Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 11

Leave a reply

By Yuki Yaku and Fly. Released in Japan as “Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

Last time I said that this volume is the final one, which is not true anymore. That said, last time I reviewed this series it was June 2023. Yuki Yaku has been busy with the anime, as well as writing Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night. But, he assures us, the 12th volume is done and will be out a few months later. Um, well, this came out in Japan in January 2024. And there’s no sign of it. But honestly, that’s fine, as this book was a jaw dropper, and I was emotionally worn out by the end of it. We’re at the finale even though this is not the final volume, and you can tell because the cast has narrowed considerably. It feels thematically relevant that everyone who ends up in the sciences classroom for third year doesn’t appear for the rest of the volume. We can’t solve this with numbers. In fact, that may be part of the problem. We need to solve it with words… which Tomozaki is good at, but “good” isn’t enough anymore.

We pick up where we left off, with Aoi seeing the family video that was made for her. Let’s just say her reaction is… viscerally bad. After we return to school, and the main cast starts their third year, Aoi is absent from school, and does not appear to be returning. It doesn’t help that she’s not in either arts OR sciences, but the “advanced” classroom, meaning she’s isolated. And so Tomozaki is forced to do things that are, well, sketchy. Namely, lurk around her house, and eventually start talking with her younger sister Haruka, who, after verifying Tomozaki is not a kidnapper or creeper, opens up to him – a bit – about her family. Eventually these meetings do drag Aoi out of the house, and she too opens up to Tomozaki. Unfortunately, learning the full story of the death of her other sister does not fix everything magically.

There’s a lot of really big scenes in this book – the author excels at writing compelling set pieces to advance the story. Fuka, who is the secondary heroine of this whole series, shows off why she’s the only one besides Tomozaki who’s been able to rattle her, and Fuka’s response when Haruka explains her family is stunning – and also drives home the fact that she truly thinks like a writer. The lightest part of the book is at the live Atafami competition, with Mimimi’s novice commentary, but even that has Tomozaki realize that while he wants to be a gamer he doesn’t really have a compelling enough dream that will make him attract others. Lastly… we really had not seen much of Aoi’s mother at all, but we get a much better portrait of her here. And oh, I wish we hadn’t. There are some things you should not say to grieving children.

We came very close to ending on a MASSIVELY depressing cliffhanger, but fortunately, Fuka exists, and as always is there to pull Tomozaki up and push him forward. Though if they’re going to save Aoi, they’ll need the entire cast, not just this scaled-back version. As for when we’ll see the finale? Or if it really will be the final book? Stay tuned.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 15

Leave a reply

By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette.

Generally speaking, unless God is literally involved in the plot, the “how and why” of these time loop stories is rarely examined. We know why – so they can redo their life and get it right this time. And for a lot of Tearmoon Empire, that’s been the case. Even with vanishing diaries and conflicting timelines, the premise has been “Mia fixes things so she’s not executed”. But with Bel and Patty, things aren’t quite so clear cut. We can guess that Patty might have been sent back to screw up Mia’s timeline fixes, but if so that’s going pretty badly. As for Bel… is it really just to help her mature and keep Citrina happy? Or is there some deeper purpose to her presence? Is there a guiding hand in this that is not Saint Mia and her sarcastic narrator? Unfortunately, this is Bel’s problem to solve, as Mia has a whole host of new things to deal with. Which, mostly, she handles very well.

This is a “set up the next arc” volume, so there’s a bit less drama and a lot more talking. What drama there is comes from Patty, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Mia realizes that she may have left it a bit too long before she needs to tell her the truth. We also get more details about Patty’s brother, who was supposedly very ill, and also supposedly assassinated by Citrina’s family… though we discover most of those “assassinations” were “ship them overseas on a boat” instead. Once Mia returns to home base, she must deal with her clingiest friends being out of sorts about not spending time with her, and also has to win over a new princess in order to further her own plans. Unfortunately, this princess is following daddy’s orders, and while she’s savvy she’s not really that clever… except when it comes to fish.

After last volume reminded us that Sapphias exists, this volume does the same for Esmeralda, who has mostly been absent from the story since the shipwreck arc. She’s very aware of that, in fact, and has been hearing about Mia having all of these adventures – some of them dangerous, but that doesn’t matter – without her. As for Esmeralda herself… look, with Mia, we have her genuine character growth constantly undercut by the narrator, so we have to pick it out in between the snark. The narrator, however, mostly shuts up when Mia or her immediate offspring aren’t involved, though, and it allows us to see that Esmeralda has changed as much as Mia.This also means that she not only spots regrets in others – such as one of Mia’s ex-maids who is now at the Mia academy – but also in herself, as she finally gives Arshia a richly deserved apology… which, to Arshia’s credit, she doesn’t accept. More needs to be done before the bridges can be repaired. It’s also a good example of the timeline changing as we read. as the start of her arc in this book has Esmeralda an obscure, mostly forgotten figure who worked behind the scenes, while at the end she’s a famous diplomat.

I was annoyed that the fat jokes seem to have returned here, but other than that this was an excellent volume, showing Mia actually thinking things through and making clever decisions, though it’s her empathy, as always, that wins the day.

Homunculus Tears: Alchemy for the Brokenhearted

Leave a reply

By Inori and Aonoshimo. Released simultaneously in Japanese, English, Spanish and German by the author. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka.

(I try not to spoil too much about this book, but I do spoil the final resolution of it. Reader beware.)

This is a spring/summer that will have two works by I’m in Love with the Villainess author Inori coming out. The second, The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero, came out the traditional way in Japan via Dengeki Bunko, and is coming out the traditional way here via Yen Press. But this is a self-published work, releasing digitally on the same day in four languages, and translated by the same translator as ILTV. As such, thoughts like “experiment” and “risk” come to mind. Which may be true, but in the end, I think the most important thing is that it’s a good book with a lot to say about why we exist and what to do when someone feels they no longer want to. It’s also got a good couple at the center of it, who can be boiled down to “the grumpy one and the sunshine one”, but also contain greater depths. Best of all, I love the narrator, whose deal is my favorite part of the book.

In a dystopian world where humans are at war with the demons (and the men appear to have all been killed off – this is a yuri genre, after all), Maha is a grim but excellent soldier, who uses alchemy to wipe out the demons, though the cost of the alchemy she does is that she deliberately destroys past ties to herself, such as her memory of those who died, or of the taste of good food, in order to give equivalent exchange to power her spells. One day, her researcher mother (who has spent most of her life ignoring her daughter) reveals they have created a homunculus, who hopefully will be able to fight against the demons so that humans no longer has to. Maha has many feelings about this, most of them angry, but unfortunately, the homunculus herself, Ruri, is adorable, innocent, and really likes Maha a lot. And Maha’s grumpy, closed-off heart gradually starts to open up again.

There were a couple of minor things that made me a bit annoyed during the book – I’m not fond of the “loli that’s really x00 years old” archetype, and the relationship between Maha and Ruri starts off with “we’re like older and younger sister!”, which I’ll be honest had me saying “oh no, not again” after ILTV. But for the most part, this was a very rewarding read. The narrator is not Maha, as you’d expect, but instead… well, I don’t want to spoil too much, but someone who is both a guide for Maha and also a filthy shipper who really wants Maha to fall in love with another woman. The narrator is also deeply tied to the past of this book, which reminded me a lot of the 5th ILTV book, and I’m wondering if the author first thought of this concept while writing that. I also appreciated the fact that it managed to not only argue for the value of living, but did so without (I’ve got to spoil this) a tragic sacrifice, while I was expecting from about Page 20, and had steeled myself for. Instead everyone goes for a swim. I smiled.

The author says there may be more self-published works in this vein. Honestly, I’d like to see a different story done the same way, as I feel this wraps up very neatly in a volume and doesn’t need a sequel. Fans of the author should enjoy this a great deal.