My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “The Six Things I Couldn’t Say”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

I’ve talked about this before with other series, but there is a reason why so many authors of Japanese light novels write high school romance, and it’s not only because that’s a large part of their market. It’s because high school kids don’t have the life experience most of the time to make sensible decision or to understand the bigger picture. Things that a person thinks back on in middle age as part of their embarrassing past are, for a high school kid of 17 years old, about a quarter of their life, and thus it can seem like an insurmountable object. And, of course, it also helps the author put off the couple getting together as long as possible. Yume’s there, and ready, but Mizuto has a looooong way to go, even after the revelation he has at the end of the volume. The flashbacks through the book to their middle school years shows just how much self-loathing he holds inside himself.

It’s school festival time, and naturally the step-siblings are put in charge of what to do. “Cosplay cafe” seems to be the choice, but too many classes also want to do that, so it’s up to them to find an idea that’s unique and can get past student council approval. This also involves taking into account things like long lines and plans to stop “inappropriate” behavior. As for the festival itself, Mizuto and Yume are working the morning shift, then get the afternoon to talk around the festival together. It could almost be a date!… except they’ve got Isana there with them, as otherwise she’d just be loitering in the library feeling inadequate. It’s OK, Isana. Mizuto already feels inadequate enough for both of you.

It’s probably fortunate for Yume at the moment that the school thinks Mizuto and Isana are dating, as Mizuto’s looks and general “hospitality” attitude while at the cafe are sending the girls’ hearts soaring. Serious-minded emo teen is a thing, I have to remind myself. The strong parts of this series continue to be the dueling POVs, as we see Yume convince herself that Mizuto is stone-faced and stoic while she’s a nervous wreck trying her best, and then we see Mizuto amazed that Yume has managed to change so much and mature while he remains trapped in the past and barely able to function. As with almost all series of this type, a little communication might solve everything, but Mizuto can barely manage even the smallest amount. Fortunately, Isana may still be in love with him, but she’s also playing cupid for the two of them, so she’s there to offer the right advice. Now, what will be done with that advice is another question, especially since it looks like Yume will be joining the Student Council soon.

The author says the series is no lo0nger about two kids who hate each other and is now about two kids who one-sidedly love each other. Hopefully it won’t be six more books before they get together. Till then, this is a very good romcom.

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 9

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg.

This is one of those volumes where the audience knows the answer that the rest of the cast are searching for, but even by the end of the book they still have not quite figured it out. So much of this volume is about sacrificing personal hopes, dreams and happiness for the sake of the country, and the assumption that, deep down, everyone else will also be doing the same thing. Unfortunately for them, we’re able to peer inside Shusei’s head, and we’ve already read the previous eight books, so we know why he’s so determined to burn the entire country down to get what he wants. His birth father was able to throw it all away for the sake of love, but Shusei cannot do that, given Rimi’s position. He has to throw away everything else so he can have Rimi. And even Rimi still doesn’t quite get that, mostly as she still has the self-worth of a bent blade of grass at the side of the road.

After the events of the previous book, Kojin and Renka are being politely held at the palace so that it can be determined what happened to Rimi. The only trouble is that Rimi refuses to point any figures. That said, the answer is obvious, and Shohi has his first massive temper tantrum in some time. This results in Kojin resigning and going back to his seaside estate, and Renka saying she’d like to take up the position being offered, but won’t do it without the Chancellor agreeing to it. And the Chancellor just resigned. So someone has to go to Kojin’s estate and play peacemaker, trying to persuade him to give Shohi another chance so that the country can remain peaceful and stable. The perfect choice to do this, obviously, is the woman Kojin recently tried to murder.

Fear not, those who worry about such things, there is plenty of food in this volume, and it plays the major role in reconciliation here.l Not between Kojin and Shohi, though that happens as well, but between Kojin and Shusei, as we learn that sometimes when you think the only answer is “tough love” but you’re also terrible at real human emotions, it can come off as hatred. I always love how these mysteries are filtered through Rimi, who is actually trying to understand why they’re stubborn and unyielding but can only do so in terms of imagining what foods would and wouldn’t work on them. Kojin’s breakdown is very well handled, and I also enjoyed reading about how yes, his wife really DOES love him, surprise! That said, all this is drowned out by the cliffhanger ending, as Shusei makes war inevitable.

I am assuming that the next volume will be that war. I am also hoping that we finally get a reveal as to Mars’ identity, if only so they can be killed off. (There was an attempt at a tragic backstory here, which didn’t work well because it was too similar to the main tragic backstory.) In any case, this remains an addictive shoujo thriller.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 8

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

Reborn to Master the Blade is not, I think, a series that’s really trying to do much beyond having fun and writing a lot of Inglis fighting. The author admits in the afterword that they really don’t have much of an idea of where to go next, so there’s not really an end goal in mind. Sometimes this is a good thing. We’re here to see Inglis fight things, and the back half of this book is all that, showing us Inglis coming as close as she’s ever come to actually getting killed, and actually (gasp!) needing the help of other people once or twice in order to fend off the biggest Prismer yet. On the down side, Inglis does not show up until 100 pages into this book, and as I said last time, without Inglis this book is just spinning its wheels. I’m sorry, supporting cast, you are not quite interesting enough on your own.

The front half of the book features Lahti facing off against his brother, Windsel, with the winner likely becoming the next King. Windsel has several demands, which seem at least vaguely acceptable, but the last one, “let us execute Pullum”, is a no go, so they’ve got to do battle. This allows everyone to whip out their new special moves, which range from unsurprising (Leone, Liselotte) to very surprising (Lahti). After this, we cut back to the Prismer, and though Rafael, Rafinha and Yua try their best, it’s going to come down to Inglis in the end, when she eventually gets there, which is (of course) right when all hope is lost. That said, can she really have enough power to stop it? And, more importantly, can everyone stop her trying to heal it up so that she can fight it even more equally?

This is essentially a series written for guys, but it features a whole lot of kickass women with either swords, magic, or both. As a result, it tries hard to attempt to push back on “why are women fighting, they are too fragile, the man should be protecting them” and actually embracing that, mostly because “a guy has to protect his younger sister” is a stronger cliche than “women can fight as well as men” in the author’s mind. It’s a bit disappointed, but hey, at least Leon and Leone have worked things out. I was also rather surprised, contrary to what I’d guessed in the last review, that the “turned into a magicite beast” process does NOT appear to be reversible. That said, Yua was at least polite enough to rescue the only one we’d actually seen named, and hopefully they can at least do SOMETHING for him.

After a half-volume of fighting, the epilogue features a whole lot of eating. This is definitely an “end of arc” book, and the next one promises to be far more light-hearted. That said, it also promises fewer fights. I hope I’m wrong there.