So I've stumbled upon a rather novel manga in the local bookstore. It's an isekai titled Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter, wherein the main character is an otome game enthusiast who's hit by a truck and wakes up in the world of her favorite dating sim.
Sounds kinda familiar, right? But there's a twist here. With unlimited choice at her fingertips, she decides she doesn't really care that much about the plethora of suitors available to her character, and instead wants to rebuild her father's crumbling, corrupt domain. What's more, she's actually the game's antagonist in this world, and she's already en route to be sent to a nunnery if the protagonist-character succeeds in her endeavors. She resolves to avoid that ending at all costs.
The story strikes a particular chord with me, as it seems to echo the summer-long writing project me and @[deleted] embarked on in summer of last year. Whereas that tale turned Kantai Collection into a depiction of war, this one flips the isekai genre on its head by depicting a main character that is rather dissatisfied or even appalled by the world around her. The moment that (literally) sold the book to me was a chapter towards the end of the first volume wherein the main character visits her new fief. There she finds the commonfolk live in decrepit hovels, and hears from the mayor that their only contact with the nobles is when the tax-collector swings by every month.
There's no laughter in this scene. None of that fantastic levity or sense of offhandedness you'd find in a typical shounen. Instead, the main character is depicted gritting her teeth in silent, bitter anger, before she forces a smile and carries on. Just as I've done in real life.
I'm sure you could probably swashbuckle this from KissManga or somethin', and I'd encourage that to get a feel for the book. But from where I'm standing, this one's definitely worth having on the shelf.
