The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 8

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By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

You get the sense that towards the end of this series, whenever it does end (the 11th volume is out in Japan), it’s going to involve a Big East vs. West battle, with Natra in the middle of it. In a way, that’s what we’ve been getting for a while in a political way – both the Empire (and particularly Lowellmina) and the West’s religious Alliance (with Caldmellia trying to use Wein for her own amusement and to make him suffer). And, fair to Caldmellia, we almost get that here as well. We get Wein accused of murder – again – and needing to clear his name, we get one of the West’s nations invading the merchant city on the border, which comes as quite a surprise to its own leader; and we get introduced to the Holy King Silverio, who at first looks to just be a propr being held up so that the real villain can work behind the scenes, but in reality is… well, terrifying. Can Wein think his way out of this?

We also, though it’s more of a teaser for later books, get a better look at the Flahm. They’ve always been an odd combination of albinos, black slaves and Japanese burakumin, but here we see that they’re not a united front, as several in their faction feel they need as many positions of power as they can get to prevent the tide turning against them again. The other viewpoint, which includes Ninym, is that they should fill positions with their best people more than just warm bodies, and in any case she has no interest in regaining their old kingdom but wants to do what’s best for Natra. There’s also a really sweet moment when, after seeing wein asleep in their carriage on the way to the conference, she kneels down and snuggles up against him. This is also pretty bittersweet as well – Ninym does not feel she can ever explicitly show her love as it can’t ever happen. I hope we can find a way to fix that.

We also get to have my other favorite character, Falanya, come along to the conference this time around, mostly to continue to make valuable connections. I suspect the biggest will be her meeting Felite – it does get a color page, after all – but it’s also interesting to see the back and forth between her and her adviser, the “formerly evil” Sirgis. He’s being genuinely helpful and showing her how to be more politically savvy (yes, memorizing all those faces and names really is important), but he also wants revenge on Wein, and a throne war is the way that he’s going to try to get it. Falanya says that if he tries to turn her against her brother she’ll cut him loose, but I have a suspicion she’s going to find that a lot harder to do than she thinks. We’ve been setting up brother vs. sister since Book 4, and I can’t wait.

So another solid book in the series, which currently has an anime racing through its first books at a very rapid pace. It won’t get to this one this season, but perhaps if it gets another…

Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!: The Invincible Saint and the Quest for Fluff, Vol. 1

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By Inumajin and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Meteora.

I had this on my list of new J-Novel Club releases to try out, but I didn’t really have too many high hopes. The author had written a very similar series, Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!, but that one really didn’t grab me at all. So I started to read this book, and I began to laugh. And then I kept reading, and I started laughing a lot. This is a funny book. It has a ridiculous lead character (no, she’s literally described by her brother as ridiculous), her own ridiculous goals in life (and a backstory that might seem familiar to Leadale fans), and a lot of good ridiculous dialogue, though the reader will need to be willing to go along with the standard “I did a ridiculous thing.” “YOU DID A RIDICULOUS THING?!?!?!” style comedy. Basically, this book is hella fun. And, of course, hella fluffy.

Yoshino Kanata spent her entire life in Japan in a hospital bed on life support. She regarded herself as happy because she had the internet, but those in charge of the afterlife think she had SUPER bad karma. As a result, they’re reincarnating her with all the good karma they possibly can. She’s reborn as Kanata Aldezia. Her father is the finest swordsman in the land. Her mother a great sage. She herself has won every award imaginable. And now, it’s time for the ceremony that determines the calling she will have going forward, because isekai worlds only run on RPG logic. Everyone thinks she will be a Saint. She has a different calling in mind. See, in Japan she never got to pet a cuddly animal. And here, she’s so terrifyingly powerful that animals fear her. Therefore, she’s going to be a Beast Tamer and got fluffy animals all around her! One slight problem – Beast Tamer is the biggest loser profession of them all.

So yes, Kanata is a trip, one of those heroines who does not have one ounce of common sense in her head but makes up for it with more power and determination than God. Indeed, as the final scene of the book shows, this is literally true. All she wants to do is leave the city and find fluffy monsters to pet. So far, she mostly has Zagg’iel, aka Zaggy. The former King of Demons, he’s under a curse that has essentially made him into a tubby little cat creature. The interaction between these two is both funny and heartwarming, as she loves him and roots for him even when he’s weak and has no powers. Of course, she never quite manages to leave the city. She beats up on bird creatures, tames dragons, cleans the sewers, restarts magical furnaces, and finally faces off against the new demon king and his army of mind-controlled minions Through all of this, her mindset is set on one thing: Is this fluff? Can I pet it? If not… she’s unimpressed.

So yes, this is better than Woof Woof Story and also deeply silly. I’ll be reading more. recommended for those who love OP ditzes and snuggling small creatures.

Baccano!: 1935-A Deep Marble

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By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we continue to have about three Baccano! novels translated every year. However, the plot in the 1930s, with Firo, Ladd, Jacuzzi, et al can be generally considered the “main” plotline. And since Peter Pan in Chains, the 1934 novel, we’ve seen three books set in the 1700s, two set in the 21st century, and two set in the 1930s but as “side stories” taking place in between events we previously read about. And we still have one more of those to go, I warn you. But for the moment, we’re in the home stretch. The author has stated that the 1935 arc will be the last one set in this time period, with an “epilogue” taking place in 2003. This is the big one. But, as I said, it’s been a while. For English speakers, about three years. For the Japanese readers, over five years. As such, it’s no surprise that this volume, while not exactly a recap, is certainly a reintroduction to most of the main cast.

Several things happen at the start of this book. Isaac and Miria, still trying to not be thieves but also broke, go looking for a job. Jacuzzi’s gang is also broke (I mean, it is 1935), and so he too is looking for work. Ricardo and Christopher are in New York, and are ALSO looking for work. Ladd gets out of Alcatraz prison and reunited with Lua, Graham and Shaft. Another character from a long, long time ago is also released from captivity, and unfortunately ends up right in the middle of things. And of course Huey Laforet is out of prison and therefore back to his usual tricks… which include Chane, who is very happy to be reunited with him but also conflicted due to her love for Claire/Felix. Through all of this, Firo is just trying to run his casino. Unfortunately for Firo, Narita books tend to be “slow burn leading to an explosive climax”, and that explosion is in that very same casino.

This is a fun book to read, despite the fact that it feels like everyone is showing up to do their “bit”. Isaac and Miria are flakey. Jacuzzi cries a lot but also shows gumption. Ladd, Graham and Christopher are incredibly violent, etc. That said, there is an ACTUAL plot going on here as well, involving the Runorata family building their own secret casino and inviting representatives of all the local gangs, including the Martillo and the Gandor ones. They’ve got some heavy hitters in charge, including people you would not normally think would be associated with the dark underbelly of society. And also a new character, named Melvi, who is very interesting to a heck of a lot of people for reasons that only come out at the end of the book… and even then, there’s more of a “how on Earth could THAT happen?” than anything else. Then again, we have seen something like it before with our favorite Big Bad, who is also in this book, albeit in only one scene.

So yeah, it’s all setup, but it’s fun setup. And you’ll be delighted to know that the next book is in fact Part 2 of this arc. So perhaps we can actually keep track of things a little better.