Just finished this volume in one reading. This read like an episode of NHK World, I am always fascinated by how much Kyoto has to offer beyond what TikTok and YouTube showcases. Plus the whole detour into Netsuke and Kimono styles.

Ultimately I’m impressed by how the author weaves old plot points together to tell new stories, which is quite an achievement in itself.

@SupraD Well, Apothecary 13 just got an update from 1.0 to 1.1, which seems to mean that it’s a big change (or plenty of smaller ones), but the family/clan trees do not seem to have been part of that update. Were they in the original (Edit: Japanese) publication of v13, or a later printing/version? Volume 5 only went from 1.0 to 1.0.1 and v1 seems to have had a similarly-small update.

Can anyone from JNC please detail just what changed in this book? Or anyone else run a file comparison? :)

Finished reading the volume. The last battle was cool, Farris should be an interesting addition to the cast, and Anos' mom gained a new pet. What more could we ask for?

v14 is coming out in Japan on April 3rd, by the by.

Not a bad first volume but since the author is setting up an harem I hope we'll get a timeskip soon.

@Cryten they might just be focusing on catching up the manga and seeing how its sales are doing. Afterall, Roll Over and Die had a really long hiatus and yet is currently streaming an anime and has published 2 more volumes (second to be released in June). So fingers crossed.

v10 was recently announced to be coming out in Japan in April, by the way.

Nice volume. We got the wedding, although romance is not the strong point of the series, Ernie doing Ernie things, the Astragalu interacting with the humans. It's now Kid's turn to befriend a new humanoid species, and maybe building an harem of princesses...someone isn't going to be happy when he comes back.
The drawback? No Ikaruga in action.

@Village-Idiot said in Pens Down, Swords Up Vol. 5 Discussion:

Luckily Vol 7 just came out last month in Japan so we still got a bit to go before we're caught up with the Japanese raws.

Sadly I doubt it has been licensed yet. Fingers crossed we will get volume 6, then we will likely need to wait for volumes 7-8 to get licensed and scheduled.

It does feel a little weird to say that the empress will be treated as a non-hereditary baron when her son is literally the emperor, and the other son is still a prince. I guess it means that if they have more children, they won't have succession rights.

@ilno-0 working fine for me. Problem is likely on your end.

Oh man, that was truly effective torture. Just reading it made me squirm in discomfort and cringe. I would honestly rather have a fingernail removed.

And of course, the twins can do whatever they want without any consequences because they are "precious family". Makes me want to drop this series despite the battles being nice to read.

So Nanami is an Hokkaido gyaru who happens to be mega cute.
Glad to see we are getting another volume, looking forward to Valentine's day.

Aoi imparts an important life lesson: most people will be better off if they avoid antagonizing larger than average dragons.

I imagine that the people who recommended the comb knew that it was the kind of gift that'd lead to an ongoing promise to comb her hair. That's what actually makes it a thoughtful gift; whether he intended to have that thought or not, he can't take it back.

Did anyone else appreciate the parody of musicals with Frederika?

I like it. Sure it's not as eventful as other volumes, but I've always enjoyed the slice of life and minor worldbuilding aspects of the series, and I enjoy the sentiments that come with the character interactions.

You could argue that events and discussions on the genius architect and the crime syndicates are laying the foundations for future stuff, but I enjoy it for how it makes the world feel more alive. These things also provide perspective on the strength of the relationship Ryoma has with everyone such as when contrasting the guard's reaction to Ryoma and the solidarity of Ryoma's group at the party.

Additionally, for Eleonora's Regrets, I love how good of a boss and friend Ryoma is and how empathetic of a person he is. A big theme of this story has been about learning to trust others and to let them in. Both Ryoma and Eleonora are slowly doing that. Even the discussion and speculation the adults have had on Ryoma's past are part of people growing closer to Ryoma along with the growing theme of community.

The phrase "the child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" fits really well with the goals and intended consequences of the Earth god's tribulations on Ryoma. This story shows the healing and the other side of that where the child is embraced by the village or specifically a village after escaping the abuse of his previous one, even if the execution is sometimes unconventional or simplistic.

Also, on the goblins, one of the unfortunate aspects of the story and isekai stories in general has been their use of slavery and the light portrayal of it. While I'm not going to praise this story for being slightly better than most since that's a low bar, I do appreciate how the story discussed in its worldbuilding this world's history of slavery law reform following the rebellion and the future directions and concerns of an industry that deals in human resources.

Anyhow, while the evolutionary history of the goblins might have been unnecessary, it still personally gave me some information that helped me sort my moral feelings for the taming of them and their treatment as monsters societally despite their sentience. For better or worse.

This stories does balance a lot of darker subjects and themes while mixing it with a fluffy and comfortable slice of life tone and fun slime research.

Also, I actually really like how a lot of minor projects gets "crammed" in. In my opinion, especially when related to the use of modern knowledge or inventions, too many isekai protagonists don't do enough especially when they have the resources and magic for it and when the ideas or items are simple.

Also, Korumi as the son or little brother of Ryoma is so cute!

I look forward to the next volume.

Just finished this in a large gulp.

It amuses me that Pia is just one of the gang now :) I wonder if she has to keep the mind control on the king for the rest of his life, or will he be freed now that he's free from being a king.

@Makine said in Miss Blossom’s Backward Beauty Standards: Give Me the Ugly Crown Prince! Vol. 2 Discussion!:

So we’re not gonna resolve the curse, huh.

My head canon is Coco is saint as well: she has a weak ability to break curses. This is the real reason why people around Coco or interacts with her are not charmed by Pia. Coco's innate curse breaker means she is not influenced by the fugly curse, but it is not strong enough to break it in other people.

@ryandb you're definitely going to see me, and for the future volumes too.