By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.
Light Novel readers are very familiar by now with the trope. Our hero ends up in another world and gets all the girls, all the swords, all the magic. And if their high school bullies aren’t literally brought along so that he can destroy them, than the antagonists that he meets will all SOUND like high school bullies. It’s the author living vicariously through the character. But what if the author isn’t really all that bothered with their high school career? What if, instead, it’s teaching that’s the problem? Students unwilling to learn, who are quick to say that their parents donate to the school. Fellow teachers who put in minimal effort and show bias against other students. An administration that wants the teachers to go with the flow and not make waves. Does that make you mad? Don’t you wish you could change it? Don’t you wish you could teach kids in an unbiased way with the help of near-absolute power? This book is for you.
Aoi Konominato dies (we’re not told how) with many regrets. She was trying to become a kendo master, but failed. So she went into teaching, but kept running into problems. Her father must be so disappointed in her. With these thoughts, she wakes up in the middle of a fantasy world, having been taken in by an elf who turns out to be one of the strongest magic users in the world. Over the course of the next decade, he teaches Aoi everything she knows, and she proves to be a fantastic student. Now he wants to send her to the premier magic academy – not as a student, but as a teacher, to instruct the future magic users of the world. There’s only one slight problem, which is that this is a typical isekai, meaning arrogant nobles who look down on commoners and abuse their position. Aoi will have to do something about that.
For the most part I quite enjoyed this, though if you’re a student who dealt with an abusive teacher Aoi might set off a few red flags. She means well, but her personality is very stoic (I’m not sure she expressed an emotion in the entire volume) and she can come across as terrifying, especially once she shows off her magic. I did enjoy the way magic works here – there are ways to teach it, and basic spells everyone should know, but you can modify and alter as you see fit, and people are creating new spells and researching new magic all the time. I also quite liked her teaching friend Elisa, a dwarf who likes to do research. For the most part she’s there to be a bit of a tsukkomi when Aoi does something outrageous, but she’s loud and lovable. And while it was a bit cruel, I admit I laughed a lot at the king and queen giving their son a good talking-to.
So yes, assuming you don’t mind Aoi’s vibe, this is a solid debut. It’s got quite a few volumes, so we’ll see where it goes from here. And no, I’m not sure why Aoi’s teaching outfit consists of a skintight short leather dress and fancy stockings. But I can hazard a guess.
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