Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru, Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story
Tearmoon Empire

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

"How did it come to this?" Mia asks herself as she faces the gullotine. A revolution in the empire has led to the imprisonment and eventual execution of the crown princess of the Tearmoon Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon. The moment after feeling the guillotine on her neck, she awakens in the middle of the night. At first she believes it was all a horrible nightmare, until she finds her bloodsoaked diary with written details about the events of the previous timeline. Now, as her 12 year-old self, she intends to use her memories and her diary to stop the plague and famine that lead ... to the revolution. After seeing the suffering of her people, she has a new-found motivation. She does NOT want to get the gulltotine again!

As of writing this review, I've read the first two volumes. About 110 chapters, and over 600 pages. I give this series a 9/10. But let's break it down.

Protagonist 9/10
The main protagonist, Mia, may be a bit unlikable at first to some readers. Freshly from the previous timeline; she's still a bit selfish, but there's nothing like 3 years in a dungeon to brute force you into being a kinder person. Mia may not have the purest of intentions, but we see her grow as a person. She still acts selfishly at times, but never does so with too much malice. She's also not the most bright. In the previous timeline, she didn't pay too much attention to her studies. But in this new timeline, she spends a lot of time in the library trying to prevent the tragedies of the previous timeline. In doing so, she's gotten a repuation for being a kind person, and a genius. She is neither, but she's trying.

Side-Characters 8/10
In the previous timeline, Mia slowly watched as everyone (except two people) turned on her. Now she makes sure find capable people she can trust. Each side character we meet has their own philosophies and motivations, and they usually align with Mia's goals. For every action she takes; they optomistically try to find the best meaning for it, and her personality brings out the best in them. She isn't the genius they think she is, but it allows the characters' own strengths to really shine.

Plot 7/10
Now, given the premise, you may presume that we would see Mia handling the empire's finances, logistics,politics, and foreign relations. We do get these moments scattered throughout the series, but, they are not the main focus of the writing. The events of the story are mostly from Mia trying to fix and avoid problems through her interpersonal connections. Mutltiple times throughout the story, it switches to being more adventure genre. The occasional shift in pace can be refreshing, but at other times it can feel like you're reading a completely different book.

Writing Style 9/10
Although Mia is the main protagonist, the books are written in 3rd person. This is great for the story telling, as we get to see the internal dialogue of the other characters. We also get to regularly see the juxtapostion of the events and characters compared to the previous timeline. The narrator regularly breaks from the story to address the reader personally. In other books, I've found this to be very annoying. However, in this series, it greatly adds to the comedy. Mia has gained the title of The Great Sage, although she really isn't that clever or selfless. The characters all buy into it, and perform mental gymnasitcs to find deeper meaning in her shallow or non-sensical actions. These are funny moments that we're supposed to laugh at, narrator laughs right along with us.

Conclusion
Tearmoon Empire feels fresh. Mia is a selfish and naiive protagonist, but she's honestly trying to make the empire a better place for its citizens ( to avoid the gullotine ). In the process, she's also becoming a more kind and caring person ( by complete accident ). The world is easy to understand. No complicated fantasy magic system, it's just another world that follows our same laws of nature ( except for the 1 instance of time travel ). If you're interested in the premise of this novel, I highly reccomend it.

If you can orgasm from a feel-good story, Nozomu Mochitsuki's Tearmoon Empire will make you do so.

I cannot understate how good the writing in this story is. From the worldbuilding of everyday characters to the main protagonist herself - its a story that you will remember forever. If you came thinking its just another feel-good wholesome novel, you would only be partially correct. Its a story of perseverance and kindness - and its not written just for the sake of it, but written in a way to make you realize how strong raw human diligence can go against even doomed timelines.

The strength of this series ... lies with its very real and influential danger. Death and suffering looms over the story and is an ever-present danger from the very start, but its because of this very real danger that the reader could actually empathize with every little joke and determination that the characters make. The comedy hits harder because you know that if something went wrong, the story wouldve been filled with tragedies instead - and conversely the tragedy hits harder because you know the effort that the characters put in defiance against the seemingly unescapable fate of danger.

Nozomu Mochitsuki has a way with stories that I never thought was possible. I cried and laughed so much in the time I binged this series. Its a comedy with a hint of tragedy and its not really a story that insists on tugging your heartstrings - when it does, it does so naturally and I think thats what is great with this story.

10/10 series. If you want feel-good wholesome experience or some kingdom building/political intrigue or read drama, this is the series for you. It doesnt even matter if you come in blind - I think its even better because you would think that its a story with a set piece action, but its not.

Please read, I cannot believe this is not more popular.

This novel, its very difficult to describe other than saying it is wonderfully written, you have to read it to understand and appreciate it.
Mia is not the brightest mind out there, not the strongest, she may seem devious but she was just ignorant.
"If there's no bread, then give them cake" she lacked understanding and lacked common sense. But she's very kind hearted and she cant stand not to help someone when she knows she can.

Her journey is incredibly funny and wholesome, her actions luckily always lead to the best outcome and because of it she becomes known as the wisdom of the empire while basically ... just riding along the wave. But her actions are always for the sake of food or just to keep everyone happy. I look forward to the day she becomes the empire's first Empress.