Please be aware that this phrase can also be used figuratively and then means something like „good vibe“.
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I finished 「育ちがいい人」だけが知っていること | L26 a few days ago. I enjoyed it, not really much more I can say besides what I already said in my last post and review. It is funny to see a brand new ‘non-fiction’ bar on the genre graphs of my stats page though 
I’m proud of those 4 full years I managed to avoid reading about real life.
Started reading くるまの娘 | L30?? a few weeks ago, which is ok but isn’t really drawing me in. It reads a lot like her debut work, 推し、燃ゆ | L37, but I don’t find the main character or situation of this one nearly as engaging. I’m halfway through already so I’ll finish it soon.
Manga updates:
さよならミニスカート 1 | L23 - This was pretty meh. I wavered between rating it 3 or 2 stars. The character on the cover is an idol who quit after a traumatic event where a fan attacked her with a knife, and now she dresses as a boy at new school so no one notices who she is. (Everyone knows she’s a girl, it’s just to disguise her appearance.) All kinds of drama and suspense ensues but it mostly feels undirected and ingenuine.
シメジ シミュレーション 04 | L29 - This series keeps getting wilder with every volume. I really love the ‘anything goes’ nature of each chapter, where you have no idea what to expect and most of the time it’s just one-off crazy ideas. In this volume the whole world morphs into whatever the characters imagine, so there’s really no holds barred. The last chapter also makes me interested (and slightly concerned for everyone involved) as to where the next volume can possibly go from here.
らんま1/2 11 | L24 - The usual Ranma shenanigans, but lots of time spent with characters I don’t like made this volume a bit disappointing.
狐の掟 中国幻想選 | L27 - Copying my review: This is a fun collection if you like kemomimi characters and dramatic, romantic fantasy (aimed at a male audience). The ancient Chinese setting is fun. They don’t all have a happy ending either, so it’s exciting to see how each one turns out. The titular story was my favorite.
Dーlive!! 1 | L25 - They said the meme line in every chapter, what more could I ask? In all seriousness though it was a fun book about a cool kid driving cool vehicles that reawakened my inner middle schooler.
放浪息子 11 | L27 - Up to volume 11 now. Good stuff. This volume in particular starts to really deal with the changes of growing up, and you can really see how the characters’ priorities and behaviors are changing. It seems to me like they’re all realizing the value of having close friends, since they’ll all be going to different schools soon, and some long-standing bitterness between certain characters is starting to fade.
大豪寺くんは女の子になっても最強です ~1巻~ | L20 - Super short (50 page) manga I found for free on Kindle. It’s the first collected volume of a webcomic series. Plot: Tall, strong, male high school student (possibly also a supernatural being? unclear) wakes up as a girl one morning, but still has isekai level fighting abilities, which lets him/her defend other students from thugs and/or bullies. Mostly from the perspective of the best friend character, who’s just a nice guy all around and happy to help with this situation. Overall a strange combination of genres and not particularly clean artwork, but so far the writing has been funny while avoiding the uncomfortable cliches that so much gender-bender falls into. I think my favorite thing is just how indifferent the main characters are about the whole situation, as odd as that sounds.
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I felt similarly… btw, idk if you’ve read my reviews on any of the volumes, but if by chance you have, could you let me know if any of them feel spoiler-y? I’m always unsure how much/which details to include/leave out, or spoiler tag
Sounds kinda interesting. Have added it to my eventually list
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I noticed them as I was reading this volume, and I think they’re really good! Personally I think you have the right level of spoiler tagging. It was nice to know what I was getting into, and I went back to look at the more specific spoiler tagged comments afterwards. Good to know what the next volume will be, too.
Well, I just read volume 2 and unfortunately I think I gave the author too much credit re: avoiding uncomfortable cliches. It’s still got fun moments though.
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Thx - good to know! They only last thru vol 18 btw, cuz I still haven’t finished the series
Mm what sorta uncomfortable cliches?
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Volume 2 has:
- People commenting on her feminine scent
- 下着ドロボー（though this one is kinda funny actually, it’s treated as a bit）
- Skirt lifting
And overall shifted more into ‘repressed romantic attraction’ between the two MCs. Nothing out of the ordinary for a manga like this but it felt a bit more unique before.
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Good to know. Still sounds interesting overall
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If this is a translation of 匂い, please read my comment above.
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Hmm, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it used quite like that. I know it can be used to describe something tantalizing or tempting, like if someone’s offering you a really good deal, but I think when it’s used in reference to a person it’s pretty much always literal. Do you have an example of the usage you mean?
In this case, it’s specifically used to represent the reactions of boys around her during exercise so I think it’s definitely referencing a literal scent.
If you are sure it‘s literal, it‘s OK. For me such a literal reference in this case would probably feel weird, but I don‘t know the context. I would in fact go as far that in most cases it‘s not literal. Edit: Now seeing the panel, I would say it could be both 
, and that‘s probably where the figurative meaning comes from.
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It does feel weird to me, which is why I mentioned it in the first place, but I think it’s more of a cultural difference than a linguistic misunderstanding. I could just be unaware but I’ve never seen anything that would imply these kind of references to 匂い are metaphorical.
I just googled a bit to try and find examples of いい匂い being used in different ways, and wound up coming across lots of articles and videos with titles like いい匂いがする女性になる方法！ and 体内からいい匂い女子になる that cover personal hygiene and correct ways to choose and apply perfume, so there’s clearly a strong link between the phrase いい匂い and a person’s literal fragrance.
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I’m not sure about いい匂い but I’ve seen 匂い used to mean things that are not literal scents. The first example to come to mind is the line from 悲しみがとまらい by Anri (banger of a song btw)
誤解だよって
あなたは笑う
だけど Kissはウソのにおい
抱きしめられて
気づいたの
愛がここにないことを
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That’s definitely literal here.
By the way, while I’ve seen 匂い used metaphorically, it was always for negative things. Eg, my dictionary provides the following examples: 不正の匂いがする 悪の匂い. In both cases, you have no proof, but it sure feels that way. In that sense, いい匂い sounds strange.
(Again, the point is moot here, since it’s not that usage)
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Alright, I finished 私の推しは悪役令嬢。2 | L33
Just as I thought, it is supposed to be the end of the series, so I’m not surprised the paper publication didn’t go further. The author even say in the afterword that they are planning to write something else afterwards… but then volumes 3-4-5 happened.
About volume 2, without going into too many spoilers, I got very mixed feelings. There were LGBT related parts that were great on their own, but completely independent from the overall plot (such as the main character remembering high school trauma… I can relate and I really liked that section, but I feel like it doesn’t really belong with the rest?), including some stuff that are really into the wish fulfillment category (such as convincing a conservative nun to stop hating homosexuals through logic and pointing out such hate goes against the precepts of her religion. Pff yeah, like that would ever work I still enjoyed that it happened even though it made me roll my eyes. That action, plus a couple other things eventually leads the Church to become a hotspot for lesbians, to the chagrin of the higher ups. Again, fun to consider, but come on) AND THEN you have stuff that are completely unrelated to all that, going from typical isekai-y fighting to cape-and-dagger shady politics. The author isn’t equally good at all those things.
I found the end satisfying on the plot aspect, but not really on the relationship aspect. クレア is straight for 1.5 books but suddenly not towards the end? No explanation?
Anyway, I still had a good time, but I can see why the anime stopped where it did.
I checked the beginning of volume 3, and I’m mildly interested in the plot the chapter titles suggest, but not right now.
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Sounds like the manga isn’t so far behind the main story then (or possibly even ahead of where you read?)… That’s good to know.
平民のくせに生意気な! | L30?? series might address that (it’s the story, but told from Claire’s perspective)… I may give that a try, when I finish book 1
In the manga it’s prompted by Claire & Lily chasing her down to get the story of her first love out of her. And is also later connected to a trans character (which felt a bit shoehorned). I appreciated it being there, cuz it shows Rae’s former life as being more than just an abstract narrative formality. But I also kinda agree with you.
I also was like “there’s no way that would go down like that irl”, but also it’s one of my favorite moments in the story
I’m really curious to see how the battles go. They’re probably the number two source if boredom for me in fantasy novels. There’s some stuff on the political side that seems kinda unrealistic to me, but I wonder how much of that is just a matter of mangafication
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Well, it’s (obviously) exactly the same for the light novel (for the character as well). But the narrative flow is bad. Plus,
it’s not even what she tells to the others.
The epilogue kinda justifies a lot of issues I have with the flow, but that part could have been mentioned from the beginning.
That part stopped me in my tracks for a whole evening, where I thought back about my high school time (I was much luckier than her) and what I would have done in her place (or simply if I was around in that situation). In that sense, I enjoyed it, but, again, it’s more like I’m reading a different book.
That’s not even sure. It would be nice, but I feel like it would have been better if we got it directly from the main story.
Maybe the re-edited super edition in 3 volumes (revolution) does address it, though? I’m not buying a whole other set of the same story though.
If you tell me what is happening, I can confirm.
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In the manga it seemed like that’s exactly what she was telling them? So kinda surprised there. I get what you mean tho. It was like “I’m suddenly reading a 日常百合 of Rae’s life”… I kinda liked that tho.
Yeah, I agree that would have been nice to have (the anime doesn’t show it either)
The whole storyline with Yuu just happened, and as a result, Rae was just employed by the king to go investigate corrupt nobles (including possibly Claire’s and Lily’s fathers), and Rae, Claire, and Lily are in the middle of that
Okay, that’s 2 big chapters behind (100~150 pages total).
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Oh cool. Good to know the manga’s got a good long way to go then, and will continue to enrich my life for many months to come 
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Forgot to say
In the LN, she mentions removing all “isekai” (from their perspective) elements in the version she is actually telling them.
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