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The Twelve Kingdoms, Book Five: A Thousand Miles of Wind, the Sky at Dawn, Part 1

By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan. If you recall, when I reviewed the first volume of this series, I pointed out that it being divided in two meant that the first half was mostly unrelentingly miserable, with good things only starting to happen in the second book. You can assume the same thing for this one, and if you want to leave this arc with your spirits high, you may want to wait for September for the other half. That said, fear not, this is still brilliantly written and compelling. And yay, Youko is back! Admittedly she’s not all…

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Welcome to Olivia’s Magic Jewelers, Vol. 3

By Rinrin Yuki and Suzaku. Released in Japan as “Olivia Maseki Houshokuten e Youkoso: Ka to Mise wo Oida Sareta no de, Outou ni Mise wo Kamaetara, Naze ka Moto Konyakusha to Gimai no Kekkonshiki ni Dero to Iwaremashita” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jordan Taylor. It’s always hard, when you’re dealing with light novel series that have been adapted from webnovels, to tell whether a series is finished, on hiatus due to the author’s life getting in the way, dropped as the author started to write something else and got bored, or cancelled by the publisher. This seems to be mostly the third version: the author is certainly writing plenty of other series, while the webnovel of this series ends…

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Repeated Vice: I Refuse to Be Important Enough to Die, Vol. 3

By Kuroakawa Hitsugi and Kushiro Kuki. Released in Japan as “Repeat Vice: Akuyaku Kizoku wa Shinitakunai node Shitennou ni Naru no wo Yamemashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by piyo. I do enjoy this series, but it seems every book has something there to tick me off specifically. Last time it was the rape victim recovering by basically being told “get over yourself”. The issue with this book is not one unique to this series alone… in fact it’s in a large number of light novels… but it’s made more annoying because Lofus is in a constant state of rage, and thus it’s handled even worse. This series focuses on a noble kid with lots of power trying to escape his fate. He has…

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The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 16

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Compared to the last volume, this one feels a lot more laid back and relaxed. Of course, that’s likely only because the Emperor isn’t in it. There’s still a lot going on. We’re in the middle of the Smallpox arc, after all. It’s deadly, it’s horribly, and a cure is still very elusive, though Maomao moves things along by enlisting the help of Kokuyou, the smiling wandering doctor who has facial scarring but also a heap of experience. Also, a noble family asks Maomao about a cursed jar, and that unearths a heaping helping of family… drama seems the wrong word. Family horror….

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Manga the Week of 6/10/26

SEAN: It’s another week of manga! What do we have next week? Airship has two ongoing print series: Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! 6 and Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women 3. And for early digital we see The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 8, My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone 2, and Witch and Mercenary 6 Part 2. Ghost Ship have a 2nd volume of Lilia’s Pregnancy Spells the World’s End and a 5th volume of She’s the Strongest Bride, But I’m Stronger in Night Battles. J-Novel Club have a bunch of print. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga)…

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The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat, Vol. 3

By Yukiha Kuroyuki and Uodenim. Released in Japan as “Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Ben Trethewey. Adapted by Kylee Yasin. So the bad news is that this is still the last volume published for the moment. The good news is that, after a two-year break, the author has recently started writing more of the webnovel, so that may eventually change. Certainly absolutely nothing is resolved by the end of this book, so more of it would be welcome. As for the book itself, it continues to do what it wants to. If you like male power fantasies and are not too picky, it fills that need. Luke is a grumpy asshole who can’t help but get…

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Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 9

By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei. I have to give the author credit. When I began this new volume, which starts after the epic tournament arc, I wondered if we really were going back to Nia films herself racing dogs again. I felt the story was somewhat played out, frankly. And much to my surprise, the main character agrees with me. The best scene in the book may be right at the start of the book, where Nia blithely asks Lynokis “what am I even doing with my life?”, and realizes that being the strongest means throwing away…

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My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “You, More Than Anyone Else”

By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn. So first of all, I’m going to be blithely ignoring the cliffhanger ending of this one, as well as its “oh no, it ends sadly after all” implications. First of all, no it doesn’t, and secondly, now that this series is down to once a year, we’re not gonna have to worry about it for a long, long time. Instead, let us revel in this book, which gives us a whole heaping helping of Isana. We even get a flashforward about four years, seeing her talking with a junior and seemingly having her life a lot more together than she…

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The Petty Villain Plays by the Rules: Rewriting This Otome Game with Honest Work!, Vol. 2

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. This continues to be in my Top 5 “I’m enjoying this far more than I thought I would, and possibly more than I should be” titles. Its biggest flaw is its pace. It’s not slow life – there’s a lot going on here, most of it involving princes and other high nobles – but it is definitely slow writing. This thing is fourteen volumes and counting in Japan, and by the 14th book he still doesn’t really look much older than he is in this book, which is to say six. This despite…

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