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“Napping Princess” fails on multiple points, but it offers a lot of nostalgic charm that keeps it in good graces. However, the inclusion of Morio is the biggest failure—he offers nothing to the story that the plot itself couldn’t have covered for. Kokone’s also just a crazy person whose condition worsens through-out until she nearly dies.

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So, the story begins by establishing a realm of mechanics and magic. But the magic is really just a tablet’s search functions/commands that bring machinery to life. Interesting but not really a good term to use. Nonetheless, the world is a convoluted Capitalistic society with no satisfaction within ... even for those at the top. And then, it returns to more-or-less our realm, but based in Japan. These two realms are the setting for the story to come. The magical realm is a more loose style and is the “dream” realm, whereas our realm is a crisp style and is the “awake” realm.

Our MC is Kokone, an undiagnosed-with-something 11th grader. She’s always napping away yet can run for miles with a smile on her face, full of lungs to even have passing-by conversations across the street and then some. She has a poor reputation with teachers due to always falling asleep and her classmates think poorly of her father who wears a “strange” leather jacket. There is no depth to her character beyond being an idiot... which is a good excuse given she sleeps so often, there’s nothing really for her to absorb contrary to being 17.

The story kicks-in pretty early into the movie rather than offering more background for the cast beyond the two realms, right after a light foreshadowing how her dreams may be a form of memory.

Kokone’s father gets arrested by Tokyo police, an old work acquaintance of her parents steals her father’s tablet, she steals it back with Morio’s help, and then the begin the trek to Tokyo. During this time, Morio shares a dream with Kokone and learns it’s a lot deeper than merely her napping all the time, and they both learn that the tablet contains some major tech coding which creates self-operating automobiles such as Kokone’s father’s motorbike they used as travel.

In the end, the adventure concludes on a good note of reconciliation with the maternal grandfather she never knew existed. All without addressing how messed-up Kokone’s mental health is wherein there was a long, false ending while she began to plummet to her demise. Fun.

If you're not seeking much depth contrary to any promised plot, then this is a good pick and I recommend it. Moreso empty cast members with no room for growth after--maybe!--a single event. If you need stuff to happen, even if it doesn't really, then I also recommend it for you. However, if you're intrigued by the premise, worldbuilding, and character designs... it *might* exist?

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This review is of someone who dropped it ~6 episodes in so there's plenty of room for ignorance; guesstimation due to it being a full-series-in-one situation, but nowhere near a full half of it. This reviewer was tempted to stick ... it out, barely watch, and only pay heed whenever Shouma was on-screen. But then it became unbearable for this reviewer's adult mind unwilling to waste vital wind-down time so here comes a simple "Dropped" review~

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Other than the three things listed above (premise, worldbuilding, designs), this is actually a great series for those who need something to happen, be it legit ADD or folk who developed similar habits. Every 5-10sec there is something different happening contrary to never detracting from whatever story the episode or scene involves. The downside of this is the inability to skim forward lest one has to backtrack to find out what was happening; for those willing to skim through a dull series, this is why it's so easy to give-up.

However, the primary cause to drop this series is the sole dependence of repeats.

Lack of common sense? No sign of shifting attitude. Lack of personal space? No sign of shifting attitude. Came into contact of character growth? No sign of shifting attitude. And to help mask this, the writing forces the fake harem trope;
Why can't Lloyd simply be an adorable country bumpkin unaware of his power, ease into adulthood as a soldier-that-can't-really-soldier-due-to-ancestral-limitations, and do whatever the underlying plot hints? Does he really need to have nearly every (romantically available) woman or teen girl fall for him equally?

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btw this reviewer was totally ready to ship Lloyd/Phyllo, so romance on any scale is *not* the issue with this reviewer or this series. Rather, its delivery and utter disregard for longterm writing is what earned itself all these negative reviews.

Honestly, what was even the point in this?

(Absolutely none of the slight spoilers below should be new info if you watch the first 5 minutes including the OP. This is acting solely to offer a gist beyond that, for those still on the fence whether to waste so much as 10 minutes skimming through these two episodes as I had. The first 5 minutes are truly that big an indicator!)

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.:CONFLICT:.

FL’s father wanted her to marry into his friend’s family. This was said on the man’s deathbed and so there’s room for misinterpretation. In any case, the family friend believes he wants ... FL to marry his son; the two are the same age and were already friends. But instead of giving a head’s up about this, he left for Poland with his kid. FL didn’t know, her brothers didn’t know, and all the while, the family friend was raising his son *solely* to become FL’s husband. He flat-out admitted it.

In any case, the family friend has decided the kids need to marry the moment FL turns 16 and then return to Poland with them. And thus begins the actual conflict of this arrangement.

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.:CAST:.

FL has been skilled at Judo since childhood, to the point of becoming her fiancé’s inspiration and first love. She has no friends outside her Judo buddies who all lust after her and a piano playing boy. Out of all of them, her only love interests were the two pretty boys. And then her fiancé once he shows back up.
In regards to love, she simply wants someone willing to tell her he loves her. But she knows she’s not ready for marriage just yet so she doesn’t go along with her fiancé’s father’s whims. She is very wishy-washy in regards to whether she puts her foot down or waits for someone to save her.

Love Interest #1 is a fellow Judo member and is the type to act and never think. The writing hints him to be the eventual ML, but he was used largely as an excuse for FL to not marry and leave for Poland before she was ready. He acts as a barrier between FL and the creepy Judo member, but whenever he shows intimacy towards her, her brothers finally show up.

Love Interest #2 plays the piano and is a natural tactician. He’s who FL goes to for support or even a second opinion, and she trusts him enough to be all alone in the music room with him. However, he refuses to express his feelings and even denies them when directly confronted. He’s the only reason #1 won.

Love Interest #3 is the fiancé. He grew up mostly in Poland with his father and there appears to be a LOT of manipulation at play in his upbringing. The boy is smart and knows how to use his good looks that mask his natural clumsiness. His impulsiveness is only ever in regard to FL.

Overall, all love interests are scum. Fiancé is harder to brush aside given the OVA itself shows only that, but the OP hints the other two are no better. They simply don’t have a time limit or sus father who throws her family into drama.

For the rest, FL has three older brothers. No real personalities aside from their unconditional love for their sole sister, and the eldest is the acting Head. He’s also the one who reminds them that it’s FL’s choice to make, not theirs, not the family friend’s, and not even their departed father’s.
Unfortunately, their downside is they’re short-sighted simps. They don’t push back against the family friend even to reject a marriage until FL is an adult; back then, that was 20 years of age both legally and culturally. While they could consent and allow her to marry at 16, they could just as easily use her finishing high school and preparing to emigrate to keep her there for 2-4 years longer.

The family friend, all the while, is just sus. His not telling anyone about the engagement plans is easily chalked-up to the usual lazy writing Japanese stories show, wherein the shock factor makes up for everything. But because he’s forcing the marriage the second it’s technically legal and having admitted to raising his son solely to be FL’s husband? That’s a character description, not merely bad writing. He is sus – it should’ve been him, not FL’s father!!

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Honestly, they should’ve just written FL’s fiancé as a returnee, even if only temporarily, rather than a visitor there to take her back to Poland. Instead of such desperation tactics for shock value, they’d have just as easy a time for cultural differences acting as such...

This story is a slow one with some dry humor sparingly used as a nice accent. Overall it’s an okay series and consistent pace. The animation is pretty much nothing special, but is still pretty art and color choices. Voices, music, and sfx are similar pleasant. The cast isn’t anything special but they work well with a solid world setting.

Now, the biggest hurdle this series can never overcome is nuance. There is next-to-no depth given to any scene and, unless you’re already overly familiar and nearly exhausted from this type of genre and its usual tropes, you’ll be left confused. Because everything that’s needed ... to build-up the plot points is effectively ignored and, in effect, leave the desire for an actual story unlike the generic SoL wherein viewers aren’t teased with such a thing.

And this is likely an issue of adapting straight from the comic. This animation should’ve built where it was overlooking. It sadly would’ve used nearly no additional effort in regard to the actual animation that prides itself in aesthetically pleasing filters with hardly moving figures. Thanks to 90% of action is off-screen...

All that said, there is some touching romance. But as it’s between a young man who’s rarely blunt and a young woman who’s only now realizing she has feelings beyond her love for books... it’s not particularly romantic? Depending on tastes, this might mean nothing beyond its cuteness.

This is a great series within this genre.

FL regains her prior life's memories of which the world she lived in was an otome game she played. Because she was reincarnated into a character who essentially dies in nearly every route, albeit not always literally so, she decides to take matters into her own hands: marry the main villain who was also a bonus romance route.

On top of this, the FL is only one of the two who reincarnated. The other reincarnated person is the true villain of the series as will become obvious by the first three episodes even if it takes a ... moment before it's bluntly said. The way these two are expanded upon is charming and are what make the series. After all, the backdrop is a fairly generic otome world and not everyone is ignorant what that generally entails.

The only issue with this series is they kept it to 12 episodes when the pacing was designed better for 14-16 episodes. Just that much would've allowed the final and third arc of the show flow better and not feel nearly as rushed. Half the episodes are the first arc, then the second-half is split between the second and third.

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(PS the English version is the better dub in this series to the extent only weebs could disagree. They got a great cast capable of doing the ideal job, so for those that enjoy worldbuilding and nuance, this means a lot.)

There is some delayed information regarding the game itself. The following list will *not* include anything that could potentially become a spoiler:
- Players can be either a male or female protagonist, opening Romance/Friendship meters for the opposite/same-sex targets respectively;
- There are multiple routes per character and in nearly each of them includes Claudia (our MC)'s demise, in part due to how interwoven the routes are;
- It appears there are protagonists with their own storylines rather than a default starting place, eg Hilda, which offers a lot more variety on top of the plethora of routes; and
- Along with the romance plot ... is a world of adventure and magic, where every human "levels-up" in respect to their daily life.

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To oversimplify:
This is a step or two above "All Routes Lead to Doom!". If only because our MC is no less than a smarter Bakarina with smaller cast, fighting against a seemingly infinite degree of death flags she must overcome.

The story itself is kept simple and the pace is pretty consistent. But as noted at the top of this review, there is a problem in the story's timing as to when game info is needed; it's either said in passing after some conflicting or confusing references are made, or it's a bunch of info that wasn't integrated properly into the writing. Much of this could've been remedied by side notes after chapters that are optional but good to read if you prefer nuance, and there are a lot of stars lost from this novice mistake.

The art is also kept simple and, with the excuse of them being 8-10 years of age, much of the style is a bit more chibi than anatomically correct. This is done in contrast with adult characters both young and old, so there's a solid consistency as well as reminder that the cast is, indeed, actual children. However, there are two issues with the art: there is a lack of notable, good character design; and there are no features utilized or attempted to help leave blood relation unsaid amongst relevant characters. So everyone more-or-less appears as if a handful of designs were copy-pasted.

And for the worldbuilding, there is a lot yet to be seen or expanded upon. Thus far, we only get a gist of what the game entailed and, because MC is still a child in school, it’s largely limited to her estate, the academy, and the palace. We will have to see whether any of this changes as the plot continues or the characters grow up.

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(Side note: There is no fatphobia in this series. Any commentary/reviews stating so are primarily kneejerk reactions which overlook the who, what, and why.)

A cute and simple story of the generic otome isekai-into-Villainess sort. With amazing art. Like, truly legit amazing art. Definitely in the top-tier of art quality, just a bit shy of S-tier.

The story's pacing is quick. So while on one hand this is always fun and convenient for those of who regularly partake in this ever-oversaturating genre, it's often a letdown for those who appreciate more depth to a story; it's a fine line in this genre nowadays, but nonetheless truly nothing in this series is prolonged. With the art to back it up, there is next-to-nothing overlooked in terms of quality writing. ...

The main characters have a proper nuance both individually and collectively, and there's a touch of comedy through nearly every scene. But due to the quick pace, the remaining roster is effectively a side note. And as this review is made with only a single volume's experience, there may be more to come in terms of main and minor cast.

Final arc in this adaption was awful and, per those who read the novel, was a mere portion of the latter-part of the story. So everything else that was interesting or important to the worldbuilding was ignored. For a far too prolonged mini-arc. And, then it ends.

However, even with the knowledge some of the novel was copied from another person's similar story, the writing itself was good. It's one reason it managed to get more people interested in this particular genre and tropes, with a lot of help from the amazing art. So even if you're particular with how adaptions end, it's not as ... bad as already complained. That said, it's more annoying how too many will reference this series as *the* representative for this genre and will instinctively compare newer, at times better, series to it.

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The story revolves around our FL who isekai'd into a novel she read. With her memories of that life, she doesn't expect much from her father nor forms an attachment to the palace that merely fed and housed her. So she planned to leave even before she could crawl and slowly built herself strong enough to do so. Both physically and through people connections.

But as fate would have it, she wound-up meeting her father and subsequently living a pretty good life. Aside from the looming sense of doom that she'll be killed and her love forever unrequited. So the original timeline was plenty altered by the time the story was set to begin. And then came the expected drama.

Overall, until the final arc, the story was well-paced and engaging. Hints were thrown about, as were red-herrings, and only those who read the novel or its summaries knew what to expect. It truly is an enjoyable read. So if the final arc was treated properly as a mini-arc, even if the adaption were to still end there, it'd be a far better story. With just as much left unsaid.

This story is an awkward one, or at the very least is too impatient with what it wants to do. It's plagued with simple tropes executed rather lazily and the art reflects that.

However, it's unique wherein the Villain and his father aren't good people. Legitimately so. Their mindset is warped, but they do know how to spoil FL once she transmigrates into their stepmother/wife. It doesn't take long for that to begin and so FL struggles to realize just how messed-up they are. Even though she's aware of the novel's future events.

The story is really just about FL trying to prevent the Villain ... from growing into an adult as he was written to become. And the smallest gestures are enough to pierce the barriers the father-son duo hold against others, but with both of them love-starved, they find the other annoying in their constant attempts to secure FL's time. Which is endearing and a way for them to bond as father-son rather than a business relationship they just weeks prior.

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(Due to dropping this so early yet there's currently 82 chapters totaling two full seasons, I'm marking this as Mixed Feelings. My main reason for dropping was it being too dull for tastes.)

A light-hearted series where our FL was isekai’d into a novel just before it begins, as Yerenika, the second princess of a rural nation. Shortly after adapting to her new life, she steals the place of her then-unknowingly pregnant sister as the negotiation hostage between her home and the Empire. All because her father was trying to squeeze some extra coin via trade route that goes through their territory. Against the strongest, magic-wielding nation.

But along the way and learning of her magic intolerance, FL realizes the easiest way to ensure a Happy—rather, a Not-Bad—Ending: prevent her royal kidnapper, Emperor Euredian, from marrying Soleia who ... will birth the novel's Villain. Her solution? Proposing marriage to him. Even after it’s proven she can’t handle the magic-abundant palace, something only strong holy power can remedy. And that’s part of how Yerenika manages to secure time with Euredian, the direct descendant of God itself.

Over time as a hostage, Yerenika charms the palace staff and secures the position of being the most despised by Soleia, a woman who possess strong magic. She is terrified of pain, of dying, yet sacrifices her pride and even her health in her attempts to seduce the Emperor and protect him all the same. Even if she’s supposedly powerless.

The story continues into a passionate romance story on top of a battle between Heaven, Hell, and Earth. The writing does well on both fronts and manages to keep the readers engaged. The art can be static at times, but it’s charm works well with the tone and is pleasing to the eyes.