A Certain Magical Index SS, Vol. 2

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By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “To Aru Majutsu no Index” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Prowse.

And so, once again, we have the “final” volume of Index in North America. Last time we thought it was the 22nd volume, then Yen picked up the two short story volumes after the fact. Now, we even get a translator’s afterword by Andrew Prowse thanking the readers, saying this is it for now, and please keep reading the manga. All it needs is “And the adventure continues…” after the final page. In other words, don’t expect New Testament unless there’s an anime. As for this volume, it’s far more of a short story book than the first one, though the stories eventually do tie together up to a certain point. It’s also a lot goofier, with Kamachi’s usual hit-and-miss attempts at humor and lots of powerful teenagers doing dumb teenage things. There’s ninjas, hackers, slashers, fixers, and those who fight using only their GUTS! That said, it’s a reasonable amount of fun, and Index fans should have no reason not to pick it up, especially since good sales might also change Yen’s mind.

Introduced in this volume: Balbina, Gunha Sogiita, Tabigake Misaka, Ollerus, Silvia, Kuruwa, Seria Kumokawa, Stephanie Gorgeouspalace, Misaka 17000, Misaka 18022, Misaka 14333, Misaka 15110, Misaka 10090, Misaka 12053, Misaka 19009, Misaka 11899, Misaka 16836, Misaka 10501, Misaka 19900, Misaka 12083, Misaka 10855, Misaka 17203, Misaka 19488, Misaka 15327, Misaka 13072, Misaka 17403, Misaka 10050, Misaka 10840, Misaka 12481, Misaka 18072, Misaka 19348, Misaka 17009, Misaka 15113, Misaka 14014, and Misaka 18829. (Sorry, I had to.) This takes place over the course of the entire series, and even prior to it, but in Japan it was released between Vol. 16 and 17. As you can see by the list above, leaving out the Misakas, there’s a lot of major characters who make their debut here (including some we’ve seen “debut” in English in Books 19-22, or the Railgun manga). That said, three make the most impact: Gunha, a Level 5 who gets by by essentially having Shonen Champion power (I’d say Jump, but if you look at him he’s clearly more an Akita Shoten boy); Ollerus, a somewhat distracted young man who also proves to be the most powerful person in the book; and Seria Kumokawa, a 3rd year at Touma’s school who also appears to be one of those powers behind the throne sorts.

There are some definite high points here. Uiharu gets two stories showing off her masterful computer skills, though the end of the second one implies she is fine with destroying data to avoid letting the hackers win. We meet Mikoto’s dad, and he’s pretty much exactly as you’d expect, being the sort of man who can casually threaten to bring down Crowley should he so choose. Touma and Index are absent from the book, and Mikoto’s only in one story, so this is definitely focused on the minor characters. The main “plot” involved a group of 50 “uncut gems”, who seems to be kids with powers that are unaffiliated with a country, and everyone trying to find and control/kill/do whatever with them. The best scene in the whole book occurs when Seria decides to have all these “gems” retrieved by Misaka clones, leading to an action scene we only here about via the Misaka Network, equal parts badass and funny.

It’s not a long book, and as a final volume of Index the 22nd book works better, but I’m pleased Yen went back and picked up these two books. Who knows, if Japan can get over the disaster that was the third Index anime and do more, we may see New Testament someday. Till then, don’t get your jeans slashed, don’t get into a hacking battle with Uiharu, and don’t piss off Academy City so much you get yourself super killed.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 4

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

It’s a good thing these books are coming out every two months rather than every three or four, as they definitely rely on a reader remembering everything that has come before. Nothing that happens in these books is ever truly forgotten, and it ranges from Rozemyne’s worrying about her autumn monster hunt (the one she accidentally failed last year) to remembering a very minor character who popped in about 7-8 books ago. To be fair, Rozemyne does not remember him either, and the books are not written in such a way that they are incomprehensible if you haven’t done your homework. It does serve to show off how important and prevalent the worldbuilding in this series is. Rozemyne still has aspects of the world she now lives in that she is unaware of, and this is fortuitous, as it can themn be explained to us without sounding too much like infodumping. This includes family politics, a rather more serious part of the series.

Given the size of each volume, it’s no surprise there’s a lot going on in this one. Rozemyne gets her summer ingredient for the “fix my broken body tour”, which involves going inside a volcano and stealing an egg – expect lots of hot springs references. The printing press is finished, and we get to see them printing their first non-picture books. Brigitte’s dress is finished, and she makes a stunning appearance at an event, showing off how good tall, muscular, busty women look in this new fashion – and getting a proposal from the earnest Damuel, though more on that in a bit. We also visit Illgner to search for new kinds of paper, and if Rozemyne’s world is the equivalent of Boston, this would be the equivalent of Portland, Maine. In her spare time, Rozemyne also invents hand pumps for wells (deliberately) and intelligent talking swords (accidentally). The biggest issue, though, is the arrival of Georgine, Sylvester’s older sister and. let’s face it, the story’s new villain.

One thing brought up here is marriages in this society, and how nobles tend to marry based on mana capacity. This is why Brigitte doesn’t see Damuel as a partner – his mana is not strong enough, though he’s working to make it more impressive, and asks her to wait a year for him to improve. It also shows off why Rozemyne, in the future, will have a limited number of partners – and sorry, Lutz fans, he ain’t gonna be one of them. Brought up in this volume are Wilfried, which I cannot see working at all given his behavior through the entire series, and Ferdinand, a suggestion proposed by Sylvester that is immediately shot down by both parties. Fortunately, Rozemyne is still about nine years old here, so we don’t have to worry about this anytime soon.

The book ends very ominously, with Georgina’s faction gleefully talking about plotting against Rozemyne – indeed, they talk about torturing her. What’s more, the next book in the series is the final one in this arc. I know the series goes on long after this, but it is worrying that Rozemyne’s life as an adopted daughter may be coming to an end soon. Till then, this remains essential reading.

I Shall Survive Using Potions!, Vol. 6

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By FUNA and Sukima. Released in Japan as “Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hiroya Watanabe.

Word of warning first, it is impossible to review this volume without spoiling the biggest parts of it, as the plot IS the spoiler. So reader beware!

Nothing makes my jaw drop quite like a volume of I Shall Survive Using Potions!, and this one made me do it even more than usual. I mean, it starts out normally. There’s a civil war going on in the kingdom next door, and the first prince (the one who’s stalking… erm, crushing on Kaoru) has had to go into hiding, while the arrogant and dimwitted second prince is now in power, held up by the evil bishops who have managed to escape from their religious dictatorship and insinuate themselves here. Kaoru is not particularly interested in helping the stalker prince, nor does she feel any need to protect Roland and Francette’s kingdom. Instead, she feels that this is her war and she’s the one who’s going to put an end to all of it. This goes quite well at first… until she’s killed off brutally.

The cover deliberately has a feel of “this is the final volume, please enjoy the author’s next work”, let’s face it. Now, this is NOT the final volume – the 7th book came out recently in Japan – but certainly it’s a big ol’ sea change, with most of the supporting cast thrown out the window. Kaoru is able to escape her deathtrap, but it takes a long time and the help of a long lost friend… and when she gets out, it’s 70 years later. In fact, I was pretty convinced (as was Kaoru) that all of her friends would be dead. That turns out not to be true, thanks mostly to Kaoru’s ludicrous potions, but she also makes a clear decision, now that she’s been essentially killed off and made into a legend, to not go back to her old life, and to seek out a new country to live in far away. It’s a very Kaoru thing to do, and fits her well.

As for the rest of the cast, well, they’re mostly not in it, as you’d expect, though Francette gets a big chance to step up and be the hero, saving the world from the wrath of a furious goddess who has just lost her friend. (I also loved said goddess yelling at Francette for offering up her own life as sacrifice, as if Kaoru would want that either.) The main addition here is Reiko, one of Kaoru’s two friends from Japan. Time apparently passes the same in Japan as it does here, and since it’s 70 years later, the two friends can now reunite (the third is still alive, but presumably will show up soon). Reiko and Kaoru are very similar types, but they also play off each other well, and Reiko is (slightly) more sensible. As for where the story goes from here, well, we’re already adding a whole new cast of waifs nd strays for Kaoru to take in next time.

So yes, time skip, new cast, everything you would NOT expect from FUNA, whose Make My Abilities Average is noted for the stasis of its lead girls. FUNA: Hard Mode continues to reward fans of the author, while possibly appalling those unused to such things.