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D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared, Vol. 4

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By KONO Tsuranori and ttl. Released in Japan as “D Genesis: Dungeon ga Dekite 3-nen” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ian Sacks.

Because I didn’t get into this series until 9 volumes down the road, and I still have to keep up with everything else coming out, I’ve been reading volumes piecemeal, about 25 pages a day or so. This works well to get me caught up, but can make reviews tricky, as I try to recall what I was reading three weeks earlier. Fortunately, the bulk of the interesting things happening in this book are in the back half, so I should hopefully be OK. It also helps that the biggest nerd series J-Novel Club is putting out still includes things to appeal specifically to me. Miyoshi doing her press conference dressed as Yomiko Readman from Read or Die – no, really, she even namechecks her – just gave me a big smile. She and Keigo may not be able to escape being famous for much longer, but at least their attempts to avoid it are hilarious. They may want to lay off the huge discoveries, though.

Keigo and Miyoshi continue to try to set things up so they can do what they want without several nations attempting to kill them – again. They’re forming a company to be their business front, they’re starting a course in how to increase your stats for dungeon exploration (including a drill sergeant who finds herself in way over her head when she has to increase her agility via rhythm games), and they’re trying to see if they can grow crops in the dungeon (so far, limited success). The press conference itself goes very well, though the religious cult that was mentioned in the 2nd volume seems to recognize D-Powers as a threat to their livelihood. They also make another trip to the “haunted mansion” part of the dungeon, but end up being joined by their actress and model friends, leading to a very dangerous escape – one that gets filmed.

The mansion reveals a big secret, and I suspect that secret will continue to be relevant. We probably could have guessed that this is not a series where “and then suddenly, dungeons appeared one day” would be allowed to stand, and sure enough, the scientists who all “died” that day may have been trying to create something – and may not actually be dead. This leads to the other wonderful nerd reference in here, which is that part of the dungeon language appears to be written in pIqAd, which is to say Klingon. (The fact that they figure this out because Saito happened to be a “minor trekkie” and picked up a big of the language is perhaps one coincidence too many for me, but it’s not as if I expect anything else in this series to be realistic.) This actually makes things MORE difficult – it’s a lot easier to give out “dungeon translation” orbs than to say that the secret dungeon info is written in Star Trek. You’d lose credibility.

Next time I expect we’ll get the “dungeon training courses” going full blast, which will be nice. This remains ridiculous fun.

Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 4

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By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

This is still primarily a comedy, and it enjoys seeing its main characters be goofy. But with each volume, The Game is making itself known more and more. Now, this world may not actually literally be a game, but certainly something is trying to make sure that events happen the way that they did in the game, and if it has to create a new heroine from scratch – and make her evil – then so be it. Meanwhile, it’s becoming apparent that it’s not just Melody, Christopher, and Anna-Marie. Everyone on that plane that disappeared is in this world, and the more Melody works her huge magic, the more they suddenly realize it. Schue, the “smiling villain” I mentioned who showed up out of the blue last time, turns out to have a far nobler background… that he’s desperately trying to escape. And that also means that the incoming Prince from a foreign land is now a Princess, and she’s straight outta Takarazuka. This game is off the rails!

Melody, Luciana, etc. are done with saving Luciana’s holding and are ready to return to their mansion and to school… which is good, as they both completely forgot that the Summer Ball is coming up. Lect will be taking “Cecelia”, and Maxwell has invited an increasingly panicky and embarrassed Luciana. Lect, meanwhile, is very confused, as after returning to the Count he finds that… they found his missing daughter. Who has the hair, and the eyes. And is named “Celedia”. Not suspicious at all! What’s more, to the annoyance of Christopher and Anna-Marie, the game has thrown them another curve, as the handsome lothario prince who’s there to cause a war has been replaced with a handsome lothario princess… in male clothing… presumably there to do the same. Oh yes, and what about the monster attacks on the heroine? Still going on, unfortunately.

My favorite subplot of this series is that Melody has accidentally resurrected the soul of her dead mother and put it into a robot maid that she created. The doll seems to be 100% aware of this, but isn’t saying anything, but Melody does not consciously realize it. Consciously being the word, as one scene that is very heartwarming shows that she may be leaning that way anyway. I’m also amused at Anna-Marie, who the book can’t seem to decide if she’s just a massive game otaku who loves to look at the CG of the heroine or an actual lesbian… honestly, I think she’s not sure herself. She gets a full quarter of the book side story where she (in disguise) and Melody go on an extended date, but for the most part she’s unable to penetrate Melody’s maid facade enough to check to see if she’s really the heroine. And then there’s Luciana, who keeps attracting important nobles by virtue of hitting everything she dislikes with her giant harisen as if she’s Kaname reborn from Full Metal Panic!. Nobles like a feisty heroine that beats things up.

This remains a fun series that generally runs in the “villainess” genre at a fast clip, though the Villainess plot has been broken by Melody so much that the bad guys have to invent a new girl to start doing game things. For fans.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 4

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By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

It’s now Volume 4 and we’re getting the wedding cover art, which is very good for a shoujo light novel series, where the 2nd or 3rd volume not only has the standard wedding art but is also the final volume. This is not the final volume, but they’re running out of ways to put off getting our heroine married, so it’s time to bite the bullet and… what’s that, Lassie? The dreaded incurable disease? That killed off Elizabeth and Philia’s birth father? That’s right, we can’t possibly get married yet, not when there are still impossible things to do. Fortunately, she has Mia for help, who is equally powerful. And they have their friends Erza and Mammon, who do a little bit of their “I will cut off your head again” comedy routine but for the most part function as a very convenient taxi service, as this book takes place over multiple countries.

It’s almost time for Philia and Osvalt’s wedding. unfortunately, her birth father is dead, and her adopted father is in prison. She was going to have Mia walk her down the aisle, but apparently conservative tradition would balk at that, so they need to go ask Hildegard to stop being a terrifying drill instructor and be her mother again… even if mother and daughter are still being very awkward about rekindling that relationship. Philia also takes the time to ask for more anecdotes about her late father, and finds that he spent years trying to find a cure for devil’s seed, a disease which ended up taking his life and the life of Osvalt’s brother’s fiancee. But wait! Her father had a brother, who currently lives in not-Egypt and is an apothecary! Philia can go visit him to get more details! Gosh, I sure hope he isn’t dying of this as well…

It is fun watching the author try to retool a few characterizations on the fly. Having Philia’s natural lack of emotions be due to her trauma from childhood is all very well and good, but when you’ve saved the day, the parents are in jail and she’s getting a happily ever after, you need to move past that… unless it’s her defining trait. As it turns out, her mother is also very reticent and stoic, so it works well to leave Philia this way, and her reaction even when presented with near-death by explosion is basically “well, darn”. As for Mia, she has absolutely gotten over any guilt or trauma she had before. She’s almost become comic relief, with her sister complex coming out even further when she’s drunk, and her using her own engagement as a threat to get her fiance to agree to let her join her sister in near-certain death. Fortunately, it’s these two, so there’s no death by horrible explosions, just a cure. Cinderella did not go back to the stepsisters to suffer more after marrying the prince, after all.

Next time, the honeymoon! This remains a fun series about two sisters who can functionally do anything.