Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Dukes Mansion is apparently one of the biggest otome isekai in Japan big enough for it to be receiving its own anime adaptation. And after reading it I am quite excited to see this fun beginner otome isekai animated Raeliana McMillian is a side character in the novel Beatrice. She is relegated to a side character who is killed off by her fiance setting the novels plot in motion. However Park Eunha reincarnates as Raeliana before her death and must come up with a plan to avoid being murdered. This plan involves entering a contract marraige with Duke Noah Wynknight via her knowledge of the novel. It seems very basic as we all know Raeliana is going to defeat all odds and survive and marry the Duke ect... However the thing that pushed the story over the edge was the mystery elements. There are definitely political schemes going on as well as dark magic at play. In addition the story does not just shove aside Raelianas past life. In fact her reincarnation actually becomes a major element to the story. I actually was able to guess the huge plot twist regarding the main antagonist and I am very proud of myself for that. I feel like the extra chapters were also better utilized than the other otome isekai I read recently Ginger and the Cursed Prince. I think Raelianas chapters really added to the closure the original story had all while doing more with all the side characters who were introduced. As for the characters thats where things fell short for me. Dont get me wrong they were all very likeable. The problem was most of them lacked proper depth. Our leads definitely stood out. Raeliana is very smart and capable. She relies on her wit and talents of her past life to help her survive even when she can no longer rely on her memories of the novel. Shes a very loveable character determined to do things the way she wants. However shes held back by her fear of being unable to escape the destiny set out for her. Noah was also very fun to watch as hes not as serious and loves to tease people particularly Raeliana. However he does have his own motives and strives to protect those he cares about. I think he and Raeliana balance each other out really well with their strengths and weaknesses as well as how they interact. I just loved the romance between the two especially since they had great chemistry. I cant wait to see them animated. I just felt like most of the side characters had potential to be better than they were. I did really like King Siathrich Noahs brother who has a similar teasing personality despite being more level headed. I also found his interactions with the countess to be very funny. The other character I loved was Adam Taylor. He is my son and I love him. He is an impressively powerful warrior feared as a monster despite being very young. The way he interacts with Raeliana is so innocent as he clearly struggles with interacting normally barely speaking to anyone. I feel like the Shamall siblings had a lot of wasted potential. Justin was kind of bland for me especially since he was the second male lead. I cant give you any defining traits for the man other than being a knight who is in love with Raeliana. He didnt detract from the story but I didnt really like him. Vivian was also a super interesting character just underutilized to the point where I have a hard time remembering what her motives were. In general she had a lot of wasted potential. I think if there was more time exploring her complexities instead of her just being petty towards Raeliana I think she could have been one of my favorites. I did think all the side characters were fun even if they were pretty onenote. I really liked Ansley and I do have questions about her standing as a knight despite being a woman since they made note about the society being super patriarchal. As for the art I loved it. The character designs were stunning and I just kept noticing Raelianas hair and eyes which were beautifully drawn. It just felt fresh and unique with the sketchiness of the outlines. Everyone looked so nice. I just have some questions about the color schemes artists use for the love rivals because in Raeliana and Ginger the supposedly more desirable rival is always dressed in less appealing clothing than the FL. Its unrelated but an observation I made on my otome isekai journey. If you are looking to start looking into otome isekai but you dont know where to start I think Raeliana is a good starting point. Its just such a fun read. I had a hard time putting it down Its got a good plot likeable characters and pretty art. Im looking forward to the anime and I have a feeling this will be one of the series that will continue to draw in new otome isekai fans.