Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu 1

Author: Yuushi Ukai

Illustrator: Nekomateru

Label: MF Bunko J

Release Date: 25 November 2022

My Score: 3/5

English Release: Yen-Press has licensed this series in English and will be publishing it under the title of "Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table."

This series follows Yuuki, a 17-year-old who plays death games for a living. The death games are played for the entertainment of viewers and winners get prize money which is a strong motivator for people to participate. While that does form part of Yuuki's motivation, there is another factor: she wants to win 99 death games and become the record holder for most games won. This volume tells the story of two death games. The first is the story of Yuuki's 29th game in which six participants, dressed up as maids, have to escape from a mansion. The second takes place in the past with Yuuki's 9th game. This one is more bloody where players are split into bunnies and hunters. Hunters have to kill 5 bunnies to win, while bunnies have to stay alive for the duration of the game.

I thought this volume was pretty interesting, but didn't quite live up to the hype that I had heard about the series. Part of that is that I don't think Yuuki really works as a protagonist, at least not at the moment. Yuuki is experienced and not affected by death. While she does try to survive the games with as many people as possible (her philosophy is that if she saves someone now they may help her in a future game), she doesn't really care if they die, unless their existence is necessary to win the game. While this kind of emotionless protagonist can work, they need someone lighter to bounce off of and Yuuki doesn't have that. The characters in the first and second stories are completely different and there's no one to challenge Yuuki's viewpoints or to help her grow as a person so she ends up feeling hard to connect with. I don't feel like I got to really understand her throughout this volume, despite being stuck in her head for most of it.

I do think that the death games were exciting though and it was easy to read. There is a game mechanic that prevents bodies from rotting or from blood spurting which helps to prevent the story from feeling like pure torture porn. It also helps that the dead bodies are usually not described in gory detail. I think that the series does have potential, especially if they introduce a deuteragonist for Yuuki to bounce off. I'd be interested in reading the second volume to see where the story goes.

It is worth mentioning that the participants in the games so far are all girls, and looking ahead to the future volumes, I can't see any male characters in the illustrations. While this could lead to commentary on how people prefer to see cute girls in costumes slaughter each other than boys, I think it's more likely that the author just likes writing cute girls slaughtering each other, and I worry that this could lead to the series feeling more and more like torture porn as it goes on. I also want to mention that there is a slight yuri element. In the first story, Yuuki often mentions how happy she is to be pressed up against cute girls' bodies. I personally found this a bit off-putting - checking out other people's bodies in a life-or-death situation always squicks me out- but your mileage may vary.

Stellar Step 1

Author: Shogo Hayashi

Illustrator: Ancotaku

Label: MF Bunko J

Release Date: 25 January 2023

My Score: 4/5

The story takes place on an earth devastated by a meteorite crash event. After the event, new nations were formed and they went to war over their territories. Instead of fighting with soldiers and armies, however, the wars are fought with idol battles. The story follows Rain, a top class idol who has never lost. But then she meets Hana, a girl who wants to become an idol that everyone loves, and loses to her in a rehearsal match. Rain finds herself wanting to meet Hana again and a special bond forms between the two of them.

This ended up being a very nice surprise. The story felt generic at first with it hitting predictable plot beats and taking itself a bit too seriously, despite the silly premise. I also found it hard to get invested in the plot at first as it was unclear why these nations were at war in the first place. But there were so many twists that I did not see coming that caught me off guard to the end of the volume. Reading this after the first volume of Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu, I was happy to see Rain forming relationships with others and growing as a character. It made her a lot easier to get invested in, even as her character arc felt predictable. Her relationships with the others were sweet and I like that her forming a connection with Hana leads to her forming deeper relationships with other characters. And some of my complaints about the beginning were addressed in the narrative later on in a way that made the issue feel intentional. As an example, it's unclear why the nations are at war and what they get from the War Stage where the idols compete, because Rain doesn't know and she doesn't care. She only cares about winning. So it makes sense why the reader wouldn't understand the stakes of the War Stage because the narrative is told through Rain's eyes. I ended up really enjoying this volume and I want to read more and find out what happens next.

Given that I got this at the same time as Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu, for the same reason (they both ranked highly in KonoRano 2024), and the two have protagonists that start off in a similar state, I find myself wanting to compare the two. When I compare them, Stellar Step comes out on top. Shibou Yuugi was slightly more entertaining, but I didn't become invested in the story or the characters, the way that I did with Stellar Step. I do think that Shibou Yuugi has more long-lasting appeal though. I can see Shibou Yuugi going on for a long while yet, while Stellar Step doesn't feel like it has enough plot to go on for longer than 2 or 3 more volumes without becoming stale. There is one big difference between the series though: despite feeling like it might be heading towards being tragedy porn in the beginning, Stellar Step is ultimately about tearing down oppressive systems and keeping hope. Whereas Shibou Yuugi, based on the first volume, has no interest in tearing down the oppressive system at the core of it's premise. At the end of the day, I prefer stories about changing unfair things rather than accepting them, which is why I ultimately prefer Stellar Step.

There are a couple of other things I want to quickly address. The series does have a slight yuri element, but I would be shocked if it ended up having an explicit romance between Rain and Hana. The two don't come off as romantic and it doesn't feel like it's heading in that direction. Also, boy idols and adult idols are not mentioned as being a thing in this universe. All the idols we see are young girls. This is pretty typical of idol series, but it makes me want to see an idol series that focuses on both boy and girl idols at the same time (bonus points for non-binary idols as well).

January 2024

(Source: Sword Art Online Alternative: Mystery Labyrinth | Artist: Shiho Enta)

I've been more focused on catching up on shows from 2023 that I missed out on while they were airing than picking up anything from Winter 2024. It certainly helps that this seems to be a weak season. I'm still watching Frieren and Pokemon Horizons and having a great time with both. Frieren has started a new arc and it's really engaging, and Pokemon is still just 20 minutes of cuteness each week.

Soaring Sky Precure has ended and it was such a fun ride. Easily one of my favourite Precure series, up there with Hugtto and Heartcatch. I'll hold off on talking about it much for now, since it will be included in my favourite anime of 2023 list next month, but I'd highly recommend it. If anyone was curious about where I am at with my Precure journey: I watched a lot of Precure series last year as I found it was a great way to relax after work. I only have five entries left: Splash Star, Yes 5 and Yes 5 GoGo, Happiness Charge, and Power of Hope. I'm going to try to catch up on the series this year. Once I do, I'll do a ranking either on here or on twitter.

I did pick up Metallic Rouge, but I'm not sure if I like it so far. The two leads are charming and I like their dynamic, but I'm not sure where the story is heading and episode 3 had some plot elements that I did not like and the fight between the two leads felt forced. I may not finish this one but I'll give it another episode or 2 for now.

I've also picked up and caught up with The Apothecary Diaries. I definitely think this series works better for me in a visual medium as I remember being bored by the first two volumes of the light novels when I read them years ago, but I like the anime a lot more. I love Maomao and I'm really invested in the story and the characters. It helps that the show is very pretty. My one issue is that I'm not big on the Jinshi and Maomao ship as it seems very one-sided on his part (I don't ship Himmel and Frieren for the same reason), but I'll live with it since their dynamic is interesting.

List of Reviews:

Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari 3

Shousetsu Smile Precure

[Twitter short review] Mouryou Tantei Koyoi mo Katarazu

Sword Art Online Alternative: Mystery Labyrinth

Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu 1