Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Kei Sazane and Ao Nekonabe. Released in Japan as “Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Cash.

Let’s get this out of the way first: that is one awkward title, and it’s actually the much better choice, as when this was first announced by Yen the title was the even worse “The War Ends the World / Raises the World”. It’s trying to convey a certain apocalyptic mood, asking whether this book will feature the end of everything or the rebirth of something. This world has two power blocs fighting each other to the death. The Empire is a nation of science, with a mysterious council behind the scenes and battle-hardened swordsmen and engineers. The Sovereignty is a magic-dominated world, run by a royal family descended from their progenitor, and controls the very elements. They hate each other a whole lot. The Empire has just released its best swordsman, currently serving life in prison, to defeat the Sovereignty’s most powerful astral mage. He was a boy. She was a girl. Could I make it any more obvious?

If I was to be even more glib than I was in that last sentence (something I’m not sure is humanly possible), I’d say that this book is something like “Romeo and Juliet meets A Certain Magical Index”. Certainly Index fans will have a feeling of similarity with the magic and science sides of this particular world, especially given each have mysterious and possibly evil heads of state. Iska doesn’t quite have Touma’s bad luck, but the whole reason for his imprisonment seems to be that he saved an enemy mage (she didn’t have much power, and therefore he didn’t feel she deserved the treatment she got), which is very Touma. As for Aliceliese, there’s a good deal of Mikoto in her, particularly her tendency to get overemotional and upset when she keeps running into Iska coincidentally despite their being (supposedly) bitter enemies. Of course, they’re actually falling in love at first sight. Which, to be fair, is not much like Index, which will never given Touma romantic feelings.

This book is pretty solid, with some nice fight scenes, very amusing comedic romantic moments, and a reasonably-sized (for now) supporting cast. I will admit I did not immediately warm to Mismis, Iska’s commanding officer and “big sister”, mostly due to a very unfortunate interior illustration which can be described as “lol, huge boobs”, and I felt that her “empathic” skills that are apparently why everyone respects her should have been used a bit more often than the “ditzy klutz”. Speaking of the illustrator, they may be familiar to North American readers from Battle Divas, as well as the 2nd (of 3!) artists for The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!. Not a fan. Despite these flaws, though, I was intrigued enough to try more. It’s not as serious and dramatic as I’d have liked (for those who want that, give 86 a try), but if you want an “anime-style” action romance that for once does not seem to involve magic academies, this is a decent start.

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Naru Narumi. Released in Japan as “Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san” by Takeshobo, serialization ongoing in the magazine Manga Life Storia. Released in North America by Dark Horse Comics. Translated by Ayumi Kato Blystone.

We have had so many food-related manga coming out over the past few years that it’s become somewhat hard to break away from the pack, especially given that there’s dungeon crawl foodie manga, isekai foodie manga, Fate/Stay Foodie, etc. When I picked up the first volume of this, I was uncertain what we would get besides a lot of loving descriptions of ramen. And we certainly do get those. The title is no lie, and Koizumi will happily ramble on and on about broth, sauces, ingredients, soft or hard noodles, etc. But the series actually does a good job balancing out the ramen with a real cast of characters. Koizumi is a recent transfer student, and another student, the hyperactive, overly affectionate Yu, wants to be friends with Koizumi. (And possibly more, yes, but if there’s yuri in this it’s really tiny.) The difficulty is that Koizumi loves ramen noodles but not much else. And also Yu pushes way too hard.

The plot, such as it is, involves various ramen places and Koizumi eating in them, while Yu attempts to get to be her friend and mostly fails miserably. There are two other girls in the cast, the popular but fragile Misa and the “class president”-esque Jun, both of whom amusingly seem to bond with Koizumi much better than Yu, who is simply trying too hard. The series is light-hearted so this isn’t too much of an issue, with Koizumi mostly being very cold about it. And it does throw Yu a bone towards the end, when Koizumi collapses due to a personal tragedy (the ramen shop is closed today), and Yu makes her special (and weird) homemade ramen. The chapter with Misa, where she eats spicy ramen with Koizumi to get over a breakup, is excellent (I was expecting her to fold when she first tasted the ramen, but no…) and Jun’s chapter will resonate with anyone who has terrible eyesight.

The other star of the manga is, of course, the ramen. I’m not a ramen student, so mostly just smiled and nodded when Koizumi went off on her long tangents explaining ramen’s styles and variations, but they do seem very informative. I was especially amused by the chapter where she managed to find ramen in a McDonald’s (it was in Hawaii), and by contrast once ate a burger and fries in a ramen shop. She’s not Chie-sensei, she can eat other things. The ramen and eating of such are also drawn nicely, giving the reader a healthy appetite, which is the goal. Given that the series is seven-plus volumes in Japan, I’m sure we haven’t even begun to get into all the ramen discussion we could be having, though I hope that it continues to balance things out with stories of the four lead girls.

Food manga enthusiasts, or those who like manga starring a bunch of cute high-school girls, should like this. Just… take it down a notch, Yu.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 1

1 Reply

By Iori Miyazawa and shirakaba. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Publishing. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

This is the third in J-Novel Club’s line of “sci-fi yuri”, and it’s arguably the least sci-fi of the lot. In fact, I’d argue it’s more straight up horror with elements of folklore, though there are lots of explanations for what’s going on in scientific terms, and even a “works cited” at the end. As with the author’s previous book, Side-by-Side Dreamers, I think this book would be more for the horror fan than the yuri fan. That said, the relationship between the two leads is one of the main reasons to get the book. It’s told in first-person POV, and does a good job of sublimating its “I am attracted to this woman” vibe beneath a general “she is pretty while I am so plain” mindset. But it’s the plot that brings them together, as they’re relying on each other while exploring – and later, trapped – in another world which has very lethal dangers to both of them. The dangers are the reason I called the book horror – this book is TERRIFYING at times.

Sorawo is our main heroine and narrator. She presents herself as being your typical introvert with a normal past, which turns out to be mind-bogglingly far from reality, but we don’t find out about that till the end. She likes to explore abandoned areas, and one day found an entrance to another world. After a couple of brief minute-long explorations, she decides to investigate for real – and ends up about to drown in a marshland. She’s saved by Toriko, who appears to be Sorawo’s opposite, but again, appearances can be deceiving. She’s in this other world looking for her friend/mentor/crush, who disappeared a while back. They decide to team up and try to find her, and also learn more about this world and its monsters, which are seemingly based on Japanese urban legends… something Sorawo is very familiar with.

I will state here that there was one aspect of the book I wasn’t too fond of. The concept of the brilliant scientist/doctor/genius who looks like an elementary schoolgirl has been done to death in Japanese media, and I don’t think we needed it here. Honestly, Kozakura would have worked exactly the same without that aspect of her character, functioning as “mission control” and later brought in, much to her dismay, to the actual otherside world. It was hard not to think of her as Hakase from Nichijou. Other than that, though, this ended up being a ball to read, though I will state those who dislike horror imagery may want to give it a pass. There’s lots of images and phrasing designed to scare, and it works. Sorawo also grows greatly throughout the book, forced to examine her own personality and realize her shortcomings. Toriko doesn’t fare as well, as we get no POV of her, but the good news is that for once this is not the first and only book in the series, and there are two more to date. Which is good, as the book ends with everyone still trapped, and I’d like to see how/if they get out.

If you enjoyed Last and First Idol and Side-by-Side Dreamers, there’s no reason not to immediately get this book. For those new to the “genre”, I’d recommend it for thrills and great dialogue and imagery.