(*4*)Luciana was a 30-year-old lady with no love life who was obsessive about a romance sport – now she’s been reborn in the sport in the physique of the villainess and is attempting to keep away from sure doom. However her plan to keep away from all love pursuits goes sideways when it’s revealed she’s underneath an enchantment, and solely the Wisteria household have that energy. So their three sons, plus Lord Lakas and Luciana’s brother Saphir, agree to assist her. However with all these good-looking males round Luciana, can she nonetheless keep away from the villainess’s destiny? Or is there an even bigger villain ready in the wings to use her for Luciana’s distinctive energy?

(*4*)Based mostly on the sunshine novel of the identical identify, we proceed the Enchantment arc and this quantity is analogous to the earlier two, in that there’s a number of exposition and conversations among the many characters. Nevertheless that is damaged up with extra thriller, with the Evil Star of the East making her first on-page look, and in addition some varied males round Luciana falling for her, rising the stress in the reverse harem Luciana has discovered herself in.

(*4*)We open up with a flashback for Saphir, the place it’s teased as to when he first made a contract with the Evil Star of the East. I say ‘teased’ nevertheless it’s constructed up by displaying him in the Magic Division underneath the Commander, and beautiful pictures of him utilizing magic, then we get to the reveal of his distinctive magic crest, however we by no means be taught WHY Saphir made the contract with the Evil Star. Apparently Joshua (the eldest son of the Wisteria household) was there too, however none of them particularly say why they made this life-altering deal. I assume they’re saving it as a giant reveal after we get to the battle with the Evil Star, nevertheless it felt just like the manga was dangling the carrot, solely to snatch it away when it was beginning to get good.

(*4*)Then the occasions of Volume 1, the place Luciana used magic that she shouldn’t have the option to use, in addition to the opportunity of her being the Yggdrasil Mage, is revealed to all of them; this leads to the boys preventing amongst themselves, as all of them rush to dedicate their lives to defending Luciana. Out of the 4 potential love suitors that had been revealed in Volume 1, solely two are in this room, with one other further (unlockable in the sport) suitor, and naturally Saphir, Luciana’s brother, who’s been tiptoeing the road between brother and one thing else for some time now. It’s good to see a improvement of the harem, contemplating it’s been missing for a couple of volumes and it’s the aim of the title, particularly as Luciana is realising how removed from the primary sport’s plot they’ve gone, and she or he doesn’t know what to do anymore. I additionally like that it’s not clear who will ‘win her coronary heart’, so to converse. Lakas has up to now had extra web page time, and three out of the 4 quick tales have been from his perspective. However Saphir has additionally been given a number of improvement, appears to know extra and be extra highly effective than he lets on, and he’s the centre of the present battle, together with Luciana. Then there’s Louis, the youngest son of the Wisteria household, and in addition a suitor who’s been put via a lot in this ebook, however doesn’t draw back from his emotions for Luciana as properly.

(*4*)The latter half of the ebook is when the plot kicks into gear although, because the Evil Star of the East kidnaps Saphir and Luciana decides to ask her youthful brother Conrad for assist, solely to reveal who Conrad actually is and the way he’s tied to her Enchantment. This backstory is much more satisfying as we be taught loads in regards to the dynamics of the Wisteria family, it permits for some ‘on the market’ ideas that would solely exist in fantasy collection, and it additionally ties a number of mini-threads collectively. For instance, Luciana first met an upset Louis in Volume 2 underneath a tree, and so they linked over a sombre poem. Now with the brand new context of Louis’s tough childhood, we see why he was unhappy, how he linked with the poem and why the pair shaped a connection; it’s a very nice element. There are a number of these little particulars coming collectively right here, together with a one-off line from Volume 1 changing into an vital element in the aspect story behind the ebook. These moments make this foolish love harem fantasy collection really feel satisfying.

(*4*)Artwork continues to be a robust presence in the ebook with every character trying beautiful, and the magic spells and the villain’s entrance drawn and introduced with nice element on the web page. My solely criticism is the duvet: all of the earlier covers have been pretty, however have been unified by one or two colors, like Volume 2 having pastel shades of sunshine purple and pink, or Volume 3 having purple because the dominant color, however off-set with darkish inexperienced as a praise. For Volume 4, the duvet can’t determine what the dominant color is; there’s black and purple, however then the very pale pink takes up a very good chunk of the center, and there’s a run-through of earthy inexperienced that finally ends up taking up in the underside half underneath the brand. I personally don’t assume all the combination of colors work in this occasion. It’s a disgrace as a result of the artwork remains to be pretty, simply wants a greater concord of colors. [Could the colour scheme chosen here be reflecting the dynamics of the changing character relationships? Just a thought. Ed.] The translation by Meredith Singer continues to be good nonetheless, so no complaints there.

(*4*)What I like about this manga adaptation is that they’re at all times beneficiant with the content material in every quantity, not solely will we get the most recent manga chapters but additionally a aspect story from the sunshine novel writer herself, and generally character artwork. On this quantity, we get a brand new aspect story, as soon as once more from Lakas’ perspective for a chapter of this quantity, but additionally character artwork of the Wisteria dad and mom and workers members in Luciana’s family, then in the center of the ebook, is a ‘spot the distinction’ web page! I’ve by no means seen that in a manga earlier than, and thought it was a enjoyable little further.

(*4*)This villainess manga collection continues to be a enjoyable experience, with a build-up of rigidity between the love pursuits and rising thriller on the enchantment. Nevertheless, there was a number of speaking and I’m prepared for some motion! Hopefully Volume 5 can present that when it comes out subsequent 12 months, or wouldn’t or not it’s good if somebody picked up the rights to the sunshine novel? (Trace trace to whichever publishing firm occurs upon this evaluation).

(*4*)Read a free preview of this volume on the publisher’s website here.

Our evaluation copy from Sq. Enix Manga was provided by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Writer Providers)