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Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother, Vol. 6

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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.

At last, we are back at the school, and Ekaterina is back to worry about the plot of the otome game. Literally, she is worried that this plot makes no sense. As many other fans of villainess books have noted, if your family is ludicrously powerful, and you are found to have tried to murder a commoner… you’re not going to get the death penalty. At worst, you may get house arrest. But otome games in light novels (as opposed to real otome games, which until recently have rarely had villainesses in them) rely to a large degree on bad writing, which is what makes things so difficult… or easy… for the villainess. In this case, Ekaterina’s memories of her past and ability to use those memories to advance society (or write hit songs) allow her to evade this fate, but just as she can’t see that everyone is in love with her, she can’t see that getting executed is not in the cards anymore. For her, at least.

Alexei and Ekaterina are at last back in the capital, and Ekaterina can finally go back to school, catch up with her friends Marina and Olga, and do her best to avoid tripping any otome game flags. Unfortunately, given she’s the unparalleled prime candidate to be the next Empress, trouble is still going to find her. In this case, trouble is in the form of Lydia, the daughter of a marquess and another theoretical candidate for Mikhail’s hand… though he doesn’t really seem to care for her much. And she really doesn’t like Ekaterina. And since this is otome game world, it turns out that just as art is really important here, so is music. And as Olga’s barony is under Lydia’s marquessery, and Olga has a beautiful singing voice, Lydia discovers a way to make Ekaterina face a very difficult choice.

This is not nearly as silly as Bakarina, but it’s coloring in the same lines, and one of the ways that it does that is that anyone who comes into contact with Ekaterina seems to fall under her spell. In this case it’s not the God of Music,. mostly as he’s found two prodigies, but it is the former Emperor and his wife, as it turns out his wife is also one of the best singers in the country. And, oddly, it even turns out to be Lydia, who is smart but runs on anger and being told what to do by her parents, and after a hefty dose of humility, appears to actually learn her lesson. This series doesn’t like to have villainesses fall, lest Ekaterina join them. On the bright side, romance is resolved here. No, not that one. But Olga meets a music nerd and the two of them fall in beautiful music nerd love together, only we barely see this because the series is filtered through its protagonist, who has to literally be told they’re a couple by the prince. If only he could be more explicit about his own feelings, but I get it. It won’t work while she’s like this.

As long as there’s no sexual attraction, she and her brother can say they love each other and jump into each other’s arms as much as they like, IMO. A good villainess series for fans of “otome game analysis”.

Duchess in the Attic, Vol. 4

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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.

So first of all, I need to tell you all something important: despite being kidnapped here, Opal is not locked in an attic. The only sign of the title of the series are at the start, where she waxes nostalgic about the old attic days with her husband, and later on, when she waxes nostalgic about being locked in the attic while she’s being kidnapped. For the most part, what this book is about instead is Opal passing on her wisdom to the generation after her. We meet a troubled young royal, who is trying to avoid an engagement to someone she doesn’t love, and is a bit difficult and hard to deal with. Everyone except Opal spots the similarities immediately, and even Opal eventually admits it. That said, Ellie is a lot more naive and childish than Opal was in the first book, so has a much higher bar to clear. Also, she’s a princess, while Opal was just high nobility. Still, it’s never too early to learn how to get kidnapped.

Opal and Claude are on vacation when they are called back by the King, who asks Opal to mentor the willful princess of Lumeon, who has lost her parents and grown up with bad tutors and has basically become a spoiled brat. After being half-cajoled, half-blackmailed into it, Opal sets out on a sea voyage, first disguised as a commoner (where she meets a troubled woman and her adorable daughter and tries to help get them some work), and later on posing as a flighty airheaded duchess, where she enchants the guy who is trying to con the princess (also incognito) and switches to conning her instead. Fortunately, as Opal gets to know Ellie, she finds that a lot of her spoiled brat is just a very lonely girl acting up as it’s all she can do. Unfortunately, this series is still about the difference between the haves and the have nots.

There’s a lot of Opal being smug and solving her own problems here, but the series also is very clear that she has a tendency to “be one step behind”, as shown by the troubled mother and adorable daughter she meets on the boat, who we later find ended up working in a sweatshop. This is not Opal’s fault, but it does show that someone like her, who does try to save what’s right in front of her, can’t be everywhere. Her brother Julius is still better than her at most of these things, though he fails to be better than her at villainess-type parties, as she absolutely crushes the two ladies who are trying to destroy her reputation with the King. Essentially it’s telling us that even in her early 30s or so (I think that’s her approximate age), and with a husband and kid, she still has a lot to learn.

Fortunately for her, this series still isn’t over. This isn’t essential shoujo light novel, but it’s a good one for those who like women trying to march shoujo light novels into the 20th century kicking and screaming.

My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 6

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By Shusui Hazuki and necomi. Released in Japan as “Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu! ” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Mari Koch.

It’s been more than a year since the last volume of this, the dangers of catching up. I was looking forward to more romcom shenanigans, but unfortunately, this is the serious, peril volume, and the romcom is saved for the very end. I also noticed that my last review talked about the villains all being cartoonishly evil and trying to destroy the Crown, which is true, but I’m starting to think that maybe it would be for the best if the Crown were destroyed. Michael has always been a bit of a dick, trying his damndest to get Noelle working at the palace even though that’s not what she wants. Here he seemingly tries to have her love interest killed (I don’t know if he was behind the kidnapping, but he was definitely behind the “he’s a traitor” rumors), and the 7th book promises a big confrontation, and hopefully the prince gets kicked in the nuts.

We pick up with the cliffhanger from the last volume: Luke has been kidnapped, and it turns out that he’s in the Holy Nation of Clares, which is run by the Church. Noelle and the others not only find that their rescue attempts are cut off, but also find he’s being slandered, so they are to assume he is Evil Presumed Dead. This does not sit well with Noelle, who ends up resigning fro her post and going to the Holy Nation to track him down. Fortunately, she has allies. Her old friend Nina is adventuring in the area, and there’s always the all-powerful Elf Princess Evangeline, and even her wyvern friend. Plus, y’know, she’s brilliant at nearly everything, be it cleaning a horribly polluted creek in one day or befriending the hidden savior of the nation. Unfortunately, Luke may really *be* Evil Presumed Dead…

We’ve been waiting for six volumes, so it’s nice that we finally get a mutual confession (yes, yes, OK, Luke is not really evil or dead, though his presence in this book is confined to the last part). Unfortunately, the series is not yet over, which means that we’ve got to put off them actually becoming a couple for even longer – especially since Michael is trying to make her his bodyguard/personal mage. But yeah, right now Noelle has a goal, and that goal is not “marry Luke”, it’s “become the greatest mage in the world”. I mean, the title of the series is My Magical Career. As for the rest of the book, it’s decent considering it’s a rescue book. We meet a drunk nun and a gambling-addicted nun, who provide most of the humor. And the savior of the Holy Nation is, frankly, adorbs, and I hope we see more of her.

What’s that, Lassie? Series? Caught up again? No new volume in sight? Ah well, back to waiting. Still, glad we got this.