At the beginning of 2024, I reviewed inori.-sensei’s Yuusha ni Naritai Shoujo To, Yuusha Narubeki Kanojo (勇者になりたい少女と、勇者になるべき彼女). Of it, I said, “Everything I want in a Dengeki Bunko read – a “light” novel in the broadest sense. It’s small, quickly paced, not entirely predictable and ends just where you want it to.” Now it is my pleasure to review this same novel as The Girl Who Wants To Be A Hero And The Girl Who Ought To Be A Hero, by inori., illustrated by Akamoku and published by Yen Press under the YenOn imprint. 

Demon girl Ruchika has come to the Hero Institute in order to become stronger. Daughter of the world’s greatest hero, Leone has spent her entire life training to be a Hero. At the Institute they will face hardships in training, but also bullying by teachers and students…and a system that almost seems designed to destroy them.

This story is fast-paced. inori.-sensei includes a lot of familiar themes about society within the narrative. Systemic inequity is something we’ve seen in all her work, and this book takes a moment to make some very sharp points about both bias and societal inequity in ways that are very clear and cogent. Laws against marriage equality are addressed from the perspective that it is weird to limit who can be with whom…as it is, in truth.

Non-conformity and getting out from under the weight of expectations is the main plot driver, one that I welcomed. This is clearly stated by Ruchika, both to Leone and to us, that should and must are simply not as important as want to her, and she is strong enough as a character to carry it off right to the very end. There are a number of plot points that are left hanging in case we do see a Volume 2, as I hope we will. This would hardly be the first time countries outside Japan drove one of inori-sensei’s series, while a Japanese publisher dithered.

As I said in my original review, Akamoku’s art illustrates the scene, but as is so typical in light novels, everyone looks much younger than the ages we must assume based on the descriptions. I am pleased to see the scenes illustrated over the usual static pin-up.

Yen has done a nice job with this. The bonus book cover from Melonbooks has become a folded-out two-sided poster, a nice touch. Yen doesn’t list credits beyond author, illustrator and the very readable translation by Geneveive Hill-Kamanishi. It was an interesting not to me that she also went with Ruchika and Leone and with Hero Institute for her translation choices, as I had struggled with those for my initial review and also chosen Ruchika and Leone. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

Overall, a fun read and with enough untied ends to offer an opportunity for a sequel, perhaps more.