My Next Life As a Villainess! All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 5

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Marco Godano.

It’s been a while since we last saw the light novel version of this series. Since last July, the anime has started to air and seems to be quite popular despite the fact that casuals will now ask novel fans why they spell Katarina with a K; the manga has started its second story arc, adapting the third novel; and a second manga has started with a spinoff idea of “what if Katarina fell and hit her head… when she was already bullying Maria at the Academy?”. Looking at my last review, I had wondered if the series would finally allow everyone to graduate next time. Well, the answer is no; this is a short story collection, taking place all over the Bakarina timeline, and therefore we don’t see her entering the Ministry of Magic or anything here. Instead we get a wide variety of tales, some good, some dull, and a few manga interspersed (the artist of the light novel illustrations is also the artist for the main manga series).

To start with the duller stories, Keith is a nice guy but tends to lead to tedious story beats, and that holds true here. Alan is slightly more interesting but “have a picnic and climb a tree” is still very slight. Raphael’s story seems to be there to remind us that that section of the cast exists, and the manga sections are fun but also very slight. The end of the book has a lot of tiny little stories from various minor members of the cast, showing how Katarina has impacted their lives. That said, there are also some very strong stories here. Katarina runs into a self-proclaimed rival who reminds me a bit of Nanami from the Utena series, and fares about as well; Nicol starts an arranged marriage process because he feels it’s his duty, only to run into a bunch of women who strangely don’t find “I’m doing this because I have to” enticing; Katarina and her girl friends/girlfriends all talk about romance; and Katarina’s snake making may upset her fiancee, but is a potential moneymaker.

The series is still ongoing in Japan, and I imagine is continuing its balancing act with Katarina being too dense to realize that everyone in her orbit is in love with her. That said, I do wonder if it’s showing signs that it might actually resolve with her making a choice, mostly as there are minor signs of “pairing the spares”, so to speak. Nicol’s final fiancee interviewee actually seems to go together very well with him, despite neither one wanting to get married to each other. Mary, usually one of the most hardcore Katarina fanatics, shows a brief moment of doubt after Alan rescues her from a creeper. That sort of thing. That said, that balances with the other thing this book hammers home, which is that Katarina is the best at it, but is certainly not alone in misreading the obvious intentions of everyone else. Even her own mother gets into the act, seeing only the annoying perpetual 8-year-old part of Katarina and missing the fact that she’s managed to become the most influential person in the entire kingdom.

So worth picking up, but lacks some of the impact of the other volumes. It’s also quite short. Will the next book finally have Katarina in the working world? And will she ever show any romantic feelings towards anyone at all? I look forward to finding out. Till then, there’s still the anime to watch.

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 2

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By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash and Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Jenny McKeon.

A couple of quick notes before we get to the meet of this second of three novels concerning Sayaka before, during and after Bloom Into You. First of all, the book assumes you are familiar with events in the 7th manga volume, which just came out over here, and also assumes you know how the manga is going to end, at least vaguely. Secondly, this is written by the author of Adachi and Shimamura, and that’s a big surprise to me, as the two books could not have felt more different. Adachi and Shimamura deliberately meandered and stayed in one emotional beat for most of its first volume, despite the multiple narrators. Whereas this book, entirely narrated by Sayaka, absolutely knows where its endpoint is, and barrels along getting there, even as most of it involves an extended flashback showing Touko and Sayaka’s first year. If nothing else, this shows you that just because a book is a tie-in does not mean it’s just dashed off.

The book begins around the time of the manga, with Sayaka first meeting Yuu and noticing her relationship with Touko. The two have nice, frank discussions in ways that neither one of them could ever have with Touko (I’ll be honest I can’t remember which of these scenes, or maybe all, are from the manga as it’s been a while since those volumes), and then takes us up to Sayaka’s confession from the 7th manga volume. We then have an extended flashback, the bulk of he book, showing us Touko and Sayaka growing slowly closer over the course of the year, despite the walls both of them naturally keep up, and also showing Sayaka becoming aware of Touko’s circumstances… and not really doing much with that information. It’s a great look at why Yuu, rather than Sayaka, is the winner here. We then end with Sayaka in college, in what amounts to a trailer for the 3rd volume, meeting who I assume is her future partner.

Again, the best reason to read these novels is Sayaka’s POV. I may have criticized the author for her narratives in her own work, but handling someone else’s character she’s fantastic, and supported well here by the translators and adapters. Sayaka sounds exactly like we’d expect, both in dialogue and in her head, and I loved the constant use of Touko’s full name in her thoughts until they get to be friends – and note this is after Sayaka says that she’s in love with her! Sayaka’s experiences in the first book help her here, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t run into her problems, and her own decisions regarding the “safe” relationship with her best friend lead to it never getting past that. And there’s also Sayaka’s own natural reserve, which gets a little better here but is still there… while watching Touko crawl around her bedroom trying to chase one of Sayaka’s cats (thank god that got an illustration), Touko notes for the first time Sayaka’s face looks “relaxed”.

So yes, Sayaka matures here but is still very much a high school student when it comes to her emotional strength. I greatly look forward to the third book, which shows us Sayaka in college, and hopefully seeing how she builds on her love. I also look forward to rereading this one day after doing a reread of the manga, to better pick up the nuances at the start of it. All Bloom Into You fans, and yuri fans, should love this.

Altina the Sword Princess, Vol. 3

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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.

Having given us a military story for the first two volume, Altina now dives headfirst into the politics of medieval succession, as she and Regis return to her Empire’s home for a formal get together. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. She was set up to fail as the commander of her remote base, and succeeded; she was set up to fail by taking an untakeable fortress, and succeeded; now she’s back home so that her brothers can make use of her once and for all in their own power struggles. Of course, each has their own problem. The first prince was poisoned recently, and since recovering has looked rather weak… among other things. The second prince is in the strongest position, and has his own version of Regis, but still feels the need to reach out to Altina. And there’s a third group of nobles also jockeying for position, and their leader seems to really, really like Regis. Fortunately, this is the one area where he’s an idiot.

It has to be said, Altina is a much better military commander than she is a princess, and she likely realizes this; she’s too straightforward and honest to manipulate. Which at times is a problem, such as when Latrielle, the second prince, offers to have her join him and her hot-headed response is exactly what the situation doesn’t need. Fortunately, she is smart enough to realize Regis needs to be there, and he comes up with a very elegant solution to a difficult problem though admittedly it also involves immediately fleeing as quickly as possible to avoid being killed. He is helped out by Auguste, the first prince, who has a rather poorly kept secret that nevertheless has persisted. Speaking of secrets, Eric continues to be a good, if excitable bodyguard to the princess, but gosh, it’s so odd how he doesn’t want to change in front of Regis and keeps blushing all the time about it. And asks him about daughters who are trying to keep their family traditions no matter what. Wonder what that could be?

These are short books, and the writing is snappy, so the prose flies by. Unlike some other series by this author, there’s also minimal fanservice, so it’s safe to recommend to other folks. I will admit that we do lean very hard on Regis being so self-loathing and modest that he is unable to see why any woman would possibly be interested in him, despite Altina, Clarisse, Elenore, and Eric (oh what a giveaway) all making overtures of some kind or another. This doesn’t just apply to his non-romance either; he regards his tactics as fake because they come from books he’s read, and therefore has a low opinion of his own brilliance. It’s frustrating, but makes sense for his character, and I hope he slowly grows out of it. (Also, we get some details on the books he enjoys reading, and wow, this world has some bizarro fantasy novels.)

There’s setup for a war that looks like it will happen next volume. In the meantime, if you like political intrigue, fiery redheads, and something you can polish off in an hour or two, this is your book.