The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress, Vol. 2

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By SOW and Zaza. Released in Japan by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by Bookwalker. Translated by David Musto.

It took me a while to get into this volume of the series, but once the main plot got into gear it practically flew along. I felt uncomfortably like Sophia while reading this. She’s the soldier and childhood friend of Lud’s who wants him to return to the military rather than trying to atone for his crimes by baking bread in some town in the middle of nowhere. Lud, over the course of the book, realizes that’s not why he’s doing this, and that being a baker and seeing people happy *is* what he wants going forward. That said, I have to admit that the book really comes alive once the terrorists arrive and things turn a bit Die Hard. Lud may be a baker, but he is also an excellent soldier. That said, I was also pleased that a large amount of the saving the day fell to both Sophia and Sven, who have no need for Lud to come and rescue them.

The book starts off at the bakery but doesn’t stay there long, as fantasy not-Germany is trying to win over its conquered people and therefore is having a party on the not-Hindenburg, and the\y want Lud’s bread to be part of that. Of course, there are a few small problems. 1) Lud will have to give an interview, and his smile still terrifies people. Luckily, Sven takes over with help from some hair dye and glasses. 2) His former commanding officer/childhood friend is there as well, and she wants him to join the military again so he can be with her… um, I mean do what’s he was meant to do. 3) This is all a publicity stunt, so once Lud actually boards the airship he finds himself cruelly mocked and belittled. And of course 4) Terrorists have boarded the ship and are going to crash it into a major city, killing thousands. Add in Milly, the angry girl from the first book who now has a massive crush on Lud, and has stowed away, and you have a lot going on.

There is, of course, a bit of a harem here, but given Lud’s personality, nothing is really going to come of it. That said, I wonder how much of Lud’s obliviousness is genuine – there’s a clear moment here where he reveals he knows exactly who Sven really is, to her surprise, but it’s just as quickly forgotten. I suspect he’s trying to keep things as they are, which is always a dangerous thing to do in Japanese series – “I wish things could stay like this forever” is a classic death flag. The series also has some very interesting worldbuilding in regards to the supposed “peace” after the war, and how fragile that really is, especially if some of the soldiers who know nothing else are trying to stir up war again. I could have done without the dickhead terrorist stripping and threatening Sophia with rape, the go-to standard for “I want readers to see my villain is eeeeeeevil”, but at least she kneed him across the room and stepped on his goolies, rather than get rescued by Lud. Sophia can take care of herself.

I still wish I could change the font in Bookwalker’s app to a different one, but the translation seems much improved in Book 2. It also comes with a very short story about the world of the series. If you’re looking for a light novel that’s not quite the same as the “standard”, but still has enough tropes to be comfortable, this is an excellent series to read.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 2

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By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

(As with Vol. 1, and likely going forward, these reviews spoil the volume in question. Because that’s exactly what reviews are for.)

After all the revelations of the last volume, I had expected this one to slow down, and it does a bit, but that does not mean there are not still jaw-dropping moments within. One of the strengths of this series is its ability to pull the rug out from under the reader and make them want to reread everything that’s gone before with the new information in mind. There’s also a wonderful depth of character, something which you do normally see in Jump series, but rarely this early on. A lot of this book comes from Norman’s POV, and shows off how clever he really is, a balance between the cool and logical Ray and the impulsive, naive Emma. In fact, Emma’s naivete is explicitly called out as her weakness. So it’s also wonderful to see that she hasn’t just been saying the most idealistic option without trying to think of ways to make it happen, including the best tag game ever.

Planning a mass breakout of thirty-five or so kids, most of whom are somewhere between four and six years old, is a tough job. Ray is right – it would be so much easier for only a few kids to escape. But Emma is even more right – they can’t escape and leave other innocent kids behind to get killed or eaten or whatever it is that the things outside are doing to them. The tag game is Emma’s way of toughening the kids physically and also forcing them to think on their feet and trust their impulses (which is Emma’s greatest strength). Of course, the game of tag does not only help develop the kids physically, but shows off more of Krone as a character, after she decides to join in in order to prove to herself that she’s the one who has the upper hand. Krone can be terrifying, but I found her a bit less discomfiting than last time, mostly as she’s gained added depth – her war with Mother to see who’s in charge going forward is chilling, as is her scene with Gilda.

And then there’s Ray, who pretty much steals the volume by design. I had expected the “who’s the traitor?” question to be spun out over a few more chapters, but if the reader thinks about it, the traitor has to be someone the reader is already very familiar with, which narrows the list of suspects exponentially. As for Ray himself, I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s going to be headed for a fall in a volume or two – being a double agent is just as difficult as it sounds, and something else is going to go wrong – possibly right away, if that cliffhanger involving the impulsive Don is anything to go by. I also loved the scene with Emma interrogating him – like Norman and Ray, the reader assumes her to be the “Luffy” of the group, an optimistic bright shining light who’s nevertheless a bit simple. But she’s as smart as they are, and her deduction of how he figured out the tracking devices is topped only by her chilling response.

I haven’t even gone into the artwork, which is wonderful, be it the detailed, almost Escher-esque backgrounds or the gloriously silly expressions on Emma’s face. For those who worried that The Promised Neverland couldn’t surpass its first volume, the second book should show you that it’s still a cut above. Highly recommended.

Val x Love, Vol. 1

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By Ryosuke Asakura. Released in Japan as “Ikusa x Koi” by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in their magazine Shonen Gangan. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Ko Ransom.

In a way, I almost wish this had been worse. If it was completely bottom-feeling fanservice and nothing else, I could have smiled, nodded, said “Yeah, thought so”, and moved on. But there is the occasional flash, throughout this first volume, that it is going to gain greater depth and try to do something with the psychologies of its main characters, who have a lot of messed up things going on with them. You’d see it poking its head out… and then we’d paper over it with a monster fight which out of necessity seems to involve making out, or feeling up, or some other variety of fanservice that is literally dictated by whatever robotic-voiced rule machine seems to be in charge of the girls. It ends up feeling like you merely have to make the right level ups and the problems will be magically solved. And all the level ups involve stronger levels of “getting closer”. In other words, it’s not all that far from a mediocre ero game.

Our hero is Takuma, a young high schooler with a scary face. Nothing we haven’t seen before in Toradora!, or Haganai, or even Bleach. Except Val x Love takes it up to eleven, giving Takuma immense shark teeth and a huge body, making everyone absolutely terrified whenever he does something. Even worse, he’s somewhat socially inept – all he wants to do is study, so that he can make his dead mother proud. Unfortunately, he freezes up during tests so actually has horrible grades. The guy’s a wreck. And, not helping things, he is now living with eight other women (the ninth is absenting herself as she thinks he’s a loser), all of whom are valkyries sent by Odin to help save the world from demonic invasion. As I indicated abovel, they level up by completing various types of “love” tasks with Takuma – ‘so shopping while holding hands’, ‘be flirty’, and of course ‘feel bare breast for thirty seconds’. When this is achieved, they gain power and can take out the monsters.

There’s a lot that’s still unexplained about the sisters and their background, and most of them are barely sketched in here – I assume future volumes will take care of that. Natsuki is the lead heroine and obvious love interest, who’s a tsundere but competent, sort of in the Rin Tohsaka mode. The otehr featured girl is Itsuyo, who’s a bit more complex – her past as a cowardly girl and a lot of issues with her father have led her to have an outward “teasing oneesama” personality, but when it comes time to put up or shut up she’s freezing up just as badly as Takuma does. I was hoping this would lead to a nice sweet scene where they walk about their similarities and resolve to help each other become more confident. Instead, it leads to a kiss on the cheek and a quick monster elimination.

If you’re a young teen who wants monster fighting, cute girls, and the occasional bare breast (the series is rated M, likely more for that than any violent monster attacks), you’ll likely enjoy this. But it proved immensely frustrating for me in not going down more interesting roads. And given that the preview for the next volume featured the “oh no, I seem to have whipped cream all over my face and breasts” trope which is #1 on my Anti-Hit Parade, I think I will leave Val x Love for other valiant lovers to read.