My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Vol. 13

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By Wataru Watari and Ponkan 8. Released in Japan as “Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatte Iru” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

As I mentioned last time, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected is not a love story between the dour cynic Hachiman and the bubbly optimist Yui. You know it. I know it. Heck, even Yui knows it. But the series ends with the 14th book rather than the 13th, so this volume is devoted to giving our third protagonist as much screen time as it can get away with given that Hachiman is still its first person narrator. She’s on the cover, and she’s also helping Hachiman with his plan, which can basically be summed up as “do dumb Hachiman stuff in order to draw all the consequences to him”, only by now everyone’s savvy enough not to fall for it – not to mention it’s pretty half-assed to begin with. She and Hachiman make a very good team. Unfortunately, everything he does in this book is for Yukino’s sake. There’s a technical cliffhanger here, but no one in their right mind would believe it. Poor Yui.

Yui suffers mostly from being a bright-eyed optimist in a world of bitter cynics. This includes Haruno, who can’t even drink herself into oblivion; Hayama, who likens himself to a scratching post and has a streak of self-hatred a mile wide; Shizuka, who’s being transferred to a different school (as frequently happens in Japan) and desperately wants to see her manipulations actually pay off and not be destroyed; and even Iroha, our little agent of chaos, who spends much of this book boggling at Hachiman still trying to throw himself against the wall that is Yukino over and over again. He can’t help her with prom, mostly because of that bullshit co-dependence thing Haruno spewed out (Yui needing this explained to her was a highlight). What he can do is serve as a distraction, and honestly, that’s what most of this book is; it’s tap dancing in front of us trying to wait till the resolution in the 14th volume.

While I’m still irritated with Haruno, I will grant that her muttered aside in front of Hachiman did save the day, as he quickly realized what was going on with Yukino’s mother… well, quickly realized it after she tore apart his plan like tissue paper. The running gag in this book is that Hachiman’s plan is rather half-assed and pathetic, and no one seems to think it’s good enough – not even the business minded president of their neighboring high school, who is as annoying as ever but has also earned the punishment of having a crush on Orimoto, which I would not wish on anyone. As for Yukino, well, mostly absent, except for a few very important scenes. Words still need to be said. They aren’t. They’re implied – we have BUCKETS of implication in this book. But “a man’s pride” is not good enough.

All this and we still have enough time for the best written sibling relationship in light novels. This is a strong volume in the series, despite the fact that it feels like delaying tactics. Can’t get away with that next time.

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 2

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Matthew Birkenhauer.

At least I can respect its consistency, as the 2nd volume of Secret Saint has exactly the same flaws as the first volume did. It can be a lot of silly fun, especially when Fia is forced to be the straight ma in the group despite the fact that she is an airhead 100% of the time. This even holds true, mostly, for the fighting scenes when our heroes are battling the most deadly monsters they’ve ever seen before and Fia reacts the same way you would if you spotted a blue tit in your bird book. On the other hand, it does mean that when we get to the more serious stuff involving the pasts of both Fia and Zavilia, it feels out of place. It’s written well, don’t get me wrong, but out of place. Also not helping things is that this book is technically only 130 pages – the other 80 or so are side stories, interludes and bonus stories, meaning we don’t get much of the main plot.

After the events of the first book, it’s clear that Quentin, at least, has figured out who Fia’s tamed familiar really is. Unfortunately, that makes him into goofy airhead #2, as when he’s talking about powerful monsters he gets obsessive and over the top. The knights are going to set out on a mission to try to drive out the black dragon that is presumed to be in the forest and send it back to its lair, thus solving the “why are so many monsters hovering around here lately?” problem. There are two issues with this plan: 1) the reason the powerful monsters are coming around is they’re drawn to Fia; and b) the powerful black dragon is in fact the familiar that she’s putting bows on to make it look cuter. Still, I’m sure nothing will go wrong, even if it means forcing all the soldiers to deny everything they just saw.

While they feel awkwardly out of place, I will admit that the more serious parts of the story are also the most memorable. Zavilia’s past is the Ugly Duckling gone horribly wrong, and its moral is basically “people are assholes even if they’re dragons”. Far more impactful is Zackary, the most sensible of the captains, trying to get Fia to confess who she really is. She almost does, and feels like she can trust him, but when she starts to do so she has a complete panic attack. This is quite well handled, and Zackary does a good job of helping her recover and backing off, but it’s clear that the trauma of her past life is not remotely something she has gotten over, and therefore allies are going to need to either rely on good faith or assume that the world has turned weird.

I’d argue that if you’re looking for fun overpowered dimwitted swordswomen, Reborn to Master the Blade is probably a better choice. This is still pretty good, thogh, I do hope volume 3 gives us a bit less “let’s pad out the book with other people’s POV”.

Bond & Book: The Long, Long Good-Bye of “The Last Bookstore”

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By Mizuki Nomura and Miho Takeoka. Released in Japan as “Musubu to Hon: “Saigo no Honyasan” no Nagainagai Owari” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

If you are reading and enjoying Bond & Book, as well as the author’s prior series Book Girl, then I am going to assume that you are a fan of books. Not just “Oh hey, I like reading” or “I always get the new release of Index when it comes out”, but someone whose entire life is tied up in reading and the titles that have impacted them. Certainly this series is both about and for those people, and while it takes the time to explain the books that it focuses on, there’s a greater depth if you’ve already read the stories in question. Not that I expect too many light novel readers will rush out to buy The Field Guide to Extinct Animals, but certainly The Seagull and The Scarlet Letter are very important to this volume, and being familiar with both stories lends them an added emotional impact. Which is surprising, as the author already knows how to pack quite an emotional punch without the references.

After introducing us to what seemed like our main cast in the previous book, this volume sees Musubu on his own. the reason for that is that he’s gone to a distant town where the bookstores have been shutting down one by one. Only one is left now, and its owner just died in what was seemingly a tragic accident. Now it too is going to close, and Musubu is there to make sure that the books are cared for in their final days there. This irritates Minami, the bookstore’s longest-serving part-timer, who not only felt a close kinship with the former owner but is creeped out by this teen who says that he can talk to books – and they talk back. As the days pass and the closing of the bookstore becomes a major event in the town, will we find out about the owner’s past history and secrets?

Unlike the first volume in the series, this one is more of a novel than a short story collection – in fact, the afterword makes me think the author wrote this one first. It overflows with the love that you can get from reading a beloved book, and how that love can also lead to different things. A couple who loved each other from afar when they were teens reunite years later thanks to The Tomb of the Wild Chrysanthemum. A boy who has become terrified of earthquakes is given a fun series about aliens to read that will calm his mind. And, in the main plotline, an actress and a writer both have ties to this bookstore and its owner, and they’re more than just the Chekhov and Hawthorne stories that wrap around their lives. The ending of the book is incredible, wringing emotions out of you, and making you think that, years from now, maybe Bond and Book will be the series that lodges itself in your heart.

There’s two more volumes out in Japan, and this delights me. I just want to read more from this author, whatever it is. And I want to go back and re-read The Seagull. (Not The Scarlet Letter, though. Sorry, Nomura-san, your work can only take me so far.)