By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

This book really depends on the reader getting Ekaterina, and if there’s anyone still reading it after Book One who doesn’t get her, they likely stopped before the end of this book. Ekaterina… or rather, Rina from Japan… is a fangirl. She is the sort to see the character she really likes and actually *say* “SQUEEEEE!”. She will happily monologue in her head about possible BL ships, and she goes over the moon whenever her beloved brother deigns to kiss her forehead. The author asks “are these two siblings really OK?”, and the answer is yes, because the best thing about this otherwise pretty typical series is how the author knows exactly how much “comedy incest” to tease without making it creepy. This isn’t incest, really. It’s brocon/siscon stuff, which is functionally different. Just as dads in light novels who say “I’ll never let you marry my daughter!” aren’t really lusting after her themselves, so these two are determined to head off anyone who dares get between their very G-rated relationship.

This volume doesn’t take place at the academy quite as much, though we do get the villainess standard “oh no, I accidentally was too smart and ended up having the best grades in the class” scene. Instead we see Ekaterina trying to learn how to run her family’s estate, so that her brother can concentrate on everything that should be on his plate. A lot of this involves continuing to purge the elements of the family that her grandmother controlled, but there’s also meeting the royal family (who absolutely love her, and are somewhat bummed that she doesn’t really care for their son. She also introducing new fashion trends, and coming up with ideas for a birthday present for her beloved brother. Which, because everything gets out of hand around her, means accidentally inventing the fountain pen.

Like most series in this genre, the basic idea is that Ekaterina is making everyone’s lives better, partly by design and partly by accident. There are, of course, a few people who are too far gone to help, such as her grandmother’s old attendant, who is just as arrogant and prejudiced as grandma was, and is quietly sacked. But even there Ekaterina reasons to the reader that she was the ninth child of her house, likely this was the best job she could ever have gotten, and her grandmother was very good at indoctrinating people. We actually hear that in this she takes after her grandfather, and I like the idea that it’s not JUST “I’m from Japan” that makes all the difference. The first book made a big deal about their personalities fusing, and while it implies that Rina basically “won”, I like the idea that we’re seeing what an Ekaterina without toxic influences might have developed.

We’ve got a ways to go, and there’s still no sign of any successful romance, mostly due to the denseness of the lead. (And, unlike Bakarina, it’s not obvious who will win.) Still, if you can get past the premise, there’s much to like here.

By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

First of all, because I know it’s the first question on everyone’s mind, there’s no incest subtext in this book. OK, there’s no sexual incest subtext. There’s tons of Brocon/siscon stuff, and the usual “I’m never marrying anyone I’ll just stay with you” nonsense, but there is zero sexual attraction between the two leads beyond Ekaterina thinking her brother is hot. Which he is. Secondly, in the afterword, the author says they got the idea for this series after reading another villainess book. They don’t say which one, but if it’s not My Next Life As a Villainess, I’ll be very surprised. This, like quite a few villainess books, reads like someone wanted to write the same series only with the main character being less of a complete dipshit. And this not only includes Ekaterina trying hard to avoid her doom, but also includes her befriending the heroine, who seems to fall deeply in love with her. That said, this will likely be about as canon as Bakarina as well.

Rina Yukimura is an OL in a Black Company-type job, who ends up dying of overwork and exhaustion while playing an otome game she loves. Now she wakes up as… the game’s villainess! Ekaterina Yulnova is the sister of a duke, and spends most of the game bullying the heroine until she eventually gets her comeuppance. So Rina has several things she has to do. First, she and Ekaterina start off as very different people, and meshing their personalities (well, more like Rina takes over) takes a lot of energy. Secondly, she has to work hard to not be the villainess, which means actually study hard and also read up on her family history, which was not gone into in the game, and turns out to be a lot darker than she expected. This is all before she gets to school, and meets Lady, Flora, a commoner who is now the adopted daughter of a baroness…

If that summary made you roll your eyes a bit, I don’t blame you. It’s a bit boilerplate, yes. Ekaterina is fun, though. Having died from overwork in her past life, she sees her brother running the entire dukedom and panics that he’ll do the same thing… while remaining blissfully obvious that she’s fallen into her own overwork habits from before. Flora is a shyer, more reserved Maria Campbell, but they even bond over good food – in this case, potato and bacon crepes rather than sweets – and seems to hero worship Ekaterina just as much, and some other ladies also look smitten by the end of this volume. That said, she’s also gaining male followers. In addition to her brother, who reads like Keith Claes only without all the creepy, there’s the Prince, who reads a lot like Jeord but without all the creepy. Oh yes, and there’s also monster attacks, which Bakarina doesn’t do as much but does allow Ekaterina to help save the day with her “common” Earth magic… which again, feels like a comment on Katarina Claes and her Earth Bump.

If you like villainess books, this isn’t bad. If you want Bakarina with the serial numbers filed off, it’s also not bad. Just… expect the yuri to go the same way it’s going to go in Bakarina.