The Twelve Kingdoms, Book Three: Sea of Wind, Shore of the Labyrinth

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By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Juni Kokuki: Kaze no Umi, Meikyū no Kishi” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan.

So I’m sure that after the events of the first two books, everyone is ready to dig in and find out how Youko settles in to her new ruling status. Well, hate to break it to you, but not only is Youko not in this book at all, but the entire volume takes place prior to the first two, and deals with a completely different kingdom. As I noted in the last review, the books are not called Twelve Kingdoms for nothing. That said, despite the fact that we get a new protagonist, a lot of this may feel very familiar. We see someone who grew up in Japan suddenly yanked to this world, where they’re forced to try to figure things out that everyone else assumes are either common sense or just come naturally. Youko dealt with this mostly through fury and increased paranoia. Taiki deals with it through depression and increased anxiety.

Up on Mount Hou, everyone is awaiting the birth of the new kirin, who will be the one to choose the next ruler of the country of Tai. Unfortunately, a storm blows the fruit containing the unborn Taiki off to god knows where. Ten years later, Kaname is an unhappy boy who lives with his family but can’t seem to please them, especially his strict grandmother. Then one day while standing outside in the snow as punishment, he sees a pair of arms reaching out from nowhere, and when he goes to investigate he finds himself on Hou Mountain. He *is* the missing kirin, and Tai needs a leader post haste, so he’s got to become a full-fledged kirin and choose the new leader. Unfortunately, kirin is a very instinctual position learned from birth, and since Taiki lived in Japan for ten years, he has none of that instinct. Good thing there aren’t also crushing expectations! Oh, wait, there are.

Despite the previous paragraph, this is a book with a great deal of heart. Taiki gets a lifelong familiar, Sanshi who sort of acts as a combination pet/mother/bodyguard. The sages of Mount Hou are all very nice to him… possibly they spoil him, but let’s face it, after passive abuse for ten years, Taiki needs a bit of spoiling. I really liked Youka, who we first meet ten years prior as a neophyte who still can’t find her way around the labyrinthian mountain, but who is also the best older sister for Taiki once he arrives. Taiki definitely feels like a ten-year-old with crippling anxiety throughout the book, so it’s good to see when he finally gets what a kirin needs to do, or when he’s actually enjoying and smiling over something. And for those who are sad about the fact that the first two books are in the future, Keiki is a supporting character here – indeed, he and Taiki bonding, and Keiki thus becoming less stoic and nicer, might be what leads to the troubles from the first two books.

So do we get a whole new cast next time? Not quite. The King of En has been supporting in both the first arc and the second, and the next book will look at his relationship with his own kirin. Till then, this is a wonderful fantasy series, highly recommended to everyone.

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 7

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

This book’s pacing reminded me a bit of Tearmoon Empire. The first half is mostly action and big magic, as the Sages face off against one of their own. The second half, though, essentially starts a new arc, as Monica investigates Felix’s past and his upbringing. It should be overbalanced towards the former, which very much has a big action feel to it. But the latter half of the book makes the series feel like it’s actually gearing up towards an ending. Now, technically it isn’t, as the 11th volume is due out in Japan soon. But there are plotlines that you can’t drag on forever, and the biggest of these is who Felix really is, why Duke Clockford feels he can be used as a puppet, and what’s the story behind the execution of Monica’s father. As for romance? That’s thin on the ground here, as Monica spends most of the book annoyed that you cannot simply turn love into a mathematical formula, and if anything Lana is the one she’s closest to right now. (No, not like that.)

When we last left Monica, she, along with the other sages, was in the forest trying to find a way to get to the Gem Sage Emanuel Darwin, whose artifact is sending out clockwork soldiers and also can command spirits – such as Ryn, who is now attacking them. By splitting up and playing to their strengths, they’re able to save Cyril and Glenn, who are currently trapped in the thick of all this, as well as take care of the artifact and send the Gem Mage packing with his tail between his legs. Unfortunately, we also learn that Louis seems to be trusting Monica even less, and worries that she will in fact side with Duke Clockford because of her relationship with Felix. Also unfortunately, once Monica gets home, she finds that once again someone has infiltrated her attic bedroom – and this time it’s Bridget.

Now, readers of this series may be asking themselves, who is Bridget again? Since being introduced in the first book as part of the student council, Bridget has done somewhere between fuck and all, mostly serving as a signpost of “this jealous girl will be activated when a button is pressed, but no one is pressing it”. Fortunately, not only does she finally get things to do, but it turns out that she’s far more interesting than that, and that her backstory ties into Felix’s (which we expected) but is also fairly tragic (which we didn’t), and that she is absolutely not a rival for the affections of Felix now… if that is indeed Felix. More and more it’s looking like at some point around when he was eight years old, the gentle, sickly, cute but pathetic Felix was somehow turned into the handsome, capable, cool with ladies Felix we have now. Bridget may not have found an answer she wanted, but Monica did, and what she does next…

…will presumably come up in Book 8. Which we won’t get till after the next volume of the Louis spinoff. Still, this was a solid Silent Witch, and I am very happy to welcome Bridget to the cast.

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, Vol. 17

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Slime Taoshite 300 Nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Tristan Hill.

I will admit that I never thought that I would be comparing the meandering, Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, decidedly ambivalent to romance despite its yuri fanbase I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 3400 Years to the energetic, Anything Can Happen, very very bisexual and horny series The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, but here we are, they both tend to handle their casts the same way. Both have a cast that is simply too large to juggle everyone all the time. So 100 Girlfriends will see Rentaro going out on a date with four of his girlfriends, and a footnote will say “the others were busy and couldn’t make it”. Likewise, Azusa will always be involved in the wacky antics of the short story, but the supporting cast and expand or contract depending on the needs of the author. Which is good, as I tend to have a lot of trouble remembering who is who in 300 Slimes beyond the ones who live in the house.

The stories: 1) Flatorte goes to visit her parents, and the rest of the house residents come with. They end up babysitting a neighbor’s blue dragon child, which causes havoc as they have no idea how to deal with baby blue dragons; 2) Sandra has a flower grow on top of her head, and attracts attention, both good and bad; 3) Pecora feels her idol singing career is in a rut, so goes on a training camp, and forces Azusa to come; 4) Vania needs to get her Leviathan Flying License renewed, and forces Azusa to come along; 5) A demigod escapes from the underground and starts creating magical girls… pardon me, magical gurus; 6) Pecora is horrified to find a demonic sweets company is making knockoffs of Azusa’s edible slimes, and forces her to fix the problem; and the after story, starring Wynona, she goes to learn magic from Wizly, but finds that she’s actually a genius.

As you can see by the short stories, a lot of these involve pushy characters forcing Azusa to do things to advance the plot. This is the danger of having a passive character as the lead. Azusa is immortal, can defeat almost everyone in the world, and is quite content to hang at her cottage on the hill with her family and have nothing happen to her. This is very undramatic. Fortunately, other characters do seem to be growing, if only a little, in this series where even the author admits they cannot actually have dramatic events. Flatorte is noticeably more mature in the stories that feature her doing more than eating, and if folks had listened to her a bit more, the first story would have gone much easier. Likewise, while Halkara has her drunkard moments, she’s allowed to also be very intelligent and innovative. It’s nice to see in a series where nothing usually happens.

Look at that, 500 words. I have defeated another volume. See you next time.