Yarinaoshi Reijou wa Ryuutei Heika wo Kouryakuchuu
The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor

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This review does not contain any comparisons with the LN nor for that matter the anime adaption (the consensus on the latter seems to be that it was poorly made and not well received). After catching up with the manga, I did not feel the urge to read the LN series but I am looking forward to what lies ahead. The score may drop further at most to a six out of ten if the writing falters.

The artwork in Yarinaoshi Reijou wa Ryuutei Heika wo Kouryakuchuu is alright (no unintentional anatomical absurdities as far as I could tell) and the content is translated quite well ... in English. One could call it somewhat of a light read. The manga establishes early on that the specific age gap in question is not socially acceptable through both side characters and the involved parties. Could the ML's interactions with the FL be interpreted as grooming? I could not decide on a definite yes or no. Children are treated as they ought to be most of the time. The FL is undeniably a child soldier but the manga manages to tip toe around the exploitative implications by making her both a a prodigious exception and a regression protagonist. Character personalities are funny, bombastic, and comforting enough to make you forget about how creepy certain scenes could've been had the manga not provided enough information. Is the setting believable? No not really but the jovial main cast make up for it.

The plot does nothing groundbreaking with the regression element of the story. Besides the ML, the characters go through almost no development and that's okay. The plot twist mustache twirling villains have plans that make sense and the odds are usually against the main cast even if they are a tad bit overpowered. World building is not fed through gigantic wall of texts so that's nice and places mentioned seem somewhat distinct from each other through both artwork and power dynamics at play but appropriate amount of time is not given to them for proper immersion.

Lastly, Slice of life sections are rewarding even if they are not very original. The same can be said for the characters that are explored. Oh ummm... there might also be an edgy star wars prequel reference? I would recommend checking out the first few chapters if you are looking for a fluffy power fantasy regression manga that tickles your funny bone (mostly through slapstick).