- #1
The Villainess' Butler is an anxiety-powered romance that, if anything, should be said to focus on the significance of Trust. To name its strongest standout point: the psychological loops, mysteries, & conflicts, are all pictured under what you could call a language-cypher of societal norms, etiquettes, & history that makes the "4D-Chess" that they're constantly up to feel like something that isn't utterly contrived or confoundingly pretentious - which is honestly how most of these novels end up being.It can't be understated that, as a story about a fictional "Otome game" high-society, a great deal of emphasis is put on the practicality of the situation rather than the novelty of this common 'anime setting', which is a pretty big departure from most other iterations of this Isekai genre. Speaking of "Isekai": our protagonist isn't even meant to be relatable by us, the readers (as he's from a different universe that, itself, has magic) making the context of this novel less of a trope-based "cash grab" and more about its literary accomplishments. With extremely on-point vernacular (that had me grabbing a dictionary here & there) & a capacity to maintain "logic-equations trees" that didn't ever skip any rungs/steps, following the protagonist (author) as they piece together the extremely complex-yet-feasibly-believable mental gymnastics of life amongst such a high-society, is just an enormously rewarding pleasure every chapter.Whilst most authors would relent with their webbed layers of socio-political rules & common sense - so as to keep on-top of the story's clarity, & because of 'time' - this author is fully invested in conjoining every progressive interaction with both a consistent & meaningful rationale. To be frank: it's insane that they can keep this up, let alone that they are even attempting this.4.5/5. My only complaint, whatsoever, is that the author included a magic system that has, thus far, acted more like a convenient setting-embellishment or accessory than something intriguing. Indeed, it adds some flavour & mystery to everything, but as you find out at the very start of the story that our protagonist has studied in "otherworldly magic", it'd be nice then if we had any way of quantifying his capacity in any way other than 'Comparatively'. This isn't really that important - and, heck, may even be a null point - as just like the rest of the story, with characters as complex, evolving, & unpredictable as the cast we're spoiled with in this novel, it's progressively more & more difficult to predict where the author will take us next!Honestly, this is such a solid piece of literature that I could confidently & proudly share this with "normy friends" just for its mainstream appeal; because, even if this book has a setting & novelty to it that's historically 'anime-esque/related', the similarities end there. Free from the shackles of anime tropes & plot-expectations/contrivances, this emotionally-complex romance is rational to its core & requires no prior reading of LNs to grasp its nuances. Well, though, if you enter this thinking that it's ~just~ a "rational romance", then - just like me - prepare to have your Expectations subverted!Enjoy. :3
