The NPCs in This Village Sim Game Must Be Real!, Vol. 2

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By Hirukuma and Namako. Released in Japan as “Murazukuri Game no NPC ga Namami no Ningen to Shika Omoe Nai” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

I will give credit to the realistic NPCs, they’re not doing a bad job here. Aside from the one annoying running gag of “the sister likes her brother a little too much”, they’re all nice people. The seeming traitor from the last book, the doctor, returns after their village is wiped out, and their guilt and suffering is well drawn out. Heck, even the two red pandas who are brought in to add bodies are cute and also strong – and I loved “please do not touch our high explosives”. That said, the NPCs may be real, but I’m far more interested in what’s going on with Yoshio, whose problems in this book escalate until, when the book ends, you’re screaming at the author to release the next one already. Especially when we learn that Yoshio is not the only one whose loser life has been improved by a mysterious game… and that his game’s opponents may be closer than he thinks.

After surviving the first monster rush, our NPC heroes are busy preparing for the next one, and their world is expanding a bit more – though they’re not quite ready to leave their cave as of yet. The same could be said of Yoshio, who is interacting more with his family and co-workers but is still having trouble with Life In General. This includes his unlucky childhood friend, who everyone thought he was going to marry when he grew up. Unfortunately, she got a nice job, he did not, and he began the downward spiral that led him to where he is at the start of Book 1. And now that they’ve reunited, he’s sure she deserves someone much better than him (and is not seeing the fact that she seems to be as lost as he is right now). Additionally, his sister is still worried about being stalked – with good reason – and his coworker is also really immersed in a strategy game… one that seems very familiar.

A lot of this book, obviously, seems to rely on what I would call “magical realism”. Yoshio’s game clearly isn’t just a game – even if his new pet lizard is not a clue, the ending of this volume certainly shows us that. The scene with Yoshio facing down his sister’s stalker – and his former attacker – is tense and gripping but also feels a bit too on the nose in terms of narrative convenience. But then, in a book where our hero can manipulate the narrative in order to save others, perhaps that’s not what I should be paying attention to. The final section is chilling in the best thriller way, with Yoshio suffering a vicious attack and trying to protect his friend while ALSO trying to save his village. He does not achieve all of these things, unfortunately, but at least he’s not completely done, and That Cliffhanger promises he can, perhaps, fix things.

The author has stated that this series was always meant to be three volumes, so the next will be the last (unlike Vending Machine, which was very open ended when it got axed). Fortunately, we should get the next volume soon. Very fortunately, because I’m absolutely on the edge of my seat wanting to see what happens next. Get this.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 4

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Due to a translation schedule that can only be described as bananas, we are slowly catching up with the series in Japan. Slowly being the word – this is the 16th book in the series, and it came out in Japan in 2018. The latest book is the 28th, which came out in December. But if we continue to do 6 a year, while Japan does 4, we will eventually get there. It’s enough to make a reader feel confident about looking at fanart. But, as anyone who’s ever looked up Japanese Bookworm fanart knows, this can be very dangerous. Look, I don’t know who Rozemyne will end up married to in the future. Indeed, this particular book makes it very clear that Wilfried is a very good choice – and that Ferdinand would be a politically bad one. That said, anyone looking at pixiv will see that one pairing is overwhelmingly the favorite, to the point where it’s 95% of all the art. And it ain’t Rosemyne/Wilfried. We shall see.

As with all Bookworm volumes, there’s a lot going on here. Rozemyne’s desire to avoid a lot of hard embroidery work causes her to not only revolutionize the ink industry, but also invent invisible ink, which will no doubt prove very useful in future books. The spring prayer happens in the middle of the book, and a discrepancy between the bible that everyone else knows and the one that Rozemyne has read in the High Bishop’s office leads to a literal miracle. The archduke learns that, in terms of the “commoner” parts of the city, his territory is at the very, very bottom, which leads to a need for sewers – and a mass cleansing. Most importantly, Rozemyne is engaged to Wilfried, and while some readers may still be grumpy with him due to past events, it’s shown to be a political necessity, as Rosemyne is a Hot New Item.

As I have said many times before, these books are long. This one is 343 pages, which is actually 30 pages shorter than the previous one. And yet I always find myself wishing that the books went into more depth. Worldbuilding can be tedious when it’s another boilerplate isekai talking about casting from hit points, but this series really is entirely about the worldbuilding – it’s a major reason why it’s a huge hit (though I will admit our smol book gremlin is the main reason). Even the side stories told from other perspectives are excellent – we get Wilfried’s thoughts on his engagement, and show off how much he’s matured. We also get to see Gunther and Myne’s family once more. And, most importantly, we get the politics. It’s not entirely Rozemyne not caring about anything but books – the politics in this world is genuinely hard, and you need a lifetime of training.

This volume ends with the implication that the next one will be even more focused on infighting and intrigue. Which is great, I love that. But I do hope it also shows Rozemyne casually inventing more stuff, and playing more magical rugby, and causing Sylvester, Ferdinand and Benno to hold their heads in pain at her antics. The books are long, and yet all too short.

From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals, Vol. 1

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By Sametaro Fukada and Fumi. Released in Japan as “Yatarato Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Callum Conroy.

In general these days, if you are in a classroom and you see a girl sitting next to you who either a) has a face that makes her look evil and threatening or b) a cool beauty who no one can approach, odds are that she is going to be an incredibly sweet girl who merely has tremendous communication issues. If you weren’t aware that this book is another in that type of series, you haven’t been paying attention to Tentai Books’ recent licenses, as they’re starting to have a niche in the “sugar sweet romance between weird boy and aloof girl” genre (though Seatmate Killer reversed those adjectives). If you are the sort who believe that good books need conflict, then this is not for you: there’s only one major conflict in the book. Instead, sit back and watch Koyuki be the world’s worst tsundere, and Naoya realize that, in fact, he does want to get closer to her.

Naoya is a young man who has become an expert at reading people’s faces to figure out not only their emotional state but also their backstory, family connections, and what they’re thinking. He credits it to a family backstory that we get some of, but it’s hinted there’s a lot more to it than that. One day he runs across a creeper trying to pick up a young woman who clearly does not want his attention, and proceeds to verbally destroy him to get him to back off. Little does he know that this woman is Koyuki, legendary at their school for her callous words and cool attitude towards everyone. Except, now that he comes to really look at her, he realizes that all this is wrong and that she’;s just colossally bad at offering help or accepting thanks. Worse, she falls for him rapidly, and he is trying his hardest to avoid getting in a relationship. Will she be able to break down his walls?

A lot of the humor in this book for me came from, as I hinted, the lack of conflict. Throughout, we see things set up where they look like they might lead to some drama… but they don’t. Naoya may be reluctant to get into a romantic relationship, but once he realizes that’s where this is heading he doesn’t back off or try to change how he acts around Koyuki. We meet her sister, who’s trying to make sure that he’s good boyfriend material… and he passes easily. Then we meet his family, including an overprotective father… and he STILL passes easily. This actually makes it funny when we finally DO get to the drama in the volume… and it comes from him confessing to her too quickly, something she has (supposedly) spent the entire book trying to achieve. And when she finally gets what she wants? She has a total meltdown.

Not to worry, though, it works out. The author, in the afterword (and apparently also the publicity for the series) guarantees a happy ending. Which is good, because we have other books if we want drama. We have this if we want to see an incredibly dorky girl try to point at her boyfriend in a haughty way but fail because she’s simply too adorable to pull it off. Cute and sweet.