The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess, Vol. 1

ひきこまり吸血姫の悶々 (Light Novel) #1

by Kotei Kobayashi

A homebody’s worst nightmare!

Three years into her life as a shut-in, vampire Terakomari Gandesblood (Komari for short), awakens to find she’s been appointed as a Commander in the Mulnite Imperial Army! The thing is, her new unit consists solely of belligerent ruffians who revolt against their superiors at the slightest hint of weakness. Although Komari hails from a line of vampires as powerful as they are prestigious, her refusal to drink blood has made her the picture of mediocrity—scrawny, un-coordinated, and inept at magic. With the odds stacked against her, will the help of her trusty (and slightly infatuated) maid Vill be enough for this recluse to blunder her way to success? Or will Komari rue the day she ever left the safety of her room?

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Yuri, Comedy, Manga, Action

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2020

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

So close, and yet...so very, very far. This had a lot of potential as a story about a lackluster vampire princess tricked into taking on a high-ranking army job, but it's utterly ruined by the presence of two unsavory characters embodying the "predatory lesbian" trope. If you find girls ignoring consent and pushing ahead with unwanted touching less distasteful than I do, you may enjoy the book more.

[Aly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended to me because they said it was yuri, but just a warning one of the main cast (I've sadly forgotten the name already, but it's the maid) sadly has the "predatory lesbian" trope-- her advances towards Komari were played off as jokes, which is just sad because there's this connection betwen them that could have been explored in a healthier or just decent way.

There was really nothing notable about it. The writing was decent enough, and it got me to let out a chuckle a few times or so. The story only started to pick up as we were nearing the end which got me wanting to read the next one at least, and hopefully the relationship with Komari and that maid improves.

This one was just an easy read and can be very dumb as hell but it was still a somewhat an decent ride if you just want something lighthearted to pass the time.

[Kane Chocobo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 or 7/10
I found that after being insanely silly for the first half, It turns into a childhood rivalry — or bully vs victim story — that gets surprising bloody. You can find classic animanga traits like some ecchiness in the LN, which I don't hate — GYATTTT!!! — . The actual story of Terakomari commanding an army while being a shut-in is very amusing, reminding me of The Saga of Tanya the Evil — not that I've read it, but I wanna since odds are its better —. I wanna read more then just LN's but with a background in weeb shit, its very comfortable. I would read the next entry in the series but unless its on mega sale, I'll stray away. I'm content with the ending of this volume, A good break point. I will watch more of the anime adaptions, on episode 3 or sum rn. The LN rolls the anime tho, infinitely more content and details, makes me care for the characters a little. Honestly I'm just glad that I finished it, Since I had 3 ongoing books at once — big mistake —. I can't stop using em dash
's.
Thanks for reading ^>_<^

[Efreak · Rating 2 out of 5]

The comedy almost made it, the pervert maid ruined it. A voice from the back wants a schoolgirl to step on him. Repeatedly. Expansion of why the pervert maid is helping MC reveals that they're the same age, which makes me wonder why she's a pervert. The empress and MC's father both have little reason to exist; both get the occasional mention, then disappear--normal for fluffy stories, but they're some of the few people who actually have names.

[Gregory Moses · Rating 2 out of 5]

A novel almost totally uninterested in its central premise. There is one scene (where the heroine accidentally kills an enemy with a door) that could be described as the protagonist "blundering her way to success." Other than that, she doesn't really do anything in terms of military leadership, but her units wins battles without her doing anything, so ... good for her?

What this novel is mainly concerned with (no matter what Goodread's description might claim) is bullying and child abuse. There's an entire, jokeless chapter where we have the villain's awful childhood recounted to us in exhaustingly unpleasant detail, and a lengthy description of how bullying ruined the protagonist's life, before the book climaxes in what's basically an extended, graphic torture sequence. Obviously, you can have a generally light novel that touches on dark themes, but "Weirdly horny farce about a vampire shut-in, except that there aren’t any comical misunderstandings, and also you have to read about the time the villainess’s beloved childhood pet died” is not what I was looking for from a novel with this title and description.

[Michie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a pretty interesting story here buried underneath the focus on comedy tropes - IF (and that's a pretty if) you can push yourself past the predatory lesbian trope that rears its big ugly head fast and strong. A shame because the Komari and Vill development could be a series strong point if it weren't weighed down by such a thing.

There's a manga series that's being fantranslated but not licensed yet. I read up to what's been released and I found it more palpable then the light novel so far, with the benefit of art being done by the LN illustrator.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts off as a silly trope filled tale and then turns into a serious story. I'm enjoying the world building and feel that this one volume is just the tip of the iceberg to the actual story line. I also like the obvious good guy vs obvious bad guy dynamic with the "bad guys" with the heart of gold everywhere. If you enjoy light novels I would recommend this one.

[Ghostea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and silly, I really enjoyed the humor in this one and the build-up to the final chapter. If you are a prudish reader when it comes to content, the amount of lewdness here is, admittedly, a bit disconcerting, but the book was still enjoyable overall.

I will definitely be following the series into new volumes as they are released.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurd premise but going from the anime the story gets better. The yuri tropes are mainly fan service and comedic here but there is some character development. The dark core revival is an interesting mechanic that fits with vampiric immortality and implications of that.

[Timothy Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read, but not great either. Normally I'm not interested in Vampires, but this was all right

[KingStali · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great read. Light hearted comedy and decent story with nice characters.

[Pancake NL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the kind of book I would pick up normally, but my best friend got me this, so I gave it a try. The story is nothing new, funny in some parts, but it is just okay. The main character, Terakomari, is a shut-in princess without magical abilities, suddenly thrown into an important battle commander position, and has to try her best to keep her secret hidden. At the end, we learned that Komari is so much more than that. The next volumes would probably be more fun, but for now, I am not interested in reading the rest of the series.