I'm Not Even an NPC In This Otome Game!

machiabeeli Aug 22, 2021

7

Refreshing take on the genre itself - this time around it's a guy who gets reincarnated into an otome game but as the gardener to the rich villainess's family.  He's young but he doesn't hold back on his opinions, which makes sense since he sees her as a child. This spurs her ire at him and somehow becomes the reason why they became friends. She changes for the better with his guidance and friendship, without realizing how this is changing her world and her untimely end. I think this is pretty good despite the lack of chapters for now. Very wholesome relationships between the FL and the ML. The MLs personality is very easygoing yet straightforward, helping him make friends with the crown prince (without his knowledge) and everyone that he meets. Quite a dependable character that would certainly forge bonds even with those who are out of his social class. Should you read it? Yep! Love the concept and the characters, I say go for it. Reviewed at Chapter 9.

Pontifex Dec 6, 2022

8

Nice and chill transmigration story with a gardener teasing a noble lady. This actually has 21 chapters in English, not 22.

nathandouglasdavis Mar 10, 2022

4

There have been a few isekai stories where it felt like the isekai-ness of it all was essentially unnecessary. And for the first good while, I felt that way about this story as well. The isekai aspect only truly becomes relevant after chapter 12, once the flashforward that opens up the manga (when Isaac realizes that fe's living in an otome game) is brought up again and there's an implicit assumption that Isaac will use feir knowledge from the game to subtly affect changes in Lydia's fate. I suppose that isekai relevancy adds a third hook to the story, where we readers are now curious to see how Isaac will change things, though this has yet to be a major focus of the plot. Instead, the story has primarily relied on two hooks: 1) seeing the gap of a young child who has the maturity and wisdom of an adult, and 2) seeing inadvertent flirting (and the subsequent blushing it causes). Isaac gives a lot of life advice to various people (such as Lydia and Roy) and is straightforward and honest--not putting on airs in the presence of nobility. Isaac also calls Lydia cute and otherwise compliments fem quite often, seemingly not realizing that this type of behavior could be interpreted as flirting and inevitably leads to Lydia blushing and getting flustered. Personally, I don't find either of these two main hooks all that engaging. And as such, I've found the entire first few chapters of this story to be quite dull. I started becoming slightly more interested in the goings-ons once Roy and Lydia started interacting with one another and I do have to admit that I'm interested in seeing how Isaac will affect the plot of the otome game going forward (assuming that that'll become a focus of the story). The artwork is god awful. There are horribly misproportioned bodies and faces everywhere. Stiff movements. Overly smudgy shading. Awkward and generally bad facial expressions. An overreliance on big eyes in an attempt to make people look cute. [Reviewed at chapter 13]