#a gentle noble's vacataion recommendation

[fireflowerhanabi]

Odayaka Kizoku no Kyuuka no Susume - Review

[Summary taken from TokyoPop]

When Lizel mysteriously finds himself in a city that bears odd similarities to his own but clearly isn't, he quickly comes to terms with the unlikely truth: this is an entirely different world. Even so, laid-back Lizel isn't the type to panic. He immediately sets out to learn more about this strange place, and to help him do so, hires a seasoned adventurer named Gil as his tour guide and protector.

Until he's able to find a way home, Lizel figures this is a perfect opportunity to explore a new way of life adventuring as part of a guild. After all, he's sure he'll go home eventually... might as well enjoy the otherworldly vacation for now!

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The Basic Premise: This slice of life, relatively low-stakes transmigration manga (originally a light novel) follows the adventures of Lizel and his adventuring companions as they tackle problems in this (to him) new world.

My Review: With charming characters and a clean and pleasing artstyle, this manga is great for a lighter read. Lizel is a "hidden boss" type of character -- while seemingly a bit out-of-touch and easygoing, he's got a lot of unanswered questions about his life before transmigrating and is frighteningly clever when he needs to be. Still, this manga's occasional political maneuvering plots don't detract from its main relaxing appeal.

Something else interesting about the story is that Lizel isn't from "modern Japan" or anything; instead, he's from an adjacent world (implied to be the future? maybe?), and his friends from his original world are putting in the work to get him back. I found this a refreshing take on the isekai genre, and appreciated the additional level of intrigue that it added to the story.

Another note: a lot of this manga is about "brotherhood" between Lizel and his hired bodyguard, Gil, amongst other characters. He acquires a group of men who admire and respect him not unlike a traditional isekai "harem," and there are those in the comments who are shocked it isn't tagged as BL. Indeed, it's not tagged as BL -- while there are hints, it never goes beyond what could be considered extremely close friendly intimacy. Regardless of whether romantic implications, I did enjoy the strong relationship between Gil and Lizel. They trust each other and play a stoic-ditzy duo that's fun to watch interact.

Overall: As advertised, this is a fairly standard relaxing "isekai" style manga, which maintains its overall pleasant atmosphere and surprisingly mildly interesting plot throughout. Its strengths lie in its pleasant art style and Lizel as a protagonist, who manages to walk the line between charmingly obtuse and scarily powerful very well, along with his bonds with his friends. Read if you'd like a lighthearted story with strong male friendships.