- #1
This is a very, very good novel, even though it makes me go"WTF am I reading?!" every five chapters.This novel is both, a dramatic samurai ghost story in ancient Japan _and_ an ecchi Yuri BD*M fan-service.And it works. Both parts are perfectly interwoven and support each other! Masterful!The world is breathing and alive, the "Samurai system" works (comparably with something like Against the Gods), and the main character (s) Lily, Uesugi Rei and Misachi (?) have depth.There are a lot of things that bother me, but as they stem from the unique combination of plot + ecchi, and -more importantly- the author clearly steered away from that direction in the later volumes, I give it a pass.. 5*!Spoiler
- Either women are suppressed OR they hold all the most important offices and are the humans with the most combat potential (Cursed swords, mirror girls,...)
- Too many clichés (Rei = bad at directions, Shiu = blabbermouth, Nanako = chest envy)
- They seem to get dropped later on (V2+)
- Kagura, Nanako and Shiu are bland and annoying. It is as if the lvl 100 Lily still has to drag around her lvl 5 side-kicks.
- At least Shiu should have never been employed, as she can hold no secret.
- Why is every other woman a MILF, a lesbian _and_ deep into S&M?!
- The "bath" scene in V1 was very, very strange. Honestly, wtf?!
- Lily is a great character, but I would like her to be more cruel and less s*upid. Her base-naiveté is "cute" and works, but if someone is a traitor, you don't welcome them back with open arm and then go pikachu_face when they stab you in the back again. Same for someone that tried their hardest to kill you just earlier.
- I really like the "overly feminine" mode of her. This was most emphasized in the beginnings of V1 and I hope it comes back again.
- The whole gender-bender backstory is weird but also works very well. Will it end in a male-females harem? Will Lily fully transform into a woman? What is going on with the elder sister? Everything is weird, new and I have no idea!