Two as One Princesses Chapter 133 Discussion

Two as one princesses... honestly, even without reading any synopsis or knowing anything about it, it definitely reeked of wish fulfillment genderbender fantasy. Something like reincarnated as sword. Especially with how there seems to have a male MC pair with a female MC, I didn't have too many hopes.

Surprisingly, it was a lot better than I expected. And it all really has to do with the relationship that has been painstakingly built up since chapter 1 between Ain and Ciel and the direction that the novel takes.

Most isekais that have genderbending are so cringe and bad that it really makes you wonder why it was included in the first place. There's such shallow jabs that the theme that you think that it would have just been better of the MC was female to start off with. The greatest example of this is "she professed herself the pupil of the wiseman." The general trend here is that the main character starts off with some shock at changing genders, and then there might be a transitionary period where they feel weird, and then bam, they're just another generic cute girl that does cute things and their male past never haunts them or anything.

Two as one princesses takes a theme of changing genders and also, bonding with Ciel. One of the prevailing themes in this novel is struggle. Ain does all she can to have Ciel have a fulfilling life and survive. She learns magic, never rests, and always takes on the role as a protector for Ciel. It's not just some random cute female girl picks up a sword and then she does cool quests while beheading bad guys. It's more like a story about Ciel closing her heart off at a young age and Ain slowly rehabilitating that trauma. Throughout the story, you will see both Ciel and Ain bond with each other through these hard moments in life and it certainly shines through in the novel as a beacon of hope.

Now, is this novel perfect? Far from it. First is the complete lack of good side characters. While Ciel and Ain are great and well developed characters with all sorts of characterization arcs, there really isn't a lot of room for other characters. The main setting of the novel is one of swords and magic, and so it basically isn't that interesting. The main appeal of the novel is evident in Ciel and Ain, but if there was more variety with the characters, and story, it would have elevated it to that much higher of a level. As it stands, the characters and dull plot points that are strung together by generic guild quests leave much to be desired.

And finally, we come to the current arc, where it's less a story of survival and one of fluffy and cute interaction. I'm just wondering where the hell this novel is going for the next 80 chapters at this point... no wonder the author is on hiatus for the novel, there's not much else to write about. Unlike something like Kumo desu ga, this novel isn't particularly able to handle bigger story elements and themes, especially when it comes to worldbuilding and Gods, so I can certainly see it being axed or being put on permanent hiatus