Guest Review by Paul S. Enns, Guest Reviewer
Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel, Volume 1, by Hinaki, has a better story than youād expect.
Itās a mashup of isekai , yuri, and gender bender. Like many isekai stories, there are some RPG-like elements dropped in for doing tasks and gaining ranks. Itās easy to consider these elements as part of the main characterās imagination.
Every character name has been translated into Latin, and provides an additional level of interest/humor. I will provide translations into English in parentheses after the first use of their name.
Lillion (lily) herself/himself is our protagonist. The soul of about-to-die, 38-year-old Naruse Soushi is thrust into the about-to-die body of Princess Reina (queen). Instead of the defiant, not-afraid-to-die Reina, itās now the quite-afraid-to-die Soushi who begs to live. This is granted and she (the pronoun I will use to refer to Soushi-in-Reinaās body) is sold to a brothel. The brothelās Madam, Acanthus (genus acanthus are plants with spiny or toothed leaves), renames Reina as Lillion for the duration of her stay.
Given itās in the title, no surprise, the brothel services only women. Lillion tries to adjust.
Lillion provides most of the humor, thanks to Soushi being inside. Soushi also allows Lillion to endure the many humiliations Princess Reina wouldnāt be expected to get through. Or would Reina be able to endure these? We canāt know. Itās part of the problematic nature of the character.
I canāt really fault Lillion for the actions she takes in the book. Trying to get along in a new world, she is doing the best she can.
Who I can find extreme fault with is Precarie (precariously), the one who removed Reinaās soul and grabbed a random soul from another world to replace it. What is Precarieās endgame here? What happened to Reinaās soul? Why is Precarie so interested in Lillion when Precarie knows that Reina isnāt in there? Too many unanswered questions.
After Lillion deals with Lady of the Moon (Iām disappointed this wasnāt translated to Domina Lunae), Precarie, and Alsea (sea), she faces the threat of Lapis Rufus (red stone, or ruby, associated with love and passion), Captain of the Vigilante Corps.
Iāve summarized enough and will stop, except to say that it doesnāt have an end and goes right into Volume 2.
While I have a problem with all of the characters, the world building done for this captured my interest. Hinaki obviously has a destination in mind for these characters, and has created a world to tell an interesting story. Just with lots of sex.
By accepting the premise, you accept the level of service. Itās part of the plot.
Translation is well done. Making all proper nouns into Latin words was a fun addition.
Ratings:
Art ā 8 I can tell every character apart, and it has well done backgrounds.
Story ā 8 Held my interest the whole time.
Characters ā 4 Problematic, especially Precarie.
Service ā 7 for how explicit it is, 10 for how much there is.
Yuri ā 9 It gets a point knocked off for Lillion being occupied by a guyās soul.
Overall ā 7
This was way more entertaining than I expected it to be. Iām going to continue reading this story. Volumes 2 and Volume 3 are already available, Volume 4 releases March 4, 2025.