Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion Ep 1: Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion follows its specific subgenre of Isekai perfectly. There’s a female hero who reincarnates in a novel she’s, of course, familiar with and in a character who, also not surprisingly, is destined to die after just getting murdered. In fact, the death of this character basically sets the normal novel in motion (if she doesn’t do anything about it).
This isn’t anything new. In fact, Crunchyroll’s last season featured a series with the same exact premise, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss. The only difference is that the eponymous villainess reincarnates in an otome game rather than a novel. Also, aside from the fact that there are a slew of other “I’m the Villainess…” series, the way she attempts to avoid her own death is by marrying the titular final boss, as opposed to someone else, which is normally the case.
In Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, Raeliana tries to do the same by ensuring that she somehow ends up in the mansion of her nation’s duke. Besides the fact that Raeliana isn’t even a major character in the original novel unlike the aforementioned villainous in the otome game, the twist here is that Raeliana isn’t trying to marry or make this duke fall in love with her. Instead, Raeliana catches his attention by making a deal with him about the royal seal.
From what episode one tells us, the royal seal is part of a much larger, all-encompassing “game of thrones” type of situation in this novel between old nobles and new nobles. Essentially, the royal seal will help the old nobles stay in power, but it’s been stolen. And as the eponymous duke is one of these older noble and therefore wants this seal, he is very interested in anything about its whereabouts so he can ensure his sovereignty.
It’s the unique setup of this particular Isekai subgenre that allows Raeliana to leverage this knowledge to her advantage. Raeliana is obviously familiar with the novel, so she most likely knows who stole it. This wouldn’t have been possible in any other anime other than Isekai, which can be part of the genre’s charm if done correctly. (And this series does.) Basically, a protagonist who has been Isekai’d into a game, novel, movie, or some other form of fiction that they have read, watched, or played and want to change their character’s fate will use what they know to make strategic moves in their favor even though they never happened originally. The most basic tactic can go as follows, “I know that this character did this in that situation, so I can deduce that, based on those actions, they could do this or that in this other similar or opposite situation that I am concocting.”
The political intrigue between these old and new nobles, which even involves the rise of capitalism, adds to this dynamic considerably, separating it even further from the many other novel Isekais. Moreover, this duke, while the protagonist, is apparently two-faced. Raeliana knows of his true nature, and it’s clear based on her reactions that involving herself with him could be dangerous or detrimental to her in some way. Viewers just don’t know why or in what way. But it’s enough to make her not want to get drawn into his good looks. So, this naturally introduces another layer of danger to Raeliana’s already unique situation. She could very well be jumping into the frying pan and into the fire, as they say. Remember, she’s involving herself with the duke to prevent her preordained death, but the fact that she’s hesitant about the duke being part of the solution should raise some red flags. And they are waving quite high and wildly.
Yes, Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion isn’t trying to innovate Isekai. But it’s remaining fresh while still following a well-defined formula to a T. That should say something.
Watch Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion episode 1 on Crunchyroll
