Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/11/lacey-longs-for-freedom-the-dawn-witchs-low-key-life-after-defeating-the-demon-king-vol-3/

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By Hyogo Amagasa and Kyouichi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Amanogawa Tenri.

This one snuck up on me. I was sort of gently mocking the book as I went through the first half, which is very much on the “low-key life” part of the title. Lacey invents oven mitts. Lacey invents a camera. But then it turns out that all of this, as well as the previous two books, are important as Lacey is asked to come back to the capital. And, while there’s a lot of backsliding and introverted panicking, the difference between the Lacey of the start of the first book and the one we see in this volume is night and day. She’s an incredibly powerful witch, and everyone and their brother want to use her. But while she does want to bring the kingdom happiness, she also wants the privilege of choosing how she is used. And people are taking notice. Best of all, Lacey finally cottons on to what her feelings for Wayne actually are. She’s not quite ready to do anything yet, but the feelings are recognized.

Wayne shows up at the village again, and this time he’s here for a full month, though he doesn’t say why. We see Lacey helping Cedric, who turns out to have a daughter who is getting married, and he wants to bake something special for the wedding but can’t figure out what. After the wedding, discussion of how the kids are having trouble remembering what the dress looked like makes Lacey want to create photography, which she does through a wonderful series of trial and error and the help of her phoenix. Finally, though, Wayne reveals why he’s there. The princess (you know, the one who cheated with Lacey’s fiancee in Book 1) is getting married, but has locked herself in her room right before the wedding. The king is asking Lacey to help do something about that. But why is the princess there in the first place?

After getting a fairly typical “evil noble” in the last book, the most refreshing part of this one is seeing how it handles the prior antagonists. The King is mindboggled by how much Lacey has changed from just a year away from saving the world and being the Dawn Witch. Alicia, the princess, already fully regrets her philandering, but being married off to a foreign prince (who’s fine, at least) has her lonely and homesick before she even leaves. Heck, we even get a side story showing that Raymond, whose fault all of this really is, has gotten used to life on the farm where he’s been exiled too, and is even coming through with delicious vegetables. If there’s a weak spot in the series, it continues to be Wayne, who I sort of but not really wish would be found to have a dark side, or a secret he hasn’t revealed. He’s just this bland guy.

But we’re not here for him, we’re here for Lacey, and she’s fun. She also reminds me of Monica, so Silent Witch fans should also get this. The next volume, which should wrap the series up, is not out in Japan yet.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/11/lacey-longs-for-freedom-the-dawn-witchs-low-key-life-after-defeating-the-demon-king-vol-3/

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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/07/manga-the-week-of-8-13-25/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85568

SEAN: Are these the dog days? Or are the dogs days later in the month?

ASH: It’s cat days more often than not with manga. (And Japanese fiction, in general, for that matter.)

SEAN: Airship has The Devil Princess (Akuma Koujo) in print. A demon who longs to have family and friends and a brighter life ends up being forcibly reborn into the body of a human princess. She’s revered as a saint, but her demonic impulses – and other demons – haunt her.

There’s also print for Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 11.

For early digital we see Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 12 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary 13.

Ghost Ship has Inside the Tentacle Cave 5.

ASH: I wonder what’s going on outside the cave.

SEAN: Two debuts for J-Novel Club. The light novel is Engaging with the Plot: A Former Cat’s Attempt to Save Her Now Temporary Fiancé (Konyakusha-sama ni wa Unmei no Heroine ga Arawaremasu ga, Zantei Konyaku Life wo Mankitsushimasu!) You know how this starts. Framed for crimes she didn’t commit, broken engagement. And she’s engaged to a man who is “cursed”. Then she recalls her past life… as a cat!

ASH: See? Cat days!

SEAN: We also get Make It Stop! I’m Not Strong… It’s Just My Sword! (Yametekure, Tsuyoi no wa Ore Janakute Ken Nanda……!), an adaptation of the LN already released by J-Novel Club. It runs in Drecomics.

Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s (Friend’s) Dilemma 3, D-Genesis 6 (the manga version), and Lacey Longs for Freedom 3.

Kodansha Manga has a nice box set of Witch Hat Atelier coming out, with the first six volumes and some cards.

ANNA: Nice! Glad to see this getting the special treatment.

ASH: This does look lovely.

SEAN: Also in print: Blood Blade 5 (the final volume), Dead Rock 3, The Fable Omnibus 9, Fed Up With Being the Spoiled Queen’s Genius Butler, I Ran Away and Built the World’s Strongest Army 2, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 4, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 11, and Wandance 13.

And in digital we get Gang King 32 and Giant Killing 50.

MICHELLE: Insert my standard comments about how I should really catch up on Wandance and Giant Killing.

ANNA: Insert my standard comment about how I should have started reading these in the first place.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 7th volume of Parallel World Pharmacy.

Seven Seas time. The Demon King is Way Too Overprotective! (Yo ni mo Kahogo na Maou-sama) is a Betsufure title about a girl who’s struggling to make ends meet, and now she’s dealing with a demon king who says he’s crossed universes to be with her. For fans of “possessive and irritating boyfriend is so hot that the heroine gradually falls for them”.

Fake Fact Lips BREAK is a done-in-one omnibus, and a sequel to Fake Fact Lips. As for the plot, well, sometimes fings… break, don’t they, Dino?

ASH: Whoops!

SEAN: Long Period is a BL series from the creator of The Two Lions. Our hero is angry at his best friend, who if he applied himself cold get into a great university and really go places! So why does he just want to hang out all the time?

MICHELLE: I’m in!

ASH: Yeah, I’d read it.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death 3, Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon 9, The Barbarian’s Bride 4, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 18, The Last Elf 2, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 8, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 13, Mushoku Tensei 21, My Cat is Such a Weirdo 7, Perfect Buddy 4, The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 5,

And they’ve got a 4th volume of the KinnPorsche novel.

ASH: Haven’t read any of this series yet, but it’s still pretty cool it’s being translated.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts Exquisite Blood: The Heretic Onmyoji (Miyabichi no Onmyouji), which runs in GFantasy. Demons have stolen ten important treasures, and it’s up to the Onmyoji to get them back! For readers who don’t need the word onmyoji translated.

ASH: LOL! That might be me then.

SEAN: Also from Square Enix: Dragon and Chameleon 4, The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 10, My Isekai Life 20, and Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You 5.

Steamship has Fire in His Fingertips: A Flirty Fireman Ravishes Me with His Smoldering Gaze 9.

Two debuts for Tokyopop. Cute but Not Cute (Kawaiikedo Kawaikunai) is a BL oneshot that ran in from RED. A CEO who has it all is feeling lonely. Luckily his assistant, who’s loved him for years, is here to help.

Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim: A Yakuza Heiress Becomes the Top-Ranked Villain’s Romantic Target! (Akutou Ikka no Mana Musume, Tensei Saki mo Otome Game no Gokudou Reijou deshita. – Saijoukyuu Rank no Akuyaku-sama, Sono Dekiai wa Fuyou desu!) is a Comic Corona manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. This is from the author of 7th Time Loop.

Tokyopop also has Merry Witches’ Life 2 and My Beautiful Man: Interlude.

Viz Media debuts Rai Rai Rai, a shonen manga from Ura Sunday. A girl is trying to make ends meet by killing “space vermin”. Then she’s abducted by aliens, given a weird arm, and told to kill all humans. This is a comedy, I suspect.

ASH: Potentially interesting?

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 13, Fly Me to the Moon 29, Girl Crush 2, I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 7 (the final volume), Mao 21, Not-So-Shoujo Love Story 2, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 13 (the final volume?), Rainbows After Storms 5, Sakura, Saku 8, and Snow Angel 2.

Yen On has two debuts. Remember that “as yet unlicensed” light novel I mentioned 3 weeks ago? Yeah, I’d forgotten, here it is. Almark. A city in the north is home to powerful mercenaries, but one boy just isn’t as strong as the rest. His father sends him south to a magic academy to try to be a sorcerer instead.

Nagisa Natsunagi Still Wants to Be a High School Girl (Natsunagi Nagisa wa Mada, Joshi Kousei de Itai) is a spinoff from The Detective Is Already Dead. Nagisa can now finally be healthy enough to live a normal school life, thanks to a heart transplant. But who is the donor?

Also from Yen On: Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 6, Bofuri 16, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 9, Pitch-Black Infatuation (the 2nd Sasaki Agency volume), and Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 4.

No dogs at all. Sad. What are you getting?

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/07/manga-the-week-of-8-13-25/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85568

Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/06/the-poison-king-now-that-ive-gained-ultimate-power-the-bewitching-beauties-in-my-harem-cant-get-enough-of-me-vol-1/

http://27.18252

By LeonarD and Won. Released in Japan as “Doku no Ou: Saikyou no Chikara ni Kakuseishita Ore wa Biki-tachi wo Shitagae, Hatsujou Harem no Aruji to Naru” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Boris Lecourt.

This wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d hoped, alas. For the third of my “go back and try a JNC series I skipped”, I decided to try this series, which kind of repulsed me when I saw it licensed. I was supposed to be explicit, and I was expecting a lot of ridiculously bad prose. Alas, only one or two speeches really lived down to that, and for the most part it was a standard ecchi power fantasy. And so, in the spirit of not ordering a milkshake at Home Depot, I will review this for what it is rather than what it is not. What is it? It’s a series to read if you like cool guys using martial arts and poison powers to kill bad guys, and also using pheromones to seduce all the women around him and take them to bed. Where it will cut away right before the actual act. Sorry, there’s always AO3.

Years ago, the hero’s party, including a man and his wife, defeat the evil poison queen. Sadly, as she dies, she curses the wife, who is now dying herself. Their “friend” Faust (subtle this book is not) has a solution: the wife is pregnant with twins, so they can all survive if one of the twins gets the curse. What no one expects is the twin to survive. Thirteen years later, the wife is dead, and our hero, Caim, is living in a hovel outside a village, where he is abused every day for being cursed. His dad threw him out when his mother died. The only friend he has is his very very loyal maid. Then one day Faust comes by with a possible cure… and he meets the Poison Queen, who tries to possess him. When she fails, he ends up now being able to control his powers and aging five years. Time to go get some payback.

So, how to sell this series… Aside from some overwrought monologues when Caim is killing bad guys, which read more like him being a chuuni than anything else, and another girl pissing herself in fear (a trope I hate, and which the author admits in the afterword is there for fetish reasons, so bleah), this is not all that different from a typical male power fantasy book. Caim, after his plot-relevant age-up, is cool and powerful but also does not lose occasionally acting like the 13-year-old he was until recently, especially when trying to deal with love (not sex, love) or fantastic panoramic landscapes. The love interests, so far, are a) devoted maid, b) noble princess turned into enthusiastic hedonist, and c) tsundere girl who loves being spanked/insulted. They’re actually not too bad. They don’t turn meek, and he doesn’t take any advantage of him they don’t want to, except when his pheromones are doing what the plot requires. And he also punches some Nazis… erm, nobles. I always like that.

Basically, if you are looking for a book with a lot of sex, this will probably frustrate you. If you are looking for a book with a lot of boobs, suggested sex, and a cool guy living his best life, this is certainly one of them. You could do worse.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/06/the-poison-king-now-that-ive-gained-ultimate-power-the-bewitching-beauties-in-my-harem-cant-get-enough-of-me-vol-1/

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Posted by Michelle Smith

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/04/pick-of-the-week-catching-up-2/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85528

MICHELLE: There aren’t any debuts that wildly excite me this week, so instead I’ll pick a series that I have fallen behind on but still read a great deal of, which is Natsume’s Book of Friends. Its release schedule is pretty slow, but now I’ve amassed enough unread volumes to have a proper marathon, which is appealing!

SEAN: Same here, so I’ll pick Colette Decides to Die again, because it’s one of my favorite recent shoujo licenses.

ASH: Similarly, none of this week’s debuts are a priority for me, but I must say that Don’t Hold Back, Lord Hades has one of the prettiest Hades I’ve seen in a very long time.

MJ: Can I admit to being hopelessly in love with The Apothecary Diaries? I’ve been following the anime and the manga adaptation more closely than the light novels, which I know is backwards in terms of source material, but we’ve been picking up the light novel volumes over here anyway. So that’s probably my pick!

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/04/pick-of-the-week-catching-up-2/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85528

Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/03/the-frontier-lord-begins-with-zero-subjects-the-blue-horned-maiden/

http://27.18241

By Fuurou and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Ryoumin 0-nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushu-sama” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

I had reached a brief period in my giant pile of reviews where I had a gap in my schedule, so asked folks what books they might want me to try that I had skipped before. This one came up first, so I gave it a try. It’s not bad. I have a few issues with one or two of the subplots (see below), but overall this fits in nicely in the “I arrive in a new place and slowly accumulate people who adore me” slow life genre. If there’s one big objection that I have to the books, it’s that the chapter titles are all locations. The Next Day, By the River. A Week Later, At the Yurt. If you’re that desperate, there’s always the option of just leaving it at numbers, you know? That said, the chapter titles don’t give much away as a result. Except that there’s a yurt. Which makes sense, given that this setting feels very much like fantasy Mongolia.

Dias, an orphan who strives to live up to his parents’ last words to him, is the hero of the most recent war, and is very much in need of a reward. The nobility decide to grant him a domain. They take him out to the middle of nothing but grassy plains, leave him with no food or water, and say “everything you can see is yours”. Then they leave. You can tell they are SWELL GUYS. He finds water, then decides to just sleep where he is. He then wakes up to find a teenage girl with a blue horn on her head (hence the subtitle) angrily asking him who he is. It turns out this land is actually part of her oni clan’s, and they’ve been at war with the city he came from for some time. That said, her horn is also a lie detector of a sort, and she can see he has nothing but good intentions. Which confuses her. See, Dias wants to be a good frontier lord. Even if he’s not sure how to do this.

Dias is one of those big dumb guys who’s good at fighting provided he doesn’t have to think (he uses a giant axe), but as it turns out he’s not all that dumb, he just tends to take time to think things through. I was fairly sure that Alna would be the tsundere sort who would slowly warm up to him over the course of the series, but I could not have been more wrong. Their tribe prizes strength over everything, and when this guy not only takes out a huge number of fantasy bison but also a dragon (or, as he insists, a giant turtle), she falls in love almost immediately, and they’re engaged (he refuses to let them be married till she’s of age) by the middle of the book. My one grump is that not once, but twice, we get situations where we think there will be slaves sold, only to be told “no, there is a lot of slavery, but these people are not slaves because _____”. As a result, Dias ends up adopting twin daughters, and a nearby sympathetic lord has a harem of adoring women. Both subplots could honestly have happened without slavery. You can just… not write the background slavery.

So overall, this was pretty good. I’m not sure I have a huge desire to read more, but if you like the genre it’s definitely worth a shot.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/08/03/the-frontier-lord-begins-with-zero-subjects-the-blue-horned-maiden/

http://27.18241