nathandouglasdavis

The appeal of this manga is twofold: 1) Nationwide crisis management, and 2) Building a country's infrastructure from the ground up. If it's not obvious, this manga is focused on government policy, economic stability, and international relations. When Souma Kazuya is summoned to this world from the "real" world, it is on the brink of disaster. There is an ongoing war against demons and even though the country of Elveniden isn't directly involved in this conflict, they are still expected to provide support to the countries on the front lines. As such, their economy has been strained and they are in the midst of a food crisis.

The first hook of the manga is Kazuya being given the kingship of the country after impressing the current king. While this is a somewhat silly premise, it's forgivable since, well, it's a manga. It is obviously a plot device used to put Kazuya in a position where fe can have the power and authority necessary for the rest of feir actions to take place. The manga doesn't make the mistake of simply giving fem the kingship and then moving on though. Throughout the story, the rushed nature of the transfer of power is brought up and even leads to events in the main plotline. Many people even assume Kazuya usurped the throne and coerced the king to act like it was feir choice.

The manga is able to seamlessly transition between a variety of topics and moods. You can have essentially a cooking show in one chapter and a rescue operation in another and they both fit well into the overall story. The author is able to weave these subplots into the overarching story without them feeling like side stories or attempts at lightening the mood. Even when Kazuya goes on a date with Licia, the author uses the outing as a way to explain several of the policies Kazuya has implemented as well as having the disguised couple overhear Halbert Magna complaining about the new king and further showing the tension within the nobility to the new situation.

The characters have good and generally unique designs. There are a couple incidents of character motivations being badly explained and just being taken for granted because certain motivations are necessary for the plot to move forward. Or there's the example of Kazuya. Fe seems oddly knowledgeable about a plethora of subjects, including accounting, forestry, agriculture, city planning, military strategy, sewage treatment, construction, and rescue operations. Whenever the plot needs Kazuya to have expert knowledge about something, fe has it.

The art is good and seems to match the tone of the manga pretty well. If I'm nitpicking, I've noticed times when the eyes are off-center or when the facial proportions change from panel to panel. Also, and this is just personal taste, I find the absurdly large breasts on all of the female characters who are supposed to be "attractive" to, well, not be attractive. Juna Doma is the best example. Fe's literally said to be the most beautiful woman in the country, but feir udders make it impossible for me to see fem that way.

Overall, though, I love this manga and I look forward to every chapter.

[Reviewed at chapter 16]