. No, Yui does not go to the gods – but Senri, a commoner maid who’s as normal as can be except for her superhuman strength, does, and finds out a lot of secrets about her family. Meanwhile, Yui’s old family is quickly sliding faster and faster into evil, and a purge is required.

The other girl on the cover, by the way, is Yui’s sister Meilia, who, like the rest of her family, had turned on Yui over the years, but is pretty much the only one who regrets it, and finds herself wishing she could see Yui again. The scenes with Meilia may be the best in the book, filled with subtle horror (the pain Meilia is in from the weight of the spider on her shoulder, showing that it’s turned into a monster even though she never looks at it), non-subtle horror (the end of the Nuir family itself, as well as the friendship bracelet from Yui being what saved Meilia’s life and soul), and also bittersweet redemption (Mei is saved, but has lost her memories, and the implication at the end of the book is that she’ll live the rest of her (admittedly very happy) life without ever seeing Yui again). It’s hard being a child in a dissolute family of spider monster manipulators.

Unfortunately, this series comes out VERY slowly in Japan, and the third book is not yet on the horizon. Till then, enjoy this story of fairies, spiders, and girls who don’t realize they’re descended from gods.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 5.5

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

Oh dear, it’s a short story volume. Worse, it’s a short story volume that takes place entirely before the lead couple get together. So right after I write a review that basically says “I’m so glad we’re no longer frustrated waiting for these two dipshits to confess”, I get an entire book filled with scenes where these two dipshits are not confessing. So as you can imagine a majority of this volume is filled with short stories where our two leads clean the house, or cook a meal, or play a videogame, and pine for each other. If you enjoyed the earlier volumes, this is great for you, though unfortunately the author’s narrative voice can occasionally make both of them come across as a bit creepy some of the time. Fortunately there are three stories that aren’t about Amane and Mahiru’s relationship, and they actually have plot!

In among the stories I mentioned above, we get three others. The first is Mahiru’s perspective on her childhood, and so as you can imagine is rather sad and depressing. Sometimes trying to be the best so that your parents will notice you simply doesn’t work out. No amount of Angel is going to make her mother care. The second story has Chitose telling a curious Mahiro how she and Itsuki started to date, and it’s much more serious than you’d expect given Chitose’s entire vibe. She was all about track, and did not really care about anything else – but rejecting Itsuki’s confession leads to unforeseen consequences. Then we hear about how Itsuki and Amane became friends, which is also more serious than expected and relies on Amane’s terrible memory for faces.

The whole point of this series is that its two leads are ridiculously pure. Nothing is going to happen, especially in this book, where they aren’t even a couple yet. But it’s still being sold to GA Bunko readers, so a certain amount of horniness is required by publisher statute. As a result, you get a lot of times, pardon me, where you just want to yell at the writer “It’s OK to say erection!”. Several scenes in the book are blatantly Amane getting aroused around Mahiru and feeling embarrassed and awkward about it – the worst of which comes when she sees him, supposedly asleep (he’s faking) and rubbing his exposed stomach… then drifting lower. It really creates this … not quite a “moe gap”, but in that neighborhood, and it makes the two even sweeter, somehow. Still, it’s actually a surprise later in the book when Chitose says “boobs” – and Mahiru’s reaction to this is exactly like Amane’s. As for the serious stories, well, all four leads have gone through major events that have caused them to change the way they behave around others. For Itsuki and Chitose’s that’s been a net positive. Mahiru and Amane are still working their way towards that.

So, short story volume. Fluffy, sweet, a few deep things. Horny, but in a Saturday Morning Cartoon sort of way. Back to being a couple next time.