The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 4

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By Piero Karasu and Yuri Kisaragi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Since my review of the third volume, we have had the anime version of this series, which covered the first three books. In my opinion, it was a fantastic success, and the way that it adapted the books, changing and cutting things to the anime’s benefit, was a definite highlight. That said, there were some people who bemoaned a lot of the world building and discussion of magical technicalities getting cut from the anime. If that was you, good news! The books are still here, and they are still being very nerdy. This volume digs deep into the heart of magic vs. magicology, and why the latter is terrifying a number of the nobles remaining at everyone’s least favorite ministry. Can you change the prejudices and thoughts of an entire country by letting go of the past, or does the past need to be embraced as well? And, most importantly, why are all the books written like they sell for $200 on Amazon from Paletia University Press?

Anis and Euphie are now a couple, although it would appear their intimacy in bed is limited to Euphie taking Anis’ magical energy rather than taking Anis. Moreover, Anis now has two new assistants, since Euphie’s additional responsibilities mean she can’t be Anis’ assistant anymore. Halphys and Garkie… erm, Gark help Anis to think about what about magicology would help win over the nobles, who already have magic to do what she’s doing with kettles and the like? There’s also the problem of Lainie. Now that the dust has settled and she has a prominent position in Anis’ household, she’s getting marriage offers she does not want. And, of course, there’s the succession, as Anis’ father decides that now is the time to step down from the throne and let the next ruler take over. Who will be Queen? (I mean, we know who’ll be Queen, but let’s pretend we don’t.)

I had to laugh at the appearance of Tilty in this book. She’s there for about five pages, tells everyone they’re idiots, is absolutely infuriated, and storms off, having started the process of solving the problem. Unfortunately, the problem with Lainie is her crippling self-hatred, as the idea that anyone might actually be in love with her and not just influenced by her vampire powers causes her to have a complete meltdown. It was also nice to see Ilia actually screw up, and show that the relationship she and Anis have is very beneficial to them but can also be detrimental in regards to others. As for Anis and the Ministry of the Arcane, I also enjoyed how that played out. The remaining nobles know what the winning side is, they just want to ensure that they still have a place somewhere on it. You don’t want to help with your own downsizing.

I had a ball reading this book, and think those who enjoyed the anime will as well. It also wraps up nicely as a finale to the series… but don’t worry, there’s more coming.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 2

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason.

I mentioned last time that this was a mystery series, and that’s still true here. The book is set up so that we have the chapter itself, which is a self-contained “a ghost is causing problems” thing for Jusetsu to deal with, but each chapter also adds to the overall narrative of Jusetsu and the Emperor getting closer to each other despite the entire world seeming to throw “do not do this” signs at them. But this second volume also amps up another part of this series, which is the horror. There is some deeply creepy shit going on here, and honestly the chapter that began with a court maid being found dead with her throat ripped out was on the milder end of the spectrum. These ghosts have issues, and just because Jusetsu is here to try to get them to the afterlife doesn’t mean she’s always going to succeed. Especially since it seems she has a distaff counterpart, the owl to her raven. And he’s trying to kill her.

The first story here has Jusetsu meet a young eunuch who is tormented by a ghost that only he can see, one that keeps apologizing in the direction of the concubine of that quarters. Who is the ghost and what does it have to do with gorgeous blue feathers? In the second story (and the most horrific of the lot), an old woman begs Jusetsu to try to put to rest the spirit of a young concubine who drowned herself, but the main issue is that some people, even when grieving, have to make it all about them. The third story has a mask with holes in the eyes which, when put on, shows a ghost who seems to be very interested in a specific kind of lute playing. And the final story has Jusetsu get involved with a concubine who has been somewhat off the rails since her brother died, and who will accept any help in order to get her brother back.

It’s very odd seeing the inner narrative push back against what we, as a reader, want. Jusetsu is a kind and lonely young girl who is starting to really come out of her shell now that she’s surrounded by people. She’s got a cute servant girl, a nice bodyguard, an older woman to give (wordless, her tongue was cut out) advice, and of course the Emperor dropping by all the time, seemingly infatuated with her. This is definitely good in an emotional way. But man, the backstory and the actions of others within the narrative have it being painted as this massive disaster, and honestly you can’t help but since every time she shows empathy to someone new and yet another person reminds her “the raven consort but always be alone”. And then there’s the end of the boo, which gives her her very own nemesis, who is going to murder her for her own good. Well, for the raven’s own good. Jusetsu is just unfortunate baggage.

As you can imagine, these are very good books. If you like your fantasy dark and don’t mind some creepy ghosts, definitely get this.

The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes, Vol. 7

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By Bisu and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru” by Arian Rose. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Esther Sun.

This is not the final volume in the series – the eighth book is currently streaming on the J-Novel Club site, and has the standard romance novel final volume cover (heroine in wedding dress), but this does pretty much resolve all the remaining plot points that we had. This includes the love story, which takes up most of the first half of this book, and the demon lord story, which takes up most of the second half. I actually quite like the way that one shifted to the other. After the traditional Misunderstanding (TM), Rosemary has locked herself in her room and refuses to see anyone. Now, in reality this is because she’s a lovesick teenager who thinks the guy she loves is confessing to another woman, but to the rest of the palace it looks like she’s trying to protect everyone because she knows she’s possessed by the demon lord. Which is… not QUITE true, but honestly, events happen in the same way they would if it were.

After the events of the last book, everyone is basically terrified that the demon lord has possessed Rosemary, and her father is in fact coming up with a plan just in case they’re unable to save her. Kanon, our Japanese import, is of course devastated that all this has happened because Rosemary took the attack meant for her. And Leonhart is upset that he wasn’t able to protect her, upset that he cannot convey his love to her, upset that he’s unworthy of her because he’s too old/too common/whatever. That said, no one is sitting around waiting for things to get worse. The sorcerers are busy trying to design a demon lord-catching trap, and Rosemary, despite being a devastated teenager, really is researching possible ways out of this. That said, the actual power behind the demon lord turns out to be far closer to her than anyone could have guessed…

There’s some interesting isekai physics here, which Kanon and Rosemary discuss. Basically, she’s been summoned but they can send her back fairly easily at the moment… but the longer they wait, the more the “hole” that she went through to go from Japan to this world will deform, and eventually she won’t be able to return. Hell, I’m not even sure whether she will be returning – there’s no way she can miss the wedding next book, right? As for Rosemary and Leonhart, yeah, sorry to spoil the obvious, but they’re not destroyed by the demon lord, and they do eventually manage to confess to each other, after not one but TWO false starts where they do it while the other is sleeping. As for her other potential boyfriends, well, they’re sad, but I think in the end it’s very much a case of “as long as Rosemary is alive, that’s fine”. Which, given the entire premise of this book has been “trying to stop Rosemary getting killed”, thematically fits.

So we’ve almost wrapped everything up, and I for one am quite happy to have a victory lap if that’s what we get… unless, of course, there’s one final assassination attempt that Rosemary has missed. Either way, this has been a good romantic thriller.