The Legendary Witch Is Reborn As an Oppressed Princess, Vol. 2

December 21, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Touko Amekawa and Kuroyuki. Released in Japan as “Shiitagerareta Tsuihou Oujo wa, Tenseishita Densetsu no Majo deshita: Mukae ni Koraretemo Komarumasu. Juuboku to no Ohirune wo Jamashinaide Kudasai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

I have fantastic news. The main thing that stopped me really enjoying this series is now gone. Claudia is now eight rather than six, and while she still tends to act like a small cute child when it serves her purpose, she no longer talks like Elmer Fudd. As such, the book is much easier to read and we can concentrate on the mystery aspect of it. Because, despite the reincarnated aspect of it, this is essentially a mystery. Claudia accepts a marriage negotiation, but has no intention of really following through – the main goal is to try to solve the other kingdom’s tragic secret. Honestly, if there’s any romance here it’s between Claudia and her servant/best friend/etc. Noah, who is obsessed with her but in a cute way, because he’s 11 and she’s 19 + 8 counting the past life. OK, year, the reincarnation shenanigans means there are still issues here. Japan loves its age gap.

As noted, the nearby country of Klingate is looking for someone to marry their 11-year-old crown prince Lewis, and Claudia fits the bill. Of course, neither she nor her father are really expecting this to be a normal marriage meeting. You see, Klingate has a problem that has been growing over the years. Princesses in the royal family keep falling into comas and not waking up. Each year a new princess, and now eight of them are sleeping without waking. The kingdom, needless to say, is trying to hide this as much as possible. But Lewis himself seems a charming young man… if perhaps falling madly in love with adorable Claudia a little too quickly. That said, there’s an older brother, Stuart. He’s no longer in line for the throne, possibly as for the last eight years he’s barely left his room. And he seems obsessed with painting the sleeping princesses.

Not to spoil too much, but a lot of the climax of this book once again asks us to remember back 500 years ago to Claudia’s past life as Adelheid. She ended up sacrificing her own life in order to make sure that those who served her did not do the same, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they were all grateful and happy about her doing this. It also compares nicely to Noah, who is clearly meant as a mirror here. He’s told point blank that if Claudia were to die, he’d want to destroy the world, right? But Noah, who still has a living Claudia next to him to help, is able to say that yes, he’d want to, but he wouldn’t, as it would make Claudia sad. Instead he’d just wander off into the forest to die alone. So yes, it’s a codependent relationship, just like the ones she had centuries ago. But it’s OK, this is the “romantic” kind of codependent.

Despite its flaws, this is a stronger book than the first one, and I’ll happily read the next volume.

Filed Under: legendary witch is reborn as an oppressed princess, reviews

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 20

December 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

I admit that I am sort of ready to give up? Not on Kuma Bear, mind you, it continues to be fine, if somewhat obsessed with its ongoing parade of children adoring Yuna. But look, this site gradually morphed into a thing where I only review light novels on it a few years back, and the one thing that’s been hardest for me to learn is that not all light novels need to have a full review. This especially goes for the slow-life ones that end up going on forever and ever, like this or Smartphone. And as readers have figured out, there are only so many ways I can say “boy, Yuna sure hates people praising her” or “gosh, this series loves to tease yuri fans while pointing out how not gay everyone is”. (Actually, this volume seems to be leaning more towards everyone staying single forever – the series’ almost complete lack of men doesn’t help.) But let’s roll up our sleeves, because I did see one thing this time I can talk about.

After the battle against the orochi in the Land of Wa, we get the traditional post-arc cooldown. Yuna is gifted a mansion to reward her for her efforts in saving the country, and the mansion being filled with hot springs leads to to actually accept the reward for once. She then grabs Fina, Shuri and Luimin and brings them over there for a lakeside barbecue as well as going around the shops, eating Wanese food and dressing up in kimonos – all things Yuna is strangely familiar with given she’s not supposed to be from Wa. On returning home, she decides to write a new volume of the children’s book series, and spends the rest of her time giving out souvenirs and candy. But there’s a competition in a country Yuna hasn’t been to yet, and Shia’s part of it, so Yuna and Noa go to cheer her on.

There were two interesting points this time around. First, Yuna’s love of natto, and the fact that the natives of Wa were baffled that she knew about it, almost caused her to give away her otherworldly origins. Yuna’s backstory, to everyone but Yuna and the reader, is wrapped in mystery, and she wants to keep it that way, partly because I think she doesn’t want to remember it very often. We do see her wish that she could invent Coke and anime so she could go back to being a shut-in, but I think Yuna’s grown past that now. The other interesting thing is the fourth picture book, where Yuna continues to rewrite her own reality to make it more palatable. Not only is she a literal bear in this series, but she also smooths things out and makes them more narratively easy to understand. The author has already been doing this with the novels themselves – it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a whiff of the sexual assault that plagued the earlier books. Yuna is not quite a self-insert, but the line is vague.

I’m not sure what will happen next, but I do know that what we’re getting next is another short story collection. Till then, this continues to be for fans who hope that when they grow up Fina and Yuna will marry. Keep hope alive, I guess.

Filed Under: kuma kuma kuma bear, reviews

Duchess in the Attic, Vol. 2

December 18, 2024 by Leave a Comment

By Mori and Huyuko Aoi. Released in Japan as “Yane Urabeya no Kōshaku Fujin” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by piyo.

I admitted to being very surprised that there was a second volume of this very “finished in one book” series. Even the title, Duchess in the Attic, was not something that was going to make sense going forward unless something silly happened. (The author agrees with me there: it’s an artifact title, and a few jokes are made about her moving back to an attic if things with Claude go south.) So I wondered what was left to learn about Opal now that the series was ongoing. As it turns out, not much about Opal herself – she’s much the same person she was in the first book, if a bit more unforgiving of fools. But the systemic power of the nobility and the misogyny rife throughout multiple kingdoms is very much still a problem, and Opal wants to solve that. If the first book was about Opal rescuing herself, this book is about her trying to rescue others. She’s a philanthropist. Of course, there are a few things to work out first, and that’s what this book is about.

Opal and Claude are off to his new homeland, Taisei, to get married. This involves meeting some of his friends, who regard Opal as a terrible choice of spouse. And the King, who seems to be one of those mischievous kings. Many subplots are introduced, but we don’t really deal with any of them, because the bulk of the book actually takes place back in Socille, as Opal hears that Beth, her former abusive maid who was working for Hubert and Stella, has been fired because she got pregnant. Investigating, it turns out that the father is a rogue noble, Keymont, who apparently has spread his seed far and wide, and other women have children by him. Deciding that enough is enough, Opal decides to shame him at a public gathering to get child support for his conquests, only for things to blow up far more than she intended.

There is no small amount of romance in this. Opal and Claude love each other, and get very jealous when any of the opposite sex shows interest. There’s also the very awkward conversation they have where Opal tells Claude that, despite being married for almost a decade, she’s still a virgin (it’s implied he is as well). But the main reason to read this book is not the romance, it’s the politics and the worldbuilding. These are two kingdoms that are essentially right around where the late Victorian/early Edwardian period was in this world, and progress is happening so fast that it’s unnerving people. Why, it’s gotten so bad that a noble rake can’t even go around robbing common people for the lulz anymore. The other political part of the book is its feminist stance, which is awesome. I loved Opal’s reaction when Hubert indicated Beth’s pregnancy was her own fault – marveling at an Immaculate Conception.

Opal still hasn’t seen her new domain yet, and I have a feeling that the third book will have things go a lot more poorly for her than this one did. Still, I found this just as enjoyable as the first.

Filed Under: duchess in the attic, reviews
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