Synopsis

Ginorious Adolni has but one goal after reincarnating into a new world—find and marry someone he can grow old with. After living for close to a century without ever having a single relationship due to his hideous appearance, Ginorious wishes for companionship from the depths of his heart. The opportunity presents itself one day when he receives an offer to marry the daughter of the premier duke. It’s a shocking proposal for the son of a simple viscount, until he learns that all their attempts to arrange courtships with higher nobles have already failed, and for one simple reason: the daughter’s appearance, which has earned her the epithet of the Goblin Maiden. But Ginorious sees his past self in her, and soon learns that she has a genuinely beautiful soul. Ginorious resolves to use everything at his disposal, including knowledge from his past life, to make her happy. (Source: J-Novel Club)

A Love Story All About What’s Underneath!

Written by Shinten-Shinchi and illustrated by Tokima, J-Novel Club’s latest title, The Reincarnator and the Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After, is a romantic fantasy that aims to look beyond physical appearance.

Following Ginorious, a lower noble and reincarnator, the story tells of his rather unusual engagement to the daughter of a duke, Anastasia. Not usually the type of marriage a dukedom would normally stoop to; they’ve had to look among the lower nobility for marriage candidates as a result of Anastasia’s infamous moniker, the Goblin Maiden. Her horrifying appearance has led to rejection after rejection, that is, until Ginorious. Having been despised in his previous life thanks to his own ugly appearance, Ginorious has learnt to look beyond physical beauty to see what’s within. What he sees in Anastasia is a kind and intelligent young woman, one that he’d face any adversity to make happy.

Ginorious and Anastasia’s relationship is central to the story, making or breaking the series. From the very beginning, the author has a clear idea of the foundations with which they intend to develop their relationship. These foundations find the first sparks between them to be awkward yet endearing. Despite the inability to properly communicate with one another, it’s clear from both of their points of view that they are besotted with one another.

As the relationship and story develop, however, these early superficial feelings move towards something more mature and complex.

On the romantic side, the story features several fun and enjoyable-to-read dates that aim to deepen their knowledge of one another. Their lakeside date, for example, features a wonderful reminiscence about Ana and her maid during childhood.

On the side of personal growth, the relationship between the two often becomes a source of strength. In this volume, Ana, in particular, benefits from this newfound strength. This becomes key during the volume’s main conflict. Suffering intense bullying and forcing herself to act demurely to avoid attracting attention, knowing that Ginorious is in her corner, allows Ana a new sense of freedom. As a result, she’s able to break out of her shell and finally stand up to some of her tormentors.

While the central romance of the story gives the series strong foundations, what elevates it to the next level comes from its world-building. The best of this world-building comes from a side plot revolving around curses and how to lift Ana’s goblin curse. Through this, we gleam the differences between this fantasy world and the one that Ginorious originally came from, the technological black hole facing the world, and, more importantly, the underlying cause for Ana’s illness and the difficulty with its treatment.

Overall, The Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After’s first instalment lays strong foundations for the rest of the series. Featuring a cute yet mature central romance, there’s a lot to get behind and root for between Ginorious and Anastasia. Moreover, utilising a side plot to focus on world-building truly elevates this series from other examples in the genre.

I Give The Goblin Maiden Volume 1: 9/10