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Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games Vol. 9
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 12, 2026
This has been a wild and wacky series, to say the least, but it finally succumbs to its jargon-load this time and is suffused with large patches of wordy content that weren’t doing anything for me.
That’s the short version, but it’s a little more complex than that. There are some fun moments here, but there’s only so much they can buoy up its treacherous word count. This volume is really at war with its tendencies, basically.
It’s a bit of a shame that the whole evil teacher plot lasts for around, oh, one whole chapter before she becomes the girls’ ally and sugar mama in a single swoop. I mean, on the one hand it keeps the focus on the fighting, but it’s still over a wee bit quickly.
As the girls try to decide how they’ll achieve success as a club, the answer turns out to be streaming, opening up a new avenue for bringing back old characters from past arcs. That’s pretty clever, as far as these ideas go.
Cutting through the thicket of narrative fighting game bloat, the girls suddenly find success through a good, old-fashioned flame war that parlays Mio’s ability to piss people off by pressing their buttons with aplomb into instant fame.
This leads to a rollicking match that ends up going mildly viral as the worst aspects of competitive gaming blossom between two people, one of whom is demonstrably a cute high school girl.
Another thing that I might not be a fan of here is how much it leans into the gamer culture and general toxic online behaviour. It’s not that it isn’t funny, it really is, but there’s so much awful crap out in the real online space that I don’t need to marinate in it more than necessary.
I think that this might work better for readers who are already super into the fighting game minutiae. There’s plenty of explanation to catch up the casuals, but sometimes this is like reading a tech manual that occasionally swears.
I don’t think it’s in danger of falling off my list or anything, there’s truly nothing like this out there, but some of this does cause my eyes to glaze over. In this case, it has worthwhile moments to keep it aloft. If that wasn’t a thing I’m really not sure where I’d come down on it.
3 stars - I’d be happier if this went a wee bit lighter on the technical side, but it’s mostly a good time when it isn’t doing that. When it slows down though, it really, really slows down and takes its momentum with it.
That’s the short version, but it’s a little more complex than that. There are some fun moments here, but there’s only so much they can buoy up its treacherous word count. This volume is really at war with its tendencies, basically.
It’s a bit of a shame that the whole evil teacher plot lasts for around, oh, one whole chapter before she becomes the girls’ ally and sugar mama in a single swoop. I mean, on the one hand it keeps the focus on the fighting, but it’s still over a wee bit quickly.
As the girls try to decide how they’ll achieve success as a club, the answer turns out to be streaming, opening up a new avenue for bringing back old characters from past arcs. That’s pretty clever, as far as these ideas go.
Cutting through the thicket of narrative fighting game bloat, the girls suddenly find success through a good, old-fashioned flame war that parlays Mio’s ability to piss people off by pressing their buttons with aplomb into instant fame.
This leads to a rollicking match that ends up going mildly viral as the worst aspects of competitive gaming blossom between two people, one of whom is demonstrably a cute high school girl.
Another thing that I might not be a fan of here is how much it leans into the gamer culture and general toxic online behaviour. It’s not that it isn’t funny, it really is, but there’s so much awful crap out in the real online space that I don’t need to marinate in it more than necessary.
I think that this might work better for readers who are already super into the fighting game minutiae. There’s plenty of explanation to catch up the casuals, but sometimes this is like reading a tech manual that occasionally swears.
I don’t think it’s in danger of falling off my list or anything, there’s truly nothing like this out there, but some of this does cause my eyes to glaze over. In this case, it has worthwhile moments to keep it aloft. If that wasn’t a thing I’m really not sure where I’d come down on it.
3 stars - I’d be happier if this went a wee bit lighter on the technical side, but it’s mostly a good time when it isn’t doing that. When it slows down though, it really, really slows down and takes its momentum with it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review