The only way to explain this is if people literally went out of their way to create something generic.

The best I can possibly say about Bibliophile Princess is that it wasn’t offensively bad. That said, if something offensive had happened, I might not have noticed because my eyes had glazed over somewhere around the halfway mark. This isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen this season but it’s definitely the most boring. It’s also so incredibly generic that I was actually laughing in some places – the entire cast both looks and acts like cardboard cut-out versions of characters rather than real people with anything even close to a personality, particularly the two main characters. It’s like a 10-year-old’s fantasy of what fictional royalty in a pseudo-historical setting would be like, only I’d probably credit a 10-year-old with more imagination.

None of this is helped in any way by the pacing, which is sloooow. Don’t ask me how the creators pulled this off when there was a 4-year time skip right near the beginning of the episode, but they somehow managed it. I made it through the entire premiere, but not without breathing a very real sigh of relief when I saw the credits start to roll.

Look, as someone who does genuinely enjoy female-led historical dramas and high fantasy settings, it pains me to say this, but Bibliophile Princess is not good. If you’re looking for reverse harem romance or courtly intrigue, or even if you’re just a fellow book-lover and the title happened to catch your eye, I promise, there are alternative anime options out there. This one, unfortunately, is just a total snooze-fest.

Score: 4/10

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