Too Many Losing Heroines!, Vol. 3

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By Takibi Amamori and Imigimuru. Released in Japan as “Make Heroine ga Ōsugiru!” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Acro.

Finally, with its third volume, I think this series is winning me over. Oh, I will admit, Nukumizu can still be irritating as hell, but it’s by design, and everyone (including himself!) calls him out on this. I did worry when we saw the appearance of the first winning girlfriend, Karen, but she’s kept to a minimum, so I can merely try to forget she exists. (Their subplot was, I think, meant to reference Nisekoi, but Karen is exactly the sort of heroine who usually wouldn’t win a manga like that, so I’ve no idea.) Mostly, though, this volume works because a) Komari’s subplot is interesting, works very well with her character growth, and tugs at the heartstrings, and b) Anna is finally becoming the sort of annoying character I can enjoy, rather than merely one I tolerate. I am now prepared to like her. Honestly, she’s almost becoming the voice of reason in this series, because Nukumizu is too caught up in his usual stuff.

Nukumizu thankfully tells us that this series can’t afford both a sports festival AND a culture festival, and besides, Lemon got focus last book, so no wants a track meet. So it’s just Culture Festival time, with the Literature Club being half-heartedly threatened by the Student Council, only one of whom really seems to have it in for them. More to the point, Tamaki and Tsukinoki are retiring from the club, and have chosen Komari to be the new president, with Nukumizu as a very reluctant vice. This is a good aesthetic choice, but will require her to – shock, horror! – speak in a group and deliver the literature club’s minutes at a meeting, something this introvert is seemingly incapable of. Given she’s already running herself ragged trying to do everything for the festival, can Nukumizu figure out what’s wrong *and* communicate properly with Komari about it? Spoiler: he manages neither of these.

There’s a bit near the end of this volume where Nukumizu is trying to figure out where he went wrong, and he realizes that while he and Komari are both introverts who say they want to be left alone, he really does, whereas she’s actually lonely and genuinely wants to be around other people. Leaving aside his stunning misreading of his own personality, Komari’s arc here reminded me that a lot of times in light novels and manga that feature the shy, introverted character, the goal is always to drag them out of their shells and make it so they can open up to everyone and communicate better. There’s a “we can fix you” aspect to them. And since Nukumizu thinks in light novel cliches, he assumes that’s what this is. But of course he forgets what Komari was dealing with when he met her – being in love with the president who helped her find a place in the club. She’s had that pillar taken away, and wants Nukumizu to understand that she would like him to be her new pillar. Sadly, as with Anna and Lemon, that would require Nukumizu to have more self-awareness than a bug.

Since I ended up enjoying this a lot more than the first two, I will forgive yet another oddly bordering on creepy younger sister who adores her big brother, mostly as it rests on the correct side of “incest is weird, don’t”. Anyway, we’ve run through our core heroine team, so who’s the next loser? Judging by the cover, it’ll be Shikiya, assuming she can wake up for it. For fans of this sort of series, “deconstruction” or no.

Shannon Wants to Die!, Vol. 1

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By Ao Satsuki and falmaro. Released in Japan as “Shinitagari no Shannon” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Olivia Plowman.

This book screams out to a certain kind of reader. And yes, I was that sort of reader. Did you read Wandering Witch? Did you want to read the story of a mage going from city to city and meeting various people in an anthology format? And did you stop reading it because the protagonist was a hideously insufferable little shit? Of course. We all did. This book is the antidote for that. I won’t say that Shannon is not occasionally a bit full of herself, but it’s about 1/10 the attitude Eliana has. For the most part she’s nice, wants to help people, and is pleasant to be around. We want to see her daily life. That said… this book is not for everyone. As the title may have hinted. The premise of this book is about an immortal mage trying to find a way that, after centuries, she can actually die, as she is tired of what she has now. If this would bother you, move on.

Shannon looks like a buxom 20-year-old in a mage’s outfit. In fact, she’s immortal, and has spent years and years wandering the world looking for her master, the man who caused this to happen to her. She’s also trying to see if anything will kill her. In this volume, she a) stays at a quiet village, talks with a cute young man, and tries to get eaten and digested by a dragon; 2) she meets a man trying to save a dying girl from a disease with no cure, and volunteers to drink poison antidotes till they find one that’s not poison; 3) She and an old adventurer go to a dungeon no one has ever come back from, to try to find the remains of his son; 4) she meets another young mage, who is trying to help her dying mother, and whose mentor may be the man who cursed Shannon with immortality in the first place.

I’m going to get the big negative out of the way first, as it’s just my personal preference, because the writing is fine. This artist has featured in a lot of series that come out over here in English, and I can’t stand their work every time. They have a heavy fanservice style, and tend to use the same poses. Basically, skip the art. Other than that, I enjoyed this a great deal. As I said, Shannon is very likeable. If she’d actually acted morose and depressed, the way the title suggests, this book would be unbearable. Instead, she’s well aware of the near-impossibility of her task, and is perfectly fine, while she’s searching, with helping people out every now and then… provided, of course, that helping them out might lead to a new way for her to be killed. Not to spoil the premise, but at the end of this volume, Shannon does not, in fact, die. The search continues.

Unfortunately for Shannon, it’s been two years since her last volume. Still, if she ever does come back, I’ll happily keep her company on her wandering journey. (not you, Eliana.)

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 14

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

One thing I appreciate about Tearmoon Empire is that, unlike a lot of other current light novel series, it’s not really trying to be a mystery – or at least, not a mystery where the reader is supposed to figure things out. All of the things that are going to be happening a hundred pages from now are helpfully signposted before we get there, and even when Mia doesn’t really figure something out someone else does (Rina has been a godsend for this series, as she’s allowed to be the bitter cynic Mia can’t be). And, most importantly, the answer to every “how on earth could this happen” is always the same answer: it’s those Chaos Serpents again. Indeed, this time we get a woman who’s been a Chaos Serpent for a very long time as the main villain of this volume, and she’s not only out to destroy Mia’s alliance but she has a grudge against Mia personally… as well as the girl who looks a LOT like Mia’s grandmother.

We pick up with the plot we started in the last book, as Mia has created a horsemanship tournament to try to help Ruby get our of her arranged marriage… and possibly to get Vanos some glory so that Ruby’s crush is more likely to actually appeal to her father. Naturally things don’t quite go the way Mia planned… but honestly, they mostly do, and while Ruby still can’t quite work up the nerve to confess, for the most part it’s a happy ending. Unfortunately, there’s no happy ending in Tearmoon Empire that can’t be erased by the next arc, as Bel comes by with shocking news… Ludwig’s future diary says that Mia is going to be betrayed by… Sapphias! This is baffling, as any reader who remembers Sapphias… which may not be many, to be fair… will recall he’s firmly in Mia’s corner. What’s going on here?

Much as I’ve talked about Mia’s character growth in the books as we’ve moved along, I do appreciate that she can sometimes be caught absolutely flat-footed, as she is here with the identity of the latest Chaos Serpent traitor. It’s pure coincidence that Mia’s love of weird mushrooms just happened to vibe with Citrina’s “oh, those are basically used for confessions” knowledge to save the day. Mia’s real skills, which she’s always had but have been honed over these books, are improvisation – the narrative calls it “riding the wave”, but that’s a talent a lot of people just don’t have – and her increased empathy, as honed by the guillotine. Mia may have been ignorant of the Serpent plot here, but her goals for the cooking party – get closer to Sapphias’ fiancee, then try to work things out without accusations or violence – shows she may actually be a very good politician as an adult almost despite herself. It’s no longer “her selfish cowardice was misunderstood by everyone”.

I enjoyed this volume so much I will forgive the one or two mild fat jokes I spotted near the start. Hopefully next time Mia can finally solve the problem of her grandmother, who is desperately sad but can’t show it because of abusive indoctrination. That said, Tearmoon is (mostly) lighthearted, so hopefully the solution won’t be as bad as the end of Book 11.