fearsome witch teaches in another world

By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

It’s not a secret that this series definitely has an Agenda with a capital A. The most obvious part is trying to convey how to teach people, how to talk with kids and understand their own varied issues, etc. That certainly applies here as well, but the author also seems determined to kick back against all the cliches that you seem to see in light novels in this sort of world. Getting an arranged marriage without your consent to someone decades older than you? No you’re not. Country determined to prove that Magic A Is Magic A? No it’s not. Are those nobles who insist only those of the upper class can use magic and that filthy commoners should know their place? We’ll put a stop to that. Oh look, those dwarfs only care about magical weapons rather than using magic itself? Not gonna happen. Aoi is here to drag everyone into modern times with the best magic, and she will beat up the world to do so.

As with Tearmoon Empire, this series has trouble figuring out where to end a book. The first third of the book wraps up the trip to the Holy Maple Leaf Empire, as Aoi has to travel to Shenley’s home because her father has decided to pull her out of school. Naturally this pisses Aoi off, especially when she discovers a) he’s ignoring all her other accomplishments, b) he’s ignoring Aoi, and c) he’s marrying Shenley off to the one guy who didn’t grow to love her magic in the 2nd book. Needless to say, “Aoi Being Very Aoi” solves all these problems. The larger part of the book is essentially this world’s version of the culture festival, only it’s an international event, with the world leaders coming to see what cool magic tricks Fiddich Academy has come up with now. As such, it’s mostly the teachers who are stressed about presentations. No worries, though, Aoi is here to help.

There’s a lot of family stuff in this book. Once Shenley’s dad is given a talking to, he travels to the academy to see exactly what Shenley has been going through, and ends up sympathizing far more with her. (It helps that under Aoi’s tutelage she’s becoming a genius.) Dean’s mother is the classic “education mama” for whom no amount of good things is enough, you can always do better. (Admittedly, that plot will have to be resolved in Book 4, because we’re ending in the middle of an arc again.) Felter’s dad is, unsurprisingly, a guy who lives only for battle, and essentially comes every year to beat his son up and is now intrigued at this tiny powerful woman. And there’s even the commoner kid who Aoi teaches magic to show that it has nothing to do with breeding, whose dad may help pave the way for her to spread magic even further. Aoi may beat up a lot of her problems, but she’s also good at negotiation, bartering, and everything except common sense and facial expressions.

As ever, if you hate OP folks who win easily all the time, avoid avoid avoid. Otherwise, this series remains a lot of fun, and Aoi is ridiculous.

By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

The running gag of this volume, and indeed this series, is that people meet Aoi, underestimate her because she’s young and small, get their asses handed to them (physically or mentally), and immediately become her minions and/or supporters. Not the first time I’ve read this sort of plot, and it can be funny provided there’s more to it than that. There’s a BIT more. Aoi is absolutely dedicated to advancing sorcery throughout this world (theoretically so she can return to Japan, but I get the feeling that’s not happening), and does not actually care about all of the political mess and possible wars she may cause along the war. In fact, it’s brought up that if two countries *do* go to war, Aoi can probably just, y’know, stop them. You will be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era of magic. And believe me, some folks here are kicking and screaming. Because they’re being used as test subjects.

This volume is essentially divided into two. In the shorter part, Aoi wonders why she’s seeing fewer students, and discovers they’re being lured into a gambling den run by a crime syndicate. With the “help” of Prince Rox and his men (but pretty much just taking out everyone on her own), Aoi reforms all the crime syndicates in the city to be good businesses from now on. In the longer second half, Aoi and her posse of important supporting characters go to the Holy Maple Leaf Empire, as part of an exchange to learn about their healing magic. What we end up learning is that their healing magic is impressive, but Aoi’s “literally everything” magic is out of this world. Which is a problem, as this Empire believes magic has reached its final form, and does not need any new research. She’ll fix that.

This is another one of those light novels where you get a chunk of the book from the main character’s perspective, and then switch to someone else to get their view of things. While that can normally be a bit exhausting, I’d suggest it’s welcome here, simply as Aoi’s deadpan, emotionless point of view can be a bit off-putting. At one point we discover, as I noted above, that the Empire tests its holy powers on either mortally wounded adventurers, or criminals. We are treated to a gore-filled hospital with the screaming of patients, and everyone else looks sick, but we’re in Aoi’s POV, so she’s just like “Yup. Well, anyway”. Even when she’s threatened by a knight of the crown, and taken before the Emperor for having gone way beyond what she was permitted to do, her response is “so what?”. It would take a lot to make Aoi really angry, I think. If only we had a bullied student in the cast who’s there to suffer… oh, good news for the next volume!

I’m still enjoying this, but I do wonder how fresh it’s going to feel several volumes down the line (it’s at 9+ volumes in Japan). For those who like people who kick ass while barely cracking a smile.

By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

Light Novel readers are very familiar by now with the trope. Our hero ends up in another world and gets all the girls, all the swords, all the magic. And if their high school bullies aren’t literally brought along so that he can destroy them, than the antagonists that he meets will all SOUND like high school bullies. It’s the author living vicariously through the character. But what if the author isn’t really all that bothered with their high school career? What if, instead, it’s teaching that’s the problem? Students unwilling to learn, who are quick to say that their parents donate to the school. Fellow teachers who put in minimal effort and show bias against other students. An administration that wants the teachers to go with the flow and not make waves. Does that make you mad? Don’t you wish you could change it? Don’t you wish you could teach kids in an unbiased way with the help of near-absolute power? This book is for you.

Aoi Konominato dies (we’re not told how) with many regrets. She was trying to become a kendo master, but failed. So she went into teaching, but kept running into problems. Her father must be so disappointed in her. With these thoughts, she wakes up in the middle of a fantasy world, having been taken in by an elf who turns out to be one of the strongest magic users in the world. Over the course of the next decade, he teaches Aoi everything she knows, and she proves to be a fantastic student. Now he wants to send her to the premier magic academy – not as a student, but as a teacher, to instruct the future magic users of the world. There’s only one slight problem, which is that this is a typical isekai, meaning arrogant nobles who look down on commoners and abuse their position. Aoi will have to do something about that.

For the most part I quite enjoyed this, though if you’re a student who dealt with an abusive teacher Aoi might set off a few red flags. She means well, but her personality is very stoic (I’m not sure she expressed an emotion in the entire volume) and she can come across as terrifying, especially once she shows off her magic. I did enjoy the way magic works here – there are ways to teach it, and basic spells everyone should know, but you can modify and alter as you see fit, and people are creating new spells and researching new magic all the time. I also quite liked her teaching friend Elisa, a dwarf who likes to do research. For the most part she’s there to be a bit of a tsukkomi when Aoi does something outrageous, but she’s loud and lovable. And while it was a bit cruel, I admit I laughed a lot at the king and queen giving their son a good talking-to.

So yes, assuming you don’t mind Aoi’s vibe, this is a solid debut. It’s got quite a few volumes, so we’ll see where it goes from here. And no, I’m not sure why Aoi’s teaching outfit consists of a skintight short leather dress and fancy stockings. But I can hazard a guess.