Kokoro Connect: Hito Random

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By Sadanatsu Anda and Shiromizakana. Released in Japan by Enterbrain. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Molly Lee.

I had enjoyed the manga version of Kokoro Connect when it came out a few years back, so was delighted to hear that I’d get a chance to read the novel version that spawned it. And for the most part it does not disappoint me. Ostensibly a book about an alien being who toys with a high school club by causing them to swap bodies at random (each book, in fact, will have the title _______ Random), in reality it’s a good example of the turbulence that is life as a hormonal teenager with issues, some of which are larger than others, but all of which are the most important thing in the world for that person. It also has a very likeable cast, including a fascinatingly flawed hero (Taichi is our 3rd-person viewpoint character, so I’ll call him a hero even though the series is about the five kids as a unit) whose selflessness is called out as nothing of the sort.

The club is one of those sorts that was created mostly because everyone HAS to be in a club, and it functions more as a hangout for the main cast than anything else. Iori is happy, joking, and energetic; Inaba is serious, foul-mouthed, and seems to exist in a perpetual state of near-fury; Yui, who is a pint-sized powerhouse whose knowledge of karate can’t quite make up for a terror of men; Aoba, the big goofy guy who loves Yui but is mostly there to be “the friend everyone picks on”, and Taichi, who I’d mentioned above, another serious guy whose function so far is to be “the male lead”, something I suspect we aren’t quite done with even as the cast does call out his “martyr complex” over the course of this book.

But of course the point of the book is that each of these kids are more complex than you’d expect. I love series where the protagonist is boggled by the fact that their friend may have more than one side to them, and we get that here – in fact, Iori’s main concern is that she’s spent so long showing other sides to people that she can’t remember who she’s supposed to be. Her monologue about loss of identity is one of the highlights of the book, along with the climax of the book where the characters all have to decide, literally, who lives and who dies, and Iori shuts them right down. Meanwhile, the most interesting thing about Inaba (who is my favorite, sorry to be predictable), whose panic about her own personal issues, which are not related to a “traumatic past” like Iori and Yui, is that everyone will hate and pull away from her, is that it really IS overblown. This is quite a funny book when it tries to be, but the funniest line may be Iori’s blithe “So basically… you have anxiety?”.

I also want to give props to the translator. These kids sound like high school kids, and their dialogue does not read like it’s written by someone who grew up in a different time. It’s also not afraid to get coarse for realism – Inaba is meant to curse like a sailor to a degree, and she does. That said, the main reason to pick up Kokoro Connect is the characters, who make you root for them and want to see how they handle whatever’s coming next. I’m very happy this is being released.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Tempest

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By Yoshiki Tanaka. Released in Japan as “Ginga Eiyū Densetsu” by Tokuma Shoten. Released in North America by Haikasoru. Translated by Daniel Huddleston.

This volume seems to be the best at balancing out the political; intrigue and the cool space fighting, as both really get a good chance to capture the attention of the reader. On the political side, we see the final decline and fall of the Free Planets Alliance, and much snarking about the negatives of democracy. But Yang is also there to remind us that even with all those negatives it’s still worth fighting for, and the author does a much better job of reminding the reader that the only reason the dictatorship is looking like the better option in this series is that Reinhard is not evil – that’s pretty much it. We see a few scenes where he reminds everyone who’s trying to do dictator-ey things that this is what leads to rebellion and unrest. That said, Reinhard may not be evil but he’s still having trouble with the whole “what’s next?” thing. Luckily, Yang may help him there, as the end of the book seems to tell us we’re headed for one final confrontation.

Last time Yang got more to do than Reinhard, so it’s appropriate that we get the reverse here. It’s interesting seeing all of his aides worry about his seeming passivity, and we see that it’s not just Reinhard worrying about what to do once he’s conquered everything – none of the Empire wishes to follow a bored leader. That said, behind the scenes machinations may be taking care of that soon. Someone is out to get von Reuentahl, and they’re being helped along by the man himself, who seems to have no interest whatsoever in self-preservation. He’s safe for the moment because of Reinhard, but there are seeds being sown here, and I’m wondering if he’s going to end up an antagonist sooner rather than later. Poor Mittermeier, who tragically has to be the one persona in the Empire with a happy, satisfying personal life.

Meanwhile, on the other side, we see Bucock make one final awesome stand against the Empire. It’s a futile one, but he does absolutely everything right, and the admirals on the other side are filled with praise for him. It must have looked fantastic animated, especially Bucock’s final “screw you” before his death. Unfortunately, his death briefly sends Yang into a tailspin. Yang is trying somehow to avoid the role that fate keeps spelling out for him. He does not want to be a leader of anything, and yet here he is. Fortunately we also see a bit of the Admiral Yang of old, as his retaking of the fortress is both impressive and a bit hilarious. And he’s also reunited with Julian, meaning the family is together again.

So it looks like we’re headed for one big Reinhard vs. Yang battle – again. We’ve got three more books left in the main series, can it really be strung out that long? Probably not. Something else is bound to happen to upset the apple cart. What that is, we’ll have to see. Till then, enjoy another excellent (if dryly written, as always – we get a lot of history textbook stuff this time around) book in this space opera series.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 11

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

This book can mostly be divided into two parts, and while I won’t say that they’re good and bad, I will say that they’re good and less good. The less good involves three large scenes that serve as giant infodumps, telling us a lot about the backstory of some of the characters and revealing most of the worldbuilding and machinations that have been going on. It’s framed all right (at least the first two – the third is just the landlord blatantly spelling things out for them), but it can read awkwardly at times, as it amounts to a lot of listening to other people talking, and, unlike Emi and Suzuno, I am not particularly lovestruck by how Emi’s mom and dad fell in love. I’m not entirely sure that writing Alas Ramus and company out of the series is a thing that’s going to be happening, but certainly it’s the next big crisis, and will no doubt carry us through the next book or two. Hopefully along with some McRonald’s antics, as that’s where this volume shines.

Honestly, Emilia working at McRonald’s is such an obvious plot complication that I’m amazed that it hadn’t come up before now. She’s not living at the apartment complex yet (the explanation apparently involved her swank apartment being haunted or something, so the rent is cheap – I think the author just likes keeping them separated), but having her work with Maou and Chiho will certainly add to the fun of this series, and help keep us from, well, long infodumps. This is all kicked off by Maou possibly being the stupidest he has ever been, misunderstanding Emilia’s pride and acting (seemingly) like such an ass that Chiho tears him up one side and down the other. Of course, his goal and Emilia’s are the same, but she’s absolutely right in that she needs to get the job and commit to it on her OWN terms, not his. Maou spends much of this book getting yelled at and humiliated, and it’s actually pretty fun.

There is also some attention paid to the love comedy in this title, which honestly takes a backseat a lot of the time. The question is whether Maou actually has romantic feelings for anyone. With Emi he’s having enough trouble simply acknowledging her as a friend, so we have a long way to go there. With Chiho it’s far more practical – he doesn’t want to get a normal human involved with everything that being the lover of Satan of Enta Isla, and there’s also the fact that he and the other demons are very long-lived, and Chiho as a human isn’t. Honestly, though, all this boils down to “I am keeping her at a distance”, and I get the feeling Chiho is somewhat aware of this. Despite the snarking of the other male McRonald’s employees, the harem does not appear likely to be resolved anytime soon.

The cliffhanger ending (of a sort) promises even more backstory revelations in the next volume, but I hope that it finds time for fast food wars as well. Devil Is a Part-Timer! is at its best when it’s thinking small, and not dealing with demons vs. angels and where Enta Isla actually is in relation to Earth.