VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral After Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream, Vol. 1

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By Nana Nanato and Siokazunoko. Released in Japan as “VTuber Nanda ga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alice Prowse.

I’m not even sure how to review this at all. I’ve talked before about how I’m not a gamer, but that doesn’t stop me from reviewing endless amount of isekai titles that rely on level ups and power balances. Even if the lingo sometimes confuses me, there’s at least a plot structure to be had. That is not the case with VTuber Legend, which mostly exists to be read as an amusing chat stream turned into a light novel. Even the author was surprised when Fujimi Shobo approached them and asked if they could make it a real book. So I should approach it from a plot or characterization perspective… but there really isn’t one. As for the VTuber stuff… I’ve never watched a single one. I know there are comments that scroll either on the side of the video or literally in the video by watchers. And there are cute personas. That’s about it. Did I like this? Mmmmrrrmmm… not really.

Yuki Tanaka is a 20-year-old NEET, whose sole job turned out to be exploitative and evil. As a result, she’s holed up in her apartment for the most part. That said, she recently got a job with Live-On, a management company that has VTubers. She creates a persona, Awayuki Kokorone, who is refined and placid, with lots of ‘snow’ imagery. Unfortunately… she’s not really that popular. Then one day her computer freezes at one point after she ends the stream, and she does not realize that the stream is still going. So she cracks open a can of Strong Zero and starts blabbing to herself, getting drunker and drunker… and still never realizes her stream is still running. Now people are sure interested in her! In fact, management hints that they hired her expecting her to sort of be a disaster. Should she take this and run with it?

I should note the above paragraph is the first 15 pages of a total of 212. Most of what follows is the crafting of a character based around getting wasted, hitting on any other VTuber that moves, and generally being a chaotic force. With the audience and her fellow VTubers, for the most part, approving. There’s little to no conflict here, and the only time people seriously think about what’s going on is when they tell Yuki not to get drunk EVERY day. The rest of the cast are her fellow VTubers, all of whom seem to be eccentric, and all of whom also seem to be gay. (Yuki identifies herself as a “real-life lesbian”, and honestly that may be another reason why she was hired, but this is mostly used as an excuse for over the top sexual comments rather than anything serious.) I assume as a VTuber novel it works quite well. But the formatting and the lack of any real story make it fall flat for me.

If you enjoy VTubers and are looking for a funny and crass comedy, this may be for you. I ended up drowning in a sea of chat and Strong Zero.

Prison Life Is Easy for a Villainess, Vol. 2

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By Hibiki Yamazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

While I did very much enjoy this second volume and the series, I want to emphasize once again that this is a bit of a mess. The entire cast is filled with terrible, terrible people. The resolution basically amounts to “the king and queen finally come home and stop everything”. And every time that we get a scene that wasn’t in the original webnovel (which is to say one that is not focusing on Rachel in prison) it’s well written but jars terribly with everything else. Margaret’s past as a child, selling flowers on the side of a road, avoiding pedophiles, and living with sex workers trying to marry into royalty, honestly makes me want a bit more for her. The author says in the afterword that Margaret has “gumption but nothing else”, but gumption can get you far. In the end, though I think accidentally, the books read more as “you can be the worst person imaginable and it’s fine as long as you’re rich”. Which, well, current mood of world.

The plot is the same as the first book, though honestly some of the events seem to strain… not disbelief, but I think they show the author was grasping at straws. Elliott and company try to torment Rachel with terrible music, but she merely grabs a trumpet and forces them to play to her own rhythm, in a metaphor so obvious it smacks you in the head. She also has her pet monkey arrive from home, which leads to as many shenanigans as you can imagine a monkey running around the royal palace can have. Meanwhile, Elliott’s allies are being cut down one by one… possibly literally in the case of Sykes, whose fiancee turns out to be one of the few times I will actually use the word yandere in a review. That said, this cannot last forever, and finally Rachel’s parents and the King and Queen arrive to stop Elliott. But can they get Rachel to leave her cell?

The best parts of the book are the ones that show us what Rachel is really like behind all her confidence and casual cruelty. We’ve seen the shallow selfishness of Elliott and Margaret… but honestly, Rachel’s not all that much better. She can plan things out very well in the moment, but does not bother to think of consequences. What’s more, we see more people that her schtick doesn’t actually work on here… though, in keeping with the theme of the book, they’re also terrible sadists. (Word of warning, there are spanking scenes here. More than one.) In the end, she whines like a child and refuses to come out of her cozy cell where she’s been able to avoid responsibility, and ends up having to be bribed with a toy. (The toy is Margaret. Honestly, terrible as they both are, in five years or so I can see them being quite a power couple with Raymond as the beard.) Prison life is easy for a villainess, but actual life does not go as she’d like.

In the end, this book has a very, very specific readership. If you love the idea of a bitch doing horrible things to pathetic men who deserve it, you’ll love this. Two volumes honestly is a bit too many, but nevertheless I had fun.

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, Vol. 12

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Slime Taoshite 300 Nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jasmine Bernhardt.

There has been some discussion over the last few years about “yuri tease” or “yuribait” series, i.e. series which promise yuri content but fail to deliver. (This is entirely separate from LGBT content, by the way.) Frankly, any series that was popular with yuri fans in 2004-2005 would likely be piled on by modern fans for this very reason. Gains in media have made people spoiled, especially when you hear things like “it’s a yuribait series because men exist in it” (heard that one recently about Birdie Wing). But sometimes I do have to admit that I feel like I’m being led on. I’m not even sure I *want* Killing Slimes to be yuri. I think it works much better as found family. But if I could pay the author to drop Azusa reminding us that she’s straight every single volume, I would. Especially when the side story is MariMite with dragons. In any case, this volume is pretty much the same as the previous ones.

(Cover art, you are REALLY not helping the author’s case.)

In this volume: Azusa finally decides to get some rice and make some Japanese dishes, but reckons without Laika and Flatorte’s appetites; a Tiger Festival in a nearby down proves to be an excuse for baseball jokes; the treasure dredged from the lake a book or two ago is appraised by “experts”; Azusa and the ghost characters investigate a haunted hotel; Kuku and Pondeli have invented the compact disc, but that also comes with the marketing for same; Falfa and Shalsha see what might (or might not) be a UFO and have a debate about it; and finally, Azusa, Beelzebub and a few others try to help the smart slime, one of the great sages of the world, meet up with another sage who lives on an inaccessible island. In the Laika side stories, Laika continues to mature and become a better fighter almost despite herself.

Again, there’s almost no depth to any of this. The closest we come is when Azusa, on board a ship with only Smarsly for company, actually tells them that she’s a reincarnation from Japan, and opens up about her regrets. Unfortunately, we only get her summarizing this, and it’s mostly done to make Azusa realize that she’s come to terms with and is happy with her new life, but it’s better than nothing. We’re introduced to a bunch of sages from an isolated island, who turn out to be dryads… who talk like Valley Girls. Fortunately, as we discover towards the end of the main story, they really are brilliant, and are happily discussing philosophy with Smarsly, so that’s good. It honestly astonishes me that these books tend to run 250-300 pages, as they feel light as air. Still, at the same time, aside from the walking back on the yuri tease, there’s nothing really wrong with them.

Another popcorn book down. It should please fans, provided they don’t ship Azusa with anyone.