Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou

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“Are you willing to devour me?”

Mimizuku and the King of Night is a fairytale type light novel, which is rarely seen in the market. It is a story about seeking happiness and one of the few light novels that brought me to tears.

Story:
The story starts off with a girl who calls herself Mimizuku wandering in a forest full of monsters. She attempts to end her life and get eaten up by the beautiful monster, King of Night. She believes being devoured by the King of Night is the greatest happiness she could seek. While reading, although not knowing anything about Mimizuku, I could feel how ... abnormal and broken she is, which is really heartbreaking.

Out of Mimizuku’s expectations, the King of Night rejects her demand and tells her to stay away. While not giving up her request, she decides to reside in the King of Night’s residence and convince him to end her life. This is just the brief introduction of the story so there’s no need to worry that I’ve spoiled a major portion of the plot.

A large part of the story focuses on Mimizuku and the King of Night’s interactions and her new daily life. Though these are simple events, her past is bit by bit revealed to the King of Night and their interactions mend her crumbled heart little by little. Although the plot seems simple, there are also an amount of misunderstanding and confrontations, such as people from outside the forest who tries to rescue Mimizuku from the “atrocious” King of Night.

In my opinion, these events are essential to the story as it puts Mimizuku it different situations. Like when she seeks death in the forest, her new daily life spent with the King of Night, the tragedy she went through before entering the forest and the peaceful life she lived after being “rescued”. From time to time she asks herself if she has found happiness, which is great character development.

Characters:
The interactions between Mimizuku and the King of Night are really satisfying to read. Mimizuku’s heart was twisted and torn apart badly, she even calls herself as a cattle. Ironically, it was the King of Night who keeps reminding her that she is human and giving her courage. Though the King of Night treats Mimizuku rather cold, he never rejects her staying by his side which I find heartwarming.

Aside from the two leads, it has a memorable cast of side characters. There is a Prince born with cursed limbs who also believes his birth was the reason of his mother’s death, the King who wishes to sacrifice the King of Nights life to heal his son defect and a Paladin who questions himself whether slaying the King of Nights is the right choice. Each of them have their own struggles and were never dull characters.

Art:
I have to point out that the only artwork for this light novel is its cover; there isn’t any inside the book itself. Artwork is the least important aspect for me to decide whether the LN is enjoyable or not, character development and the story always goes first.

Overall:
As Mimizuku and the King of Night is short length single volume light novel, it is rather difficult for me to discuss certain parts of the story or character relationships I enjoyed reading without spoiling the plot. The only way to experience the stories unique atmosphere and emotional impacts it brings is to read it yourself. Mimizuku and the King of Night is a superb healing classic that will leave a mark of warmth in ones heart after reading.