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Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!: Yunyun’s Turn

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

I have to admit that I was less thrilled with the second volume of Megumin’s spinoff series. This is pretty much because the middle half of the book is filled with Zesta and Cecily, the two Axis Church members that we’ve seen in KonoSuba books 4 and 8. I don’t mind Aqua, mostly as she’s not a creeper, but the same cannot be said for the acolytes of her church. The running gag here is that, because the Axis Church basically has as its creed “do whatever the hell you want”, it tends to attract the wrong sort of people, and we see that here, played, of course, for comic effect. Zesta is infamous for his behavior, to the point that when he’s arrested and falsely accused of being a traitor to the human race, no one wants to bother to defend him. Cecily is also pretty bad, taking opportunities to feel Megumin up in the bath, etc. Fortunately, the first and last parts of the book are much better.

Despite the subtitle of the book, we do not get Yunyun’s narrative POV here, alas. Which makes sense, as the fun of Yunyun is watching her flail, not getting inside her head. That said, she does come off pretty well in this book. Following Megumin to Arcanletia because, well, because life without Megumin terrifies her, Yunyun as always tends to alternate the ‘sensible’ role with Megumin when the situation calls for it. The last quarter of the book shows the two on a carriage to Axel Town with a number of other people, and various monsters keep attacking the carriage. This leads to the funniest part of the book, as Megumin can’t use Explosion without hurting the other travelers, so ends up being pitied and looked down on by everyone else as Yunyun, who can use various magics, takes out all the monsters. Of course, at the end Megumin does end up showing off and regaining people’s respect – it’s her series, after all.

The plot, aside from shifting Megumin to Axel Town (the book ends right as the first in the main series begins – Megumin sees Kazuma and Aqua arrive in this world, though she resolves not to have anything to do with them), involves Chomusuke being sought after by a demon who is convinced (and not without good reasons, as readers of the main series will know) that Chomusuke is Lady Wollbach. Megumin, despite verbally not caring about Chomusuke, ends up defending her against this demon, despite also taking the cash offered to hand her over. (This is how the broke Megumin can finally afford to leave the village.) This, of course, sets up events in Book 9, which had not been released at the time this came out in Japan (this came out between Books 5 and 6). Again, seeing the contrast between Megumin’s seemingly blase attitude towards everyone and everything and her actual feelings deep down is the main reason to get these books.

So yes, I wish there had been less Axis Church, but overall this was still pretty good. Next volume likely will see things end up how they were at the start of the series proper – with Megumin and Yunyun separated, and Megumin meeting Kazuma and Aqua properly.

Hi Score Girl, Vol. 1

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By Rensuke Oshikiri. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Big Gangan. Released in North America by Square Enix Manga. Translated by Alexander Keller-Nelson.

I admit that at first I did not get the double meaning in the title – before reading the manga, the reader might think that ‘Hi’ is a simple affectation, sort of like saying ‘U’ instead of you. But as you get to know the two leads, with each chapter beginning with Haruo running into Akira in one arcade store or another, you get the impression that it’s also meant to be “Hi, Score Girl!”. Because these two can’t get away from each other – at first by accident, and gradually as the book goes on by choice. They come from completely different backgrounds, but are united in their need to escape their daily lives, and also their skill in any number of games. What’s more, the series clearly takes place in 1991, and so this is also a massive nostalgia-fest for the games of that era – especially Street Fighter II. Those who read other manga (Hayate the Combat Butler) may be surprised that the titles and characters are uncensored. Well… there’s a lawsuit behind that. But it all worked out in the end.

Both kids are twelve years old, though the end of the volume implies there may be a small timeskip coming. Haruo is your standard loser kid with bad grades – in fact, ludicrously bad grades… given his skill at games and his excellent analysis of other people, I have to assume these zero tests are exaggerated for comic effect. Disliked by most of the class, his sole respite is the local arcade (yes, remember, it’s 1991… though he does have a small game system at home). There he plays games… mostly Street Fighter but you will see others as the volume goes on. And meets Akira, a rich girl in his class beloved by everyone. Why is she playing Street Fighter II? Why is she so GOOD at Street Fighter II? She’s not about to tell him, as she doesn’t speak. The manga is not clear about this, but I think it’s meant to be inferred that she CAN speak, but does not because that’s the way this manga rolls. That’s fine, for although she’s supposed to be a stoic little princess, Haruo brings out the worst in her… and also, eventually, the best.

The artstyle is a little odd, which lends itself well to amusing faces, especially from Haruo, who gets punched in the face, kicked in the balls, hit by a car multiple times… he’s basically there to get beat up. But he’s an understanding kid at heart, despite his jealousy about gaming scores, and rapidly understands that Akira’s intense drive to do arcade gaming masks a very lonely girl whose home life is pretty much rigid and arranged for her. The two slowly bond, as she brings him things from school when he’s home sick (and then plays on his home system) and the two are dragged with their classmates to an amusement park (and get so absorbed in games they lose everyone else… which, trust me, is a good thing). They even explore what turns out to be a haunted arcade. Sadly, by the end of the volume, just as we’re seeing burgeoning tween love, she’s moving to America, and flies away. But not before a tearful airport farewell. The end!

…OK, not the end, there are nine more volumes. The preview implies Haruo will move on to middle school (somehow… I assume you can’t get held back in elementary school) and meet a new girl who seems to really like him. That said, I assume Akira will be back. In the meantime, enjoy this sweet and funny ode to the arcade games of yore.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

It’s been a while since I’ve been so entertained by a light novel debut. The premise of the story already had me half-won over, to be honest. Mia Luna Tearmoon is this world’s Marie Antoinette, a spoiled young princess who only cares about herself and thus, when the revolution comes (a revolution she unwittingly instigated), she is sent to the guillotine. But then… she wakes up ten years earlier, right as rain! Now she has a firm goal: change history! So far so normal, right? It’s a familiar plot to fanfic writers, so familiar it has a name – “Peggy Sue”, after the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married. However, Mia hasn’t really changed all that much. She’s still a selfish princess who thinks only for herself… mostly. The intense desire to not get her head cut off, combined with the miserable three years in prison she spent before that, have led to several alterations in how she interacts with people. In fact… she slowly becomes terrific. Despite what she or the narrator might think.

In addition to the Peggy Sue aspect, there are other ‘genres’ of books I was reminded of. Mia is an “Otome Game Villainess” in all but name, and a lot of the interactions she has with others will make the reader think of Bakarina. I was also reminded of the old J-Novel series Me, a Genius?, in that some of the humor of the book comes from Mia misinterpreting everyone’s actions, and absolutely everyone misinterpreting hers. Her maid, Anne, becomes absolutely loyal and devoted. Her advisor, Ludwig, is convinced she’s brilliant (because she remembers all the issues that made the Empire fall in her past go-round and parrots it back to him). The exception to this is the narrator, who is very much a Lemony Snicket-style narrator, constantly reminding the reader that Mia’s motivations are focused only on herself, and that frequently she does not MEAN to do the immense good she does.

That said, one of the few drawbacks in this book is that sometimes the narration overdoes it a bit, because over the course of the book, we *do* see Mia doing a lot of good, even if her intent may be different. Though her, people’s lives get better, things are happier. What’s more, Mia is gradually getting less selfish. Part of this may be simple premonition – when she tries to ignore some noble girls bullying Tiona, who is the girl who eventually leads the revolution against Mia, she gets a chill down her spine. Is it realizing that ignoring it would be a disaster for her future? Or is it a growing conscience? I suspect the latter. She chooses to go to the rescue, and it’s great. Mia has a sharp tongue, something that does not change in either timeline, but using it for good rather than evil is a definite plus. She also flirts with a young prince, at first in order to gain his country’s help should the revolution still occur, but gradually finds him genuinely attractive and charming, and so reacts like a normal teenage girl. It’s sweet. (There’s also an amazing scene where a bitter young noble swaps out some food at a party for stale crackers she brought as a prank, and when Mia eats them she not only is nostalgically reminded of the food she was given in prison, but is clever enough to realize that the preservatives used in these THREE-YEAR-OLD crackers can help her kingdom’s food issues.)

I tend to ‘quote tweet’ parts of a book as I read them. I didn’t do that with Tearmoon Empire, but that’s simply as the quotable bits were entire paragraphs and scenes that would have been too long to tweet. This book is funny from start to finish, from the snarky narration to the hilarious misinterpretations and even to normal “just write it funny” scenes like the young noble girls trying (badly) to make a lunch for Mia’s beau, which was AMAZING. There’s also a diary extract at the end that reminds you that no one misinterprets Mia’s own actions quite like Mia herself. It’s the sort of book you want to go back and re-read the moment you finish it. (You may have to – the 2nd volume hasn’t started up on J-Novel Club’s schedule yet, though I understand it’s coming soon.) If you avoided this book because of its shoujo-style cover, you need to give it a read. I loved it.