#mangarecommendations

🙅‍♂️ Think again! Here’s your next obsession depending on what you love! 📖

"Hellsing - Alucard"

Hitorijime My Hero is a captivating anime series that delves deep into the complexities of love, friendship, and self-discovery. The story revolves around high school student Masahiro Setagawa, who finds himself drawn into the world of his older classmate Kousuke Ooshiba.

Initially feared by others due to his tough demeanor, Kousuke unexpectedly forms a unique bond with Masahiro after witnessing his acts of kindness. As their relationship develops into something more profound, Masahiro begins to question his own identity and feelings.

However, their journey is not without obstacles. Masahiro's best friend Kensuke Ooshiba (Kousuke's younger brother) harbors secret romantic feelings for him, leading to a complex love triangle that further complicates matters. In this tangled web of emotions and desires, every character must confront their pasts and make difficult choices about who they truly love and what it means to be true to themselves.

Through poignant storytelling and stunning animation, Hitorijime My Hero explores themes of acceptance, coming-of-age struggles, and the power of human connection. With relatable characters finding strength in each other amidst societal pressure and personal insecurities, this series offers a heartfelt portrayal of love in its many forms – romantic or platonic – reminding us all that even heroes need saving sometimes.

(minor spoilers for tensei oujo to tensai reijou)

Yep, I know it's a mouthful, but IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE!!

So the big selling point of the light novel/manga is that it's Yuri/GL. The thing about GL is that there isn't a lot of it, so we'll eat whatever's on the table even if it's just a boiled chicken breast.

It's also isekai/reincarnation themed set in a fantasy world almost similar to medieval Europe. Isekai tends to be a hit or miss, the concept is refreshing and fun but a lot of titles seem to just be riding the trend and executing it insincerely.

Combine those two elements, and... yeah, my expectations weren't very high. It's really hard to find a good isekai to begin with, but with Yuri, it enters a completely new territory where there's tons of opportunity for lewd jokes and blatant fetishization. That, or the bland chicken I mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, like a desperate little raccoon, I was not in a position to complain. I sighed, expecting to drop it after 3-4 chapters.

Boy, was I wrong.

Despite the ridiculously long name, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady had completely betrayed my expectations.

AND CAN I JUST TALK ABOUT OUR TWO LEADS FIRST?!

Anisphia, the main lead, immediately captured my attention as she didn't follow the the usual tropes that isekai leads usually do.

Anis is eccentric, smart, and capable, but also fucking insane. She has such a fascination and love for magic, so much that she compensates for her lack of mana with crafting magicology tools. Like, I get that the concept of this existed in her original world, but knowing how to put it into practice by manually crafting and putting it together is a WHOLE different thing, you gotta be hella smart to invent this stuff all on your own. She doesn't have the same bland formula that protagonists are infected by, she gives off such a different impression.

Her combat skills go fucking crazy too, which is again something she learned to compensate for her lack of mana.

Next up is Euphyllia, a young magic prodigy who also happens to be engaged to the crown prince, Anis' brother. In typical shoujo fantasy fashion where she unfortunately plays the role of the villainess, her first appearance is at a 'condemnation' event in which the crown prince and his entourage of high-ranking nobles accuse Euphy for bullying his mistress and annulling their engagement. And as if that wasn't bad enough, it was in PUBLIC for everyone to see.

Bla bla bla, one thing leads to another, Anis figures out a way to aid the situation before it gets any worse, and in doing so manages to make it so that Euphyllia doesn't need to be engaged to the crown prince anymore. This spins Euphy's life around COMPLETELY as the thing she's been working at her hardest since she was born, her very purpose, was gotten rid of in a snap of a finger.

The true magic of this series however, when these two are put together. Very unalike, they're like reactive compounds. To be honest, I would've even been happy if the series was literally just Anisphia's journey on making different types of magical tools everyday. But Euphyllia's existence completely changed the game and makes room for interesting development, and the way they interact with each other is truly special.

Just how would you find two people with that level of coordination and teamwork while flying in the sky on a BROOMSTICK?!

I'm super looking forward to the interactions they have from here on out, from Anisphia's ambitious yet somehow achievable goals to Euphyllia's journey on finding out her sense of self and figuring out what she wants to do for herself.

Adding onto my original point, since I knew it was an adaptation of an isekai light novel/manga, I was expecting the animation to be subpar at least. But seeing the beautiful animation, the amazing job they did with the voices, THE OPENINGG UGHH It's all just too amazing for this type of story.

In conclusion,

Genre: Romance | School Life | Shoujo | Slice of Life