Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Lightning Wolf and Upheaval in the Kingdom

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By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

I really do appreciate that this series is finding multiple reasons to keep the harem antics going beyond just “he ignores it all” (which admittedly is better than “he doesn’t notice any of it” in other series). It’s made clear multiple times in this book that the issue is that Allen is a commoner, with no last name, and a questionable reputation, and all of his love interests are various kinds of nobility. The Leinsters have been trying to find ways to have him perform a feat that would get him a title and allow Lydia to marry him, but every time it happens, it turns out to be a state secret that can never be talked about, or it turns out he gives everyone else all the credit. Or both. Fortunately, the series seems to have figured out a way to take care of these problems once and for all, which is to kill Allen off.

Allen and Caren finally manage to get the rest of the cast on a train back to their respective homes. This means the book is divided up. Half of it is spent with the other love interests, as we see Tina, Ellie and Stella plot to try to figure out how to get Allen’s attention while also humblebragging about what they’ve done already; and we see Lydia get completely dragged by her whole family for not simply grabbing Allen, declaring her love, and running away (which is apparently how her mother got married). The other half of the book is Caren, as we see some flashbacks showing why she’s so devoted to him, and a few other cute festival scenes. Unfortunately, the rebellion no one thought was going to happen is happening. And now most of Allen’s hometown is on fire.

No, I don’t think the series is killing Allen off, but his absence from the next book might be a good idea, as the one main problem with his harem is that they’re too dependent on him. We see this with Lydia, the classic tsundere, who nevertheless falls completely to bits on hearing he may have been killed. We don’t see the reaction of the others, but I expect it will be similar. As for Caren, well, she does kick a lot of ass here, but sadly she too has to be sent away at the last minute so that Allen can go on a suicide mission and not return from it. I’m fairly confident the war will not last long – the author drops several not-so-subtle hints that the nobility in charge of it are bad planners – but that’s not really helping things now. And I also wonder if the chieftains of the beast people may decide to go after Allen when this is over for disobeying pretty much every order they gave.

So yes, Allen’s dead, o noes. Please enjoy Book 6, which focuses on Lydia, despite the author stating that he was going to balance out the harem antics by sending Lydia away. I’m beginning to suspect we can’t trust a word the author says…

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 4

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

I’m going to talk about the ending of this book, for the one or two of you who have never read my reviews before and don’t know I tend to spoil. It’s sort of unavoidable. Honestly, it’s something of a surprise to see the book has finally come out – it’s been 11 months since the last volume in English, and I’m not sure why there was such a delay. It could simply be to allow the reader time to recover from and prepare themselves for another wacky adventure with Amane’s self-hatred, which continues to drive the plot, because otherwise the series would have been one book long. Unfortunately, since the last volume of this Tentai Books has released a good 3-4 different series with a similar premise, so it now has competition. Can it manage to be sweet and syrupy while also separating itself from the pack? Yes, thanks to the ending. I wasn’t going to wait 5 volumes.

You know the basic plot. Mahiru loves Amane and is trying to subtly show him it’s OK to ask if that is the case. Amane sees the signs, but cannot possibly imagine anyone liking him romantically, so keeps pulling away. If this annoys you, why are you four volumes in? The main events here are exams, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake; getting in better shape, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake; and the sports festival, which features Amane trying to do better than before for Mahiru’s sake. He’s nearly got it! He’s almost there! That said, he still needs one last push, and it all comes down to the Scavenger Hunt, where Mahiru chooses to give up on “not rocking the boat” and drops a bomb in the middle of the school.

Not an actual bomb, of course, but she makes it clear in front of the student body that Amane is the guy she loves. She is aware this will trouble him, because the last four books have all been “we need to hide our friendship or else I will get attacked at school”, but honestly, I admire her waiting this long. I wanted to punch him in the face, as did his friends. That said, it is in fact the grandest gesture that makes Amane give in and confess to the rest of the class that he is in love with Mahiru. There’s an undercurrent here, seen in a lot of other high school romcoms, of “looks and shared interests are not as important as simply understanding one another”. That said, this honestly works out a lot better than you’ expect. Amane isn’t disliked or an outcast. he’s just “that tall guy who almost never talks”.

Best of all, now maybe Mahiru can stop0 being such an Angel at school. The author assures us they have a lot more volumes planned, even if this felt like an ending. That said, they also warn that we still have Amane’s self-hatred to deal with. Ah well, if you’re going to buy into a fluffy series you’ve gotta buy into its less-fluffy things, I suppose.

Slayers: A Chance Encounter in Atessa

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By Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

The Slayers main series ended in 2000, but that does not mean that the Slayers series was abandoned by its author. There are 39 novels (!!) starring a younger Lina Inverse with her traveling partner Naga the Serpent, and these continued until 2011 (that said, don’t expect J-Novel Club to be licensing them anytime soon, I expect). There were also two new anime series, Slayers Revolution and Evolution. And then, in 2018, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko was celebrating the anniversary of Dragon Magazine and wanted Kanzaka to write a new Slayers novel in the main storyline. As such, we’re bringing the band back together, at least for this particular book. Well, the band members who weren’t horribly killed in the 2nd arc of the main series, that is. You’ll be delighted to hear that Amelia and Zelgadis are present and accounted for. And there may be someone else, but I’ll leave that a secret -desu. And the plot? Does Gourry meet Lina’s family? Ha. No. Instead, it’s elf wars!

On their way to Lina’s hometown, Lina and Gourry happen upon a city that if having a problem with bandit attacks. The trouble is, these are very well-trained and adept bandits. In fact, notes Lina, one of them seems very familiar… Meanwhile, the situation has grown so dire that Amelia arrives from Saillune to take charge, and also to fight for justice… mostly in that order, for once. There’s also an elf in town, Alaina, who would be very helpful in resolving things if she did not have severe social anxiety. (She has a terrific cap, though. Really, more characters should wear that cap and NOT be a delinquent.) As for the cause, well, it might come as a surprise to the reader of the old, 20th century Slayers novels, because we’ve had Lina hanging out and being allied with elves before… why are we getting cliched elves now?

Because it’s a Slayers novel, that’s why. This one is definitely in a much lighter vein than the previous couple of books, and the body count, while it is there, is minimal. This allows for some more amusing humor, which can stem from Gourry being dumb or Lina being narratively obtuse (her description of a “light” breakfast was pitch perfect.) As for Amelia, I was pleased to see that she really has matured as a princess and acts it. The novels never really had an Amelia problem the way the anime did, but I get the sense the author was listening to anime fans complaining, as she gets a lot of really cool things to do. Indeed, possibly more things to do than Zelgadis, who feels like he’s there because you need to have everyone there. As for the bulk of the book itself… it’s magic battles. Come on, it’s still a Slayers book. It’s ALWAYS 50% magic battles.

Good news! There is another book coming soon, written in 2019. Bad news for fans of “the gang” – it’s a Lina and Gourry solo book. That said, any excuse to reconnect with Lina is a good one, and this was a decent volume that didn’t show any rust after an 18-year break.