Hinamiya is where princesses chosen from five prestigious families live to be raised as future consorts. The story of “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga” begins in this place, which appears elegant but is swirling with various motives. At the center of it is Reirin, a princess of the Huang family. Blessed with both beauty and intelligence, and loved by those around her so much that she is praised as the “Crown Prince's Butterfly,” she is truly an existence envied by everyone. However, contrary to her glamorous position, Reirin has been sickly since childhood and has spent her days not knowing when she might lose her life. In contrast to her is Keigetsu, a princess of the Zhu family. Despised by those around her as a “villainess,” Keigetsu intensely envies Reirin, and on the night of the Qixi Festival, she finally takes action that fundamentally overturns the destinies of both.

On a night when a comet shines, the bodies of Reirin and Keigetsu are swapped by Keigetsu's hand. When Reirin wakes up, what lies there is a situation completely opposite to yesterday when she was loved. Her body has become that of the hated Keigetsu, and moreover, she is placed in an outrageous predicament where even her execution has already been decided. Normally, it would not be strange to break down in tears. However, what Reirin felt first was not despair, but the wonder of a “healthy body.” For her, who had been tormented by illness until now, being able to move freely was itself an irreplaceable joy. From this moment, we realize that this work is not a simple tragic body-swap story. Even though she should have been dropped into the worst situation, she alone is strangely lively. This unexpected reaction makes the story fascinating all at once.

Reirin's charm cannot be fully explained by the word positive alone. Even when banished to a dilapidated shack, she enjoys a free life, and even when people trying to harm her appear, she changes even their hearts through her brightness and kindness. Looking at her, it makes one want to ponder, “What is true misfortune for this person?” Precisely because she has the experience of constantly feeling death close to her since her days of having a weak body, Reirin possesses a strength that cannot be shaken by status or reputation alone. Even if she is treated coldly by those around her due to becoming in the body of a villainess, she does not think that even her own value has been denied. This steel-like strength of mind is extremely exhilarating, and it makes us look forward to even the difficulties falling upon her one after another, wondering “How will Reirin turn it around this time?”

On the other hand, changes also visit Keigetsu, who gained Reirin's body through the swap. Keigetsu envied and hated Reirin, who possessed what she herself desired, but by swapping bodies, she comes into contact with Reirin's reality and character that she could not know just by observing from the outside until now. This is the interesting point of this work; rather than only Reirin growing and solving problems, hesitation is born even in the heart of Keigetsu, who was in a hostile position. Because the background that cannot be dealt with by simple good and evil such as “the loved Reirin” and “the hated Keigetsu” gradually becomes visible, one is naturally drawn into how the relationship between the two will change.

What leaves a particularly strong impression while reading is that, although the setting itself is quite serious, a unique sense of exhilaration is born due to Reirin's toughness. Hearing of execution, exile, and the danger of assassination, one imagines a heavy development, but Reirin accepts the situation from a direction different from the readers' expectations. While that gap is enjoyable, human relationships and motives inside the Hinamiya intertwine behind the story, and eventually the two become involved in a conspiracy that shakes the inner palace. Without relying only on comical fun, a sense of tension appropriate for a story set in the royal court is firmly prepared, so you can taste the sensation of the world expanding as you read further.

“Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga” is a work that, while starting from an easy-to-understand introduction where a beloved princess and a hated villainess swap places, entertains us by splendidly overturning those positions. In particular, Reirin's intense vitality is a major highlight, and while there are scenes that make us think “You rejoice over that?”, her life that she has walked is properly reflected in her way of thinking. And when focusing also on Keigetsu, who begins to change by interacting with Reirin, the story becomes even deeper in flavor. Even if bodies can be exchanged, the experiences and heart accumulated by that person cannot be easily exchanged. It is an inner palace body-swap turnaround drama that makes you want to follow until the end to see what kind of destiny the two girls who seem complete opposites will arrive at.