There are quite a few mysteries in The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor manga, and it is incredibly satisfying to see some of the secrets already come to light in volume 3. The execution in the Sarasa Nagase and Anko Yuzu series is such that it’s perfectly timed to aid in character development and energize the current storyline, while still continuing a perfect pace.
Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for past volumes of The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor manga below.
From the very first volume of The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor manga, the series kept us in the dark. How is Jill so magically gifted? Why is it that she ended up “getting a do-over” and going back in time after her former fiance, Prince Gerald, tried to kill her? Hadis is established as the cursed prince of the Rave empire, and we see his madness in the first volume’s flashback. But we don’t know why or how it is happening? Not to mention the second volume of the series saw Jill heading to the Rave Empire as Prince Hadis’ future wife, but also brought on all sorts of political intrigue and unrest.
It was a lot of build-up, to be sure, and I was a bit concerned! After all, some series would take a premise like this and really drag it out. So I was shocked when this third volume didn’t take too long to, well, actually start providing answers. Instead of letting the rivalry and villainy between Gerald and both Jill and Hadis sit, he’s immediately there for a confrontation. The situation with the Marquess of Beil from the previous volume? We get a resolution to that too. The unease from the past entry’s events? It’s exploited to result in a new lethal moment.
In terms of character development, it’s all fantastic. We know Prince Gerald is a pure villain with unknown motives. We only got brief glimpses at this in the first volume, however. In the third, he’s even more calculating and it’s a perfect chance to provide more reasons why we should hate him and be concerned, rather than have Jill tell us, via the mangakas, he’s a threat. In the case of Hadis, we get valuable backstory into who he is, more insight into the nature of the curse, and even get to see how easy it would be for him to backslide into insanity and villainy himself.
But even better, this is a great volume for Jill herself, as she’s at her best in the third entry of The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor manga. We get to see that yes, she’s still inexperienced and awkward around people even with her adult brain and insights inside of her child-self’s body. However, there’s also her commitment to Hadis and setting things right. She isn’t going to back down from challenges. She wants to save people. Even if it puts her in direct danger, she’ll work alongside the dragon god Rave to face it. The strength she shows and growth, in terms of recognizing the situation and her feelings toward Hadis, is so satisfying and encouraging.
But also, while this volume does provide some answers as to what’s going on with the gods, the fight between the royal families of the two kingdoms, and Jill and Hadis themselves, it also doesn’t give it all away. Just enough information is doled out to keep it from feeling like the story is being unnecessarily drawn out. We’re seeing the revelations at the exact pace Jill could and should see them. It, in turn, makes the manga flow together so well. Especially since the relationship elements also feel like they’re developing at a good pace.
The third volume of The Do-Over Conquers the Dragon Emperor manga is a classic example of fantastic execution of a story. The character development for Jill, Hadis, and Gerald is handled well. The new information that’s critical to understanding everything is coming at a perfect pace. Also, it feels like we’re getting a much better idea of how things could go, which makes it all feel even more exciting.
Volume 3 of The Do-Over Conquers the Dragon Emperor is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 4 of the manga on August 20, 2024. An anime is in development and will air in 2024.
Published: Jun 2, 2024 09:00 am