The 31st Consort Volume 1 Manga Review

Synopsis

Published in English by Yen Press, this manga series started as a light novel in Japan before being adapted into a manga by Tsubasa Nanaki. In this first volume, readers are immediately introduced to the heroine Felia from the Karodia Province. Felia lives a happy life with her brothers and spends most of her time out in the fields growing medicinal herbs. Unfortunately for her, that all changes when her older brother storms into the house and quite matter-of-factly tells her she’s been chosen to be the 31st consort to the king.

This is bad news on many levels. Not only does Felia not want the honor, but she was only chosen because the 31st consort is the lowest rank and no other family wanted their daughter to be put into such an embarrassing position. Making the best of her new situation, Felia reports to the palace grounds where she is given a small house to stay in until the queen and concubine selection process is complete.

The Good and The Bad

With the word “consort” in the title, you know that progressive relationship dynamics aren’t going to be at the forefront of this series’ story. In chapter two, the consort selection process is spelled out. The first step involves the chosen 31 young women moving to the castle grounds and present themselves to King Macron. These ladies come from noble families, but their goal is the same: to be selected as the queen or at least a high-ranking concubine. Except Felia, who just wants to be self-sufficient and grow her herbs in the garden.

After the 31 consorts are chosen, there are three months of daily social meetings between King Macron and each of the ladies. He spends the day with each consort on the date that matches their number. The 31st consort is the lowest rank because the 31st day of the month only happens once every three months. This means Felia might not even see Macron for weeks, and even when she does, their time together will be so limited that she might not be chosen to continue.

So with all that said, if you’re looking for a shoujo that features healthy relationship dynamics, this isn’t your title so far. If, however, you’re looking for a new example of a heroine who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and declare very clearly what she wants, this might be right up your alley.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The 31st Consort is cute and fun, but it’s not without its fair share of problems. The first troubling spot readers will run into is in chapter one. Felia’s brother, Riccaro, excitedly enters the series with the proclamation that Felia has been chosen as a consort. No asking if she’s ok with that, no asking her opinion on the matter, just a matter-of-fact statement that she is to report to the palace grounds to be part of the consort selection process. You could argue that this is played as a joke, but it didn’t make me laugh. And this seems to be a problem throughout these first chapters: character jokes that aren’t particularly funny. Sometimes the jokes don’t land because we don’t know these characters well enough to be in on the gag, and sometimes the jokes just aren’t humorous.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Felia as the heroine. She’s exactly the type of independent thinker that keeps me turning pages to see what happens next in her life. Almost everyone surrounding her, however, made me sigh with disbelief and annoyance. Working our way from the top down, let’s start with King Macron.

King Macron Grows Weary

Macron is more than displeased with his selection of young women (who range from seven years old to adult women). In fact, in the second chapter, his aide and childhood friend, Binz, points out to Macron how much of a jerk he’s been to all the consorts he’s spent time with. Naturally though, when Macron meets Felia, that all changes. Instead of appearing in her best garb and introducing herself as the 31st consort, Felia greets her guest with a warm meal and polite conversation, which instantly wins the king over without him even realizing that he had finally spent time with a consort that didn’t make him want to leave immediately. Naturally, this leads to his first smile of the book, courtesy of Felia.

Of course, Felia wouldn’t be the underdog that you want to root for without some adversity along the way. The primary antagonist of this volume is the head maid in charge of the consorts. Upon seeing that the 31st consort didn’t have her maids and hearing that she doesn’t require servants, she starts butting heads with Felia. At first, it’s little things such as an unpleasant attitude and demeanor. Within a couple of chapters, it escalates into learning that she is allegedly siphoning the funds she is supposed to use to care for the 31st consort’s home and food.

Feeding The Guards

Throughout the volume, Felia is never lacking for friends. Every consort selected to be the King’s potential partner receives a small troop of guards. Most of the consorts are very rude towards these guards, which leaves them unhappy and stressed. The only consort who treats the guards with respect and kindness is, of course, Felia. So all the guards from the various consorts start coming over to hang out and get some good food cooked by Felia. As much as she complains about being there, she is more than content to continue farming the land and cooking delicious food for anyone who wants to eat.

At one point in the volume, it appears that Felia is growing frustrated and might leave to go back home. Unfortunately for her, she also plants some herbs that she plans to turn into medicine, meaning that she’s trapped there for two years to harvest the herbs. For a woman who is supposedly very smart, that seems like a silly mistake to make.

The biggest plus that this manga has is beautiful artwork and character designs. Very much drawn in the shoujo aesthetic, The 31st Consort is filled with characters that are pleasing to look at. While you can argue the background art is a bit lacking, the characters themselves are drawn well, though I can’t compare them to the original light novel artwork.

Overall

This is a perfectly fine volume of manga. The artwork is pleasing to the eye, there’s nothing too objectionable in the writing, and the chapter five cliffhanger is just enough to make you wonder what is going to happen to Felia next. While not quite brilliant, the first volume of The 31st Consort makes for a cozy read on a rainy weekend afternoon.

Disclaimer

Yen Press provided us with a review copy of this volume, which in no way influenced our thoughts or opinions.