Where do heroes go after they lost a war?

Kutori (Official name: Chtholly) is a girl who believes her only purpose in life is to be a weapon. A hero. She has no reason to live otherwise; everyone is depending on her and others to save the remaining population.

But she meets a real hero, Willem, who was frozen in ice, years after he and his Regal Brave comrades lost a war to save humanity. Now, the beasts have taken control of Earth and every surviving race has been forced to live up in the floating islands. Willem is tasked to take care of her and the other leprechauns, a race created by humans to combat the beasts threatening the world. They are mostly children and teenagers who are, for all purposes of the administration, walking weapons of mass destruction.

Yet, they are children foremost and all. The house feels more like an orphanage than an actual warehouse of weapons. He feels like a babysitter and that’s fine with him.

However, Willem wonders what he should do. It doesn’t feel right to just take care of children. He takes a special interest in the leprechauns ready to battle, particularly Kutori. Wilhelm and Kutori hit it off well. They are both lonely people who think the world is more important than individuals.

When the beasts come, Kutori is ready to sacrifice her life and self-destruct if need be. But Wilhelm asks her to promise him that she will return. He will be baking a butter cake for her when she comes home. She says yes and Wilhelm spends a lot of time waiting for her to return while practicing baking a butter cake.

He is in love with her and he can’t help but wait for her return. Someday, she will return and get to eat his butter cake. Until then, he shall have to wait. It is intolerable, painful, and exhausting. Maybe she won’t return. Maybe she will have to keep on fighting forever. Or maybe she will wind up dead, her body lost in the battlefield. But all Wilhelm can do is bake another butter cake when the cake gets too stale.

In a genre where adventuring and worldbuilding are key to a good story, waiting for something to happen is the drama.

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii Desu ka? Sukutte Moratte ii Masu ka? (also referred as Sukasuka) is never about the heroes but about the people living in the islands. Everyone is trying to make a living in the midst of racial and political tensions. Even when the world is going to end soon, people still need to wake up from bed and cook food. Characters are described from a third-person narration, but the novels are never frightened to peek inside their thoughts through a very close first-person-like point of view and write out their small anxieties in a large world.

It is this everyday struggle the book focuses on. Taking care of children, falling in love, learning how to bake a butter cake — all of this become important plot points as the series reveals more and more of the world. Each detail of the world makes living there more insufferable. But people have to live because that’s all they can do.

So there’s not much swordplay in the books. Magic isn’t too important either. Battles rarely exist at all. There are violence and lives lost throughout the books, but the series never glorifies them. It is the insufferable wait for someone’s return that the book focuses on instead. Living everyday lives against a post-apocalyptic fantasy world becomes the struggle of the series. It is why this series is seen as being quite special to many fans, including myself.

There aren’t many works I know personally that goes against the premises and conventions of the genre it is in. It doesn’t just criticize the messiah complex in heroes-and-villains narratives, but it blatantly ignores what would be interesting moments in other novels for mundane events.

Even when you are nearing the most climatic moments, the series treats it in a matter-of-fact tone. It is as if the dramatic aspects of fantasy life is anything but melodramatic. It is just sad and awful. Its despair isn’t traumatic like an Urobuchi work punching you in the face; it crawls on you and stays there for years.

It is this refreshing take on the fantasy genre that has garnered a huge cult following. The series at first didn’t sell much and was going to be cancelled at the second volume; however, the writer Kareno Akira crying for help in the afterword and word-of-mouth through Amazon reviews and Twitter have made the series continue beyond everyone’s expectations. It now has an anime adaptation planned for spring and is becoming a well-loved series by many people.

The reason for its newfound popularity is simple: People love the romance between Willem and Kutori. The worldbuilding is fantastic and all, but the romance feels genuine. They not only want each other but need themselves. It isn’t some throwaway heterosexual romance relationship for the sake of it. There is a strong connection between them.

And that is symbolized by the butter cake. Every time Wilhelm bakes a butter cake and waits for Kutori, you feel the desolation and bleakness of the setting. All you want is the two to be happy and live in a world that doesn’t ask for their help. They should be together, holding hands and eating butter cakes together. Married till death do they part. But they can’t and that’s why the novel is so despairing.

Because that will never happen.  They don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t have any homes to return to because it’s all gone.

No matter what people say and the times we are in, we want to lead banal lives. Even in the realms of fantasy and a world that is ending, we want to return to our homes. And Sukasuka portrays that desire without sentimentalism because it depicts what it truly is: a desperation to live somehow despite the impending doom.

Kastel’s Rating: Must read.

Record of Lodoss War

Seven Seas has announced a license for the novel Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch. This fancy-looking hardcover is planned to release on October 31, 2017 for 25 dollars. The book will include illustrations by Yutaka Izubuchi.

Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch

Record of Lodoss War was a series of fantasy novels released in Japan from 1988 to 1993, written by Ryo Mizuno and published by Kadokawa Shoten. The series first started in the form of “replays,” or transcripts of tabletop role-playing games that worked with a high fantasy setting. There would be eight books released for the novelizations that followed, The Grey Witch being the first volume.

Synopsis for The Grey Witch:

Parn, a reckless but passionate swordsman embarks on a quest to discover the source of a great evil overwhelming the country of Lodoss. Joining him are Deedlit, a young elf wielding powerful magic; Ghim, the tough-as-stones dwarf; Etoh, a fledgling priest; Slayn, the group’s sorcerer; and Woodchuck, their indispensable thief. Together, this iconic group will join forces to discover the truth behind a world torn apart by ancient deities and wield the power needed to defeat the Grey Witch!

An anime adaptation in the form of a 13-episode OVA would release in 1990 and 1991, and has long been considered a classic of the fantasy genre. There were also a number of manga adaptations, most of which appear to have gotten English translations. Some video game tie-ins were also developed, though only the Dreamcast title had an English release.

I think it’s pretty neat to see an older title getting picked up here! Along with fans of the Record of Lodoss War anime, fans of all the latest fantasy light novels might want to keep an eye on this book, as it might have been an influence for some of their favorite authors.

Are you a bad enough dude to read this 90s light novel?

Ryuuen Tsukai no Kiba, alternatively titled Dragoneer Fang, is described by the editors of Fujimi Fantasy Bunko as an award-winning story about men. Real men. It is filled with fight scenes right out of a fighting game or a shounen manga. The characters are so packed with muscles even the women look more like men; a comparison to Jojo‘s Bizarre Adventure‘s women characters wouldn’t be too off the rails. The cover screams to the buyer, “This is a book about men for boys. No girly shit or Digimon crap. This is for the manly boys who enjoyed Fist of the North Star.”

I didn’t grow up with these nostalgia-tinted glasses. I grew up reading shoujo manga like Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket, so I thought boys reading stuff like this were weird. What is so interesting about men punching each other and throwing fireballs to destroy the environment? If you ask me and my sisters who have influenced my reading taste, we think cute girls falling in love with masked dudes make better storytelling than the muscular dude fighting the Bad Dude of the Week. Writers are less inclined to reuse formulas, at least ones that are noticeable even to children.

Even now, I am still inclined to believe that. But I wanted to see what I was missing from my very girly childhood and Ryuuen Tsukai no Kiba seemed like the perfect choice. It is two volumes long, albeit each volume being around 400 pages. Reading 800 pages in total sounds like a hefty read, but if you are in the mood it is a surprisingly engaging and mindless read.

Ryuugen is an immortal Dragoneer (龍炎使い) who has decided to adopt Fang, an orphan who was taking care of children like Misaki by fending off beasts by himself. Fang becomes extremely skilled and is able to pull off the hardest technique, surpassing even Ryuugen’s masterly skills. However, Ryuugen sends Fang off with a letter addressed to an old friend of his; Fang finds himself in a battle between good and evil.

If this sounds familiar to the point it checks off everything in your notebook of cliches, that’s because the novel is a storm of cliches. From start to finish, you can predict where every plot developments in the novel would end up in.

The fight scenes won’t make you go wow either. Inspired by fighting games and shounen manga, the fights are basically characters crying out badass technique names and damage to the environment around them. You don’t really see the fighting in motion when you read it, just the gestures and their cries. The writer admits that the book is very much like a fighting game in that sense.

That said, do all these flaws matter? I guess a better way to phrase it is: Are these even flaws?

This is the deal-breaker whether you are interested in reading this light novel or not. Nothing is executed in a different way, the themes are literally “even masculine dudes need to experience the world”, and the romance between Fang and Misaki is borderline hilarious bad. In more normal novels, all of these flaws would be seen as negative traits of the book. But in a way, I find these 90s characteristics quite fun and enjoyable.

You don’t have to write something original or even “well”. Sometimes, good writing or characterization aren’t part of what makes a book enjoyable. It just needs to ignite a burning passion inside readers.

I am beginning to understand why boys read this kind of stuff. It is pure entertainment. Characters in this book consistently feel one thing: Rage. Fang goes Super Saiyan in many fight scenes — a fiery golden aura surrounds him — and makes pillars of fire appear from the ground. Villains spew out cliched lines. The supporting protagonist is a samurai who has learned the trade to find where his love has gone to. Everything is so derivative that it is actually fun to predict what other cliches will pop up next.

The writer seems aware about this. When he mentions how the novel is inspired by fighting games, he really meant it. The plot is superficial and the characterization thin in favor of dudes punching each other. Fighting in the novels isn’t interesting either, but it has a momentum that makes you want to read more and more.

In the afterword, the writer claims that when you bought the two Bible-sized novels in the bookstores, it is fate. Fate that you will enjoy this book from beginning to end. His novels are not like the typical boring fantasy novels that have plagued the market and destroyed any semblance of fun. It is a Japanese novel. It is fun. It is about men fighting each other.

According to the writer, this is what entertainment means.

Entertainment doesn’t have to make you feel gratified and think well of the book you have just read. It is the ability to make you flip the page because something about it is engaging. You won’t feel a tinge of empathy toward characters dying in the book, but you’re reading the book and being amused.

Isn’t that why most of us read books and watched cartoons when we were little? We weren’t trying to figure out big themes nor look for the most exquisite prose in literature. We wanted something fun to tide away the boredom from school and family. From that standpoint do we jump forward to media that engages us on a more aesthetic and intellectual level.

But I think, after reading this, we shouldn’t forget our roots. There is beauty in derivativeness: reading Fang cursing vengeance upon the main villain after getting destroyed is as braindead as it sounds, but it is also appealing to the senses. The book is feeding us endless well-worn tropes and I think that’s what readers back then wanted out from this classic book.

It is a simple yet stupid story about men adventuring to the unknown. It has violence, sex, and muscles — things men love — and this novel unabashedly embraces them.

So obviously, this book won’t satisfy anyone looking for a deeper literary experience. If I read it years ago, I might have not liked the book as much. But the book is great fun if you like silly 90s anime and manga or if you’re like me and have no idea what dudes read. It’s a good read on a long plane trip and I will guarantee if you are into the book, you can get a good chunk done before the plane lands.

I think it is fascinating how even the basic mindless entertainment can triumph over the most gratifying experiences if done well. Whether you are a boy or a girl reading something this silly, the fun and senselessness of it all might incite the burning passion to look for more works like this.

Boys will always be boys and girls will always be girls, but it doesn’t hurt to try understanding one another through the connective power of media. It’s how we communicate with each other!

(By the way, I’m a guy.)

Kastel’s Rating: Recommended if you’re into or are interested in derivative but fun 90s action.

Occultic;Nine

J-Novel Club has been steadily releasing volumes of light novels digitally for readers to enjoy, and now it looks like there will be a print option for some titles thanks to a collaboration with manga and novel publisher Seven Seas.

The first two titles to get a print copy will be Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (volume 1 to release June 6th) and Occultic;Nine (volume 1 to release July 4th). No word yet on any other titles that will get the paperback treatment, but it sounds like more will be planned. All in all, I think this is a nice arrangement that J-Novel Club and Seven Seas have worked out. While I’m personally fine with digital, I know there were plenty of people who were really hoping to get a physical copy for some of these light novels.

In other news, Bookwalker has announced that J-Novel Club titles are now available to purchase digitally by volume from their online store. It’s always nice to have more options!

Kimi no Na wa (more popularly known as Your Name) has now surpassed Spirited Away as the highest grossing anime film of all time. A simple romance film between Taki and Mitsuha who have the unfortunate experience of switching their bodies, Kimi no Na Wa has become one of the most genuine moving romances audiences have seen in a long time.

But despite being lauded as one of the best anime films of all time to watch, Kimi no Na Wa has not opened in American theaters. Thanks to some weird marketing decisions by Funimation — for example, a one-week showing in Los Angeles to make it eligible for the Oscars– the film has been delayed to April when everyone else has watched it.

So as of this writing, the film has been trapped in a Hadron Large Collider Hyperchambers of Hype and Magic. Distortions and bizarre speculations of the film’s story in the United States anime fandom are rampant. Everything is praise:

• This is the best film of all time.
• This has to be the best anime I’ve ever seen.
• Shinkai is the next Miyazaki. I can feel it.

This has led to zero discussion of the flaws of the film. Amidst news of the film beating every sales record thinkable, there is a vocal minority in Japan who is confused how something like this is popular. I agree. I find the film a bit too superficial for its rather large-than-life scale as it dives deeper into science fiction and fantasy territories. This is especially apparent in the final act as the film begins to leap over necessary steps to explain what is going on. Googling 君の名は 考察 gives you giant essays in explaining what happens there, but I don’t buy any of them. The film feels like a Jun Maeda work where you come out of the work crying but you aren’t sure how it achieved that effect. The ending is at best a string of tearjerker scenes to draw out emotions, but it doesn’t make any coherent sense in the story whatsoever.

So there’s something missing to the film. Many ideas are unexplored or cut especially in the second half of the film. The film sports a huge cast of likable characters and is entertaining and a visual spectacle from start to finish, but it’d be nice if the film made a bit more sense. Most people are probably satisfied and argue that there’s no need to add — the film is just a romance film and it has done its job to make us fall in love with the characters. But for the people who really want to understand the film, they need something more.

Kanou Arata has teamed up with Shinkai Makoto again — they have worked previously on a side story for Five Centimeter Per Second and others — to fill in that need. Another Side: Earthbound is a short story collection featuring four different perspectives in Itomori. It begins with Taki as Mitsuha learning how to put on a bra and ends with Toshiki, Mitsuha’s father, on the day of the comet.

It is quite the mood shift.

These are stories that will feel unnecessary in the course of the film’s plotting, so Earthbound is a very ambitious project when you realize this book is merely fleshing out themes of what is already seen as a finished product in the creator’s eyes. It is why it has the cautionary title Another Story. It shouldn’t have anything to add, but I find that the themes of the film become extremely apparent here.

In the first story, Taki is trying to understand how Mitsuha can withstand this much pain from society. He learns that she always feels pressured thanks to how her family has broken up and how her father seems to be in some crude political deals. Classmates often gossip about her and make fun of how she is hanging out with Tessie who is the son of the subcontractor her father is working closely with.

Taki gets frustrated and retaliates, but he remembers that this isn’t his place to change the public perception of her. Of course, as anyone watched the film goes, it’s impossible to not do that as people are beginning to see a “new side” of Mitsuha. A wilder side, that is. Taki realizes how flexible Mitsuha is and begins to moonwalk to the bassline of “Smooth Criminal” and even gets some people clapping for his dance moves. It is ridiculous and quite cute to read this bizarre scene.

But what makes the story very fascinating to read is how Taki begins to empathize with Mitsuha with learning how to strap on a bra. He has no idea bras are this complicated and needs help from Natori. It’s a clever and subtle way to introduce to readers the themes of connection and empathy.

As you read the book, you could say Kimi no Na wa is a film about how we connect with people in the most unexpected ways and perceive people differently as a result. The second story in the book involves Tessie as he struggles to understand what his place in the city is. He wants to change the small town of Itomori, but he isn’t sure how. The story replicates the beginning of the film as Tessie listens to Natori and Mitsuha complain about how there are no urban facilities, especially cafes. He points to the vending machine that sells coffee. But what the film doesn’t show is that he is actually serious someday he will build an open cafe around that spot for people to hang out. Taki as Mitsuha decides to help out and this is a pleasant surprise for Tessie. He never knew that he’ll be connected to Mitsuha in this way. It is this unexpected connection that resonates with readers (and I suspect, cinemagoers) which is threaded throughout the book.

People, space, time, events, nature, the world — we are all connected in the same way the side stories are connected to the film. The connection may be perceived as unnecessary, but it is what drives the world. Earthbound admits connections between the wildest opposites are divine. It is the thread of fate that links us — the signification in semiotics — which we call God.

We find this appear in Yotsuha’s chapter as she is confused about what in the world is wrong with Mitsuha. She knows very little and, to Mitsuha, is just a little sister who wakes her up every day. But she sees Mitsuha as a shade of her mother who she has never met. She becomes more emotionally attached to her sister and that attachment is what we call divine.

The last story neatly wraps up the semiotical themes of Kimi no Na wa with Toshiki reminiscing his past as a folklorist who has fallen in love with his then wife, Miyamizu Futaba. But Toshiki is distraught when Futaba passes away and no one in the Miyamizu family seems to have grieved at all. They say it’s part of fate and she should be happy as a servant of the deities. Toshiki runs away from all this — even his daughters — to become a politician and change the city for the sake of his wife. But at the end of the story, he realizes that all of his actions are part of an intricate network of connections that have been building up to this moment. He sees the signification in all of this. Everything before has happened for this decision he needs to make.

All of these stories have one thing in common: the connection between subjects is beautifully fated to one another. It is what Hitoha, the grandma, has been talking about when she mentions 結び (musubi). Unexpected they might be, the link has been chalked up by fate and it is our responsibility to uncover these systems and understand what they mean.

This makes Kimi no Na wa a story about how causality is actually a romance between people and events. We believe in the genuine affection between Taki and Mitsuha because of this and Earthbound gives reasons why. While the writing is rough, the book is an entertaining and almost necessary read for fans who want more out of the work. I personally loved the book more than the film in what it is trying to do and appreciate how amusing most of the scenes are. It is a book I don’t mind recommending.

Except for one problem: I hate stories about fate. This book makes the film too fatalist for me to swallow.

Much like most fiction dealing with time, the film Kimi no Na wa is ambivalent in delineating predestination/fate and free will. I went out of the film with the impression that both can coexist and love is the most powerful divine connection one can ever make to combat fate. Love is free will. Love makes the film tick.

But in the book, it is revealed everything in Toshiki’s life is set up by “destiny” to save the town. This can be applied in extension to every event in the film. Everyone and everything are important to make the parallel worlds happen to give us a happy ending. There is no ounce of free will. You can’t escape the connections that have put you on this road.

So all those sweat and tears Taki and Mitsuha are not genuine. They are going to end up together and save people. It isn’t the unexpected connection that links them but fate. Their romance isn’t beautiful but an arranged marriage by the threads of fate. Everything about the film is cheapened because of this book when you start thinking about the internal consistencies and logic of the world.

What are we to say about Taki’s undying passion for the countryside? Mitsuha’s love for the new and urban? The ending that Shinkai Makoto has crafted from the threads of fate?

I’m not arguing against predestination or for free will — I am a devout Taoist, so such ideas are meaningless — but in the context of the the film, the concepts don’t make any sense whatsoever. There is no logic to the film. Beautiful connections are ruined because they are scripted. Nothing is real. Everything is artificial. You have paid to watch a film that has been plotted to purge out emotions you never thought you ever had and make you cry. Deceptive marketing is all there is to the film because of this. You aren’t watching a romance; you are watching two unfortunate people get tangled up in the threads of fate.

I don’t want to see Kimi no Na wa as that because I do actually like the film and think the romance is especially cute. But that’s the logic of the world according to the book and film. Nothing about it makes sense and it is impossible to take the film’s setting seriously if it is all over the place. It is a Shinkai film I actually like after years of a love-hate relationship with the director and I don’t want to ruin it just because I started poking some holes into the work and lost every bit of my suspension of disbelief.

So what I have done is a compromise: I am going to see Kimi no Na wa and Earthbound as intrinsically connected works but not part of the same “work”. Earthbound is a spinoff, not a side story. It is the only way to save this connection, which I think is beautiful.

I may be thinking too much about the book and film. I’ve seen fans and haters describe Kimi no Na wa as a not-philosophical work. It doesn’t have an important message to deliver; it just reaffirms our stances in connections. Shinkai has also stated that his primary goal for the film is to make it entertaining for everyone and I think he has achieved his goals quite well.

But how much can one let these holes slip through is a test to how interested you will be in Earthbound. Are you willing to see the connections in Kimi no Na wa as meaninglessly fated or are you not that bothered by the consistencies of the work and can enjoy it with little criticism?

I can’t answer that myself, which is why this post will not have a rating. A rating assumes the reviewer has few reservations about what they feel toward a work. I have many and can only recommend it to people who favor prose over plot and themes without problems. That’s too specific of a recommendation to write out.

All I can say is: this book has resurfaced my mixed feelings toward Shinkai Makoto and I still wonder why I have watched most of his films. This inexplicable reason is what connects me with the director and I like to hope that this isn’t linked because of the threads of fate.

Bakemonogatari

Cho: The open forum for Bakemonogatari volume 1 has been “live” for a month, and as promised, here is an editorial to reflect on the volume as a whole. There will actually be two articles for this one, as it turned out we had a lot to say! This first post will be Justus R. Stone‘s thoughts on the central theme for this volume–and then in a couple days, look forward to a post in which Justus and I put together a comparison between Bakemonogatari and its prequel story Kizumonogatari.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this volume too! (Note: This is an editorial for Bakemonogatari volume 1, so there will be spoilers. Be sure to finish reading the book first!)

Bakemonogatari – Part One

Justus: Given Bakemonogatari was the first book introducing readers to the Monogatari universe (in Japan at least), I found it odd the book was two separate stories instead of one. First books typically create atmosphere, introduce characters, and set in motion the story’s central plot. If anything, in the typical light novel, the first book only resolves a minor plot point, which hints at the greater plot for the rest of the series.

But Bakemonogatari bucks all those trends. It discusses the largest event which introduced our central character to this odd side of the world in passing. Other situations get mentioned, but never shown, nor explained. And then it’s two separate stories, which are both resolved, with no real overarching plot made apparent. It’s almost like Nisio Isin wrote this book for kicks, with little plan to write more.

But having read the book, and pondered it for this article, I realized I might have initially misread this story. You see, there is an overarching plot. There’s even a subtle hint at the greater story. And both of these stories are connected by a similar theme. Thematically, volume one of Bakemonogatari is about loss. More specifically, the loss of one’s mother. The three central players, Koyomi Araragi, Hitagi Senjogahara, and Mayoi Hachikuji are all affected in different ways by the distance from their mothers.

For Senjogahara, she believes losing her mother was her fault. Instead of dealing with that emotional weight, she instead shuffles it off on the crab. Not only does she lose her emotional weight, but her physical weight as well. In a sense, she has relinquished a portion of her “self.” While trying to force the crab to abandon what it’s taken results in violence, a resolution comes with an apology. With acceptance. Senjogahara needs only to acknowledge she never should’ve shuffled off her burden. In the world of Monogatari, and the real world as well, our suffering makes us who we are.

In contrast, Hachikuji is physically weighed down by the worry her mother doesn’t want her. While the large backpack she wears is visually symbolic of the snail, the aberration she represents, it’s also a literal representation of the snail, of carrying home on your back. With her parents divorcing, and the distancing of her mother, Hachikuji no longer feels a sense of home. She is carrying it with her, hoping her mother will accept it when she arrives. But that weight roots her in place. I’d argue it’s the very thing which caused her to become lost. Not only does her salvation come in the form of taking unknown roads to the location of her mother’s home, but she does it with help. Others have lightened her burden enough so she can move.

In both of these cases, it is Araragi who plays an essential part in aiding the girls. But again, going against the trend of other light novels, it is only through support which he helps. There’s no wielding of super powers, no genius insight or planning–just a shoulder to carry weight, or the promise it will be there to be cried on.

But even Araragi is caught in the sorrow surrounding mothers. For him, it isn’t the physical loss of his mother. Instead, it is a loss he feels internally. He has degraded his sense of self deeply. It makes him feel unworthy of being near his mother. He is a disappointment, and not even fully human, as he oft reminds us. His mother didn’t leave, nor forced him away. He is the one creating distance. In this way, Araragi is a synthesis of both our heroines. Losing his mother is his fault, similar to Senjogahara’s belief, and he worries she won’t accept him, similar to Hachikuji. While his unwillingness to return home summons the aberration, it is through helping someone that Araragi realizes the error in his thinking. His desire to go back grows as he flexes his most admirable trait, helping others.

It is this feature of Araragi which brings me to the overarching story. Simply put, volume one of Bakemonogatari is a love story between Sanjogahara and Araragi. Yeah, I know, she craps on him for almost every page of the book, but consider this, their relationship is the only developmental arc in the book.

Even though both girls resolve their problems, it becomes apparent it hasn’t changed them in too drastic a way. But Senjogahara and Araragi begin as strangers. Three years in the same class, and not a word between them. By the end of the book, they have entered a relationship.

The second story doesn’t require Senjogahara. The class rep, who shows up in the story, could’ve easily been used to bring a phone to Oshino. Instead, Senjogahara is there for the duration. Why? Because for their relationship to progress, she needs to witness the truth of who Araragi is. She even comments she believed at first Araragi aided her because it was her. But seeing him help Hachikuji, she realizes this is his nature. It impresses her.

In the first story, if she had initiated a relationship, it would’ve felt empty, a gesture made by a girl out of gratitude. But, having her do it after seeing Araragi’s most redeeming feature, her affection is based on the boy, not just her individual circumstance. Which also explains why so much time focuses on her offering repayment to Araragi, which he continually shoots down. It shows both the reader and Senjogahara this boy helps out of desire, not out of hope for reward or to use the person he’s assisted.

As for the overarching plot of the series, it is Senjogahara’s statement that Araragi would help anyone who needed it and Oshino commenting there seems to be an overabundance of these sorts of events around Araragi, which tells us the greater story. I’m not certain if the series ever gets to why there is such a concentration of aberrations around Araragi, but with these two statements, we at least know the rules of this series. A boy, not too capable, maybe not very smart, will stand with those facing supernatural hardships, even at personal risk.

Tearing apart this book, I have to acknowledge some brilliance in Nisio Isin. Not only is his dialogue a play on words, spellings, and pronunciations. He also plays on forms. All the typical components of light novels exist, but they are buried, transformed, or played in a more subtle way. While I had mixed feelings about this book, I have to admit my curiosity of where this all goes will have me buying more volumes in the future.

Monogatari art by Vofan

(This is the second of two articles focusing on Bakemonogatari volume 1, which was the Open Forum title for the past month. In this post, Justus and I will compare this book with the prequel novel Kizumonogatari.)

Cho: Nisio Isin is one of the better-known light novel authors out there, and for the most part I’ve enjoyed the works of his that have gotten English releases. Perhaps what I like most about this author is his willingness to experiment. Zaregoto volume 1 was quite different from Death Note: Another Note (one of the first LNs I ever read), Zaregoto volume 2 was quite different from Zaregoto volume 1, Kizumonogatari was quite different from the Zaregoto books, and–to my surprise (though in hindsight, it shouldn’t have been)–Bakemonogatari turned out quite different from Kizumonogatari.

I decided to make a chart comparing the two books:

As you can see, Bakemonogatari was the much less conventional of the two volumes. This is understandable, given how the series apparently first began as short stories published in a magazine called Mephisto. If I were to pick something that is actually similar between the two books though (other than Nisio Isin’s style of prose), it would probably be the general atmosphere of the stories, which blends absurd and lowbrow comedy with dark and somber character drama. Bake and Kizu are quite different in terms of plot, but they at least feel like they’re part of the same world.

Rather than write about what I think was good or bad about the author’s approach to each book, I think what I’d like to hone in on is what seems to be the author’s actual aim for the two stories. From what I can tell, Bakemonogatari‘s first stories are primarily about establishing the premise Nisio Isin came up with: a high school boy helps out various girls afflicted by supernatural forces that (mainly) only he is aware of. It’s more or less a mash-up of a familiar visual novel setup and a familiar manga setup (SEE: every story with the special protagonist who sees spirits, monsters, etc). In other words, Bakemonogatari feels almost like a writing exercise–a chance for Nisio Isin to play around with a concept and see what happens. This is more or less what he admits to in the afterward of the book, actually. “All I wanted to do was write a fun novel crammed full of stupid exchanges, and these tales are what happened when I did exactly that.” (And then he promises the next volume will have “even stupider exchanges,” amusingly.)

Though I wasn’t thrilled by this storytelling format, it’s clear that a lot of people enjoyed all those stupid exchanges. But even then, it seems Nisio Isin realized that maybe it would be worthwhile to go back and establish the setting of Monogatari a little bit, and give us a clear idea who this Araragi fellow we’re following around is supposed to be. And perhaps that’s why I feel Kizu was a much stronger story? It’s a little difficult to compare fairly to be honest, since the two books are so different in scope and perhaps even genre. But while Bake may be more representative of what Nisio Isin intends for the series as a whole, I feel that Kizu much more effectively got across the protagonist’s character and motivations, and (to put it bluntly) made a lot more sense.

In the end you have to be the judge of what worked for you and what didn’t, but I do think it’s interesting to step back and try to pin down what it was the author was going for in each of these stories. If Bake was about giving readers something completely different, Kizu seems to be about putting the abnormality of Bake into some kind of perspective.

Justus: Before I begin, let me make something clear: the basis for this article is conjecture and educated guesses. I haven’t spoken personally with Nisio Isin or the publishers involved.

In Japan, Kizumonogatari was the third novel released in the Monogatari series, even though chronologically it was the first. Cho has demonstrated the vast differences between Kizumonogatari and Bakemonogatari. Given Nisio Isin’s propensity to play with formats and words, it isn’t too surprising he would choose to use his created Monogatari world differently in a separate story. In some ways, I would argue a prequel introduced later was the perfect way to do this. Readers knew the story’s outcome, so it was the novel’s content and form that would surprise them.

So why did the English release give us Kizu first? Vertical’s official statement was they were advised to do so by the Japanese publisher, which may be the entire truth. But I would suggest it came down to two other factors, marketability and money. Even if I’m totally wrong, I’m going to delve into some points I think fans don’t consider enough. It’s a natural instinct to believe if we love something, others will love it also. To existing lovers of Monogatari, printing the books is akin to printing money. But publishers can’t afford to be so passionate, even if they are also fans.

Fans don’t think of these series in dollars, except for the ones we’ve spent ourselves. I think sometimes we fail to realize there are other people’s livelihoods on the line. To get a book from Japan requires licensing fees, author royalties, translation costs, marketing, paying for rights for artwork, and finally printing. It’s a massive financial burden. And just because an anime is popular, that doesn’t mean the fanbase wants to read the book. One misstep could mean the end of jobs or entire companies.

Let’s consider Kizu based on Cho’s analysis. It’s a far more marketable novel than Bake, especially for North American audiences. And before you get angry, saying anime/manga/LN fans are better than that, consider this: publishers aren’t doing this just for you. They want this book to reach as many people as possible. They want this to be the book others feel they can recommend to friends. Hell, I put it down as one of my recommendations for people new to light novels! But I wouldn’t do the same with Bake. Kizu is the perfect gateway to Nisio Isin. It has his characteristic wordplay, but the structure and characters are far more palatable to non-LN readers. I’d go so far as to say Kizu is a great read even for those who aren’t into manga or anime.

In addition to its marketability, Kizu comes with another benefit: it’s only one book. If Kizu bombed, Vertical didn’t have to pick up any more of the Monogatari books. Kizu has a satisfying enough end it could’ve finished there. But if Vertical started with Bake, and it tanked, they’d have to either print a second book at a loss, or risk backlash by dropping the series. Why do you think it took until late February for the Bake license to be announced? I’d hazard a guess it was due to Vertical waiting to see Kizu‘s preorders and initial sales.

Also, from the Japanese perspective, getting international audiences interested in Kizu just before the release of theatrical adaptations probably didn’t hurt either. Aniplex announced their acquisition of English rights the same month Vertical’s edition released. I have to wonder if the novel being in English helped that transaction along.
Even as a reader, I’m glad I read Kizu first. To have the ending ruined because of Bake would’ve been disappointing. And Bake leaves little to the imagination regarding Kizu’s story in general. As readers, we experienced Araragi’s first foray into this world with fresh eyes (for those of us who weren’t existing fans).

Given that we now have Bakemonogatari, and the release of Nisemonogatari is on the horizon, it would seem printing Kizu first was a win-win for everyone involved.

Durarara!! fanart by Kiri

For general information on this series: Durarara!! entry

This review is for the third volume of Durarara!! by Ryohgo Narita. The English edition was released by Yen Press in March 2016. There are currently five volumes out in English. The series is completed with thirteen volumes in Japan, but a sequel series titled Durarara!! SH is currently releasing there (with four volumes out so far).

Volume 3

Much like how the second volume of Durarara!! primarily focused on two characters (in that case, Anri and Shizuo), this third volume for the most part follows another two characters–this time we learn more about Kida and Celty. But of those two, the central story arc is definitely for Kida, who gets to stand front and center on the striking yellow cover art.

Following the events of the previous two volumes, tensions are high in Ikebukuro. Two gangs–the Dollars, and the Yellow Scarves–each blame the other for a series of slashing incidents that were, in actuality, caused by the mysterious entity known as Saika. Those of you who read volume two should know who is at the head of each of these three groups… and who is the one pulling all the strings from behind the stage. If the first two volumes were about making all the wild reveals, then volume three is all about answering “So now what happens?” The roller coaster has passed its bumpy twists and turns, and now we’re at the loop da loop.

The heart of this volume lies in Kida’s backstory. How did a happy-go-lucky fellow like him get roped up in all this craziness? His motivations are very easy to follow, and the regret he holds in regard to mistakes of his past is very easy to empathize with. Actually, he is probably one of my favorite characters in the series, because he’s basically just a regular boy who made a few–I’ll say human–decisions and as a result is in way over his head with the whole gang warfare scenario. Amid a cast of fantastic and larger-than-life figures, Kida comes off as the guy who jumps into a gunfight with just his fists.

Meanwhile for the overarching plot of the series, we get a good amount of progress made for Celty, whom the author likes to remind readers in volume afterwords is the Durarara!! lead character. There are a surprising number of humorous moments with her and Shinra which I enjoyed, but more significantly we get some more plot development upon the arrival of Shinra’s father–a character who is as suspicious as he is comical. And he’s more or less a bizarre personification of The Dad Joke, so suffice to say he’s highly questionable. Considering all the nonsense Celty has to put up with day in and day out, I continue to find her an easy character to root for.

The first three volumes were the source material for the first season of the anime adaptation, which is what introduced me to the series. I didn’t watch any of the more recent anime seasons, so from this point on the light novel volumes will be new stories for me. I look forward to reading them! (glances over at metaphorical pile of books to read) I’ll get around to them eventually…

Cho’s Rating: Strongly Recommended

art by An2A

For general information on this series: My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World entry

This review is for the first volume of My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World by Tsuyoshi Fujitaka. The English edition was released digitally by J-Novel Club in December 2016. The second volume is currently being released in English in weekly prepub installments. The series so far has seven volumes out in Japan.

Vol 1 — The World’s Strongest Little Brother

The creation of J-Novel Club was one of my favorite developments from last year, since it has allowed for more light novels to be released in English–and more specifically, for light novels that otherwise would not have been licensed to make it over. My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World isn’t a particularly unusual novel in terms of content, but it wasn’t a title I saw anybody talking about prior to J-Novel Club’s formation. It’s great to try out more stories from Japan that haven’t already been popularized by anime adaptations.

This story works with a straightforward setup: it’s high school, and it turns out all the random supernatural or highly unusual beings from fiction are real–just as the protagonist’s wacky big sister has claimed all along. I was actually wondering if we were going to find out if there was going to be some psychological twist at the beginning to make it clear that all the nonsense was some kind of fabrication, but it turned out I was thinking way too much over what is ultimately a very breezy read. The prose is informal (even for light novels), and the tropes are played straight–but always in a lighthearted manner. The anime I would most readily compare this story to is When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace, as it has a very similar tone to that.

Curiously, this volume actually has very little to do with the eponymous Big Sister–the story is all about the protagonist boy Yuichi. The power he gains without explanation is the ability to see words above his classmates’ heads, revealing their true natures (e.g. “Serial Killer”). This is what sets off the fights and shenanigans that ensue over the course of the novel. There are a number of absurd reveals associated with his character that I won’t give away here, because that’s half the fun of this story.

Worth mentioning I think is that at times we also follow the point of view of one of Yuichi’s classmates, a girl named Aiko–who happens to be a vampire. We don’t learn as much about her as I would have liked, but the point of view shift is at least nice for a change of pace, and for giving a clearer perspective of what kind of boy Yuichi is. She and other side characters subvert a trope here and there, but I’d like to see them grow outside the archetype labels the story has given them.

I’d recommend My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World to those who are already big light novel fans, and are in the mood for a goofy take on high school action stories. It’s a quick read, and if you take a liking for some of the characters you won’t have to wait long at all for more volumes.

Cho’s Rating: Maybe Recommended

Monogatari fanart by Dafi

For general information on this series: Monogatari entry

This review is for the first volume of Bakemonogatai: Monster Tale by Nisio Isin (with artwork by Vofan). The English edition was released by Vertical in December 2016. The second and third volumes will be released in February and April this year. Bakemonogatari is a chronological sequel to Kizumonogatari, released in English about a year ago.

Bakemonogatari – Part One

I wrote a bit about this volume already, in an article where I compared it to the prequel novel Kizumonogatari. (Justus R. Stone contributed as well, and also wrote this great piece on Bakemonogatari‘s themes.) Those articles have spoilers though, so don’t read them until after you’ve read Bakemonogatari (unless you don’t care).

Monogatari is weird. I am fine with weird, but I feel like if an author isn’t careful–e.g. breaks perhaps one too many conventions of storytelling–the narrative can fall flat. At some point I can’t help but shift from an impressed “yes, finally something different…” to “what is this I don’t even.”

This volume is about a high school boy named Araragi, who helps out a couple girls who have been afflicted by some kind of supernatural creature. If you read Kizu, you’ll know that Araragi is a bit supernatural himself, having become somewhat vampiric. The first story of Bake deals with a girl named Senjougahara, who has lost all her physical weight thanks to a special crab. Seems an appropriate animal, because she is quite crabby! The vast majority of Bake goes like this:

• Senjougahara: (says something mean about Araragi)
• Araragi: I can’t believe you said that!
• Senjougahara: (says another mean thing about Araragi)
• Araragi: You really don’t hold back, do you…
• Senjougahara: (goes on about how Araragi is such an idiot)
• Araragi: You’re not exactly wrong, but do you have to be so harsh about it?
• Senjougahara: (non-sequitur)
• Araragi: Where did that come from!
• Senjougahara: (another put-down directed at Araragi)
• Araragi: Setting that aside for now… (returns conversation back to the plot… maybe)

I enjoyed the banter in Kizu, but I probably liked it because it was supplementary to the story, rather than the other way around like it is in Bake. Also, there was a little more variety in the types of conversations that ensued in Kizu, since there was a more varied cast interacting with the protagonist. Here it’s mainly just Senjougahara. I’m actually okay with her character (Nisio Isin is good at creating hidden depth to his characters)–I just grew tired of the “sameness” of the dialogue in general.

The second story deals with a young girl who can’t find her way home, thanks to a snail. I liked the ending plot twist for that one, but again, the story was primarily just moving from one strange conversation to the next. All in all the stories here felt very experimental–something the author wrote out on some whimsical weekend. I’m curious enough to read more from this series, but I’ll probably want to space out my reading of upcoming volumes a bit.

Cho’s Rating: Maybe Recommended

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

English Title: Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody
Japanese Title: デスマーチからはじまる異世界狂想曲 – Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku
Author: Hiro Ainana
Illustrator: shri
Translator: Jenny McKeon
Genre: Fantasy, Harem
Original Run: 2014 – ongoing (Note: Originally a web novel: 2013 – ongoing)
English Run: 2017 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: Fujimi Shobo Novels (Fujimi Shobo)
English Publisher: Yen Press (Yen On)
Volumes in Japanese: 9 (In Progress)
Volumes in English: 1 (In Progress)
Average Price Per Volume: Paperback $10 – Kindle $8 – Nook $8

• English Website — Japanese Website
• MAL Entry — Forum
• Baka Updates — LNDB.info — Novel Updates

Synopsis: Programmer Ichirou Suzuki is transported to another world. In a foreign land, he finds that life is an adventure that’s sometimes fun, sometimes serious, and full of girls!

Volume 1
Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf
Released January 31, 2017 — ISBN-13: 978-0316504638

Upcoming Releases

• Volume 2 (May 23, 2017)
  Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf
• Volume 3 (September 19, 2017)
  Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf

Reviews of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody
(forthcoming)

Illustrations Sampler

Anime Adaptation
(announced, but no release window yet)

Manga Adaptation
MAL Entry — Published April 2015 – ongoing (English volumes published by Yen Press)
Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Book Depository – RightStuf

If you liked Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, you might also want to try…

• Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash – trapped in a fantasy world
• Re: Zero – trapped in a fantasy world
• Rising of the Shield Hero – trapped in a fantasy world
• How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom – trapped in a fantasy world (upcoming release)

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

Mixed Bathing in an Alternate Dimension

English Title: Mixed Bathing in an Alternate Dimension
Japanese Title: 異世界混浴物語 — Isekai Konyoku Monogatari
Author: Nagaharu Hibihana
Illustrator: Masakage Hagiya
Translator: Dan Luffey
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Run: 2015 – ongoing
English Run: 2017 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: Overlap Bunko (Overlap)
English Publisher: J-Novel Club
Volumes in Japanese: 4 (In Progress)
Volumes in English: 1 (In Progress)
Average Price Per Volume: Kindle $7 – iBook $7 – Kobo $7
Note: Also available to read online through a J-Novel Club subscription. This series is currently digital-only.

• English Website — Japanese Website
• MAL Entry — Forum
• Baka Updates — LNDB.info

Synopsis: “How am I supposed to fight with this?!” After being summoned into another dimension as one of the five heroes destined to defeat a demon lord, Toya Hojo awakens his hero power only to discover that… it’s an unlimited bath? He was blessed with the power to create a bath that can be accessed anywhere, which seems to spell doom for his quest to defeat the demon lord. As he recovers from his shock, Toya slowly discovers the unique features of his power, which allow him to use it in ways he’d never dreamed of… But will he ever get any bath time with Haruno Shinonome, the beautiful girl who was also summoned along with him?!

Volume 1 — The Hero of the Unlimited Bath
Amazon — iBook — J-Novel Club — Kobo
Released February 2, 2017 — ASIN: B01NA6NZE6

Reviews of Mixed Bathing in an Alternate Dimension
(forthcoming)

If you liked Mixed Bathing in an Alternate Dimension, you might also want to try…

• I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse – harem setup, comic elements
• No Game No Life –  harem setup, comic elements
• Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody – fantasy, harem
• My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World – comedy, fantasy

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

The Faraway Paladin

English Title: The Faraway Paladin
Japanese Title: 最果てのパラディン — Saihate no Paladin – “Ultimate Paladin”
Author: Kanata Yanagino
Illustrator: Kususaga Rin
Translator: James Rushton
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Original Run: 2016 – ongoing
English Run: 2017 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: Overlap Bunko (Overlap)
English Publisher: J-Novel Club
Volumes in Japanese: 2 (In Progress)
Volumes in English: 1 (In Progress)
Average Price Per Volume: Kindle $7 – iBook $7 – Kobo $7
Note: Also available to read online through a J-Novel Club subscription. This series is currently digital-only.

• English Website — Japanese Website
• MAL Entry — Forum
• Baka Updates — LNDB.info — Novel Updates

Synopsis: In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he’s being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: “Who am I?” Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man’s land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin. “I promised you. It’s gonna take a while, but I’ll tell you everything. This is the story of the deaths of many heroes. It’s the story of how we died, and it’s the reason you grew up here.”

Volume 1 — The Boy in the City of the Dead
Amazon — iBook — J-Novel Club — Kobo
Released February 2, 2017 — ASIN: B01N0EPMN4

Reviews of The Faraway Paladin
(forthcoming)

If you liked The Faraway Paladin, you might also want to try…

• Goblin Slayer – dark fantasy elements
• Overlord – dark fantasy elements
• Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash – dark fantasy elements

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

(art by Kouhaku Kuroboshi)

For general information on this series: Kino’s Journey entry

• キノの旅 -the Beautiful World- — “Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World” — Kino’s Journey
• Author: Keiichi Sigsawa — Artist: Kouhaku Kuroboshi
• The novel: Amazon.jp — Books Kinokuniya — YesAsia
• The fan translation (by ???): Baka-Tsuki
• MAL Entry — Forum

(Note: This site’s central focus is on light novels officially translated and published in English, but at times I will post reviews for stories that have only been translated by fans. Please support the Japanese books that don’t get English releases.)

Volume 4

Kino’s Journey is nice in that you can pick up a volume, and it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you last read anything in the series. Each story stands on its own, and the vast majority of them are satisfying to read. And in the off-chance that there’s a story you don’t care for, it never takes long to get to the next one.

Here are my thoughts on the stories of this volume:

• ××××× Solo — a very short story; a simple yet poignant exchange between Kino and a young child
• Land of Couples — in which Kino and Hermes arrive in a country where spousal abuse is both legal and tolerated; both the subject matter and the turn of events at the end were a bit surprising to me
• Tradition Tricksters — a short but fun story about a country where everyone wears cat ears… I’m glad Kino’s Journey has sillier stories like this from time to time
• A Land without the Need for Work — Kino recounted the story of this country in ep 5 of the anime, but here we see her time there so it’s fleshed out more; a rather blatant critique on the banality and uselessness of modern-day work
• A Land Divided — in which the author takes on the topic of whaling; another one of those stories where you can see where the story’s going, but it still leaves a strong impact
• Grapes — another short story, this one an exchange between Kino and a man who harshly criticizes her lifestyle
• Land of Acknowledgement — about a country that has the tradition of voting which people are not useless enough to be killed off every year, but so long as everyone gets a vote then nobody is executed… I’ll leave it to you to read how things go while Kino and Hermes are there
• A Tale of Extortion — in which Shizu plays the role of all the defenders in Seven Samurai for a village plagued by bandits; this story is a nice change of pace, giving us a different protagonist and a more action-packed plot; the “twist” at the end is classic Kino’s Journey fare
• Land with a Bridge — traveling a desolate desert, Kino and Hermes find an ocean and a magnificent bridge, the history of which is etched in the handrails; I feel this is ground the series has tread before
• The Tower Country — a country that continually builds a tower so tall, there’s no way it won’t come crashing down eventually… You know how this will go, right?

The general theme of this volume–or at least, what came to mind the most for me–was the question of what is the best use of our lives. How should an individual live? What do we consider to be a life of great accomplishment? Does it really matter to achieve a life of great accomplishment? Kino’s Journey continues to be the perfect “food for thought” light novel series.

Cho’s Rating: Strongly Recommended

(art by Miho Takeoka)

For general information on this series: Book Girl entry

This review is for the fifth volume of Book Girl by Mizuki Nomura (with art by Miho Takeoka). The English edition was released by Yen Press in July 2012, and the entirety of the eight-volume series has made it over.

Vol 5 – Book Girl and the Wayfarer’s Lamentation

It’s been a while since my last Book Girl review! The fifth volume of the series is a very special one though, and might actually be my very favorite of the bunch. The first four volumes each worked nicely as self-contained stories–but at the same time they were all setting the stage for the events of The Wayfarer’s Lamentation. This is finally when a certain character appears, and Konoha–our ever-troubled protagonist–must confront his past head-on.

What an emotional ride this volume is! Every time I read this volume, I have a hard time putting it down. The characters are so wonderfully-developed though, and I find myself drawn to every one of them. These characters have personality flaws, they keep dark secrets, and they have made great mistakes. But I seem to find a little of myself in each one of them, so I can’t bring myself to be upset with their shortcomings. They are struggling to better themselves, but the author has a good understanding of how difficult that can be. If you make a chart of an individual’s progress in life, it’s never going to be a straight line going up. We’re always going to have missteps, and sometimes we fall back to square one. That’s what felt like a major theme of this novel–and also perhaps to the book that serves as part of its inspiration, Kenji Miyazawa’s Night of the Milky Way Railway.

As is the case with all the Book Girl volumes, what stands out to me the most here are the characters. They have such depth to them, and simply feel a lot more human to me than the characters of most other books I’ve read. But perhaps I simply find myself relating to the characters a lot more than other readers would? I especially like the protagonist Konoha, who is so atypical for a protagonist in a YA series (and especially for light novels available in English). I just want to root for him, no matter how much he stumbles.

Regardless, I do find the novel extremely well-written. Mizuki Nomura really has a way with words, and I believe the translator Karen McGillicuddy deserves high praise too. Everything reads smoothly, and the emotion always comes through powerfully. There is also a clear love for literature displayed in these Book Girl stories, and I particularly appreciate how they show the characters relating classic works to their own lives. When I read a book, my experience with the story will be different from the experience you have when you read it.

But my experience with this book was wonderful! I hope more people will find the time to experience it too. Do be sure to read the first four volumes before this one though–the impact of nearly every scene won’t be as strong, otherwise.

Cho’s Rating: Strongly Recommended

Paying to Win in a VRMMO

English Title: Paying to Win in a VRMMO
Japanese Title: VRMMOをカネの力で無双する — VRMMO wo Kane no Chikara de Musou suru
Author: Blitz Kiva
Illustrator: Kuwashima Rein
Translator: Elizabeth Ellis
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Run: 2014 – 2015
English Run: 2017 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: HJ Bunko (Hobby Japan)
English Publisher: J-Novel Club
Volumes in Japanese: 6 (Completed)
Volumes in English: 1 (In Progress)
Average Price Per Volume: Kindle $7 – iBook $7 – Kobo $7
Note: Also available to read online through a J-Novel Club subscription. This series is currently digital-only.

• English Website — Japanese Website
• MAL Entry — Forum
• Baka Updates — LNDB.info — Novel Updates

Synopsis: The fabulously wealthy heir to the Tsuwabuki Concern, Ichiro Tsuwabuki, has arrived inside the next generation virtual reality MMO, Narrow Fantasy Online. His cousin Asuha has asked for his help in finding someone inside the game, and he’s come to help her out. Of course, while he’s happy enough to help his cousin out, Ichiro also cannot be satisfied with anything but total mastery of whatever he tries. He quickly proceeds to dominate the game world using his natural genius… and his wallet!

Volume 1
Amazon — iBook — J-Novel Club — Kobo
Released February 16, 2017 — ASIN: B01N4TTHCU

Reviews of Paying to Win in a VRMMO
(forthcoming)

Illustrations Sampler

If you liked Paying to Win in a VRMMO, you might also want to try…

• Sword Art Online — virtual reality setting
• Accel World — virtual reality setting
• .hack//Another Birth, .hack//AI Buster, .hack//Cell, .hack//G.U. — virtual reality setting

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

(pictured: Arifureta)

J-Novel Club has added two new light novel series to its lineup:

• In Another World With My Smartphone — by Patora Fuyuhara (with art by Eiji Usatsuka)
• Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest — by Ryo Shirakome (with art by Takayaki)

In Another World With My Smartphone Synopsis:

After a freak accident involving some lightning winds up zapping him dead, 15-year-old Mochizuki Touya wakes up to find himself face-to-face with God. “I am afraid to say that I have made a bit of a blunder…” laments the old coot. But all is not lost! God says that he can reincarnate Touya into a world of fantasy, and as a bonus, he gets to bring his smartphone along with! So begins Touya’s adventure in a new, anachronistic pseudo-medieval world. Friends! Laughs! Tears! Inexplicable Deus ex Machina! He sets off on a journey full of wonder as he absentmindedly travels from place to place, following whatever goal catches his fancy. The curtains lift on an epic tale of swords, sorcery, and smartphone apps!

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Synopsis:

Seventeen year old Hajime Nagumo is your average, everyday otaku. However, his simple life of pulling all-nighters and sleeping in school is suddenly turned upside down when he, along with the rest of his class, is summoned to a fantasy world! They’re treated like heroes and tasked with the duty of saving the human race from utter extinction. But what should have been any otaku’s wet dream quickly turns into Hajime’s nightmare. While the rest of his class are blessed with godlike powers, Hajime’s job, Synergist, only has a single transmutation skill. Ridiculed and bullied by his classmates for being weak, he soon finds himself in despair. Will he be able to survive in this dangerous world of monsters and demons with only a glorified blacksmith’s level of strength?

———

As is the case for all of J-Novel Club’s titles, you can read the first part of these light novels for free. If you are interested in reading more as they are translated from week to week, there are two subscription models available. The premium model will give you the added benefit of downloading a full ebook each month. Be sure to give the site a good look, if you haven’t yet!

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!

English Title: Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
Japanese Title: この素晴らしい世界に祝福を! — Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! — “KonoSuba”
Author: Natsume Akatsuki
Illustrator: Kurone Mishima
Translator: Kevin Steinbach
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Run: 2013 – ongoing
English Run: 2017 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko (Kadokawa Shoten)
English Publisher: Yen Press (Yen On)
Volumes in Japanese: 10 (In Progress)
Volumes in English: 1 (In Progress)
Average Price Per Volume: Paperback $10 — Kindle $8 — Nook $8

• English Website — Japanese Website
• MAL Entry — Forum
• Baka Updates — LNDB.info — Novel Updates

Synopsis: Game loving shut-in Kazuma Sato’s life as a young schoolboy in Japan abruptly comes to an early end…or at least it was supposed to. When he opens his eyes, though, he sees a beautiful goddess that offers him a once in an after-lifetime chance to be reborn in a parallel world. The catch is that the world is violent and threatened by a growing evil! Fortunately, he can choose any one thing to bring with him. So he chooses the goddess, Aqua! And so his adventure with his gorgeous companion begins–if he could just get enough money and food to survive, keep his goddess out of trouble, and avoid grabbing the attention of the Demon King’s army!

Volume 1 — Oh! My Useless Goddess!
Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf
Released February 21, 2017 — ISBN-13: 978-0316553377

Upcoming Releases

• Volume 2 (April 18, 2017)
  Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf
• Volume 3 (August 22, 2017)
  Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf

Reviews of Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
Case Suitable for Treatment: Vol 1

Illustrations Sampler

Anime Adaptation
MAL Entry — 10 episodes (season 1) — Aired January 2016 – March 2016
(season 2 currently airing)
Crunchyroll (streaming)
Note: Adapted volumes 1 to 2 of the light novel series (season 1)

Manga Adaptation
MAL Entry — Published September 2014 – ongoing (English releases by Yen Press)
Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Book Depository — RightStuf

If you liked Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, you might also want to try…

• Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? — comedy, fantasy world, harem
• In Another World with My Smartphone — comedy, fantasy world, harem (upcoming title)
• Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest — comedy, fantasy world, harem (upcoming title)
• Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension — comedy, fantasy world, harem

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

art by Kuwashima Rein

For general information on this series: Paying to Win in a VRMMO entry

This review is for the first volume of Paying to Win in a VRMMO by Blitz Kiva. The English edition was released digitally by J-Novel Club in February 2017. The second volume is currently being released in English in weekly prepub installments. The series has six volumes out in Japan.

Volume 1

One’s first instinct may be to ask “Why so many light novels set in VR?” — but for official English translations at least, there technically aren’t so many. I imagine there will be plenty more stories in the years to come that deal with virtual reality though, thanks to the improvements steadily being made with real-life technology. It is probably going to remain a hot topic both in Japan and abroad.

The premise for this story is evident in the title itself. Our protagonist, Ichiro Tsuwabuki, is an extraordinarily wealthy genius–and when asked by his cousin to help her find a friend of hers in a virtual reality game, he decides he might as well dominate the virtual world with his near-limitless funds while he’s at it. Though I’m not that into video games (and have never played an MMO), I still found the concept behind Paying to Win entertaining. The rich noble typically holds an antagonistic role in stories, so following Ichiro’s unnaturally speedy rise to power via constant spending makes for an amusing change of pace.

In a way the story isn’t really about him though. The actual character arc is devoted to the friend Ichiro and his cousin are searching for: someone playing as Kirihito, a blatant expy of the protagonist from some popular light novel. The presence of many Kirihitos in the VR game make for many of the story’s funnier moments, but this particular Kirihito ends up as a kind of rival for Ichiro. I’d actually say this volume felt more like a shounen sports manga than a fantasy adventure.

Overall I felt the tone of Paying to Win was about halfway between Sword Art Online and a full-blown parody like Sword Art Online: The Abridged Series. It pokes fun at some of the tropes of VR and MMOs, but it’s still trying to take the characters and their battles seriously. I personally wanted more of the laughs, as I just can’t get myself to care for all the intricacies of MMO gameplay.

The characters meanwhile are a bit of a mixed bag to me. I feel there could have been something more from each of them… Ichiro showed a strong display of wealth, but I would have liked to have seen more of his craftiness, for example. Kirihito meanwhile has a serviceable backstory, but the author also goes to bizarre lengths to keep the player’s gender a secret, which felt both awkward and needless since the story didn’t go anywhere with it. The remaining characters meanwhile are all rather mellow–which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I expected much more colorful personalities from a comedy-driven story.

In the end, I’ll recommend this to anyone looking for a new spin on the VRMMO setup. Sword Art Online fans at least should get a kick out of it, I think?

Cho’s Rating: Maybe Recommended