Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 6

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

It can be hard to let go of a gimmick, especially when the gimmick in question is the main reason you got readers in the first place. One reason everyone loved Tearmoon Empire 1 was not only the dissonance between Mia’s own thoughts and actions and what everyone ELSE thought of these, but also the snarky narrator constantly pummeling her. I’d theorized before that the narrator was hired by future Mia to try to slow the publishing of hagiographies about her. That being said… Mia has grown and matured a little bit, and I feel now that the goofy “she only thinks about herself and food” shtick is holding her back. And the narrator, especially when he’s making fat jokes, is starting to grate. Most importantly, though, I’m starting to feel like all the other cast members Mia has misled: if you ignore Mia’s intentions and the narrator, this remains a fantastic read, filled with intrigue, action, character building, and plot twists. Mia being a dumbass and the narrator pointing it out all the time isn’t needed anymore.

Mia is in the background for this cover picture, which is a good thing, as it shows us that Bel is, finally, going to get some actual attention. Much of the book is about Mia trying to avoid her own assassination in various ways, though honestly she mostly just avoids thinking about it, as she doesn’t want to get anyone else in danger. So we get things like a massive mushroom hunting party in the nearby forest (where she accidentally discovers deadly poison mushrooms that were what killed off a large number of people in the prior timeline) and preparing for the Holy Eve Festival, which we do not get to see because, of course, Bel is kidnapped in order to force Mia to leave the island and then kill her. There’s only one thing Mia can do… exactly what they say, hoping that if she managed to rewind time once she’ll be able to do it once she’s killed again.

Not to spoil or anything, but Mia is not killed off again, this is not that kind of time loop book. And I’ve complained about the parts of the book I didn’t like above, so let me talk about what I did like. Sometimes Mia’s thought processes are wonderful, such as when she discovers Bel is kidnapped and tries to think of the many very good reasons that going after her is a mistake… all the while getting dressed up and preparing to leave, because unconsciously she knows she’ll never abandon her granddaughter. Bel is basically a shoujo protagonist here, winning over the villains by the power of being sweet and kind, and it’s adorable. The villain is obvious and hammy, but hey. There’s also some good worldbuilding here, showing us the underside of the Yellowmoons and also a few flashbacks to the previous world, where everything went terribly. And the chase and fight scenes were wonderful, and also introduce a new minor villain who I hope we’ll see again, along with his huge puppies… OK, wolves.

So yeah, I don’t expect Tearmoon Empire to drop Mia being thought of as smart when she’s really thinking about cookies, or the narrator pointing out how her altruism is bullshit, but I’d like more of the growth we saw in Book 4-5. Also, I have no idea why the narrator is insulting her “mushroom outfit”. She looks stylish! That’s clearly a raffish cap!

High School DxD: Hellcat of the Underworld Training Camp

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By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

(with apologies to Professor Peter Schickele)

Each time I read a new volume of High School DxD I am filled with this feeling of anticipation, a feeling of exultation, a feeling that… this new volume can’t possibly be as horny as the last one. But so far… Yeah, I know, shut up, Sean, you’re yelling at a series for 13-year-old teenage boys for talking about tits too much, and I get it. I try to recalibrate my standards for these books. Heck, the hot springs scene was even mildly amusing once those standards are recalibrated. But God Almighty, the way that Issei levels up or gets more powerful in this series makes your jaw drop. Leaving aside that the key to unlocking his new super move is to poke Rias’ nipples, there is everything about the climax of the book, where a dying Issei suddenly attains the zen-like ability to hear women’s breasts talking as separate personalities. I… what was the author on when he came up with this? I can’t even say “Oh, Japan” here. WHAT?!?!

Koneko’s on the cover, and actually gets some backstory here, though she gets less to do than I’d like. Our main cast travel to the underworld to train at Rias’ vast estate, meet her parents, and end up fighting a new Rating Game against Sona and Saji, the student council faction. Sona wants to make demon society less class-based, and is being ridiculed for the very idea, so naturally her team wants to win badly here. That said, our heroes are the protagonists. Can they be powerful enough to get past Sona’s cleverness? Maybe, but it’ll take Issei having to fight a dragon everyday, as well as Koneko having to confront her past… literally, in the form of her sister. And of course there’s Saji, who is to Sona what Issei is to Rias. He has a dream of being a teacher… and is very pissed that Issei has groped more boobs than he has.

If you leave out the tits, this is a very normal shonen battle manga. Issei is told that unlocking his Balance Breaker is the sort of thing that’s usually done in a crisis position with strong emotions behind it. We then get what is obviously meant to be just that, with Koneko’s sister attacking her and Koneko feeling tremendous self-hatred. If Issei were in Strike the Blood, this would be where he would talk about “:this is my fight!” and level up. But Issei is in High School DxD, so it’s not enough to be feeling righteous fury, he also has to be getting super horny. Hence the nipple poking. The fight between Issei and Saji is the best part of the book, pure shonen manliness and shouting about each other’s dreams… then Issei gains the ability to hear women’s breasts talking, and any drama and excitement drains out of the body.

As for why I’m still reading this, I’m not really sure. I want to actually see what happens next? Unfortunately, what happens next will likely involve more ridiculousness. But as long as it also has cool fights and some romance that isn’t pure sex, I’ll probably get the next one.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 4

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By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

Despite the presence of some of the worst metaphors in the world, this is a better volume than the previous one, mostly because it doesn’t keep hammering on Sumire’s love of young boys. It essentially wraps up the plot from the previous book in the first half, leaving the 2nd half to delve deeper into one of the characters who we’ve been waiting to hear more about: our narrator, Akiteru. Well, sorry to break it to you, but we still don’t learn all that much about him. That said, it’s a good examination of his mindset and how he views himself compared to the others in the group, and a reminder that sometimes middle management really *is* the best skill to have. And of course there’s romance – Akiteru may be slowly (very, very slowly) catching on to what love actually feels like, and iroha reminds the other two heroines that she is still Best Girl round these parts.

Of course, given that Iroha has been on the cover of every volume to date, the idea that this is an ‘equal harem’ series is ridiculous. We start off where we left off, with Akiteru and Iroha in the shrine of love. Unfortunately, the shrine of love does not come with a toilet, so any deep sexual yearnings will have to wait. And, in any case, the real issue resolved here is Sumire’s desire to be an artist warring with her desire to be a teacher. It helps that, in the best Japanese tradition, her stern, unyielding grandfather turns out to be quite yielding after all. Then our heroes finally get a beach vacation, at Canary’s private beach house. Of course, there’s a catch. While brainstorming a new character, Canary essentially comes up with it herself. And also is better at forcing Sumire to work. And their “ghost” writer too. Is… is there anything for Akiteru left to do?

The main reason to read this series is still the two leads, who are the best thing about it. Akiteru may talk a good game about being logical and pragmatic, but he’s repressing an awful lot, and seeing how well Canary can seemingly do what he does every day gets him depressed and jealous. And, of course, it’s up to Iroha to do something about this. I like how her pep talk does help to cheer him up, but it’s not the actual solution – the solution is that Akiteru really *is* better at managing a bunch of eccentrics, as Canary finds out to her horror. (That said, she was doing this to test him anyway.) We’re also seeing secret identieis out in the open – Sumire now knows who Mashiro really is, and Ozuma has figured out who the “secret voice actress” is as well. This sort of series can’t resolve too quickly, but it’s nice to see it determined to move forward a plot point of two each volume.

There’s a cliffhanger that suggests the next book might be a bit more uncomfortable for Akiteru. Till then, this is a decent high school romcom with likeable characters, except for Sumire sometimes, and great dialogue, except for Sumire all the time. Seriously, “the dick in my heart won’t get hard”? That’s the metaphor you go with?