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‘I Killed Santa Claus. And Then, I Kissed Him.’ review
Language read: Thai (official translation, licensed by DEXpress; original Japanese publisher: Shogakukan)

When I picked up this standalone light novel from a book fair, my expectations for it were not high. It was just that the book title and the premise of “making Christmas disappear” seem somewhat interesting. But now that I have finished reading, I am very glad to have picked this light novel up.

PREMISE:
The light novel’s premise features two main characters who met in early December: “Me” or “I” (the protagonist), a second-year college student recently dumped by an office-lady girlfriend whom he simply ... called “Senpai” and “Girl” (the heroine), a snarky senior high schooler with a notebook that only grants a wish that the wisher does not want. Despite being opposites, they share a hatred of Christmas for their own reasons and thus aim to wipe Christmas day off the planet using the notebook. To accomplish this, they must first come to like Christmas by pretending to be a couple and enjoying the winter festivities before Christmas day begins. As the days pass, they realize they might have more in common than they originally thought.

CHARACTERS:
The characters, all without proper Japanese names, absolutely shine the best when it comes to this light novel. The dynamic between the two leads feel organic and the dialogue is incredibly fun to read through, especially the sarcastic remarks from the sharp-tongued girl (it reminds me of Kanade Hisaishi from Hibike! Euphonium). The two leads also have proper character depth through detailed yet well-paced backstory parts and personal motivations that are consistent with their characters, greatly providing believability and relatability. It is hard to explain but the way the author describes certain strong emotions from the two leads also had me invested in their struggles from beginning to end, especially more so in the final chapters. Furthermore, aside from the two leads, the two side characters in the novel are also surprisingly well-written. “Senpai”, the ex-girlfriend of the protagonist, feels like a proper troubled office lady with all the mannerisms of a working adult filled with life experiences and “Rascal Friend”, the male lead’s college friend, works great as not only being a sidekick but also as a mirror whom the protagonist sees himself through.

PLOT, PACING, AND THEMES:
When it comes to the plot, pacing, and themes, they are nothing short of fantastic for a drama light novel. The plot, while seemingly straightforward, comes with a good dose of twists and revelations that keep the story engaging. There is also a decent amount of subtle foreshadowing, whether through bits of dialogue or through their placements in certain subplots, that are well-executed. When a foreshadowed plot point is being revealed, there’s this feeling of “Ah…I see.” like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. The climax and ending of the story are also, without going into spoilers, brilliant and very fitting. In terms of pacing, there is not a single point from the prologue to the final chapter that the plot seemingly progresses too slowly or too quickly; I had no qualms with it whatsoever. As for the themes, the book presents several heavy, thoughtful ones (e.g., the clinging of one’s past, the pain and trauma of losing something/someone deeply important, finding happiness in a world where you are no longer happy to be in, etc.) and they are interwoven well into the narrative through character development, plot elements, monologue/dialogue, and writing. With that said, there are parts where it feels a little too heavy-handed and could use some more subtlety but, overall, the themes are nicely presented and at some points had me pondering about my own life and life choices.

ART:
For the art department, the colored illustrations provided by Tsukugu (one for the very first scene and one for character portraits/descriptions) are quite good (especially the background detail of numerous Christmas lights) but nothing too remarkable. For the black-and-white illustrations at the start of each chapter, they are clean and decent but the lack of background makes it feel somewhat too empty, at least compared to other standalone light novels (e.g., Kukka’s art in ‘The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes’).

CONCLUSION:
To conclude, ‘I Killed Santa Claus. And Then, I Kissed Him.’ is what I could only describe as a hidden gem (<50 members on its MAL page as of 26 May 2024) amidst the sea filled with generic light novels. For those seeking for a great standalone romantic drama story with a dash of the supernatural in the likes of 'Three Days of Happiness' or ‘The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes’, this light novel is an easy recommendation. The character writing is well-done, with proper care and depth given to both the main and side characters. The plot remains intriguing throughout, with nice plot twists and hints of foreshadowing, and immaculate is how I would describe the pacing. The themes are thought-provoking and their executions, albeit not perfect, are masterful. While the art might be the book's weakest element, it is still decent and do not impact my overall enjoyment. Overall, I can clearly see why it won the excellence award at the 14th Shogakukan Light Novel Awards. While this might be Suzume Inuki’s only work up to now, if they decide to write more light novels in the future, I will be looking forward to reading them.

Final score: 9.0/10.

P.S. If you've managed to read this far, thank you very much.

An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey short review
Language read: Thai (official translation, licensed by Zenshu Publishing; original Japanese publisher: Shogakukan)
Will re-read when the official English translation by Seven Seas Entertainment drops September 2024.

After almost two months of having purchased a physical copy, I finally got around to reading the third installment of Mei Hachimoku’s sci-fi/supernatural Four Seasons anthology: ‘An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey’. As with the anthology’s previous books, the male protagonist and the heroine encounter a supernatural phenomenon related to time: ‘Tunnel to Summer’ has time dilation, ‘Yesterday in Spring’ has time rollback, and this novel has time freeze.

The two ... main characters are quite enjoyable to follow along. Kayato, the socially-awkward boy with haphephobia (fear of being touched), and Akira, the foul-mouthed delinquent girl, make for a solid polar-opposite duo. Their interactions and how their relationship slowly develops over time is a joy to read, especially in the later chapters. However, compared to Hachimoku’s previous works, Kayato and Akira do somewhat suffer from a lack of character depth, especially in terms of their backstory department. There are sprinkles of backstory throughout the novel but it feels like there could easily have been more to further flesh them out (like how ‘Yesterday in Spring’ uses its Interlude parts).

While the plot progression is nice and logical, I cannot help but think that the pacing can sometimes be too slow, especially in some middle parts of the novel. Perhaps it is done intentionally to replicate the feeling of time freeze but it does not translate that well to the reading experience, at least for me. Furthermore, while the themes relating to time that the novel tackles, such as living in fear of the future, are well-presented, they do not leave as much of an impact as the themes in previous installments did.

In closing, ‘An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey’ is probably my least favorite of the Four Seasons anthology so far. However, this does mean that it is a bad read in the slightest. While some aspects of the novel may not perfectly land, such as in terms of character depth, pacing and thematic impact, the whole is fortunately greater than the sum of its parts.

Final score: 7.0/10.

Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikarikagayaku (You Shine in the Moonlight) short review
Language read: Thai (official translation, licensed by Piccolo Publishing; original Japanese publisher: Kadokawa)

You Shine in the Moonlight falls into another guilty pleasure narrative trope of mine: the main character falling in love with a terminally ill girl. In contrast with its contemporaries such as 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' (novel by Yoru Sumino) and 'Second Summer, Never See You Again' (light novel by Hirotaka Akagi), this time the heroine, Mamizu, suffers from "luminescence disease" (a condition in which the moonlight causes her body to brightly glow) and the protagonist, Takuya, agrees to fulfil ... her wishlist of things she wants to do before her inevitable death.

One aspect of the novel I particularly enjoy is no other than the interactions between the two leads, Takuya and Mamizu. Their playful dialogue are great to read through but so do their bitter disagreements that stem from Mamizu's condition (the latter nicely humanizing these characters as less than perfect). The novel also engages in themes you normally expect from this type of story: the inevitability of death, the value of life, etc., but there is one particular theme the novel tackles quite well: the prolonged grief and trauma of losing a loved one. The author does a fantastic job showing how the death of Takuya's sister, Meiko, affect him and his relationship with Mamizu as the story progresses. Other characters also have subplots that involve this theme and reinforce it nicely. Another part of the novel that I am fond of is in how believable a lot of characters' actions and motivations are, no matter how seemingly weird or nonsensical they can get. This part is quite difficult to explain without going into heavy spoiler territory, so I will just say that that was how I felt reading the novel.

Overall, I recommend the novel, especially if you already enjoy similar tragic romance works like Pancreas or Second Summer. The interactions between the two leads are great, the themes are well-delivered, and the characters' actions feel strongly believable. Furthermore, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel novel ('Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikarikagayaku +Fragments', not in MAL database) sometime in the near future (I've bought it along with this novel).

Final score: 8.5/10.