Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ Short Story Collection, Vol. 2

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: Tanpenshuu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

The first volume of the Re: Zero short stories was supplemented by some stories written directly for the volume. Unfortunately, that appears to be a one-off, as the volumes from this one going forward consist entirely of stories from Monthly Comic Alive. This volume came out near the end of the third arc, between Books 8 and 9, but is still entirely concerned with that period after the second arc, with every story happening around Roswaal’s mansion. The stories themselves appeared between July 2014 and July 2015, which is to say around the start of the third arc. Why am I writing so much about trivia like this? Because this is still a short story book in the end, and there’s a limited amount of things they can do to affect canon and be important characterization, especially given they’re all “buy in a manga magazine” stories. That said… this is a lot of fun, and should be greatly enjoyable for Re: Zero fans.

There are six stories here. 1) After the events of Liliana’s visit, the mansion’s residents are horrified to discover that Emilia is tone-deaf, and try to teach her how to sing; 2) Subaru accidentally uses Ram’s special medicinal tea that she needs to help her mana, and now he, Ram, and Puck have to go into the forest to get the dangerous ingredients required to make it again; 3) Subaru asks if there are ghosts in this world, and discovers that some of the residents of the mansion may fear them (they’re “hollows” here. He decides to use the Japanese “divination” game of kokkuri to have some fun; 4) Trying to get sedentary Beatrice to be more active, Subaru bets her that he can catch her in a game of tag played around the mansion. Beatrice accepts, but forgets how cunning Subaru cam be; 5) The mansion is freezing over due to Puck needing to get rid of his magic, and Subaru decides to help him along by holding a snow festival in the village; 6) Subaru finds a stash of alcohol under a trapdoor, and Roswaal gives permission to host a party with it, since in this world Subaru is old enough to drink.

The last two stories were adapted into an OAV of the anime, and it’s easy to see why, as they lend themselves very well to that sort of thing. Last time I talked about how odd it was to read about the “original” Rem from Arc 3 after all the time we’ve spent (in North America) with her in a coma. This one reminded me that I’ve gotten spoiled by the Emilia of the 5th and 6th arcs, who’s gotten herself together and is kicking ass. This is a return to the old, naive and somewhat goofy Emilia, which isn’t as cool but I will admit can be funnier; Emilia with Mr. Bucket may be the comedic highlight of the book. Most of these are downtime stories, with little danger. The second story has Subaru step off a cliff and get menaced by monsters, but honestly he was more in danger from Ram’s sarcasm there than anything else. Likewise, the danger of potentially dying of the cold in the 5th story is hilariously undercut by Subaru pointing that that Puck has to “fart out all that mana”. This stays on the funny rather than heartwarming side of the scale, though the final scene with Subaru and Beatrice is sweet.

For obsessives only, but it’s great the obsessives finally have a chance to buy it.

Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 5

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By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei.

Last time I asked for less of Nia hitting things, and that’s what I got – Nia’s antics being super overpowered are confined to the final quarter of her part of the book (the last fifth of the book is a short story starring Fressa), and most of the rest of it is devoted to what I’m actually here for, which is the magivision stuff. Admittedly, I’m more worried about Nia on that front. After the first couple of books talked about her programs, each successive one has cared about them less and less, which this fifth book in the series only noting that she’s filming a lot and that it makes her tired. It’s even pointed out point blank that Reliared and Hildetaura are having far more popular shows and are coming up with far more innovative ideas. Nia briefly worries about it, and thinks they need to come up with some ideas in her own domain, but then goes back to earning cash. Maybe her “downfall” is due to low ratings.

The start of this book has Nia hired by the second prince to film the wedding of Zackford and Phyledia, so that he can better show off the strengths of magivision to his kingdom. This requires a ridiculous amount of prep, as filming is still brand new, so there’s all sorts of rules to follow and contracts to sign. It ends up coming off perfectly, though. Back at school there’s now a junior magivision club, which our heroine is not a member of, but her advice is sought out when it turns out that their ideas and actual filming experience are subpar. She also continues to train her underlings in chi… and is very angry when she finds out that one underling has been training others without her permission. Finally, she’s accosted by space pirates, which allows her to do the overpowered Nia Liston things that are increasingly difficult to hide as being her own invention and not her “master”.

It will not surprise folks that I find the quiet character moments in this book more interesting than child whupass time. The best scene in the book is when Nia takes the newlyweds into a side room so that she can show them the magivision video they spent the previous day flying all over to record – greetings from all their family and friends who were unable to attend the wedding. They’re brought to a side room as Nia knows they’ll cry and she doesn’t want that to be public. It’s very sweet. We also meet new supporting players who I suspect will get more to do later, but I did like the surly punk-looking one who, after observing the art of magivision, realizes that not only does this actually interest him but he could probably be really good at it. We’ve all had those “eureka” moments when we find something that we love and can achieve. It’s nice to see here as well.

Is Nia still marching slowly towards her doom? Is her doom a late-night cable magivision show where she sells pocket fisherman and veg-o-matics? Is this the era of Nia Popeil? Probably not, as long as she can keep punching things.

Adachi and Shimamura: Short Stories

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By Hitoma Iruma and raemz. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I wasn’t really expecting a lot out of this short story volume. The stories are, with one exception, microstories, ranging from half a page to about 6-7 pages, and feel like the sort of bonus you’d get if you bought the book in a certain store (they probably were). But they’re laid out cleverly if that is the case, thematically giving the book a weight and progression it might not otherwise deserve. We see Shimamura finally expressing herself in ways she really never has before, we are taken once again into the deep, deep, drowning waters of Adachi’s obsessive love, and we even get a short story from the point of view of Yashiro, which honestly reads more like she’s an AI than an alien. But the last quarter of the book is one story, from the POV of Adachi’s mother, and it’s both the most interesting and the hardest to read. Our heroines are very, very much like their mothers, and that’s both good and bad.

The first third of the book is the closest to the normal series, as it’s all from Shimamura’s POV, showing her hanging out in the gym with Adachi around the start of the series, several stories after they’ve become a couple, and a few stories of her office life after they’ve gotten an apartment together. The second third is Adachi’s POV, which is much the same only it’s a lot pricklier and more desperate, both in a good and bad way, and also shows us Adachi’s idea of heaven, which is kind of sweet but also very worrying. After a few stories from the POV of various side characters (but not Hino and Nagafuji, who are absent from this collection), the final story, a full quarter of the book, has Shimamura’s mother dragging Adachi’s mother to a “sleepover” with both their families, which turns out to be an attempt to have Adachi and her mother try one last time to communicate with each other.

The Shimamura stories were adorable, honestly. They have a healthy dollop of Yashiro, as you’d expect, but for the most part what you get out of them is that Shimamura has come to terms with loving Adachi, and she’s extremely soppy about it. Adachi’s stories are less interesting except for one, where she finds herself in a black and white cityscape where every person in the world is a teenage Shimamura. It’s said that this is Adachi’s idea of heaven, and she does not dispute it – she thinks of this as the goal after her life, an afterlife where she can care about only Shimamura with literally no one else. It’s eerie, but shows the bottomless depths of her love. As for the story with Adachi’s mother, it’s painful to read. She confesses to Shimamura’s mother that she finds interaction exhausting as it’s hard to “read the room and manage all their feelings”, which Shimamura’s mother boggles at, wondering why she bothers to do that. The story ends with Adachi’s mother giving her daughter the only advice she feels she can: “please don’t turn out like I did”. Chilling, but compelling.

So yeah, this is still a series by Hitoma Iruma, meaning I recommend it, with reservations.