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.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 18: Alicization Lasting

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This is not, of course, the final volume of Sword Art Online. There’s a 2-part Underworld arc after this one, and Kawahara just started a new arc with surprise twists that’s still ongoing in Japan. But this has the feel of an ending, and you certainly get the sense that had they wanted to, the series could happily have ended here. It’s a good ending, despite all the issues I’ve had with Alicization in the past, A very strong beginning, then a middle that gets a bit tedious and annoying, before a stronger finish. A word of warning to those who love Sword Art Online but hate Kirito: he’s back, and is absolutely ridiculous in this book. He flies, like Superman. It’s even lampshaded. (I was actually startled when the book shifted back to his first-person narration, as I’d forgotten that was the standard.) Do the others get anything to do? Um, no, Kirito’s back. Didn’t you hear? But they do cheer him on really well.

To be fair, Asuna does some things as well. In fact, this leads to what may be my favorite part of the book. The book itself is not shy about showing that, haremettes aside (with Alice a strong #2 at this point – sorry, Sinon) there is only one ultimate pairing, and it’s Kirito and Asuna. That said, when the chips are down and they need some inner strength and resolve, they do not turn to each other. It’s no surprise that Kirito hears Eugeo’s voice telling him to get up and save everyone – their bond is the most important part of this arc, Alice or no, and Underworld is the sort of world where the spirit of a dead person taking form to spur on the living would be par for the course. That said, Yuuki was never in the Underworld, but she’s here as well, reassuring Asuna and giving readers one last chance to see Mother’s Rosario in action. I like how the relationships between Kirito and Eugeo, and between Asuna and Yuuki, are shown to be so impactful and important on their lives going forward.

For those who want to see Kirito being a bit merciless, there’s his dealing with both PoH (who gets an abbreviated backstory here showing his childhood) and Gabriel Miller – both of whom he essentially murders, though Gabriel’s actual ending back in “the real world” is a bit more fantastical than I’d like in a non-game setting, and also reminded me of the end of the movie Ghost. Unfortunately, Kayaba is also still around, despite dying 16 books ago, and Kawahara continues to try to show him as a true hero saving everyone while occasionally dropping the odd “he also killed over 4000 people and there’s no forgiving that” paragraph which really does not convince anyone. To be honest, after Underworld resolves, the rest of the battle on the Ocean Turtle reads as a letdown, and I was relieved when we got to the epilogue.

We get a good look at Kirito’s self-destructive tendencies in his relationships with other people here, and how Asuna and the others have helped cure that mostly. He’s now actively thinking of a future, for both himself and the Underworld, at a Japanese college. (Given what Lisbeth said about them being at a special school and getting counseling that assumes they’re all going to snap at any moment, I assume the government will lean on organizations hard to employ/educate them in the future, as otherwise I can’t see anyone hiring a SAO survivor.) He has Asuna at his side, of course. And also Alice, who is now in the real world via a robot body, which is eyebrow-raising but does lead to the best joke in the book, which I won’t spoil but involves a big box. (It’s also hinted on the back cover.)

And so Alicization is over, and thank Goodness. Kirito is back and taking the spotlight from everyone else, so haters will be thrilled they can get very angry again. That said, there was a very obvious story not told in this book – what happened to Kirito and Asuna in the two hundred years they were trapped in Underworld? We might find out in the 19th book, which stars… Ronie?

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 13

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By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

Well, last time I said that Lucas and Yugo probably were not long for this world, but would go out in a blaze of glory, and I turned out to be 100% right there. This is the fate of ‘mentor’ characters in a lot of series, not just manga, and it makes sense in a story way – their work here is done, they’ve saved Emma and the others, and now they can get the classic ‘yes, they’re really dead this time’ moment (unlike, say, Norman, who didn’t get this and isn’t dead) when they see all their dead friends in the afterlife welcoming them. It really is a cool death, though, and will likely look fantastic animated. Sadly, they did have the main bad guy get away so that he can threaten our heroes once more, and also let them know that they need a new safe space – as Emma cheerfully says at the end of the volume, nowhere is safe for them right now – that’s why they’re doing this.

This is not to say that Emma does not suffer quite a bit in this book. Yugo’s death in particular – which plays out as his coming to visit and give her new advice, then point out that he’s just a dream she’s having – is heartbreaking, and it hits all the kids, including the Goldy Pond ones, really hard. So hard that they’re about to go off half-cocked and try to find Lucas and Yugo. Fortunately, the villain of this arc is so wretchedly horrible that he manages to drive the point home that they have to move on. That said, Andrew’s fate is nasty, as befits someone who is hell bent on murdering about 60 kids. It does feel a bit of a copout that he’s taken out by a demon, though – you get the sense the author is trying to keep Emma’s hands clean. This is even lampshaded by Andrew, who says Emma won’t be able to shoot him dead.

We’re getting more of a sense that the kids here are not the only force fighting back. We’ve heard about William Minerva, even though it seems doubtful he’s still alive. We also see another group of humans trying to save farms… or at least give those within them mercy killings. Given the attitude and personality of some of these people we meet, I suspect that Emma and Ray’s pile of idealistic children may be running into a pragmatic brick wall soon. We also see “William Minerva” from the back, and he looks vaguely familiar… in a way I think the reader is supposed to be able to guess. That said, before they meet Mr. Minerva, they need to save the dying Chris, so there may be another action sequence to go.

This is the sort of manga that cries out to be animated as well, so we’re fortunate that more is coming. Till then, enjoy another solid volume, which promises many changes still to come.