Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 28

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

The author admits that this was supposed to be the last book but it got too big, so it’s split into a two-parter with a cliffhanger ending. It also gives some extra attention to Clan and Maki, two of the last to join in the Koutarou sweepstakes, and therefore the ones with the least development with him. That said, Clan going with Koutarou to the past gave her a leg up on the others, and Maki got a book of her own as well. The plot machinations involved mean we get a “greatest hits” compilation with those two, which is sweet and reminds you of why you like them, and also writes them out… at least for now. Because the girls are disappearing, starting with those two, and no doubt that feeds into the final book of the “main” series. Fortunately for the reader, they seem to know what’s going on, even if Koutarou doesn’t. It’s probably connected to the ancient ruins he fell into in the first book.

The main thrust of the book is not the disappearances, though, but Forthothe going public. After spending so much time trying to cover up the existence of alien worlds, and parallel magical worlds, and underground dwellers, they’re all coming out at once, and Earth is trying to deal with the fallout. And I do mean all of Earth – the fact that all this cool stuff is centered on Japan means that other countries are upset, and are not going to simply smile and nod. As a result, we have spies following our heroes around trying to prove their connections to everyone. Mostly this happens because, well, Theia used Forthothe’s own past as part of her drama club show, so it has everything written down. Koutarou, Maki and Clan’s job is to make the spies think the girls – particularly Kiriha and Yurika – are normal. They do a good job.

Though the book has not explicitly made this a “everybody wins” sort of series, that’s clearly the way that it’s heading, and the books have set this up very well, emphasizing the close bond everyone has with each other. That said, I do also appreciate that everyone is not magically OK with everything – when, in the classroom, Koutarou and Maki have a telepathic conversation, we see the other girls jealous of their closeness. One of the running themes of the series is that each of the girls desires what the other one has – Harumi wants to be roughhoused with, Clan wants to be cared for, everyone wants the closeness that Koutarou and Yurika or Theia have… they’re not a hive mind. Or at least not yet… if the disappearances and the “globes” that we see at the very end are anything to go by, Koutarou may have to handle this final crisis by himself.

The 29th volume (31st in the series – remember the .5s!) has the original “main” cast on the cover, as befits an ending volume. Of course, it’s not ending. But this is a good setup for a sort of finale. Fans of the series should enjoy it. Also, it’s quite short.

Kobold King, Vol. 1

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By Syousa. and sime. Released in Japan by Legend Novels (Kodansha). Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Fatuma Muhamed.

I find myself saying “this is a book of two halves” quite often, but it fits with this one as well, so I’m going to stick with it. Our hero is Gaius, a huge ex-soldier who has left his position in the kingdom for reasons that are hinted at but never quite fully explained, and gone back to his home village… which was destroyed long before. He’s come to put his relative’s ashes to rest. Then he comes across a monster trying to kill what sounds like a child in the woods, but turns out to be a Kobold, which is to say a cute puppy that walks on two legs and talks. She takes him to her village, which is recovering from an attack by humans, and he starts off as a prisoner. But gradually he endears himself to everyone there, and life is wonderful… at least until humanity reinserts itself into his life. From there, the book takes a much darker and more tragic turn.

Frankly, Gaius fits in much better with the kobolds than he does with other humans, and not just because he’s one-quarter troll. He’s a huge bear of a man, really sweet and nice but also tends to act without thinking and does not do well with politics or tactics… you can sense why he left the kingdom, in the middle of a tactical war, without really being given the gist. He’s also one of those “I smile but it looks scary” types. The best part of the book is the first third or so, which is just him and the kobolds, as he ingratiates himself and proves indispensable to them. The middle sags a little by adding a few “this is more like anime” sort of characters – his ex-adjutant is a half-elf who’s in love with him, something which everyone can see except him. There’s also his adopted daughter Darke, whose backstory is not revealed till the end, which means mostly she irritates, as she wants to be Gaius’ first lover. And there is a teenage dwarf, Emon (his name is a pun on Doraemon), who wants to be a strong and brave warrior.

After a middle third of these three joining the cast, the humans (who had already driven the kobolds from their first village and killed a great number of them) return to finish the job. I knew there would be another battle, but I wasn’t expecting it to get so dark – Gaius’ attempt at negotiation is an utter failure, and characters we’ve come to care about die or are permanently disabled. That said, it serves to emphasize the aims of the book, which is “war is hell” and “humans are bastards”. There’s a battle for a throne between two royal family members, and though we never see either royal, both sides look pretty bad to me. The kobolds are dismissed as “monsters” and therefore creatures to be exterminated. We meet a band of evil adventurers (an excellent part of the book that shows off the dark side of adventuring after reading all those isekais) and see how each one is individually the worst.

So in the end this is a good book in getting Gaius to stand up and fight again, rather than simply retreating, but it’s a downer, frankly. Fortunately, it does not seem like the sort of series that’s going to run and run, so things should resolve soon. Worth a read.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 14

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

This was long. Hideously long. Even by the standards of DanMachi, which has had some very long books, it’s long. It’s longer than Book 8, the previous record holder. It’s longer than almost all the Tanya the Evil books. Arguably, it uses its length wisely, which may come as a surprise given how much of it is just straight up monster fights. But it doesn’t just have fight after fight with no purpose. Each of the fights is meant to develop the character of one of the regulars, mostly Bell and Lyu, who do the heavy lifting in the book, but also Welf, Cassandra, and the rest of the other party who are desperately trying to find them. It earns its length. That said, I do think it could have bee a BIT shorter. I love the way the author writes fights, but by the end of the book I felt like Bell and Lyu do, i.e. mostly dead.

The book is divided into two halves, or rather one third and two thirds. The first third features the rest of the cast down in the dungeon on the 26th floor trying to survive without Bell, and finding strength beyond simply supporting him in his own dream. Welf in particular comes off well here, making an even more magic sword than his others, but Cassandra has perhaps the best emotional arc of the section, even if I’d have liked a bit more payoff where everyone actually admits she was right. Which, yes, goes against her character name. The second part of the book features Bell and Lyu down on the 37th floor, where Bell has to battle Killer Sheep Skeletons, The Juggernaut that he thought they’d killed off earlier back for revenge, a battle arena filled with infinitely spawning monsters, and perhaps most dangerous of all, Lyu’s suicidal tendencies.

Lyu’s backstory is finally given in full here, and it’s pretty much what I expected. It’s broken her to such an extend that, experiencing almost the same events as well as Bell seemingly trying to throw his own life away to save her (which happens… I lost count, but a LOT in this book) is making her want to give up, and the only reason she keeps trying is she wants to save Bell and see him safely off before she allows herself to be destroyed. It’s heartbreaking, and those who wanted Lyu to be a bit more emotional will be happy but also sad. (That said, I could have done without the comedy epilogue with her losing her top… but I guess after the emotional wringer you needed SOME comedy.) As for Bell, he’s had other books that have helped to show off his development more, and this is more Lyu’s. Here he’s just the almost indestructible rabbit that will save everyone in the world. Of course, this also means that Lyu has fallen in love with him. Honestly, given the sheer amount of focus she’s gotten in this series, she may be second only to Aiz in the “what if it’s not Hestia?” love interest sweepstakes.

Thankfully, the next book in the series looks to be much shorter than this, and also less emotionally devastating. Unfortunately, it’s not scheduled yet for North American release, so it may be a bit. Till then, this is one of the best books in the series, assuming you survive the read.