Hey all, Sam here.
Today has been an absolute roller coaster of a day. I went from starting my day feeling pretty epic (this was just after midnight when I decided to do a quick writing session and charged over the finish line for my Camp NaNoWriMo goal), and then after I actually woke up to start my day I just felt really bummed and couldn’t really get myself to do much of anything). And that dip into depression delayed getting this post up at the time I normally try to post, so sorry.
2023 has been one of the worst years ever for my mental and emotional health. I’m really hoping things start to feel better soon. I want this year to become something good, so I need to figure out how to balance things so I can move forward.
Anyway, today I’m talking about the first volume of a cute female-led isekai manga that was my first read for 2023. Let’s get started.
In this charming tale, a woman gets transported to a fantasy world and pursues her own quest: opening a book cafe!
When a god tells Tsukina that she is to be transported to another world to become its savior, Tsukina isn’t interested. As a bookish thirty-something, she has zero desire to go on some big adventure…so when she arrives in the strange new land, she decides to use her magical powers to create a cozy little book cafe instead. But when a fellow savior starts causing trouble, Tsukina might just have to play the hero, after all!
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
So I discovered this series because it was advertised in the back of another manga I was reading and enjoying…and the title alone grabbed my interest. After looking up the story summary, I knew I had to read it. So I got the first three volumes at the end of the year and made the decision that this was how I wanted to start my year. And I read through the three I had so quickly…and then had to pick up volume four, which I also read quickly. So now I’m waiting for the release of volume five.
Okay, I just love that this god figure comes to our world and tells Tsukina that she will be transported to another world to be its savior, and she isn’t interested at all. She’d actually prefer to stay where she is, but there’s no choice. Through their brief conversation, Tsukina is granted some nifty magical abilities and sets herself up as the owner of a cozy book cafe…being told by god that there is another savior in the area so she probably won’t even be needed.
This is absolutely a fun twist on the isekai hero adventure. So frequently the hero either jumps into their position as the savior and work on training and getting stronger, or they shirk their duties to gather up a harem (typically of women, but I’ve seen some reverse-Harem series out there). With this series, I love that she just wants to have a cozy book cafe, to just read books and drink tea and that’s about it.
Of course, she ends up meeting a man who also is a bit of a bookworm, and they bond over their mutual love of reading…and I can already tell that this is just going to be a cute little romance. I’m very happy with where this is heading.
I’m not going to spoil what goes on with the other savior and the trouble that might force Tsukina to actually step up and do something other than her book cafe. You’ll just have to trust me and pick up this series for yourself. It’s cute and fun, and I can definitely put it up in a list of all-time favorites. I’ll have to talk about them in a post sometime, but I warn you, they’re pretty much all cute and warm-fuzzy stories.
Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
Free State of Geek 