The Sorcerer’s Receptionist, Vol. 1

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By Mako and Maro. Released in Japan as “Mahousekai no Uketsukejou ni Naritaidesu” by ArianRose. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roko Mobius.

There have been an awful lot of Japanese fantasy novels released over here in the last few years, be they isekai or straightforward fantasy. One thing common to many of them is the Guild, the place where adventurers go to get their dungeon crawling or monster hunting assignments. Said guild is almost always staffed by a beautiful young woman, there to give out work, cheer our heroes on, and worry when they don’t return on time or come back beat up. Sometimes they’re also love interests, but more often they tend to simply be minor supporting characters. After all, it’s just receptionist work, right? Wrong. The Sorcerer’s Receptionist is here to show you how much work and power is needed to actually be in that position, which is not one for mere pretty faces. Our heroine may fall in love with the job at a young age for mostly aesthetic reasons, but by the time she arrives at magic school she is ready to give it her all and be number one! Well, OK, number two…

Our heroine is Nanalie, and this first volume sees her journey from the first years of magic school all the way to settling into her dream job at the Harré Sorcerer’s Guild. The first half of the book will be familiar to anyone who’s read a magical academy story, and Nanalie is very much the bookish, studious, tries-too-hard sort. She’s got rare ice magic (which gives her the blue hair we see on the cover) and a cool wolf familiar, and yet most of the book is dedicated to her constant frustration at always being second in class to the arrogant Alois Rockmann, who is her self-proclaimed nemesis. The two of them spend the entire time at school not getting along, setting each other on fire/freezing them, etc. Because yeah, this is not only the story of a young woman’s dream career, it also has a romance to it. Which everyone can see except Nanalie herself.

It is honestly rare to see a title where everyone else in the cast knows that they’re in love except the protagonist and not have it be irritating. Likely as this is mostly the standard harem guy “I am oblivious because the plot requires it” sort. But Nanalie’s obliviousness to love works in the context of the story – she is extremely career driven to the point where social interaction is sometimes difficult for her, and the guy who supposedly loves her spends the entire time they’re together badmouthing and abusing her. Enemies to Lovers is a very popular trope, after all. It’s still one-sided at the end of this book, though, as Nanalie is far more concerned about things like tracking down a woman’s missing husband and notifying the right people about the demon that’s lurking in the woods.

This is a long book for a light novel, but it doesn’t feel like it’s meandering. I really enjoyed the emphasis it gave to “it’s not just a secretarial job” in regards to guild receptionists, and also shows young women becoming knights, or sorcerers, rather than just getting married right out of school. And Nanalie is fun in a way that might remind you of a certain bushy-haired girl in a series we don’t talk about anymore. Definitely looking forward to more.

Re: ZERO -Starting Life in Another World – Ex, Vol. 4

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Ah, side stories, beloved by fans and feared by publishers. It may be dismaying to light novel fans, but most series coming out over here are running a year to several years behind Japan. This includes Re: Zero, whose 14th volume is due out here in October 2020, but it came out in September 2017 in Japan. When Re: Zero EX started coming out here, I noted that the timing was off, that we got the Ex books before the main titles that they were supposed to be supplementing. We have the opposite problem with this book, which came out in Japan last Christmas. It’s meant to be a supplement to the 6th arc, which begins with the 21st volume, which had just come out a couple months before in Japan. Here, we’ll likely see Vol. 21 in 2022. Fortunately, the book still does read as a stand alone, so the English speaker need not worry about spoilers here. They may, however, wonder why so much attention is being paid to a goofy samurai with a flair for drama.

The cover may be packed with people, but the most important one is right at the front. This is a book meant to give a strong role to Julius and show off how great he is when he isn’t around Subaru. The story takes place a few months before the start of the main series, and Julius, Reinhard and Ferris are bodyguards for two elder politicians who are going to negotiate with the nearby Empire. Having recently lost the entire royal family (see: Re: Zero Ex 1), they are in a very precarious position, so are trying to negotiate a non-aggression pact. Unfortunately, the Volakia Empire has “strength is the most important thing” as their watchword, so things are already unlikely to go their way. Then Reinhard is framed for murder, and he, Julius and Ferris must flee with the Emperor in tow and avoid everyone else in the Empire trying to kill them.

The Ex books are not meant to be as much of a meta commentary on isekai titles as the main series is, mostly as the isekai hasn’t happened yet – Subaru isn’t around. As such, the author is allowed to write what is essentially a straightforward swashbuckling tale, with an added air of mystery – our heroes must figure out why they’re being framed, who framed them, and how much backstabbing and double dealing is actually going on. Ferris gets a few moments to shine, but is mostly there to allow someone to be emotional, which Julius (stoic) and Reinhard (blase) have trouble pulling off. Reinhard is there to show off how monstrously strong he is, but as ever he only works because he’s something of a cipher. As such, it’s Julius who gets the heavy lifting, along with the Empire’s Cecils, the goofy samurai I mentioned earlier, who is the Empire equivalent to Reinhard and whose overdramatic flair masks his dangerous abilities.

So not as astonishing as the main series, but it’s a fun, solid romp, and fans of fighting and sleuthing will have a great time here.

A Lily Blooms in Another World

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By Ameko Kaeruda and Shio Sakura. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Saku wa Yuri no Hana” by GL Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tom Harris.

We have been getting rather glutted with this genre over the last couple of months, but I have to say I’m still not really that tired of ‘otome game villainesses’, if only as we have a long way to go before it catches up to ‘nebbish guy in fantasy dungeon crawl’ or even ‘grumpy cynical high school guy gains a heart (and a harem)’. It helps that, Bakarina aside, most of the genre tends to be one-shots or short series, so doesn’t wear out its welcome quite as much. This has a similar premise to another title I reviewed recently, I’m in Love with the Villainess, and it’s not hard to see why – Japanese otome games rarely if ever give you a chance to go that route, and frequently the villainess has a lot more character than the love interests. Why wouldn’t anyone be drawn to them? Especially someone looking for romance between young women.

Our heroine is another in a long line of office workers who give and give and give till they have a heart attack and die young. She is reborn as Miyako Florence, the star of her favorite otome game, and is engaged to one of the nobles. There’s just one problem. She has no interest in Klaus, the noble in question. Instead, her attention is drawn to Fuuka Hamilton, the “stereotypical villainess” character who tries, seemingly, to belittle her at every turn. Miyako, though, sees through Fuuka’s facade and knows there’s a serious-minded and kind woman underneath the arrogant exterior. So… she kidnaps her, Retreating to her own family’s cottage, Miyako promises Fuuka that within 14 days she will get her to admit that she is happy living there with her. Fuuka, suffering from the effects of the first good night’s sleep she’s had in ages, agrees to this plan. That said, this world runs on “young women are only as important as who they marry”. Will Miyako be allowed to get away with this?

This is by the author of Sexiled, but aside from a brief mention of Laplace as a figure in the land’s past history, they aren’t connected. Except, of course they are, because this is a world where a woman’s value is in who she marries and those who fail or otherwise embarrass their families are completely destroyed. The first half of the book softens us up, being very much watching two women have a honeymoon together at a lovely guest cottage in the country. It’s cute, but it’s also slight. The second half, when Fuuka decides to return home to accept what she knows will be a horrific punishment, is where things really get good, particularly in regards to our heroine, Miyako. I’d written her off as the weak part of the book, but seeing her character development, particularly when the penny drops as she meets another couple who let her know that no, you do NOT have to accept that this world is sexist and just run away – is excellent, and leads to an action-packed and satisfying ending, giving Miyako and Fuuka’s love the depth it needed.

It’s possible I’m playing this up a bit too much – it is pretty fluffy and slight at the end of the day. But I had a lot of fun reading it, and am absolutely not tired of the genre. Or the author, who I’d love to see more of. Fans of Sexiled and otome villainesses will find this a must-buy.