New Game Plus After Defeating the Last Boss: All These Beautiful, Problematic Girls in the First Town Have Gotten Really Attached to Me… , Vol. 2

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By Touwa Akatsuki and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Last Boss Toubatsu Go ni Hajimeru Nishuume Boukensha Life: Hajimari no Machi de Wakeari Bishoujotachi ga Mechakucha Natsuite Kimasu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kamishiro Taishi.

And here’s where we find out why this series didn’t last past the second volume, and any goodwill I had towards it quietly vanishes. There’s a reason that writers love to create conflict for their characters: unless it’s handled well, everyone getting along is boring. Rearguard has a similar problem, but usually moves at a fast enough clip that it can avoid the worst of it. This book, though, really doesn’t pick up till about 2/3 of the way into it. Not great. And there’s also Falmaro’s art. I used to, if not like, at least not mind Falmaro as much. But as time as gone on, their art is not only fanservice for fanservice’s sake, but looks tedious. Everyone seems to fall with their legs spread open, or dance so their panties fly up. I think it’s meant to be funny? Hey, look at the obvious? It made me groan and want to move on.

(See? Even the cover art is an upskirt shot.) Returning back to their hometown after defeating the demons from Volume 1, Might and company get a hero’s welcome. They’re headed off to the capital as well, but there’s a bit of a worry. As Raksha, the dead demon who manages to nevertheless be alive enough to exposit, tells them, there’s another demon, a vampire, who’s even stronger than the ones from the previous book. And as they set off for the capital, it would appear that the vampire’s kin have been getting busier and busier recruiting new women (always young women), and they’ve even gotten a hold of one of Might’s old allies, Elk. Actually, Might’s old allies from his former “life” may end up being the cause of all these issues, along with a goddess who may not be what she seems…

So now that I’ve bitched about the entire book, what did I like about it? I did like how they worked in the old cast, though “mischievous sister goddess pretends to be her good twin to cause chaos” is a bit eye-rolling. Falina’s a good, noble girl who’s tricked badly and has to do her best not to turn evil. Unfortunately, vampirism is a real threat here, plus of course she’s in love with Might along with every other woman in the cast, so it’s hard to simply sit and do nothing. And given this is a book where everyone gets along, it was appropriate that Might’s vampire cure ended up making everyone fine with no after effects. Likewise, when Lystia returns home after running away, the reaction of most everyone is “ah well, you had your reasons.” Also, when we hear that Might’s so young at this point his voice hasn’t dropped yet (isn’t he 15?!), it makes sense why all the sexy teasing goes absolutely nowhere. This is about family, not who gets to be his lover.

The end of this volume wraps up most of the plot points that were outstanding, and it’s pretty easy to not write more. The author seems to have returned to Rearguard after a hiatus to write this. I hope they concentrate more on that, Best Lizard could kick the ass of any of these girls.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 9

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By Piero Karasu and Yuri Kisaragi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

There was a long gap between Book 8 and Book 8.5 in North America, which allowed the series in Japan to not only get further ahead but even finish – the final volume will be lucky number 13. Fortunately, there’s less of a gap between 8.5 and this book, so we can start to catch up. This is the start of the final arc, according to the author, and as such we’re finally going to be looking outside of Palettia to other countries – in particular the Ailean Empire. Anis and Euphie have spent most of the series dealing with troubles in their own backyard, be it Anis’ magical inventions, the wicked nobles scheming to make her a puppet Queen, Euphie’s own broken engagement, etc. Now that most of that has been resolved, it’s time to look outward… though Anis and Euphie really don’t want to look outward. They’re still laser focused on progress at home. Unfortunately, when you’re making really cool things that can change the world, “sorry, they’re not for sale” isn’t going to cut it.

As Anis tries to deal with all the paperwork that starting a new Magicology City entails, she ends up discovering something terrible – denizens of the Ailean Empire want to assassinate her! See, the Empire had a massive “take over everything” phase a while back, and took over some countries that bordered on Palettia and traditionally hated them – and that tradition hasn’t gone away even though they’re now subjects of the Empire. Fortunately, Anis now knows in advance, and can take precautions. This leads her and Euphie to meet with the emperor, who sounds like a freak, and acts it too a lot of the time, but ends up being one of those “I disguise my intelligence behind an annoying false front” sorts, and he’s here to psychoanalyze Euphie – much to her displeasure. Can all this be resolved by a visit to the Empire?

I really did like the Emperor’s talk with Euphie. He points out, and he’s not wrong, that she has no desires of her own as ruler. She’s only doing it for Anis. In that sense, Anis really is the driving force behind the country at the moment. It’s a good point, and I can see why people would be wary of someone who doesn’t seem to have any wants or needs. There’s also what amounts to a resolution of Tilty’s storyline – I get the sense the bulk of the rest of the series is going to be visiting the Empire, and she’s definitely not coming. Searching or a way to fix her issues has led to a solution that works well for her, but I agree it should stay secret till they sort everything out. I also really liked the way to bring Ilia back into the plot, as she’s done very little lately, short stories aside. She also does nothing in this book, but the future looks better for her and Lainie.

In the end, my favorite scenes in this series remain Anis and Euphie being lovey-dovey even as they discuss assassins, empire building, and a turbulent future. Still great fun to read.

Even Exiled, She’s Still the Beloved Saint! St. Evelyn’s Weird and Wonderful Friends, Vol. 3

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By Harunadon and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Tsuihousareta Seijo desu ga, Jitsu wa Kunijuu kara Aisaresugitete Kowain desu kedo!?” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

And then it all falls apart. The afterword of this series mentions that the author really wanted to do this sort of plot, which made me raise an eyebrow, and that they suspect no other author has taken a swerve like this, which I know isn’t true. They then tell us that the editor has asked that the next cover they want to see Evelyn smile, and encourage us with a “so you’d better buy this enough!” threat. Reader, they did not buy this enough, and this third and final volume came out in 2023, with Evelyn still not quite married. That said, unlike another series I read recently, everything is pretty wrapped up here. In fact, everything was pretty wrapped up in Book 2. The most painful thing about this book is that it’s unnecessary, flabby, and will do something for a laugh and then abandon it when exposition is needed. It’s not good.

Evelyn wakes up in a room with the other eleven supporting characters of this series, where they are told by a mysterious rabbit that they are going to be playing… a DEATH GAME! Evelyn, needless to say, finds this horrifying, especially when she’s told that a lot of people in the kingdom go missing every year, and it’s now assumed they’re killed off in this game. In the first game, they run a relay race against zombies, who bite Alex and Mary, who are theoretically now zombified… though it seems to be taking a long time. In the second death game, they’re divided into two teams of six to play “Wolves and Villagers”. Evelyn’s group is narrated by her, and Kira gets the narration for the other group. This allows everyone to play detective… some badly. But who’s really behind all this?

I appreciate that this series runs on Rule of Silly, but I do expect some consistency. We get an extended gag of Evelyn not getting the Wolves and Villagers rules as she’s too thick, but then near the end she’s able to rattle off all the various deductions she’s made with ease. I am generally not a fan of death games in general, so his was always going to be an uphill battle. But the relay race vs. zombies thing didn’t really make any sense, and only worked as a sort of way to force Mary to apologize to her sister without making it sound out of character. Evelyn is engaged to Theodore, and loves him, but really the only reason she’s not marrying Kira is his age – they have the far stronger bond. And the revelation of the culprit’s motivations just made me sigh, but at least it fit in with everything else in this series.

I don’t expect more of this. It was very silly but fun, then very silly and a lot less fun. Go read the author’s other series, which are far better.