Sexiled Review: Volumes 1 & 2
Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! has an incredibly long title, but it’s such a breezy, two-volume read, that’s both hilarious and uplifting, and one that acts as a breath of fresh air in a world where we need more heroic protagonists who aren’t male — across all media.
Author Ameko Kaeruda was inspired by the gender discrimination issue which took place at Tokyo Medical University, where points were being docked from women who were taking entrance exams, to limit how many female entrants they take on. As explained in the link, this was due to (very sexist) concerns that women would leave to have children, which would cause staffing issues in the medical field.
In the world of Sexiled, anybody can become an adventurer, but women are expected to exclusively perform as Healers, and receive less credit and payment for their services. Like the disgusting act that took place at Tokyo Medical University, this is a plot put in place by the men in power, and our protagonists, Tanya Artemiciov and Laplace, seek to overthrow the current state of the world — and there’s nothing, and no one, who can stop them.
As the title suggests, Tanya, despite being the best performing party member, is kicked out of her guild when guild leader, Ryan, decides that it’s time for her to stop being an adventurer. Angry, she goes to a wasteland and begins performing high-class and powerful magic, and she frees the great sorceress Laplace, who had been trapped for 300 years. Grateful for her freedom, and admiring Tanya’s skill and resilience, she joins Tanya on her quest to change the world as part of the newly-formed all-women’s guild, Lilium.
But where does Tanya start? Of course, she aims to carry out her plans as soon as possible, which means entering the Sparring Tournament to take first place, and to show Ryan that she doesn’t need him nor his guild. So, what exactly do Tanya and Laplace have to change in this sexist world? Well…
Outfits is a big one. You know the generalisation, right? Women in fantasy media, RPG games, etc, have scantily clad gear, whilst men have full body and practical armour. A man is dressed ready to take on anything, whilst a woman is dressed as if she’s about to head to the beach. This is dumb. Always has been. Sexiled takes these thin fabrics and Laplace, with her magic, transforms them into proper armour. Men hate it, and some women are confused due to centuries of being told otherwise, but it isn’t long until women realise that they, too, deserve to have gear that’s functional, protective, and stylish.
Tied into outfits, but so much more, is expectation. In Sexiled, women are expected to dress in a way that pleases men, and to stick to Support classes, rather than be drawn into the action itself. They behave as if they’re doing the women adventurers a favour, but in reality, they want to stroke their own fragile egos, and assert dominance. It takes Tanya being kicked from her guild to realise the reality of things, along with Laplace, who lived 300 years ago when female adventurers were common, to inspire questions that were otherwise not thought of.
These expectations have been created because, like with the Tokyo Medical University incident, scores have been unfairly docked from female entrants who wish to be adventurers, ensuring that they will only be able to take up supporting roles, or office work, before feeling as if they should retire much earlier than men and focus on being a housewife.
Sexiled is a genuinely laugh-out-loud book, and our main protagonists are easy to love, but the topics it deals with are very real, despite its fantasy setting, which can make it a frustrating read. I despised Ryan, I despised the older men who were unfairly deducting points, and I despised the comments made towards Tanya who, even when she had proven herself, still had doubters and those who wished not to change their way of thinking. But thankfully, with a very touching speech, and a rousing performance at the Sparring Tournament, Tanya inspires not only adventurers and those aspiring to be one, but her message also reaches out to men, too.
I haven’t read the Japanese version, due to my not understanding Japanese, but translator Molly Lee does a fantastic job in ensuring that both volumes flow well, are easy to consume, and they were able to evoke several emotions in me — again, I rarely laugh-out-loud when reading a book, but I did several times at this, thanks to Tanya and Laplace being such incredible leads, and I got angry and upset, too. That it’s so well translated is a credit to Ameko Kaeruda too, and I’m definitely going to be following her future work.
As far as I can tell from the original web novel, it doesn’t seem as if there is much more content that can be compiled into a book, and honestly, volume two ends really well, with both Tanya’s and Laplace’s arcs concluding neatly. I’d love more, but Ameko is also writing another novel called A Lily Blooms in Another World, so I expect that the adventures of guild Lilium might not continue.
Sexiled shot up straight to my favourites, and I devoured both volumes in only a couple of sittings on my Kindle. This is power fantasy done right, and done with good intention, and I do not often enjoy power fantasy stories. I enjoyed both volumes of Sexiled so much that I’m planning to buy both volumes physically to support them, and I’m hoping that we might one day see a 12-episode anime based on it sometime. It certainly deserves one, and it would be a breath of fresh air in the wider world of anime.
Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! is published physically and digitally by J-Novel Club, and translated into English by Molly Lee.
