The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 1

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By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

While the word “treason” in the title is technically accurate, I feel that it might do a disservice to the genius prince, who is not nearly as bad as that title makes him out to be. Sure, he wants to pass the leadership of the country off to someone else, and is totally fine with that someone else being another country, but this does not mean he’d do it if it meant that the people in the country would suffer. Instead this book is along the lines of a few other LNs featuring “genius” characters, who are always brilliant but not quite brilliant enough to stop misunderstandings or prevent things happening elsewhere that destroy their clever plans. Which is good, as otherwise Prince Wein might be insufferable. As it is, he’s a pretty likeable guy, though it helps that he has a beautiful childhood friend/aide who is willing to stick potatoes up his nose when he screws up.

In the mountainous and remote Kingdom of Natra, the old King is dying, and the Prince Regent, Wein, is running the country. To his subjects, court, and little sister, he’s the perfect thoughtful and intelligent King. To Ninym, his childhood friend, and only Ninym, he’s a whiny selfish brat who desperately wants to slack off and be lazy but can’t because he’s a Prince with a country to look after. He tries making overtures towards the Empire that controls half the country to take it over… then the Emperor dies and that goes south. When a neighboring country invades, he tries to have a quick little war that will end in negotiations, but that goes south in a hurry. Even holing up in a newly conquered gold mine just means finding out that it’s nearly out of gold. Fortunately, Wein really is brilliant. He’ll need that brilliance.

This ended up being a lot of fun. For one thing, we’re in a “medieval kingdom” sort of world that does NOT appear to be filled with magic and monsters. There are the Flahm, a race who seem to be regarded as slaves by some other countries but not in Natra, as Ninym is a Flahm and treating her as a slave would… not be advisable. I was expecting elf ears or similar, but it looks like “albinism” might be the only difference. I was also pleased to see that, despite Wein occasionally taking note of the large-breasted Imperial Ambassador, this does not really appear to be a harem series at all. Ninym clearly loves Wein, and worries about whether he feels the same. Given that he literally has people killed who belittle or insult her, I think that might be a clue, but hey. They make an awesome power couple even if they’re not a couple, and their back and forth is the main highlight of the book. (Future book covers also feature only the two of them, meaning we’re unlikely to have a “stack up a new heroine every volume” syndrome many LNs have.)

If you enjoy warfare and politics but are sick of isekai and gaming-style fantasy worlds, this book may be the perfect antidote. It’s fun and entertaining.

Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 5

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By Hyougetsu and Nishi(E)da. Released in Japan by Earth Star Entertainment. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

Honestly, I’m starting to feel that the author is spoiling me at this point. Der Werwolf 5 has Veight and Eleora going to Rolmund, which is essentially not-Russia, pretending that she defeated Meraldia in order to suss out the political situation back in her country. And thus we get an entire book filled with political machinations, double-dealing, duels, and Veight telling everyone he’s just a humble vice-commander. It’s excellent, and reminds you how good this author can be at making just two people sitting in a room discussing economics interesting. Which is a good thing, as we’re not done with this arc yet, nor does it sound like we will be next time. Rolmund still runs on a lords and serfs-style of rule, and their agricultural yield has not been all that great lately. And, honestly, no one was really expecting Eleora to win. (Which she didn’t, but let’s not split hairs.) As a result, things are… complicated. At least till Veight gets through with them.

Given that Veight is in diplomacy mode here, there’s not quite as much derring-do, especially as he and his fellow werewolves have to keep their true nature hidden during the visit. (I don’t expect THAT to last either.) He does get a duel against Count Von Evilcount, who he wipes the floor with despite the count having the sword equivalent of an Agonizer. Actually, he ends up fighting LOTS of duels, though only a few are people legitimately trying to cause him harm, and it gets to the point where by the end of the book he’s telling old war stories (edited for state secrets) to the easily impressionable son of one of the crown princes. Actually, he’s feeling out all the royals, be it eating not-so-poisonous berries from a private garden, having blunt discussions with the most ambitious of the group, and realizing that at the rate it’s going, Rolmund is going to be dealing with mass starvation and death in a generation or two.

There is a running gag here (among the many running gags in Der Werwolf) about Eleora being very repressed and precise, and everyone except Veight noting how much she’s relaxed and mellowed out since the invasion of Meraldia. She does not, thankfully, seem to be joining the group of women in love with Veight – honestly, this is still a harem with one big front-runner, and things will likely not be helped by Veight, to provide a cover story, says that Airia is his fiancee. Pretty sure that will get back to her, and also pretty sure that she won’t mind one bit, provided he doesn’t try to walk it back. But with Eleora we don’t get that dynamic, we just see that Veight has the ability to change those who come into contact with him, as we see when she manages to overcome her trust issues and reunite (sort of) with her uncle.

We’re just at the start of this arc, and I’m pretty sure things are going to go pear-shaped next time. Till then, enjoy the light novel equivalent of a John le Carré book.

The Poe Clan, Vol. 1

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By Moto Hagio. Originally released in Japan as “Poe no Ichizoku” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Betsucomi. Released in North America by Fantagraphics. Translated by Rachel Thorn.

As with a lot of stories by Moto Hagio, it can be hard to describe how The Poe Clan works as a collected manga story because the reader has a tendency to get lost in the feel of it. Indeed, sometimes I got a bit too lost – the final story in the book, The Birds’ Nest, made me feel at times as if pages with important continuity had been removed to add to the impact. But of course the impact IS the point. This is especially clear in the first part of the book, which features the introduction of Edgar, his sister and Lost Lenore Marybelle, and Alan, the teenage boy who gets entangled in Edgar’s life and later becomes his companion. It actually reads like it was written after the later material (it may well have been – chronological publishing order is not required, especially in early manga collections) and has a lot more action and violence than the back half of the book, which relies on menace and mood. It’s hard to put down.

Oh yes, I haven’t mentioned, this is about a clan of vampires. Or vampirnellas, as they are referred to throughout the book. Edgar and Marybelle are adopted into the family, which tends to live its life on he run and trying to live like typical English aristocrats while not getting noticed. Unfortunately, Edgar is very good at getting noticed, being a gorgeous teenage boy and also having that brooding thing going on. His sister is also highly noticeable, but for the opposite reason – she is a ray of sunshine in everyone’s lives, causing even passing strangers to be mesmerized by her (or accidentally shoot her – you know how it is). Needless to say, her eventual fate, while not a surprise (with a cover like that, you aren’t expecting Edgar and Marybelle to have wacky adventures) hangs over the rest of the book, as well as most of Edgar’s actions. As for Alan, well, there are some homoerotic elements to their relationship, particularly in the final story, but Alan is so far not as good a character as the siblings.

The art is, as you’d expect, amazing. Flip to a random page and chances are you’ll find something that will have you staring. A possible exception to this are the ‘comedy’ elements of the final story, particularly the production of As You Like it, which has lots of goofy faces that help to alleviate the mood from the rest of the plot, which involves a seeming murder that may be a suicide and tortured young men in love. Much is made of the almost inhuman beauty of the vampirnellas, particularly Edgar, an no linework is spared in conveying that to the reader. This is absolutely a work you will want to keep on your shelf. (That said, the spine of my copy has “The Poe Clan” written from bottom to top, which contrasts sharply with most books in my collection, so use caution when shelving.)

The second and final volume of this series hasn’t been scheduled yet by Fantagraphics, but I hope to see it sometime next year. If only for more shots of brooding boys and gentle girls.