Japanese publishers, including Shueisha and Shogakukan, have invested $4.9 million in Mantra, a startup leveraging AI to accelerate manga translation.

I don't read many mangas, so I don't know how good or bad the translations are, but I thought the news was interesting at least.

No books are allowed here this week. Tell me how you spend your free time when you're not reading.

When I'm not reading or watching anime I'm usually playing games. This used to be my main hobby but for the last several years I kinda lost interest and are now just playing in bursts whenever something catches my fancy. I'm finishing up the last bits and bobs of Shadow of the Erdtree right now and I might start Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance next. Just like the non-remake version, I played it for about 30 minutes and then something else caught my eye. This time I want to pick it back up and not just forget it again, but my backlog is insane and it feels more like an obligation than something I actually want to do (which takes a lot out of the fun of the whole thing).

I also started to get into cooking for the past 5 years or so and are currently in my creative phase where I try to come up with new stuff instead of following recipes. It's not good honestly...

Reading through D-Genesis which is an extreme example of a LN written from multiple POVs got me thinking about this. I can't think of a single instance where I like the multiple POV type of writing. I enjoy a bonus chapter from a fresh POV well enough, but in the main body I want to follow a single protagonist and I find it tiresome to emotionally adjust to a new protagonist in short order.

What do you all think about this? Are there any LN with multiple POVs that are good?

Which LN has the best ad?

My pick would be Re:Zero. The first season is so well done that I had to pick up the LN to see how it continues.

PV on Youtube

I had a day off on Monday so my wetware got confused and thought it's only Tuesday. That's why I don't have anything prepared for the Midweek-Discussion. I call a lazy day and just ask y'all what your favorite "normie book" is. We've seen a few already on April 1st but where they your favorite?

I would start with my favorite but I cannot in good conscience tell you about it because it will never get to the last book in the trilogy and letting readers hang is probably somewhere listed in the Geneva Conventions as a war crime. It's been over a decade and I still made myself depressed again just thinking about it right now, so go on and tell me about your favorites to cheer me up.

Last week I read a book where the protagonist did the usual Hollywood good-guy thing where he refused to kill the antagonist because that would be bad, I guess. All while watching how the baddie killed hundreds and possibly thousands of innocents all around him. Not to mention all the suffering and death he caused leading up to that confrontation. But no, watching hundreds of civilians get slaughtered while trying to talk the villain down is okay as long as MC doesn't tarnish his fickle morality by killing someone. I mean, at which point can a hero say "you know what, you deserve to die"?

And while seething in a lot more anger about stupid MCs than is justified, I was thinking about MCs that are realist enough to actually pull the figurative trigger on a villain. There aren't that many that I can think of. Even those who are supposedly "villains" are villains in title alone. It's like finding a unicorn when you stumble upon a MC who actually kills a named character. After all, we already established that an infinite number of unnamed civillians/henchmen doesn't count when it comes to hero morality. Cutting through 100 nameless hired guards who are only doing their jobs is okay as long as MC realizes that he isn't that guy just when he towers over the defeated mega villain.

What's your stance on those heroes? Do you have good examples? Bad ones?

For everyone who is like me dreading the end of Ascendance of a Bookworm, here is the cover of the first Spin-off series.

The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone!

It is said that Liefes are only capable of conjuring the most difficult and least useful of spells... but that won’t stop Yui from doing what she loves! Despite being born a Liefe, Yui adores magic and learning all she can about it no matter the challenge. The more difficult spells, the better! If only her noble father approved. Deemed a failure to the family name, young Yui and her mother are banished from their own home... but she won’t let that stop her either! After years of struggle and devotion to her studies, Yui is accepted into one of the most prestigious magic academies in the kingdom. Here she will learn from the best magical practitioners in the world—if she can survive amongst all the pompous nobles with more bluster than brains. Constantly ridiculed and undermined by her privileged peers for being a Liefe, will Yui be able to study in peace and prove them wrong? And what ancient mysteries will her research uncover? That is, if the academy doesn’t stop her first...

The Royal Hostage Has Vanished: The Black Wolf Knight Yearns for the Persecuted Princess

Upon his nation’s victory against the Kingdom of Sylvario, Brigandian knight Ark McGuine is sent to collect Princess Sonia of Sylvario, whose hand in marriage had been offered in exchange for lesser financial reparations. But when she doesn’t arrive by the agreed date, he’s forced to spearhead an investigation into why. As a horrible tale of mistreatment and negligence comes to light, he grows more and more drawn to a woman he’s never met, but it all ends tragically: Princess Sonia perished on the way to her new home from her country’s own capital, and her own family members were at fault! Ark eventually returns to Brigandia, despairing over a love that could have been...until he runs into a girl named “Nia” in his own kingdom’s capital who looks exactly like the princess!

The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged

In a world ravaged by war and conflict, Hero Raid Freeden and Sage Eluria Caldwin clashed time and time again over fifty long years as the strongest soldiers of their respective nations. However, their long-standing rivalry came to an inevitable yet bitter end with Eluria’s sudden death. A thousand years later, Raid finds he has been reincarnated—and so has Eluria! The world may now be at peace, but the two have an unsettled rivalry between them and the mystery of their reincarnation looms ominously over their heads. There’s so much that needs to be done, so they decide to...get engaged and attend the Royal Institute of Magic together?!

The Poison King: Now that I've Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can't Get Enough of Me

Thirteen years ago, a terrible monster called the Poison Queen attacked the Jade Kingdom. A brave party of adventurers defeated her, but in the process one of them was stricken with a curse. In order to survive, she had to pass it down to her own son. Scorned as a cursed child since birth, Caim Halsberg is hated by everyone except his late mother and Tea, a maid working for his family. While his father and twin sister reside in their mansion, Caim is forced to live alone in a forest hut. But everything changes when a certain doctor helps him to overcome the curse and claim its power. Having now become the Poison King, Caim goes on a journey to achieve his one wish—but he never imagined that his poison would have quite the peculiar effect on the beauties he meets!

Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World

From the day he was born until the moment he died, 25-year-old Yusuke Yahagi never had a say in his life. Even after being hit by a truck and sent to a new world, he was given a job he hadn’t asked for: a dagashi-ya. But the cheap and tasty snacks that line his shop are different from those back in Japan. From Curry Rice Crackers to Anzu Sticks, each item comes with its own special effects. Unfortunately, this new world has no idea what dagashi are! It’s up to Yahagi to teach them about the wonders of dagashi as he builds a new life for himself, selling his stat-boosting snacks to help adventurers in need and earning loyal customers—like the lively pink-haired Meryl, the mysterious man in the silver mask, and maybe even a witch or two...?

The Fake Hero Crashes the Party

A Demon Lord has arisen, and the world awaits a hero. In a peaceful village, two young boys—Foyle Austin and his best friend Yu—have long dreamed about being heroes, but the legends say there can only be one. Their paths forward seem decided when the goddess declares Foyle a “Hero,” while leaving Yu’s destiny unclear. But Foyle has a secret only he knows. The role given to him by the goddess is actually “Fake Hero.” Far from being destined to overthrow the Demon Lord, defeat awaits him at the true hero’s hand, and Foyle has a good idea who that will be. When Foyle expels Yu from his party, he cements his role as the true hero’s adversary. His powers begin to fade as his friend grows ever stronger. Foyle clearly won’t be the one to save the world, but after an encounter with a mysterious elf in need of help, he sets out to prove that even the villain can be a hero to someone.

The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World

Betrayed by his allies and on the verge of death, the strongest exorcist, Haruyoshi Kuga, desired only one thing—to be happy in his next life. Using the secret art of reincarnation, he was transported to another world. Reborn as Seika Lamprogue, third son of a distinguished family of magic scholars, he’s found to have no magical power whatsoever, which is an unacceptable shame in a family of mages. However, he soon comes to realize that his new world’s magic is nothing compared to the sorcery he mastered as an exorcist. With his control over divination, curses, and legions of youkai who serve him, his life in this new world should be a breeze! The only question is: how can he make use of those powers while laying low to avoid another untimely demise?

For me, it’s often hard to say what makes good world-building. I’m good at pointing out what I don’t like, but when I find a series that has good world-building in my opinion I often find myself hard-pressed to put a finger on what exactly makes it good in comparison. But let’s try anyway. Post specific examples of something that elevates one series' world-building in your opinion.

As is customary I will start: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World does a lot of things that I would consider good world-building but it does one specific thing that I find dreadfully lacking in 99% of other series (even those I love to death). ReZero has in-world proverbs. When characters say them for the first time we, as the reader, don’t understand them but we (well, most of us) are intelligent enough to get the meaning from context. I have no idea why a magmarin is laughing when it's full of holes or how it feels to be a bazomazo bein' flung back an' forth but adding those simple lines adds so much to the world by giving the illusion that there is a whole history/fable/story behind those sayings. That this world exists outside the character's direct sphere of influence and has existed long before. And this is just the beginning. Those specific proverbs above come from a character that is part of a different culture than the people we have seen up to his point of introduction. By throwing around a bunch of new proverbs that sound so far off from what we heard so far, Nagasaki really drives home that this character has his own set of values and views on what’s normal. That’s not only incredible and intelligent world-building but also fucking great prose. It’s “show, don’t tell” in text form.

Tell me how a series would change if MC were the villain. Who would be the new hero and how would the plot change?

And since today is Bookworm day I'll start with the obvious:

Ascendance of a Bookwyrm: Urano Motosu, once a book-loving and kind-hearted girl, reincarnates as Myne, a fire-spewing dragon. After a century as a recluse in her dragon hort full of books she accidentally burns everything down in a fit of rage when she reads a romance novel and her favorite ship doesn't sail. Desperately crying over the ashes of her lost hort she hatches a new plan. She transforms into the body of a little girl and tries to blend in with the human civilization of the Ehrenfest duchy. She begins to develop a book industry and finds promising authors but becomes quickly disillusioned with this new environment and its injustices. She realizes that her efforts to spread knowledge and literacy have been in vain, as the nobles and clergy continue to exploit and oppress the common people. Feeling betrayed and frustrated, Myne's desire for change and justice morphs into a thirst for power and control as she turns back into her dragon form and forces everyone to write and print books for her ceaselessly after she overthrows the ruling class and becomes the new supreme ruler.

As Myne's power grows, the Yurgenschmidt descends into chaos. Entire duchies are destroyed, innocent people are burned by a angry Bookwyrm for the slightest typos or when the wrong (in Myne's opinion) ships sail. The nobles and clergy, who once oppressed the common people, are now forced to flee or go into hiding. The people are caught in the middle, suffering under Myne's tyranny. Some of those people who once admired and respected Myne are shocked and terrified by her transformation. Her former friends and allies, including Benno and Lutz, are forced to confront the monster she has become under the guidance of the resistance leader Ferdinand. They must band together to stop her, but Myne's cunning and magical prowess make her a formidable foe indeed.

It’s that time of the week again. This time it’s about books you hate to read but still keep reading. Usually I drop a book when I don’t enjoy it but currently, I’m reading a series (Mythical Hero's Otherworld Chronicles) that I absolutely despise with a passion but I still keep grabbing new volumes for some reason that I might need to get checked out.

Does anyone of you have something like that or am I the only masochistic weirdo out here?