Synopsis

“I will become the world’s most wonderful maid!” With her skirt fluttering in black and white, the girl shouted. Her name is Melody. A reincarnated former Japanese girl, she now pursues her dream in her new life, working as an all-purpose maid for a poor count’s family in the kingdom of Théolas. When she makes it, even cheap tea turns into a luxury brew, and a dilapidated mansion is quickly restored to new! Cleaning, serving, hunting, DIY—leave it all to her and her powerful magic.

Unbeknownst to Melody, this world is actually an otome game, and she is the most powerful and invincible heroine, the saint! Yet, she remains oblivious to this fact. Romance with handsome men? Attacks by the Demon Lord? Work comes first!

A fantasy of misunderstood work that unknowingly shatters destiny! (Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

A Maid Who Solves All Problems!

Obsession. Often a key characteristic in reincarnation isekai stories, it also lays the basis for Seven Seas’ latest light novel title. Written by Atekichi and illustrated by Yukiko, I’m an All-Works Maid proves that the help has what it takes to become a hero, or in this case, heroine.

The story centres around the activities of Mizunami Ritsuko, who is given a second chance at life when she’s reincarnated as Melody Wave. Determined to use this twist of fate for good, she wants to use her new life to make her ultimate dream come true: becoming a maid. On her journey to perfecting her craft, the first volume in the series quickly finds her an ideal employment contract as well as a host of distractions, as the world has more to offer than what first meets the eye.

To start off the series, the story begins as Melody commences her job as an all-works maid for the Rudleberg family. A mix of Nanny McPhee meets isekai, the series has a lot of fun with the concept of a magical maid fixing up the life of a noble family, dragging it up from the jaws of destitution. Albeit not a novel concept for the genre, the author clearly doesn’t take the story too seriously and enamours readers to the series through a healthy sprinkling of comedy during the novel’s set-up.

As the story progresses, however, the fantasy world reveals more layers that make it distinctly unique. Not only is the world based on an Otome game, but other people from Japan are reincarnated there. While not distinct in and of itself, how these concepts are used is what makes it interesting.

In this series, the plot of the Otome game is constantly treated as a side adventure, where the protagonist solves major plot issues while wholly unaware of what she’s doing. Moreover, the other reincarnates within the volume play roles outside of the norm. Neither friend nor foe, they exist as important characters within the kingdom who are inching ever closer to becoming a part of Melody’s world.

Ultimately, these reincarnations hold most of the focus towards the climactic chapters of the book. The friendship between them and their realisation that the world they live in is real rather than a game steals the show. This ends up being rather merciful, as Melody’s romance scenes in these segments leave much to be desired.

Overall, I’m an All-Works Maid’s premier outing provides a strong case for continuing the series. While the magical maid’s moments are good, the series really starts to shine as it introduces more layers to the fantasy world as well as unique twists in the Otome genre.

I Give I’m an All-Works Maid Volume 1: 8/10