The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 2

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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.

This is one of those books that starts slow but picks up speed as things go along. It’s essentially the second half of the first “arc” in this series, and we see Anisphia and Euphyllia dealing with the two remaining dangling plot threads: the man who kickstarted everything by publicly denouncing Euphie, and the young woman who was theoretically the cause of that. And any fan of villainess books will know that both of those plotlines are things that we’ve seen before. That said, this book does have an interesting twist that I don’t think we’ve really come across in regards to the “heroine” role. As for Anis’ brother, that’s a lot more serious plotline, and both he and Anis are forced to face up to the fact that the actions they take have far broader consequences than either of them would have liked. Although I think Algard already knew that, since… well, he has an agenda.

The book starts with Anis being forced to do a lot of things she doesn’t want to do. This includes having a conversation with her mother, who is determined enough to break past Anis’ eccentric behavior, as well as the Ministry of the Arcane, who know that Anis took down a dragon recently and want the dragon’s remains for their own use and not hers. In addition, Anis is trying to clear Euphie’s name, which means figuring out why otherwise sensible young nobles were so willing to go along with this public shaming, and what sort of hold Lainie, the former commoner who everyone has an opinion on, has over them. This will involve consulting one of Anis’ “bad friends”, Tilty, a noble who is essentially just as eccentric as Anis, if not worse.

The book’s first really good scene is at Tilty’s place, where we work out what’s up with Lainie and why she inspires the people around her to do emotionally unstable things when she’s around. It’s the sort of plot twist I’d have been incredibly impressed with if the color pages at the start of the book had not 100% spoiled it. Lainie herself is more sympathetic than I was expecting, especially once she comes to terms with the sort of person she is now. As for Anis and her brother, that’s the other really strong part of the book. Algard’s behavior is nightmarish, but it all stems from Anis’ hands-off, “I don’t want anything to do with royalty I just want to study magic” attitude, and even as she points out that he can’t act the way he is because he’s the prince, she understands that she essentially did the same thing. The question of succession is very much up in the air at the end of this book, and I hope it somehow gets resolved in a way that does not remove the yuri from this title, even if so far that’s pretty slight.

So yes, solid second volume, and it suggests that Anis is going to have to get more involved in the lives of those around her, even if it means less magical research. That said, I do hope we get a bit more “magic nerd” stuff between Anis and Euphie in the 3rd book.

The Bride of Demise, Vol. 1

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By Keishi Ayasato and murakaruki. Released in Japan as “Shūen no Hanayome” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

Sometimes an author, regardless of the material, simply reaches out, grabs you by the throat, and starts to throttle you with evocative prose. Keishi Ayasato is one of those authors. Torture Princess, their previous series, contains just about every type of thing that I normally avoid in fiction, and yet it’s one of my favorite LN series. Likewise, when I first saw the solicit for The Bride of Demise, my first thought was “ooooh, not my thing”. But then I saw the author and knew I would have to buy it. And I was right. As with Torture Princess, this series has a certain loving fascination with grand guignol horror in its writing, but this one is, and I can’t believe that I’m even typing this, a magical academy series. That almost cheapens it, and I would hate to see it compared with things like the various “Demon King Went to School and Was Super Badass” books. This is the story of a young man and his fated meeting with a living weapon.

Kou, an orphan whose parents were killed when he was young, is a Magical Research student at the academy. He and his fellow researchers learn about the Kihei, monstrous creatures who were essentially the reason this is a somewhat post-apocalyptic world. Then one day, while he ad his team are exploring a supposedly safe area to harvest kihei corpses for material, they’re attacked by some very strong kihei. Kou decides to sacrifice himself to save the others, and falls trough a glass ceiling into a garden… which is convenient, as this is very much like the dream that he keeps having during his waking hours. In that dream, he meets someone who promises she will be at his side for all eternity. Now it’s come true. She’s White Princess, she is his “bride”, and it feels like he’s known her for years.

This review will very much be talking about the first half of the novel, because the second half is a nest of spoilers that I do not want to be responsible for you learning. All the “holy shit!” moments are there, and they are fantastic. That said, the rest of the book is a lot of fun. Kou is now part of a special team of elite students, all with their own “bride”, and taught by a classic badass teacher with a dark side to him. Kou manages to befriend most of the group pretty quickly, partly because it turns out that he’s a lot better at combat against the kihei than anyone really expected. But really it’s Kou’s relationship with his bride that is the emotional core of this book. Their love for each other is very quick to develop and very strong, and also, again trying not to spoil, the cause of the entire second half of the book.

I rarely have to say “trust me” in my reviews, as everyone knows I spoil like a mad fiend. But trust me on this one. Unless you can’t abide blood and gore (you should steer clear in that case), The Bride of Demise is a fantastic debut. Indeed, my one complaint is that it feels finished in one volume. Where else does this series go? Vol. 2 is coming soon to tell us.

Sasaki and Peeps – That Time I Got Dragged into a Psychic Battle in Modern Times While Trying to Enjoy a Relaxing Life in Another World: ~Looks Like Magical Girls Are on Deck~

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By Buncololi and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Sasaki to Pi-chan: Isekai de Slow Life o Tanoshi Mou Toshitara, Gendai de Inou Battle ni Makikomareta Ken” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

This book is a mess. Saying that right off the bat, confident that even those who loved the title will agree. It’s trying to be a mess, after all. I’m not sure what the meeting of the author and their editor was like, but it feels very much like “I have four different ideas for a light novel, but I can’t decide which one to write.” “Why not write all of them?” “Four different books?” “No, no, the SAME book!”. It’s the sort of thing that requires a delicate hand and solid worldbuilding, and the series that comes closest to this, A Certain Magical Index, still can’t quite pull it off a lot of the time. Sasaki and Peeps doesn’t even try, content to simply revel in its mishmash qualities. It does eventually settle into one of its genres near the end, which makes it both better written and less interesting. I think we’re here for the car crash.

Plot 1: A salaryman in his late thirties, Sasaki, buys a pet Java sparrow, Peeps, who turns out to be a powerful macician from another world. Sasaki goes to this world, trading Japanese tech for gold and also learning magic. Plot 2: Learning magic means he gets in the way of a battle (in Japan, he and Peeps go back and forth) between rivals espers, and he is forcibly recruited into an esper organization trying to control those with powers. This goes far less well than you’d expect. Plot 3: His middle school next door neighbor, unnamed but abused and always sitting outside her front door, has a twisted crush on Sasaki that wars with her despair and suicidal thoughts. Plot 4: There’s a magical girl digging in the trash outside his apartment. This is the magical girl on deck from the subtitle, I assume.

Smoothness is not the selling point of this book. Which is a shame, as the last third of the book, which dedicates itself entirely to the isekai plotline, is the best written part, containing several excellent plot twists and a few cool battle scenes. That said, after watching the author and Sasaki flit around like… well, like a sparrow for most of the book, it feels wrong somehow. Sasaki should be a “potato” protagonist, but there’s a certain broken quality to him that shines through on occasion. His treatment of his neighbor like a stray cat that he keeps feeding is at least not as bad as, say, Higehiro, and I appreciate he did call social services, but he’s not helping there either. The book has no real romance as of yet, which is probably a good thing, as the female cast consist of a high school girl, a middle school girl, and two children.

Mostly the main problem with this book is it cannot settle down as to what it wants to be. That’s baked into the plot so it won’t get better, but I thought I’d mention that I think the plot is bad. The plot with the neighbor and the magical girl barely feature in the book, they’re just there as flavortext so far. That said, I may read a second volume, just to see if the author can keep this up. Or to see if the neighbor kills him.