I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 2

Leave a reply

By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Given the sheer number of villainess novels and other similar “this is the same world as the game I played!” scenarios, it’s surprising that we’ve had so many of the protagonists accept that this is their new reality. Admittedly, VR technology has not gotten to the point where this sort of thing could be faked well, but “I’m dreaming” is probably a valid response. Of course, the main reason that we don’t see this too often is that if you think that you’re just inside some game world, you start to think of the world as not having real people but ‘target characters’, and that death is irrelevant because you can restart and they’ll all be alive again. That’s not true in these books, and the villainesses usually know it. But this is one of those ‘good villainess = evil heroine’ books, so it should come as no surprise that, when the heroine gets her OWN memories of Japan back at the start of this volume, she decides to send things off the rails.

Having successfully avoided her doom, Aileen is safe within the demon lord’s domain. Unfortunately, the game she played back in Japan had a sequel, which she also played. New heroine, new love interests, new bad guy. And now it seems someone is trying to make events in that game happen, which will be very bad news for the demons in this world. To try to prevent this, Claude is going to the duchy of Mirchetta to investigate. Aileen is told to stay behind. A ha. A ha ha ha. Disguising herself as a boy, she infiltrates the academy where the second game took place, then inveigles herself onto the student council and establish a guard unit to protect the students (mostly from each other). But investigating is going to be a little hard when her fiancee is the school principal. A clever disguise is needed. Or, failing that, the most bizarre disguise ever.

This book is more well-written than a lot of the villainess novels I’ve seen, and you really find yourself drawn in – I can see why an anime is coming. Aileen is a combination of clever and too-clever-by-half, and she gets a new cast of characters in the student council, who are all fun types. Given that the second game had a different heroine and a different villainess (though it takes place in the same world), it’s no surprise that Aileen quickly makes friends with said villainess, who turns out to be a sweetie pie with poor self-esteem, as you’d expect. This doesn’t really break new ground – mind controlling drugs as the main threat has been seen before, and the evil church being behind it surprises no one – but it’s fun to read, and Aileen is a hoot. If I had a complaint it’s that we only see one picture of her in her masterful disguise. More art was needed.

The end of this book established that we’re going to be seeing evil heroine vs. good villainess for some time to come, so it’s a good thing this is ongoing. Even if you’re tired of villainess books, this is worth the read.

So You Want to Live the Slow Life?: A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Fuurou and Yuki Nekozuki. Released in Japan as “Shishi Kamori de Slow Life” on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Andrew Attwell.

If you do want to read slow life books, you’re going to have to put up with the slow life. And that can sometimes be hard. I have a few slow life books I’ve had to drop simply because the everyday descriptions of their slow life were putting me to sleep. On the other hand, if you can come up with a good plot and characters, you can usually hook your reader enough that they will put up with your slow life anyway. That’s exactly what we get here. I have to tell you, there is a lot of food preserving in this book. A whole lot. Honestly, the book should have been titled “So you want to preserve food?”. And, having peeked at the webnovel itself, that is absolutely never going away. That said… likeable leads who are both adults, good worldbuilding in terms of how this sort of thing would work, and an occasional action scene. I enjoyed it.

Our main character is Mikura, who is decidedly NOT hit by a truck and does not end up in any sort of fantasy world. That’s because it’s already come here. There is a massive forest in Japan called the Beastly Wilds, host to Beastpeople. Grownups look like humans with animals ears and tails, but the kids look like animals wearing clothes. There are all sorts of rules and regulations about going into this forest at all. And Mikura’s great-grandfather had a house here, where he paid the beast people to tend to the chestnut and walnut trees and sat around preserving food as a hobby. Now that he’s passed away, Mikura decides to quit his fast-track office job and follow in his footsteps. Of course, there’s a bit more to it than just moving in… for one thing, he’ll need to deal with the locals.

I’ll be honest here, the best thing in the book by a mile is the main female lead, Techi. She’s essentially a grade school teacher/foreman/minder for all the kids who are working on Mikura’s farm (and there is a welcome discussion of child labor laws and how they apply to beastmen who essentially get a lot less agile as they get more human), and she takes a while to warm up to Mikura… or anyone, really. She is what I would call a ‘lovable grump’ and Her basic expression most of the time is :| or variations on it. Seeing her slowly start to fall for Mikura is the highlight of the book, even as she’s also helping him acclimate to this new situation and fighting off crooked chestnut dealers who want to use the beastfolk for their own ends. The first half of the book is all plot, for the most part, and I loved it. The second half is about 1/3 plot, 2/3 recipes, and I felt like I was googling ‘pancetta’ and having to read someone’s life story before I got to the recipe.

Despite that, and the risk of future volumes being worse, I really loved the lead couple, even if they aren’t a couple yet. (He sensibly sees her flirtation as more of a fascination with romance than him specifically, though I’ve no doubt that will change.). If you’re a cook, this is a must read. to everyone else, recommended if you like relaxed isekais or chipmunks.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 18

Leave a reply

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I always enjoy the books in this series that are more about rallying around the flag. The author in the afterword says that the series is always remembered for all the death and gore and terrible things, but that the hope and turning things around is just as important, and I agree with them. It does help that the plotline I was most worried about, Emilia being kidnapped, was handled in the best possible way. Certainly her would-be husband is a loathsome and terrible man, but she still manages to have agency, gaining valuable information and passing it off to allies before returning to her forced wedding because escaping would mean Regulus would take it out on his other wives. That said, for a series filled with Best Girls there are an awful lot of them this book. Crusch is mostly at death’s door, but manages to rally Subaru; Anastasia proves when it comes to actual administration she’s by far the best Royal candidate; and Priscilla… well, Priscilla just IS.

After the disaster of the City Hall assault last time, our forces regroup. Ironically, City Hall is now theirs, but there’s lots of bad things happening. Subaru’s leg… and Crusch’s entire body… are cursed. Emilia is, as I said, kidnapped. Wilhelm has figured out that one of the villains who attacked them was in fact someone he knows very well; heck, even Reinhard had a terrible time, though it was offscreen. What’s more, after Lust ups the demands (she now wants the Book of Knowledge (seemingly burned), an artificial spirit (i.e. Beatrice) and Regulus and Emilia’s wedding to go forward (that last one is obviously his addition). This means that all the citizens of this city are a bit scared and angry and upset. Can someone manage to win them over with a dramatic speech? And is that someone really Subaru?

As I said above; my God Priscilla’s presence in this book is just amazing. She’d be the worst person to interact with ever in real life, but her arrogance, confidence and strength here are just what the doctor ordered; her berating Liliana until she gives in and agrees to help is a thing of beauty. I would love to read some Re: Zero from her point of view. Speaking of points of view, it’s very amusing to see how everyone in the room reacts – particularly Julius and Al – when Subaru casually tells everyone that he loves Emilia. He may constantly regard himself as just this guy getting by, always scared and wanting to run away, but to everyone else he’s a tower of strength and confidence, saying things no one else has the courage to. He is topped, perhaps, only by Otto, who continues to be Best Boy, and unfortunately because he is Best Boy has to face the cliffhanger ending on his own.

The next book will be the counterattack against all the archbishops, and it promises to be a combat filled melee. Till then, enjoy a Re: Zero with no return by death by a whole lot of heartwarming moments.