The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World Vol 1 Review

So, a god offers you anything you want as a reward for going to another world to act as its savior. What do you ask for? Good looks? Great power and influence? How about a comfortable little café filled with books where you can wile away your days reading and sipping tea? If you found that last option the most appealing, then The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World is a manga series made for you!

Based on the novels by Kyouka Izumi, manga making duo Oumiya and Reiko Sakurada have crafted a cozy tale of fantasy, romance, and books that’s absolutely charming.

Synopsis

When a god appears before Tsukina and announces that she’s been chosen to be the savior of another world, she’s less than enthused. Dimension-hopping and world saving sounds like a young person’s game, and Tsukina is in her thirties and content with her current life. Sure, it’s devoid of excitement or romance, but she has a job she’s good at and a life she’s put time and effort into building.

You have to admire her pragmatism!

Unfortunately, Tsukina isn’t given a choice in the matter and she’s going to the other world whether she likes it or not. However, the meddling god is happy to grant her a wish or two for her troubles and tells her that she can pretty much live her life as she pleases once she gets to the other world, since he’s already selected a bunch of other eager savior candidates and she’s mostly being sent as a backup. So Tsukina winds up in a wonderous new world with the book café of her dreams, an enchanted item that allows her to create just about anything she wants and a wellspring of magical powers. Deciding to take things easy and leave the world-saving up to the other saviors, Tsukina enjoys running her café, reading rare and interesting books and developing a friendship with a handsome knight’s captain. Things couldn’t be going smoother… until it’s brought to her attention that one of the other saviors is abusing her powers and that she’s the only person capable of stopping her!

Review:

It’s refreshing whenever an isekai manga comes out that features a character that’s older than a teenager or university student. Tsukina isn’t eager to go galivanting off on some hairbrained adventure, and I can certainly relate for her desire for a relaxing, rather than eventful, life. I’d personally much rather spend my days reading and snacking instead of fighting and risking my life to save a kingdom.

This is basically my fantasy life!

Being more calm and thoughtful than the average isekai protagonist, Tsukina takes the opportunity to question the god who summons her to the other world when he yanks her out of her normal life. She grills him on whether this whole savior thing is really necessary and, when she fails to convince him to let her off the hook, she gets as much out of the god as she can before he sends her on her merry way. Since she was the only person who bothered to ask how many wishes she could get – everyone else just assumed they would only get one – Tsukina winds up getting a bunch of extra abilities and perks that allow her to easily settle into her ideal life as the owner of a quiet book café. Her rational approach to the whole situation really pays off and she adapts to her new home quickly.

Things are practically perfect for Tsukina, except for one thing. There’s another savior in this kingdom who also doesn’t seem interested in putting in any effort to save the world. The difference is, this savior is misusing her power. She’s seduced the crown prince and is living it up in the castle where she is abusive to the staff and generally makes a nuisance of herself. Due to her sway over the prince, no one can stand up to her. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she lacks control of her god-granted magic to a degree that makes her a potential threat to the kingdom. Only a fellow savior like Tsukina has enough power to rival her, so it looks like Tsukina may need to step into the hero’s role after all, especially if she wants to keep the new friends she’s made safe.

Hopefully Tsukina springs into action soon, because this girl is in serious need of a good scolding!

Tsukina’s love interest in this story is Il, the serious and handsome captain of the royal knights. He’s not the most social guy, but he’s just as big of a book nerd as Tsukina and the two quickly bond over their shared love of reading. Il frequently visits Tsukina’s café to get a respite from having to deal with the other savior’s antics and how much everyone at the palace is freaking out. Il is rejuvenated by the relaxing atmosphere of the café and Tsukina’s pleasant company – plus the healing magic she kindly casts on him free of charge. It isn’t long before Il has come to greatly admire Tsukina, but she seems a little too unused to romance to know what to do about his growing affection. Their relationship is quite cute, and I especially enjoyed how nosy Il’s comrades-in-arms become when they notice that he seems to be happy about something. They’re not about to let any palace gossip as juicy as the stoic captain of the knights finally finding love go uninvestigated!

The Savior’s Book Café in Another World reminds me a lot of The Saint’s Power is Omnipotent, another isekai manga/light novel series. Similar to that series, The Savior’s Book Café in Another World is gently paced and features a mature protagonist who would rather live quietly than seek glory, but who still gets pulled into the hero role due to her kindness and sense of responsibility. If you’re a fan of that series, I think you’ll enjoy this manga as well. It features a sweet romance and a sensible heroine who just wants to enjoy a good book. A gal after my own heart if ever there was one!

Final Score: 8 out of 10

For more information on this manga, visit Seven Seas Entertainment’s website.

What did you think of this manga? Let me know in the comments! Also let me know what you would ask for if a god offered you whatever you wanted in exchange for going to another world. I think I’d ask for pretty much the same thing Tsukina asked for, except I’d want my book café to also be a cat café, and I’d want a highly-trained staff so I didn’t actually have to run the café or deal with the customers.

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Be sure to check out some of my reviews of other isekai manga:

• The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent (Manga) Vol 1-2 Review
• I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss (manga) Vol 1 Review
• The Exo-Drive Reincarnation Games Vol 1 Review
• The Faraway Paladin Omnibus Vol 1 Review
• Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga) Vol 1 Review

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