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The Side Character Who Thought He Was the Protagonist Mistook the Real Hero for a Side Character and Accidentally Won Everything, Vol. 1

By Yuyushita Sasuga and Tamago no Kimi. Released in Japan as “Jibun no Koto o Shujinkou da to Shinjite Yamanai Fumidai ga, Shujinkou o Fumidai da to Kanchigai Shite, Yuushou Shite Shimau Ohanashi desu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Hanashi Media. Translated by Harris Hayes. Assuming that the average reader of this series gets past the title, which is a bit more ludicrous than usual, they’re going to run up against the lead. And assuming that they get past the lead’s tendency to talk about himself like he’s still a chuuni (which is half of the point of this series), we get to the other point of this series, which likely resonates with a lot of people. The idea that hard work will be rewarded is a…

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The Petty Villain Plays by the Rules: Rewriting This Otome Game with Honest Work!, Vol. 3

By MIZUNA and Ruki. Released in Japan as “Yarikonda Otome Game no Akuyaku desu ga, Danzai wa Iya nano de Mattou ni Ikimasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi. Ah, we’ve hit that difficult third album, I see. It was inevitable, given that the first two volumes of this series basically ended up being “this is better than I thought”, that I’d run into one that was on a level of exactly what I thought. In practice, this means that while this volume is for the most part enjoyable, it has a subplot that actively grates on me and which I found interminable. What’s worse, I worry it will crop up again – this seems the sort of author who would try…

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I’ll Become an Elegant Villainess! Time to Enjoy My Second Life to the Fullest, Vol. 1

By Shisui Hazuki and kururi. Released in Japan as “Karei naru Akujo ni Naritai wa! ~Aisare Tensei Shoujo wa, Tanoshii Nidome no Jinsei o Okurimasu~” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Olivia Plowman. We’ve started to see metatextual isekai with folks hit by Truck-kun who are delighted to be in another world, ready to eat up all those great tropes, get a harem of cute babes, and have a +1 sword new life. (Indeed, I have one in my queue for two days from now.) So it should not particularly be a surprise that we’re getting the shoujo equivalent, which is to say girls who are absolutely delighted to find that they’ve reincarnated and they’re now a villainess. For once it’s not due to…

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Manga the Week of 9/23/26

SEAN: Can’t talk, manga. ASH: For real. SEAN: Yen On moved about half its books to this week, including the debuts. Ayakashi à la Mode is a one-shot fantasy novel. A girl abandoned at a shrine is raised by the spirits that dwell around it, most of whom are quite nice. Sadly, this girl also needs to learn not all spirits are nice. ASH: This absolutely sounds like something I would read. SEAN: Scarlet is the latest book by Mamoru Hosoda, who wrote Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, etc. A princess trying to revenge her father fails, and ends up in the world of the dead. Can she get her revenge anyway? ASH: I have enjoyed Hosoda’s previous works and I do appreciate a good revenge story….

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Father, Have You Sinned? An Assassin in Priest’s Robes, Vol. 1

By Kennoji and Reita. Released in Japan as “Moto Saikyou Ansatsusha wa Inaka de Hissori Shinpu ni Naru ~Daishusse Shita Oshiego-tachi ni Shitawareru Ossan ga An’yaku Suru Hanashi~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jade Willis. Boy, do I have mixed feelings about this one. I’ve read this author before – among their titles over here are The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend and Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin – and can’t help but notice that I eventually dropped both of those other series. The author enjoys dabbling in various genres, and it shows. I’d also argue the blurb is slightly false advertising – after spending the…

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A Young Maiden’s Growing Pains: I Reincarnated and All I Got Was This 100X Stat Buff!, Vol. 1

By Yuno Yozakura and Nimoshi. Released in Japan as “Seichouritsu 100 Bai Cheat no Tensei Youjo ~Heion ni Kurashitai no ni, Mawari ga Sou Sasete Kuremasen~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kim Louise Davis. I’ve mentioned before that a lot of light novels these days feel like eating stew. The author puts together various ingredients they have around the house, cooks it all up, and if you’re lucky it ends up being far tastier than you were expecting. Unfortunately, sometimes you aren’t so lucky. Sometimes you get what Japan calls “dark nabe”, where people throw deliberately bad ingredients in and the person eating it just ends up unhappy. This should have been a delicious stew. It’s a comedy – in fact, it verges…

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The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman: To Seize the Throne, Part 1

By Kamihara and Shiro46. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijo to Sūki na Jinsei o” by Hayakawa Shobo. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim. We’re definitely heading into the endgame with this book, though there will be three more after it (the series ended in Japan with book 6, and we’ve been getting it since book 2 in halves). The subtitle is absolutely not wrong, and for once the forced cliffhanger halfway through the book is a terrific cliffhanger – no “the book just kind of stops” here. That said, yikes, that escalated quickly, even for That Escalated Quickly: The Series. The entire volume is Karen trying to get word to Reinald to accelerate his plans, which may be a bit tricky given he was…

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Bookshelf Briefs 9/3/26

Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 7 | By Alto Yukimura | Viz Media – We still had a couple of gods that we hadn’t seen yet, and so it’s no surprise to see Aphrodite show up, finally. Thankfully, Colette and Hades are already together, and Hades is in the Underworld, so any wacky god antics don’t involve them as a couple, but things like Aphrodite’s tendency towards nudity and promiscuity, as well as her quite good relationship advice, particularly “do not stay with a man who hits you.” And of course there’s also her husband, who… well, OK, he doesn’t hit her per se, but let’s just say she should take her own advice. In the meantime, Colette and Hades continue to get closer. Though I’m not sure this is…

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A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 11

By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness. There’s a fascinating moment towards the start of this book where, in front of most of the Saint candidates and several doctors and patients, Fia once again does something completely and utterly ludicrous in terms of her magical power. It’s meant to be played for comedy, and it is funny, but it also reminds you what an anomaly she is. Those gathered don’t see her as a Saint, as she’s supposed to be for this competition, or as a Knight, which she insists she is, but as some sort of monster or cryptid. They rear back, and…

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