In Another World My Sister Stole My Name Has Great Cliffhangers

Sometimes, I’m not exactly sure how I feel about the In Another World My Sister Stole My Name manga. Like the whole plot could be resolved if the heroine Ichika just got the other three leads in the same room and spoke up. Which means it can feel a bit dragged out. However, I will say that I appreciate the use of cliffhangers between volumes in In Another World My Sister Stole My Name, as the Kotoko and NiKrome manga is fantastic at stringing us along and teasing us into reading the next volume.

Editor’s Note: There are some mild spoilers for the In Another World My Sister Stole My Name manga up through volume 3. 

As a quick refresher, in case you haven’t been following the manga series, In Another World My Sister Stole My Name is an identity theft isekai story. Ichika had found a mirror that let her communicate with a prince named Cecil in another world. Some years ago, her older sister Karen disappeared. She went into that other world. The story begins with Ichika also being transported there. She learns these types of visitors are considered Saints with special abilities. However, Karen assumed Ichika’s name and identity upon arriving there and, due to how time passes between said worlds, Cecil is all grown up and her fiance. As the other new saint, the actual Ichika (as Karen) is named the fiance of the second prince of the kingdom named Noah. And so far across three volumes, actual-Ichika hasn’t spoken up. 

She’s really passive about the situation! While this was generally fine in the first volume, it starts to get a bit cumbersome in the second. By the third, I honestly felt a bit frustrated with Ichika. I get what she’s dealing with here. However, as she’s getting closer to both Cecil and Noah, it becomes annoying that she isn’t at least trying to clear things up with one of them. Especially since Karen-pretending-to-be-Ichika is clearly painted as a villain and engaged in nefarious activities.

However, while that is frustrating, the execution for the cliffhangers in each volume have been really good, and the third volume of In Another World My Sister Stole My Name manga features the best one yet. In the first one, we see Ichika-as-Karen as the target of a curse and attack. Noah realized something was going on and got in the way. That was a great “pause” between the two books and left things in a very compelling spot. Who attacked Ichika? Why? Will Noah be okay? Kotoko also answered that swiftly in volume 2, which helped.

Volume 2 involved similar situations. Until that point in the series, there haven’t been too many extended sequences in which all four characters are forced together. The end of that book confirmed that in the third, both couples will be sent to Romly on a mission together. There’s also a hint that someone is sort of looking out for and interested in real-Ichika. The first chapters of the third volume immediately get into those new situations and, once again, deliver satisfactory resolutions.

But the best part is the end of the third volume. Finally, finally it seems like things are going to come to light in a way. There’s no confirmation what will happen or how it will go. But the promise of the cliffhanger in volume 3 of In Another World My Sister Stole My Name is enough to make it feel like yes, the next one will be worthwhile and a must-buy for me.

Even though In Another World My Sister Stole My Name is a bit of a slow moving manga, the execution of Kotoko’s cliffhangers really keep it moving along. From ones teasing attacks to revelations about characters, they do a great job of making you feel like it’s imperative that you get and read the next volume. However, the one downside I noticed is that the breaks between volumes and organization of chapters means there can sometimes be stretches that feel like there isn’t enough development or the story is being dragged out. I’m still enjoying myself, but I’m glad some of the identity theft issues seem to be closer to coming to light.

Volume 3 of In Another World My Sister Stole My Name is available now, and Yen Press hasn’t announced a release date for volume 4.