Makai Toshi Hunter Series: Makyu Babylon
In this stand-alone sequel to Against the gods , a strange palace appears in the sky above Tokyo’s demon-haunted Shinjuku district. The palace turns out to be the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, whose masked lord invites Tokyo’s elite—and most especially the hero’s female friend Sayaka—to a grand housewarming party. Soon, sword-wielding Kyoya is fighting to rescue Sayaka from the clutches of none other than Nebuchadnezzar II, ruler of Babylon. Shin-Ichi Hosoma, the ever-adaptable artist, yet again “modernizes” his character designs for Sayaka and Kyoya, who resemble their Against the gods selves but with wilder hair and different outfits. Compared to Kikuchi’s other light novel, though, it’s a mild letdown—the level of craziness is lower than usual (even lower than the level of historical research), and the formulaic, fighting-oriented plot has the feel of a low-budget anime. Originally based on an untranslat...