Category Archives: reviews

Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Vol. 1

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By Riku Misora and On. Released in Japan as “Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Sol Press. Translated by Benjamin Daughety.

I have to admit, halfway through the first volume of this series I was ready to trash it to hell and back. It reveled in its cliches, at times even lampshading them so that they could get even worse (I’m thinking of the “yes, we’re blood related, but I still want to do my brother” plotline here in particular). And yes, I will admit it, as someone who has read Asterisk War first, a lot of this felt like something done better somewhere else. (For the curious, Asterisk War predates this series by 10 months.) But then things started to improve, not to the point where I ended up loving it, but enough so that I was able to get to the end and thing “Huh. That got better.” In fact, it almost reads like they fired the original writer halfway through and replaced them. So while it’s not my bag, I will admit that after a shaky start this is a decent light novel for those who enjoy magic academies, harems, and red-headed tsundere princesses – though the tsun vanishes fast here.

Ikki Kurogane is one of THOSE protagonists. You know, he’s strong, brilliant with a sword, his mind is sharp and analytical, he’s handsome (in fact, his face is boyishly cute), and he’s a relatively nice, if reserved, young man. But he has no magic. As such, he’s been abused by his family most of his life, is “Rank F” at the magical academy he attends, a rank which they literally admit later in the book is there just to have students that can be abused, a la Assassination Classroom, and due to his family leaning on the faculty he failed and is a first year student for the second time. But there’s a new school director who will allow him to actually fight and defend himself, and also a new student, Stella Vermillion, who is his polar opposite in most ways – a beloved foreign princess with Rank A fire powers and, ça va sans dire, large breasts. That said, they do share the trait of working hard – in fact, Stella despises people who call her “talented” as if she hadn’t trained for years to get to this point. Now that they’re roommates, can they avoid falling in love? And can Ikki win a fight at last?

I’ve already mentioned most of the things I didn’t like about the first half, but mostly it just felt like it was actively courting the typical LN fan without really trying. Things pick up with the arrival of Alice, who is the roommate of Ikki’s sister. (I’ll just skip his sister if you don’t mind.) Alice is a woman who was assigned male at birth, and this fact naturally freaks Ikki out a bit, as he’s a light novel protagonist, and therefore there’s a bit of “but I’m not gay!” here. But he rapidly adjusts, as does the audience, and the novel uses Alice’s preferred pronouns throughout. I was impressed. It helps that Alice is a “voice of reason” character among eccentrics. The final battle was also good, delving into Ikki’s repressed emotions and showing that, now that he’s allowed to fight, he has to open up or he’ll be crushed. Fortunately, he has Stella. The relationship arguably starts a bit fast, but honestly given most light novel hero and heroines that’s actually refreshing.

Gonna be honest, I read too many LNs these days, so the improvement is not enough to get me to continue this series. But it certainly seems like fans of the franchise should definitely enjoy it, and the presentation is fine. Tempting as it is to end this by saying “for fans of Asterisk War”, I know that would be mean. :) For fans of brooding boys and fiery girls.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 26

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

It’s the end of the Forthothe arc, and so most of it ends up being a big battle. Some villains are attacked and kidnapped, as are some of the heroes. And behind it all remains Vandarion, still the weak part of the book. Screaming mad villains just aren’t my thing, and after his main henchman is killed off, he loses whatever sanity he has and just screams threats for 75 pages. He’s helped by a hellmouth of some sort, which means he has the power to keep attacking the Blue Knight even after his mecha-dragon is destroyed, and indeed even after his own body is vaporized. It’s meant to be a terrifying show of willpower, but I have to say I wanted the cast to just kill him off already. Especially as the clever parts of the plan (kidnap Green, then use her to kidnap the royals) was quite good and well handled. Heck, even the henchman’s death was handled pretty well. I get the sense that Takehaya was trying to pad out the battle.

As for what finally kills off the villain, naturally it’s the power of Koutarou and all of his girls. The power of the bond they have between each other is strong, and can repair his giant killer swords to be even more giant and killer. That said, it’s the middle of a space battle, so we unfortunately do not have time to get deeper into Koutarou’s psyche – his mental scars still seem to be in place. It’s only the fact that they might die doing this that prompts the girls to say that while they know that he loves them as family, they want him to love them as women. His reply is said under high emotion, and is not really dwelt on. The series is ongoing after this, so I’m sure we will get back to it. Koutarou needs to be taught to be romantic – and yes, sexual. But not here.

Elsewhere, Elexis and Maya also join in the final battle, helping Koutarou at the cost of their ship and (seemingly) their lives – they’re last seen drifting off into space and can’t be found at the end of the book. That said, I will be VERY surprised if we never see them again. (They also profess their love for each other, though like Koutarou it’s under duress and not particularly sensual – this is a very pure harem series.) Darkness Rainbow’s homeworld makes an agreement with Forthothe, which means that the dark magical girls have achieved what they need to do. All that’s left is to go home and explain why they were gone for two months to their school – I have a sneaking suspicion this will go well for everyone but Yurika. That said, next volume is short stories, which honestly is welcome after an arc this long. It was very good, but I’m happy to see the end of it.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden, Vol. 1

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

The fourth volume of Bookworm starts a new arc, as Myne has managed to cajole and finagle her way into being an apprentice shrine maiden – and a blue-robed one at that, the elite noble sort of shrine maiden. But things aren’t all magically wonderful, despite the fact that she can now read books. She has three attendants, all of whom dislike her to some degree, and she is not remotely used to talking and acting as a noble should. Despite having an outlet for her Devouring now, she’s still sickly and weak, particularly when she’s reading so much she forgets to eat. The temple has an orphanage that is a nightmare, and Myne has to deal with the fact that if she wants to do something about it, she can’t just half-ass it – she needs to be a benefactor. Can she overcome all this, plus the fact that every time she finds a “solution” to a problem, it creates five more?

Myne may have the knowledge from her past life, but even her past self tended to be a bit flighty, so one of the biggest roadblocks she faces is her acting the way that a normal kid would act – acting on something as soon as she sees it, without thinking of the consequences. This has always been a headache to Benno, but now it’s a headache for the High Priest as well. Honestly, things would go far smoother if she was to simply ask more “common sense” questions about nobility, but “tell me what I don’t know” is hard to answer. I was rather amused when, towards the end of the book, when trying to resolve the issues with Lutz’s family, she’s given a magic device that literally means no one else can hear her talk. Oh, if only this existed in real life.

As for the three attendants, honestly, Myne wins them over fairly rapidly. One is disturbed she’s not acting like a noble and also worries he’s been demoted; another is a bratty kid who’s just never gotten praise for good work before, and the third is the High Bishop’s planted spy, who is trying to stay on the one path available to her, even though “mistress to a noble” strikes Myne as not something to strive for. We also get the usual inventions and ideas from Myne, as we make pizza, create clothes hangers, and discover that the fruits used in a festival event actually can become the rare paper-giving trombes if mana is poured into them – something that could also have huge ramifications down the road, as now the commoners would have a way to fight the Devouring. Myne has to (once more) be sat down and lectured, as life is not as simple as “now no one will have mana poisoning!”.

Those watching the current anime know this is a slow-burn series, and this volume is much the same, despite Myne also becoming an orphanage director. At least she’s reading books… though her revelation that she doesn’t really retain anything she reads boggles my mind. It really is pure pleasure for her, isn’t it? This new arc is four books long, so I look forward to seeing how Myne makes everyone around her smack their foreheads in future volumes.