I read a lot of light novels, so I'd be the first to tell you that they come in all sorts. The light novel scene may have a deserved reputation for publishing its fair share of milquetoast male power fantasies, but it's not hard to find stories about relatable youth problems or girls kicking ass. Yet even after all the light novels I've read, I've never read anything quite as pointed in its themes of female empowerment as Sexiled.

The first volume of Sexiled tells the story of Tanya, who is a competent adventurer but will never get the credit she deserves in the patriarchal fantasy world she lives in. When she gets kicked out of her party simply because she's a woman, she's furious enough to go into a wasteland and starting blowing things up at random, which accidentally breaks the seal on a mythical sorceress named Laplace. After some shenanigans, they decide to form their own adventuring party so that Tanya can get revenge on her former party leader by trouncing him in a public fighting tournament.

Right from the first chapter, it's evident that this novel is commenting on real-life sexism, and that impression only further deepens as the story goes on. The author notes in the afterword that one of the inspirations for the story is the sexism scandal at Tokyo Medical University in 2018, where it was discovered that the university was docking points from female applicants of the entrance exam. The parallel is not exactly subtle when, during her adventures, Tanya finds that the magic academy has been doing the exact same thing.

There are plenty of stories about girls who kick ass, but what makes Sexiled so cathartic for me is its humor. Even as it points out all the nonsense that women have to put up with in their day-to-day lives, the asshole men are portrayed with such glibness that it becomes immediately obvious that they're not anything to be afraid of. Tanya's sexist party leader was able to belittle and manipulate her for so many years because of his relationship to her as his childhood friend, but it quickly becomes evident that he's just an insecure loser with an ego problem. I'm sure that there will be some readers who take issue with the misogynists portrayed in this story, who are blown up and caricatured to the point of ridiculousness, but it was powerful for me to be able to look at the monsters and abusers in this world in the eye and recognize them as the small and pathetic people they truly are.

Something I grappled with as I read this series is my general distaste of revenge narratives. Like many novels published on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website, Sexiled is about a hero who has been chased out of their party or has otherwise been betrayed by the people around them (think of series like The Rising of The Shield Hero or the upcoming Redo of Healer anime). I've never liked this subgenre because it reads like a persecution complex that's been projected onto the entire world, but there are a couple of things about Sexiled that made the formula easier for me to swallow. For one thing, the evils that our characters are dealing with here are not just personal ills but a broader systemic issue that affects every woman in the world. Secondly, and this is just as important: Tanya's idea of revenge is fundamentally petty and harmless. She just wants to humiliate the guy in a tournament and then be done with him forever. She is healed, not through cold-hearted revenge but through laughing at her tormentor. And again, I found that cathartic.

The way Tanya's story plays out is probably why I ended up enjoying volume 1 more than volume 2. The latter focuses more on Laplace and her past, and I do have to note that it's a significantly darker tale. Where Tanya's story felt more like a girl finding closure after a bad relationship by venting to her friends about how her ex was a prat, Laplace's story deals with the heavy theme of father-daughter abuse. It's certainly worthy of a trigger warning, because there are parts of it that may strike a bit too close to home. Laplace's revenge also takes place on a much grander scale, because the guy she has it out for is an archvillain with power over the entire country. It's not as easy to laugh when the story goes to some dark places, but the novel attempts to weave in some humor anyway, which results in an inconsistent tone throughout that second volume.

Mind you, volume 2 is still a great read overall. The romantic chemistry between Tanya and Laplace, which felt sort of downplayed in volume 1, becomes one of the highlights here. In typical light novel fashion, their interactions began with a contract-sealing kiss that was thrust upon them in the heat of the moment, so it's nice to see the two girls work through some of the underlying consent issues with that and affirmatively pursue a relationship. There's also a really heartwarming conversation between Tanya and an unnamed male guard, which makes it really clear that this is a story about social justice for everyone. I just wish that the core conflict of the volume was a bit more fleshed out, so that the shift in tones don't come across as so abrupt.

Taken as a whole, however, these novels are a delight. Although this review is based on the digital versions of the books, volume 1 recently got a print release, and volume 2 will get its print release in September; both books are worthy additions to any feminist-inclined reader's bookshelf, whether they're a light novel fan or not. The breezy prose and the snappy, humorous dialogue are appealing in their own right. Despite the stereotypical Narō fantasy setting, Sexiled never gets bogged down in irrelevant world-building details like so many of its peers. Props have to go to the English translator Molly Lee for adding that extra pizzazz to Kaeruda's rather succinct and direct style of Japanese writing. Making Laplace spout random French words was a particularly inspired choice.

Sexiled is fun and easy to read, and that's what makes it so successful at conveying the message that feminism can be fun. To all the girls out there dreaming of adventure, this one's for you.

Disclosure: The author of this review previously translated Mari Okada's From Truant to Anime Screenwriter: My Path to “Anohana” and “The Anthem of the Heart” for J-Novel Club. This review is based on a digital copy purchased by the reviewer.