JK Haru Is A Sex Worker In Another World

JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World by Ko Hiratori. Translation by Emily Balistrieri. Originally published by J-Novel Club, September 2018. Approx. 334 pages.

The Japanese light novel genre is booming Stateside now. This is a great boon for fans of certain titles. Often, we will see recent anime being developed from light novel sources, where in the past, manga was usually the primary source. Depending on the popularity of said title, a manga adaptation might follow. This gives fans 3 venues through which they can enjoy/revisit beloved titles (light novel/manga/anime). Good times indeed.

One of the most popular sub-genres in the industry, if not the most popular, is "isekai" (another world). These are your stories, which, if you think about it, are most in touch with the true escapist element that fantasy is honestly predicated upon. Put your mundane, oppressive, boring world behind, and step off somewhere amazing, where there are no limits to who you can be or what you can do. Along the anime/manga/novel landscape, we see various methods to 'port over' to the new worlds in question...sometimes, as in SAO, it is via becoming stranded through a VR game. Often, well, it requires reincarnation.

It seems within the sub-genre of isekai, there is yet another sub-genre, that of "being reincarnated in some ludicrous manner or another". Yes, you read that right. We have people being reincarnated as slimes, spiders, and, because why not, vending machines. I mean, they do sound ridiculous, but it isn't like the premise itself is a new one...

On the downside, there's zero waifu material in this title....

Another interesting note about these titles is that a good number of them arise not from commissioned publications, but as serialized stories licensed from Japanese message boards. Such is the case with today's book, JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World. Yes, this is assuredly an isekai title. Yes, the title is pretty outrageous and most assuredly in your face. However, the book itself is not a fluff piece. It is a fairly well-balanced work, that, despite some rough edges, offsets its levity with some dark corners and strong characters.

The title, as you most likely could figure, is not just a thesis, but an entire synopsis. Our young protagonist, Haru Koyama, wakes up in a fantasy world, after expiring in our world via the tried and true method of getting hit by a truck. She is joined by classmate Chiba, an introverted otaku who died as well attempting to push her out of the way. Like all standard fantasy alternate worlds, this one is under constant, perennial danger from an evil Demon Lord. 

However, our young heroine has bigger fish to fry. Haru learns quickly that, in this world, the cards aren't exactly stacked in favor of the fairer sex. Her former loser classmate, Chiba, courtesy of some banter with the god who guided them over, finds himself blessed with a broken skill set - one that allows him to 'level up' at 16x the normal speed. Also, the society itself is completely male-dominated. The ubiquitous Adventurers' Guild only issues permits to men. In fact, the only open paths for women seem to be as housewife, priestess/healer (the only way women can be attached to an adventurer), or, sex work. With no skills from her old life to parlay here, Haru opts for the third choice; and then does her damnedest to be the best.

So, how does it all stack up?

Story/Writing: You can tell that this was a serialized piece, which was completed in installments. It all falls under a general thematic arc, but you can still feel that with each chapter, each vignette, the progress and character evolution was more specific to that portion than the overall book. This is not a bad thing, but as each vignette has a somewhat different mood, it plays merry hell on the overall feel of continuity.

The silver lining to this is that the book is, all in all, well-written. Hiratori has put a lot of love into her protagonist, and it allows the readers ease in sympathizing with her. Haru isn't perfect; in Japan, she was one of those materialistic, face in the crowd types (the equivalent of what we call "basic bitches" here). Also, escort and sex work was not entirely new to her when she touched down in the new world. The "JK" in the title stands for "Joshi Kousei", which literally means "High School Girl". However, in recent times, the term has evolved to refer to the compensated dating scene which is prevalent in Japan; and it is basically escort work with the option for sex, and a lot of teen girls engage in it. Haru had done that sort of work to make ends meet in middle school, and she needed to reinvent herself in the wake of it. As the story progresses, Hiratori gives us peeks into Haru's heart, bit by bit, so that you can see, under the veneer, there's a sweet, sensitive, hard-working soul there. And so, by the end of the book, you end up falling in love with Haru as well.

I must also note that, for this book to be so immensely readable to me, a Western reader, a good amount of credit must go to the translator. In this case, that honor goes to Emily Balistrieri. Good job!

World Building: Two ways to look at this one. The world building itself is a bit scanty. We have those aforementioned terms, the ones used in most isekai works, tossed around like window dressing. As for serious discourse regarding industry, economics, climate, etc., it's not there. So is that bad? Not really. Remember, Haru's view is limited to her dedication to working to survive. What we do get is detailed description of life at her workplace. Ergo, we learn about the world in the same manner she does; via her customers. To be honest, that is the best fit for this type of work.

Action: Well, there's action, and there's, ummm, "action". For the former, the clang-clang sword type, there's some, including one magnificent setpiece. As for the sex, well, to be honest, I don't read a lot of that type of fiction, so I can't really appraise it. It is, erm, interesting, to say the least. I did enjoy it, so I'll just say it's well-done.

Overall: Again, all in all it's a fun, heartfelt book. Don't be dissuaded by any perceived implications behind the title. I mean, yes, there is a lot of sex in this book, and there are some precarious situations. But life, as well as this book, is about overcoming those obstacles. While the serialized structure makes it a tad less powerful than a singular piece, and the fact that there are some superfluous elements (the entire Kickin' the Can segment), JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World is a solid book that begs for a sequel.

Get your copy of JK Haru here.

Cover:

The artwork is pretty, to be sure, and the color palette enhances the overall effect. However, in my opinion, something along the lines of a bifurcated image - one showing elements of Haru in both worlds, would have worked immensely better.

My other complaint - unlike most other light novels, there's no interior art. Remember, most light novels have a few color plates right after the front cover, as well as an average of 5 interior B&W pics. I'm not even asking for NSFW/hentai pics, just some pics of more of the dramatis personae would have been very welcome. 

On a bright note, though, it looks like a limited comic - JK Haru "Summer", or something to that effect, has been released. Very interested in that; look at that gorgeous cover!

More info here.

Here's hoping for more from Haru - more novels, more manga, and how about an anime?