Title: Multi-Mind Mayhem: Isekai Tensei Soudouki Vol. 1
Author: Ryousen Takami (Author), Matt Schley (Translator), Honoji (Art)
Publisher: One Peace Books
Language: English
Format: Digital
Pages: 216
Genre: Isekai, Fantasy
Publication Date: September 14, 2020
The Story
Multi-Mind Mayhem: Isekai Tensei Soudouki is a new series from Ryousen Takami and artist Honoji that takes the isekai genre and puts a bit of a spin on it. A young man named Bard, who is the son of the Cornelius ruling family is very ill. It just so happens that his life is saved when two people die… a samurai named Oka Sanai Sadatoshi from Japan’s Sengoku period, and Masaharu Oka, an information addict who can’t decide what’s better… dog ears or cat ears. Oka died on the battlefield while Masaharu died by our good friend Truck-kun.
In a twist, both of their souls end up inhabiting Bard’s body. As he gets a little older, both of their personalities shine through with Oka’s taking the commanding lead. Even though Oka lived for battle, he had an addiction to money and sweet things, and because as such, Bard ends up wanting to make a ton of money by selling sugar…. But not just any old sugar from sugarcane, but rather by extracting it from beets. In addition, he wants even more money by selling golden flowers; however, in order to make the biggest profit possible, he uses the information from Masaharu’s time period and finds a really cheap way to plate gold over bronze.
The Cornelius’ economy is known for being on the verge of collapse so when information gets out that they are starting to rebound, it catches the ears of the Selvi empire who send their top assassin, Toras, to figure out what’s going on. Toras brings a band of knights with him; however, using Oka’s cunning, he suspects that the Selvi nation would try something like this so he hires a mercenary named Zirco who just so happens to be a friend of Bard’s mother, the legendary knight known as Maggot. Zirco hires some friends of hers in order to help guard the beet farm when Toras’ brigade attacks.
An all-out battle ensues with the aftermath being quite the surprise! This brings us to the end of the first volume!
Characters
Bard is a cornucopia of characters… and rightfully so as he’s possessed by two completely different souls. The thing is… the two souls are working in conjunction with one another. I would have thought that there would have been some in-fighting which would lead to a multiple personality disorder but it seems as if it’s a situation where Bard is in complete control and only exhibits some of the personality traits of the two people who are now living inside of his body… at least, that’s what we were led to believe until the battle happened!
Because of all of these meshing personalities, Bard is cunning, intuitive, and has a good head for making money. However, despite all of this, he also exhibits personality traits from Masaharu as well in which he cannot help himself around Selina… a dog-girl who is the President of a small merchant company with which Bard does lots of business. He constantly wants to touch her ears; however, in their customs, touching her ears is a sign that he is interested in marriage!
That poses a problem since Bard has a maid-in-waiting named Seillune who is over-protective of him. She lives for Bard and Bard alone and often interjects herself when Selina exhibits any sort of lustful thoughts of Bard. Selina is a tsundere through and through but Seillune sees through it and knows that she has a thing for Bard. Their little rivalry adds a bit of comedy to the story!
Outside of that, Zirco is the only other interesting character but outside of being hired as a mercenary by Bard and having a past with his mother Maggot, there isn’t much to her just yet. I’m sure that there will be some development with her in the upcoming volumes but she can definitely handle herself on the battlefield. Plus, she has many skilled friends which I’m sure will make more appearances as time goes on. I wouldn’t be shocked if, in the future, they become Bard’s personal army once he climbs to new heights!
Final Thoughts
First impressions of this series were a mixed bag at first. It seemed as if this was just going to be a slice-of-life isekai with a bit of a twist until the Selvi nation ended up getting involved. That threw a much-needed layer onto the story and made things a bit more interesting. The comedy, on the other hand, seemed a little too over-the-top. With the way the artwork and text depicted the comedy, it seemed like the type that would consist of a lot of yelling and screaming… a style that I cannot stand in anime. In fact, as soon as I see this type of comedy in a show, I drop it instantly.
Since this is a manga and not an anime, it does wonders to not be able to hear the characters’ voices. Having the comedy “muted” makes a big difference and while the writing made me roll my eyes a few times, it didn’t really seem to distract from the overall story.
I will say that this is a bit different than your normal isekai. Usually, when someone gets reincarnated into another world, you assume that person’s identity and experience the new world from that person’s perspective. Here, that’s not the case. While two people died, their souls were transferred to a character that is still alive and well. You get to experience this world from Bard’s perspective; however, Oka and Masaharu’s personalities seem like borrowed power rather than the main focus which is a fresh new spin on the isekai genre.
Other than that, this is still in a fantasy setting… there’s still swords and magic… but there is a bit of a slice-of-life spin on it where Bard just wants to make a ton of money and there are the politics of the world influencing and, apparently, opposing his plans… just like in real life! While some things seemed a little too over-the-top, the concept is pretty interesting and the first volume wasn’t all that bad!
Depending on how the story goes from here, this should be an interesting entry into the isekai genre if it can continue to highlight some of the unique spins that are showcased here in the first volume!
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This item was provided for review by One Peace Books
