The Apothecary Diaries Art Book | By Touko Shino | Square Enix Books – First of all, a word of warning: this is an artbook that has art from the first fourteen volumes of the light novel—which not only burns way past the five that Square Enix has released in print, but even past the thirteen that J-Novel Club have released digitally (fourteen isn’t out till the end of this month). Other than that, this is a very good look at the art from the light novels, with the color pages and interior illustrations given attention. There’s no major interviews and insights, and some characters (such as some people from the fourth volume whom anime fans might be very curious about) are missing character bits. It’s just there for the art, and if you want lots of Jinshi, Maomao, and Miss Chue (listed in order from least to most important), this is for you. – Sean Gaffney
Betrayed by the Hero, I Formed a MILF Party with His Mom!, Vol. 1 | By Ishino Yassan and Makoto Kuon | Ghost Ship – I mean, I can’t say that I didn’t expect it. This is exactly what you’d expect it to be, except, unfortunately, that it’s a lot duller. I was hoping it would lean into the ridiculousness of the premise, but alas, it seems to be taking it totally seriously. Our hero is kicked out of the party because he’s Guy #2 in a party with Guy #1 and the girls he’s sleeping with. That’s fine by our hero, as he’s reincarnated from Japan, and all these nineteen-year-old girls seem like kids to him. He likes older women. In this world, people die around 50 or so. So when he meets the hero’s mother, who has been sold into slavery by her husband (yeah, I warned you), she’s surprised to find he’s attracted to her. A lot. Much sex ensues. For hardcore fans. – Sean Gaffney
Pink Candy Kiss, Vol. 1 | By Ami Uozumi| Viz Media – If you’re tired of yuri that’s light as air and stars high school girls, this is absolutely a title for you. Takara, dumped by her fiancé because she doesn’t really seem to care too much about their relationship, admits she’s never really had those lovey-dovey feelings for anyone. Then she runs into Ema, a gorgeous woman who turns out to be her old classmate from junior high… and also married to someone else. As Takara starts to remember what she actually did with Ema in junior high, all her repressed feelings come out at once, which war with the fact that Ema is married and her husband loves her dearly. Unfortunately, Ema seems far more interested in Takara herself, to a ridiculous degree. It’s soap opera, but it’s compelling and well written. – Sean Gaffney
Seduced by the Demon King: A Sensual Rebirth, Vol. 1 | By FOXIES | Steamship – I picked this up because I was interested in the reverse isekai plot that gets things rolling. Haruka is an overworked and underappreciated office lady in Japan, but (and she has forgotten this) she used to be the Saint in a fantasy world where she battled the Demon Lord. Now he’s here to drive her to utter despair. The gimmick in this series is that she’s already in utter despair, as she’s a Japanese OL. So, in fact, he has to make her happy by cooking for her, buying her a new apartment for them to live in, and giving her the best sex she’s ever had in her life. As such, this might start out as a reverse isekai but it rapidly turns into a staple romance, which is to say “what if I was rescued from drudgery by the perfect guy? Who cares if he’s evil?” This was decent. – Sean Gaffney
Tamon’s B-Side, Vol. 7 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – This is SLIGHTLY less funny than previous volumes, mostly as it’s dealing with the fallout of Utage quitting her housekeeping job. Tamon, of course, considers this a rejection of him personally and is predictably devastated, but the rest of the band are also trying to cope with it in their own way, and also try to convince her that she needs to stop thinking too much and go back to her boy. After that we delve into the one guy we’ve never looked at before, Rintaro, and discover his deep, dark, horrible secret: he’s even more of an otaku nerd than Utage herself. This is one of those titles that could run and run, so I don’t see it resolving soon, especially as it fixed its story breaker from last time. But it’s really funny, which is what you want from this author. – Sean Gaffney
0 Comments