Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Harem, Slice of Life, Isekai

Makoto Faces Fresh Threats in the Capital of Roses!

Following on from his successes in Labyrinthos, Makoto’ll have to deal with a threat even more deadly than the awakening Demon Lord, recognition.

After their encounter in Labyrinthos, Makoto probably thought that that would be the last time he’d meet with the Priestess of Water who’d snubbed his abilities back at the temple, however, fate has other ideas for him. Unfortunately, Makoto, his teammates and his friend Fujiyan and his team have been summoned to receive their rewards for their actions in Labyrinthos. This sees a reunion between Makoto and Princess Sophia (the priestess), which surprisingly goes over rather well.

Through the events in the third volume, I’ve come to have quite the change of heart over Sophia’s character, from finding her unlikable after the events of the previous volumes to appreciating and liking her character as she softens her views towards Makoto as the volume progresses. The author, Isle Osaki, has done well to portray her actions as cold yet understandable. After the way her previous other world heroes behaved, it’s understandable that she’d be dismissive of other potential heroes especially when they’re ones as seemingly weak as Makoto. However, after the events of the second volume, she properly does her duty in praising and rewarding Makoto for his efforts, even offering him a place to stay in the palace whilst they were in the capital. As the volume progresses, we see a definite softening in her attitude and a change in her feelings to a romantic view. This mainly occurs due to Makoto’s actions during the main action set piece of the volume, the monster attack on the capital. During these scenes, Makoto’s hard training pays off successfully pulling off a synchro, this time with Sophia, to summon a Blizzard Phoenix defeating the monsters that threaten to destroy the Capital. As a result, he manages to save not only his friends but also the Princess and Prince Leonardo and is offered the title of “Hero of Roses.” Whilst this title may not be important to Makoto, it is in Sophia’s development and Makoto’s overall perception to the wider public around him. They recognise his ability and the possibility that even weak heroes can achieve heroic feats if they train their skills.

Alongside Sophia, Prince Leonardo is also introduced as an important character in the series. He carries a heavy burden being one of the few with the hero skill, yet he manages to feel a kinship with Makoto. Both being adept with water magic, a teacher-student style relationship quickly develops between the two with Leonardo especially enjoying Makoto’s unusual flair for water using it to create entertaining shows with ice birds and other animals. The bromance between the two is one of the main reasons why Makoto continues to stay in the capital even after the reward ceremony allowing him to save the capital later. One thing remains unsolved, however, the question of whether Leonardo is a Prince or whether he is a she and a Princess. Throughout the volume, quite a few hints point toward Leonardo being female and a likely third member of Makoto’s harem, only time will tell whether this turns out to be the case.

Speaking of harems, volume 3 also sees some interesting developments in the romance department. The question of becoming a harem has been looming over both Aya and Lucy’s heads since Aya’s introduction in the previous volume. Their fights over Makoto’s attention have been growing and with Makoto being as dense as ever, it’s up to an unlikely source to help smooth their situation. Fujiyan’s romantic issues have come to head and have found a way to resolve themselves as both Chris and Nina settle their differences and both agree to marry Fuji. This solution gives some hope for Aya and Lucy’s situation as they’ve seen how it can be done, but from the way this series is going, they better make their minds up quick before another woman enters the harem.

In the final parts of the volume, we see my favourite aspects of the plot as we’re finally given some development as to Noah’s situation in the last undiscovered labyrinth. Makoto and the rest of the gang are holidaying it up at the Princess’ villa offering an opportunity for Makoto to dive into the depths of the ocean towards Noah’s labyrinth. Whilst this challenge seems doable at the start, by the end of the volume the true scope of the problem with reaching the labyrinth is revealed. The labyrinth is a part of a legendary beast, the leviathan, a creature that could kill even the hardiest of warriors or heroes making it almost impossible for someone as weak as Makoto.

Full Clearing Another World’s third volume continues to build on the great foundations set in the previous two volumes whilst managing to properly develop the plot forward in a satisfying way. This volume adds several interesting and likeable characters that have a lot of potential in future volumes and the main threat sets up numerous different possible plot paths. Hopefully one of those will fully flesh out the motives of the group that’s so marginal to society that they’ve been driven into a corner. Lots of potential and given the way the author has written things so far, I have faith they’ll be delivered.

I hope you enjoyed my review and would love to see what you thought of the volume in the comments!

You can read the third volume of the series in prepub form through the J-Novel Club website. The digital version of this volume will be released on 6th May