The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 1 Manga Review

The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter is an isekai boys love manga series from Kazuki Irodori based on the original story by Yatsuki Wakatsu & character design by Kikka Ohashi and published by Yen Press. Follow Kondou, a workaholic accountant from modern Japan who accidentally gets isekai’d to a another world alongside a young woman destined to save the world… While she’s off protecting the world he’s off trying to whip the kingdom finances into shape!

Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, a holy maiden was summoned. Not just any holy maiden—one hailing from modern Japan. But this story is not her story. This is the tale of the humble accountant, Kondou, who accompanied her and his trials and woes as he accounts in a new world… But no tale is complete without a love interest. And who better to play that role than the handsome knight captain Aresh? Will he begin a personal quest to save said bean counter—who toils around the clock—or is Kondou doomed to be married to his work evermore…?!
Official Synopsis

Manga Details

Genre: Boys Love | Isekai
Author: Kazuki Irodori | Original Story: Yatsuki Wakatsu | Character Design: Kikka Ohashi
Publisher: Yen Press
Price: $13.00 USD
Length: 2 volumes (Ongoing)

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Volume 1 review

The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 1 Review

Workaholic corporate paper pusher, Kondou is living his best life married to his job and thinking nothing of life outside of his cubicle. But, fate has other things in store for him. While out shopping he sees a young woman getting sucked into a void—and like any other decent human being he tries to save her, inadvertently getting whisked away with her to a parallel word. While she is lauded as the holy maiden destined to save the word from and evil plague, Kondou is just a tag along with no place in this new world.

The kingdom of Romany offers to feed and house him free of charge, but, that doesn’t sit well with the workaholic. So he quickly offers up his corporate accountant skills to help whip the kingdom’s finances into shape as a royal accountant. Though, he’ll have his work cut out for him, when he discovers that the kingdom is in dire financial straits. He immediately discovers that the kingdom has been hemorrhaging money for years with the excessive spending of the knights being the biggest strain on the budget. Of course not everyone is cool with Kondou tightening the kingdom’s purse strings and he has to deal with the complaints of elitist knights and nobleman.

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Volume 1

Despite the fantasy setting, the first volume of Bean Counter spends much of its time showing how Kondou gets acclimated to his new life in Romany. The first few chapters squeeze in a lot of worldbuilding, it doesn’t feel like it because we’re learning about everything alongside Kondou. From learning about it’s money and language to shopping in the marketplace and getting to know the other residents of the palace and of course settling into his role as one of the royal accountant. Though he goes a bit overboard and finds himself in a sticky situation As a life long worker bee, Kondou works himself to exhaustion, thankfully Aresh is there to swoop in and help him out when he overdoses on magical vitality potions.

Because this is a magical world, Aresh tries to use his powers to save Kondou’s life. But, it doesn’t go as planned and Aresh has to use a bit of TLC (read: sex) to fix to cure our bespectacled cutie. Volume 1 is rated Teen, so the sex is light—no peens to be seen—so if you’re looking for something hot and heavy, best to look elsewhere. Kondou is a bit too preoccupied with work to even think about anything, let alone the hunky captain of the guard. And aside from a two scenes and a few stolen glances, Aresh doesn’t really spend all that much time with Kondou. So only time will tell how how their relationship will develop.

On the flipside, Bean Counter has a fairly large supporting cast who take center stage in this volume. I’m used to BL series that focus on the main couple and little else, so it’s a nice change to see other characters getting their time in the limelight. Prime Minister Camile, is especially shaping up to be someone important, whether that’s as an obstacle to Kondou or as a potential romantic rival for Aresh is yet to be seen. And IDK what to make of Yua, the “holy maiden” who travels from modern Japan with Kondou. She seems sweet and a bit naïve, but sis is definitely very passive aggressive in her interactions with Kondou…

I picked up The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter on a whim in my last Rightstuf manga haul and it was one of the best buys of the batch! An isekai boys love series with a ridiculously long name and a megane protagonist; sign me up! The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter is one in a new line of isekai series like My Next Life as a Villainess and Trapped in a Dating Sim. Rather than focusing on the “traditional” protagonists—the holy maiden or the hero of prophesy—these stories follow the often overlooked side characters, and I kinda like it. This is definitely a series that I’ll be keeping up with and with volume 2 coming out at the end of the month, I don’t have long of a wait for the next installment. So, if you’re looking for a fun, isekai BL series with a unique premise, look no further than The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter!