Title: Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress (Volume One)
Author: Ameko Kaeruda, Kazutomo Miya (illustrator), Molly Lee (translator)
Released: October 05th, 2019 (Kindle)
Series: Sexiled
Rating: ★★★★★
Description: Tanya Artemiciov is a talented Mage-class adventurer who just got kicked out of her party by a sexist scumbag. So what’s a girl to do? Go to the wasteland and blow stuff up of course! One small problem though: she inadvertently frees a mythical Sorceress named Laplace who was sealed away for the past 300 years…
Surprise! Turns out this so-called “wicked” Sorceress is actually pretty cool. Laplace wants to start a party of her own, Tanya wants revenge, and the solution is obvious: team up. It’s time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!
Please keep in mind this review contains spoilers for the entire book. Read with caution. If you click on “Read More”, it is under the assumption you either don’t care about spoilers or you’ve already read the book!
On the one hand, why did I put this on hold for so long? On the other hand, I’m glad I waited because this was a treat! Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I’m not reading as many light novels as I wanted to, it’s difficult to do that when there are so many (especially translated) light novels that are really machismo and more often than not – degrade a lot of their female characters. In fact, if you’ve been keeping up with me, my number one criticism about fantasy light novels is the treatment of their female characters (never mind the treatment of queer characters should they dare to exist).
And I believe the author agrees with me; this is clearly such a vent fic that any sexist statement from these male characters would get their comeuppance and it was a delight. If this were anything else, it would annoy me to the point where I would want to quit it right then and there. Considering a certain university and what they had done around the time of this book’s release, and considering a certain Metal Gear Solid character, I completely felt every ounce of frustration from the author. Hell, I have it in my own everyday life so it’s fun to see someone like Tanya be able to literally take aim at the sexist pigs and destroy them with the power that she’s worked hard for.
Another point that I loved is that Tanya is 25 years old. Do you realize how refreshing it is to read someone even older than 20 in these light novels who aren’t considered “pathetic” or “Christmas cakes”?! There’s no amount of love I have for this book especially since there’s an incredible amount of depth for each of the main characters. Again, I shouldn’t be looking for too much depth for a light novel – but I got something more than I expected. The fact I got something rather than nothing is another additional note that I just love this light novel so much.
Now, for the story itself, it does seem quite exaggerated, especially since anime and the light novel format are already over the top. However, for those who haven’t experienced it, there are a lot of people who do say very similar things and act very similarly, even as a “joke”. It’s frustrating that because of the nature of the light novel itself, it’s likely not to be taken as seriously by certain male readers, but, I’m not sure what else you expected after reading the full title.
On the surface, it’s a fun light novel – especially from a venting point of view – it’s also pretty evident that it is meant to be light-hearted. But I have a lot of feelings regarding how “basic” the feminism is and worry about how it might come across. The underlying message of feminism from the perspective of a Japanese woman point of view is there from the author’s perspective; while a lot of thoughts and attitudes from these trolls and incels in the West are mostly ignored, one must understand that a lot of Japanese women (along with Japanese queer people) are still fighting the system which refuses to change what’s considered the most basic rights. Women and others in the United States are dealing with the upheaval of Roe V. Wade (which is a basic right everyone should have), but unfortunately, we never knew what we had until it’s gone and we have to keep fighting for it. GCs, don’t interact because I don’t mean you.
Though these themes are heavy and frustrating, this light novel is written well enough to understand how annoying a lot of these fantasy tropes are and it’s fun. That’s the most important thing: it’s fun. The author found a good balance between wanting to simply talk about how fucked up it all is and realizing she could have fun with it. Honestly, Tanya and Laplace are great audience proxies but really came into their own.
More than anything, it’s so satisfying to see Tanya come into her own and get her revenge; it’s the most satisfying, though, that she could move past it and come into her own.
Astronomy Of My Dreams 