The First Isekai, Romance Manhwa to have an anime adaptation
Anime Title: Why Raeliana Ended Up In The Duke’s Mansion?
Release date: Spring 2023
Localised by: Crunchyroll
Studio: Typhoon Graphics
Age Rating: PG 13+
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Isekai, Animation
Rating: 7.5/10
Why Raeliana Ended Up In The Duke’s Mansion (2023), originally a completed manhwa series illustrated by Whale and story by Milcha. In my opinion, this is a big breakthrough for shoujo/josei type romance manhwa’s as it is one of the first to have an anime adaptation within the romance manhwa categories.
I loved the manhwa and all the main casts were well-rounded and wholesome, so I was looking forward to seeing how they will be portrayed in the anime adaptation as well as the illustration.
Synopsis
Living inside a fairy tale may sound like a dream, but for this heroine, it’s more of a nightmare. After her mysterious death, Rinko is reborn as Raeliana—a loved and wealthy character in a novel. But she knows the ending: her murder at the hands of her fiancé. So, she hatches a plan to stay alive, one that involves a devilish duke and a phony engagement. Can she rewrite her story?
Art
The art style especially in the opening episode introducing the setting did not disappoint with the warm lighting and vintage feel of the Victorian era depicted through shots of the clock and Raeliana’s surroundings.
I love the nightscape background where the river is shimmering under the lights and illuminated moon while Raeliana and Noah are enjoying a pleasant boat ride. The character art style was great too especially the detail of the bright highlighted eyes.
One downside to the art is how the background characters used in the ballroom scene or busy scene in the mansion show character sprites as black/grayish shadows which were off-putting watching the scene as they were distracting. Also, the art quality drops in some places when the shot is not a close-up of the character e.g. Noah’s face in the pool lol. Overall, I’d rate the art style 6.5/10.
Sound
I loved all 3 soundtracks in this anime. The English soundtrack “Fireworks”, by MindaRyn in episode 6 during a romantic boat scene was epic, it was such an enchanting song that fits beautifully with Raeliana’s emotions towards Noah.
High Priest Wade’s voice sounded familiar and then I was so surprised to find out Nobuhiko Okamoto voices him and shares the same VA as Bakugou (My Hero Academia) and also Genya from (Demon Slayer).
Noah’s deep voice is Yuuichirou Umehara who also voices Canus from (Cafe Enchante).
The voice-acting cast did a great job with numerous well-known VA’s. Overall, I’d rate the sound of this anime 9/10.
Story
Since there are only around 12 episodes to navigate the plot from the manhwa, I think the anime did a good job of delivering the main plot of Raeliana’s encounter with Noah and the journey of their fake relationship contract. I especially liked the banter between them both and how Raeliana always tries to get the upper hand against him but then he comes back by surprising her.
The scenes between Heika and Wade are funny too, Wade is almost like an exhausted babysitter that ensures Haeika doesn’t run loose.
I really liked how Raeliana deals with obstacles in a calm manner and is very smart. While talking respectfully like a graceful lady, we get to hear her inner monologue of what she exactly means which is funny. Overall, the story 7/10.
Would I recommend it?
I liked how all the main cast and the knights were shown in the anime and despite the low art quality at times, overall the anime is great and I would definitely recommend watching it. My overall rating for Why Raeliana Ended Up In The Duke’s Mansion: 7.5
If you enjoyed this review please like this post by clicking the heart emoji at the bottom 🙂 Thank you for reading!
