Cover of “Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Vol. 2” by Yomu Mishima.I’m back with another book review, and this time I’m reviewing “Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Vol. 2” by Yomu Mishima! I read the first book and enjoyed reading it, so I decided to pick up the second book and see how this goes! Here’s a quick summary so we know what it’s about:
“Leon doesn’t want a leading role, not in the kingdom and not in the game. Too bad for him. Between his new promotion and the attentions of protagonist Livia and villainess Angie, no one will leave him alone–least of all the prince and his lordly gang. As Leon struggles for independence, tension grows with his allies. But soon, they’ll have to band together to face the greatest danger imaginable, one that threatens to destabilize the game itself.”
Plot Development: 4 out of 5 stars
The story was a little slow in the beginning, almost to the point of risking being filler content. The reason the story felt so slow in the beginning was because there were essentially two festival arcs in the beginning. First, there was the school festival, and later on they had a summer festival.
However, the main story quickly ramped up in the second half of this volume and ended on an engaging cliffhanger that makes me want to pick up the next volume. I wish I could write more about what makes it so engaging, but I’d be giving away many major spoilers if I did.
Character Development: 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading Olivia (Livia for short), Leon, and Marie in this volume, but especially the former two. Leon got called out on treating everyone around him (particularly Olivia herself) like pawns in the game. I think it’s dawned on Leon that though this may be the world of an otome game that he’s in, it’s also still a very real world to everyone else. They would like to be treated as more than just fictional characters. This led to Leon being more considerate of his allies’ feelings. I hope he keeps this up going into the next volume.
Leon rages a lot against the current system, which is full of not just women being dominant over men but also contains heavy classism issues in general regardless. But it’s also ironic that he keeps rising in power politically by doing so. I wonder how he’ll deal with that in the later volume.
Speaking of rising power, however, Marie also gave herself a boost by replacing Olivia as the world’s “Saint.” This is essentially the highest spiritual-related position that this story’s world has (at least, so far). It sets up a much larger conflict for Leon to face in at least the next volume. I look forward to seeing that clash between them unfold further! Luxion, though he is Leon’s servant, seems to have much more depth than I originally perceived. It’s possible that he’ll play a pivotal role in the next volume or two as well.
Worldbuilding Development: 4 out of 5 stars
I know I was a bit put off by the giant mecha robots from the first volume. But, it’s making more sense to just accept it as is in this second book, especially since it lends to the pivotal plot-related battles in this series. Other than getting used to that, however, I really enjoyed reading more of the worldbuilding. Even though women are the top of the social ladder, the entire worldbuilding system reeks of classism. Leon seeks to somewhat topple that while aspiring to seek a more peaceful life. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, Leon’s continuing rise in power will make his dream of a peaceful life to himself much more difficult. I can’t wait to see how that impacts him later on!
Overall, I’m rating this book 4 out of 5 stars!
This was a solid second book in the “Trapped In A Dating Sim” series and I look forward to reading the next one!
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