Yeah... this is by far not my favourite version of this series. I think I prefer the light novel and anime about equally (depending on whether there'sYeah... this is by far not my favourite version of this series. I think I prefer the light novel and anime about equally (depending on whether there's a new season out), and the manga... a distant third.
Not that it's not good! I just prefer the art style from the other two, one of which requires significantly less art and the other of which is made with a large team. Yes, I'm aware that mangaka ALSO have a large team, but [redacted boring argument that I'm struggling to explain and have probably actually covered in a prior review but can't be bothered to check goes here]. So while it's a good manga, I would rather just read the light novel or watch the anime.
I do like some of Benno's scenes here, though, including where he punches Delia on the top of her head for being a disobedient attendant *in front of a visitor.* Yeah, normally punching kids is horrible, but honestly, Delia's a rather large snot who has taken a LONG time to grow on me such that I still don't think I like her that much EVEN knowing her entire history and so on. Also, I can't imagine Benno hit her THAT hard, despite how it's drawn.
...seems like THAT should be the reason commenters I've seen don't like the story, rather than "rape exists in their universe." [Not that any occurs in this volume, though it's described as a thing that has happened in their past, before Myne's tenure there.] I've talked about this, though, even if I'll die mad about it that OH A BAD THING EXISTS IN THE UNIVERSE THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS NOT YET BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO ADDRESS, GUESS THE SERIES IS TRASH NOW.
Sorry, that drifted away like Myne's attention span when books (and sometimes food) aren't involved, haha.
B-grade installment of the series, doesn't stand on its own, but recommended for existing fans....more
This is the earliest volume I could find after watching Isekai CVS... not that I specifically went out of my way to find this, haha, but I did see it This is the earliest volume I could find after watching Isekai CVS... not that I specifically went out of my way to find this, haha, but I did see it in the store and figured I'd check it out.
The anime is pretty close to the manga (not sure how close it is to the light novel), so that's nice. On the whole, I can't think of a lot to comment, other than... I don't remember Marie's prescription including, um, suppositories. Heh.
The afterword is interesting, though—the artist consults with actual pharmacists (or, medical peer reviewers) for accuracy, and they have to change a number of things due to practices changing between the light novel and the manga adaptation. I think that's a good thing, like how the Animorphs book I read had errors that were corrected in the graphic novel! No good KNOWINGLY promoting outdated knowledge like the backwards conservative pharmaceutist guild that Farma is stepping all over!
(I do kind of cringe at Farma's name, like... imagine if he were a doctor named Dock. Ugh.)
A fun if not particularly challenging series, I think, other than the "I just want to do no harm" aspect. Not a great place to start for newcomers, though, unless you've at least seen the anime like I have....more
I'm tagging "isekai" because it has a LOT of the trademarks of a classic isekai (except Truck-kun): - suddenly in another place without any understandiI'm tagging "isekai" because it has a LOT of the trademarks of a classic isekai (except Truck-kun): - suddenly in another place without any understanding of how the Main Character got there - wise* guide on the other side who helps the MC manage in the other world - probably magic** - if the MC gets to go back, it's just as confusing how, and the MC will often have a souvenir as proof it wasn't just a dream
It's overall a fun story with some helpful tips, YES, including if one runs across a bear (I didn't tag *Bear* as bear). The book misses the third one, though:
[image]
What bothers me is it's not as clear as it could be with the rappelling tips in particular; this would be much better suited as a graphic novel or animated (or... live-action) series. There... might be one? I haven't looked—literally just found this in a free library (after leaving donations of my own!) and thought I'd take a peek. Definitely a good read, among the better random picks I've made!
**I imagine it's for illustrative purposes, the "wear the right clothing for the environment" bit, but Bear exploring the wilderness and REALLY pulling out an entire girl's wardrobe just for Lily? after RANDOMLY coming across her?...more
Well, this volume just shoves the "LGBTQ" content right into the main event! Too bad it's treated sort of as a punchline, with (view spoiler)[Leon depWell, this volume just shoves the "LGBTQ" content right into the main event! Too bad it's treated sort of as a punchline, with (view spoiler)[Leon depressed thinking that the two girls he would *like* to score with falling for each other *instead of* him, vs. *in addition to* him (hide spoiler)] and just the way it's handled is sort of icky.
...I was going to say, though, they made the pairing quite clear in a prior volume, so it's really only a surprise to the characters, I guess. Also, painfully predictable once they start going through and making "love" matches and showing how ill-paired all of the other couples are. Possibly the most interesting part about this is the king and queen being so badly suited for each other (happenstance with political marriages), though Leon of course has to remind the reader that he has the hots for the queen and would *gladly* take her off the king's hands for him.
I don't know. I'd really like this series to end soon. I'm following it mostly to see where it goes, though I'm less interested in going back to review the volumes I missed now that I've already seen Leon and Marie realise they were each other's sibling in their past lives. Probably at some point, this series felt like a refreshing change of pace, since it's a lot of science fiction (in addition to the magic and feudalism standard for isekai stories), but I feel like Mishima's other series is better... possibly because the main character isn't stuck in this idea that he HAS to follow the game script or else (since that one isn't an "I was reincarnated intothe game I played") story....more
The longer this series runs, the less I can keep track of what's happening, especially since the latest season of the anime is FAR ahead of what I've The longer this series runs, the less I can keep track of what's happening, especially since the latest season of the anime is FAR ahead of what I've been able to find of the series (which branches off FAR too often, with the "chaptering" of volumes that is probably the single thing I hate about my favourite series, Ascendance of a Bookworm, since it makes it so much harder to follow whether I have every book or not). At the point in the story covered in this volume, it's just past a point that I forget how they got there, and I long ago stopped keeping the volumes on my shelf (between not being THAT interested in the series and my "donate read books to free libraries" habit), so I can't just go look it up.
I mean, I *can* if I go back in the anime, since streaming services. Not with the manga, though (or light novel, which I haven't read).
Specific comments on this volume: The art is as top-notch as ever, and the story touches on the "confronting your past" trope, though Subaru's confrontation is just that he got severe impostor syndrome from hitting the normal hurdles of a "gifted" child who is suddenly not that gifted compared to everyone else, from riding on existing successes and failing to grow beyond what he could already do. His "past" in the form of a spell to recreate his life before his Random Isekai Travel gives him the opportunity to work through his inferiority complex and devote himself to getting the residents out of the sanctuary by whatever means he can do to help out.
As part of the overarching story, this volume is pretty good. However, for readers like me who can only get piecemeal bits of the story, it's much less good, especially for ones who don't have the streaming services to be able to watch the entire anime to date that barely deviates at all from what's in the manga (so, this is like reading a still version of the anime, if that was your first version of this story). Like, whoever finds this in the free library and reads it for the first time without the VERY CONVOLUTED backstory is going to be absolutely lost (sorry, whoever gets it!) - OR - they will sell it and happily get a couple of dollars max, I don't know. I don't have control over what anyone does with the books I donate.
As much as I otherwise like the story, it's still a long running series that suffers if not consumed in sequence, so I really only recommend it as part of said sequence. I'm still getting the books where I can, though (so long as I haven't already reviewed them—I don't like the series THAT much to just re-buy the same books over and over)....more
I think I'm getting more frustrated with this story as the core issue persists: that the people who once revered Saint Jeanne *sixty years ago* and stI think I'm getting more frustrated with this story as the core issue persists: that the people who once revered Saint Jeanne *sixty years ago* and still pray to her statue for her to return and save everyone have somehow got it into their head that the old "witch" who shares the *same name* as Saint Jeanne is a horrible person to be shunned.
Zero people must have gotten old in their time, huh.
I mean, I don't blame her for not bothering to correct them, if they're going to be horrid, though part of that is my own lack of interest in being a "person of interest" in the first place, though it DOES feel like she should have managed it to a degree over the years, if she has to keep going back to town for shopping.
I suppose the story about that is coming later, though. If not, that'll be a strike against me keeping the series in the long run (which I mainly am for now since I only have four of the books, the last of which I'm spacing out for review variety).
This volume is also a little frustrating, since it introduces the KING, who is thoroughly under the thumb of the Empress Dowager due to being stifled and afflicted by impostor syndrome due to his father setting such a high standard for being a king. Anyway, Undercover King sequence. Pretty soon, everyone noteworthy in this series will just be hanging out with the witch, almost to the point where I would have to downgrade the "cat" tag to "cat cameo" to reflect the amount of cat in the book.
(Mew shows up *just* enough to where I would still call this a "cat" book if someone asked for a book featuring cats.)
I'll still follow the series, but it's hit a particularly frustrating point, what with the king's abusive family dynamics and general gerontophobia....more
So, I was looking something up for my shelves that I could easily just copy from a prior review (which is only book 2, apparently, since book 1 was loSo, I was looking something up for my shelves that I could easily just copy from a prior review (which is only book 2, apparently, since book 1 was longer ago than I thought and prior to joining Goodreads), and I saw that there will be an anime, so I guess that'll make it easier to catch up, haha.
It's not... THAT hard to catch up, I think? Certainly compared to other series, anyway. I mean, I noted that it's an isekai, but only sort of; the main character's in the same universe as far as I remember, but beyond that I don't remember how many years passed between lives. Heck, I had forgotten that in his current life, he (Art) is only FIVE at the time he got separated from his family and was presumed dead—I was wondering how old he was when there's a "Three years later" note and he mentions that he's *eight.*
I mean, he's a particularly cute five-year-old for a bit:
[image]
Overall, I think I need to read the series at once to appreciate it more, but it's definitely lovely. That's probably what caught my eye, that it's a similar level of quality to The World After the Fall or Solo Leveling without being an entire team working on it.
*checks credits*
OH REDICE IS INVOLVED NEVERMIND I BET IT IS A TEAM
...I mean, I might feel better if it IS a team, so the artist doesn't die from overwork—though even it being a team doesn't guarantee that, it's better than if there's only one artist.
*doublechecks*
...looks like one artist after all. :( I don't blame 'em at all, though. These specific web comics feel great for the reader, terrible for the artists. So conflicted.
...story! The story is good. B+ material! Yes, it's a bit stock as far as isekai/pseudo-isekai goes, with the overpowered "genius" boy (who just happens to remember his past life) and finding a girl who latches onto him as a saviour and they totally will grow up together and have babies, assuming they survive the coming Plot thrown at them.
Not complaining, just noting that it's the same old, even IF it's pretty good. I mean, at least he's not a raging pervert (though Tessia DOES seem to be oddly fond of the term despite not understanding what it means). Definitely want to catch up if I can find more of the series (including book 1, to give it a proper review)....more
I picked this up at random when shopping at a black-owned bookstore to be proactively anti-racist, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realised I haI picked this up at random when shopping at a black-owned bookstore to be proactively anti-racist, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realised I had picked up a book illustrated by Artie and the Wolf Moon's artist! She hadn't posted anything about it on her Patreon*, so I didn't expect to find anything new, after all!
The art is a little rough in places, and sometimes backgrounds take a significantly lower priority, but I do like it overall—it actually feels appropriate for MidPass. I haven't read the original book to tell how the GN version compares, but it did feel like a Part One while also being a complete story in itself should the rest of the series not get illustrated.
I also LOVE that John Henry is immediately identifiable! Or maybe that's just my "raised totally white" background cheering that I know a thing for once without looking it up (compared to, say, Anansi is very different from the otherversions of him I've read). Like, I'd never heard of High John or the Maafa, something I'll definitely have to remedy down the road.
Hopefully I'll find a book on at least one of them when I visit the bookstore again! (though, I will still pick books at random unless I find one I'm actively following, just to give literally anything a chance that I otherwise might not)
Recommended for fans of folklore/urban fantasy!
*unless I can't read... which is possible given my habit of skimming things to get the gist when time's an issue...more
There's an amount that, after my series binge for purposes of review before clearing the books off my shelves to make room for ones I'm more interesteThere's an amount that, after my series binge for purposes of review before clearing the books off my shelves to make room for ones I'm more interested in keeping around... this volume got me interested in the series again...?!
ALTHOUGH: This is sort of the "dessert" volume, since it *starts* with Tanya's platoon declaring war against the army of meats and booze they have looted, that they might claim a delicious beachside victory over its numbers. Heck, the first chapter's splash page is a curiously detailed rendering of a very buff man's torso, standing over a grill with steaks on it. It's a hilariously fun break after the awfulness (in a number of respects) of their battles to date, making the "comedy" tag for this series actually MEAN something tangible.*
There are also some cute moments, like Tanya and Serebryakov** packing to travel and the side-by-side comparison of Tanya packing meticulously vs. Serebryakov throwing everything into her pack and sitting on it to get it to close, haha. Tanya's relationship with Colonel Lergen getting the vaguest bit more intimate is interesting, too—if only because she gets to express interest in his wife's cooking, and he has to admit... he's single (practically an abnormality in their time). Heck if Lergen doesn't have a STRANGELY MASSIVE house for a single dude, though, colonel or not!
This does also make me rethink my prior LGBTQ-tagging, since Tanya has a conversation with her "old" self*** about how "I'm Tanya von Degurechaff now." It seems to suggest "she" has completely divested herself of her past identity as a Japanese salaryman and is now fully invested in her current identity as a child war hero. Though that scene is a little confusing, since she also seems to be talking to her civilian self...? Not entirely sure. I don't know. I'm not editing all my past reviews without a compelling reason, anyway.
Still, at the same time I express a renewed interest in the series, I recognise that future volumes are more likely than not more of the middling stuff I already read and didn't really like. However, if you told me this was the last volume, I'd probably believe it...? It ends on a note that feels very "season finale" for the anime, wrapping up some threads and leaving things open for the next "chapter" in the series. That might be why I like this volume more than the intermediate stuff earlier, even though a lot of what they talk about is still like reading a drama about chess moves, where I only have a basic understanding of chess that doesn't let me see what makes Shirov's Jaw-DroppingBishop Sacrifice so exciting.
Definitely a better read, though certainly not for a complete newcomer.
*vs. the author's view of the series as a comedy based on the humour of both sides having completely opposite interpretations of the same thing, which... is a little higher brow than one might normally expect of a ridiculous warmongering shounen title...
**Her first name's Viktoriya, but I never remember that, as I bet most readers don't without the reminder/recap at the beginning of each volume.
***which itself is rather comical, not just for the "talking to yourself" aspect but also that "Tanya" is like four feet tall but her past self is drawn at least NINE feet tall... thanks, Japanese sense of proportions!...more
The first thing that comes to mind is, I wonder if I'm getting too "old" for this series, because even when I take a day off to read and have LOTS of The first thing that comes to mind is, I wonder if I'm getting too "old" for this series, because even when I take a day off to read and have LOTS of perfect reading time—comfy chair, natural daylight, bundles of blankets—I... fall asleep.
EVEN for my so-called most favourite series.
Age, man.
Anyway, the recency effect means I'm inclined to base my rating entirely on the last part of the book, which has easily the most exciting scene in the series to date (that I've read). I do even say this keeping in mind some even MORE dramatic scenes, since this one ends "happily" while the others... aren't as good. I mean, they're good *in the long run* but have the more immediate effect of making things *feel* a lot worse for Myne and her loved ones.
Here, Myne has some difficulties, but things return to an almost-status quo afterwards, so it's exciting vs. harrowing. Even then, it's primarily in the third act, after most of the book being dedicated to much more "normal" slice-of-life (for their world) events like Myne FINALLY making a book she has desired for literally her entire existence as Myne* or making preparations for winter, including that Myne will no longer be able to commute to work since snowfall would make it prohibitive for her to travel and, thus, she must remain at the temple for her duties rather than go home every day.
The main thing I should address is the "feudal system, so... yes, "offering flowers" is going to be a thing. I mostly reiterate 1. because Wilma is traumatised by having had to offer flowers, and 2. I'm still mad about reviews I'd read basically penalising the series for acknowledging that offering flowers exists, even if Myne herself is doing her best to keep anyone in her circle from having to do anything nonconsensual. I can't do much about that, myself, other than to NOT dock my review for it and provide my occasional reminder like I just did.
On the whole, it makes me want to watch the anime again, at least for the climactic bits (and the (view spoiler)[reverse-isekai of the High Priest going into Myne's memories and being alternately astonished and aghast about what he sees/feels through Myne (hide spoiler)], haha)... not that I *couldn't* do that!
*I mean, TECHNICALLY she craved them as Urano as well, but you get what I mean. I hope....more
This is a fun, *diverse* read, though it feels a bit Digimon in its execution. (I'd say a LOT Digimon in its execution, but I've mostly only seen one This is a fun, *diverse* read, though it feels a bit Digimon in its execution. (I'd say a LOT Digimon in its execution, but I've mostly only seen one movie that a friend worked on and I've forgotten most of it other than the Digital World and a few of the Digimons a different friend likes.) The big draw is the whole "World of Ghosts" where cards can become ghosts, items, and/or effects, which is pretty much the most shounen thing I've ever seen!
While the story is fun to read, it's also a little sad, since the main character, Nilay, is (view spoiler)[the product of Generation X: his PARENTS are the cool die-hard gamers, while he kind of slacked off and became the best at cheat-coding his way through games (hide spoiler)] (though not even that, if Keith has anything to say about it). It's sort of rare to see stories about the children of awesome peoplewho themselves are lacking, so I'm happy to give the series a chance.
Little things: I noticed a few typos, and there's a point where Chess says, "Hey, Chess" instead of "Hey, Nilay/Nil" (and, it can't contextually be Nil who's talking instead). I don't think it's hugely noticeable, though—I mostly did because this is a rare "action" book where I can follow a lot of the action sequences!, so I ended up reading it a lot more closely than I usually would. There is a LOT of content packed into about the same size book as most manga volumes, where something like Dragon Ball would be a flip book by comparison.
Recommended for action/video game fans looking for great minority representation!...more
Constantly rethinking my decision to tag the animals used as caricature to represent the countries involved. Like, is anyone going to follow the "wolfConstantly rethinking my decision to tag the animals used as caricature to represent the countries involved. Like, is anyone going to follow the "wolf" tag and be disappointed that this turns up?
Anyway, I'm pretty sure here is where I started to question whether I was getting appropriate value from this series for the cost per book. I strongly disliked most of it, partly since a very lot of it was devoted to the guy who lost his arm to Tanya in the prior book, and he repeated what he had to say to "Mr. John" to his nephew, so that felt like wasted tine, but ALSO because so much of it was all, "Okay, let's end this war but not too quickly, since we might overlook something... nah, we checked everything, even that apparently clairvoyant Tanya wouldn't be able to think of anything we overlooked, we'll call it won without bothering to check with her, because what does a LITTLE GIRL know about war!"
(besides an apparently VERY LOT that even Colonel Lergen finds suspicious, to the point of having an idea of the man who was reincarnated into Tanya's body, but only that that man is a monster, rather than someone reborn with future knowledge of an alternate timeline eerily similar to their world's)
Anyway, thanks, I hate it. Absolutely feel Tanya's intense frustration that this series is still running, though I don't know why I still have one future volume other than I got it because I knew I hadn't read it despite my having forgotten LITERALLY ANYTHING I'd read of most of the series to date. Recommended for fans of alternate history, though! I'm sure you fans have better memories than I do to be able to keep track of all the mess that goes on in the series!
I hunted this down just to complain about the anime, which seems like will be a habit for me as these isekai clones start coming over en masse.
The maiI hunted this down just to complain about the anime, which seems like will be a habit for me as these isekai clones start coming over en masse.
The main problem with this one is it's EXACTLY I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too, except Takumi is killed (or, separated from his body) vs. arbitrarily given an overpowered cheat ability and still able to return to his home world. Like Yuuya, he just OBTAINS abilities—endlessly—without apparent limit, as some reward (or, in Takumi's case, as apology) for being a kind person who just wanted to do good. Takumi even lets people he trusts know about things he should keep secret (light magic as an exceedingly rare ability, the fact that his Item Box is limitless when it's supposed to be extremely limited), only realising after the fact that he should have kept quiet and promises not to do it again (but does it again).
The problem is, I've already read Yuuya's story, and Takumi's is sort of a "no, they're not SUPPOSED to be able to go back to their home world!" version of the exact same story, so while I could tolerate the anime for a bit as a workout distraction in the gym (why I normally watch so much isekai trash, haha), the part where Papeck suggests Takumi gets help with his work by acquiring slaves—
—okay no. This is becoming too prominent a trend in manga/anime, this whole "slaves are the ultimate trustworthy party, because they can't defy you!" shtick. I don't care how "nice" the main character is as a master, if the story can't give a GENUINELY GOOD-HEARTED CHARACTER friends or companions WITHOUT resorting to slavery, I don't want it.
Edit to add: Takumi also reminds me of a poor person's Luciel, who is in almost exactly the same situation WITHOUT needing slaves. (Both are pretty forgettable, though.)...more
This takes place some time after where the anime leaves off, so while I don't 100% understand what's going on, I can pick up enough to follow the storThis takes place some time after where the anime leaves off, so while I don't 100% understand what's going on, I can pick up enough to follow the story.
It's just... not an INTERESTING story.
The main problem, besides the normal "overpowered isekai guy with a harem"* trope, is the shounen-style fighting has hit a lull where all the antagonist parties involved need to build up their reserves or whatever it is they need to get ready for the next major altercation(s), and that's not interesting to read when fighting is the norm for the story, especially when I'm seeing a lot of these characters for the first time due to missing whichever volume they were introduced in. Also, not terribly excited about Flio and Rys having apparently "adopted" a cannibal wyvern girl NUDIST.
(Creepy skeleton wizard and his Real Doll are creepy, also, but slightly less so by comparison. I mean, that's not really much worse than Five Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy.)
Probably good for fans of the series, newcomers and less-than-fans of the series may as well skip this. About all I like is Rys and Filo's new outfits are attractive.
*Normally, I would link to other examples of this, but there are honestly too many, and I'm bored of having to point them out. I also am trying to spend less time reviewing and more time reading to plan ahead for a vacation where I *might* not get my target reading in, haha....more
I'm going to be honest. I dug this up because I wanted to complain about the anime, which got all of two episodes in before breaking out the (view spoI'm going to be honest. I dug this up because I wanted to complain about the anime, which got all of two episodes in before breaking out the (view spoiler)[slavery in the form of making ANOTHER HUMAN a "familiar" (who can't defy their master)... then IMMEDIATELY making ANOTHER human a familiar, too, (hide spoiler)] in the name of "experimentation."
Immediately removed from my watchlist. I'm just kind of done with "guy has slaves EVEN THOUGH he treats them well" stuff. And it's ALWAYS a guy. (Would it help if a lady had slaves? ...not really, but it would be DIFFERENT.)
Mind you, I've not quite gotten mad at it enough to the point of dubbing it literal trash, mostly because - I kind of like the "prime numbers of magic" system - in powering through the "classic isekai" setup to get to the "good" parts, it has *to the point where I got to* NOT had any rape/sexual harassment of women (or accusations thereof) - "Liam" just wants to not be in the crosshairs of his insecure eldest brother and free of the whole "noble" drama - actually, the "nobles get demoted to commoners after three generations without accomplishment" system is pretty good (except when it means Liam's dad does what he did)
...so, I'm mostly just... disappointed that it has to stoop to starting the harem with SLAVES. Just couldn't resist, huh? Especially when they're SO EAGER to let him have his way with them ANYWAY! So eager to get there that they didn't even show Liam's past life and only even suggest he was reincarnated from a modern time in that he recreates instant ramen to sell, which he would have been unlikely to think of if he had been reincarnated from the same world/time period.
But this has none of the real "hooks" of otheroverpoweredcharacterisekaistories; Liam's so forgettable that I had to keep looking up what the title even was when I was searching for this book (and had to end up finding the e-book), and the prime number thing is all I remembered otherwise. Well, other than the "not-slave but actually slave" part. So, two stars because I'm going to die mad about it.
Well, no, I'm going to forget the whole thing in a week—I'll die mad about the misrepresentation of geishas. Anyway, I can't in good conscience recommend this, but IF MATH AND SLAVES ARE YOUR JAM, THEN BY ALL MEANS CHECK THIS OUT I guess!...more
I cheated and flipped through this in the store rather than re-buy it AGAIN... which I did for several of the books since I *almost* liked the series I cheated and flipped through this in the store rather than re-buy it AGAIN... which I did for several of the books since I *almost* liked the series enough to keep, before I changed my mind and once again purged my shelves for space (but then re-bought a few I found on clearance[!] once). To the free library with you!
The problem is—and this is true for the anime as well—it's just not as interesting the second time through. A lot of shounen titles, especially, interest me enough to want to see the ending, but the progression is just a lot of fireworks until then (flashy but meaningless noise). I found myself... bored? while re-reading, like yes, I know this happened, but get to the interesting part... oh that WAS the interesting part? Eh.
I don't know how to explain it. Maybe like watching a Let's Play, and the main character (Jinwoo) is an underdog who suddenly has to contend with bizarre cheat powers that are only useful as long as he almost literally kills himself to survive the tasks. This volume is still the stage when it's interesting-ish to watch him progress—vs. further along when everything's practically a cakewalk to him but he still isn't satisfied—yet I felt BORED re-reading it. Like the fact I know what happens makes it feel like it's dragging things out vs. telling a compelling story. I feel like his interactions with people (not monsters, or (view spoiler)[asshole hunters who throw him in with a dungeon boss while they make their getaway (hide spoiler)]) are more interesting, but those are a small part of the larger story.
The art is still AMAZING for it being a web comic, of course, but being pretty won't hold my interest by itself. I like there to be at least a little bit of smarts to the story, some truly clever element. There isn't much of that here, just Jinwoo "solving" problems by having the System give him tasks and struggling to complete them. About the most problem solving they do here is Jinwoo determining why the other hunters did what they did and figuring out how to beat the boss, and teaming up with Jinho to form a party (doing the same thing the other hunters did by hiring extras to meet the minimum raid party size, but leaving them outside the dungeon during the actual raid).
I don't know. I probably would have rated this series as a whole better had I written my review upon the first read. Now? I'm only giving four stars because it was still pretty good at this point, though it felt like more of a chore to re-read than to read the first time....more
I didn't plan to, as such, but I cheated and re-read this in the store rather than buy the same middling book AGAIN just to give a proper review.
The pI didn't plan to, as such, but I cheated and re-read this in the store rather than buy the same middling book AGAIN just to give a proper review.
The problem is, as evident in my reviews for subsequent books, the story is interesting the first time through but doesn't quite hold up on a re-read. Maybe I didn't phrase it that way before, but that's how I felt. Back when comments were enabled on the anime, commenters would regularly complain about lulls in the action, and the thing is... Rimuru was a general contractor in his past life, so he's going to do lots of SimCity-style stuff (especially as a pacifist)! ESPECIALLY since he wants as much of his past life back as possible, going so far as to recreate Japanese cuisine and so on!
...maybe not so much of the recreation in this volume, but the point is the "highlight" in this volume was the spar between the Tempest warriors and Lord Carrion's, the typical sort of shounen "fight to see who's stronger" trope. Unless you count the "highlight" as Rimuru going to the classy equivalent of Hooters (and Shion and Shuna getting mad at Rimuru for that). The rest is sort of political stuff that feels narratively like having to do your homework before getting to go play outside.
Recommended only to connect the volumes in sequence. This was a dull volume all around, though the art is still pretty competent....more
I tag "dragon" for Veldora, though he barely appears and is in his human form, but it feels dishonest NOT to tag him. Then again, I follow a web comicI tag "dragon" for Veldora, though he barely appears and is in his human form, but it feels dishonest NOT to tag him. Then again, I follow a web comic where the author tags characters whose elbow is slightly visible in one panel.
This is (to me) the highlight of the Founder's Day Festival that's already aired in the anime that I hadn't read prior to viewing,* but... honestly, the anime is better—and not just because the fight scenes and so on, but also for Shuna and Shion's musical duet/duel, which in manga format, you just have to take the characters' word for it that it's good.
Like, it's still fun in a "wholesome peace-loving world that sometimes has to stomp down some bad guys" way, but it also just doesn't feel like it's *going* anywhere anymore. Sure, there's the fact it's sort of at the equivalent of mid-game in SimCity, on the road to but not quite at Megalopolis stage, but... I guess what it feels like is a diminishing returns on interest, plot-wise. Most of the truly major obstacles have been removed, so it's now just cleaning things up and continuing the day-to-day stuff; nothing seems like it's on the horizon except civic progress.
That's fantastic in the real world. In fiction, it's... less exciting. It's one thing if it's like Restaurant to Another World, where "fantasy characters come eat at a literal otherworldly restaurant" is the norm. When major wars become a plot point, getting to a stage of complete peace is... boring. (And yet I'm stubbornly persisting with the middling Tanya the Evil just to see if it ever gets there! Figures.)
Four stars because it's a fun story, even if it's more fun animated. Absolutely not a good starting point for the series, though, especially since so much of this feels like the "reward" for certain characters' accomplishments, without newcomers having seen any of the accomplishments.
*Since I barely get to the "full-price" bookstore since... everything's full-price, so given that I'm currently reading for quantity a little more than quality, for "donate my discards to free libraries" reasons, I try to prioritise getting cheap/free books over any new series I follow. It's also, if I'm being honest, a series I'm not exactly excited about anymore, since it's sort of another "manga version of crossword puzzles": fun in the moment, but nothing TRULY memorable. Which makes my goal to "Review literally every book I've ever read (within reason)" annoying, since I've already donated and don't plan to re-buy most of this series, and I almost never find manga donations in little libraries unless I put them there....more
The biggest problem is, as suggested from the panel shared above, is everything is so DARK. I don't mean "gritty" or grCover: [image]
A summary:
[image]
The biggest problem is, as suggested from the panel shared above, is everything is so DARK. I don't mean "gritty" or gruesome, either—the pages are so low contrast that I have an even worse time than usual trying to decipher what's going on in each panel. There are only a few scenes during the day that look decent; almost everything else takes place in a dimly-lit room or cave or underwater area, etc., and I have to hold the book up to a light to see any detail at all.
Like, why even go through so much trouble to stage all the characters and scenes if they're just going to get muddied up in print? Crank the brightness a bit, even if it isn't "realistic" for there to be that much light! It's no use retaining that kind of accuracy if I can't tell what's happening!
The story itself isn't too bad, once you get past the fact it's all Minecraft in-game renders. I mean, I have some problems with that, but it mostly has to do with characters lacking significant detail to tell them apart outside of context. Moosha's probably my favourite character just because I can (mostly) tell she's a cat, therefore not the same character as the others. If anything, maybe the fight sequences are a bit short for what I would expect—(view spoiler)["Dragon! You killed my parents! Take that... WOO NOW YOU DEAD!" [elapsed time: five seconds] (hide spoiler)]—but then, I can hardly tell what's happening as it is, so it's not a huge loss in that respect, I SUPPOSE.
Recommended for... I guess Minecraft fans might enjoy the story better in general, since they would have an easier time parsing everything than I did, but even then, the lack of contrast isn't going to help matters. Similarly fans of high fantasy/adventure: can't enjoy what you can't read....more
This is one of the "calmer" Fairy Tail books, where they spend more time talking—and a RIDICULOUS amount of time in a bathhouse—than the usual "fight This is one of the "calmer" Fairy Tail books, where they spend more time talking—and a RIDICULOUS amount of time in a bathhouse—than the usual "fight literally anything that moves" sort of thing the guild usually gets into. The extensive bath scenes, of course, ruin my appetite for the story, regardless of how "important" what they do there is (it's not—it's an excuse for cheesecake, however equal opportunity, since they literally could have just talked in the guild hall like they do later).
There are some cute moments, too, so I don't HATE the series, much less this volume in specific. It's more that, okay, yes—this IS a Mashima title—I have to expect some gratuitous nudity and breast/butt shots, etc., but MOST of the time it's actually fun content, so I just roll my eyes and go with it. At least it's not slavery (or "slavery" in the guise of helping allies get better while still having a degree of control over them regardless of how trustworthy they are).
Cute: + Frosch (Gray thinks so, too!) + Frosch vs. Happy ((view spoiler)[I showed my spouse, who said, "GET WRECKED, HAPPY!" ...Touka really is the only one who unwaveringly adores Happy no matter what, huh (hide spoiler)]) + Gray realising what happened when (view spoiler)[he turned into Juvia, after Juvia mentions she turned into Gray (hide spoiler)] + (view spoiler)[Irene's resurrection into her (other world's) daughter's daughter (hide spoiler)] :D ...admittedly a bit weird, but even Ueda says at the end that it's lovely!
Less cute: - Ueda's afterword musing that proper "A.I. art" would be convenient to help get manga created faster, but (luckily) realises that if it's TOO good, Ueda will be out of a job.
On the whole, definitely feels like a "vintage" Fairy Tail title, but not one of my faves. Recommended for fans only; complete newcomers shouldn't even be thinking about coming in so far after the fact. (I mean, I've been following since original book 1, and even *I* get confused about what's happening.)...more
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