Go With The Clouds, North-by-Northwest, Vol. 1

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By Aki Irie. Released in Japan as “Hokuhokusei ni Kumo to Ike” by Enterbrain, serialization ongoing in the magazine Harta. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by David Musto.

If you enjoyed Ran and the Gray World but wish it had 100% less of that one creepy guy, then this may be the title for you. It’s the author’s followup to that series, after she took a vacation around the world, including driving around Iceland. That informs this new work, which does star a tall, handsome and difficult to like fellow, but this one is the protagonist, and far easier to get along with. In fact, over the first half of this volume I was wondering if this was going to be an episodic title, with each chapter having Kei solving a different problem using his detective skills and ability to talk to machines (which might be the same as his grandfather’s ability to talk to birds). But it does pick up a plot in the second half, and it’s darker than I expected. His aunt and uncle are both dead, and his younger brother is in Iceland and says he’s innocent… but Kei is the only one who believes him.

There’s a sort of odd supernatural-ish tinge to this title, but unlike Ran and the Gray World it never quite dips its toe into the genre full speed. Kei, as I noted, seems to be able to speak to the soul of machines, particularly the car he’s driving around Iceland. There’s also Lilja, a young Icelandic girl Kei’s age, who’s introduced to us in a way that makes the reader wonder if she really exists or is some sort of spirit. Later on, she seems far more real – she’s the niece of a woman who’s dating Kei’s grandfather, and her introduction after the initial chapter is very much meant to be a “romantic interest ahoy” sort of thing, though I was very amused that after he interrupted her without clothing – twice – she insisted on ripping off his boxers to get her own back. Is she a normal girl? Probably as normal as Kei, and she seems to be good at hearing the truth behind sounds – which sets up the cliffhanger, which may put her at odds with Kei.

As you’d expect with this author, the art here is gorgeous. Lots of stunning Icelandic landscapes, striking men and women, and even an action scene or two – there are some lovely poses here. I suspect this may be the lightest volume of the series, which likely will get deeper into the behavior of Kei’s brother next time. But it’s a terrific read, never feeling boring even as you realize that not a lot has happened for the first hundred pages or so. Kei acts like an ass a lot of the time, but as his grandfather notes, that’s very much a front – and, I suspect, a contrast to his brother, who is seen in Kei’s flashbacks to be young, weak and somewhat hapless, but I’m fairly sure isn’t. That said, I’m not sure I’m ready to think him evil either.

This series does what most really good manga want to achieve – makes me really want to read more. Definitely worth a read. Also, what a title.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 20

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

As was possibly easy to predict, after the excitement of the last two books, we’re getting a short story collection here. In fact, the author notes that the plot will basically alternate with these sorts of books from now on, so as not to alienate those who enjoy the lighthearted comedy bits. As such, we get three short stories that were first published online, and one original novella. They all pretty much fulfill the lighthearted part, but as with a lot of Rokujouma, comedy has slowly been replaced by heartwarming as the go-to thing. This is a sweet group of girls, all best friends, all in love with the same guy, and things are great. For a lot of people, this might be annoying, showing off a lack of conflict that helps to drive most series. I find it refreshing. The conflict comes from the enemies in the main plotline. As such, this is basically just pure cuteness.

To no one’s surprise by now, let me focus on my favorite character first. Yurika gets the first story as a focus, and it shows that even though she’s seriously matured and leveled up in the past few books, she is still the same old somewhat whiny, lazy girl who has to be prodded. The difference now is that she CAN be prodded… as well as now Koutarou realizes how he feels about her. The first story deals with the cosplay club hearing (by mistake) that Yurika is going to stop wearing magical girl “costumes”. They know the main reason why girls stop cosplaying – they get a boyfriend. The rest of the story is them hilariously finding they’re right – sort of. To the outside observer, Yurika has become a “reajuu” – she has a great boyfriend, a nice best friend, and a fulfilling life. To the outside observer only, of course. The other two short stories deal with a) Sanae and Ruth peering into Koutarou’s dreams, and realizing he has a ways to go to be healed, and b) Maki and Theia finding that though they may be opposites in many ways, they can still bond as good friends.

The story that takes up the second half of the book is a cooking competition for the school festival, with all the girls competing and Koutarou the judge. This ranges from the obvious (Kiriha and Ruth are great cooks) to the good character building (Yurika is forcibly taught by Shizuka, and her efforts pay off for Koutarou if not anyone else – she didn’t burn or otherwise ruin it) to amusing fun (everything about Clan’s SCIENCE! dish). Moreover, it helps to hammer home one of the main themes of this “harem” series – Koutarou likes them all equally. He gives everyone the same score – even Clan’s “meal” – as to him, they’re all great as the girls all put their heart into them. For a lot of other series, this would make Koutarou into a bland milquetoast protagonist, and to be fair he had elements of this at the start. But he’s developed too, to the point where the reader can smile and nod when this occurs.

So overall a really nice volume, and a good break before we no doubt go off into SPAAAAAAAACE! next time.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Vol. 1

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By Rifuin Na Magonote and Shirotaka. Released in Japan as “Mushoku Tensei – Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Tranlated by Kevin Frane and Paul Cuneo. Adapted by JY Yang.

As the URL of this review may indicate, I had reviewed the first volume of the Mushoku Tensei manga when it came out back in the day. I wasn’t all that impressed with it. That said, having finished the light novel that the manga is based on, I am changing my tune slightly. This reads much better in prose. In particular, it works its isekai tropes into the plot better than the manga, which tended to gloss over Rudy’s every action being influenced by his previous life. This was one of the first really popular isekai novels, and to a certain degree many other series either rip off or parody what’s going on here, meaning that sometimes you can be reading things and waiting for a punchline that isn’t coming because it’s taking things seriously. On the bright side, that’s rather refreshing, and I also enjoy that the series has time to flesh out the rest of its non-Rudy cast.

The book starts with a portrait of our hero’s previous life, and I would not blame the reader for giving up here, as he’s rather loathsome. Luckily, Truck-kun is there to take care of things, and in no time he finds himself reborn in a different world, with his previous memories intact. He resolves that he’s going to do a better job with his life this time around, and sets about trying to learn magic, learn swordplay, and be a good son. All this before he turns seven years old! Rudy tends to be a bit too perfect, much to the consternation of the family maid, and contrasts with his flaky father. But he’s also allowed to have some standard light novel character flaws, most notably being a perv (which can be unsettling given his age) and also mistaking a young elf girl for a guy just because she has short hair and is wearing pants.

I figure most people reading this are very familiar with reincarnation/isekai titles, and you’re not going to be surprised at what happens within when it comes to the setting. Lots of discussion of magic to a somewhat tedious degree, etc. Rudy’s teacher Roxy is quite interesting, and I was annoyed that she vanished halfway through the book – she deserves a spinoff manga of some sort. Possibly one coming out next week. Most impressive to me was Rudy’s family, and the depth they all had – his father Paul has trouble keeping it in his pants, and this could have led to disaster were it not for peacemaker Rudy. That said, Rudy may grow up to be like dear old Dad. There are a few moments in this book where the author suddenly remembers he has to be perverse, and they stick out oddly (Rudy coming across Roxy masturbating while watching his parents having sex) and sometimes creepily (infant Rudy likes breasts based on his past life, and NO THANK YOU). At least the maid notices that it’s creepy.

I may not see much of Rudy’s family for a bit – in order to make sure that he and his somewhat codependent childhood friend don’t damage each otehr’s growth, his father sends him off to tutor some ways away, and that is presumably where the second book will start off. Moments of awkward sleaziness aside, I was pleasantly surprised with Mushoku Tensei, which takes its reincarnation premise seriously and doesn’t subvert, satirize or parody it.