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Starting on Hard Mode: God Levels, Got Problems, Vol. 1

By Hanmenkyoushi and ririnra. Released in Japan as “Level Count Stop kara Hajimaru, Kamisama-teki Isekai Life: Saikyou Status ni Tenseishita node Suki ni Ikimasu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jessica Speed. There are series rich in depth, with multiple layered plots and character development galore, the sort that you read by a roaring fire in your study. And there are books that you read when you’re lying on the beach and want brain candy, something that really does not require you to think. Take a wild guess which one this falls into. There’s a smorgasbord of all the things that you’d expect from a series that looks like this cover and with this title. Overpowered guy, cute girls of elf and beast variety,…

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Proud to Be the Villainess: If My Doom Can Be Her Happily Ever After, So Be It!

By Mary=Doe and Kuga Huna. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijou no Kyouji” by SQEX Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Bérénice Vourdon. It’s always interesting seeing a Villainess title on the Club side of J-Novel rather than the Heart side. Usually it means that the romance isn’t the point of the exercise, and that is the case here, though that might surprise you after you see what the plot is, as there is an awful lot of romance in this book. But in the end this isn’t a romance as much as a twisted caper film. Our protagonist has a goal, that will take years and involves lots of moving parts, and eventually everything comes together until she’s able to pull off the goal… or…

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Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 6

By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness. A lot of these “we’re in the world of a game” series tend to fall into two categories. Either the game just goes off the rails immediately but the main character doesn’t realize it and is determined to fight against a fate that no longer exists (e.g. Observation Records of My Fiancee), or the game has a malevolent mind of its own and is determined to make sure those pesky villainesses die and heroines save the day. This title is firmly in the second category, and while the bulk of most of the book is fairly light…

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The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons, Vol. 4

By Kazuma Ogiwara and CARIMARICA. Released in Japan as “Isekai Toushou no Maken Seisaku Gurashi” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ryan Burris. This remains a series written almost entirely for teenage boys, but it’s worth noting that this isn’t just one aspect of things teenage boys like. Obviously there’s the stuff about the swords, because teen boys love swords, and fantasy authors love treating the swords like they’re women, which this book absolutely does. It’s also written for teen boys in terms of the sexuality – Lutz and Claudia remain very sexually active, and a princess of another country’s city/tribe is mostly described by her large breasts. But there’s something else teenage boys like, and that’s grimdark, and this series has that as…

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Manga the Week of 5/13/26

SEAN: It’s Mother’s Day week, and Manga Bookshelf has some totally mother-appropriate manga… as well as a lot of other titles. ASH: Seems about right. SEAN: Airship has print volumes for Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 2 and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 21. And we get early digital for I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 11 and Magic Maker: How to Create Magic in Another World 2. Hanashi Media has a 4th volume of I Got Reincarnated as a Cultist Mob in an Eroge Full of Maniacs with Death Wishes. Ize Press has a 3rd novel of Villains Are Destined to Die. There is a giant pile of print for J-Novel Club, including debut volumes of three of their contest winners. We see Cogs…

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Observation Records of My Wife: The Misadventures of a Self-Proclaimed Villainess, Vol. 3

By Shiki and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Jishō Akuyaku Reijō na Tsuma no Kansatsu Kiroku” by Regina Books. Released in North America by Hanashi Media. Translated by Ethan Holms. Since I last reviewed this series, the anime has debuted, and a few things are becoming clear. First of all, like many light novel adaptations, the anime is speed running things a bit, so I suspect we’ll get into the “wife” part of the series before the end of the season. Secondly, I’d forgotten how some of the characters looked at the start of the series compared with now. In the first volume, Zeno was a beleaguered but relatively calm butler who normally served to snark at Cecil when Cecil was being particularly evil. In this sixth book, Zeno…

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Manga the Week of 5/6/26

SEAN: May is here, and the weather is turning into spring! Which is good, depending on where you live! ASH: I’ve been appreciating it! SEAN: Viz Media has one debut. Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi (Exorcist no Kiyoshi-kun) runs in Weekly Shonen Jump. Kiyoshi is a fantastic exorcist. If only he wasn’t scared of demons. And girls. And making friends. He’s actually pretty useless… but boy, can he exorcise. ASH: At least he’s got something going for himself. ANNA: It is good to have some sort of direction in life. SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Box 20, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex 5, Colette Decides to Die 7, Kagurabachi 7, My Special One 11 (the final volume), Natsume’s Book of Friends 32, Nue’s Exorcist 6, Prince Freya 13, Queen’s Quality 25 (the final…

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Earl and Fairy: How to Win Over a Gentleman

By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns. Well, I was suckered in once again. I was all set to talk about the fact that Earl and Fairy is a product of 90s shoujo, and that like a lot of 90s shoujo (and indeed a lot of manga and comics in general), it had a habit of snapping back to the default whenever anything important happened. I was ready to rage against no one seeming to have learned their lesson and everyone forgetting what happened the previous book. But no, it’s another stealth short story collection. Which means I can’t be really annoyed at Lydia and Edgar for behaving like…

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Our Party Nearly Wiped and Then Everything Went Downhill, Vol. 1

By Ameria and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Zenmetsu End wo Shi ni Monogurui de Kaihishita. Party ga Yanda” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Leah Sargent. Our main character, Walker, remembers his past life from Japan, and also that he’s in a grimdark manga that begins with an adventuring party getting murdered (him) and raped and murdered (the rest of his party) by a monster almost no one has defeated called Grim Reaper. He remembers all this just in time to figure out a way to defeat it. He does not remember this in time to avoid losing an eye and a leg to it. Now he’s recuperating in the Church and trying to combine his stoic, overly serious in-world memories with his somewhat…

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