Category Archives: reviews

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Runaway Goddess, Come Home!

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Last time I suggested the entire book had been written around one 40-50 page scene. This one’s even worse, as the entire book is entirely setup for one 3-4 page scene. The author even admits in the afterword that they had the ending to this book in mind right from the start of the series. It’s pretty spectacular, frankly, and fans of Megumin will be over the moon. That said, there is also the rest of this book to deal with. Good news, it’s also good, though it does not quite hit the highs that the end gives us. It’s the second to last in the series, so we’re setting up for the final battle here, but we’re also showing off how well everyone has integrated into Axel, and how much Kazuma, Megumin and Darkness have mellowed out and become boon companions. And in some cases more than that, as Kazuma and Megumin try once more to try to lose their virginity. (Take a wild guess how well that goes.)

As we saw at the end of the last volume, Aqua has run away to go defeat the Demon Lord, though it’s pretty clear she wants the rest of her friends to catch up ASAP. Instead she gets Handsome Sword Guy (whose name she forgets, and so do I), Cecily, and Yunyun… which is actually a far more balanced party than her normal one, so she mostly ends up very bored on the journey when she’s not accidentally tempting monsters to eat her. Kazuma is, alas, very reluctant to come after her as he’s back to Level 1 after recent events. That said, his level is back to baseline but he still has his skills… which gives him an idea. An idea involving Vanir, Wiz, and a very difficult dungeon…

If there’s a runner-up in terms of best bit in the book after the Rise and Rise of Megumin, it’s the adventures of Vanir and Wiz in the dungeon, keeping the useless Kazuma safe while also letting him get in the last hit to raise his level again (and then lower it, as he’s cheating as per usual). Vanir is just the same as always, but it’s an absolute delight to see Wiz getting obsessed with clearing the dungeon and just as over the top. They make a very good team. As for others in the book, the award for “worst person in the world” has to go to Zesta, who not only pervs hard on Kazuma, Megumin and Darkness, but is such a lustful pervert that even high-level monsters run away as they are worried he’ll try to screw them. (He will, indeed, try that.) He’s also the one who gets a horrible idea regarding Serena’s powers to return the pain she receives back on the giver, which relies on her being a virgin. KonoSuba is not about to forget its roots of being terrible in the best ways.

So all the main players have finally arrived at the final battle. Will our heroes triumph? Will the demon lord prevail? Will Kazuma die again? And what’s up with the link between this world and Japan? That will wait till the final volume next time. Till then, this was a lot of fun. Also, I find it hilarious that it took till Book 16 for Megumin and Darkness to learn Kazuma is from another world.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Vol. 2

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By Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Released in China as “Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong” on the JJWXC website. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Faelicy & Lily.

I will give credit to Shen Qingqiu, he proves to be slightly better than Katarina when it comes to figuring out affection. That said, the love interests in My Next Life as a Villainess are also perhaps not quite as Luo Binghe, who spends much of the 2nd book on a roaring rampage of revenge, because it turns out that Shen Yuan can try to change the plot and characterization all he wants, but this book is still mostly running on the rails it was supposed to. This is not good news for Shen Qingqiu, who now has to deal with his character’s supposedly evil backstory (though signs point to some of this being a load of hogwash) and being suspected of causing a plague. Possibly worst of all, Shang Qinghua has prepared the secret restoring magical doodad far, far ahead of schedule, meaning that in order for it to do anything there will need to be a prison break.

I will admit, this book is not quite as wall-to-wall funny as the first volume, mostly as the plot is a lot more serious and Luo Binghe is a lot less sweet. That said, when the humor hits it hits hard. Shen Qingqiu’s reaction on seeing Luo Binghe once more was my first lough out loud moment, but there are many throughout, especially as he learns how the rest of the world views his relationship with Luo Binghe – i.e. much the same way fans do here, writing epic sagas and touching songs about their gay love. Shen Yuan is still somewhat horrified by this, and screams about the fact that the hero of a stallion novel has still not bedded a single woman. I will admit that seeing the extent of Luo Binghe’s… devotion to his master goes from disturbing to hilarious to disturbing again. I suspect romance will have to wait for Book 3.

One of the minor plot points I’m really enjoying is seeing the development of some of the women in the cast. In the original novel, they are there as basically notches on Luo Binghe’s bedpost, but the changing timeline… as well as Luo Binghe being in love with his master… means that they’re allowed to go different places. Sometimes this is not always for their betterment – Sha Hualing goes from the popular and arrogant harem boss to a harried office lady pretty quick. Ning Yingying, though, has really blossomed from the somewhat vapid childhood friend she was supposed to be, and her defense of Shen Qingqiu no matter what is really heartwarming. If there’s one downside, it’s that the character of the “system”, which provided so much of the laughs in Book 1, is far more sporadic and muted here. That said, it’s hard to character develop what is essentially Clippy.

The main reason to get this book, even above the humor and the character development, is the readability – it absolutely flies by. Perhaps in Book 3 we’ll even get a mutual kiss.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!. Vol. 21

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

I suppose, if you know that what you’re writing is going to be an anticlimax, it’s best to just admit it straight up front. The massive battle against heaven, even from the start of the volume, is very underplayed, and when it comes, while there is some combat, it ends fairly easily for the good guys. In fact, the final battle is so anticlimactic that the book jumps back and forth between the “present” and three years into the future, showing us where Maou is now and what the rest of the cast are up to, while also teasing his romantic relationship. That said, here it’s made explicit WHY Maou has been hemming and hawing and putting off giving a clear yes or no to anyone’s confession: his demon side is literally allergic to love and causes him to feel extremely ill. Not exactly an original idea, but hey. All in all, it’s an OK ending to a series that should have ended a dozen books ago.

Fortunately for the reader who has been feeling a bit Chiho’ed out by the last couple of books, she’s not present for the War Against Heaven, though we do get Maou and company explaining everything to her parents. A lot of the book features scenes of the cast waiting for heaven to respond to their obvious aggression, and being somewhat disturbed that they are not doing so. And then there is the newest Sepirah child, there to signify the direction that all of heaven will take going forward… so it’s a bit of a shame that he looks like an exact copy of Urushihara, to the point where Maou dubs him Copyhara. There is also quite a lot of backstory and explanations are given for most of the supernatural end of things, but I’m going to be honest, I’ve never really paid attention to that part.

If that summary sounds vague, so does the whole book. The epilogue bits are a bit more interesting. There is a romantic pairing that caused me great pain to read about (no, not Maou’s), but I suppose as long as they’re happy. Speaking of Maou, and spoiling a bit here, yes, he’s together with Chiho, but she’s also trying to consider their future as a group. The problem is that a) thanks to Alas Ramus, he’s never going to be able to be far from Emi for the rest of his life (which, by the way, is a normal human lifespan now, because plot), and b) Emi clearly has some feelings for Maou, and is clearly never going to end up with another guy. Chiho proposing a poly relationship is… I’m gonna be honest, it feels like a fanfic solution. Even Maou is baffled by it, though given how Chiho and Emi run roughshod over his life in general, I guess he’ll accept it. Still, I can’t see the fanbase enjoying this.

Again, aside perhaps for that last part, this book isn’t too bad. But it’s a classic example of an author dragging out a story that should have ended around Book 7 or 8. In the end, it risked drowning under all of its own lore, and didn’t really give the fans the romance their wanted either.