Win Her Middle at the Nth Check out Novel
Finding light novels with adult characters can occasionally seem even more difficult than finding manga with the same. How to Win Her Heart on the Nth Try by Ichine Kamijo immediately stands out due to that as well as its setting in the actual world. The protagonists of the novel, who are both twenty-seven and deal with the issues that working people must deal with, are in an office setting. Just two people attempting to determine whether they can coexist in their lives without fantasy, world-hopping, or wars.
This, together with the way the plot is handled, give the book a much heavier tone than it would have otherwise. Two childhood friends who have remained close friends until adulthood are featured in the tale, which adheres to the friends-to-lovers cliché. Nagi and Keigo grew up living across the street from one another, attended the same colleges and universities, and now even work for the same employer. When the novel begins, Keigo has just been assigned to Nagi’s systems engineering team, which is a great fit for both of them. The problem? Since they were young children, Keigo and Nagi have been in love, and this influences at least half of his decisions. He has put up with her dating other men for a long enough time, and now he feels like he can finally take action.
This storyline has a certain allure, but it also represents the book’s fundamental flaw. Keigo’s devotion to Nagi can occasionally come across as excessively obsessive to the point where it is offensive. It’s one thing for him to assist her in fixing a coding issue so she won’t have to stay at the office all night trying to figure everything out; it’s quite another for him to put spyware on her laptop so he can monitor her activities and whereabouts. Even while it’s obvious that he has good intentions, he nevertheless breaches a few boundaries that are at least mildly unsettling. When it comes to Keigo and Nagi’s physical relationship, he’s all about permission, holding himself back until she is fully committed and ready to have sex. Kamijo goes out of their way to let us know that. No “but I have needs” nonsense, like you still occasionally see in romances; simply a willingness to go at her pace.
The reason Keigo is so protective of Nagi in part stems from their shared background. When there was a data breach, Nagi’s father was made to bear the blame because he worked as a systems engineer for a major bank. That essentially ruined him, and some of his final words to his daughter, who was thirteen at the time, were for her to choose any career other than his. She carried his warning and a heaping helping of guilty concern with her when a poor employment market forced her into it (and her uncle’s company). Because of what occurred to him, she is a dedicated worker. Although she doesn’t express it explicitly, it is clear that she is unable to accept assistance while also going above and beyond for her employees because she doesn’t want anyone to experience what her late father did. Even if it turns out that she is pushing herself to death in her desire to ensure that no one else suffers the same fate, she can make sure that everything is okay, at least in her mind, and that is how she will proceed. Since Keigo is aware of this, he frequently makes bad choices that, from our vantage point, are intended to protect Nagi from herself. He is aware of her exceptional competence and skill in her line of work; he just doesn’t want to witness her self-destruction. Even if he doesn’t execute it the best, the sentiment is admirable.
There aren’t any significant opponents for Nagi or Keigo in the romance plot, therefore it’s simple. Keigo’s goals have two potential spoilers, but nothing that suggests a love triangle or anything else. It also means that Keigo and Nagi are their own worst opponents in their quest for love, which allows the plot to progress at a comfortable pace. This falls squarely within the parameters of the conventional romance novel, and even though the plot occasionally feels a touch cramped, it still works just fine. As the title suggests, the majority of the narrative is provided by Keigo (in third person in both instances, with the exception of the prologue, which is in Nagi’s first-person voice), and while we do get a better sense of him than we do of her, it’s not a deal-breaker if you prefer romances told from the perspective of the heroine. With the exception of one word—”oliveige”—used to describe Nagi’s hair color, the translation reads well.
Although it isn’t really innovative, How to Win Her Heart on the Nth Try is really enjoyable. It’s a skillfully written romance book that might pique the interest of regular romance fans who don’t typically read light novels. In comparison to what we’ve come to anticipate from manga and LN romance, it definitely uses more of the tropes associated with the contemporary romance subgenre (like Nagi’s later decisions). It’s similar to a beach book in that you can pick it up, unwind, and let it transport you.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.
