Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry (Manga), Volume 1

Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry Manga #1

by Neko Yotsuba (Illustrator), Kou Yatsuhashi (Original Creator), Mito Nagishiro (Character Design)

In a remote kingdom, there lived a princess, adored by her subjects and wielding powerful magic. But as her land was ravaged by an endless war, she lost everything: her people, her family, her loved ones, and eventually, her own life. Until she opened her eyes and awoke in a place she’d never seen before!

A thousand years have passed, and she finds herself reincarnated into someone else's body. Realizing the person she's now living as is despised by her own family and even her fiancé, the former princess struggles to understand this new world and the events that have transpired since her death. There’s a lot to be upset about, but first on the list: how in the world did future magic turn out so lame?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Magic, Graphic Novels, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2020

Reviews

[Rebecca]

What's better than isekai? Double isekai! Okay, maybe "better" isn't the word, but it's certainly something different than I was expecting. Also darker - heroine Letty is the princess of a Medieval fantasy kingdom when she meets Nao, a Japanese teenager isekai'd away. They grow up, fall in love, get married...and then are both killed when another country completely crushes theirs. Next thing Letty knows, she's a teenager again, but everyone's calling her "Drossell" and she's in a Victorian world (with inexplicably modern school uniforms). She figures out quickly that she's been reincarnated, and is currently trying to sort out why...and if Nao has also gone through a reincarnation, giving him the ol' double isekai experience. There are a lot of familiar bits and pieces that remind me of other stories, but this has potential. (A good thing, since I need to read volume two for work as well!)

[Jen]

Holy cow but this is DARK. Very good, but have to fight past the sad beginning. 4, on to the next, stars!

[Kat]

hmm. actually better than I was expecting. it’s not your regular isekai, since the MC’s original world is actually the same fantasy world, only 1000 years earlier. the story gets quite dark, which makes the unnecessary fan service seem out of place. that being said, it’s intriguing so far, and I feel so sorry for Leticel/Dorossel! also, the art style is fitting for this era. I’ll be reading the next thanks to kindle unlimited!

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses)]

I enjoy reincarnation tales. --

Unsurprisingly, as stated a year ago, I love reincarnation tales set in Fantasy realms. This volume is incredibly strong in creating an emotional pull and giving plenty of background to the story it is attempting to set up for the readers to enjoy. I can't wait to see how the story progresses, especially the whole Nao plot.

[Momo]

2.5 stars

I’m confused?? Got it cuz there was supposed to be gay rep but none??? First half was real boring but I liked the second half, just normally wouldn’t have kept reading it. I might pick up the next volume if I can find it used but I wouldn’t pay $13 for this again.

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru]

Glad It's Stateside

I've always wanted to read this one. There is definitely a lot of mystery in this. Why was Leticiel reincarnated? Why is Drossel so hated? Why is she the cursed, unwanted twin? Why does Zeke look like Nao? Who was that guy that showed up after the attack at the academy? There are even more questions, too.

I also hope that Leticiel/Drossel makes all of her haters eat their words. Drossel may not have been too likeable, but was her bad behavior first or the way others treated her?

[Lissa Hawley]

A different take on being reincarnated into a different life. I am enjoying the story so far.

[Azbaqiyah]

Plot - 5 ⭐
Character - 5 ⭐
Writing Style - 5 ⭐
World Building - 5 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐

Overall - 5 ⭐ / 5 ⭐

[NATHALI☁️✨]

4.5⭐️

[Mehsi]

An interesting manga about a girl who has been through a lot of traumatic things and gets a chance at a second life, set 1000 years later. There is a lot happening and I am curious to see how this one will go.

[Hal]

arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

In this manga, we follow Princess Leticiel as she goes from being herself during war and death to her dying and being resurrected into someone else’s body a thousand years later.

The story was interesting! Though it did become confusing at times, mostly because our main character is confused and doesn’t know anything about who she is, where she is or anything at all beyond her name.

I wish we had gotten more of Leticiel before she died because I found her city and that setting very intriguing. I mean, it had giant murder lizards! But alas, I still enjoyed her in her new body and setting.

I think with her magic and past memories, we’ll get to see her discover more about what’s going on and who these new people are. As well as why she was resurrected in the first place! Overall, I liked this first volume, I hope we get more answers and information in the next volume.

3.5/5 ⭐️

TW: suicide, death, murder, blood, gore, beheading, death of a parent, death of a partner, war.

[Lexie]

With pretty imagery and a quick set-up, HER ROYAL HIGHNESS caught my attention due to some mysteries.

Its big on exposition - like a lot of reincarnation books seem to be - though only in regards to what is immediately happening with Letty/Lady Drossell. Fans of the genre will be on familiar ground as it turns out Letty is reincarnated into the body of a young girl who is, for all intents and purposes, a "villainess" with an "angelic" counterpart (her younger twin sister Christa).

The curious curveballs multiple by the end - why does Zeke seem so much like Nao? How did Letty end up a thousand years into the future where no one knows of her country? Who is the hooded man? Why did a creepy monster know so much about her?

So I'm looking forward to the next volume!

[Shelby]

A lot of tropes seem to be copy and pasted into this story, and so far it just doesn't seem to be fully cohesive. The first volume of a manga typically gives you enough to pull you in and leave you at a bit of a cliff hanger of some sort so you want to go to the next, but this didn't really feel like a complete volume because it didn't do that. It spent way to much of the volume developing her relationships in her backstory instead of just developing her as a character. I'll read a bit further but if there isn't some sort of development I can't see my curiosity lasting past the next few chapters.

[Cassie Renais]

(This review is for the first five volumes, which from what I can tell, is supposed to be all of them. This probably explains at least a little bit why this is a 2.5 star review, not higher if the ending was that sudden and lacking in resolution.)

Honestly, there were things I loved about this, and things I hated, so it's really difficult to rate it. Ultimately, I think it had heaps of potential, brimming with interesting ideas, characters, and fresh takes, but the execution was too confusing. The FL, Leticiel, is a really gritty fantasy princess who defends her nation with her magic through brutal wars; she's honourable and kind and interesting. Then she dies, also brutally, and reincarnates into a completely different world (in the future) and seems to just have an entirely different personality- she becomes a much more generic fake villainess. After that, it all kind of explodes. There are a billion side characters, a million subplots, and lots of sudden shifts in narration and focus.

Which brings me to story - there was A LOT packed into this series. Probably too much because it definitely got confusing at different points. The timeline and character-focus jumps around and there seem to be a multitude of interconnected villains, an entire race of faeries/elementals who show up out of nowhere, lots of different types of magics that all have different rules (suddenly we're in a "mindscape"??), then there's the poorly explained reincarnations and isekai of side characters and a villainess-unfairly-hated-by-her-family subplot and it's all just a bit messy. There are a lot of interesting characters, but not enough time for them all to be properly fleshed out (compounded by the fact that they tend to have unannounced flashbacks to fill in their backstories). There were too many people to know who I was supposed to be rooting for, who was important and who wasn't. Compared to series that eke out a single one of those storylines for 10 volumes, it's notable that this series tried to do ALL of them in only 5.

A note on the art- it's super over-sexualised to a distracting degree. So many bubble butts and boobs and ass creases hanging out of too-short shorts and gaping side-boob for no particular reason. It really detracted from the story, which as discussed, had potential. Added to this, there were characters who all looked the same, and then characters who were identifiable as the same person but bizarrely looked completely different from panel to panel. I genuinely don't know if Drossell and Dorothy are the same person being called different names by different people, or different characters who look the same.

Overall, if this was twice as long, it might have worked. As it is, the ending wasn't particularly satisfying, and the story was too rushed to realise its full potential.

[Cassidy]

1 = not developed | 2 = underdeveloped
3 = developed | 4 = well developed
⭐ = my personal favorite

Plot - 2/4
While the first half of this volume is dedicated to establishing Letty's life before her reincarnation and the second half does a great job of showing what kind of life she has inherited from "Lady Drossell," the book has enough small threads to get you thinking about what may come. The ending pages have a typical manga mystery cliffhanger, and this was probably the part I cared about the least--for good reasons! This volume gives us an incredible amount of details that got me invested a lot quicker.

Themes - 2/4
They're there, just taking a back seat for all the world and character building. Not a bad thing, considering all we're given this volume.

Worldbuilding - 4/4⭐
From the continent's nations, to the magic system, to the people our main character encounters, no page was wasted in establishing all the different parts of the world as they relate to Letty. Not only do we learn about her kingdom, we see her interacting and caring for and about the people in her life, as well as the sociopolitical climate from the "past," and to a lesser extent, the current time.

Main Character - 4/4⭐
Just like the world Letty is from and joins, just about every page gives us a clear picture of what kind of a person she is. I'm not sure when I last felt like I knew a character this well just from the first volume! Even the "2nd main character" Nao got enough attention to set up just how much he means to her, and how tragic the double isekai plot is for both of them.

All cast - 3/4
I don't dislike any of the additional cast yet, but I don't necessarily like them either. Most of them only got enough time to show they exist, and how they exist in relation to Letty.

Execution - 4/4
Everything matters in this volume, the art is detailed and on point, and I didn't cringe at any dialogue! The creative team definitely spent their time preparing, and it does not go to waste here.

Overall - 4/4
I was tearing up around the time Letty was "isekai'd," so it is safe to say I am one-hundred percent invested in seeing where this story goes. Considering isekai has been a constant with much of the media I consume, I would without a doubt place this in the upper echelon of the genre.

[Beth]

At first, this story seems like a fairly ordinary Japanese YA medieval fantasy. Leticiel, the princess of Bellerose, fell in love with and married a young man named Nao who came to her world as an isekai character. Aside from being a princess, she's a sorceress and a major player in her country's defense against an invasion. And then she's the last defense, as her country's entire army and her family fall to the enemy. Nao is not spared. (shades of Final Fantasy XII!) Rather than be captured and subject to the sexual predation of her conquerors, she kills herself...

...only to find herself in the same lands, one thousand years later, in the body of a reviled and magically inert young noble named Drossell. At least that's what she's led to believe by the people she talks to. She comes across a young man who looks identical to Nao, but who has no memories of her, nor any recognition of the name Nao. She decides to research the land's intervening history at the local academy to get her bearings. Not long afterwards, a horrid creature, with a connection to her past as the princess, attacks the academy.

Maybe I've gotten too used to shoujo and shounen keeping to their own lanes and there being little or no bleed-through of presentation style or tropes, because this one mildly confused me at times. The storytelling being from the point of view of Leticiel/Drossel, and fairly sympathetic to her (including her dewy-eyed longing for Nao), but with art that makes frequent use of mild fanservice (see: the cover), threw me a little off-kilter. I mean, okay, Fushigi Yuugi did it 30 years ago, and that was hugely popular. It isn't an unknown, rare bird or anything.

The title seems not to have a strong connection to the story. Leticiel went into a berserker-like state when her country was under attack, but that was situational and doesn't carry over in a significant way--at least so far?--into her present life as Drossel. The title also has a comedic feeling, I think, and this story is deathly serious.

The mystery surrounding Drossel is intriguing, and if my partner decides to keep on with this title, I'll keep reading it. However, because of its publisher, I will not be spending my own money on it.

[Iza]

(arc received from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

Okay, small spoiler: I knew I was going to love this as soon as I requested it. I have the biggest soft spot for "powerful girl gets reincarnated into a different time where everyone hates her and shows them up" stories and Her Royal Highness DELIVERED. If there are any fans of They Say I Was Born a King's Daughter or Peerless Alchemist out there, you are sure to love this new manga! The well-loved Princess Leticiel with an adoring family, peaceful kingdom, and loving husband loses everything when her country is invaded, including her life. When she wakes up 1000 years later, she's in the body of Lady Drossel Noa Filiaregis, a noble girl with a family and fiance who hate her. And what's worse, the magic in her new timeline absolutely sucks, and the appearance of a boy in the academy who looks just like her old husband is not uncomplicating things.

The beginning part seemed a little long to me given the length of the novel, but it does set up Leticiel's relationship and powers well. I'm so curious about the worldbuilding and the difference between magic and sorcery, and I really hope this gets explained more in further volumes! There is a lot of set up going on in this first volume but still quite a bit of action, and I needed volume 2 yesterday. I will absolutely be continuing with this series!

[Glasdow Teacosy]

Art: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★

First of all, the art in this series is gorgeous—some of the best sequential art I’ve seen all year. Secondly, the world building in this series is a cut above its peers. We start in the far past where an idyllic kingdom and a perfect love is destroyed by greedy neighbors. Despite the princess’ magical might, the betrayal of her kingdom came on too suddenly, and she is overwhelmed in battle. The princess and her lover are separated by death, then centuries later she is reincarnated into a time where magic as she understands it is no longer practiced.

She wonders if her lover has been reincarnated as well, but then that’s it. The story isn’t about their relationship. This story is about a woman who will not allow her adopted kingdom to fall as the one in her past did. She overcomes political intrigue, the jealousy of others, and isolation to stand again as a vanguard to protect her new nation.

The art and paneling was florid as shoujo comics tend to be, but the skill presented was inspiring. This is a mangaka who loves her craft. She could stick to rectangular panels and finish early for the day, but instead she takes her art to the next level, likely putting in extra hours. The panels are an expression of the art. Flowing lines and sweeping shapes draw the eyes across the page. The heroine is beautiful, but her beauty is celestial. Often I found myself forgetting to read the story, so captivated was I by the art. I highly recommend this series.

[Erin Rogoff]

My brother calls me a princess all the time, but I don't recall my life ever being like that of Princess Leti. For that, I am glad; although it would be thrilling to be a sorcerer princess, the idea of losing everyone you love in one night and then being reincarnated a thousand years later into a body that isn't yours and having a life that isn't yours sounds awfully fatiguing to me. Personally, I pray life is a one-and-done sort of thing. Though I truly liked Leti as herself instead of the reincarnated Lady Drossel, I felt this manga was more of a letdown than a shining star of a graphic novel; one major thing I disliked was the way modern life overtook a grandiose almost Medieval sort of fantasy realm. I like things old and classic and magical in its own unique way, and that was ripped to shreds as I finished reading the book (so sad about that). From the death of a true love to a reincarnation plot that fatigues me, the foreshadowing was relatively obvious with Leti's father stating, "Should you lose all you love and live for in a night, I'm unsure you'd survive without it..." and then Leti experiencing exactly that and barely surviving once the plot develops further. Though I may want to read the rest of this series later, it won't be anytime soon. In this case, I don't mind spoilers. Does Lady Drossel become Princess Leti once more and be finally reunited with the dead family she loves so much?

[Willow Hokett]

I really enjoyed this manga! The storyline was very interesting and really drew me in. I read the whole thing in a day. This has almost 2 story lines but they follow the same main character. The beginning half or so depicts Princess Leticiel and her romance with Nao who came to Regenrose (the country that they rule). The continent of Astoria where Regenrose resides is not peaceful and Leticiel's life gets turned upside down when the neighboring kingdom invades. The second storyline is when Leticiel wakes up in the body of Drossell who everyone calls the Ice Demon because she seems to have a bad temper. Leticiel now needs to figure out how she ended up in the body of another person 1,000 years in the future. Vol. 1 has mystery, romance, and even magic! The world is really interesting and reminds me of Europe from the Dark ages into the Renaissance period, or even later. I highly recommend this manga to anyone who like a strong female lead, mystery, history, and manga in general!

[Sydney]

3.5 Stars

Her Royal Higness Seems to Be Angry, Volume 1 by Neko Yotsuba.

Perhaps I'm simply not used to how short this style of literature can be. Given how much effort and attention to detail goes into the art, to relay certain aspects of the story. I'm sad to find it ending so soon. But I still find myself excited to delve further into this interesting reincarnation tale.

I wonder who that mystery man is? The one who appeared to be trying to safely apprehend her at the end of her original kingdoms destruction? What about that amorphous blob that tried to devour or become one with her in her new life? Additionally, what is the purpose of her reincarnation? To help this day and age re-advance their misconceptions about magic and sorcery? To prepare for some great catastrophe? Or to take Nao's teachings that revolutionized her kingdom and apply them in this future?

[Scythe Rowan]

Warum heißt dieser Manga überhaupt "Her Royal Highness seems to be angry"? Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl, dass Leticiel ständig wütend war oder die anderen sie als so ansahen...

Außerdem konnte mich dieser Aufhänger nicht wirklich fesseln. Kaum etwas interessantes passiert hier und manche Handlungselemente werden schlecht inszeniert- die Romanze von Nao und Leticiel wird in ein Kapitel gequetscht und auch die Schlacht, in der sie sterben, wird genauso schnell abgehandelt. Dadurch hatte ich etwas Schwierigkeiten, dem Kampf zu folgen, denn irgendwie hatte ich das Gefühl, dass in ihm alles auf einmal passierte...

[Lin]

I really enjoyed the first volume of this series, but I feel like the author can't decide where they want to go with it, or even what genre this is supposed to be.

The second volume was okay, but much weaker than the first — the high school setting just isn't as interesting to me, and it was pretty jarring compared to the war and dark themes also going on.

Then the third and fourth volumes got so convoluted that they're hard to follow. New stuff, especially changes to the magic system, keeps getting introduced with little explanation. There's so much plot happening, but it's difficult to care about any of it.

[Sam]

Ok, I guess

It’s not my cup of tea, so it didn’t caught much of my attention. But here’s a short summary:

It’s about a princess with powerful sorcery who loved her country, but sadly it got raided. Now reincarnated and with her memories she has no drop of magic, but sorcery is not magic. So she isn’t as defensive as you would think. Now living with a family who dislike her and have a scum like fiancé who is panting for her b***h of sister. Will she find her previous husband from her days she was a princess??

Stay tuned for volume 2

[Nav]

I would say that the protagonist has reason to be angry, but - despite the title - she doesn't display much of a temper in this series. There's a lot of questions that get brought up to keep a curious reader engaged: Why the initial isekai of the character that became her romantic interest? Why has she been reincarnated into the future of her own world? Why does that future have such a different understanding of magic? Etc. However, even though she also wants answers to those questions, don't read this with the expectation of her repeatedly swearing vengeance as she searches for answers.

[Jennifer]

It’s not bad, but also not good so far. It’s one of those manga that is clearly adapted from an amateur novel, so the writing tends to be clumsy and disjointed. The villains are extra bad and I guess her country is not very strong? Or at least they were crushed by the other side. Apparently healing doesn’t work on poison, which feels like it was a rule just randomly added to add tragedy. It’s obvious the black magic guy did something to his dagger, and she screwed it up by grabbing to kill herself. Guessing that has a lot to do with her current situation.

[Alyssa]

This was an interesting one! A fantasy story that isekai-d to another fantasy story. Definitely unique on it's own already.

The beginning was already so interesting that the first fantasy world was something I would actually read. That world was explained so quickly but the world building was good. And when we get to the new world, it was slower and it definitely felt we're discovering the world with our main character. It was slower and we're still figuring out the relationships.

As I read on, the manga got me more curious. And I wouldn't mind adding this to my manga rotation.

[Megan (BookWifeReviews)]

I loved this manga. The storyline is very interesting. Letty is a sorcerous princess. Her kingdom loves her. She is kind and powerful. Her kingdom is attacked and there is a massive battle. She wakes up in an unknown bed with an unknown face. She is being called a different name and everyone despises her.

I am so excited for this story. I can not wait to see what happens next. Thank you netgalley for my copy!

[Frankie]

The dark undertones and mystery surrounding the new life of our main protagonist Leticiel after she is reincarnated 1000 years into the future definitely peaked my curiosity as i got to the end of this first volume.

Why was she brought back to life and how will she use her mastery of sorcery to get the answers?

[Shannyn]

Couldn’t get into this one. Partly the story/ characters just not drawing me in and partly the art style. (Some of the pages have a lot of panels and that makes the writing too small for me.) The two characters get together quickly without the reader being invested in them so I didn’t really care when they were pulled apart. Made it about 70% through 🙃