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Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 1

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By Jougi Shiraishi and Azure. Released in Japan as “Majo no Tabitabi” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

I suspected going in, judging by the blurb, that this would be less a light novel and more of a short story collection, and I was mostly correct. Elaina is our protagonist, and we do learn bits and pieces about her as the book goes on, but it’s clear the main thrust of the series is “Elaina goes to [X], events happen, Elaina leaves [X]. Which is fine, as some of the stories are quite good. The publisher did a good job not just giving in and calling it “Elaina’s Journey”, because yes, this does remind the reader of a certain motorcycle-riding protagonist we all know. Elaina’s short stories are less concerned with a moral than Kino’s, though – in fact, some of the weaker stories in this book come from when it does seem to try to awkwardly hammer home a “deep down we’re all the same” sort of lesson to be learned. Fortunately, Elaina is not really the sort to take in valuable lessons. She just wants to walk around.

As the title implies, Elaina is a young witch who is wandering around her world, which is one where witches are known and tolerated in most countries, visiting cities, towns and villages to take in what they’re like. As she does this, some of the places she goes are very entertaining and funny; some are rather creepy and horrific; and some are designed to tell us more about Elaina herself – in both flashbacks and the present day – to show us how she got to be a witch and why she’s so dedicated to wandering around and not staying longer than three days (again, does this sound familiar, Kino fans?). The supporting cast is pretty much zero; there is a recurring gag about a muscle-headed brother searching for his sister that pops up a few times, but that’s less for the character development and more for the gag.

Elaina herself is somewhat dry and frosty; at times the book can feel like a tsukkomi wandering the world of bokes. She used to be worse – one of the better stories involves us meeting her teacher when Elaina was an apprentice, and having the arrogance stripped out of her. Now she’s helpful… sometimes despite herself… but still seems removed from events, never getting too emotionally involved. Several stories here do not have happy endings, or end on a sad or scary note; we see Elaina leaving the country on her broom and never looking back. In the final story of the book, where the present-day Elaina meets her old teacher, there are hints that there’s more to Elaina than meets the eye (I’m curious about her mom as well), and I suspect we may find out she’s more important than she makes herself out to be.

As you’d expect given the format, the book is quite variable; some stories hit hard, some miss entirely. And, as I’ve hinted in the review, you do get the sense that the publisher would have been better off just license rescuing Kino’s Journey instead. But Wandering Witch is certainly an interesting journey in the end, and I enjoy Elaina’s matter-of-fact, slightly smug narrative voice. I’ll be looking for more of this.

The Rose of Versailles, Vol. 1

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By Riyoko Ikeda. Released in Japan as “Versailles no Bara” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Margaret. Released in North America by Udon Entertainment. Translated by Mari Morimoto.

At last, one of the most iconic manga ever has reached the shores of North America. It’s been a long wait since the license was first announced, and I’m sure there are some asking whether it was worth it. I am here to tell you that yes, it was. The volume of Rose of Versailles I am holding in my hands (both hands, it’s quite heavy) is gorgeous, a hardcover with high-quality paper, the first of five omnibus volumes (the “Complete Edition” from Japan). The art is breathtaking – I normally read manga fairly quickly, but it took me days to get through this book, as I kept stopping every panel to look at some fresh new detail. The characters are all compelling and drive the story well, although I admit that I like some of them more than others. The dialogue is also fantastic and will make you go back and reread when you aren’t going back to reread because of the art. It’s just… really amazing, folks.

The story frames itself as being about three people born the same year: Hans Axel von Fersen, a Swedish prince; Oscar Francois de Jarjayes, a noblewoman raised as a man; and Marie Antoinette Josephe Jeanne de Lorraine D’Autriche, better known as just Marie Antoinette, future Queen of France. The first half of the volume is very much about Marie Antoinette in its entirety; Oscar is there, but as a mere supporting player, popping up to snark at the other nobles and then getting back to her job with the Royal Guards. We see Marie as a well-meaning but naive and gullible teenager, thrust into the spotlight far too soon, and later in the book this gets even worse when Louis XV dies and she becomes Queen. Oscar is there at timees to try to guide her towards being more mature, but is not very successful at it, mostly as there are any number of hangers-on who are trying to manipulate a lonely and innocent Queen. And then there’s Fersen, who arrives at court and falls deeply in love with Marie Antoinette.

This is soap opera, of course, but of the best kind – if you’re going to go big and overdramatic, the court of Louis XV and XVI is the place to do it. Marie Antoinette is both sympathetic and frustrating, and you can see how difficult it can be to do the right thing when you have so many people who are standing besides you “giving helpful advice”. There’s also a subplot involving a pair of poor sisters, Jeanne and Rosalie; one manipulates men to move up into nobility, the other ends up attached to Oscar after her mother is killed by a mysterious noblewoman. I was, I admit, less enamored of these two; Rosalie, in particular, can grate. And then there’s the art. Rose of Versailles is most familiar for its iconic shoujo poses, and those do look beautiful and dramatic, but there’s also lots of silliness as well, and much of the humor in the volume comes from over the top comedy reactions to everyone’s antics. (Oscar, in particular, gets some magnificent funny faces.)

I hope I don’t need to tell everyone that this is worth reading immediately. If you were beginning to despair worrying it would never come out, fear not; it’s here, and it’s magnificent. Immerse yourself in it.

The Asterisk War: Resurgence of Savagery

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By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Sometimes I jinx myself. Last time I was happily going on about how Asterisk War may have been cliched but hit all the right notes and was really fun to read. So it’s no surprise that here I am, reading the 12th volume, and finding things that I’m dissatisfied with. This is the last ‘setup’ volume before the next battle, the Lindvolus, and so the author is dragging the characters to where they need to be. For Ayato, who isn’t taking part in the battle (after all, it’s Julis who needs to win it), this will involve getting threatened and blackmailed. For the rest of the cast, it will involve learning about the new Big Bad and what he’s trying to do… well, actually, no one is quite sure what he is trying to do. For Orphelia, it’s starting to look like all she’ll be getting is a merciful death. And for Julis, who likely will have to administer that death, this volume is basically terrible, and it’s no surprise that she ends it distancing herself from her friends.

Firstly, Haruka is awake, and actually fulfilling a plot function, which is nice. Less nice is that the plot function she is filling is damsel in distress, though she has more agency than most of those. She’s up and telling people about the bad guy (her real father), and the scenes where she trains Ayato to realize why he’s still coming up short in controlling his powers are quite good. But the blackmail scene, where Ayato is threatened by revealing that Haruka essentially has a bomb next to her heart that will go off if Ayato doesn’t obey orders, feels like a cliche in the bad way, which Asterisk War doesn’t normally do. In addition, while I enjoyed the flashbacks to bad guy’s school years and him meeting a mysterious student with great powers (who seems very familiar), we only get one chapter of it, and it felt a bit out of place towards the start of the book.

There’s no additional confessions in the Ayatobowl sweepstakes, though his sister is happy he has so many girls after him. Instead, everyone is training for the Lindvolus, which promises to be at least the next three books, so we’d better get ready. We get a look at some of the other participants, some of whom we’ve seen before, and some of whom are new characters. Which is good, because this is a series with a tiny cast that absolutely needed more new characters. Yes, I’m joking. Actually, a lot of these little scenes were quite good, and were probably the parts of the book I enjoyed the most. But in the end the main thing this book was after was the break Julis, and also to drive her away from her friends, and it succeeded admirably. Which is fine, but a little depressing. I like Julis.

Next volume opens the tournament, so expect our heroes to be beating on a lot of supposedly strong folks who will nevertheless be sacrificed to the plot. Asterisk War continues to be a light breezy read that loves its cliches. For good and ill.