Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 6

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

First off, going back to my worries from the last review, I am delighted to see that Yurika’s character development from the previous book is not only kept but noticed by others. Yes, she is still sometimes the butt of the joke – this is a comedy, after all – but she’s far more content with her lot in life now, talking easily with Koutarou and realizing that using her abilities secretly so that no one knows about it may actually be the best thing she can do right now. The other cast members are also keeping their growth – Koutarou is noticeably less formal with Harumi here, and the cast is all starting to realize they’re in love with Koutarou without having it become their defining trait, always a worry in harem titles. Rokujouma may be light as air at times, but there’s more depth here than I was expecting.

Of course, sticking with the ‘heroine is the cover girl of the previous book’ rule, the main focus here is on Kiriha, the last of the ‘main girls’ in the room to be fleshed out, provided you’re not counting Harumi, who’s sort of the plus one in this situation. (I’m not sure if Shizuka is going to do anything but be the landlord who knows lots of martial arts – she certainly gets more do do in this book than usual, but her feelings for Koutarou are not brought up.) Kiriha has been the teasing older woman sort in the series, but naturally we discover that this is mostly a front to disguise her true motives, which are actually pretty pure and noble given she was supposed to be a vanguard for a race trying to invade the Earth’s surface. In reality, what she has in mind is more like immigration than anything else, and Koutarou is relieved to discover this.

She also has a childhood dream she wants to fulfill, as when she was a kid she ran away to the surface and met a young man who she immediately fell in love with. Now, I have been saying how much I enjoy Rokujouma here, but it does have a few downsides, and the biggest one is that it’s about as subtle as a brick to the head. Time travel has not really come up yet in the series, though given the amount of weird tech we’ve seen so far it would be no surprise. Also no surprise is the fact that the boy Kiriha fell for all those years ago is clearly ‘our’ Koutarou, who no doubt will find a way to slip back in time in some future book. Then again, I’m not sure that subtlety and mysteries are what the author is going for here. I think we’re meant to be winking along with the narrative.

Of all the ‘light, fluffy romance series with no real point’ I’ve been reading in light novel form, Rokujouma is probably my favorite. It’s always a relaxed, easy read, and some of its jokes made me laugh out loud this time (particularly Koutarou’s reaction to the five-team sentai squad when they first show up). If you don’t mind harems, it’s an excellent light novel starting point.

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 1

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By Kyousuke Motomi. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Comic (“Betsucomi”). Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

This is, of course, not so much Vol. 1 of a new series as a reboot of an old one, which is why I’ll continue to use the QQ Sweeper tag for it. Just looking at the covers might show a difference, though – the first QQ Sweeper volume had Kyutaro front and center, with Fumi getting less attention. But now the Q in the title has changed to refer to Fumi herself, and she is front and center. It’s also a more dramatic, serious cover, which is appropriate, as while there are still many lighthearted moments in the book, the overall mood is darker, particularly towards the end. The series examines the popular idea of negative emotions manifesting themselves and how to fight that. And, also a popular idea, the answer is to get in touch with the darkness in your soul without letting it overwhelm you.

While the essential plot is much the same – under the guise of cleaning around the school and residence, Fumi and Kyutaro seek out bug infestations, and work out where they may have come from. But Fumi’s true nature is revealed now, making her more self-conscious, but not nearly as badly as it affects Kyutaro, who has no idea how to act around her anymore, especially given their past together – a past he’s not allowed to talk to her about. Sometimes it’s best not to rip the band-aid off all at once. They even bring in an expert to test Fumi’s ability, though I wasn’t too fond of him – but that’s mostly because I just don’t like his type. That said, they do grow closer, especially in the shopping sequence, the most fun adn heartwarming part of the volume, where we discover Fumi’s dreadful fashion sense.

Things get dark fast, though, and the last chapter is showing us just how terrifying the Black Queen can be when she’s active. And active she has to be, as Fumi can’t learn how to control her dark side without knowing what it is and how it can take over. The scene of her gleefully torturing her teacher – who is, to be fair, a nasty piece of work – and ordering her to never close her eyes again for the rest of her life is chilling, reminding me a bit of Delirium at her worst in the Sandman comics. Fortunately, Kyutaro reminds us that he’s not just there to be a potential romantic lead, he’s also got the experience and determination to bring Fumi back from this, even if afterwards she’s terrified.

And so we get what will likely be the plot going forward: teaching Fumi to use her powers for niceness instead of evil, with the villains (who pop up here and are somewhat generic, though there’s a hint they’re not truly black-and-white evil) trying to corrupt her over to their side. Balancing this sort of serious drama with cute romance is what Motomi does best, of course, as readers of Dengeki Daisy will no doubt remember. I’m not quite sure why the series rebooted itself, but I am happy to see it back, and look forward to more volumes.

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Vol. 2

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By Ishio Yamagata and Miyagi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Jennifer Ward.

(Despite the fact that this isn’t a whodunnit beyond page 1, I won’t reveal the culprit’s name in the first paragraph of the review. After that, though, I will. FYI.)

The first volume of this series was strongly concerned with the ‘whodunnit’, and did a decent job, but also left us with a cliffhanger that made me worry we’d have to go through the whole thing again. Sensibly, the second book dispenses with the ‘who is the traitor’ question right off the bat, for the most part (there are still hints there’s yet ANOTHER traitor, but I’ll leave that for now) and tells us on the very first page. And then we get a flashback as to how we got to that situation, though there’s no record scratch noise, nor does the guilty party look towards the camera. So instead of whodunnit, or why did they do it, we have a sort of ‘how are they gonna get out of it?’ situation, as a very nice person has been personally put through the wringer the past three years and may have to commit the worst act to save those they hold dear.

Mora was presented to us in the first book as an overly serious woman, perhaps a bit stubborn, but determined to fill her role as a Brave and defeat the Evil God. And to be fair, she really IS a Brave, rather than a fake. That said, she’s being blackmailed, and being (I think) the oldest of the Braves, she has to deal with a very old and familiar form of blackmail. Do what the villain says or your daughter will die horribly. The strongest part of the book is taking us into her head and her tortured motivations for doing exactly what she has to do to save her family and yet also try not to take a life. Tellingly, the book still keeps some information secret from us, but it’s obvious why, and I don’t blame it a bit, as suspense novels need, well, suspense.

As for the rest of the book, there is still a ‘who is it?’ aspect to the book, and lots of debate about same, but as with the first book, the debates are interspersed with enough action so as not to be tedious. Also, unlike the first book, we get a great number of scenes of our heroes fighting demons… though they don’t do as well as they could, given that they still suspect each other of being a traitor. Adlet remains the ‘hero’ type character, but is a bit more likeable here, possibly as he refers to himself as the Strongest Man in the World slightly less. I did have one egregious moment of “OK, I call no way” involving searching for a ludicrously tiny thing across the ruins of a battlefield, but every book leads at least one time when the disbelief suspension bridge breaks and you plummet to your death.

The main reason I’m still interested in reading this is that it’s not very much like a lot of the other light novels we’re getting these days. Yes, it’s a fantasy with fiends, magic, etc. but style-wise we’re a long way removed from ‘I am in another world and dungeon crawling’. That said, I do wonder how many volumes it will drag out “one of us is a traitor”. But overall, well worth your time, and if you missed the insane bunny girl, there’s a cliffhanger here with your name on it.