Hey all, Sam here.
We have reached another Monday, and that means it’s time to talk about manga some more. It just seems like a fun way to get the week started. And I think it’s going to be a really fun week. I know I don’t have a whole lot of plans, but I am planning to have a reading marathon this weekend.
It has been tradition for David and I to go visit his grandparents in the Hocking Hills area in Ohio every Memorial Day weekend, but we won’t be able to do that this year. One of my favorite things about this long weekend tradition was that there was a small-town festival going on, so there was awesome food and drink just a couple blocks away, but even more than that, the phone and internet signal there is pretty terrible. I actually really loved completely disconnecting for a few days. Without the distraction of social media, I was able to read quite a bit, and it was really relaxing.
So…my plan for this weekend, May 26-29, I am going to only turn on my TV so I can listen to music, and I am only going to jump on social media to do quick little update posts. Otherwise, I’m just going to read, and see how much I can accomplish. Of course, that also means that I need to get my blog posts prepped up, so I won’t have those to distract from my reading.
I have a decent selection of reading options, both books that have already been published and some digital ARCs from NetGalley. I’m hoping to be able to complete a bunch of books, so next week’s check-in should be a good one.
All right, let’s go ahead and jump into today’s Manga Monday review post.
Sei thought she was summoned to another world completely by accident — a bystander, a leftover, and most certainly not the Holy Saint of legends. After a short struggle, she’d finally found a happy place for herself as a potionmaker and enchanter. But thanks to her literally miraculous powers, no one can deny that Sei really is the mystical savior the world’s been waiting for. Now there’s a whole new struggle, first to hone her powers underneath the boyishly handsome Grand Magus Drewes, and then to navigate the political consequences of her saintly power. What will become of the lovestruck prince who foolishly backed Sei’s rival Aira, or the poor girl herself, after failing to live up to everyone’s expectations?
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
This volume spends a lot of time with Sei basically getting used to a new reality in this magical world. Now that it is clear that she is the Saint, she has a whole bunch of lessons she needs to take. Because she needs to hone her magic better, under the tutelage of Grand Magus Drewes, who was mostly missing from previous volumes…due to how strained he was from the Saint Summoning Ritual.
Speaking of the summoning, this volume also gives us a chapter following Aira, the other girl who was summoned, and we find out that things have not exactly been easy for her either, even though she was presumed to be the true Saint based on the declarations of Prince Kyle. I feel like this chapter was almost like one of those backdoor pilots in an existing show to try and get a spin-off green lit. And you know what? This works out for me in this story and world. I’ll be reviewing the first volume of Aira’s spin-off in July, after I’ve caught up with the volumes I’ve read of Sei’s story.
I was glad to see Aira and Sei get to interact a little bit, because they have been kept so separated up until this point. I think they could be friends, and I also rather enjoy the friendship growing between Sei and Elizabeth.
And while it seems like most of Sei’s absolutely minimal affection is aimed towards Commander Hawke, it is also very clear that several of the men in this world who have interacted with our sweet Saint Sei are in love with her.
This story is still cute, and I still fly through the volumes, but I feel like it needs to have a little more action. And I’m not saying like duels or fighting scenes or anything like that. But it does seem like a lot of the story has been just Sei at the Research Institute making potions, or Sei taking lessons or receiving training. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good lore drop, but I also want us (and Sei) to see more of this magical world that is her home now.
Hopefully we get more of that soon. Then again, maybe there’s more in the Light Novels for the series. I should try and read those sometime soon-ish.
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.
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