The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 6

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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.

This volumes shares many of the same things that I criticized the last volume for – it’s very rushed, Falanya doesn’t really appear, etc. – but I found it a much better read than Book 5. Possibly that’s because this is the first book to really feature Wein as a side character in his own series. We’ve seen Wein being an “influencer” before, and in fact it’s probably what he excels at more than anything else. But in this book we see Wein caught up in a power struggle that has nothing to do with his country – or so we think – and choosing to pick a side and help one of the contenders for the throne. This volume is Felite’s as much as Wein’s. The book shows off his own similarity to Wein in a few ways – notably their kickass bodyguard/confidante who seems to be in love with them – but thankfully is not creating a Wein clone, as he feels like his own person.

Wein now has a seaport, but unfortunately no one trusts him enough to trade with him. Fortunately, his hostage/enemy is there with an answer: she knows of a nation to the South that is amenable to trade, and she can help negotiate. So we’re off on a sea voyage… which Wein quickly regrets. And yes, part of it is that he gets seasick, but there’s also the fact that the ruler who he’s supposed to be negotiating with has been assassinated, and Wein is captured and stuffed in a jail cell. Fortunately, not only does he manage to bluff his way into having a far nicer jail cell than everyone else, but he’s also kept directly next to the OTHER big name prisoner… Felite, the second son of the former ruler. The first son is the one doing the assassinating. The winner will be the one who can claim the famed Rainbow Crown, an icon of the country.

The author said last time that this volume would be a slice-of-life, which it isn’t, and he apologizes for being totally unable to write such a thing. Still, we do get some of the cast in swimsuits… though really, Wein only has eyes for Ninym. Despite another girl telling him that they’re engaged (he never has any choice in the matter), Ninym is simply too high a bar to clear, and the first thing Tolchiela says after this is “It’s OK, I’ll allow mistresses”. That said, we also see some Flahm here who are also not roundly hated by everyone, and it’s apparent that they worship Natra for being the first country to actually not oppress then. If this series ever does end, I suspect it’s with Ninym recognized more officially. As for the rest of the book… it’s a fun little adventure, and Wein is mostly in smart bastard mode rather than whiny freakout mode. Plus, sea battles.

The next book promises to bring us back to the Empire, so I expect we’ll see more of Lowellmina than the running gag we got here. That said, we also saw that the series’ Big Bads are also still around, and determined to have everything end in chaos. Wein is their kryptonite, so dealing with him is getting more and more important. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Baccano!: 1932 Summer: Man in the Killer

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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.

After a very depressing 1700s volume of Baccano!, it’s nice to be able to get a book that is back at “home base”, so to speak: the 1930s. And this book is markedly lighter in tone, despite featuring a series of murders and an examination of what sort of person you have to be in order to commit said murders. It was originally written as an extra for those who bought the Baccano! anime DVDs Vol. 1-5 in Japan, then fleshed out for this book. That said, let’s face it, the main draw is on the cover art. If you asked any Baccano! fan which two characters absolutely should not meet because the world might end if they started talking to each other, Elmer C. Albatross and Graham Specter would be right at the top. Oh, don’t get me wrong, after a brief misunderstanding they get on like a house on fire. But that is the trouble. The last thing anyone like Graham, who Shaft can barely rein in at the best of times, needs is Elmer’s philosophy of life.

This takes place about seven months after Drugs and the Dominoes and about a year or so before The Slash, and features a few of the characters from both books. It also serves as an odd epilogue to The Rolling Bootlegs. There is a serial killer in the city, Ice Pick Thompson, whose nickname comes from his murder method. We meet Lester, a reporter who’s been ordered to follow the story even though he really would rather avoid it; Mark, a young boy who has decided to kill himself… till he meets Elmer; and Graham, Shaft and company, who are just hanging around the city but keep getting dragged into the plot. Is this just a crazy serial killer, or is there a method to their madness? What does this have to do with the Gandors? What does this have to do with Szilard Quates? And can Isaac and Miria really become literal time? Or money?

The thing that interested me most in this book is the villain, which makes a refreshing change from the usual villains we’ve seen in Baccano!, who tend to be very obvious from the start – art least from the reader’s perspective. This one is meant to be more of a mystery – though really, not that much of one, as there’s something fishy from the start. Which is fitting, given they’re more on the Dallas Genoard end of the villain spectrum than the Fermet end. I also want to note how impressed I am with Graham and Shaft, who are not Japanese but nonetheless make the perfect manzai team. When Sham made Shaft one of his vessels, he basically created the perfect tsukkomi, as well as the only one capable of stopping Graham – not that he ever actually succeeds. The best thing about the book, though, is probably Mark, a quiet, tragic character walking around a sea of loudmouthed extroverts.

If you enjoyed being back in the 1930s, worry not, we’re soon going to be there on a more permanent basis. But first we have to wrap up the 1700s arc, and finally find out what happened on the Advenna Avis. Next time we go to 1711 and see how Huey’s holding up after Monica’s death.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 2

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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.

In my last review, I compared this book to McDonald’s fast food, and nothing here changes that opinion. I enjoyed it a great deal. It has characters who I enjoy reading, dialogue that’s a lot of fun, and clearly has a long-term goal in mind as opposed to just being written volume to volume. On the other hand, wow, the plot beats here make me cringe. “Let’s save the drama club!” is not something that a self-respecting series should be doing when it’s only the second book, and the ludicrous coincidences that lead to our leads ending up in the production are even worse. Now, I get the sense the author knows this, as the situation really is pretty ludicrous, but yeah, don’t read this for the plot. That said, it should make this pretty fun to adapt when it becomes an anime, and Iroha will no doubt please fans who are already over the moon for Uzaki and Nagatoro, though I warn you her dialogue is a bit slang-filled.

This volume picks up right where the last one left off, as Akiteru tries to figure out how to respond to Mashiro’s confession, and Iroha knows about this confession but has to pretend she doesn’t. Akiteru knows he has to respond quickly and decisively, because he’s read dumb romantic comedy light novels. Unfortunately, it turns out that while he tries his hardest to be the best Eliezer Yudkowsky he can be, he is not quite able to get past the fact that he’s really goddamn happy he got a confession -though it takes him most of the book to figure this out. As for Iroha, well, she’s dealing with jealousy as well, plus her dimwitted senpai not figuring out her feelings (which Mashiro sure can by the end of this book), and it’s even affecting her voice acting work. Hrm, this sounds complicated, maybe saving the drama club *is* what’s needed…

As I’ve said before, Akiteru interests me, mostly as I think he’s screwed up in a very different way from cynics like Kyon or nihilists with a heart of gold like Hachiman. His raw panic when Iroha points out he’s overslept by an hour, and desperation to get to school on time so it doesn’t mess up his regimented life, is very telling. There’s no denying that he’s excellent at directing, be it games or plays, and despite his own denials, he’s a pretty good actor too. But improvisation seems to be a kryptonite for him. The only reason he can do the play is he’s so familiar with the material, and the problems with Mashiro and Iroha that he “solves” here are done after thinking them out in bullet points in his head. The first epilogue suggests that he’s going to have to figure out a way to break through that soon, as he may need to improvise even more in the future.

Despite adding a new cast member to the game group (a classmate of Akiteru’s who is a genius sound designer), this still feels like only three of the cast are really important, and I’m hoping we’ll flesh out the others soon. Unfortunately, next time it looks like the one I didn’t want fleshed out will be getting the spotlight. I smell an arranged marriage… In any case, this is a lot of fun unless you take light novels too seriously.