Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 3rd Squad Jam: Betrayer’s Choice (Part 2)

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By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

As with most of these volumes, I find that this volume of SAO Alternative starts slow and gradually gets going till a 2nd half that verges on fantastic. The first part of the book briefly checks in with all the other teams, showing us what they were doing while Llenn and company were having their adventures by the train depot in the first part. They all gradually get the same notice: one of them is a traitor, please report to the traitor area for debriefing. The reactions range from vague dissatisfaction to rage to deep sadness, and then there’s Pitohui, who is OVER THE MOON. The story then moves to a massive ocean liner that is grounded on the island… except the island is sinking under the ocean, so gradually it becomes a real boat. Can everyone get to the boat before they drown? Can they defeat this new team made up of “betrayers”? And will the betrayers really work together anyway?

There are some nice moments with characters other than the two leads, I will briefly admit. The soldier that Pitohui fought in the 2nd Squad Jam gets a name and some righteous fury, not that it does him much good. SHINC are still the best huge Russian women who are really cute middle schoolers out there, and I really loved it when Llenn and Eva teamed up – if they can’t have their long-awaited battle (and it’s become clear by now the narrative will ALWAYS stop them in some way), this is almost as good. Fukaziroh is also a lot of fun, with quips at the ready, though she also functions as a good sounding board for Pitohui to actually (gasp!) open up. And the final battle between Fukaziroh and Eva is almost as good as Llenn and Pitohui’s. But not quite. Because, once again, we’re here to read about these two girls and their twisted relationship.

A warning for those who love reading SAO spinoffs but hate Kirito: he’s not in this book, but a flashback shows Pitohui, as a beta tester for SAO, fighting a swordsman who is very clearly him. I’m very glad that Pitohui missed getting trapped in SAO despite what it ended up doing to her already somewhat broken self, as I suspect she would have ended up in Laughing Coffin. (So does she.) But it’s seeing Pito’s vulnerability that’s the best part of this book – admitting to Fukaziroh that she’s terrified of Llenn, her real-life bodies own limits impacting her performance towards the end, and her own latent attraction to Llenn, who is not only cute and lethal (especially when in a rage-filled haze as she is towards the end here) but also in real life tall, athletic, and pretty. Sadly, Llenn still seems to have no interest.

I left out the book’s big spoiler, as it’s a very well done twist. And the ship’s AI was wonderful. Other than that… well, people read Alternative for the gun battles, and there are certainly a lot of those here. I read Alternative for the characters, though, and it was great to see some development with them as well. Will we get a 4th Squad Jam next/ Or something else?

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 11

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Borque.

I was sort of expecting this volume of Re: ZERO to be a lot of dying and repeating, and that’s what it is, but we have the added factor, which is good for the reader but bad for Subaru, that things are not repeating in the same way. Due to the nature of Subaru’s Return by Death, every time he dies and comes back the people he needs to convince distrust him more and more as a possible Witch Cultist. Also concerning (and thankfully pointed out by the text) is that Subaru is getting perhaps a little too used to his Return by Death, to the point that his normal emotions are getting a bit flattened. Now, admittedly, the end of the book shows this is not necessarily the case, but if Subaru is going to be a pragmatist I would like him to be one who shouts and waves his hands and is sarcastic to people he dislikes. Grimdark Subaru is not a thing I want.

Having been ignominiously killed by a familiar face at the end of last book, Subaru wakes up in the Tomb, having just completed the first task. He now informs the reader that the one who killed him was Elsa. Remember Elsa? From Book 1? She’s back, and as he finds out when he returns to the mansion again, this time with Ram, she’s there for slaughter and not much else. Even when he can escape her he’s eaten by some sort of beast creature. And things aren’t much better back at the Sanctuary. As I said earlier, Garf is disliking him more and more due to the “witch smell” he gives off the more he returns by death, Roswaal is being very cagey and suspicious (Subaru asks him point blank at one time “are you the enemy?”), and Emilia is sadly still not passing her trial – in fact, she’s barely in this book, much to the annoyance of fans who would like to see her at least try to pull even with Rem.

A lot of this series relies on really good scenes that stick with you long after you’ve finished reading, and here the best of those is at the end of another Bad End in the mansion where Elsa is killing everyone. Subaru is already near death’s door from wounds and missing limbs when he happens upon the door to Beatrice’s library. Unfortunately, he was trying to rescue Rem at the time, so she’s toast. And Beatrice heals him, making it harder for him to go back and die. The ensuing temper tantrum that comes from him is understandable but also awful, and Beatrice’s hurt reaction, and then her enraged response, not only makes the reader feel horrible but also provides very important plot details. I suspect it may be Beatrice who gets development before Emilia here. Also nice to see Petra here again. Let’s give her a hand, people. (Sorry.)

So this was very much still a setup book, being Book 2 of 6 in this arc. There’s a lot of witches I didn’t really get into, including one familiar one who shows up right at the cliffhanger ending. Fans of the series will find a lot to sink their teeth into, though. Just… Subaru, are you OK?

How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, Vol. 1

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By Yabako Sandrovich. Released in Japan as “Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Ura Sunday. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Wesley O’Donnell. Adapted by Sam Mitchell.

I must admit, I’ve seen titles devoted to giving the reader a bunch of fanservice. I’ve also seen titles that are “instruction” manga, where they’re teaching a lesson to the reader, usually via an unknowing protagonist. But, aside from maybe Futari Ecchi, I can’t think of a title that’s managed to balance them fairly equally as much as How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, a series that really wants to go into great detail about how to properly work out and gain muscles, but also really wants to show you that it has a bunch of cute, large-breasted young women who frequently bend over, take showers, get very sweaty indeed, etc. It should be terrible, but somehow you get the feeling that, if asked to choose one, the author would jettison the service in favor of the lessons. (They wrote a long series about muscular men, Kengan Ashura, that supports this – though to be fair, if you like heavily muscled men, they are in this title.)

Hibiki is a high school girl who loves to eat, to the point where she’s getting a bit too chubby for her uniforms and swimsuits. She tries running… and gives up. Exercise at home… failure. Clearly she needs something more regimented. So she goes to a local gym. There she is surprised to meet the student council president, who is also there for gym membership. Hibiki, who feels a bit uncomfortable (she’s a “gal” sort, Akemi is the “pure” type), and notices the gym is filled with muscular men being beefy, is about to bail, but then she sees the instructor, Machio, who is a total bishie!… at least till he takes off his jacket, then he becomes a poster boy for beefcake. But Hibiki is smitten anyway, and, with Akemi and Machio helping her, she gradually begins to gain muscle mass (though she’s not losing weight yet) and learn the ins and outs of keeping in shape.

To a large degree this is a comedy. Hibiki is good at reacting to extremely silly situations (she also lampshades the fanservice frequently, even though she’s the most frequent body used) and noticing things like Akemi’s muscle fetish being disturbingly sexual, as well as the fact that Machio’s upper body seems to be a TARDIS. But the advice on weight training really is quite good, and I actually learned a thing or two. Plus, while there is an awful lot of fanservice, it doesn’t ever descend into mean-spiritness, and as I said earlier, the author wants to draw the girls working out just as much as looking hot. We also do see their muscle mass – Hibiki’s friend Ayaka looks at first to be the “normal” one in the group, then it turns out she’s part of a boxing family. (Speaking of which, Hibiki’s own undiscovered strength shows she might want to lean in that direction as well.)

It’s definitely for the male reader, make no mistake, but compared to what I was expecting, I found the first volume of this dumbbell manga to be rather interesting. I’m definitely going to be reading more.