The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Vol. 10

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By Nagaru Tanigawa and Puyo. Released in Japan as “Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Young Ace. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Paul Starr.

And so we come to the end of the Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, and it feels thematically appropriate that Yuki doesn’t exactly disappear but she definitely takes a back seat in this final volume, entirely devoted to Ryouko’s decision to move to Canada to live with her parents and go to college there. It feels appropriate because, no offense to Puyo, but Kyon, Yuki and their relationship have been the weak part of this title. Yuki’s been OK, and I’ve enjoyed seeing her gain a certain level of confidence, but Kyon is a pale shadow of his self from the main series. They only shone in the amnesia arc, which featured what was essentially Yuki from the main series crossing over.

No, the big achievement of this series has always been Ryouko Asakura, written off as a villain in Haruhi proper (and don’t get me wrong, she made a wonderful villain), then turned into a comedy punchline by Puyo in his other Haruhi series,the gag manga Haruhi-chan (which is still running, by the way – Vol. 11 comes out here in December), but in the Nagato spinoff she became the main reason to watch it, easily having the most depth and emotional pull while also gaining an alternate characterization as Yuki’s “mother” figure who is also overly stressed and worrying to the point where, when being around her, Haruhi ends up being the deadpan straight man figure.

Ah, yes, Ryouko and Haruhi. Folks who’ve read my other reviews of this series know that I’ve shipped them almost as soon as they had significant scenes together, and the tenth volume, while not, of course, making anything canon, is written as if the author read my reviews and said “let’s see what I can do with that”. Being unable to tell Yuki straight away about her decision to move, Ryouko opens up to Haruhi, who alternates between being a sounding board and being a complete goofball (trying to stand on the exercise ball, and the goose egg punchline that follows, was amazing). Haruhi immediately says she will fly to Canada to visit Ryouko – her “free room and board” line implying she’ll just stay at Ryouko’s – and when Ryouko does eventually fly off, Haruhi’s farewell is given a full page, as is Ryouko’s response – more than Yuki!

We then get the epilogue, where Haruhi ends up being the only one who picks up Ryouko at the airport returning from college. There is a brief attempt at heterosexuality, but it’s almost laughable – Haruhi had absolutely no idea Koizumi liked her till he confessed, her “try to make me fall for you!” line implies she hasn’t yet, and Ryouko points out it sounds like she’s just trying to dodge the entire issue. Koizumi is, of course, nowhere near the finale, which is composed of the four “main” character finally meeting again after so long – Kyon and Yuki, now living together (though, despite Ryouko’s fervent imaginations, not with child) and Ryouko and Haruhi, who may not be an explicit romantic pairing but certainly are given as much canon teasing as is humanly possible.

So, in the end, is The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan worth it? It certainly was to me, but as I’m sure you noticed, I wasn’t really concentrating on the main plot. The art improved as it went on, but that does mean it starts as “very mediocre”. In the end, I recommend it to Haruhi fans who want to see a different side to Haruhi, one that is milder and more mature but still clearly her. I also recommend it to Ryouko fanatics, but honestly I’d hope they were already reading it. I enjoyed some volumes more than others, and it could have been shorter, but I adored the final volume.

Yokai Rental Shop, Vol. 1

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By Shin Mashiba. Released in Japan as “Yokai Nii-san” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine GFantasy. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amanda Haley, Adapted by Julia Kinsman.

Those who are familiar with this author’s previous series, Nightmare Inspector (released by Viz, though I think Yen Press has the digital rights now), will be very familiar with the sort of series this is. There’s a mysterious shop where people come to have wishes granted that they can’t quite achieve using normal means. An eccentric shopkeeper hooks them up with a yokai monster that will theoretically give them what they want. In reality, of course, almost all the customers are selfish and warped individuals who need to get what’s coming to them instead, and karmic retribution is not all that far off. Into this fairly typical setup walks Hiiragi, a salaryman who’s just found he has a half-brother – who turns out to be the proprietor of said shop. His heartwarming meeting with his brother instead becomes a long stream of reaction takes as Hiiragi slowly realizes who that brother really is.

There are two very good reasons to read this series. The first, as with the artist’s other series, is the compelling artwork, which draws the eye in and entertains you even when the story being told is predictable. I especially liked Karasu’s overdramatic dynamic entry, as he drops into his shop from the ceiling for no apparent reason other than to look cool (which honestly, given he’s almost totally covered in bandages, I think he has going for him anyway). And the yokai look scary when they need yo, also important given this is at heart a horror sort of series. The other big plus is Hiiragi, who starts off somewhat nebbish but gets better as he reacts against the supernatural events going on around him. His inner tsundere comes out when he’s dealing with his brother, who he immediately tries to force to eat healthier, and it leads to some very funny situations. He also can drive the plot due to pigheaded stubbornness, always a valued trait in a straight man protagonist.

The downside is that there’s not much in these stories that you haven’t seen done elsewhere many times before. It’s an anthology of “be careful what you wish for” stories. I’d joked that this was something of a gender-reversed xxxHOLIC, and the two do share similarities, but unfortunately Karasu just isn’t as interesting or funny as Yuko was, though he tries. And the fact that all the customers have, for the most part, unlikeable and selfish motivations makes it pretty hard to root for anyone – even the bully who wants something to help him avoid getting beaten up breaks the rules the moment he gets a chance to. You’re left only caring about our heroes, which is not what you want to see in a horror anthology manga.

Still, overall the good outweighs the bad, and the series is only four volumes long, which is about right if you’re doing a shop with the customer-of-the-week. If you like hot supernatural guys who makes bad things happen to bad people, or just like cool art, Yokai Rental Shop is worth picking up.

Also, it gets bonus points for the “Fake news!” translation/adaptation.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 4

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

Realist Hero continues to keep my interest even as my teeth grind more and more at the mindset of the author and his characters, which is to its credit. Certainly there are similar isekais that did not hold my attention and have since been dropped (hi, Death March). It’s even more impressive given that, for the second volume in a row, this feels like a setup book, putting various things in place, introducing new technology that will no doubt be needed down the road, and (at last) finally answering one of the lingering questions of the series: why on Earth did the former King abdicate to Souma after merely having one conversation with him? And for fans of the romances, you not only get a new queen added to the mix, but Souma finally comes to terms with the fact that he is in this world for good, and that he is worthy of being loved, and is able to take that next step.

The girl on the cover is Roroa, who we’ve seen crop up in cameos before this book, here to save the day (despite Souma completely ruining her planned overdramatic entrance). Roroa is, in many ways, an Osaka stereotype transferred to the fantasy world: she not only has the sort-of-Southern accent, but is also far more of a merchant than she ever is a Princess. Yes, she’s the Princess in Amadonia, which is now fully incorporated into Elfrieden (which means the new name of the country is Friedonia, which I refuse to believe is by accident) and has presented herself as a prospective bride, Like other prospective brides we’ve seen in these sorts of series, she runs rings around Souma till he gives in. That said, she does look like a good addition, and it will be nice to see Souma try not to juggle economics quite as much. Oh yes, we also get a mad scientist girl, though she won’t be part of the harem. She is very much in the “ditzy teen genius” mode.

There is an extended plot here regarding slavery in this world, which I was less happy with. I accept that slavery in this fantasy world does not carry with it the baggage that it does in our own world, and that it seems to be more indentured servitude. But both Souma and the author seem to treat slavery as an intellectual problem to be solved, rather than as a monstrous evil. This is not unique to the isekai realm, of course, and I should be grateful that the protagonist doesn’t simply say “oh, slavery exists here” and shrug his shoulders like some others. It does add to my biggest beef with this series: it can be as dispassionate as its hero is, and as I’ve said before, seems like it’s one of those “dark/grey/independent” fics you always saw in Harry Potter written by teenagers who wondered what the world would be like if everything were more badass. (Hint: it involves hating Weasleys.) I like books to be fiction. I am less happy when they are thought experiments.

That said, when the book concentrates on its harem cliches, such as the relationship between Souma and Liscia, it may be less original, but it makes it more human. I hope we get a bit more of this going forward. I also hope the demon realm invades soon, as I really need Book 5 to not involve puttering around making new roads and discussing the Helsinki Accords. Mildly recommended to isekai fans.