By Norasiro and John Dee. Released in Japan as “”Koko wa Makasete Saki ni Ike!” o Shitai Shinitagari no Nozomanu Uchuu Gekokujou” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by Airship. Translated by Kim Davis. Adapted by Mark Brezinski.

This book has so many flaws I don’t even know where to begin, so I might as well start with what I did like. The core plot and concept is a good one. Making Legend of the Galactic Heroes only staffing it with petty Japanese office workers is something that could be amusing. The series relies on “nobles good and get the good assignments, poor orphans bad and should know their place”, and knows that it’s something bad and needs to change. And… hrm, I’ve now come to the end of the things I like. That’s a problem, as I have a ways to go for this review. I can’t even say this book was bad and do a rant, because the book doesn’t even deserve a rant. The author simply doesn’t know how to write characters. Even the “eccentric girls” in this story are faceless and you forget which one is which. And the hero is a potato-kun… at least after the first part.

Nao is an orphan who’s all set to take the exams to get into an elite college… but he fails. And then is dumped by his girlfriend. Who reveals that even before he failed she was getting into polyamorous orgies with the most attractive guy in their orphanage. Orgies which they show Nao a video of. (Honestly, the first scene made me wonder if this was a parody of “incel” fantasies, but no.) Despondent, Nao tries to jump off a cliff but hasn’t got the nerve. So he decides to join the military, so he can die in battle. He somehow ends up in the elite Military School for Officers… he’s not sure why… but since his grades are intellect 100%, soldier ability 0%, he’s sent off to the Coast Guard, the least important part of the military, and from there assigned to the losers unit in the Coast Guard. How can he possibly have a glorious death now? Especially since it turns out he’s really good at commanding.

Nao is whiny, useless, and constantly talking about killing himself at select times during this book. When he’s not doing that, he’s a void where a person should be. He commands a group of thirty young woman, who are all supposedly there as they’re difficult to command and eccentrics… except, for the most part, they act like elite soldiers. Yes, one is an engineer who likes to take stuff apart, but she’s far too reserved for the role. Another accidentally chokes her commander out… and it’s the one thing she does. On reflection, there is one other thing I liked about the book. Despite being surrounded by hot women under his command, and also meeting up with an elder-sister childhood friend from the orphanage *and* a royal princess, both the characters and the author are not interested in romance at all, and there’s zero fanservice – except at the start, in the NTR bit. Which honestly reads like a different series.

I may actually read a second volume of this for the plot. But I don’t recommend it. Try Dorky NPC Mercenary instead, which does much the same thing but at least has better character writing. Also, if you cut out the naval protocol part of this book, it would be 55 pages long.