Der Werwolf: the Annals of Veight, Vol. 2

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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.

I’m always pleased when a second book in the series proves to be even better than the first, and that’s definitely the case with Der Werwolf. I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, but the second volume steps up its game, showing off Veight’s political and diplomatic skills in the first half, then pulling the rug out from under the reader with a plot twist I wasn’t expecting for a few more books yet. Perhaps best of all, there’s virtually none of the typical isekai cliches in this book – probably as the “I’m from Japan” part is still mostly irrelevant. There’s no gamer terminology, dungeon levels, and the romance is kept very much on the back burner – i.e. there isn’t any yet, though there’s clearly a few women who like Veight. Instead, we are simply reading a fantasy book. It reminds me a lot of The Faraway Paladin, and fans of one should enjoy the other.

At the start of this book, Veight is interested in expanding his allies on the Southern half of the continent, so reaches out to a pseudo-Arabian city along the coast. As with the first book, we occasionally get the viewpoints of other characters (though I wish they were marked off in the text a bit better – it can be tough to tell when we’ve left Veight’s viewpoint and when we return), and that helps here to show off the rock and the hard place that the other city is caught between, and also how Veight thinking that he’s being calm and reasonable is seen by other people as Veight being threatening and terrifying. In fact, there’s a running gag here, even more than the first book, of Veight saying he’s “just a vice-commander” and denying that he’s anything special, despite constant evidence to the contrary. It would be annoying if he were doing it deliberately, but he means it, so it’s just funny.

The second part of the book is much darker. We’d been introduced to the concept of a Hero arriving and challenging the Demon Lord at the start, but this proved to be a false lead (though it did get us another cute girl character, the stressed-out mage who can do illusion magic). Then a real hero does show up, and things go badly very quickly. It’s great to see how the concept of a hero here, in a book essentially narrated by “bad guys”, is that of a fiercely destructive force that none can stand against except the Demon Lord himself. Even more intriguing, there’s clear backstory between the hero and the Demon Lord, apparently involving a woman… but we never really get to find out what it is, except it’s made the hero hell bent on revenge. Actually, I’ll be honest here, I was expecting things to get even MORE dark, but thankfully things got a little better at the end, and Veight gets to go on being the most humble yet awesome vice-commander ever.

This is a pretty long-running series in Japan, so we have a ways to go. This pleases me, as reading these volumes is a treat. I highly recommend Der Werwolf to anyone who enjoys good light novel fantasy without the “light novel” cliches.

Pop Team Epic: Second Season

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By Bkub Okawa. Released in Japan by Takeshobo, serialized in the magazine Manga Life Win. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by Yota Okutani and Maya Rosewood.

It’s hard to get all the humor at the start of the second volume of Pop Team Epic without all the buildup that came with it. Pop Team Epic, the manga, was pretend cancelled, and the author was going to start a new work in the magazine called Hoshiiro Girldrop. There were even some promos for it. Then we get the chapter you see in this volume, and, well, surprise! (It wasn’t much of a surprise – everyone expected something fishy.) Now, of course, we not only have the anime using the series for its previews, but there’s also doujinshi anthology books with other artists writing genuine Girldrop stories. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an OAV at some point (well, yes I would, no one does OAVs anymore). With all that said, Girldrop is just the opening gag here, and the rest of the volume gives the reader what they want – more of Popuko and Pipimi.

Fans of the anime will be pleased to know that they will still recognize quite a few gags, although a lot less than the first volume. The Undertale stretching head gag is here (in fact, a lot of the video game stuff is seen here) as well as Popuko ordering latte art. For the most part, though, these gags were left out, and so the reader can enjoy them in their original environment. There aren’t a lot of gut-busters, but Pop Team Epic doesn’t really go for gut-busting humor. It’s a nerd manga that revels in its nerdness even as it tears down nerds gleefully, knowing that having its cake and eating it too is part of the reader appeal. And for those who look for that sort of thing, there are again one or two strips that imply that Popuko and Pipimi really like each other, though this is never going to be a comic that will commit to yuri in any way that isn’t present for a gag. I am also very fond of the “Holy shit, you’ve ruined it, like everything you do” strip, which definitely falls in the category of “too real”.

Towards the end of the volume, it’s become clear that the anime had been greenlit, and so we get a number of strips making fun of that fact. There is another “fake cancellation”, which also didn’t stick (I suspect Vol. 3, when it comes out, will be called “third season”. There’s also some mocking of the fact that Popuko and Pipimi aren’t cute or moe enough for the anime market, and are being replaced with more “natural” moeblobs – the anime did actually mock this, with the hegemony scenes at the end, showing off the yuri schoolgirl series that PTE is never going to be. And so Popuko and Pipimi, shunned by their own production companies and publisher, end the manga in a literal cage, making one last joke about bad ratings before the end. I have no idea how good the ratings were in Japan, but PTE definitely became a bigger phenomenon, both in Japan and the West. How will a third volume deal with the fame? God knows, but for now please enjoy more of this shitty manga.

Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer), Vol. 2

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By Tsukikage and bob. Released in Japan as “Darenidemo Dekiru Kage kara Tasukeru Maou Toubatsu” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Caleb DeMarais.

The good news here is that everything is just a bit more toned down than the first volume. Sure, Ares spends much of the book frustrated and gritting his teeth, insulting the hero and companions at every turn, but he never runs into them, so it’s more tolerable. Toudou and company likewise are a lot more likeable than the first book (knowing Toudou’s secret helps), and I like their resolve even in the case of crippling fear and dealing with insane priests. And no, I don’t mean Ares, though he’s clearly not all there either – in fact, given Amelia also seems to exhibit some eccentricities this volume, I’m wondering if being in the Church means that sanity is an optional extra. But no, instead the second volume is spiced up by the arrival of Gregorio, a smiling nightmare of a crusader who seems ready to restart the inquisition. For once Ares seems to genuinely have something to be frustrated about.

We start where we left off, with our heroes trying to level up in an area known for tombs and undead. Sadly, two of the three in the hero’s party are terrified of the undead – including the hero. Area and Amelia try to help them out by finding an apprentice priest to join their ranks. Sadly, there isn’t one available, so Amelia grabs the cutest orphan she can find at the church and Ares forcibly has her killing (restrained) undead till she’s at least Level 10. That said, mostly what Spica does in this book is sit back and marvel at what is going on around her. Particularly once Gregorio arrives. He’s very devout, to a manic extent, very sure of his faith, and very ready to kill anyone who is not faithful enough. Which, given “faith” to him means “strength”, is not good news for Toudou, who’s still dealing with being rather low-level. Can Ares manage to intervene before Gregorio decides to purge them all?

The high point of the book is Spica, who is a fascinating study in what happens when you take an orphan girl with little to no power and then put her in situations where power is needed and she constantly feels useless and pathetic. You expect her to break, and arguably she does a bit, but once again Demon Lord Ringer has a last-minute reveal that’s so good I don’t want to spoil it. It absolutely makes sense for the character, though. As for everyone else, the hero’s team is a lot more likeable this time around, and we get a lot more from their perspective. This allows the narrative to not hammer on Ares’ asshole qualities quite as much, to an extent that I can almost start to feel sympathy for him. Almost. Also, Amelia, I think you’re going to have to throw him onto a bed and straddle him in order for him to get a clue about your feelings.

It’s a good second volume, and I’m liking this series a little more now. It keeps surprising me. If you can tolerate Ares, as well as endless discussion of levels and buffs, it’s a good read.