By Inumajin and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Meteora.

I had this on my list of new J-Novel Club releases to try out, but I didn’t really have too many high hopes. The author had written a very similar series, Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!, but that one really didn’t grab me at all. So I started to read this book, and I began to laugh. And then I kept reading, and I started laughing a lot. This is a funny book. It has a ridiculous lead character (no, she’s literally described by her brother as ridiculous), her own ridiculous goals in life (and a backstory that might seem familiar to Leadale fans), and a lot of good ridiculous dialogue, though the reader will need to be willing to go along with the standard “I did a ridiculous thing.” “YOU DID A RIDICULOUS THING?!?!?!” style comedy. Basically, this book is hella fun. And, of course, hella fluffy.

Yoshino Kanata spent her entire life in Japan in a hospital bed on life support. She regarded herself as happy because she had the internet, but those in charge of the afterlife think she had SUPER bad karma. As a result, they’re reincarnating her with all the good karma they possibly can. She’s reborn as Kanata Aldezia. Her father is the finest swordsman in the land. Her mother a great sage. She herself has won every award imaginable. And now, it’s time for the ceremony that determines the calling she will have going forward, because isekai worlds only run on RPG logic. Everyone thinks she will be a Saint. She has a different calling in mind. See, in Japan she never got to pet a cuddly animal. And here, she’s so terrifyingly powerful that animals fear her. Therefore, she’s going to be a Beast Tamer and got fluffy animals all around her! One slight problem – Beast Tamer is the biggest loser profession of them all.

So yes, Kanata is a trip, one of those heroines who does not have one ounce of common sense in her head but makes up for it with more power and determination than God. Indeed, as the final scene of the book shows, this is literally true. All she wants to do is leave the city and find fluffy monsters to pet. So far, she mostly has Zagg’iel, aka Zaggy. The former King of Demons, he’s under a curse that has essentially made him into a tubby little cat creature. The interaction between these two is both funny and heartwarming, as she loves him and roots for him even when he’s weak and has no powers. Of course, she never quite manages to leave the city. She beats up on bird creatures, tames dragons, cleans the sewers, restarts magical furnaces, and finally faces off against the new demon king and his army of mind-controlled minions Through all of this, her mindset is set on one thing: Is this fluff? Can I pet it? If not… she’s unimpressed.

So yes, this is better than Woof Woof Story and also deeply silly. I’ll be reading more. recommended for those who love OP ditzes and snuggling small creatures.