7th time loop

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

I actually had to go back and double check to make sure that this plotline had not been done before. “Trying to catch pirates who have been kidnapping noble women to sell as ‘merchandise’ to other customers” is a plotline that so obviously fits in with the sort of series 7th Time Loop is. No one is more well-suited to having a sword fight on board a pirate ship than Arnold and Rishe. And, as usual with this series, one of the better examples of its genre, it sticks the landing with ease. This gives us a lot of what we’ve come to love from this series. Another figure from Rishe’s past lives who clearly was in love with her and who makes Arnold jealous. Rishe getting far, far more involved than she has any right to be. Rishe getting intensely embarrassed and blushy whenever the idea of genuinely being in love with Arnold comes up. It’s all just adorable.

Rishe tells Arnold that she needs to go to the country’s main port city to get last-minute alterations on her wedding dress. But, of course, she has an ulterior motive. She knows that at some point around this time, Prince Arnold “kidnapped” shipbuilders from the naval country of Siarga, but kept it secret, so that when he inevitably went to war with them, they would be unaware that they actually have a real Navy. She wants to stop this in order to prevent the war, but she and Arnold also come across the kidnappers mentioned above, who are doing a trade in young, virginal noble ladies with few family attachments that can be sold to *those* sorts of buyers. The odd thing is that this sort of piracy and kidnapping is very high-risk, and would not remotely justify the sort of reward they could expect from selling off the women. If there something else going on here?

We get a few more details about Arnold’s past here, and see how his mother was killed by his own hand. Needless to say, it’s even more tragic than was hinted at previously. I honestly kind of wish that we were getting more. The series is clearly leading slowly up to its climax, especially given the cliffhanger with Rishe wanting to speak to Arnold’s father. But for all that Arnold clearly has fallen for Rishe, and you would expect that everything Rishe has done has managed to change the future, the plot requires that we worry that it will all be for naught. So every once in a while, usually when he’s looking at Rishe’s sleeping face, we get the occasional narration showing that his eyes are cold and unfeeling, just in case you didn’t think he could still start a war and kill everyone. It’s meant to keep the tension up, but… I would like a bit more insight into what’s in his head, to be honest.

Despite that, this is still another excellent volume in the series. Fans of the anime who were waiting for more will be delighted. Unfortunately, the 7th volume is not out in Japan yet, so be prepared for a long wait to see what Rishe has to say to the king.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

The best part of this book I already quoted on Twitter: it’s Arnold pointing out how utterly ridiculous the premise of this series and all others like it really is. They’re going back over the party that began this series, one which, 5 volumes in, is a lot more suspicious than it felt at the time, and he says, and I quote, “A one-sided dissolution of an engagement in a public venue isn’t something that should happen in the first place.” To be fair, a lot of other authors agree, and this is hardly the first book showing the whole thing is a setup. But it’s always fun seeing Rishe be very clever and then finding that Arnold has already worked this out months ago and was waiting for her to catch up. Because yes, Rishe’s denunciation turns out to have been orchestrated by outside operators, and its goal was – you guessed it – to cause war between Arnold and literally everyone else.

Rishe and Arnold are taking in the opera, which Rishe has been looking forward to. Two surprising events happen: the leading lady collapses, and Prince Dietrich, Rishe’s old fiance, is also present at the event. Rishe is delighted to get closer to Sylvia, the opera singer, who has a reputation for a string of love affairs (and is thus highly amused at a very virginal Rishe) but also finds herself falling in love for real with one of Arnold’s guards. As for Prince Dietrich, he’s mostly an object of scorn and mockery throughout the book, having supposedly run away from home to get away from his beloved Mary, who it turns out has taken over from Rishe in trying to get Dietrich to learn how to be a good prince. That said, is that really the only reason he’s there? And is there really a spy in their midst?

The other best scene in the volume has Rishe and Arnold, walking the battlements in order to try to figure out the best way for a spy to get in, accidentally running into Arnold’s father. They only see each other from a distance, but Rishe can immediately sense the murderous aura, and her first reaction was to try to draw Arnold’s sword in order to protect him – never mind that he’s a better swordsman than she is. I expect the series will end with that final confrontation. Other than that, Arnold continues to soften up, finally giving in and realizing that things work out best when he just lets Rishe do whatever the hell she wants – though he does give her extra sword lessons so that she can properly hit flying arrows out of the air with one. Honestly, of all the couples in villainess books, this may be the best power couple.

The anime had just been announced when this came out, and it’s since aired and was a relative success. And the 6th book is out in Japan as of the end of last year, so hopefully we see it soon, cause this remains terrific.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

The 4th volume in the series decides to lean a little less on “why is Prince Arnold so determined to go to war with everyone in the future” and focus more on “why are Prince Arnold and Rishe not admitting they’ve both completely fallen for one another? Well, they have, sort of. In their own way. The trouble with agendas is that it can be very difficult to admit explicit feelings of love when you know that eventually you’re going to destroy several countries. Or, in Rishe’s case, when you’re trying to juggle six prior lifetimes and solve each issue with them one by one to get a golden ending. That said, this book is far more explicitly romantic than the previous three, even if it does throw in the cliched “heroine is scared of ghosts” subplot. To be fair to Rishe, though, she has looped over and over. Given that’s possible, anything is.

While the romance at the start of the book is still theoretical, the wedding plans are trucking along anyway. In particular, they’re starting to get foreign visitors who will be there for the wedding, including the prince of Siguel, Curtis, and the princess, Harriet. Harriet is currently preparing for a political marriage in the neighboring kingdom of Fabrannia, a fact that Rishe knows all too well. She was a hunter in Siguel in her 5th life, and remembers Queen Harriet as an evil spendthrift who was executed and led to Siguel being forced to go to war against (who else?) Prince Arnold. As with previous books, Rishe has to fix things so that events don’t turn out that way. This time, though, there’s an added twist: Harriet is a fluffy hamster of a woman, and is highly unlikely to have been remotely evil.

There are several points in this book where Rishe is thrown off her game, but frankly they all involve Prince Arnold. Around him she gets flustered and stammering. Away from him she is, as the antagonist of the book Raul notes, “a monster”. Hell, even Raul isn’t a real antagonist, because here she actually can use all the info from her past life to save him. Harriet is trickier, but Rishe still manages to act as a sword-wielding guardsman, show Harriet that proper skincare is a great way to gain confidence, and fake being poisoned to let everyone think that she won’t be riding to the rescue with Prince Arnold, shooting down enemies with a bow and arrow and dramatically crashing through a stained glass window. Frankly, I think it’s Arnold who should be terrified of her. But this isn’t really that sort of genre.

I can’t wait for the next book. Alas, I may have to. This is the last to date, and a 5th is on Amazon Japan with a release date of “2100”. Let’s hope we can get the end of Rishe’s story.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

Sometimes, particularly when it’s a villainess book, all of which take place in “vaguely Europe in the days before cars”, I struggle to remember how supernatural the series is meant to be. Now, obviously there’s SOME supernatural content going on, namely the fact that Rishe keeps looping around to try to not be horribly killed, and this particular book has talk of a girl who can supposedly “curse” those close to her, but for the most part it is content to otherwise be vaguely realistic. That said, I do wonder if the author is having fun with our expectations a bit, as two of the book’s emotional climax rely on the fact that Rishe and Arnold are vampires. They’re NOT vampires, of course. But neck biting is such a thing here that it even gets a color page. That said, there’s a rational reason for it. But still. Vampire Arnold. Mmm-mmm.

Rishe comes to Arnold with some news: it turns out that running away does not actually break an engagement when it involves religion and royalty, so she’s still engaged to Dietrich. Fortunately, Dietrich’s new partner is fine with them breaking it, so that just leaves the Church. She’ll have to go to the Grand Basilica and have a long, involved ceremony designed to make sure this is OK in the eyes of God. Of course, all this is part of Rishe’s next plan in “find out why Arnold keeps turning evil”, as she’s there to see why Arnold was so dedicated in her past lives to wiping out the entire Church and most of its believers so thoroughly. And along the way, she also runs into a spoiled duke’s daughter… one who she’s very familiar with from her fourth life.

Gotta say, the more we hear about Arnold’s father the more we can probably explain the reasons behind Arnold’s actions as “I just snapped”. Not to get too gory here, but the actions taken on newborn children who don’t “pass the test” that Arnold is forced to watch are are the stuff of nightmares. Which, as it turns out, Arnold has frequently – his only respite in this volume is when he’s sleeping next to Rishe, who is sleeping off a poison. As for Rishe, it’s interesting seeing how the memories of her past lives still drive her present circumstances. She’s not Millia’s maid and minder in this world, but she still very much feels the same way about her, and is thus puzzled at the changes in this universe compared to her past one. Fortunately, those changes end up being a big clue, and lead up to an exciting ending that once again revolves around talking Arnold down from committing murder.

I’m not sure how many volumes this will run – 7, for the 7 lives? – but there’s a 4th one out in Japan, so definitely one more. I enjoy this series mostly for Rishe, who’s a lot smarter and savvier than many of her villainess counterparts.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Aysha U. Farah.

I’ve frequently made fun of the fact that many villainesses in these books, with Katarina Claes being the best example, keep constantly trying to “solve” all the problems facing them without realizing that the problems have solved themselves simply due to being empathic and kind. Because Katarina, and Rishe in this series, know the real truth: even if you are as sweet as pie, never assume that the narrative has gone away. Rishe knows that her recurring deaths, and the war that leads to them, are not something that can be solved by simply marrying the man behind it all and showing him how to be happy. There’s a lot more to it than that. This is especially true of this second volume, which brings back a number of characters from her life as an apothecary. Including one who is, for all intents and purposes, a terrorist.

Rishe remains dedicated to her efforts to live a happy, carefree life by overworking herself to death in order to get it. She takes sword training from Arnold, and when she realizes that she absolutely lacks the stamina she had in her knight life, not to mention the elite training Arnold’s knights have, she secretly disguises herself as a boy and enrolls in the knight course. As this is happening, a delegation from Coyolle, a country which has relied on its mining to help it not be taken over and destroyed by other countries, has arrived, including Prince Kyle, who Rishe knew in her apothecary life, and Michel, an alchemist who enjoys inventing things, and if they’re weapons of mass destruction, well, they need to be used. You can’t just NOT use poison once you’ve made it.

Michel was probably the best character in this volume. He’s given a tragic backstory, of course, but for the most part he is the genial mad scientist, willing to blow up the world as long as it shows that his theories are correct. He and Rishe get along surprisingly well. Then again, getting along with everyone is Rishe’s thing. And this includes Prince Kyle, who briefly makes Arnold jealous as in his country all women are meant to be venerated, meaning his attention to Rishe is, shall we say, too much for our grumpy Crown Prince. That said… war does appear to be the the first response for him, and Rishe has to work her ass off to show that diplomacy is the better answer in this case. The answer to “why do I keep dying?” is still not an easily solvable one, but at the very least Arnold finds her fascinating, and is unlikely to brutally murder her this time, unless some horrible misunderstanding happens. Which is unlikely, I mean, this is a light novel…

Fans of the genre, or just fans of shoujo romance, should find plenty to dig into here.

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Aysha U. Farah.

The word ‘villainess’ has always had a loose definition to begin with, coming from a theoretical character in an otome game that never really existed, and usually being some variation on “mean girl”. Even that doesn’t really apply anymore. The villainess, for the most part, now seems to be any young woman who gets publicly shamed and has her engagement broken by a prince. We meet Rishe here, and there’s certainly no sign that she’s done anything wrong, but the script nevertheless plays out as we know it. Of course, as the title of the series implies, this is not her first rodeo. This has now happened to her SEVEN times. Perhaps she’s been reading a lot of villainess novels as well, and they’ve all blended together so much she keeps coming back to them. Amusingly, the “why” of the loop is irrelevant – it’s there to make her more awesome.

As noted above, Rishe Irmgard Weitzner is publicly shamed by her fiancee, who calls off their engagement to that he can marry Mary, a poor girl new to nobility. Having now done this SEVEN times, and knowing her parents will shortly be disowning her and barring her from the house, she tries to bolt back home to grab her things before this occurs. Unfortunately, she runs into Arnold, the Crown Prince of a different country, who had also been attending. He’s fascinated with her, mostly as she doesn’t seem to have any awe of him at all. Indeed, she wants nothing to do with him – every single time loop she’s lived to the age of twenty and died, and it’s either indirectly or directly because of him. This time, though, something new happens – he wants to marry her. Maybe, if she goes along with this, she can find out what makes him want to wage the war that keeps killing her…

I had a ball reading this. Rishe is definitely on the “smart” end of villainess protagonists, mostly as she’s lived 5 years of a different life seven times. First she was a merchant, then an apothecary, etc. She even disguised herself as a man to become a knight… but Arnold ran her through. In this particular loopy, Arnold seems, around her, to be the standard shoujo manga love interest. Unfortunately, he also seems to have a destructive streak about him, and Rishe can’t quite figure out what’s behind it. The antagonist of this book is his younger brother Theodore, who seems to be the stereotypical “evil sibling” but also turns out to have greater depths than anticipated. I also liked how many of the characters in the show who are seen to be “betraying” someone are doing so because they’re poor and desperate – this book is not afraid to show us the disparity in class.

At the end of this volume, Theodore may have resolved some of his issues but Rishe is still a long way from learning the truth about Arnold. I definitely look forward to more volumes of her finding out. Recommended for villainess fans, romance fans, and mystery fans.