#MangaMonday Review – My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol. 1 by Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol 1
By: Satoru Yamaguchi
Illustrator: Nami Hidaka
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Publisher: Seven Seas
Series: My Next Life as a Villainess
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Isekai and otome combine in 2019’s manga My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol 1 written by Satoru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Nami Hidaka. This is the manga adapatation of a light novel of the same title, publishing by J-Novel Club, and is set for an anime adaptation during the Spring 2020 season.

Review – Reincarnated as a Sword, Vol. 1 by Yuu Tanaka

Reincarnated as a Sword Vol 1 Reincarnated as a Sword, Vol. 1
By: Yuu Tanaka
Illustrator: LLO
Translator: Mike Rachmat (translator); Jaymee Goh (Adaptation)
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Publisher: Seven Seas
Series: Reincarnated as a Sword (#1)
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


An isekai light novel with a twist, Reincarnated as a Sword, Vol. 1 by Yuu Tanaka and illustrations by LLO is one of the latest, utterly fantastic releases in the genre. A delight to read from start to finish, Reincarnated as a Sword embraces the best aspects of isekai, video games, and traditional fantasy and combines them into something truly memorable. This particular light novel is part of the growing subgenre of ‘reincarnated as an inanimate object’ with Reincarnated as a Sword being a rather imaginative inclusion.

#MangaMonday Review – Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha by Dragongarow Lee

Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha
By: Dragongarow Lee
Illustrator: Dragongarow Lee
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Publisher: VIZ Media: Shonen Jump
Rating:


Every once in a while something magical happens. Sometimes we’re blessed with fanfiction that gets sanctioned by the series. Sometimes, we get manga like this. Dragon Ball: The Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha is by Dragongarow Lee, a fan artist who is well known in the community.

Review – Overlord, Vol 5: The Men of the Kingdom Part 1 by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol 5: The Men of the Kingdom Part 1
By: Kugane Maruyama
Illustrator: so-bin
Translator: Emily Balistrieri
Release Date: (Original) December 28, 2013; (English) September 19, 2017
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: Overlord
Rating:


Well, here we are with another volume of Overlord. This light novel series has gone interesting places, and I’m always pleasantly surprised by what happens next. Overlord, Volume 5: The Men of the Kingdom Part 1 by Kugane Maruyama is the start to an interesting new arc in the series focusing more on Sebas and several human characters.

Review – Outbreak Company: Volume 1 by Ichiro Sakaki

Outbreak Company: Volume 1
By: Ichiro Sakaki
Illustrator: Yugen
Translator: Kevin Steinbach
Release Date: November 17, 2017; (Original) December 2, 2011
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Series: Outbreak Company #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


I am always on the hunt for new isekai (that’s ‘trapped in another world’ for those who don’t know) light novels. Somehow I’d missed the anime Outbreak Company when it first aired, so I jumped at the chance to read the light novel. Outbreak Company Vol. 1 by Ichiro Sakaki, author of Chaika: The Coffin Princess among others, is a light novel that is both fun, but unafraid to delve into the more serious aspects of politics and the issues that arise when transporting pop culture to another world.

Review – It’s All Fun and Games by Dave Barrett

It's All Fun and Games
By: Dave Barrett
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Publisher: Nerdist
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


I’ve read quite a number of ‘trapped in a video game’, even more ‘trapped in another world’ books, and I’m always looking for more. It’s All Fun and Games by Dave Barrett is another trapped in a game book, but with a bit of a twist. This isn’t a video game. The main characters are LARPers. The world they wind up trapped in isn’t the video game they were playing, but a real life version on the scenario they were given during the LARP event weekend. It’s a different take on a growing theme in literature, and I was quite enthusiastic to read it.

Review – Overlord, Vol. 3: The Bloody Valkyrie by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol. 3: The Bloody Valkyrie
By: Kugane Maruyama
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Yen On
Series: Overlord #3
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Tuesday saw the release of the next Overlord novel. So here I am, book in hand, to tell you all about it while waiting (not quite so) patiently for the next novel in the series. Overlord, Vol. 3: The Bloody Valkyrie by Kugane Maruyama is a fantastic installment in the series and possibly my favorite released (in English) thus far. The artwork by so-bin, including a double sided foldout at the beginning of the book, is absolutely stunning. And I can’t wait for Vol. 4.

That’s it guys. I’m hooked.

Review – Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior
By: Kugane Maruyama
Release Date: (Original) November 8, 2012; (English) September 27, 2016
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: Overlord, Book #2
Rating:


Every time I go into a bookstore it’s the same. I chant “I just bought books; I will not buy more.” I’m not sure why I bother. It never works. This last trip to the bookstore was my best attempt yet. The last set of books I’d ordered had just arrived at my door that morning and I swore I wasn’t buying more. Then I saw Overlord, Vol. 2: The Dark Warrior sitting on a shelf with some recent manga releases, squee’d, and immediately bought it. Because I’m weak.

Review – Overlord, Vol. 1: The Undead King by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol 1: The Undead King
By: Kugane Maruyama
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Yen On
Series: Overlord, Book #1
Rating:


When I saw Overlord, Vol 1: The Undead King by Kugane Maruyama sitting on the shelf at the book store I just had to have it. I couldn’t help myself. It isn’t every day you find a translated light novel with breathtaking artwork (and hardcover no less!) just sitting around in the wild like that. Not unless you’re at a specialty book store. Sure, they have manga most of the time, but they’re usually usually way in the back and resigned to only one shelf, two if you’re lucky. And even they usually only have the old standards.

Okay, so, first. For those who don’t know, light novel is a term for a Japanese novel which is more or less the length of a long novella or a short novel, and is almost always part of a series. Overlord is one of these. This is the first volume, and, as of the time of writing this review, the only one currently available in English.