Akumi Agitogi

Miyo Saimori should have been raised as the beloved eldest daughter of the noble Saimori family. Instead, since she wasn't born with her mother's Gift, her father neglected her after her mother's death and allowed his new wife to treat her as though she were less than a servant. When Kaya, his daughter by his new wife, turned out to be Gifted, it sealed Miyo's fate. The best she could hope for was the possibility that her father might allow her to marry Koji, her childhood show more friend.

Unfortunately, he instead arranges for Kaya to marry Koji. Miyo is sent to Kiyoka Kudo to be his bride. The Kudo family is wealthy and powerful, so normally this would be good news, except Kiyoka is known for being so cold and harsh towards his prospective brides that they've all left within three days of arriving at his home. However, Miyo has nowhere else to go. Whatever Kiyoka says or does, she'll have to bear it. Luckily for her, he's not as horrible as the stories about him and made him seem.

I read the first light novel volume a few months ago, and my biggest complaint was that the writing and story were very, very spare. There was none of the usual light novel bloat, but the author also didn't spend much time on things that could have used more attention.

I had hopes that the manga would be better. In several ways, it was. The artwork was gorgeous, with more in the way of backgrounds than I'm used to seeing in manga based on light novels. The artist did a great job with characters' facial expressions, although for Miyo that mostly meant something in the range of either "sad" or "hopeless." My absolute favorite character was Yurie, Kiyoka's servant, who was adorable in this adaptation. She reminded me of Touko Fujiwara in Natsume's Book of Friends, a total sweetheart.

Unfortunately, it seems like the manga may have inherited some of the light novel's problems. There was barely any conflict, and what was there was generally dealt with quickly. Miyo's biggest concern was that Kiyoka would throw her out when he found out that she didn't have the power or education that one might expect a girl from a noble family to have. Instead of letting readers fret along with her, it was made clear by the end of the volume that Kiyoka found out about everything she was trying to hide from him and was fine with it all. It was obvious early on that Kiyoka was falling for Miyo, and every older woman in Kiyoka's acquaintance recognized it too and gleefully encouraged the match.

Koji's father has only made a brief appearance so far, and Miyo's father is already showing himself to be an idiot who assumes it's a given that Kiyoka will throw Miyo out. Here's hoping the manga can wring something interesting out of the whole "mysterious and powerful Usuba family" aspect.

As in the light novel, the fantasy aspects were very slight. Gifts were mentioned a few times, but we only saw them used on-page once, near the end of the volume.

There's a good chance this isn't worth continuing, but I'll probably do so anyway, because this has a few tropes I generally enjoy ("icy hero who turns into a softie for the heroine" is a big one). I really want to like this series, so I'm hoping one version or another (the anime maybe?) eventually makes that possible. I'll suppose foolishly keep trying until I don't have the willpower for it anymore. At least the manga (and eventually anime) version gives me pretty artwork.

Extras:

A bonus short story by the original light novel author, in which we learn how Miyo got the comb she used prior to the one Kiyoka gave her.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

In this fantasy reimagining of the Meiji/Taisho era, there are beings known as Grotesqueries that can only be seen and fought by those with Spirit-Sight, known as the Gifted. Miyo Saimori was born to a Gifted mother and father, which should have guaranteed her a comfortable noblewoman's life. However, she never demonstrated any ability to use Spirit-Sight, nor any other Gift. After her mother died, Miyo's father neglected her and married the woman he'd preferred over Miyo's mother. Her show more daughter turned out to be Gifted, so it wasn't long before Miyo became less than a servant in her own home.

Miyo's only ray of hope was that she might one day marry Kouji, her childhood friend, but even that wasn't to be. When her father tells her that Kouji will marry her stepsister, Kaya, while she will be betrothed to Kiyoka Kudou and sent to his household immediately, it's all Miyo can do not to cry. The Kudou family is powerful, but Kiyoka is known for being so cold and terrible that he has thus far scared all his potential brides away within days of their arriving at his household. Unlike them, Miyo will have no home to return to if she leaves.

My first impression of this book was that it was very, very short, only 156 pages if you count the afterword. Granted, it doesn't have illustrations, but it was still a much slimmer volume than I was expecting. I hoped this meant it lacked the usual light novel bloat.

I really wish I could say I loved this book. In many ways, it was a breath of fresh air. It wasn't yet another isekai story set in a vaguely medieval European world. The heroine wasn't a Japanese woman reborn as the villainess in the last otome game she played. It was written in the third person.

This had so much potential, but sadly the execution was lacking. This was a quick read that didn't dwell much on unimportant details...but that unfortunately also didn't spend much time on anything else, and never allowed even the slightest potential conflicts or complications to brew for long. Even the romance went much more smoothly and easily than I expected.

Kiyoka's past potential brides were depicted as being overly spoiled, but considering the way Kiyoka first acted towards Miyo when he met her, I thought his past potential brides probably had a point. However, Miyo was used to being treated worse, and it took barely any effort on her part for Kiyoka to become curious, investigate her background (it was his father who arranged the marriage, so he didn't know much about her), and realize he'd been acting horribly towards someone who'd already suffered years of neglect and abuse. He felt bad about this, and it wasn't long before his efforts to make up for his behavior resulted in both characters falling in love.

The book's various villains were idiots who reacted to everything in the way most likely to lead to their ruin. It was honestly kind of amazing how quickly and thoroughly they managed to screw everything up once they all got going. And once again, the author robbed the story of all its potential tension by having solutions basically fall into characters' laps. At one point, Miyo was in danger and I thought Kiyoka might at least have to spend some time frantically searching for her, but no, after approximately two seconds of worry, someone came and gave him everything he needed in order to wrap things up.

The fantasy aspects have potential. So far there have been no on-page Grotesqueries, but several characters used paper familiars (shikigami?), and some of the Gifted used their abilities on-page. I wouldn't be surprised if members of Miyo's mother's side of the family become prominent characters in later entries in the series, which could potentially lead to some exciting developments. In general, it was nice to read a series that didn't include the usual generic RPG creatures and monsters.

I'm glad to see a light novel series with a female protagonist that doesn't follow the usual "reborn as the villainess in an otome game" template, but this was a depressingly bare-bones start. I'll probably give it another volume to see if it improves, but I suspect that this is one of those cases where I'd be better off trying the manga instead (although that won't be out until later this year).

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Oooh, a sappy romance I can really sink my teeth into.

Miyo Saimori, a humble and unassuming 19-year-old woman, has been broken down by years of abuse by her evil stepmother and stepsister, and her emotionally distant father has finally shoved her out of the house for a possible engagement to Major Kiyoka Kudo, a stern nobleman eight years her senior who has a reputation for driving away potential fiancées with his curt manner and simple way of living. But of course, he has a heart of gold show more and recognizes a puppy that has been kicked when he sees it . . .

It's all set in the Taisho Era (1912-1926) of an alternate reality Japan where the nobility have supernatural gifts like telepathy and pyrokinesis, so the clothes and technology are all quaint and old-fashioned and the court intrigue promises to be key to future developments.

I have the next volume on hand for tomorrow, so yay! show less

There is a decided lack of action as the story goes all in on mopey angst as the lead characters are weakened by sleep deprivation from Miyo's incessant nightmares. Still, I enjoy the company of the characters, and the cliffhanger at the end promises to break open the logjam next volume.

FOR REFERENCE:

This fourth manga is an adaptation of the middle part of the second light novel of the same name.

Contents: Chapter 21. A Match for the Master -- Chapter 22. Arata Tsuruki -- Chapter 23. True show more Family -- Chapter 24. The Visitor -- Chapter 25. Feelings Unaligned -- Chapter 26. Tear-Streaked Morning -- Special Short Story: To Ease the Pain of Loneliness show less