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異世界拷問姫 (Light Novel) #1
Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 1
I am the torture princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu.
I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow.
A beautiful woman appears before Kaito Sena following his tragic death and rebirth into another world. Introducing herself as the Torture Princess, she orders him to become her loyal servant. Naturally, his response is..."Hard pass." And so Elisabeth presents him with two choices-become her butler or be tortured to death. After rethinking his hasty decision, Kaito is forced to wait on Elisabeth hand and foot, as well as aid her in her mission as the Torture Princess, which is the subjugation of the fourteen ranked demons and their contractors. But there's a catch. Once her mission is complete, Elisabeth is fated to die alone-forsaken by heaven, earth, and all of creation.
I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow.
A beautiful woman appears before Kaito Sena following his tragic death and rebirth into another world. Introducing herself as the Torture Princess, she orders him to become her loyal servant. Naturally, his response is..."Hard pass." And so Elisabeth presents him with two choices-become her butler or be tortured to death. After rethinking his hasty decision, Kaito is forced to wait on Elisabeth hand and foot, as well as aid her in her mission as the Torture Princess, which is the subjugation of the fourteen ranked demons and their contractors. But there's a catch. Once her mission is complete, Elisabeth is fated to die alone-forsaken by heaven, earth, and all of creation.
272 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2019
91 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 24, 2019
This was a hard book to rate.
On one had, the gothic aesthetic was handled fairly well, though over the top. Elements like the executioner blade, crimson petals, and the like were very nice touches and helped the mood of the story really well. Even the monsters are handled in a superb manner, being both horrific as well as absolutely terrifying. It all wraps up into a super nice package that creates a very interesting world for the reader.
But where the world is interesting and handled very well, it feels like it was written by a teenager who is trying to be edgy. So much of this book screams trying too hard, which is unfortunate. It pushes things that would have been atmospheric into the realm of being ridiculous and cliche. I mean, there is menstrual blood magic circles, organ meat meals, torture devices being used as weapons (and quite ridiculously so), and over the top melodrama. It got quite tiring at points to be frank.
That all said, there were elements that, when combined with the aesthetic (when it is handled well and isn't over the top), made for an enjoyable isekai story. It was interesting to see an isekai hero who died brutally at the hands of a family member. It is a nice break away from what you normally see in a book of this genre. Keishi also manages to bring it around later on, which is really nice. The entire story also has an over all feel that is different from other isekai books, so I also give props to Keishi for creating something unique.
In the end, I gave this book three stars because as over the top as it is, it also was unique and the elements that were handled well were handled really well. To anyone who is familiar with the isekai genre who is looking for something new and interesting, I suggest you give this book a try. Just know that this book may not be for everyone.
On one had, the gothic aesthetic was handled fairly well, though over the top. Elements like the executioner blade, crimson petals, and the like were very nice touches and helped the mood of the story really well. Even the monsters are handled in a superb manner, being both horrific as well as absolutely terrifying. It all wraps up into a super nice package that creates a very interesting world for the reader.
But where the world is interesting and handled very well, it feels like it was written by a teenager who is trying to be edgy. So much of this book screams trying too hard, which is unfortunate. It pushes things that would have been atmospheric into the realm of being ridiculous and cliche. I mean, there is menstrual blood magic circles, organ meat meals, torture devices being used as weapons (and quite ridiculously so), and over the top melodrama. It got quite tiring at points to be frank.
That all said, there were elements that, when combined with the aesthetic (when it is handled well and isn't over the top), made for an enjoyable isekai story. It was interesting to see an isekai hero who died brutally at the hands of a family member. It is a nice break away from what you normally see in a book of this genre. Keishi also manages to bring it around later on, which is really nice. The entire story also has an over all feel that is different from other isekai books, so I also give props to Keishi for creating something unique.
In the end, I gave this book three stars because as over the top as it is, it also was unique and the elements that were handled well were handled really well. To anyone who is familiar with the isekai genre who is looking for something new and interesting, I suggest you give this book a try. Just know that this book may not be for everyone.
December 19, 2018
While I do believe that this Light Novel has some interesting ideas, I do think that there are quite a few things added to it that makes liking the full package somewhat of a challenge for me.
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In the Light Novel world, Isekai series or transported into another world Series are a dime a dozen. Most are just harem filled garbage with the most uninteresting main characters for self insert purposes, but there are some gems. This novel is one I have difficulty placing in either category, so I will put it in the middle for now, since it did have some pretty good ideas, but some of the additions didn’t help me enjoy it. The novel doesn’t sugarcoat things, the world is full of death and destruction and entities that only want to add to it. Which started out as a pretty interesting thing to see for me, but for some reason, or maybe it was the frequency of the told events or displays that made it not as interesting pretty quickly. Thankfully though, a reason for all of the display was given, so I can count that as a plus :)
That being said, the plot in itself seems to be like a monster of the week kind of thing which is more than fine for me if it was interesting to read, which this was in some of it of course, but because the events went in the same exact sequence over and over again with slight variations, it made things a little too predictable as I progressed in the novel. It’s one of those stories where the first half is all new and interesting and the second half is sort of like a rehash where the author will try to make it as interesting with differing results. As an animated series, I believe that this approach would’ve worked quite easily for a longer while, but as reading material, I think I need some sort of extra variety.
Furthermore the planning and the introduction of those 13 demons, the ones who were introduced anyways, didn’t actually happen in a logical sense. Usually taking down high ranking demons, should start from the lowest ranking to the highest or something along those lines, but here it seemed to be whatever. The worst part for me though is that seemingly the most dangerous of their opponents was taken out in the same fashion as the other demons, nothing was that different to me. Or at least nothing displayed by that opponent really showed me the danger of said opponent when compared to the others, the only thing that really made it different was because of the background information revealed about Elisabeth herself.
This brings me to the characters, I did find the antics and the interactions somewhat amusing. Having a character like Kaito and especially how he ended up in that world is interesting, but I did have some issues with his characterization based on his old world background. To avoid spoilers I won’t be going into details, but there were instances where Kaito seemed more like a “promised hero” kind of character, than the type the novel introduced him as. This would’ve been fine if Kaito had gone through enough in this world to warrant a change like that, or came from a background that would’ve given him this, but it didn’t. It’s difficult to see someone in those situations taking the same initiatives he did, I personally can’t see it happen.
Elisabeth on the other hand has a more difficult personality to like, at least for me, so although I did enjoy some of the instances, I did find others really annoying. The biggest issue I had with the characters though, lies with the new cook. Characters like these, in situations like these, feel like too much of the wish fulfillment harems the other lesser Isekai novels have and I personally can’t get too invested when there are characters like that around. Especially if they are around a lot, which this one was ever since they joined.
Well, as evident by the above comments, there is always a “but” after almost everything I praised in the book so again, while I do think it’s not that bad, I do think that some of the additions only took from it instead of adding to it.
Final rating: 2.5/5
January 15, 2023
It’s closer to 3.5-3.75
It’s a lot of gore and body horror but still kind of a fun read. If you like villain stories, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with this one.
I’d prefer if the POV was from the torture princess
Some of the lines or phrasing was really repetitive but not sure if that’s the author or translation but the second half was good to get the background of Elisabeth and some of Kaitos growth.
This was my first light novel ☺️
It’s a lot of gore and body horror but still kind of a fun read. If you like villain stories, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with this one.
I’d prefer if the POV was from the torture princess
Some of the lines or phrasing was really repetitive but not sure if that’s the author or translation but the second half was good to get the background of Elisabeth and some of Kaitos growth.
This was my first light novel ☺️
January 3, 2023
I had a lot of fun reading this one. Although this is an isekai, the story it tells is surprising refreshing and unique. I personally think it suffered from some pacing issues, as the story was going at such a fast pace that it could be confusing at times. I am hoping in coming volumes the author focuses more on slowing down the plot and fleshing out the characters some more. Overall though, this was a really nice and fun read!
July 4, 2019
Overall, this was a pretty decent read. It was definitely one of the darkest, goriest books I’ve read. The descriptions are pretty detailed, and there is a scene involving a baby, so fair warning. Tread with caution. It took me a while to read because I felt like what was going on was pretty heavy material compared to the normal light novels I read. I will pick up the next volume though.
October 14, 2019
This was crazy gory, crazy dark, and at times strangely light in the craziest times. Wasn't sure if I would be continuing past volume 1, but I will be.
January 22, 2021
Torture Princess, written by Keishi Ayasato, with illustrations by Saki Ukai, is a story about abuse and darkness. Abuse in many forms, be it against demons, monsters, or other humans. Our main character, Kaito Sena is killed by his father in opening prologue, and after his brutal death, he’s summoned by the titular Torture Princess, Elizabeth Le Fanu. She’s tasked with hunting fourteen demons wreaking havoc on the world, and Kaito is…there. He doesn’t have any powers or anything that he can really contribute to the fights, but he does bring a cool head to some hellish situations.
I almost didn’t pick this one up, due to the cover. I’m a firm non believer in “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.” I do it all the time, and I’m rarely disappointed. So, again, I almost passed on this one due to the scantily-clad Princess on the cover, but I would have missed out on a…unique isekai story.
That’s really the only word I can think of to describe this book. THis is the first story of Keishi’s I’ve read, while I love me a dark story, I didn’t think I’d ever read a story like this one. I will say it was a fun twist on a historical figure(?). After Kaito’s untimely demise at the hands of his father, he’s summoned to another world by Elizabeth to be her servant as she . I’m not entirely sure why she did it if I’m being honest, but his personally make for some very entertaining interactions. And I won’t lie, apart from her absurd dress, I dig Elizabeth’s design, and the art in general. Saki does a great job with the illustrations peppered throughout the novel. It does a great job of endearing the characters to you. Which is a hard thing to do when the person the main character serves is an unapologetic torturer who’s committed atrocities just as horrific if not worse than the fourteen demons she’s been tasked with hunting.
Still, I can’t help but to admit that I found myself hooked. Not thanks to the torture or grotesque enemies being faced. No, I’m hooked because throughout the course of the novel you see flashes. Flashes of Elizabeth before she became the Torture Princess; you get to see glimpses of the person she used to be before embracing what she became. Am I excusing her actions? Absolutely not. I’m just curious to see if her story will end the way it’s being laid out: Her being put to the stake after she’s defeated all fourteen demons. I’m sure it’ll be a dark ride.
I almost didn’t pick this one up, due to the cover. I’m a firm non believer in “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.” I do it all the time, and I’m rarely disappointed. So, again, I almost passed on this one due to the scantily-clad Princess on the cover, but I would have missed out on a…unique isekai story.
That’s really the only word I can think of to describe this book. THis is the first story of Keishi’s I’ve read, while I love me a dark story, I didn’t think I’d ever read a story like this one. I will say it was a fun twist on a historical figure(?). After Kaito’s untimely demise at the hands of his father, he’s summoned to another world by Elizabeth to be her servant as she . I’m not entirely sure why she did it if I’m being honest, but his personally make for some very entertaining interactions. And I won’t lie, apart from her absurd dress, I dig Elizabeth’s design, and the art in general. Saki does a great job with the illustrations peppered throughout the novel. It does a great job of endearing the characters to you. Which is a hard thing to do when the person the main character serves is an unapologetic torturer who’s committed atrocities just as horrific if not worse than the fourteen demons she’s been tasked with hunting.
Still, I can’t help but to admit that I found myself hooked. Not thanks to the torture or grotesque enemies being faced. No, I’m hooked because throughout the course of the novel you see flashes. Flashes of Elizabeth before she became the Torture Princess; you get to see glimpses of the person she used to be before embracing what she became. Am I excusing her actions? Absolutely not. I’m just curious to see if her story will end the way it’s being laid out: Her being put to the stake after she’s defeated all fourteen demons. I’m sure it’ll be a dark ride.
April 25, 2022
Illustrations and chapter pages 5 stars. Main plot arc and secondary plot arcs of this light novel series, 1 star. Average of both 3 stars. This first volume is 200+ pages, six chapters with a lot of blank pages, lot of repeated illustrations. Yes, the illustrations are beautifully done. Colors and styles are beautiful. Art is superior to and interest in creating lewd interests.
The novel series 50 shades of Gray, was sexy, sexual, and sado-masochistic. This is torture for torture's sake. There is no passion to chastise. There is no reason to torture except to force the tortured to die, or to accomplish the whims of the demons. Elisabeth the Torture Princess, is finicky, nonsensical and flat (lack of personality, lack of depth...nothing to do with her curves).
Kaito is weak, cowardly and dispassionate. Novel series starts with his first death, but after death, is life important? Pain seems to be his only future.
This light novel series has 7.5 volumes so far. It's amazing, that a light novel that only has its illustrations going for it, would already have 8 volumes. At one to 2 demons per volume, this light novel series should end at about 10 volumes (14 demons, including Elisabeth).
There is a German subtitle on the first volume cover page (Foreign Torture). Maybe author thinks Germans are attracted to torture, bondage and gore? If hell was this place, the lack of action and continuous threats of bodily harm, would make this place a really ugly kind of hell.
Author begs "new possible readers" to purchase his new light novel series. Author also stresses beauty of illustrations. Not a good sign. Maybe a better Manga than light novel series (because of the illustrations).
The novel series 50 shades of Gray, was sexy, sexual, and sado-masochistic. This is torture for torture's sake. There is no passion to chastise. There is no reason to torture except to force the tortured to die, or to accomplish the whims of the demons. Elisabeth the Torture Princess, is finicky, nonsensical and flat (lack of personality, lack of depth...nothing to do with her curves).
Kaito is weak, cowardly and dispassionate. Novel series starts with his first death, but after death, is life important? Pain seems to be his only future.
This light novel series has 7.5 volumes so far. It's amazing, that a light novel that only has its illustrations going for it, would already have 8 volumes. At one to 2 demons per volume, this light novel series should end at about 10 volumes (14 demons, including Elisabeth).
There is a German subtitle on the first volume cover page (Foreign Torture). Maybe author thinks Germans are attracted to torture, bondage and gore? If hell was this place, the lack of action and continuous threats of bodily harm, would make this place a really ugly kind of hell.
Author begs "new possible readers" to purchase his new light novel series. Author also stresses beauty of illustrations. Not a good sign. Maybe a better Manga than light novel series (because of the illustrations).
October 21, 2024
OVERALL RATING: 2.5 STARS
Review contains marked, minor spoilers. Please keep this in mind. However, the review should still be coherent without un-marking spoilers.
This review was made without reading the rest of the series.
I happened upon Torture Princess soon after I finished HakoMari, also known as a The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria (Said series I intend to reread and make an in-depth analysis and review of). I was looking for something similar, and the wise denizens of the internet pointed me towards this book.
As I began to read this book, I was honestly confused as to why it was recommended based on HakoMari. While I can't say I know the exact answer, I do feel as if I'm beginning to understand why the book was recommended in general.
Overall, I'd say that I found the beginning of the book mediocre, almost leaning towards intolerable at times. I found myself thinking of the amount of gore as excessive, although it fit the setting and the lore introduced in the book so far, and the story as mundane and uninteresting. I had no real attachment to any of the characters, nor did I care what happened to them, and then I immediately found myself recoiling, tired of this sort of trope in anime and its counterparts, and nearly put the book down for good.
However, I recalled in my research before reading the book I had done prior that others were praising it as one of the few LNs that executed the isekai plot well, and that it had interesting twists on typical tropes of the genre. With this in mind and no other books to read, I sighed and picked the LN back up. If it was true, I always enjoy a good genre deconstruction. How was I to resist?
I'm glad that I did. From that point on, it became an interesting story, surrounding the conflicts of the main character serving the Torture Princess, his emotions, and even hinting towards why the Torture Princess is how she is. delving into his emotions about it and what he wants. While I had earlier found it tasteless I found the second coming wherein it was explained upon further towards the end of the book to be satisfying and honestly made me glad that the groundwork was set up for it earlier.
I genuinely respect the second half of this book, although it's nowhere near perfect, or held even close to the same light that I do HakoMari in my mind at the moment. That being said, however, I can't help but wonder if the discomfort I felt in the first half was intentional. The Torture Princess is purposely somewhat dislike-able given her actions, and your placed into one unsettling situation after another right after a little round of typical anime comedy at the beginning of each chapter. However, at around the second half of the book, the main character and the Torture Princess' relationship becomes a bit more complicated and interesting, and things really start to pick up beyond just being some sort of disgusting play for the reader's enjoyment. Again, I'm usually fine with gore and stuff, it's just something about the way it was presented in this book rubbed me the wrong way... and again, I can't help but feel it was intentional. After finishing the second half of the book, I feel as if the ending and the events of the second half wouldn't have been nearly as interesting, climatic, or satisfying without the first half of the book. Even though I disliked initially reading through the first half, I now see it as necessary and partially admire the author's strategy in the book's introduction.
Based on this, I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series. I think that this book, although I rate it as 2.5 stars (I can't overlook the possibility that maybe the first half being so mediocre and somewhat hard to stomach wasn't the author's intent, although I truly believe it was to some degree - and it notably still feels a bit generic for my tastes), has laid the groundwork for what could be an incredibly interesting series.
I don't know why this book was recommended in relation to HakoMari, but I feel as if I'm just a bit closer to finding out. We'll see if the claim of it being something of a genre deconstruction or it putting interesting twists on modern anime tropes to hold true throughout the series as well.
All in all, if you're looking for something a bit different than the typical Isekai to read, which is aware of the horror of its characters and its world, and does a little bit better with certain tropes' execution than some other series this is the book to read. It's not a masterpiece, but I could see it paving the road for something that becomes one. If you have free time and have nothing else in your recommendations, it's worth giving it a shot and seeing if you like it. I'm certainly glad I did - just make it a point to read over halfway through, if you find yourself having the same issues with the first half that I did.
EDIT: Lowered rating after reflection, my apologies.
Review contains marked, minor spoilers. Please keep this in mind. However, the review should still be coherent without un-marking spoilers.
This review was made without reading the rest of the series.
I happened upon Torture Princess soon after I finished HakoMari, also known as a The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria (Said series I intend to reread and make an in-depth analysis and review of). I was looking for something similar, and the wise denizens of the internet pointed me towards this book.
As I began to read this book, I was honestly confused as to why it was recommended based on HakoMari. While I can't say I know the exact answer, I do feel as if I'm beginning to understand why the book was recommended in general.
Overall, I'd say that I found the beginning of the book mediocre, almost leaning towards intolerable at times. I found myself thinking of the amount of gore as excessive, although it fit the setting and the lore introduced in the book so far, and the story as mundane and uninteresting. I had no real attachment to any of the characters, nor did I care what happened to them, and then I immediately found myself recoiling, tired of this sort of trope in anime and its counterparts, and nearly put the book down for good.
However, I recalled in my research before reading the book I had done prior that others were praising it as one of the few LNs that executed the isekai plot well, and that it had interesting twists on typical tropes of the genre. With this in mind and no other books to read, I sighed and picked the LN back up. If it was true, I always enjoy a good genre deconstruction. How was I to resist?
I'm glad that I did. From that point on, it became an interesting story, surrounding the conflicts of the main character serving the Torture Princess, his emotions, and even hinting towards why the Torture Princess is how she is. delving into his emotions about it and what he wants. While I had earlier found it tasteless I found the second coming wherein it was explained upon further towards the end of the book to be satisfying and honestly made me glad that the groundwork was set up for it earlier.
I genuinely respect the second half of this book, although it's nowhere near perfect, or held even close to the same light that I do HakoMari in my mind at the moment. That being said, however, I can't help but wonder if the discomfort I felt in the first half was intentional. The Torture Princess is purposely somewhat dislike-able given her actions, and your placed into one unsettling situation after another right after a little round of typical anime comedy at the beginning of each chapter. However, at around the second half of the book, the main character and the Torture Princess' relationship becomes a bit more complicated and interesting, and things really start to pick up beyond just being some sort of disgusting play for the reader's enjoyment. Again, I'm usually fine with gore and stuff, it's just something about the way it was presented in this book rubbed me the wrong way... and again, I can't help but feel it was intentional. After finishing the second half of the book, I feel as if the ending and the events of the second half wouldn't have been nearly as interesting, climatic, or satisfying without the first half of the book. Even though I disliked initially reading through the first half, I now see it as necessary and partially admire the author's strategy in the book's introduction.
Based on this, I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series. I think that this book, although I rate it as 2.5 stars (I can't overlook the possibility that maybe the first half being so mediocre and somewhat hard to stomach wasn't the author's intent, although I truly believe it was to some degree - and it notably still feels a bit generic for my tastes), has laid the groundwork for what could be an incredibly interesting series.
I don't know why this book was recommended in relation to HakoMari, but I feel as if I'm just a bit closer to finding out. We'll see if the claim of it being something of a genre deconstruction or it putting interesting twists on modern anime tropes to hold true throughout the series as well.
All in all, if you're looking for something a bit different than the typical Isekai to read, which is aware of the horror of its characters and its world, and does a little bit better with certain tropes' execution than some other series this is the book to read. It's not a masterpiece, but I could see it paving the road for something that becomes one. If you have free time and have nothing else in your recommendations, it's worth giving it a shot and seeing if you like it. I'm certainly glad I did - just make it a point to read over halfway through, if you find yourself having the same issues with the first half that I did.
EDIT: Lowered rating after reflection, my apologies.
November 5, 2020
Best isekai on the market. This shit is wild
December 4, 2019
(4.5/5)
TWs/CWs: Abuse, Character Death, Graphic Violence, Graphic Death, Physical Abuse, Mental Abuse, Graphic Depictions of physical Assault
I held off on reading Torture Princess (TP) for a while because honestly, the title and cover made me think it'd be a quite... titillating title.
Good thing I changed my mind.
TP is a story centered on abuse: sometimes on the literal monsters involved in abuse, sometimes on the family that abuses, completely on the ways that abuse penetrates a life and forcibly changes it.
But it's also a story about grief and, eventually, healing. Or at least, resolution.
This is not a nice book: rather, it's an incredibly powerful read, but not a /kind/ book. TP is quite raw, especially in its descriptions: there's no hiding from the gore, from the descriptions of abuse, from the horror that is sure to continue through this series.
But that's honestly what's going to make be read Volume 2.
I don't know what to expect, but Torture Princess has its hooks in me: I'm here to see the story of the Fremd Torturchen and her fate. I'm rooting for her, in fact: I'd like to see her come to a positive results, desire her grim fate.
After all, everyone deserves the chance to grieve and heal from abuse, even if they're guilty of doing harm to others. You can still be held accountable while also being recognized as someone who was also dealt unwarranted harm.
I'd like to end this by saying this: abuse is horrific: it's nightmarish. It affects the abused deeply, leaves scars both visible and unseen. It changes us. But I think anyone who's ever been abused -even midly- will find this a haunting, somewhat cathartic book.
I recommend that readers go into TP aware of the warnings above: I had to read it but by bit because honestly, it could be a lot.
Take care and read with kindness: and if you find yourself finishing this, do right by yourself and let everything process.
And remember: the abuse dealt to you is not your fault. We do not ask to be hurt: we do not ask for the pain dealt is as children or as adults. No one deserves abuse.
But we can heal, even if it's takes time and hurts a little, or a lot.
We /will/ heal
TWs/CWs: Abuse, Character Death, Graphic Violence, Graphic Death, Physical Abuse, Mental Abuse, Graphic Depictions of physical Assault
I held off on reading Torture Princess (TP) for a while because honestly, the title and cover made me think it'd be a quite... titillating title.
Good thing I changed my mind.
TP is a story centered on abuse: sometimes on the literal monsters involved in abuse, sometimes on the family that abuses, completely on the ways that abuse penetrates a life and forcibly changes it.
But it's also a story about grief and, eventually, healing. Or at least, resolution.
This is not a nice book: rather, it's an incredibly powerful read, but not a /kind/ book. TP is quite raw, especially in its descriptions: there's no hiding from the gore, from the descriptions of abuse, from the horror that is sure to continue through this series.
But that's honestly what's going to make be read Volume 2.
I don't know what to expect, but Torture Princess has its hooks in me: I'm here to see the story of the Fremd Torturchen and her fate. I'm rooting for her, in fact: I'd like to see her come to a positive results, desire her grim fate.
After all, everyone deserves the chance to grieve and heal from abuse, even if they're guilty of doing harm to others. You can still be held accountable while also being recognized as someone who was also dealt unwarranted harm.
I'd like to end this by saying this: abuse is horrific: it's nightmarish. It affects the abused deeply, leaves scars both visible and unseen. It changes us. But I think anyone who's ever been abused -even midly- will find this a haunting, somewhat cathartic book.
I recommend that readers go into TP aware of the warnings above: I had to read it but by bit because honestly, it could be a lot.
Take care and read with kindness: and if you find yourself finishing this, do right by yourself and let everything process.
And remember: the abuse dealt to you is not your fault. We do not ask to be hurt: we do not ask for the pain dealt is as children or as adults. No one deserves abuse.
But we can heal, even if it's takes time and hurts a little, or a lot.
We /will/ heal
November 8, 2021
I wanted a gory gothic tale and that's what I got. With a bit of isekai and robot maids. But mostly bucketfuls of blood and organs and chains.
Kaito dies in the hands of his abusive father but his soul gets pulled into a world with demons and magic by the titular Torture Princess Elisabeth Le Fanu. She wants a servant and that's what Kaito becomes. Elisabeth is commissioned (ordered? coaxed?) by the Church to hunt fourteen demons that terrorize the lands. And after that Elisabeth will be put to death too because she's killed townfuls of people too. And she's okay with this.
There's quite a bit of fighting the demons and their underlings but also glimpses to Elisabeth's past and a support character in form of Hina. She reminds me of macrophages from Cells At Work! actually. Her cloying showers of love could be annoying but in this case I found them funny counterbalance to all the torture.
Elisabeth is sometimes kinda over-the-top but I didn't mind because she was also hella entertaining character. Kaito was fine too, there were two great moments: the thing a character called Neue tells him and then his realization at the end about his father.
So, probably not for everybody but I liked this a lot. The world is interesting and brutal. Already ordered the next volume.
Kaito dies in the hands of his abusive father but his soul gets pulled into a world with demons and magic by the titular Torture Princess Elisabeth Le Fanu. She wants a servant and that's what Kaito becomes. Elisabeth is commissioned (ordered? coaxed?) by the Church to hunt fourteen demons that terrorize the lands. And after that Elisabeth will be put to death too because she's killed townfuls of people too. And she's okay with this.
There's quite a bit of fighting the demons and their underlings but also glimpses to Elisabeth's past and a support character in form of Hina. She reminds me of macrophages from Cells At Work! actually. Her cloying showers of love could be annoying but in this case I found them funny counterbalance to all the torture.
Elisabeth is sometimes kinda over-the-top but I didn't mind because she was also hella entertaining character. Kaito was fine too, there were two great moments: the thing a character called Neue tells him and then his realization at the end about his father.
So, probably not for everybody but I liked this a lot. The world is interesting and brutal. Already ordered the next volume.
October 2, 2020
Torture Princess is an isekai light novel series, featuring a girl who is famed for having tortured and slaughtered every last person in her fiefdom, earning her the title of Torture Princess. It’s an extremely over the top graphic gore novel, horror in aesthetic but light hearted and casually comedic in tone. There are currently five volumes translated into English, and a manga adaptation. It has a lot of themes of abuse running through it and could be very upsetting to some readers, but if you’re into a gothic gore aesthetic this may be the isekai series for you!
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2020/10/...
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2020/10/...
Read
May 11, 2022I took the time to read this book while I was craving a certain gothic literature read. I was attracted to the aesthetic and illustration value this light novel had and decided to give this a try. After reaching about the halfway mark of the book I was incredibly disappointed in the writing style and how painfully obvious it was that they were trying to make this book as gothic as possible. I almost could not handle the amount of unnecessary phrases there were in this book. I truly think this was one of the worst ones i've read recently and I am sorry to say that as I still think the visual appeal is clear
May 27, 2019
A better than normal Isekia light novel. The ending kinda does a ton of foreshadowing to itself. If they want to go on they still have another um 10 demons to kill To that they already killed the strongest but not directly so they may have a stronger enemy in a later novel.
It also goes into detail of the gore and torture parts. The majority of the book isn't gore and torture so if you are buying it for torture plot it is not the book for you.
At the rate which I read it is about 10 ~ 11 hours to read just I got interrupted alot.
It also goes into detail of the gore and torture parts. The majority of the book isn't gore and torture so if you are buying it for torture plot it is not the book for you.
At the rate which I read it is about 10 ~ 11 hours to read just I got interrupted alot.
October 4, 2020
An extremely well written novel. From the character development to the plot, everything felt sufficient. Watching a broken man like Kaito mature and grow, as he discovers what it truly means to be happy, and learns how to take care of others was an enlightening process. I could barely contain my tears the moment Hina cradled Kaito's head and said how she'll always be there to protect him, even when when no one else would. Already have volume 2 ready right before I completed this novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2024
Took me a long time to finish this. Normally i would have finished a light novel in a sitting but this just took so much energy from me.
I liked some scenes and some ideas but i also felt like the author wanted to much in to little. Sometimes less is more. We was thrown things at us over and over and over again that it almost because funny.
It gave me the vibes of an edgy anime lover trying to be cool and dramatic and every sentence, dialoge etc felt like he/she was trying to hard.
The world and the core idea was really interesting tho and i would have wanted a more toned down execution of it all.
Video review and rant: https://youtu.be/DbBrne6_-Mc?si=kn8Jm...
I liked some scenes and some ideas but i also felt like the author wanted to much in to little. Sometimes less is more. We was thrown things at us over and over and over again that it almost because funny.
It gave me the vibes of an edgy anime lover trying to be cool and dramatic and every sentence, dialoge etc felt like he/she was trying to hard.
The world and the core idea was really interesting tho and i would have wanted a more toned down execution of it all.
Video review and rant: https://youtu.be/DbBrne6_-Mc?si=kn8Jm...
January 30, 2022
I felt this book was a little conflicted on what it wanted to be, it was split between a silly Isekai RomCom or a dark Isekai. Overall it does feel like a RomCom with a gore filled (very filled) backdrop, which I would have to say is the darkest part of it. I still enjoyed it overall and as far as Isekai MC's go Kaito is pretty good (though very close to a normal person it's scary)
April 21, 2021
Fiction. Has a dark plot, and doesn't shy away from graphical descriptions of horrific events.
Main character seems both afraid, annoyed and angered at his summoning to this other world, after he got murdered in his own world.
Overall, very good so far. Will be reading the rest.
Main character seems both afraid, annoyed and angered at his summoning to this other world, after he got murdered in his own world.
Overall, very good so far. Will be reading the rest.
May 10, 2019
I didn't really like it - far too gruesome - but it did have its interesting elements.
August 3, 2020
Graphic but an absolutely astonishing story which doesn't fall to conventional ways of having a main protagonist more heroine, I could reccomend this series to anyone 16+
September 18, 2021
Bloody gore archaic English
Read
September 18, 2023It's not for the young. Good read, if you enjoy anime. Which I do
November 9, 2023
Уф, досить пафосна кринжятина. Усі плюси від м'яса та хорору перекриваются типовими анімешними кліше, від яких вивертає більше ніж від будь-якого м'яса.
February 16, 2025
Very dark and gothic, with a lot of gory violence. The premise is interesting, and the characters are intriguing. The volume suffers from a somewhat episodic structure of varying interest.
September 16, 2021
Finished volume one as well as 8 chapters of the manga.
2 stars, it was okay.
Characters: 2.5/5
They had an interesting concept, with a new kind of isekai mc and main girl. However, the execution was lackluster, and I was unable to get wrapped up in the lives and struggles of the characters at all. They seemed rather cut and dry, if that makes sense.
World: 3/5 I liked it
It was interesting. Rather English and Victorian. The aesthetic was on point, especially in the manga. I can't say I was a fan of the skimpy clothing, but I didn't pay much attention to that anyway, since it was drawn in a way that I thought that much of the skin was cloth until very late in the story.
Story: 2/5 okay
Rather bland, if I do say so. I'm tired, so I won't keep writing.
This is skippable, unless you really want isekai.
2 stars, it was okay.
Characters: 2.5/5
They had an interesting concept, with a new kind of isekai mc and main girl. However, the execution was lackluster, and I was unable to get wrapped up in the lives and struggles of the characters at all. They seemed rather cut and dry, if that makes sense.
World: 3/5 I liked it
It was interesting. Rather English and Victorian. The aesthetic was on point, especially in the manga. I can't say I was a fan of the skimpy clothing, but I didn't pay much attention to that anyway, since it was drawn in a way that I thought that much of the skin was cloth until very late in the story.
Story: 2/5 okay
Rather bland, if I do say so. I'm tired, so I won't keep writing.
This is skippable, unless you really want isekai.
February 3, 2019
art is well done but got to be boring after reading 7 chapters
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