The 31st Consort Could Be a Promising Shojo Manga

There are so many shojo manga about a young woman who might get to marry royalty, but endures so many challenges and develops so many enemies along the way. It’s frustrating! Especially when the heroine herself isn’t taking it well and sometimes gets down on herself or questions who she is. The 31st Consort seems, from the outside, like it could be such a story. It is about the underdog potential wife for a king competing against other consorts. However, the character of Felia and way she wins over those around her makes it feel a little fresher in the first volume.

Editor’s Note: There are minor spoilers for the first volume of The 31st Consort shojo manga below.

Felia is a rather ordinary girl from Karodia province living with Ricarro, her oldest brother that is the area’s lord, and her other brother Garon. She’s a rather ordinary person who enjoys tending to the herbs that region is known for. However, because of her station, she ended up being picked as one of the king’s consorts. The thing is, she’s the 31st one. Which means she only sees him on months with 31 days, as that’s when he’ll see her. Because of that, and the fact that it’s the lowest ranked in terms of power, nobody else wanted the spot and it fell to her. Because this is a position that lasts for a year, her brothers basically talk her into it, so off she goes.

First, I want to say that it’s a little off-putting that Felia is considered “old” at just over 22. I get this is supposed to be something of a period piece, but it shocked me a bit! I did read shojo series along similar lines with younger heroines, so it isn’t the most egregious case of that.

From there, we get to see Felia’s arrival and what life would be like for the 31st consort. Since she’s a country girl and their community is more humble, she arrives in her ordinary clothing, with her brother Ricarro bringing her to the castle in an ox cart. Rather than be captivated by the impressive palace, she’s more concerned with the soil, flowers, and composting possibilities. Her home ends up being the most, well, homely! She gets her own wooden house, a garden, and she’s not getting any maids since nobody wanted to live so humbly. Which she attests as fine, as she’s the type of person who didn’t want or need one. All she basically has is the Knight Commander Binz to help, and her only request ends up being farming tools.

Aside from the shock about her age, The 31st Consort ends up being quite pleasant from there on out. Binz and other members of the knights’ fourth unit assigned to her end up making themselves at home and befriending her, in a better situation than other knights assigned to demanding or terrifying higher-ranked consorts. She had no issue standing up to an intimidating housekeeper who apparently usually leaves people cowed. It’s sweet to see her adapt so well and people genuinely appreciate her, as well as her make astute observations about the soil, area, country, and other consorts. So much so that people like Binz are willing to fight for her and other consorts’ knights escape to hang out at her place.

This all means once Felia meets King Macron after months, we’re also meeting him for the first time. And his feelings on marriage and the consort process feels like it mirrors hers. He doesn’t care for it. He doesn’t want to spend time with unpleasant people. He basically wants to do his job, and he’s counting down the days. We see what he goes through with them, the governmental process that involves whittling down candidates, and finally his first meeting with Felia. Even though the housekeeper delayed the king’s visit, due to her dislike of Felia. But when he does arrive, it’s genuinely satisfying and makes The 31st Consort seem like a shojo manga with some potential. 

While the initial introduction for this shojo manga might seem a bit awkward, I ended up really enjoying the first volume of The 31st Consort. Felia is such a down-to-earth, practical heroine. She savors what she has, appreciates a challenge, is incredibly competent, and always remains in character. It ends up being quite a delight, and I ended up rooting for the 31st consort to be picked by the end of the first volume too.

The first volume of The 31st Consort is now available, and Yen Press will release volume 2 on August 26, 2025.