I finished Who Made me a Princess last week, both the main story and bonus chapters. It was a pretty fun series, even if I came out of it a little unsatisfied - and the worst thing is I can’t fully pinpoint why. There was just something missing there at the end. Regardless of what it was however, I enjoyed reading this story and I hope the author will have a chance to write something else (this was their first serialisation and an original story at that).

The only thing I was actually somewhat disappointed with is the fact one of the “twists” didn’t really amount to anything. Not a huge problem but it did feel like it would lead to… well, something. Anyway, it was definitely a better experience than some of the series I wrote about recently.

Next, we have another fresh title: Akari the Final Boss Girl ~I’m Going to the Modern Age to Find Someone Stronger Than Me~ (yeah, it’s a mouthful). It’s a story about a final dungeon boss who after 10,000 years of waiting for a stronger foe decides to find one on their own. They do so by jumping into a body of a bullied schoolgirl from another world and start looking for someone who will kill them.

It’s part power fantasy (despite their host body being weak, MC kept their own powers), part story about MC coming to terms of their own “humanity”… kinda? It’s not like MC is a mindless monster murdering anyone on their path, they’re actually somewhat kind and humane in general, it’s more that they don’t extend that kindness to themselves. All they care about is finding someone to end their life.

The initial arc and slice-of-life segments are pretty enjoyable, with lots of humour and some ruminations on the conflict between MC’s interest in leading a normal happy life and their drive to die in battle. It’s pretty good. The main meat of the plot, combat, on the other hand is a way more mixed experience. There’s a ton of yapping and no necessarily the good kind - stuff like:

• Characters explaining their skills, strengths and weaknesses.
• Characters commenting on/thinking about what’s going on during fights (as in, explaining what’s already on the panels).
• Characters (mostly MC) getting super hyped whenever something even lightly dangerous to them happens during the fight.
• Lots of “this isn’t even my final form”.
• Narration about power levels and more.

Add flashbacks or multiple repeats of similar sequences during a single battle and a fight that could take 1-2 chapters suddenly takes like 10. Brainless entertainment is fine but it starts to drag, to the detriment of everything else.

While the series is still ongoing, I doubt any of these issues will improve. It’s just the style the author went with. It’s a bit of a shame but whatever, I’ll keep reading a bit longer in hopes of more SoL.

TL;DR: The idea is cool, the start is cool, the main part of the story quickly loses any impact. It’s a decent read if you turn off your brain, I guess.

Going back to something I haven’t written about in a while, things in I’ll Be the Matriarch in This Life are getting pretty spicy right now. Lots of intrigue and rich people posturing/manoeuvring between the main character and the imperial faction - it’s fun! Not particularly suspenseful but fun nonetheless.