Category Archives: reviews

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 5

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By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

This series has a tendency to be very metatextual, and we certainly get a lot of that in this book. Everyone may not think that they’re in a light novel series, but they certainly know the way said series tend to go, and they’re noticing that all the things happening around Akiteru pretty much line up with those sort of plots. That’s not good news for him, as he’s supposed to be fake dating Mashiro, who has already not-fake confessed to him. His uncle is clearly very aware of the things going on in his life, especially the presence of Iroha, but for now seems to be content to give him enough rope to hang himself as long as he keeps making Mashiro happy. (Even if he is jealous of the little bastard.) As for Iroha herself, she should be reassured, given that in light novels her type tends to win rather than Mashiro’s type, but she is not. Are the others, a year older than she is, really going to abandon her?

So yes, Mashiro’s father, and Akiteru’s potential benefactor, has noticed that the fake dating part of the books has been left by the wayside almost since it began, mostly as Akiteru can’t quite bring himself to do it knowing she loves him for real. They’re going to have to try, though, and the upcoming festival seems like a good chance. Before that, though, Akiteru needs to continue his quest to find Iroha a friend who can take his place in her life (not realizing that this would be devastating to her). He may have found one in Sasara, Iroha’s classmate who is a classic “always comes in second to her” rival character who is also socially awkward. He may be on to something here. But that’s for later. For now, he has to pay attention to Mashiro on their fake date and not be a “piece of shit”.

First of all, the best possible news about this book: Sumire’s barely in it at all. Which means we get precisely zero shotacon jokes. Hooray! More seriously, Mashiro gets the focus for the first time since the second book, and she has all the hallmarks of the sweet, low-confidence girl that always comes in second in these harem genres. She’s trying her hardest here, determined to get stronger than she was as a kid (when she went to the same festival with Akiteru) and to outshine Iroha. But she may be running a bit late on that, because now that he’s suddenly realized that Iroha *can* be cute, Akiteru is leaning towards her almost unconsciously. Honestly, if it weren’t for the presence of Iroha’s mother, who will no doubt be the final boss, I’d say this series was ready to end by the next book. But that’s not happening.

So yes, fans of Mashiro will enjoy her here, and fans of Iroha… well, Iroha is the other protagonist, so you’re always happy. In any case, this remains a fun romcom, with Akiteru trying his best to logic love to death and failing.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 8

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Because this series is such a broad comedy, I sometimes forget that it is actually trying to have a plot too. There’s more plot in this book than in any of the previous others, as we get a lot more information… well, OK, a little more information… about the Japanese research group that apparently kickstarted whatever this world is, and where they are now. Unsurprisingly, there’s mostly a bunch of loud awkward guys, even if here they’re powerful demon lords. On a more disturbing note, Alka continues to be the gift that keeps on giving even when we don’t want her to. The revelation of her past with the hero was fine. Even hearing that Lloyd is essentially a replacement for the man she once loved, I mean, at least that explains the obsession. But in a series filled with thirsty women, Alka remains the thirstiest, with a line here that made my jaw drop. It’s not welcome.

Despite the cliffhanger from the last book, this volume has the least amount of Lloyd to date, as until the very end he’s reduced to simply standing around and reacting to others. The volume essentially consists of two things: 1) Allan muddling his way through life despite everyone misunderstanding him, and 2) the actual competition to see which clan gets to be the leader. The first part is amusing inasmuch as Allan is a schlub – if you like schlubs trying to blurt something out but failing, you’ll enjoy it. He does gain a demon lord. And a wife. Meanwhile, the competition is where most of the volume’s broad comedy comes out, as we manage to work in swimsuits, cavalry battles, loincloths and farming. The final battle is Allan vs. Lloyd, which Allan is pretty sure he will not survive, but it’s OK, as it’s interrupted by – I’m not making this up – a GIANT CRAB BATTLE where you must hit its weak point for massive damage.

Most of the forward movement in this book happens away from our main cast, who pretty much all act as you would expect them to. The supporting cast, though, are more interesting. Half of them are still recovering their memories, or simply getting used to being impossibly powerful. Alka and Eug are still on opposite sides, though it’s now being made clear that there’s someone trying to play both sides against each other. And we also meet a new player in the game at the very end, who (as with damn near everyone in the cast) is accidentally awoken by Lloyd, who just wants to use the bathroom. Despite all this, there’s a lot going on but the book feels fairly light. The setup comes out in odd bits and bobs, and the main plot is so “wacky” that a lot of it bounced off me.

Oh well, at least this arc is over, though given Allan is married now I suspect we’ll be seeing the newly introduced cast stick around for the next arc. In the meantime, this works best if you don’t think about it.

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 8

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By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

There was a three-year gap between the previous volume and this one, and you can sort of tell. There’s a bit of a priority shift in the way the story is being told. For one thing, while Adachi still gets the occasional POV scene, the book has finally admitted that it should be called “Shimamura and Adachi”. Shimamura gets 90% of the first-person narrative, and the entire book is about forcing her to confront how she feels about Adachi, what she wants to do in a relationship with Adachi, and what they mean to each other. The answer will not surprise you, because the book begins with a flash-forward to ten years later, when we see the two of them living together and planning a trip to San Francisco. Given the ‘alternate universes’ of the previous volume, I was expecting ‘it was all a dream’ or something similar, but no. That said, there is one sad part. Sorry, toy shippers, Yashiro and Shimamura’s little sister is not gonna happen. She’s perpetually ten.

The non-flash-forward part of the book is also about a trip – the school trip, which is going to Kitakyushu. Naturally, Adachi is a combination of nervous wreck and jealous child, but for once we don’t really dwell on her. Instead we focus almost entirely on Shimamura, who is dealing with several problems. She’s in a group with Adachi and the three girls she briefly made friends with at the start of the school year, and things are… awkward, mostly as her new relationship is not nearly as secret as she’d like. Yashiro has stowed away in her backpack like a Doraemon invention. And an evening at a hot spring means that she is suddenly very aware that Adachi not only loves her in a romantic way but loves her in a sexual way. Being Shimamura, she’s not sure what to do about any of this, but she does come away with one thing – she wants to be with Adachi for the foreseeable future.

As noted, this book came out after a three-year gap, and it shows in the writing (and not just because Yashiro throws in a Demon Slayer reference). For one thing, Shimamura is asked point blank if she’s a lesbian, something I don’t think would have happened in this series even a few years earlier. (As you might guess, she doesn’t give a straight answer, but it leans more towards “Adachisexual”.) In the same conversation (it’s the best part of the book, and it did not escape my attention that that may be because Adachi’s not in it) Shimamura is also called a “hot mess”, and I laughed because it’s true. But she’s actually trying to fix that in real ways, being more tactile with Adachi, suggesting things like holding hands or snuggling, and trying to tease her without having Adachi take it the wrong way. As for Yashiro… well, if you don’t like her, this is not the book for you. She’s in this more than any other book, and she even has some good philosophical advice for Shimamura. She’s part of the writer’s world.

The flash-forward does show that Adachi is no longer a ball of vibrating gay whenever she’s around her girlfriend, which is good, though I hope I don’t have to wait ten years for that to kick in. In the meantime, Shimamura has gone from a creature who tries to emulate human emotions but can’t work up the energy to a real live human being. I can’t make fun of her anymore.