The Fall 2023 Manga Guide

I'll Never Set Foot in That House Again!

What's It About? 

Chelsea lives at the abusive hands of her mother and younger twin sister's daily torment. But on her twelfth birthday, the Appraiser Glen visits her father's barony and tells her she has a never-before-seen Skill—[Seed Creation]! Desiring to study this newfound special ability, Chelsea is whisked away to the Royal Research Institute. Her life then drastically improves, from being treated worse than dirt to being presented with her own living quarters and even personal maids! But her sister Margaret isn't happy with this sudden change at all...

I'll Never Set Foot in That House Again! has a story by Milli-gram, original character design by YukiKana, and art by Jirou Yuuki. The English translation is by Emily Hemphill. Published digitally by ‎J-Novel Club (September 6).

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

I may be rating this a little too highly. Still, I can't bring myself to change the number for one particular reason: at the end of the book is a scene where Chelsea realizes that she doesn't have to stand there and take her twin sister Margaret's abuse anymore, and I am a sucker for moments like that. In Chelsea's case, it's something that's been a long time coming. We don't get a complete rehash of her life at home, but the glimpses we're provided say a lot. Chelsea is a Cinderella figure, tormented by her mother and sister and forced to be a slave for them. They may not own her in the sense that she's property, but she's been so beaten down and degraded that she doesn't even believe that she deserves to eat. And even worse, she has no idea that this isn't something she deserved or that it was all that abnormal. She knew it was painful and didn't like it, but not that it was wrong.

Like the light novel it's based on, I'll Never Set Foot in That House Again!'s manga adaptation gives us little glimpses of just how bad Chelsea's life was. She's rescued from it by Glen and Adeline, two people affiliated with the royal family, when Glen discovers that she has a never-before-seen magic skill, seed creation, and he's visibly furious at the apparent differences in how she and Margaret are treated. But then her new maids see the scarring all over her body, and Chelsea glibly tells Tris (a magic researcher she's assigned to work with) that she can only make pumpkin and sunflower seeds because that's what she'd eat when her mother didn't feed her. A genuinely horrific picture begins to emerge. Even her mana pool is severely stunted because of malnutrition, and we can guess from comparing her with Margaret that her physical growth has been, too. If you thought Miyo from My Happy Marriage had it bad, prepare to weep for Chelsea.

The story's dark elements aside, this is a reasonably familiar fantasy tale. There is an isekai'd character (although it's not Chelsea) and stats, but only Glen can see them because of his appraisal skill, which isn't all that unusual in these sorts of stories. The magic system is pretty pat and even the use of both Cinderella and The Kind and the Unkind Girls fairy tales is familiar. But what makes this worth it is seeing Chelsea learn that she's allowed to exist and be herself. That's more than worth the price of admission and the tropey trappings, and if you'd rather read manga than a light novel, now's your chance to experience this story.