I started reading the webnovel for the yuri, but Rei was what really made it work for me. Her relationship with Claire is fine- nothing groundbreaking, typical long-term reward fluffy tsundere conquering- but I feel like the webnovel's best parts are when Rei just takes some time to sit down and introspect about class politics, social norms and her own identity within a new world. The author could've just written a 100% yuri version of Bakarina and the fans would've lapped it up, but there's so much more that this story has to offer. It's very willing to examine its own tropes and talk about real-world issues both within and beyond the lens of a fantasy setting, and Rei is honestly one of the best takes on your standard otome isekai protagonist I've ever seen (and not just because she's gay). I'm loving the manga so far, and I hope it doesn't cut out the more introspective and personal sections like so many LN adaptations often do.
I absolutely agree. I also love [CRITICAL SPOILERS] the places where genre is broken, and Rei gets called the fuck out for acting like an anime character/gag character to hide her feelings. Their relationship is largely unsatisfying, but the LN as a whole feels like a breath of fresh air, stepping outside of typical Japanese media frameworks and genre tropes to hit you with some insightful realness. [vague-allusion-to-future-event spoiler] They touch on trans people!! In a good and positive way!!! I was like, "holy shit this is crazy, I didn't expect that at all!"
Everybody who likes this at all should for sure read/buy the WN/LN. It's really good, not just as a yuri fan, and it has an awareness that I would describe as queer and up to date, not just a yuri-genre thing.
last edited at Oct 22, 2020 3:52AM