Or Tenten Kakumei for Short

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei / 転生王女と天才令嬢の魔法革命) is another anime based on a light novel with a name that’s way too long. And I’m not sure why they didn’t shorten the title when translating it to English.

But, rather than referring to the series by its full name, you can just call it Tenten Kakumei or MagiRevo for short. Personally, I prefer Tenten Kakumei because it’s more fun to say. Also, MagiRevo is a bit too similar to MagiReco, the shortened name for the Madoka Magica spin-off.

Now, when you have a long light novel title, it often describes the whole concept of the series. Tenten Kakumei is no exception. It’s about a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady who start a magical revolution.

Obviously, there’s more to the series than that. But if you wanted a one-sentence “tl;dr,” the title is it. And going by the title, it doesn’t sound like a very good anime, to me. In fact, I wasn’t planning on watching this series.

However, I changed my mind and ended up watching the series while it aired. Why? Because multiple people told me that it was a yuri series. That’s all I needed to hear for my interest to be piqued. And I have to say, Tenten Kakumei didn’t disappoint.

Yes, this is an isekai series, which I know is going to put some people off. I get it — fantasy isekai anime are overdone. I agree. But, Tenten Kakumei is actually a good one. Not as good as Mushoku Tensei, but good. If you like fantasy and yuri, give it a try.

A Different Kind of Isekai

There are a few things that set Tenten Kakumei apart from other isekai anime. One of these things is that the protagonist is female. It’s not the first isekai to have a female protagonist, by any means. But, female protagonists in these series are less common.

And building upon that, there’s the fact that this is a yuri (shoujo ai, really) series. I can’t think of another isekai anime with a same-sex couple as the main characters. And since I’m a yuri and shoujo ai enjoyer, that makes Tenten Kakumei better than similar series.

But, the thing that makes this isekai more interesting than many others is how it handles the “isekai” part. Most isekai start off with a scene leading up to the protagonist’s reincarnation. These scenes often involve the protagonist dying in some way.

Later on in isekai series, we also tend to get at least one other scene of the protagonist’s past life. If there’s going to be a tragic backstory other than the fact that they died prematurely, it comes here. Tenten Kakumei does neither of these things, though. It starts off in the “other world” and doesn’t mention reincarnation.

It takes a few episodes for Princess Anisphia’s reincarnation to be implied at all. We then learn that she previously lived in Japan, but not much more than that. And she doesn’t tell a single other person about her reincarnation until the last episode.

Of course, from the title of the series, we know about Anis’s reincarnation. But, I liked how we didn’t waste time introducing the concept of reincarnation in another world. Everyone watching the series is already familiar with that. Instead, we learn about Anis’s reincarnation through how she acts. She’s not like the other nobles.

Not Yuri Bait

In case you’re wondering, no, Tenten Kakumei isn’t yuri bait. But, for those of you who don’t know what yuri bait is, allow me to explain. Yuri bait is when a series appears to be yuri, but then never follows through on it.

For example, let’s say a series has two female main characters who are very close. They’re friends, but it also seems like there’s something more going on between them. If the series never goes beyond this “very close friend” phase, it’s yuri bait. The name comes from the fact that the close relationship baits people into thinking it’s going to be yuri.

So, with that in mind, Tenten Kakumei is not yuri bait. Anis and Euphie are gay girls in a lesbian relationship — at least by the end of the season. Well, Anis was always gay. It just took Euphie a bit of time to get there.

And their relationship isn’t some vague thing that’s only implied. They kiss multiple times and it’s made very clear that they’re together. But, there is one thing that may be a little bit misleading by my labeling it as not yuri bait.

Technically, Tenten Kakumei isn’t yuri at all. It’s shoujo ai. The difference has to do with the type of girl-girl relationship depicted. Yuri tends to refer more to sexual relationships. Shoujo ai refers more to romantic relationships. So, don’t go into this series expecting something like Citrus or even Sakura Trick.

Are Anis and Euphie sleeping together? Of course they are. But, we never see that kind of sexual content. And all the intimate content we do see has a lot more to do with their emotional relationship. That’s why this isn’t actually a yuri anime as many in the West would understand it.

Conclusion

In the end, I gave Tenten Kakumei a 7/10. I thought it was a good anime and I’d like to see it get a second season. If it does get a second season, though, I’d expect it to be quite different from the first. Both the magical revolution and Anis and Euphie’s relationship are in full swing now.

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