Category Archives: reviews

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 19

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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 discuss the climax of the book more than usual here, so spoiler warning.)

A lot of the last volume in this series focused on Chiho and her concerns for the future, and that doesn’t change here. Chiho is in many ways the glue that holds everyone’s relationships together, which is sort of nice, but not when it leads to her being everyone’s social secretary. She’s starting to get the feeling that all teens get at that age – that everyone around her is more grown up than she is. Maou is still calling her “Chi” like a kid, and of course is still ignoring her confession(s). Suzuno and Emi are adults with real world concerns, and they’re all out to save the world. And worst of all, she’s the only one in the group not tied to Enta Isla. When all this is over and that world is saved, will everyone just return there and leave her behind? It’s got her in a quandary… until a conversation with Suzuno (who, like Maou, has decided to run away from her problems) convinces her that it’s time to simply blow everything to tiny little bits.

There are, of course, other issues. Suzuno is stunned to find that she’s been promoted to Archbishop, which is actually pretty terrible news for their little conspiracy. It doesn’t help that the rituals that she has to do in preparation for her investiture all seem rather shallow and self-serving. Can you really have a crisis of faith when you’re becoming one of the leaders of that same faith? That and she’s also decided to confess her love to Maou… who reacts the same way he’s done with Chiho – avoid, avoid, avoid. Emi and Alas Ramus spent most of the novel away in Enta Isla helping with demon castle prep, meaning this is yet another Emi-lite book. Her fans, already grumpy from last volume’s ship sinking from Rika, might be even grumpier. Oh yes, and in Alas Ramus’ absence Acieth suddenly starts needing to eat a LOT more than usual… or else she starts firing lasers from her mouth.

This leads to the climax, as Chiho gathers everyone at McRonald’s. Maou, who’s been completely out of the loop on this, guesses it’s to feed Acieth… but how will they keep her nature secret from the McRonald’s crew? Or Kisaki, who’s also been invited? Or Chiho’s mom, who’s *also* there? I was wondering this myself, and the author does a great job of keeping everyone on tenterhooks. Then we find that Chiho’s plan is simply to rip the bandage off – Acieth’s growing hunger causes her to fire a laser AT Kisaki, which Emi and Maou must stop using their powers. Now the cat’s very, very out of the bag. On the bright side, they can feed her properly now. But there’s also the reaction from all the other normal humans to the Enta Isla story (which involves a visit TO Enta Isla as well) and also the reaction of everyone to Maou being such a wuss. Given that the demon castle/invasion timeline has been sped up vastly thanks to Suzuno’s promotion, this is probably not the ideal time, but it’s as if Chiho looked at the author and yelled “OK, endgame now!!”.

And indeed we only have two volumes to go. Thankfully for Emilia fans, the next volume’s blurb promises she’ll get more focus. That said, Chiho’s clearly in charge here, as not only Japan but also Enta Isla sees her as the only trustworthy person. Can she save the day? And even harder, can she get Maou to man up?

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 2

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

The second volume in the series serves to give readers who loved the first book more of what they loved. Maomao solves some mysteries, glares at her not-love interest, kvells over any poison she can possibly ingest, and manages to upend the entirety of the Emperor’s palace. And this doesn’t even count her new job she gains in this volume, which is teaching very specific subjects to the four high consorts. Or scoping out a soldier’s chances at winning over a woman he likes as if he was a stud horse. Or helping to resolve the issue of an inheritance… an inheritance that also finds itself coming up over and over again throughout the book. Folks have compared this to Ascendance of a Bookworm, and they share one big thing in common, which is that they reward a reader who pays close attention to things and remembers prior events. You get the feeling that Maomao will be going places over the course of this series, though I suspect she may go to these places kicking and screaming.

After the events at the end of the last book, Maomao is now back at the palace, working for Jinshi officially by cleaning his rooms and such, and unofficially by solving crimes, though she always has to be bribed or goaded into doing so. Sometimes she doesn’t even need to be dragged – when a fire with a supposed unknown cause is mentioned, she’s quick to bolt over to the site looking for clues. And sometimes she absolutely refuses, such as when it’s anything to do with Lakan, the eccentric military man who’s been hanging around Jinshi lately and who seems to want to meet Maomao come rain or come shine. Who he is is easily guessed, but the relationship between them proves surprisingly nuanced, and even Maomao, whose glare can kill tigers at 400 yards, can occasionally display a soft side.

This series is not meant to be a comedy… except it’s frequently absolutely hilarious. We don’t get the specifics of Maomao’s “education” class for the consorts, but their reactions show what it must have been like, and the fact that she occasionally provides them the equivalent of Amanda Quick novels as bribes later on is even better. Then there’s the goofy soldier Lihaku, who Maomao tends to think of as a dog, and who has a crush on one of the three princesses at the establishment Maomao grew up around, and asks what it might take to buy her out of there (presumably so he can marry her). Maomao, knowing that princess and her proclivities, evaluates him solely on strength and stamina, with a wonderful punchline. That said, there’s also good drama here, such as when Maomao tries to stop a murder meant to look like an “accident”, as well as Lakan’s backstory.

As with the first volume, I can’t recommend this enough. For everyone who say yet another isekai licensed and wondered when we’d get a light novel series for adults – this! This is it!

High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!, Vol. 4

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By Riku Misora and Sacraneco. Released in Japan as “Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

While there are no long-term disasters here, it’s safe to say that this might be the first volume to actually belie its title, as the High School Prodigies don’t really have that good a time here. Trying to get their kingdom to stand on its own so that they can make preparations to go home turns out to be easier said than done. The actual way to go home seems to be offered up to them on a plate… but what’s the catch? Aoi finds that it’s not enough having a really strong sword, she needs a really strong CURSED sword or she’s screwed. And worst of all, economics happens. All of this barely leaves time for the love triangle that still inhabits the heart of this book, but rest assured there’s still time to deal with that. And, thankfully, there’s a minimum of Keine here, so we don’t need to worry about any questionable medical practices.

The book is divided into three, with two medium chunks and one long one. In the first, the prodigies go to negotiate with the Empire, currently being ruled by a proxy, and finds things go… suspiciously well. What’s more, said proxy is also from a different world. In the second story, Lyrule and Winona try to teach Jeanne how to cook, which is interesting more for Lyrule’s own tortured love life than anything else. The final story features the new nation of Elm, with Elch as its new Finance Minister, trying to introduce a new currency to the other nations. Masato is there as well, but he’s trying to be hands off so that the natives can attempt to handle things themselves. m Unfortunately, he underestimates Roo, and thus everything turns out both better and much worse than it could have gone.

Changing a world is not particularly an easy task, and the Prodigies have limited themselves to merely one part of it. When visiting the empire, they get a glimpse of the slave trade there, and we see a maid of the main villain of this book who is horribly abused. But she’s not there to be rescued later on, and indeed isn’t; she’s there to show us that you have to fix what you can for now. Which here mostly means the currency, as there’s a lot of back and forth, deals, secret deals, and endless piles of backstabbing. We get to learn firsthand the difference between politics and economics, and also see what I feel may be the first of many attempts to lure one of the prodigies to the enemy side. (It doesn’t work.. yet.) We also get to see how Roo has been soaking up information and tactics like a sponge from Masato, and though she still ends up getting tricked and almost killed, her resolve is impressive. (I do sort of wish we’d seen more of her after this scene.)

Overall I was pretty happy with this book, and the cliffhanger clearly introduces what’s likely to be the Big Bad of the series. It’s never going to be what one might call a good light novel, but it’s perfectly serviceable popcorn.