Of course, I can't talk about isekai manga without talking about J-Novel Club, who in recent years set up a new imprint just for shojo- and josei-adjacent light novels (and manga adaptations thereof). It's about time I looked at one of those titles to see how it might serve as an antidote to the more mainstream, male-led tales out there.
HOUSEKEEPING MAGE FROM ANOTHER WORLD: MAKING YOUR ADVENTURES FEEL LIKE HOME! (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kaseifugyou Uketamawarimasu!), based on the light novel series by You Fuguruma and character designs by Nama, with art by Akihito Ono. First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2022.
PLOT:
Four years ago Shiori Izumi was just another overworked office lady, living alone and trying her best to get as much done as possible. Then she fainted, only to find herself in a strange new world of magic and adventurer guilds. Over time she learned the language, gained some low-level magic, and started using it to recreate the comforts of home for weary travelers, only to end up betrayed by her own party and left for dead. Can Shiori learn to trust in herself and others again?
STORY:
On the surface, this is a very pleasant sort of isekai fantasy. It's positively cozy in the way that it focuses on how little personal comforts go a long way towards making people's lives easier and better or how Shiori has an entire community of explorers, merchants, and townsfolk who admire her and want to protect her. It's nice that Shiori's wasn't given any advantages upon getting isekai'd. She didn't gain any vast mana stores or some crazy cheat skill. Instead, she's had to study hard to gain what basic magic skills she has and rely upon her own mind to combine them in smart, energy conserving ways. It's clear that Alec, the prince in disguise who serves as a sort of dual protagonist, is smitten with her. It's just a very nice sort of story.
And yet the entire time I was reading Housekeeping Mage, I felt like something was just...off about it.
Part of it is that Fuguruma goes positively overboard on praising Shiori. Over and over we hear how talented she is, how kind, how cute and tiny and youthful-looking she is. Anyone who doesn't love her immediately is shown to be naught but greedy, vainglorious bullies or mean girls who are jealous over Alec's attentions towards her. They're laying it all on a bit thick, and after a while it starts to feel fake, even patronizing. If she's truly that great, they wouldn't need the cast to hype her up at every turn and describe her magical methods in minute detail.
Furthermore, this may be Shiori's story but she doesn't get to tell it very much. The story gets off to a weird start when the first chapter is not shown from her perspective but Alec's. Afterwards we learn more about her, but only because other men describe it to Alec. This is such a weird move because it's meant to bring Alec (and the reader by extension) closer to her, but instead it continues to hold them at a distance. It not only undermines the growing romance between Alec and Shiori, but it undermines her own growth as a character. There's only one point towards the end where Shiori gets to voice her own feelings and insecurities, and much of its power comes not from the emotion she's expressing but the mere fact that she's the one who expresses it. It's the first real insight we've gotten into her mind. It's the first time that Shiori feels like a real character. It's a welcome bit of bitterness in a story that's otherwise way too overloaded with sugary sweetness.
ART:
I feel like I'm repeating myself at this point, but Ono's art is both fairly similar to Nemu's original light novel illustrations but also something of a step down from it. Shiori's design is rather inspired, combining some of the practical trappings of her trade with the fanciful, fun look of a good witch (and one that looks even better in color with its soothing, pretty shade of purplish blue).
Alas, she's the only inspired design to be found here, as the rest of the cast consists of generically attractive women and narrow-eyed, sharp-chined men in equally generic fantasy garb. Ono struggles a little to translate even that in the early chapters, as there's at least a few points where they struggle a lot with keeping eyes consistent and Alec goes off-model more than once. They get better and more confident with their art with each new chapter, but the quality never really rises above 'merely average.'
PRESENTATION:
There's an short story afterwards that takes the form of a diary by Rurii, a slime that follows Shiori like a pet. It's a cute enough conceit, even if it's mostly there to reinforce just how obviously lovesick Alec is over Shiori.
RATING:
This series is published by J-Novel Club. This series is ongoing with 5 volumes available. 2 volumes have been released digitally and are currently in print.
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