A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

by Misaki, Momochi, Sando

Genres: Fantasy, Manga
Pages: 208
Series: A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation #3
Rating:

Synopsis:

After defeating the underground dragon and finishing up their business in the mercantile city of Marcade, Lizel and Gil resume their journey, having promised Judge's grandfather to protect Judge along the way. But danger soon catches up to them when a strange group of bandits called the Forky Gang attacks in the middle of the night! It quickly becomes clear that someone is targeting Lizel... but who could it be, and for what reason?

As always, former noble and current adventurer Lizel takes all new developments in stride in his usual, laid-back fashion. He's celebrating his promotion from a simple E-rank to a D-rank adventurer — and setting his sights on ranking up again soon!

In the third volume of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, we get to see a brief glimpse of the world Lizel came from, which is pretty exciting. Aaaand the character interactions throughout the volume really make it seem like people doth protest too much about this not being M/M romance: even if Gil and Lizel aren’t meant to be together, Judge and Studd clearly have a crush on Lizel — that’s pretty much text, as they both bicker about being allowed to sleep beside him and the fact that Judge was allowed to hold his hand as he slept (after being scared by a bandit attack).

Plus Gil and Lizel’s bond is pretty close too, with Gil basically saying that nothing matters as long as he stays with Lizel. C’mon, folks.

I still wonder if it would help to read the original light novel, to help smooth out and clarify the plot — I do suspect at times that this being an adaptation means that things aren’t always as obvious to me as I could wish. Still, I continue excited to see where this is going, and if anything will finally rattle Lizel’s calm.

Rating: 4/5

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

by Misaki, Momochi, Sando

Genres: Fantasy, Manga
Pages: 176
Series: A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation #2
Rating:

Synopsis:

When Lizel mysteriously finds himself in a city that bears odd similarities to his own but clearly isn't, he quickly comes to terms with the unlikely truth: this is an entirely different world. Even so, laid-back Lizel isn't the type to panic. He immediately sets out to learn more about this strange place, and to help him do so, hires a seasoned adventurer named Gil as his tour guide and protector.

Until he's able to find a way home, Lizel figures this is a perfect opportunity to explore a new way of life adventuring as part of a guild. After all, he's sure he'll go home eventually... might as well enjoy the otherworldly vacation for now!

I really enjoyed volume two of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation (story by Misaki, manga adaptation by Momochi). I am wondering where it’s all going exactly, and wondering if things would be clearer if the light novel had been translated, because I’d definitely grab that right now if I could. It feels like there are currents I don’t understand, and I don’t know whether that’s because we’re just not being told yet, or because there’s something lost in translation… or whether the writing’s just unclear.

It’s funny how vehement some reviewers are that this isn’t M/M romance. Honestly, it’s starting to feel like every male character is in love with Lizel! I’m fine with it not being romance, to be clear, but it does heavily lean that way. (The ads for M/M manga in the back also suggest that’s deliberate, let’s be real.)

I’m definitely eager to see both more of the world and more of Lizel’s actual character; his unflappability is fascinating, as is the brief crack in it which Gil sees. I enjoy their friendship a lot. And I still love the art and character designs.

Rating: 4/5

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

by Misaki, Momochi, Sando

Genres: Fantasy, Manga
Pages: 208
Series: A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation #1
Rating:

Synopsis:

When Lizel mysteriously finds himself in a city that bears odd similarities to his own but clearly isn't, he quickly comes to terms with the unlikely truth: this is an entirely different world. Even so, laid-back Lizel isn't the type to panic. He immediately sets out to learn more about this strange place, and to help him do so, hires a seasoned adventurer named Gil as his tour guide and protector.

Until he's able to find a way home, Lizel figures this is a perfect opportunity to explore a new way of life adventuring as part of a guild. After all, he's sure he'll go home eventually... might as well enjoy the otherworldly vacation for now!

I’m very intrigued by the first volume of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation (based on a light novel by Misaki, adapted/illustrated by Momochi). It leaves us with a lot of questions about Lizel: why’s he there, what’s his role in his own world, what are his aims, what’s he thinking?

At the same time we get a certain amount of introduction to the world, thanks to Gil giving Lizel the tour and getting him signed up as an adventurer. Not everything is perfectly clear — what’s going on with the labyrinths? Are we supposed to just take those on board as being random loot dungeons, or is there a bigger plot around them? How big is the adventurer system?

As you can see from all my questions, we get enough to be tantalising. And Lizel’s relationship with Gil is fascinating too. I can see that it gets a bit tense between people as to whether they’re intended to be a romance or not, but it’s hard not to read it in there sometimes when Lizel refers to Gil as a thing that belongs to him and gets so defensive over him!

Overall, I’m very curious about the world and story, and I like the art a lot. Nice clean lines, easy to follow, and nice character designs.

Rating: 4/5