Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Promised Garden

May 21, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

While it’s a light novel series, and therefore technically above genre distinctions, I don’t think anyone would argue with me if I said Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter falls under the shonen umbrella. As such, it feels inevitable that it would eventually fall prey to one of the big dangers of shonen battle series, “shonen creep”. You start off with a powerful villain, and our heroes hold on to defeat them. Then you get an even more powerful villain. And then, of course, an even MORE powerful villain. And this series just features a very exciting civil war arc with multiple antagonists, backstabbing, and lots of really cool battles. As such, this volume, ending the arc after it, can’t help but be a bit disappointing, as not only are the villains in this arc ludicrously powerful compared to the previous ones, but they all live to fight another day. We’ve hit the actual series villains, rather than arc villains. Which is great news for the series, but makes this book feel like a letdown.

Of course, just because there’s a desperate battle in which everyone might be horribly killed doesn’t mean that this series is not also a harem romcom. As such, the first half of this book has Allen and Lydia gradually getting back into fighting shape and coming up with plans, while all the while new Allen-lovers show up one on top of the other. This even happens during and *after* the battle itself, which actually makes it funnier. They tried to stop the war, but the Church really, really wants war, to the point where they’re murdering all the peace-loving leaders. And the main warmonger is being kept in place by his comatose wife, who they’re promising a cure for. Any day now. Really. And then there’s our bevy of villains, including the vampire who beat Allen and Lydia so badly last time, who’s pretending to be someone she’s not.

This is the end of the “Allen and Lydia Love Love” arc, though I’m sure nothing is genuinely resolved till we see a wedding. It’s got some really great payoff if you’re a fan of the couple, though, which I think most readers of this series are. (Seriously, if you ship, say, Tina, I assume you moved on long ago.) Indeed, there’s so much payoff that Lydia is starting to regard all the other love interests – including her own sister *and* her own cousin – flying around Allen like bees to be more cute and amusing rather than sparking jealousy. Well, to a point. Lily still makes her a little annoyed. And Alice doesn’t count, she’s evil. As for the climax of the book, not only do the villains get away, but it also undercuts some of the danger. The kidnapped victims turn out to be fine, and the badass who valiantly sacrificed her life in the prologue turns out to also not be dead. Given the villains got away, I suppose killing off anyone we care about would have felt mean, but again, disappointing.

Next time we get a new arc, and I look forward to seeing how Allen once again does not get a title and gets to avoid getting engaged. Till then, OK but not great book in the series.

Filed Under: private tutor to the duke's daughter, reviews

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 3

May 20, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

This series leans a little lighter on it than some others I can think of, but it has to be said that this is a harem series that adds new girls every volume. As such, sometimes it feels like the new character acts the way she does not because of their backstory or because of how they’ll fit into the overall story, but because of which “anime girl stereotype” boxes they tick. We have the blond, quick-to-jealousy but cool knight commander, the “I am Yotsuba Nakano with the serial numbers filed off” strong knight, the fiery redhead adventurer, the cool magic users, the adopted daughter, and the “I look ten but I’m really a hundred years old” character, who in this particular case is not a vampire but a mage. And now we have the “ara ara” girl, and I admit I like that type, but I feel she really doesn’t fit her character arc.

Beryl is recovering from the events of the second book, doing things like having a duel with Allusia (which he wins, though he has to cheat) and enrolling Mui in the local magic academy (and meeting her teacher, who, like most other women in this series, seems to fall for Beryl at first sight). That said, there’s trouble on the horizon. The prince of Sphenedyardvania is visiting, a yearly tradition, and will be touring the city with Liberis’ third princess, and Allusia – and, of course, Beryl – are being asked to guard them. And it’s a good thing, too, as assassins are out to ruin things. Fortunately, they have help in the form of guards from Sphenedyardvania, including Rose, who is – you guessed it – another old student of Beryl’s with a crush on him.

A bit of a spoiler for the end of this book, but only a bit, as the identity of the “traitor” is pretty obvious from the get go. Given the sheer number of former students meeting up with Beryl in this series, it was inevitable that one of them would turn out to be an antagonist. That said, we’re not reading the sort of series that would genuinely have a woman Beryl taught using her talents for evil, so of course we get a backstory to show that this is being forced on her and it’s really desperate idealism rather than a desire for power or chaos. I suppose the fact that Rose is an “ara ara” personality ties in with her attachment to children, as they tend to be the motherly sort – she has a long side braid, and does nearly die, so the stereotype fits, I guess. It just feels odd to me. That said, the main draw of this harem series is that I couldn’t care less about the harem, and I think the author agrees with me. The politics is proving more interesting, along with “will Beryl ever accept praise?”.

This continues to be “mid”, but it’s a very pleasant mid, and I think fans of harems who don’t mind an “old dude” as the lead will enjoy it, even with its cliches.

Filed Under: from old country bumpkin to master swordsman, reviews

The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 2

May 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Bakufu Narayama and Ebisushi. Released in Japan as “Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijō wa, Gyakkō-shite Kanpekina Akujo o Mezasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Alyssa Niioka. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

Sometimes you know that the worst case scenario is not going to happen. Not because this series wouldn’t kill anyone off – there are one or two deaths in this book, and I expect that trend to continue – but more because sometimes the author hits on a new character who is so good that they cannot bear to pull the trigger and have them die, even if they happen to be the evil mastermind. Yes, that’s right, the major weakness of the first book was the “heroine” being a terrible character, and the author has gone above and beyond to fix it, to the point where, when Claudia manages to save the day, I went “thank God”. Sometimes you just want people to stick around. Well, OK, I mostly want them to stick around. More on that later. But it does make this volume stronger than the previous one.

Claudia has successfully managed to avoid her fate from her previous life, and her younger sister has been quietly sent off (and, thankfully, does not reappear here). Now she’s free to welcome a delegation from the nearby nation of Bari, which is having a bit of political upheaval at the moment, and has exiled the King’s younger brother, Raul, to Harland for the duration. Unfortunately, the political intrigue has gone away from Bari and come to Harland – Sylvester has to leave for several weeks to deal with a situation in a remote part of their nation, Raul’s faction are plotting to put him on the throne despite his own wishes, and his handsome and clever aide is clearly plotting something clever and dreadful. Worst of all, Claudia recognizes Raul from her past life, when he came to her brothel.

I really hate using the word “yuribait”, which these days has been loosely defined as anything that doesn’t end with a confession and a kiss. But if I *did* use it, this series would probably fall under the category. Claudia and Sylvester are still both in love, and the series, which has several opportunities to do so, never even comes close to admitting that lesbians exist. But in addition to the close relationship between Claudia and Helen, her maid, and her rival and best friend Louise, we also get Charlotte, a timid and large-breasted young woman whose parents are trying to get her to use her boobs to get her man, when this is the last thing she wants to do. By giving her incredibly good advice and also being, well, beautiful and cool, Charlotte falls deeply for Claudia, calling her “oneesama” (OK, yes, it’s translated). And then there’s Lestea, who goes from “evil lesbian stereotype” to “obsessive lesbian stereotype” over the course of the book. That was the one part of her arc I was unhappy with. Oh yes, and Claudia also dresses in a suit to secretly visit her old brothel, and manages to not only seduce all her old sex worker friends within thirty seconds but also agrees to fund it. This isn’t going to be yuri, but boy howdy it is an Akogare Festival.

Still, on the whole this was better than the first volume, and I look forward to seeing what happens next, and also hope it is shorter than 406 pages.

Filed Under: condemned villainess goes back in time, reviews
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