Danshi Kinsei Game Sekai de Ore ga Yaru Beki Yuiitsu no Koto (男子禁制ゲーム世界で俺がやるべき唯一のこと) is a light novel series written by Ryou Hazakura and illustrated by hai. It began publication in 2023 and is ongoing, with nine volumes released to date. I have read the first six volumes so far.
The story follows Tachibana Itsuki, a bona fide yuri fan who loves reading novels and playing games in that genre. After a fatal collision with a car, he is reincarnated into the world of a yuri game. Unfortunately, he is reborn as the specific entity he hates most in these titles: the "man who gets in between yuri couples". In this game, that character is Sanjou Hiiro, a generally hateful individual who tries to interfere with the relationship between the female protagonist and the various heroines.
Itsuki could try to simply ignore the plot and avoid risk, but that would not help him in the long term. In almost every route of the game, Hiiro ends up dead, and since he is now Hiiro, he must find a way to survive. Therefore, he decides to use his knowledge of the game to help the protagonist reach the best possible yuri ending.
The issue is that every attempt he makes to direct the girls toward a yuri relationship backfires. Instead of falling for each other, the girls begin falling in love with him one after another, including the protagonist, Tsukiori Sakura. Such is the plight of a yuri fan in a world that seems to be moving away from any semblance of yuri at high speed.
The story can be summarized as a comedy and action series. There is a lot of fighting, with enemies constantly lurking and trying to disrupt Itsuki’s plans, but his real and most dangerous enemy is himself. His genuine love for the characters makes him step in to save them from tragic events, which inevitably raises their affection for him instead of each other. There is an overarching story focused on the demon lords that are awakening in the world, but I won't go too deep in spoiler territory for this initial post.
The main heroines are:
Tsukiori Sakura
The protagonist of the original yuri game. She is a girl with short hair, a strong personality, and great latent combat ability. She is immediately captivated by Hiiro’s strength, and he becomes her primary focus, completely ruining his plan to lead her toward the other heroines.
Sanjou Rei
She has been in love with Hiiro from the beginning and was against their family's plan to ostracize him. After Hiiro saves her from the family's influence, she stops pretending and becomes increasingly attached to him. Hiiro tries to discourage her by lying and saying he is dating Lapis, but it is a deception that cannot last long.
Snow
Hiiro’s personal maid. She has a sharp tongue and does not hesitate to insult him at every opportunity. However, she is impressed by the change in his personality after Itsuki takes control, and she eventually falls in love with him as well. Of course, her way of showing love is still quite prickly.
Lapis
An elf princess and a powerful warrior. She is an extremely choroi (easy to win over) heroine and is the first to fall for Hiiro. She begins living with him almost immediately and shifts from "tsun" to "dere" in an incredibly short period of time. It feels like she is trying to speedrun her character transformation.
Kuruera
Lapis’s teacher and one of the strongest entities in the world. Hiiro wanted to avoid her at all costs initially, but after Lapis falls for him, he has no choice but to acknowledge her. She eventually becomes his teacher as he pursues the strength necessary to guide the game toward the ending he desires.
My favorite character so far is definitely Lapis. You just cannot hate her, given her dedication to Hiiro and her genuinely innocent personality. Plus, she is so choroi that it makes you worry about her and want to protect her. My close second is Snow, because her interactions with Hiiro make her feel like a true partner-in-crime.
A bit thumbs up also for the art, because it's one of the most beautiful that I've seen in the recent past in light novel series. Bright colors, extremely attractive character design and consistent quality across volumes makes this series art a treat to watch.
I highly suggest giving this series a try. I plan to read the remaining volumes in the near future and will post more about it after each volume like I usually do.
