BLADE & BASTARD: Drag Him High

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By Kumo Kagyu and so-bin. Released in Japan as “Blade & Bastard” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

I’ve talked before about how a reader should not be angry that their genre book is in a genre. For example, being annoyed that an isekai has people transported to another world seems a bit petty. And I do occasionally have to remind myself of this rule. Blade & Bastard is a series where there’s a lot of mysteries going on behind the scenes that I would like to find out about, and we even get a glimpse of some of them at the start of this book, making me quite happy. But then I am reminded: this is a book whose sole purpose is to advertise the game Wizardry, and it’s never really going to get out of that wheelhouse. As a result, after about 1/3 of a book where we tease stuff we’ve wondered about for a while, it’s back to the dungeons, back to fighting demons and zombies, and of course back to folks dying horribly and needing to be resurrected. Well, hopefully resurrected. There’s a cliffhanger, and some of those folks are still dead.

All the adventurers have been called together, as the Crown Prince is coming, and they all have to at least bow a bit. All except Iarumas’ group, of course – they’re off in the dungeon, and don’t show up. Festin, said crown prince, is somewhat grumpy about this, as he really wanted to see Garbage – and is very ticked off when Garbage finally does show up, and is not very happy either. We also hear a bit about the tragic backstory that every woman in the royal family has – one princess had a demon attack the palace while she was there, one Queen reigned during a hideous calamity, and one queen had her sister turn to evil. And then there’s Garbage, who… well, we keep hinting about what’s going on with Garbage, but that’s all we’re gonna get, still. Because unfortunately, somebody kidnaps the prince and all his maids, and kills all his guards (and also turns them to stone, so I think they’re dead dead). And takes them… to the dungeon, of course.

There’s a large number of folks in this book who have red hair and compelling eyes, the same as the royal family. Not only Prince Festin (who I have used male pronouns for as the book does, but I won’t be surprised if that changes) and Garbage, but also Flack, the monster who is the main antagonist of this book. When they say the royal family is cursed, they’re not kidding. That said, there is some nice character development in amongst all the grim dungeon horror. Aine fails to stop the abduction/murders, and feels very depressed about it (going to, in one of the most surreal moments in the whole series, a fantasy baseball game to clear her head) and Iarumas has to cheer her up. (They still have romantic subtext that likely won’t go anywhere, but it’s very present here.) As for Iarumas, he helps everyone else get character development by dying horribly, meaning the rest of the group has to not only bring his corpse back to be resurrected, but they also want to defeat whoever killed him. They’re getting strong. Even if they all deny it.

If you like dungeon crawl fights featuring every stereotype in the book, this remains a fast, compelling read. We’re caught up again, though, so have patience.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 8

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By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

The author, in the afterword to this volume, discusses the anime, and says that they asked for the long subtitle to be removed to make it easier to take. Which I agree worked very well for the anime, which was more concerned with Beryl’s sword feats than about which girl will win. The novels, though, are definitely concerned with which girl will win, so the subtitle seems appropriate. Previously, Beryl had stated that he could never take a wife that was one of his former students, but also, when offered what amounts to a perfect marriage to a woman who really likes him, he backs off like she’s on fire. Beryl simply cannot accept that people find him attractive and a good partner. He knows Allucia is in love with him, but his immediate thought is “she can do better”. Something’s got to give here, and since Beryl isn’t doing it, stronger measures are needed.

This volume is essentially three short stories. In the first part, Beryl and Allucia try to find her the perfect sword, and Beryl is dissatisfied till he remembers he still has that monster core from four books ago. He then goes off with Mewi to have dinner at a nice seafood restaurant, courtesy Surena, who promised him she’d find a place for him. In the second part, he watches the new hopefuls try out for the knights, including the twins we saw when he returned home to his dojo, who seem to have lots of flaws (particularly the hotheaded Adel), but are also still good enough to make the cut in the end. (This is not a spoiler, come on, everyone he teaches turns to gold.) Lastly, he and the new recruits head north to a town by the mountains, where he meets a friend he hadn’t seen since they were kids, who now heads the knight order there.

Kennith is the old childhood friend, and he’s also on the cover art. He’s the one who can try to kick Beryl’s ass about picking a wife. Mostly as it is blindingly obvious to everyone on the planet that Allucia is in love with him, but is basically quietly waiting. Beryl’s “but they’re my students” protest gets a reminder that a) he’s not the one pursuing them as a teacher, and b) they’re all in their twenties by now, and no longer his students – there’s not the power imbalance that comes with such a relationship normally (indeed, Allucia is in a higher position than Beryl), and relationships between mid-forties guys and early twenties girls in a fantasy setting might raise an eyebrow, but that’s about it. Most importantly, though, a trip to a hot spring prods Allucia to take the initiative and force Beryl to confront her feelings and the fact that he thinks she’s gorgeous. His response is “give me time” – no surprise there – but she’s content, especially as it seems that her only rival right now is Shueste.

That may change with Book 9, which seems to star Surena, and I do wonder if we’ll get another go round of “different girl in love with him each book” before he makes a decision. Till then, this remains solid and unassuming, much like its lead.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 21

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by RFD.

This is a long-running series – 21 volumes plus a .5 or two – and it’s been interesting watching the series evolve. While its tendency to have a cast of adorable kids doing adorable things has remained constant throughout, as has Yuna being hideously overpowered but also seeming to hate herself more than a bit, there are several things that we used to see that we don’t see quite as much anymore, notably that this series can be very dark. There has been murder, sexual assault, abuse of countless women and children, etc. in the early books. Once the books started getting really popular, that seemed to be dialed back a bit, with less of “let’s go rescue the people locked in the basement” and more “let’s watch Yuna build a bear bakery”. This volume, though, gets back to the OG a little bit, as we meet a noble girl who has quite a tragic backstory, and unfortunately the tragedy is still impacting her present. Fortunately for her, Yuna is still hideously overpowered… wait, is she?

Noa is headed to the town of Yufaria, there to see her sister Shia compete at a matchup between the Crimonian school and the Yufarian. Yuna is going there as bodyguard, but has been asked to tone it down – no bear suit – and has acquiesced, though she still wears her bear paws and shoes. Unfortunately, a noble girl, Seleiyu, spots them and is horrified at Noa walking around without protection. Yuna, with her pitifully puny body and weak, flabby arms, could not possibly be able to protect this important girl. (Yuna’s reaction to this, which is more “sigh…” than anything else, is appreciated.) After Yuna proves that even without a bear suit she can still take out teenage girls, no matter how talented they are, they proceed to cheer Shia on in the competition. Unfortunately, Seleiyu seems to have a secret weighing her down… and does not think she has much longer to live.

So yes, the tragedy is back for this book, and I appreciated that the book stays true to its roots, as the bad guy is not only incredibly evil but also truly petty and deluded. We’re not getting any shades of grey in THIS series. We also definitely have another applicant for the role of Yuna’s wife, though there’s a pretty high wall of “I don’t really know what romance is” to climb. The author seemed at first to be ambivalent to the yuri they almost accidentally created, but especially after the anime has leaned into it more (see the previous SS volume for Yuna’s opinion on her own anime). Seleiyu over the course of the book goes from “who does this girl think she is trying to protect Lady Noir?” to “If you were a boy I think I could fall in love… actually, even if you are a girl…”. Yuna, needless to say, ignores this – hell, just accepting that someone thinks she’s pretty in a dress is a huge hurdle.

We’re caught up with Japan – no Vol. 22 on the horizon – so it may be a while before we see Yuna. For now, enjoy our new cast member with a one-sided crush – and she’s Yuna’s own age this time!