Despite the title, the heroine of Rapunzel of the Magic Item Shop is not named Rapunzel. In fact, she doesn’t even have a name until a strange bird appears to rescue her and takes the girl to his magician master!
But the novel’s inspiration rings clear even without the name. Lille, as she is eventually called, has been imprisoned alone in a tower for years since her country despises sorcerers. Lille doesn’t know why she’s a threat; the only magic abilities she sort-of knows of is being able to listen to the townspeople from a distance. But she was warned that cutting her hair would cause her powers to go berserk.
Being alone and barely provided any of life’s necessities causes her to agree to flee with the help of Ark, the familiar of a sorcerer named Charles (Charlie). Charles gives her the name “Lille” and invites her to learn magic under his tutelage alongside his other apprentice, Leo. For Lille, living and interacting with actual people (and a bird who can transform into a person) is a blessing, but she’s not the only one whose life is changed for the better since her arrival.
You might think that happens through the titular item shop, that Lille provides magical creations that help the townsfolk. But only a small part of the story takes place at the item shop, which is on the property of Charles’ remote forest cabin but is magically accessed by anyone who needs it. This isn’t an episodic novel featuring various customers in the vein of Reincarnated as the Last of My Kind or xxxHolic.
Rather, Rapunzel of the Magic Item Shop is a more intimate tale. Not intimate in the spicy sense; while it is a love story, the novel is more of a family story. I prefer this angle versus the romantic aspects. We have a group of characters who aren’t always great at expressing themselves, but they care about each other. Charles is a kind, gentle hero who stopped a war, but no one knows exactly how. Leo is younger than Lille and doesn’t want to share his time with his master. Charles’ own magic teacher swings by, and Ark is like an uncle to Lille. Nobody is biologically related, but it’s a family they’ve created by choice.
For much of the story, it’s mostly a peaceful slice-of-life story until Leo’s and Charles’ pasts. The author worried English readers wouldn’t take to these darker elements. Up to that point, I was thinking the target audience could be late elementary, early middle school students. Rapunzel of the Magic Item Shop does get more serious and has a couple cases of upsetting imagery and innuendos (including a naïve Lille not knowing how to bathe herself and asking Charles for assistance), but I still think with the straightforward writing style and the fairy tale feel, this audience will handle it. I can’t recommend this to those who want a clear PG-13 or 16+ rated experience or who love intricate literary devices.
While Rapunzel of the Magic Item Shop comes up short there and in other areas, it does deliver a warm sense of family. I couldn’t help but love the characters. The novel also ends on a high note, with Lille having clearly come out of her shell but still a bit unfamiliar with the wider world. Readers who don’t mind the book’s drawbacks will finish the story with a smile on their face that will be hard to erase.