Altina the Sword Princess, Vol. 7

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By Yukiya Murasaki and himesuz. Released in Japan as “Haken no Kouki Altina” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

We’re still fighting the battle against Britannia here, though after the one volume dedicated to the other side it’s been very much a battle seen from Altina and Regis’ side. Things don’t go swimmingly for our heroes here, though they do get to claim the big win in the end. There are far more casualties than Regis has ever had to deal with as a result of one of his plans, leading him to have even more self-loathing than his normal levels. Even worse, some of his plans actually don’t work, and he’s forced to watch in horror as the biggest, baddest mercenary in Britannia’s army ends up waltzing right into their camp and dueling Altina. Fortunately, they do also have a few things go their way, including some surprise new characters and the return of a beloved weapon. That said, the entire book may be dwarfed by the ending, which I will try not to spoil but which is definitely a game changer. Assuming that Belgaria manages to survive this war, they’re certainly going to have their hands full.

The series is in general a military chronicle, and not all that interested in romance. That said, Altina and Regis shippers should be relatively pleased with events towards the start of this book, though Altina really is going to have to spell things out to Bakarina levels in order to get past Regis’ self-image issues. She’s also growing up and getting smarter… and, more importantly, more inclined to think first and not act as impulsively. She asks Regis the reasons behind some of his decisions, and does not need it dumbed down quite as much as she did in Book 6. The conversation they have about balancing the present and the future is also excellent, with Regis trying to get Altina to be more forward thinking, and Altina trying to get Regis to see that “a land of peace” can in fact be an option to try, even in a land as warmongering as their own.

I will admit there was one plot twist that I found a bit eyebrow-raising, as the blacksmith who is trying to get Altina her now-repaired sword ends up meeting a seemingly harmless old man in the middle of a battlefield. I didn’t expect him to be harmless, but I was expecting him to be one of the enemy. The revelation that he ‘s actually Altina’s mentor is a bit too pat in a series that usually doesn’t rely on that sort of thing too much. That said, the end of the book is also extremely predictable in every possible way, but this time it works quite well, mostly as it’s fast, violent, and will spark a lot of plot in upcoming volumes more than Altina being reminded that fighting fair is something that you should not worry about on a battlefield.

This came out in Japan at the same time as a volume of short stories, which the author says complement the novel. Good news, we are getting the short story volume over here, but bad news, it’s coming out simultaneous with Volume 8, not 7. At least you know which to read first! In any case, still a good series with no magic or fantasy elements, just straight up alternate world battlefield.

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 12

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By FUNA and Itsuki Akata. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Diana Taylor. Adapted by Maggie Cooper.

I’ve often felt that my reviews are read by the Japanese authors after I write them, and they subsequently go back in time to before the next volume was out in Japan to deal with what I was talking about. Now, I can’t confirm this is 100% true, but I will admit that after admitting to the author of this series that I had forgotten the ongoing plot and worldbuilding and only read it for the cute overpowered girls doing cute overpowered things part, the author now seems to have buckled down a bit and started to pay more attention to how the antics of Mile and company are affecting not just their own kingdom but also the world as a whole. Now, don’t worry, this is not remotely a serious-minded volume or anything, and Mile is still completely ridiculous in the best FUNA way. But… there’s thoughts going into other countries’ actions here, and also what happens when you bitchslap a dragon.

After a prologue that shows us what life is like in their default inn with Lenny when they aren’t around (spoiler: not great, but at least she’s building up strong muscles), we get the plot that makes up the bulk of this book, as the Crimson Vow are asked to escort four researchers disguised as merchants to Albarn’s Empire, as there are disquieting rumors going around about what they’re up to. Given the Vow were responsible for much of their downfall, they’re not wild about it, but they do go along, also pretending to be merchants and making a mint. After managing to find the one company picnic to end up getting attacked by bandits bent on murder and kidnapping, they manage to find out why Albarn is going to war, and it’s a reason that’s a lot closer to what they’ve been doing lately… those damn ruins. And to solve this… they may need to beat up a lot more dragons.

As always, the best part of these books are the bond between the four girls, who may occasionally get jealous of each other’s powers (Mile) or large bust (Pauline) but for the most part are so close than when asked by Mile, in one of her attempts to amuse herself late at night, what they would take with them to a desert island, the answer ends up being Mile… as she can provide anything else. Reina is a bit despairing of the fact that if they ever do split up,. the others will be totally unable to work as a team, but let’s face it, they’re never going to split up as long as this series is an ongoing concern. As for the Albarn Empire, the discussion of why they always go to war, and what’s driving them to do so again, is pretty well nuanced, with the family that the Crimson Vow protect on the company picnic essentially military suppliers. A lot of the reason things are like this now is related to either Mile or her prior self, Adele. Will she take responsibility? Well, sort of, as we see with the golems. But not a whole lot.

Still the most nuanced of the three FUNA series, but that’s a matter of degree – this is still toxic to anyone who hates OP characters.

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 8

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By Dachima Inaka and Iida Pochi. Released in Japan as “Tsujo Kogeki ga Zentai Kogeki de Ni-kai Kogeki no Okasan wa Suki desu ka?” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

As I look back through previous volumes of this series, I keep having to remind myself “this is a parody” more and more often, for two reasons. First, because as the series goes on the serious plotline of what the proper amount of love and distance should be between mother and child is taken more and more seriously, and that holds here as well. The other reason, of course, is that due to the nature of the plot and the over the top parody aspects, we see some really toxic abusive relationships between mothers and daughters. I mention this in passing because Wise and Mehdi’s mothers show up again in this volume to team up with Mamako, and for the most part they’re being greatly softened. I should not have expected much else – even if “sometimes you need to cut off an abusive parent” was a thing that happened very often in media like this, it’s certainly not going to happen in this specific title with the opposite message.

The book leads off with the moment we’ve been waiting for – finally, we get Porta’s mom. As was hinted last volume, she is the final of the anti-mom generals – and also one of the main developers of the game itself. She and Porta have a strained relationship that manages to be different from our other three mom-child teams. Mamako is the smothering type, Wise’s mother the ignoring type, and Mehdi gets the education mama, but Porta and her mother both compete to see who can hate themselves the most, and let me tell you, it’s neck and neck. What’s more, the latest plot to break up the game seems to work quite well – planting pins on the kids of the world so that they all try to act super independent, leading their mothers to get depressed that they aren’t needed any more. This goes double for Mamako, who knows that she doesn’t even need to have a pin to get those feelings – her baby is growing up, and pretty soon she’ll have to let him to at least a little.

If you worried the humor was gone, no fear. Shiraaase is still around to make everything hilarious, this time by making Mamako and her other mom companions idol singers, something that humiliated all the children, and all the moms who are not named Mamako, who is of course delighted. Shiraaase has also managed to find a way to weaponize her own coffin demises, which is impressive. There’s also some amusing schtick in the middle of the book, as Masato and company have to play Porta’s life-sizes board game in order to advance, a board game filled with annoying yet amusing pitstops. It’s also quite nice that, even after 8 volumes (out of 11 total), there is very little to no romance in this still. Sometimes, once or twice a book, Wise and Medhi briefly show they might like Masato, but they’re far more comfortable emasculating him instead.

So yes, as long as you don’t take this too seriously, it’s still good enough, and it was nice to see the guilty workaholic mom added to the pile. (Honestly, I thought that might be filled by Shiraaase, but her kid is only 5, so unlikely to show up in this game.) Next time around… (Noddy Holder scream) IT’S CHRIIIIIISTMAAAAAAS!!!!