Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend?, Vol. 1

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By Kota Nozomi and Nanasemeruchi. Released in Japan as “Choppiri Toshiue Demo Kanojo ni Shite Kuremasu ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean Orth.

It has to be said, Japan views May-December romances differently than we do here in the West. You only have to pick up any shoujo magazine to find at least one story where a girl is quietly dating her teacher. In real life, relationships between older men and younger women are still pretty common in Japan – and indeed, we even get one in this book, as the heroine’s friend Yuki is married to a man twelve years older than her. That said, this book is really trying to hit a different level. The author states up front their goal, once commissioned to write a light novel, was to write something starring an older woman, and that GA Bunko rejected this at first. The author has done other successful series with GA Bunko, including When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace, and so probably got this after amassing enough brownie points. Now, at last, they can write the story of a 27-year-old OL who ends up dating a 15-year-old high school student… ergh.

One day, Momota rescues a high school girl, Hime, from a molester on a train. She thanks him, and they seem to immediately bond. They exchange numbers. That said, he did notice that if she was wearing that school uniform, it was a bit small for her busty frame. And also that her school is in the opposite direction. What’s more, her gaming talk seems somewhat… old-fashioned? After a cute date, he works up the nerve to confess, which is when she breaks down, rejects him, and tells the truth: she’s a 27-year-old office worker who, due to various drunken circumstances, was wearing her friend’s school uniform that day. He’s somewhat poleaxed, but his feelings are not changing. And, she finally admits, she’s fallen in love with him as well. They both know that this is wrong, and they’d be in huge trouble if it became public, but they decide to date anyway.

It tries, I’ll grand you that. Everyone in the book who is not the two leads tells them not to do this. Unfortunately, they’re all subsequently won over by the couple’s passionate love. The two of them are not very good at dating or romance, particularly Hime, and their failure to properly communicate drives the last half of the book, even lasting into the final section, where they decide to go on a overnight trip/date so no one knows who they are… but he comes in a suit, and she comes in a uniform, and O. Henry plays a sad trombone. But the main issue with the book is that I cannot root for these two to work it out and be a couple. Hime is so immature at times she feels like the teenager, and she is totally not ready to date anyone, much less a high school student. Momota is earnest and nice and also pretty damn boring. There is an excruciating scene where she invites him to spend the night to play games and they both end up thinking that it’s actually for sex. It’s meant to be funny and adorable, and instead I wanted to punch the book. It tries to sell its premise, and fails badly.

This has 6+ volumes in Japan, so clearly I am not its intended audience. If you’re a teenage boy, I think you might like this, though please try not to emulate it in real life. For everyone else, though, you can actually judge this book by its title and cover.

The Reincarnated Prince and the Haloed Sage

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By Nobiru Kusunoki and Arico. Released in Japan as “Herscherik” by M Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

This does not fall into the “Villainess Otome” genre of books – for one thing, Prince Herscherik is absolutely not a villain. Nor is it a game at all, but a real, very messy world that he lives in. But there are certainly otome game elements in the books, and it really has to be said that Herscherik, although male in this universe, is building up quite the reverse harem for himself. In the first book it was the dark assassin, in the second it was the fallen knight. And here, as the title might suggest, it’s the broken mage, a young man who is so beautiful that he’s always mistaken for a woman, and who is inextricably bound to the Church. Now, there is also another tortured soul to be saved in this book. Alas, she’s an assassin when we already have one of those, AND she’s a woman in what is becoming, as I said, a reverse harem. Since she’s not the Haloed Sage, it is not hard to see where her arc is going.

It’s been a few months after the last book, and Herscherik is going to be turning seven soon. Clearly it’s time to marry him off. Or so thinks the evil Grand Vizier… erm, Marquis, who has decided to try to beat that pesky youngest prince by having Hersch marry his daughter Violetta. He also has an older daughter, Jeanne, who basically acts as Violetta’s bodyguard and minder, but she has… a different job she’s doing for him. Surprisingly, the engagement goes fairly well – Hersch is simply incapable of being mean to people who don’t deserve it, and Violetta falls for him hard. He also has to deal with the aforementioned beautiful mage, who he names Shiro (to with with Kuro), who is rather startled that Hersch is not terrified by his magic. (Hersch, who can’t do magic, just thinks he’s cool.) And oh yes, there are still assassination attempts. Will Hersch be able to avoid tragedy? Well, yes but also no.

In this book we finally meet the rest of Hersch’s immediate siblings, and I love the fact that they are all basically on the same page as he is, even though they’re trying to protect him just as he’s trying to protect them. It leads to a lack of communication between the sides, but also shows off that while the royals are dealing with a weak king who is being tortured by his evil Marquis, they’re overall good people who are trying to fix this. The triplets were particularly fun, though I’m not sure having one of the brothers being a tsundere sort really works out. I also loved the part that shows us Ryoko’s life if she had not been run over by a car, which shows off a) how she tended to be overly self-effacing and modest even back in Japan, and also b) she’s very clever at spotting traps.

The book in general is excellent, with occasional suggestions of future events a la Legend of Galactic Heroes. For the moment, however, things are not looking good for Herscerik and his family, and I suspect the fourth book will rapidly reach a crisis point. Till then, absolutely recommended for J-Novel Heart or reincarnation isekai fans.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 16

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha Light Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I accidentally typed “Outbreak Company, Vol. 167” while putting in the title of the review, and while that’s a typo, it also feels too real. The series is not really doing anything wrong at this point – indeed, I am grateful that Shinichi talks about boobs less in this book than in any of the previous ones – but it still feels like something that has gone on for far too long. I suspect the author knows that as well – he says he’s going to try to end the series with the 17th volume, though we already know he had to make it 18. He’s also doing his best to wrap up as much as he can – the war between Eldant and Bahairam, the rapidly melting down nuclear reactor form the last volume, and of course the question of who Shinichi will end up with – if he can end up with ANYONE, given this is his own far future. But most importantly for the future of the series, Japan is pulling out of Eldant once and for all, and probably taking everyone with them.

Petralka’s on the cover, but don’t expect much from her – much as she would like to go help with the meltdown, she’s the ruler and can’t leave. As for said meltdown, it’s complicated by several things. Bahairam is sending in troops to kill everyone, even though their own forces don’t seem to be particularly united. Only a human has the access to shut down the reactor, and it needs to be a human who’s been in the powered suit we’ve seen for the last few volumes, which leaves out Minori. Oh yes, and Myusel is not only taken hostage by the bag guys, but after escaping that falls into the Earth’s crust. She’s reaching Doctor Who companion levels. Fortunately, Shinichi and Minori are given a secret weapon to resolve most of this: the power to live out their wildest otaku fantasies.

I won’t spoil what they actually do, as it’s probably the comedy highlight of the book. I will note that Shinichi is not having the best of days. Leaving aside the whole ‘nuclear reactor melting down’ thing, and the fact that he is once again the only person with no powers in the middle of a war zone, there’s the fact that I think he’s subconsciously made up his mind about who the girl he loves is. I’m not sure if the book will end with them together – certainly there’s a couple of things that happen here that suggest it would be difficult – but yeah, it’s not going to be anyone other than Myusel at this point. (Speaking of which, the discussion Shinichi has with her about death flags may be the other comedy highlight.) Things are temporarily resolved here, but I suspect things may get very sticky – and political – in the next book.

With only two volumes to go after this, you may as well keep reading. It’s actually a decent volume in the series. But I’m more weary than anything else.