After finishing my review of the first volume of this manga, I remembered that volume 2 was shrinkwrapped and has the warning label. There wasn’t anything super wild that happened in the first volume that made me think it could get like this, so I was curious what type of content in volume 2 made the ratings change.
*Begins reading*
…Oh, an ugly, dogcrap feudal lord’s choking a naked women he was planning to sexually assault.
*Continues reading*
…We can actually see this old man’s intestines while surrounded by a pool of blood.
*Continues reading*
…She really just sliced that dude apart like it’s Mortal Kombat.
So yes, it does not take much for a work to go from older teen to parental advisory, in case you didn’t know.
High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! volume 2 creates a challenge that forces the seven prodigies to no longer…take it easy. Well, initially, not really. Masato pretty much uses his business skills to make money and also free Roo from being a slave. After they bring all the wares back, Tsukasa enlists prolific swordswoman Aoi and robo (bear? teddy?) to make a hot spring. They finish it in half a day, and that gets just about everyone to strip down and make makeshift bikinis (with leaves!). At this point, it just seems all horny and carefree.
Then things change once the Lord of the Woods, some sort of rock-coated creature, attacks some hunters from the village. A couple of the prodigies head over and take care of it with ease, but that ended up leaving the village defenseless against dogcrap feudal lord’s invasion. Despite a couple of the fires started there, everyone was alright, except Lyrule, who was taken by the knight who came up with the idea to invade the village only so he could advance his career.
Needless to say, this creates a challenge that doesn’t help the prodigies. In addition to trying to leave this other world, they gotta save Lyrule, who was taken by a feudal lord, who has connections to the current emperor, which means they’d be going up against the nation. With a small village and seemingly little resources, it seems crazy to attempt a rescue mission. But yeah, they’re going to go rescue her. But the ramifications of that choice — which is why Tsukasa persistently asked the villagers — will ultimately change this world.
We pretty much know why: because they’re geniuses! We have a doctor who apparently can save someone whose heart stopped bleeding and had his guts lying out, and a girl who can make metal in a fantasy era where it’s rare to do. I think I asked last time what exactly would be the other challenge aside from them getting out would make this an interesting read–having them being forced to come up with strategies on the fly to fend off a nation might just be that extra challenge.
So the story from that stand point is fascinating to read, so that’s a good way to keep me reading. But as explained earlier, there’s a reason it’s now shrinkwrapped. There’s less of the women getting assaulted outside of the one mentioned but the violence picks up sharply, and while it’s not like, say, Wolfsmund level, it’s surprisingly dark.
Probably doesn’t help the artist keeps making all these girls blush at every turn. It’s pretty annoying. It’s intending to bring that tinge of eroticism and romance, but it’s not really doing that. And the way the characters are drawn aren’t always so great either. At least the prince (who apparently will become a “god” in volume 3) had his moments of being drawn well. A couple of other things as well. Here’s hoping things get a bit sharper in volume 3.