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Sexiled Light Novel #1
Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! Volume 1
Tanya Artemiciov is a talented Mage-class adventurer who just got kicked out of her party by a sexist scumbag. So what's a girl to do? Go to the wasteland and blow stuff up of course! One small problem she inadvertently frees a mythical Sorceress named Laplace who was sealed away for the past 300 years... Surprise! Turns out this so-called "wicked" Sorceress is actually pretty cool. Laplace wants to start a party of her own, Tanya wants revenge, and the solution is team up. It's time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2019
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528 people want to read
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November 3, 2019
This is the woman-power fantasy I needed - hell yeah, Ameko Kaeruda, call out that stupid bikini armor!
On a more academic note, this does an excellent job of blending real-world sexism and fantasy tropes to create an alarmingly true picture of what women face. I just wish they'd gone with a different English title...
On a more academic note, this does an excellent job of blending real-world sexism and fantasy tropes to create an alarmingly true picture of what women face. I just wish they'd gone with a different English title...
September 25, 2019
[Full Disclosure: This review is based on the free sample of the book available on BookWalker, and not on the book as a whole. Some might say that invalidates my review, but in response I'd say that even if I did buy the book, it's unlikely that I'd get any further than that. The first two chapters of this book are legitimately some of the worst writing I've ever read - for reasons I'll go into in some length - and with how comprehensive their problems are, I feel wholly justified in reviewing it on that basis alone. If it would be valid for me to buy the book, abandon it after two chapters, and then write a review based on that, I really don't see why writing a review on the basis of those same chapters consumed as freely available samples should be any different.]
So most of my reading experience has been in Western fantasy fiction, but for a while I've been meaning to check out the Japanese light novel scene in the hopes of broadening my literary horizons. I made my way to BookWalker and took a look at the selection, but I can't say many of them stood out to me. I'm sure plenty of them are fine, but the sheer proliferation of Isekai and Harem stories led to the selection blurring into a samey, repetitive affair which meant that nothing stood out. Except for this one, because from the title alone it was pretty clear that it was going to be amazingly bad, and with a free sample to check out I figured: why not?
I want to preface the main body of this review by clarifying that my issue with the title has nothing to do with the specific nature of the book's politics. My issue with it is a broader one: books that wear their intended political messaging on their sleeve in such a blatant, gleeful manner are almost always bad, regardless of the specific politics in question. Women and feminists have made many valuable contributions to the world of literature over the years - both broadly and more specifically to the fantasy genre - and I often enjoy feminist themes in books when they're insightful and well-executed. Unfortunately, this book is neither.
The premise of the book seems like it should be simple. A powerful female mage is kicked out of her adventuring party by a sexist party leader and teams up with a powerful sorceress to avenge herself on the patriarchal society that spurned her. It really should write itself. The female character should be a woman who, thanks to her immense magical power, manages to work as an adventurer despite the sexism of her society. She works her way into a prominent and successful position with the support of her kindly male party leader, who is unusually open-minded and progressive for his time. But then he dies, retires, or is otherwise indisposed, and his second-in-command takes over. Said second-in-command is a sexist dickhead who fires her simply for being a woman, and the rest of the party are either no better or they're too scared of him to complain. Shortly afterwards the protagonist inadvertently awakens the eponymous Sorceress, the sole survivor of a race/group of extremely powerful female magic users who were once hunted to extinction by the prevailing misogynistic society, and they team up to fight back against the system that wronged them both. Seems like it should be easy, right?
Wrong. The author has a slightly different idea of how this should go down.
So the story begins and we're introduced to Tanya Artemiciov, a powerful mage and our main protagonist. We're introduced to her right as she's being kicked out of her adventuring party by Ryan Daars, the eponymous sexist party leader. The problems begin almost immediately.
Ryan is described as Tanya's longtime friend, and the two of them apparently co-founded the adventuring party together and have both been a part of it for five years. How the author thought any of this made sense is absolutely beyond me. Tanya is a fiery, passionate, independent woman who takes no shit from anyone. Ryan is a cartoonishly sexist douche-canoe who vocally demeans women on the regular and thinks they're inherently unfit to serve any role other than healer or housewife. And yet somehow they considered each other friends, willingly chose to work together, and have apparently served in the same party without significant incident for five years. It's made clear that Ryan, as party leader, could have fired Tanya at any time but just chose not to for reasons that are never given. When Tanya tries to seek help from the other members of the party or literally anyone in the Adventurer's Guild, none of them respond, and the party vote her out unanimously. Believe it or not, this was actually the part I enjoyed most. At this point it was still bad enough to be funny.
It's also mentioned at this point that the student body at the University Tanya attended was 80% male, and this brings us to the heart of the issue I have with the book's social commentary. It seems to think that sexism is purely an issue of individual men being sexist, rather than institutionalised sexism that prohibits women from being free and independent. All of the men depicted (at least in these early chapters) are outrageously misogynistic, but there's no indication that this manifests in the institutions of the world in any truly meaningful way. Throughout the book Tanya talks about how she was DISCOURAGED from attending University, how she was DISCOURAGED from joining the Adventurer's Guild, and how women are DISCOURAGED from holding prominent and successful jobs, but never says anything about women being actually PROHIBITED from doing any of these things. She never remarks on any institutional obstacles she faced in gaining admission to the University or succeeding in her studies, only that nasty men said she shouldn't do it. Ditto with the Adventurer's Guild. None of this is to say that women being talked out of certain paths in life isn't a real issue, but for a book so intent on creating this vision of a hellishly misogynistic society, it's an odd place to set the bar. Not to mention that it leads to significant contradictions in worldbuilding. If all men in this world are absolute misogynists, and men control all the institutions, then how is this society even as progressive as it is? A 20% female student body is actually pretty impressive in a society where literally every single man is a monster actively working to be as horrible to women as possible. In the next chapter she says that the Mage class is 90% male. Why isn't it 100% if the society of this world is really that bad? If Tanya was the first female adventurer, or among the first, then the world structure might have made some sense. If it was the institutions that were the problem, and there were men working alongside women to try and make it more equitable, then the cited statistics might have made some sense. As it is, it leads to a society that manages to somehow be both too sexist and too progressive - at the same time.
Even leaving the attempted social commentary behind, things don't get much better. After being kicked out of her party, Tanya goes to the Western Wastelands to blow off steam. This confused me at first, because her home country is the nation of Pajan, which is located in the Far East. It seemed to imply that she travelled an awfully long way just to satisfy an impulse. But it's later revealed that the Western Wasteland is actually within the nation of Pajan. The Far East is named for its position in relation to the rest of the world, but the Western Wasteland for its position in relation to the capital of Pajan. So the Western Wasteland isn't actually 'Western' at all, it's just slightly less east than Far East. Thanks, that's not confusing at all.
Anyway, it's at this point that Tanya starts blowing up mountains to alleviate her stress (how the men of this society feel confident in bullying a woman who has the magical power to literally level entire mountains is another thing that's never explained) and one of them turns out to be the resting place of a long-ago-sealed sorceress by the name of Laplace. Tanya doesn't believe that this woman could possibly be Laplace, AKA the Wicked Dragonwhore (the book's words, not mine), and so they have a magic duel to settle it. It's during this segment that the social commentary fades out and we get to admire the author's more general incompetence. The relationship between what characters know/believe and what they say/do is often a casual one. For example, at one point Tanya has to try and figure out how Laplace is consistently avoiding her fireball attacks. She guesses it's a portable force-field and turns out to be correct, only to be shaken to her core by the realisation - you see, in this world force-fields are, by their very nature, immobile, and a portable one shouldn't even be possible. But that knowledge didn't stop it from being Tanya's FIRST GUESS. The magic system is inconsistent and poorly-defined as well; Tanya passes out from mana deficiency after her battle with Laplace, but Laplace was apparently kept in a state of perpetual mana deficiency during her captivity and was conscious the whole time. Are the rules just different for Sorceresses? The book doesn't tell us. She was able to sense life that travelled on or near her mountain, which makes a little bit of sense. But she was also able to observe the decline in human civilisation's mastery of the magic arts. How? Again, no answers.
There are plenty of other staples of sloppy writing; like characters reading each other's minds, redundant repetition of information, poor dialogue attribution, and dialogue that often becomes annoying to read. The author insists on putting every single vocalisation a character makes into dialogue, even when just describing the noise they're making would be more appropriate. This culminates in a segment where Tanya cries noisily and messily through several lines of dialogue, with each and every wailing syllable rendered in speech. The sight alone was enough to make me cringe away from the page. The way things are described is also often flat and bland, and that in combination with some of these other issues makes me wonder if this author just really wanted to make a manga, but didn't know how to draw.
Then it's back to the political message as Laplace comments on what things were like in her time, and the social worldbuilding somehow gets even worse. Apparently during Laplace's time society was equitable and fair, and women were at least equal to men. But after she was sealed, they were demoted to second-class citizens. I can't even imagine how a ruler would go about taking power away from a large group. How were there not riots in the streets? Powerful female fighters and spellcasters rebelling? How did it not turn into a civil war? How did men who were raised in a fair and equal society, and taught those values from birth, turn into rampaging misogynists overnight? If even a small number of them sided with the women, then they would have enough of a majority to make it nigh-impossible to just squash them. There may well be an answer in the later pages of the book. But given how badly every single part of this book has been executed up until now, I really don't expect it to be a GOOD answer.
I'm a patient guy. I don't need a book to hit me with its A-material straight out of the gate to keep me invested. Some of my favourite books of all time don't even get to the inciting incident until halfway through the page length. But every single thing this book does in its first two chapters is terrible. The social commentary is too on-the-nose to take seriously and undermined by some of the most incompetent social worldbuilding I've ever seen. The magic system is generic at best and broken at worst. None of the characters - major or minor - act like human beings, and none of them are even interesting. Even the basic elements of the writing are poor and sloppy. In the first 30-odd pages of this book there wasn't a single thing that I could point to that I thought was done well, or even competently. The highest compliment I could give it is that I enjoyed the prologue on a 'So Bad, It's Good' level, but even that enjoyment quickly faded when the focus was taken off the hilariously mangled social commentary and character backstories, leaving me with nothing but the author's frustratingly inadequate prose.
When the book comes out I might come back to it and read the rest, if I'm feeling in a masochistic mood. Otherwise, the first two chapters have convinced me that no sane part of me will ever want to subject myself to another sentence. There's much better feminist fantasy out there.
So most of my reading experience has been in Western fantasy fiction, but for a while I've been meaning to check out the Japanese light novel scene in the hopes of broadening my literary horizons. I made my way to BookWalker and took a look at the selection, but I can't say many of them stood out to me. I'm sure plenty of them are fine, but the sheer proliferation of Isekai and Harem stories led to the selection blurring into a samey, repetitive affair which meant that nothing stood out. Except for this one, because from the title alone it was pretty clear that it was going to be amazingly bad, and with a free sample to check out I figured: why not?
I want to preface the main body of this review by clarifying that my issue with the title has nothing to do with the specific nature of the book's politics. My issue with it is a broader one: books that wear their intended political messaging on their sleeve in such a blatant, gleeful manner are almost always bad, regardless of the specific politics in question. Women and feminists have made many valuable contributions to the world of literature over the years - both broadly and more specifically to the fantasy genre - and I often enjoy feminist themes in books when they're insightful and well-executed. Unfortunately, this book is neither.
The premise of the book seems like it should be simple. A powerful female mage is kicked out of her adventuring party by a sexist party leader and teams up with a powerful sorceress to avenge herself on the patriarchal society that spurned her. It really should write itself. The female character should be a woman who, thanks to her immense magical power, manages to work as an adventurer despite the sexism of her society. She works her way into a prominent and successful position with the support of her kindly male party leader, who is unusually open-minded and progressive for his time. But then he dies, retires, or is otherwise indisposed, and his second-in-command takes over. Said second-in-command is a sexist dickhead who fires her simply for being a woman, and the rest of the party are either no better or they're too scared of him to complain. Shortly afterwards the protagonist inadvertently awakens the eponymous Sorceress, the sole survivor of a race/group of extremely powerful female magic users who were once hunted to extinction by the prevailing misogynistic society, and they team up to fight back against the system that wronged them both. Seems like it should be easy, right?
Wrong. The author has a slightly different idea of how this should go down.
So the story begins and we're introduced to Tanya Artemiciov, a powerful mage and our main protagonist. We're introduced to her right as she's being kicked out of her adventuring party by Ryan Daars, the eponymous sexist party leader. The problems begin almost immediately.
Ryan is described as Tanya's longtime friend, and the two of them apparently co-founded the adventuring party together and have both been a part of it for five years. How the author thought any of this made sense is absolutely beyond me. Tanya is a fiery, passionate, independent woman who takes no shit from anyone. Ryan is a cartoonishly sexist douche-canoe who vocally demeans women on the regular and thinks they're inherently unfit to serve any role other than healer or housewife. And yet somehow they considered each other friends, willingly chose to work together, and have apparently served in the same party without significant incident for five years. It's made clear that Ryan, as party leader, could have fired Tanya at any time but just chose not to for reasons that are never given. When Tanya tries to seek help from the other members of the party or literally anyone in the Adventurer's Guild, none of them respond, and the party vote her out unanimously. Believe it or not, this was actually the part I enjoyed most. At this point it was still bad enough to be funny.
It's also mentioned at this point that the student body at the University Tanya attended was 80% male, and this brings us to the heart of the issue I have with the book's social commentary. It seems to think that sexism is purely an issue of individual men being sexist, rather than institutionalised sexism that prohibits women from being free and independent. All of the men depicted (at least in these early chapters) are outrageously misogynistic, but there's no indication that this manifests in the institutions of the world in any truly meaningful way. Throughout the book Tanya talks about how she was DISCOURAGED from attending University, how she was DISCOURAGED from joining the Adventurer's Guild, and how women are DISCOURAGED from holding prominent and successful jobs, but never says anything about women being actually PROHIBITED from doing any of these things. She never remarks on any institutional obstacles she faced in gaining admission to the University or succeeding in her studies, only that nasty men said she shouldn't do it. Ditto with the Adventurer's Guild. None of this is to say that women being talked out of certain paths in life isn't a real issue, but for a book so intent on creating this vision of a hellishly misogynistic society, it's an odd place to set the bar. Not to mention that it leads to significant contradictions in worldbuilding. If all men in this world are absolute misogynists, and men control all the institutions, then how is this society even as progressive as it is? A 20% female student body is actually pretty impressive in a society where literally every single man is a monster actively working to be as horrible to women as possible. In the next chapter she says that the Mage class is 90% male. Why isn't it 100% if the society of this world is really that bad? If Tanya was the first female adventurer, or among the first, then the world structure might have made some sense. If it was the institutions that were the problem, and there were men working alongside women to try and make it more equitable, then the cited statistics might have made some sense. As it is, it leads to a society that manages to somehow be both too sexist and too progressive - at the same time.
Even leaving the attempted social commentary behind, things don't get much better. After being kicked out of her party, Tanya goes to the Western Wastelands to blow off steam. This confused me at first, because her home country is the nation of Pajan, which is located in the Far East. It seemed to imply that she travelled an awfully long way just to satisfy an impulse. But it's later revealed that the Western Wasteland is actually within the nation of Pajan. The Far East is named for its position in relation to the rest of the world, but the Western Wasteland for its position in relation to the capital of Pajan. So the Western Wasteland isn't actually 'Western' at all, it's just slightly less east than Far East. Thanks, that's not confusing at all.
Anyway, it's at this point that Tanya starts blowing up mountains to alleviate her stress (how the men of this society feel confident in bullying a woman who has the magical power to literally level entire mountains is another thing that's never explained) and one of them turns out to be the resting place of a long-ago-sealed sorceress by the name of Laplace. Tanya doesn't believe that this woman could possibly be Laplace, AKA the Wicked Dragonwhore (the book's words, not mine), and so they have a magic duel to settle it. It's during this segment that the social commentary fades out and we get to admire the author's more general incompetence. The relationship between what characters know/believe and what they say/do is often a casual one. For example, at one point Tanya has to try and figure out how Laplace is consistently avoiding her fireball attacks. She guesses it's a portable force-field and turns out to be correct, only to be shaken to her core by the realisation - you see, in this world force-fields are, by their very nature, immobile, and a portable one shouldn't even be possible. But that knowledge didn't stop it from being Tanya's FIRST GUESS. The magic system is inconsistent and poorly-defined as well; Tanya passes out from mana deficiency after her battle with Laplace, but Laplace was apparently kept in a state of perpetual mana deficiency during her captivity and was conscious the whole time. Are the rules just different for Sorceresses? The book doesn't tell us. She was able to sense life that travelled on or near her mountain, which makes a little bit of sense. But she was also able to observe the decline in human civilisation's mastery of the magic arts. How? Again, no answers.
There are plenty of other staples of sloppy writing; like characters reading each other's minds, redundant repetition of information, poor dialogue attribution, and dialogue that often becomes annoying to read. The author insists on putting every single vocalisation a character makes into dialogue, even when just describing the noise they're making would be more appropriate. This culminates in a segment where Tanya cries noisily and messily through several lines of dialogue, with each and every wailing syllable rendered in speech. The sight alone was enough to make me cringe away from the page. The way things are described is also often flat and bland, and that in combination with some of these other issues makes me wonder if this author just really wanted to make a manga, but didn't know how to draw.
Then it's back to the political message as Laplace comments on what things were like in her time, and the social worldbuilding somehow gets even worse. Apparently during Laplace's time society was equitable and fair, and women were at least equal to men. But after she was sealed, they were demoted to second-class citizens. I can't even imagine how a ruler would go about taking power away from a large group. How were there not riots in the streets? Powerful female fighters and spellcasters rebelling? How did it not turn into a civil war? How did men who were raised in a fair and equal society, and taught those values from birth, turn into rampaging misogynists overnight? If even a small number of them sided with the women, then they would have enough of a majority to make it nigh-impossible to just squash them. There may well be an answer in the later pages of the book. But given how badly every single part of this book has been executed up until now, I really don't expect it to be a GOOD answer.
I'm a patient guy. I don't need a book to hit me with its A-material straight out of the gate to keep me invested. Some of my favourite books of all time don't even get to the inciting incident until halfway through the page length. But every single thing this book does in its first two chapters is terrible. The social commentary is too on-the-nose to take seriously and undermined by some of the most incompetent social worldbuilding I've ever seen. The magic system is generic at best and broken at worst. None of the characters - major or minor - act like human beings, and none of them are even interesting. Even the basic elements of the writing are poor and sloppy. In the first 30-odd pages of this book there wasn't a single thing that I could point to that I thought was done well, or even competently. The highest compliment I could give it is that I enjoyed the prologue on a 'So Bad, It's Good' level, but even that enjoyment quickly faded when the focus was taken off the hilariously mangled social commentary and character backstories, leaving me with nothing but the author's frustratingly inadequate prose.
When the book comes out I might come back to it and read the rest, if I'm feeling in a masochistic mood. Otherwise, the first two chapters have convinced me that no sane part of me will ever want to subject myself to another sentence. There's much better feminist fantasy out there.
February 17, 2021
7/10
In August 2018, it was reported that in previous years, Tokyo Medical University docked a set amount of points from women who took the written entrance exam. The idea was that women will not have length careers as once they reach their late twenties to early thirties, they will quit to settele down and start a family. Web author Ameko Kaeruda was shocked to hear this and so picked up the pen, in order to "criticize and poke fun at the ridiculousness of it all "(in her own words).
This perfectly sums the energy and blatant social commentary of Sexiled. I absolutely enjoyed every moment. Especially our main duo. Are they overpowered? Yes. Does everything just end up working out for them in end? Yes. However, this book is about escaping our sexist world in place of one with badass female leads who kick ass. There are a lot of male power fantasy isekais that seem to only know how to write two types of girl characters. The mean one, and the one who ends up simply for the protagonist. Sometimes it's one character fulfilling both roles. However, Sexiled knows what it is and isn't ashamed. It's open about how it's pure escapism with a dash of social commentary and critique of systemic sexism. While also giving you some strong female characters with a bit of depth.
Sexiled succeeds where I'm in Love With Villainess fails. If you're looking for a light fantasy isekai style story, then look no further than Sexiled. At just under 200pages, this book doesn't overstay its welcome while also leaving you wanting just a little more. I very much appreciated the characters being allowed to curse and use common slang like most people. Makes you want to go out for a couple pints with our main characters (something which they spend no shortage of time doing).
In August 2018, it was reported that in previous years, Tokyo Medical University docked a set amount of points from women who took the written entrance exam. The idea was that women will not have length careers as once they reach their late twenties to early thirties, they will quit to settele down and start a family. Web author Ameko Kaeruda was shocked to hear this and so picked up the pen, in order to "criticize and poke fun at the ridiculousness of it all "(in her own words).
This perfectly sums the energy and blatant social commentary of Sexiled. I absolutely enjoyed every moment. Especially our main duo. Are they overpowered? Yes. Does everything just end up working out for them in end? Yes. However, this book is about escaping our sexist world in place of one with badass female leads who kick ass. There are a lot of male power fantasy isekais that seem to only know how to write two types of girl characters. The mean one, and the one who ends up simply for the protagonist. Sometimes it's one character fulfilling both roles. However, Sexiled knows what it is and isn't ashamed. It's open about how it's pure escapism with a dash of social commentary and critique of systemic sexism. While also giving you some strong female characters with a bit of depth.
Sexiled succeeds where I'm in Love With Villainess fails. If you're looking for a light fantasy isekai style story, then look no further than Sexiled. At just under 200pages, this book doesn't overstay its welcome while also leaving you wanting just a little more. I very much appreciated the characters being allowed to curse and use common slang like most people. Makes you want to go out for a couple pints with our main characters (something which they spend no shortage of time doing).
September 12, 2019
Despite a slow start, this became a great story that goes past revenge or even a female power fantasy to address a real-world issue that is sexism and focuses on empowering women. This has the same translator as Kokoro Connect, and if you've been reading that series, her translation here is just as funny. I look forward to the next volume.
September 24, 2025
A relatively short story about a female Mage (soon to be mage-knight) who is fired from her adventuring group because she is woman. When she vents her anger in a nearby wilderness she accidentally frees an imprisoned very powerful sorceress. The sorceress gives her the chance to take revenge on her former party leader.
It is a short entertaining light novel in which the protagonists get to show their power in a game light world. The sexism is a bit thick, but that should not come as a surprise. Still, I find scenes like shopping the bikini armor funny. The characters themselves are likeable and show some depth, no overly present tropes or echi moments.
All in all, entertaining if a bit short and over the top.
It is a short entertaining light novel in which the protagonists get to show their power in a game light world. The sexism is a bit thick, but that should not come as a surprise. Still, I find scenes like shopping the bikini armor funny. The characters themselves are likeable and show some depth, no overly present tropes or echi moments.
All in all, entertaining if a bit short and over the top.
December 9, 2019
Well written and absolutely satisfying!
This book was one of the most original and toothsome adventure / fantasy stories I’ve read in a while! The characters were interesting and their relationships were involved and uplifting. The plot was fairly simple but the twists kept things fresh and lively. It had a great HEA ending that left lots of open possibilities. Looking forward to the next book in series. This is one I can recommend to my adult friends and all their kids!
This book was one of the most original and toothsome adventure / fantasy stories I’ve read in a while! The characters were interesting and their relationships were involved and uplifting. The plot was fairly simple but the twists kept things fresh and lively. It had a great HEA ending that left lots of open possibilities. Looking forward to the next book in series. This is one I can recommend to my adult friends and all their kids!
October 10, 2019
This book is a light novel, meaning it's a type of novel published in Japan where themes, tropes and the expected target audience are in common with anime and manga at large. It's a broad category, but most books of this type will share certain characteristics. I'd been reading the Goblin Slayer books, I'm up to the eight one, and God, has this thing about having to titillate the (presumed male, presumed horny teenager) reader gotten old by now. Anime and manga have proven time and again that you don't need to do that to write a good, successful product. By all means, do write fan service, and at that, do write it for no other reason than you feel like you should if you want to, and as a reader I'll judge it for the whole. But there is something as too much of "she sat on her cute butt/she hugged her supple breasts" being pointed out at every single instance, and maybe that author could avoid implying that women can only become notable if forged by events out of their control, and said events must include being raped. Just saying, I'm getting that kind of impression.
So, enter Sexiled, a book where the protagonist, a female mage in a fantasy setting, gets kicked out of her party by a sexist male leader for the mere fact of being a woman (but actually, for the fact that she's a *competent* woman), decides to get revenge, meets another woman who likes the idea (and her) and gladly accepts to participate in it, and then they form their own, all-female party, face and subvert many of the socially-ingrained, all-too-realistic instances of sexism that most women in that setting must face, which do reflect or function as allegories for the ones that real women face in real life. Thanks to the power of friendship, yes, feelings, yes, and actual competence in what they do, more so than their male counterparts, they are successful and improve their lives and those of others in the process.
Damn, but was it about time a book like this came out. Granted, it's a light read, so don't go in expecting a new Dante or anything, but if you want to read an adventure and would like the female protagonists to actually feel good about themselves, then this book is right up that alley. The author has a second book in the series, and I do hope it gets translated and stays on course, I could use more of this kind of story as a balm to an otherwise monotonous, grating landscape.
So, enter Sexiled, a book where the protagonist, a female mage in a fantasy setting, gets kicked out of her party by a sexist male leader for the mere fact of being a woman (but actually, for the fact that she's a *competent* woman), decides to get revenge, meets another woman who likes the idea (and her) and gladly accepts to participate in it, and then they form their own, all-female party, face and subvert many of the socially-ingrained, all-too-realistic instances of sexism that most women in that setting must face, which do reflect or function as allegories for the ones that real women face in real life. Thanks to the power of friendship, yes, feelings, yes, and actual competence in what they do, more so than their male counterparts, they are successful and improve their lives and those of others in the process.
Damn, but was it about time a book like this came out. Granted, it's a light read, so don't go in expecting a new Dante or anything, but if you want to read an adventure and would like the female protagonists to actually feel good about themselves, then this book is right up that alley. The author has a second book in the series, and I do hope it gets translated and stays on course, I could use more of this kind of story as a balm to an otherwise monotonous, grating landscape.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2021
Made some butthurt nerds mad, so 5 stars. Also just a plain fun revenge story.
December 2, 2019
Honestly a 2.5 but my desire to like this kind of outweighed my frustration with the way it was written. I'll see what the second one is like I guess.
August 31, 2021
Reading this light novel, it's an action-packed short story which reads strongly like a fanfiction where an author was angry about the misogyny of the Isekai world and wanted to 'fix it'. The events in the story made me think alot about the way the fictional society has treated female characters. Tanya reminds me of Lina Inverse from Slayers, where her quick temper is explained and her having to deal with a nasty friendship breakup. My favorite character is Nadine and she is the nice glasses-wearing Guild office lady which later reveal a complex character.
At first I figure I'll take this story more light-hearted and grew to enjoy it as the story reach the middle part. I'll be interested to read the next volume.
At first I figure I'll take this story more light-hearted and grew to enjoy it as the story reach the middle part. I'll be interested to read the next volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2019
Okay, so this one came out of left field, as I don't usually read light novels. The plot of the volume is basically in the title: a super powerful magic lady is kicked out of her team for being a woman that doesn't meet the standards of the man in charge. She then teams up with a 300 year old witch to take down her ex teammate. That's pretty much it. The meat of the story though basically amplifies all the micro aggression that women can experience in the real world about %1000, to the point where it is almost comically bad. It's really in your face and you can't get away from it. But I guess that is the point.
It is a solid start for a book like this - especially since so many books with female leads don't feel like this. The lead character, Tanya, is ridiculously over powered. She's so powerful that she's able to blast off the top of a mountain, releasing Laplace from her 300 year old prison. The amplified sexism on display is so bad in this world that even Laplace (who is super powerful in her own right) has a demeaning nickname even though she's clearly feared.
If I have any complaints- it is the formatting on the ebook - it is a little confusing with the numbers to denote scene changes. I honestly thought I was blowing through chapters before I came upon the actual next chapter. People might find some issue with Laplace kissing Tanya on the lips whenever she helps her power up (Laplace being French does not excuse this, nor does Tanya seemingly liking Laplace, either), one because it really isn't consensual, and two: some people might find it to be queerbaiting if the pair don't actually talk about why Laplace feels like she needs to do this everytime she helps Tanya out. It could fall into the trap of two girls kissing to tantalize - which is distinctly sexist.
In any event, I am looking forward to checking out where this crazy thing all heads to.
It is a solid start for a book like this - especially since so many books with female leads don't feel like this. The lead character, Tanya, is ridiculously over powered. She's so powerful that she's able to blast off the top of a mountain, releasing Laplace from her 300 year old prison. The amplified sexism on display is so bad in this world that even Laplace (who is super powerful in her own right) has a demeaning nickname even though she's clearly feared.
If I have any complaints- it is the formatting on the ebook - it is a little confusing with the numbers to denote scene changes. I honestly thought I was blowing through chapters before I came upon the actual next chapter. People might find some issue with Laplace kissing Tanya on the lips whenever she helps her power up (Laplace being French does not excuse this, nor does Tanya seemingly liking Laplace, either), one because it really isn't consensual, and two: some people might find it to be queerbaiting if the pair don't actually talk about why Laplace feels like she needs to do this everytime she helps Tanya out. It could fall into the trap of two girls kissing to tantalize - which is distinctly sexist.
In any event, I am looking forward to checking out where this crazy thing all heads to.
October 15, 2019
I enjoyed the heck out of this. It's a fun, lively, and engaging feminist take on a well-worn genre. It's not the least bit subtle, but that's hardly a knock against it.
If I DID have a complaint it would be that it feels extremely rushed; the events in this volume could easily have been spread out over two volumes, but perhaps the author wanted to make sure she crammed an entire arc into one volume in case she didn't get a volume 2.
In any event, it IS a "typical" power fantasy, but I put typical in quotes because power fantasies like this don't tend to have female protagonists (which is, indeed, the whole point of this book), and as a straight dude I don't get to complain about another demographic FINALLY getting its own version of a genre that is packed to the brim with boring dudes leveling mountains and whatnot.
That said, don't feel like this book is homework you need to do simply because it has female representation. As I said up top, it's a lot of fun. The main character is a delight, and her interactions both with the antagonist and with her new party members are fantastic. I really hope this series keeps going (and maybe the author feels confident enough to slow down the pace a bit) and that it keeps getting translated into English (the translation, by the way, is also excellent). I highly recommend!
If I DID have a complaint it would be that it feels extremely rushed; the events in this volume could easily have been spread out over two volumes, but perhaps the author wanted to make sure she crammed an entire arc into one volume in case she didn't get a volume 2.
In any event, it IS a "typical" power fantasy, but I put typical in quotes because power fantasies like this don't tend to have female protagonists (which is, indeed, the whole point of this book), and as a straight dude I don't get to complain about another demographic FINALLY getting its own version of a genre that is packed to the brim with boring dudes leveling mountains and whatnot.
That said, don't feel like this book is homework you need to do simply because it has female representation. As I said up top, it's a lot of fun. The main character is a delight, and her interactions both with the antagonist and with her new party members are fantastic. I really hope this series keeps going (and maybe the author feels confident enough to slow down the pace a bit) and that it keeps getting translated into English (the translation, by the way, is also excellent). I highly recommend!
November 12, 2019
A really terrible title hides a brilliant light novel about how awful men can be - based on true events at a Japanese university of all things.
This book is full stop girl power as the highly over-qualified Tanya and Laplace lay waste to chauvinist jerks and the terrible fantasy tropes they propagate, like females wearing whatever shows the most skin as armor. They flirt a heck of a lot too.
It’s just fun and fired up and such a welcome break from the stupidly overpowered male protagonist these types of stories usually have.
This book is full stop girl power as the highly over-qualified Tanya and Laplace lay waste to chauvinist jerks and the terrible fantasy tropes they propagate, like females wearing whatever shows the most skin as armor. They flirt a heck of a lot too.
It’s just fun and fired up and such a welcome break from the stupidly overpowered male protagonist these types of stories usually have.
October 18, 2019
Female mmorpg experience book edition
So this book was not only funny but stupid relatable. Have you ever played an MMORPG, first person shooters or any online game as a woman and basically get harassed by guys?
Well this is a full on perspective of a woman who has worked hard to be a Mage but was told she needs to stop and make babies. It goes into a lot of stereotypes and phrases that actually really hurt. However this book takes a light hearted feel to that and you really want revenge to be successful for Tanya. In this books case it was needed
So this book was not only funny but stupid relatable. Have you ever played an MMORPG, first person shooters or any online game as a woman and basically get harassed by guys?
Well this is a full on perspective of a woman who has worked hard to be a Mage but was told she needs to stop and make babies. It goes into a lot of stereotypes and phrases that actually really hurt. However this book takes a light hearted feel to that and you really want revenge to be successful for Tanya. In this books case it was needed
November 13, 2019
Omg
I love it and i want more!!! Really liked the way it was done and i love the characters!!! Can’t wait for the next one.
I love it and i want more!!! Really liked the way it was done and i love the characters!!! Can’t wait for the next one.
November 9, 2020
At first, when I saw that title, I was honestly a little bit worried that despite the description, I was accidentally picking up another erotica title. Then I read it, and it turned into one of those cases where I badly wish I could rate this higher.
I love the reason this was written -- the author read about Tokyo Medical University lowering the test scores of women because there were just too many women getting into the school, in the eyes of the officials. the reason was the time-honored one given by many a person who discounted women in the workplace -- because some of them would eventually have babies, and those women who had babies might drop out of the workforce afterward, so it's better to just give their places to men even if those men are less qualified.
It made her angry. It makes me angry. It should make everyone angry. But the author channeled that anger into the form of a story. Tanya, a talented mage who seems to have been carrying the party on her back, is kicked out of the party essentially because her party leader wants to bring his girlfriend into the group in her place. This understandably frustrates her, so to blow off steam, she wanders into the desert and starts blowing stuff up. This has the unintended consequence of blowing apart the prison of the sorceress Laplace. and after getting a feel for one another as magic users and people, the two team up to get some revenge by showing up Tanya's former party leader in a tournament for adventuring parties.
I love the setup. I love the idea. But man, there are some big problems here.
First, it's just not a well written book. I have this problem with a lot of light novels, and I think part of the problem may be the translation process. Maybe it would be a lot smoother in the original. But there are also issues in the writing choices themselves. There's head-hopping, there are inconsistent details, but perhaps worst of all?
There's almost no tension.
Our main characters are all ridiculously powerful. There is never, at any point in this first volume, a feeling that they might actually be in trouble or facing something they can't just brute force their way through. And the story is even aware of it. Puts a bow on it, even when our heroes kind of cheat to put their overpowered team into the same tournament as Tanya's previous group. It's a case where a good editor might have made a huge difference.
I know the heavy-handed politics may bother some people, but to be frank, we're not all that far removed from these things actually happening in real life. And yes, all at once. Still, if you think that's going to be a sticking point for you, it's probably better for you to stay away.
As for me, I'll probably check out the second volume at some point.
I love the reason this was written -- the author read about Tokyo Medical University lowering the test scores of women because there were just too many women getting into the school, in the eyes of the officials. the reason was the time-honored one given by many a person who discounted women in the workplace -- because some of them would eventually have babies, and those women who had babies might drop out of the workforce afterward, so it's better to just give their places to men even if those men are less qualified.
It made her angry. It makes me angry. It should make everyone angry. But the author channeled that anger into the form of a story. Tanya, a talented mage who seems to have been carrying the party on her back, is kicked out of the party essentially because her party leader wants to bring his girlfriend into the group in her place. This understandably frustrates her, so to blow off steam, she wanders into the desert and starts blowing stuff up. This has the unintended consequence of blowing apart the prison of the sorceress Laplace. and after getting a feel for one another as magic users and people, the two team up to get some revenge by showing up Tanya's former party leader in a tournament for adventuring parties.
I love the setup. I love the idea. But man, there are some big problems here.
First, it's just not a well written book. I have this problem with a lot of light novels, and I think part of the problem may be the translation process. Maybe it would be a lot smoother in the original. But there are also issues in the writing choices themselves. There's head-hopping, there are inconsistent details, but perhaps worst of all?
There's almost no tension.
Our main characters are all ridiculously powerful. There is never, at any point in this first volume, a feeling that they might actually be in trouble or facing something they can't just brute force their way through. And the story is even aware of it. Puts a bow on it, even when our heroes kind of cheat to put their overpowered team into the same tournament as Tanya's previous group. It's a case where a good editor might have made a huge difference.
I know the heavy-handed politics may bother some people, but to be frank, we're not all that far removed from these things actually happening in real life. And yes, all at once. Still, if you think that's going to be a sticking point for you, it's probably better for you to stay away.
As for me, I'll probably check out the second volume at some point.
March 7, 2021
this is fun as hell. i'm not going to pretend the prose is anything to write home about (it's def in the lower tier of light novels on a craft level) but i don't particularly care; the whole thing was obviously written with the irritated energy of a woman who has read WAY too many fantasy light novels and is extremely over the sexism depicted therein. don't come here for realism; come for the over-the-top power fantasy and beatdown of misogynists
or, as the summary puts it, it's time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!
3 stars
or, as the summary puts it, it's time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!
3 stars
May 24, 2023
Cute and fun with a wonderful message! This book felt like a love letter to all women who enjoy the fantasy/RPG genres of media that unfortunately are often rife with gross sexism. All sexist assholes in this story get their come upons and all the ladies are so badass and cool while remaining feminine and kind. The writing style wasn't really my cup of tea but it had a lot of cute dialogue and the characters were so fun. My favourite part is the relationships between the women in this book. Excited to check out the sequel.
September 5, 2021
I spotted this in a Goodreads list and thought 'sure, why not.' It's not exactly perfect, and I suppose it's a little preachy, but it's funny, heartwarming, and satisfying. The men (some of them) are just a little too stereotypically misogynist. I think that detracts a little from the message. On the other hand, it's only very little bit over the top, and it works with the humour.
There's little in the way of world development that doesn't revolve around sexism. That makes me fear for the longevity of the series a bit. There is some history which could take things somewhere: in the past 300 years, the world has gone distinctly downhill for civilisation. So, why? We'll see where things go.
There's little in the way of world development that doesn't revolve around sexism. That makes me fear for the longevity of the series a bit. There is some history which could take things somewhere: in the past 300 years, the world has gone distinctly downhill for civilisation. So, why? We'll see where things go.
April 24, 2020
I don’t need to summarize this because the title tells you everything. This story handles the topics of feminism and misogyny with all the delicacy of a sledge hammer, but still is a fun read with lovable characters.
September 7, 2022
This was written by a very online lesbian fan of high fantasy with a lot of OpinionsTM. I will not believe anything to the contrary. It is great.
February 17, 2026
during my extensive research (searching "yuri light novels list" on google) i found this and immediately thought the word Sexiled was fucking hilarious, so i read it of course
it's pretty fun! seems a little like a parody of male power fantasy manga/ln, but like, as a female power fantasy instead.
i would have said it's a little on the nose but after finding out the part of the story about "docking 20 points off every female students results so they have a worse chance at getting into this school" was actually based on a real life event i just went with it
it's pretty fun! seems a little like a parody of male power fantasy manga/ln, but like, as a female power fantasy instead.
i would have said it's a little on the nose but after finding out the part of the story about "docking 20 points off every female students results so they have a worse chance at getting into this school" was actually based on a real life event i just went with it
March 15, 2021
tl;dr: A very quick and fun read about girls in a fantasy jobline full of sexists, and how they won't let that stop them.
Short, simple, straightforward, satirical. And absolutely hysterical. I can open this book at any random page and will find a scene that will make me laugh. This book was written as an answer to all the male power fantasies, and has badass mage Tanya and ancient aloof sorceress Laplace get the revenge we honestly all have dreamed about at some point. It's a brief and a little too condensed story (I really wished some mini-arcs had gotten a bunch more in depth scenes) with an awesome cast of characters. A few points that I think potential readers will care about:
- This book really slashes through sexist happenstances like vegetables. I think most female readers will recall experiencing SOME of these, but hardly anyone will recall ALL of these. They are however certainly based on real issues. Notably, one arc is directly inspired by a Japanese medical university cutting female entrance examinee's scores so they would have less female students (which, yikes).
- This book isn't too particularly deep, it seeks to make fun of and get angry at blatant sexism, and it's GREAT at that, but it doesn't seek to do that much analysis for why the world is this way
- While this book LOVES dumping on good old "MMORPG female armor", one main character explicitely enjoys showing off her cleavage "because it's fun" and it's portrayed as perfectly fine
- One main character wants to follow what's in universe considered a traditional female gender role because that's what she wants for herself, and the narrative is fully supportive of her
- As the blurb describes, there is some girl-kissing, but this volume doesn't go to any tangible sapphic lovestory territory. I don't know about further volumes, it's possible, the author has written sapphic romance before, and I hope for it, but I'm in no position to make any promises.
I think what really does it for me in this book is the details. It's easy to write "haha dumb sexist man gets owned" (and admittedly this book can get pretty strawman-y), but Sexiled goes much further and writes female characters that have been affected by this world and how it affects them in ways that hit me pretty deeply at times - starting from chapter 1, and not stopping until the end.
Short, simple, straightforward, satirical. And absolutely hysterical. I can open this book at any random page and will find a scene that will make me laugh. This book was written as an answer to all the male power fantasies, and has badass mage Tanya and ancient aloof sorceress Laplace get the revenge we honestly all have dreamed about at some point. It's a brief and a little too condensed story (I really wished some mini-arcs had gotten a bunch more in depth scenes) with an awesome cast of characters. A few points that I think potential readers will care about:
- This book really slashes through sexist happenstances like vegetables. I think most female readers will recall experiencing SOME of these, but hardly anyone will recall ALL of these. They are however certainly based on real issues. Notably, one arc is directly inspired by a Japanese medical university cutting female entrance examinee's scores so they would have less female students (which, yikes).
- This book isn't too particularly deep, it seeks to make fun of and get angry at blatant sexism, and it's GREAT at that, but it doesn't seek to do that much analysis for why the world is this way
- While this book LOVES dumping on good old "MMORPG female armor", one main character explicitely enjoys showing off her cleavage "because it's fun" and it's portrayed as perfectly fine
- One main character wants to follow what's in universe considered a traditional female gender role because that's what she wants for herself, and the narrative is fully supportive of her
- As the blurb describes, there is some girl-kissing, but this volume doesn't go to any tangible sapphic lovestory territory. I don't know about further volumes, it's possible, the author has written sapphic romance before, and I hope for it, but I'm in no position to make any promises.
I think what really does it for me in this book is the details. It's easy to write "haha dumb sexist man gets owned" (and admittedly this book can get pretty strawman-y), but Sexiled goes much further and writes female characters that have been affected by this world and how it affects them in ways that hit me pretty deeply at times - starting from chapter 1, and not stopping until the end.
November 24, 2019
A well written tale,
This has the potential to change your mind about norms and what is normal. Think and get yourself free, never had the world's individuals been able to archive so much. This story promotes this well.
This has the potential to change your mind about norms and what is normal. Think and get yourself free, never had the world's individuals been able to archive so much. This story promotes this well.
October 7, 2019
Fun to read. Light hearted story.
I already read the pre release and it was really fun - decided to grab a copy.
Apart from how society still treats the main characters and after not conforming to their expectations - The characters and certain side characters are written quite well, I love their relationships and backstories and how I guess even small details that aren't over looked from being raised in lies.
Some people may say that it's over the top but I feel like it's similar to aggretsuko in exploring each main character's world view - why they are the way they are.
Not that I want to sympathize with the characters such as the party leader or most of the main cast but, eventually I'd really want to see more development than just surface level of "Girls should be healers and marry rich guys".
There also seems to be surprisingly less sexism from any female side characters*(shop keepers, children) even at a subconsious level.
For example in everything I never told you a female character was going to a doctor and was surprised when the doctor was female as much as she has been fighting for equal rights.
I really love the premise and the characters and I'd very likely pick up the next one as well but I'd love to see something that isn't so black and white - because yes everybody probably harbours sexist attitudes to a degree but I'd love to see a good example of a male character that isn't toxic.
(Read this a while ago so I may have forgotten some details)
I already read the pre release and it was really fun - decided to grab a copy.
Apart from how society still treats the main characters and after not conforming to their expectations - The characters and certain side characters are written quite well, I love their relationships and backstories and how I guess even small details that aren't over looked from being raised in lies.
Some people may say that it's over the top but I feel like it's similar to aggretsuko in exploring each main character's world view - why they are the way they are.
Not that I want to sympathize with the characters such as the party leader or most of the main cast but, eventually I'd really want to see more development than just surface level of "Girls should be healers and marry rich guys".
There also seems to be surprisingly less sexism from any female side characters*(shop keepers, children) even at a subconsious level.
For example in everything I never told you a female character was going to a doctor and was surprised when the doctor was female as much as she has been fighting for equal rights.
I really love the premise and the characters and I'd very likely pick up the next one as well but I'd love to see something that isn't so black and white - because yes everybody probably harbours sexist attitudes to a degree but I'd love to see a good example of a male character that isn't toxic.
(Read this a while ago so I may have forgotten some details)
November 15, 2019
nicer than most other light novels i've experienced by dint of its somewhat novel satire of traditional fantasy RPG sexism, all-but-ruined like just about any other light novel i've experienced by its genre-standard prose, which reads like a stream of consciousness first draft. these books would be a lot more fun if i could believe an editor glanced at 'em for even a single second
November 4, 2019
Fun and very quick. Some characters were a bit difficult to grasp (mainly Laplace, who despite her legendary status and high abilities doesn't have much in the way of gravitas), but they fit the light-hearted mood of the story, and Tanya especially is consistently entertaining. The writing is loose and sometimes sloppy, but not unusually so for a light novel like this, and it all makes for an entertaining one- or two-sit read.
October 23, 2019
Great read
Great read
Found it hard to put down. Can not wait for volume two. Keep up the very good work
Great read
Found it hard to put down. Can not wait for volume two. Keep up the very good work
December 24, 2021
Laplace口語中頻繁出現的法文在原文到底是用什麼語言啊
難道法文對歐美人士其實很簡單？
雖然出版社在本書標有百合的標籤
但我感受不到這一點，分類詐欺
另外，「fuck」還有「asshole」字詞頻繁出現也感到討厭
難道法文對歐美人士其實很簡單？
雖然出版社在本書標有百合的標籤
但我感受不到這一點，分類詐欺
另外，「fuck」還有「asshole」字詞頻繁出現也感到討厭
May 1, 2023
On the one hand, why did I put this on hold for so long? On the other hand, I’m glad I waited because this was a treat! Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I’m not reading as many light novels as I wanted to, it’s difficult to do that when there are so many (especially translated) light novels that are really machismo and more often than not – degrade a lot of their female characters. In fact, if you’ve been keeping up with me, my number one criticism about fantasy light novels is the treatment of their female characters (never mind the treatment of queer characters should they dare to exist).
And I believe the author agrees with me; this is clearly such a vent fic that any sexist statement from these male characters would get their comeuppance and it was a delight. If this were anything else, it would annoy me to the point where I would want to quit it right then and there. Considering a certain university and what they had done around the time of this book’s release, and considering a certain Metal Gear Solid character, I completely felt every ounce of frustration from the author. Hell, I have it in my own everyday life so it’s fun to see someone like Tanya be able to literally take aim at the sexist pigs and destroy them with the power that she’s worked hard for.
Another point that I loved is that Tanya is 25 years old. Do you realize how refreshing it is to read someone even older than 20 in these light novels who aren’t considered “pathetic” or “Christmas cakes”?! There’s no amount of love I have for this book especially since there’s an incredible amount of depth for each of the main characters. Again, I shouldn’t be looking for too much depth for a light novel – but I got something more than I expected. The fact I got something rather than nothing is another additional note that I just love this light novel so much.
Now, for the story itself, it does seem quite exaggerated, especially since anime and the light novel format are already over the top. However, for those who haven’t experienced it, there are a lot of people who do say very similar things and act very similarly, even as a “joke”. It’s frustrating that because of the nature of the light novel itself, it’s likely not to be taken as seriously by certain male readers, but, I’m not sure what else you expected after reading the full title.
On the surface, it’s a fun light novel – especially from a venting point of view – it’s also pretty evident that it is meant to be light-hearted. But I have a lot of feelings regarding how “basic” the feminism is and worry about how it might come across. The underlying message of feminism from the perspective of a Japanese woman point of view is there from the author’s perspective; while a lot of thoughts and attitudes from these trolls and incels in the West are mostly ignored, one must understand that a lot of Japanese women (along with Japanese queer people) are still fighting the system which refuses to change what’s considered the most basic rights. Women and others in the United States are dealing with the upheaval of Roe V. Wade (which is a basic right everyone should have), but unfortunately, we never knew what we had until it’s gone and we have to keep fighting for it. GCs, don’t interact because I don’t mean you.
Though these themes are heavy and frustrating, this light novel is written well enough to understand how annoying a lot of these fantasy tropes are and it’s fun. That’s the most important thing: it’s fun. The author found a good balance between wanting to simply talk about how fucked up it all is and realizing she could have fun with it. Honestly, Tanya and Laplace are great audience proxies but really came into their own.
More than anything, it’s so satisfying to see Tanya come into her own and get her revenge; it’s the most satisfying, though, that she could move past it and come into her own.
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And I believe the author agrees with me; this is clearly such a vent fic that any sexist statement from these male characters would get their comeuppance and it was a delight. If this were anything else, it would annoy me to the point where I would want to quit it right then and there. Considering a certain university and what they had done around the time of this book’s release, and considering a certain Metal Gear Solid character, I completely felt every ounce of frustration from the author. Hell, I have it in my own everyday life so it’s fun to see someone like Tanya be able to literally take aim at the sexist pigs and destroy them with the power that she’s worked hard for.
Another point that I loved is that Tanya is 25 years old. Do you realize how refreshing it is to read someone even older than 20 in these light novels who aren’t considered “pathetic” or “Christmas cakes”?! There’s no amount of love I have for this book especially since there’s an incredible amount of depth for each of the main characters. Again, I shouldn’t be looking for too much depth for a light novel – but I got something more than I expected. The fact I got something rather than nothing is another additional note that I just love this light novel so much.
Now, for the story itself, it does seem quite exaggerated, especially since anime and the light novel format are already over the top. However, for those who haven’t experienced it, there are a lot of people who do say very similar things and act very similarly, even as a “joke”. It’s frustrating that because of the nature of the light novel itself, it’s likely not to be taken as seriously by certain male readers, but, I’m not sure what else you expected after reading the full title.
On the surface, it’s a fun light novel – especially from a venting point of view – it’s also pretty evident that it is meant to be light-hearted. But I have a lot of feelings regarding how “basic” the feminism is and worry about how it might come across. The underlying message of feminism from the perspective of a Japanese woman point of view is there from the author’s perspective; while a lot of thoughts and attitudes from these trolls and incels in the West are mostly ignored, one must understand that a lot of Japanese women (along with Japanese queer people) are still fighting the system which refuses to change what’s considered the most basic rights. Women and others in the United States are dealing with the upheaval of Roe V. Wade (which is a basic right everyone should have), but unfortunately, we never knew what we had until it’s gone and we have to keep fighting for it. GCs, don’t interact because I don’t mean you.
Though these themes are heavy and frustrating, this light novel is written well enough to understand how annoying a lot of these fantasy tropes are and it’s fun. That’s the most important thing: it’s fun. The author found a good balance between wanting to simply talk about how fucked up it all is and realizing she could have fun with it. Honestly, Tanya and Laplace are great audience proxies but really came into their own.
More than anything, it’s so satisfying to see Tanya come into her own and get her revenge; it’s the most satisfying, though, that she could move past it and come into her own.
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