High School DxD: Pandemonium on the School Trip

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By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

This may be the least horny DxD volume to date. Which, trust me, means it’s still ridiculously horny, and filled with consensual groping and non-consensual destruction of clothing. But the title is actually High School DxD, and this volume wants to remind you of the first part, as Issei and his class are going to Kyoto. And they actually do make an effort to put in the “look, I did the research” work. There are, of course, supernatural bad things going on on their trip. And they naturally seem to center around Issei. But his teachers say to leave it to them, and to try to have a normal fun school trip. Which makes sense. Most of our protagonists are either demons, fallen angels, or angels, and “high school romcom” is theoretically not high on the list of things they have to do. Unless you’re High School DxD, of course, where Issei cannot walk two steps without having another gorgeous young woman fall in love with him. This volume’s candidate is very young indeed.

As noted, everyone’s off to Kyoto!… well, almost everyone. Rias and Akeno are, of course, one grade higher than Issei, so aren’t going, much to their annoyance. That said, everything is official and they even have special thingummies that will allow them to visit the very religious temples without, y’know, bursting into flames or the like. Things are going well… despite a growing rash of breast gropers among the populace. And the elementary-school aged fox girl who demands that Issei give back her mother, who has been kidnapped. That said, if you recall the events of the seventh volume and wonder “if this perhaps the work of the guys trying to reverse engineer balance breakers so humanity can fight angels and demons?”, you would be absolutely correct.

I will admit that the human side does have a point here, in that if you happen to know about angels and demons and dragons and the like, and they’re all fighting each other, you start to feel like a pointless statistic in comparison. That said, if you want humanity to triumph, I’m pretty sure “terrorist acts” is not the way to go. As for Issei, he’s getting better not only at fighting but also at leading, which is good because without Rias the group seems to lack anyone to give them strategy beyond “hit things very hard”. (Or heal things very hard, in Asia’s case.) I was also amused to see that Issei’s power is very similar to Izuku’s in My Hero Academia (which came out well after this book), complete with prior users who give him cryptic advice. And are also a fan of his signature breast moves. Which is a real sentence that I just typed out, and I still can’t really believe that.

So we’ve had the sports festival, and the class trip, so I think I know what’s coming next. Till then, enjoy a solid volume in this horny series.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 4

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

A lot of light novels, particularly in the Villainess genre, have trouble sometimes coming up with what comes next. Looking in particular at My Next Life As a Villainess, which one can argue has sort of been spinning its wheels since the start of Book 3. Fortunately, some authors are much better at coming up with compelling storylines, even if the storyline is “oh, there was another game”. It helps that we have Aileen, who of all the Villainess protagonists is probably the best at being a “villain” personality, i.e. a confident and dynamic young woman who does not take shit from anyone. Well, except perhaps her husband. That said, she gets help here from the “heroine”, Lilia, who is not exactly on her side but is not the antagonist this time, and whose gleeful fourth-wall breaking and sneering bitchiness make this book even more entertaining than it already is. They’re taking on the third game, which has an Arabian feel to it, but still involves the same old otome game tropes.

Aileen and Lilia, along with attendants Rachel and Serena, are headed on a boat trip to Hausel. A dragon went wild while Claude had amnesia, and they need to attend an inquiry to explain it. Unfortunately, on the voyage, the boat’s women are all kidnapped! They’re now in the Kingdom of Ashmael, and are part of the royal harem. Unfortunately, Aileen and Lilia both recognize this scenario: it’s the third game! The “heroine” is Sahra, a holy daughter of God who can repair the Holy Sword. The “villainess” is Roxane, a stoic and reserved woman who is Baal’s main consort. That said… certain aspects of the game seem to have already happened before Aileen and company arrive. Is someone else pulling the strings? Can Aileen avoid being unfaithful to her husband? And why haven’t they consummated their marriage anyway?!

Every time Aileen and Lilia are in the same scene it is a delight. Lilia is absolutely terrible in a way that would be excruciating in real life but is wonderful on the printed page. The fact that the two of them are forced to team up here makes it even better. As for Roxane, like the other villainesses in this series she turns out to be far more than she seems, and I hope we see more of her. We’re definitely going to be seeing more of Sahra… at least I hope we are, as her arc was rushed and lacking, the one part of this I didn’t enjoy. The implication near the end is that Cedric is going to take her in as sort of a way to keep Lilia interested, which I’m sure won’t rebound horribly on him in any way. And, of course, Aileen and Claude are adorable together. It is amusing that everyone – everyone – who knows Aileen thinks she’s cutest when she’s crying. (We also get some brief backstory drop, and wow, her family is very much “you will be awesome or you will die, no other options.”)

This is the first volume that won’t be animated by the current adaptation, and if you’re an anime-only fan it’s a great one to dive into. This remains one of the top-tier titles in the Villainess genre.

Anime NYC 2022, Day Three

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The third and final day of Anime NYC, like the first, was quiet. The main issue was that half the subway lines weren’t working, which is not the con’s fault. I did note that masking was more optional than I’d hoped, but did see a lot of masked people, and they did require masks walking into the panels, which was good. The main panels I attended was Kodansha Manga, whose site may still be under maintenance, and whose Kodansha Books line was eerily silent, but they still had a lot to announce.

They started off with the November digital debuts, including Matcha Made in Heaven, which is already out. The other debut is The Food Diary of Miss Maid, a seinen title from Comic Days about an English maid who ends up living by herself in Japan, and decides to immerse herself in Japanese cuisine. They then moved into 2023 print titles, and there certainly were a lot of them.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir is a manga based on the popular French cartoon, which runs in Shonen Sirius. It seems to loosely adapt the original, with some changes. I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I’ll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World! wins the prize for the longest title announced at Anime NYC. This Comic Pash! manga features a wizard running across a disgraced noble who has collapsed near his place. After hearing her sad story, he decides to teach her naughty things… like cake eating! And late night ramen! In other words, sweeter than it sounds. The light novels it’s based on were written by the author of From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals.

Origin is a manga by Sun-Ken Rock and Dr. Stone artist Boichi. Running in Young Magazine, it features androids trying to destroy humanity, and sounds a lot darker than Dr. Stone – more for Sun-Ken Rock fans. Virgin Love is a josei title from Shufu to Seikatsusha’s magazine Ar (Kodansha Manga has been branching out beyond their own name), with six strangers with love troubles living together at the ‘Love house’. And two new titles in the Maiden’s Bookshelf series were announced: The Girl Who Became a Fish and Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage, both based on classic (and depressing) Japanese stories.

The Darwin Incident runs in Afternoon, and stars Charlie, a half-human half-chimpanzee hybrid who was rescued by terrorists from an experimental lab. 15 years later, he’s trying to live a high school life and get to know the misunderstood girl, but terrorism still lurks around him. The Moon on a Rainy Night is a yuri title from Comic Days, about a girl who (literally) runs into a classmate. Her classmate is deaf, but they can still bond through music. Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In is another Afternoon series, about a girl who simply can’t stop thinking about sex and a boy who forces people to say what they think when they touch him.

On the BL front, we get My Ultramarine Sky, a one-shot title from Gateau about two boys who realize their romantic feelings after being put in different classes. It’s by Nagisa Furuya, who also gets The Summer with You: The Sequel licensed, showing college life for the main couple from that series. It also ran in Gateau. Also in Gateau is Super Morning Star, a BL comedy about a boy who has to hide his identity and his relationship. Sentai is also involved.

My Lovesick Life As a 90s Otaku is a josei series from Kiss. A divorced woman with a daughter flashes back to the mid-90s, when she was a secret otaku, because it was a lot less accepted at that time. How I Met My Soulmate is the new shoujo series by the author of Waiting for Spring, and it runs in Dessert. College student who has misconceptions about love meets a bad boy. King in Limbo is a josei title from Itan, a thriller about a virus that kills people by feeding on their traumatic memories, and a soldier who has to help fight it off. Lastly, and getting the biggest reaction of the panel, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, the spinoff manga from Morning Two that focuses on Qifrey and Olruggio… but really it’s about food.

There’s also some re-releases and box sets coming. Vinland Saga is getting nice hardcover omnibuses. Cells at Work is getting 2 omnibuses. Blue Period is getting a box set. Magic Knight Rayearth is getting a paperback release, and I aged visibly as I watched Kodansha talk about how old the series was. And some digital-only series are getting print – though not, alas, Medalist, my current favorite, which I asked the company to shill during Q&A. Instead we’ll see print for Wind Breaker, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister, Nina the Starry Bride, and She’s My Knight.

Anime NYC seemed to run far smoother than last year, and the Anime NYC crew were all friendly and helpful. (The Javits crew less so, but hey.) If you enjoy New York City and conventions, it’s always a great place to go.