The first in a light novel series, Realist Hero is basically the story of an economics student dropped into a medieval fantasy world and tasked with rThe first in a light novel series, Realist Hero is basically the story of an economics student dropped into a medieval fantasy world and tasked with reforming the kingdom into something more sustainable.
Starting with characters, we've got our hero Souma. He's someone with a historic knowledge for past civilizations and society in the real world, able to use his knowledge to fix problems in the Isekai (Another World). These are things like suggesting unusual food preparations, like Octopus, to get the kingdom through a food crisis, and building roads that'll last 2000 years out of Roman Concrete.
Souma is joined by a host of capable women, as is kind of typical for a light novel, and there is some suggested romantic feelings for a few of them towards him. Romance will probably be a slow burn, and the mention of polygamous marriage makes me think there won't be much in the way of decision making going on later. Still, the book doesn't include any racy images of the female cast members like some other light novels, so it's not too bad representation wise.
There are some male characters introduced too that help in the administration of the kingdom and other nobility outside of the kingdom. It's a moderately sized cast, though each chapter can be read in spurts for the most part, each chapter playing out like one episode of an anime, so you're never too bogged down.
While there's no blood and guts yet, nor sex, I'd call this book's target as maybe 13+. It's got a lot of detailed info about economics and politics, with real world references thrown in. There's some fun tropes and stuff thrown in between all of that as well to keep the average reader going. I'd say it compares favorably to Maoyuu and Spice + Wolf.
Overall, enjoyed it. Like I said, it can be a bit dense in terms of the governing bodies, factions, and also the different races represented, so I think is going to be one that I'll go back in to gather info from before Volume 2. It does seem like they're setting up for some conflicts within and outside of the kingdom, so there may be more action next chapter; there wasn't much in this one, unless you consider eating lunch with lovely women, holding talent competitions, and building roads as action.
Merged review:
The first in a light novel series, Realist Hero is basically the story of an economics student dropped into a medieval fantasy world and tasked with reforming the kingdom into something more sustainable.
Starting with characters, we've got our hero Souma. He's someone with a historic knowledge for past civilizations and society in the real world, able to use his knowledge to fix problems in the Isekai (Another World). These are things like suggesting unusual food preparations, like Octopus, to get the kingdom through a food crisis, and building roads that'll last 2000 years out of Roman Concrete.
Souma is joined by a host of capable women, as is kind of typical for a light novel, and there is some suggested romantic feelings for a few of them towards him. Romance will probably be a slow burn, and the mention of polygamous marriage makes me think there won't be much in the way of decision making going on later. Still, the book doesn't include any racy images of the female cast members like some other light novels, so it's not too bad representation wise.
There are some male characters introduced too that help in the administration of the kingdom and other nobility outside of the kingdom. It's a moderately sized cast, though each chapter can be read in spurts for the most part, each chapter playing out like one episode of an anime, so you're never too bogged down.
While there's no blood and guts yet, nor sex, I'd call this book's target as maybe 13+. It's got a lot of detailed info about economics and politics, with real world references thrown in. There's some fun tropes and stuff thrown in between all of that as well to keep the average reader going. I'd say it compares favorably to Maoyuu and Spice + Wolf.
Overall, enjoyed it. Like I said, it can be a bit dense in terms of the governing bodies, factions, and also the different races represented, so I think is going to be one that I'll go back in to gather info from before Volume 2. It does seem like they're setting up for some conflicts within and outside of the kingdom, so there may be more action next chapter; there wasn't much in this one, unless you consider eating lunch with lovely women, holding talent competitions, and building roads as action....more
Sweet story involving older characters that have some early romance are the highlight of this Fantasy Light Novel that sees a Demon-Lord marrying a yoSweet story involving older characters that have some early romance are the highlight of this Fantasy Light Novel that sees a Demon-Lord marrying a young blue haired "mother" of two orphans and learning to care for a family of 4.
Characters that respect each other is one aspect to like in this one. A big part of the story is how Anima comes from a world that saw his wealth of power and proceeded to paint him as a villain (without ever really hearing him out). In the new world he gets transported to, it's a fresh start, townsfolk and his family treating him the way he deserves to be treated as a 'human' after helping them. Even young 12 yr old Myuki, who starts abrasive and untrusting of her "father", Demon-Lord Anima, isn't an idiot and treats him well once she sees how much he cares for her.
The romance is a big factor of appeal as well. It's fast and maybe too convenient (they never really explain what marriage is in this world I don't think, but it seems more "common law" style where it's just declared and then it's so, no ceremony needed). The characters are attracted to one another and they both express it well (it's refreshing in a novel space filled with Tsunderes). The platitudes between the two might be a bit sickeningly sweet for some though (to be fair, the characters acknowledge how much it is too as their faces go crimson half the time).
The world isn't fully formed or fleshed out yet, but I appreciated the small bit of backstory on the medallions / magic stones, these item drops almost from monster enemies of lore, our female love interest being descended from a long line of hunters that helped save the world from disaster and spent years building up the stone's reserve of power.
All of the named male characters so far are villainous, but tbf, there were only two major villains and two minor villains named so far, and then the rest of the cast is the family pretty much. Townsfolk are involved as well, but no one important enough to be named at this point afaik. I hope future volumes expand the cast. Not just new orphaned children, but I'd like to see Myuke and Anima team up with good people from the Hunter's Guild, not just jerks.
An all-together fun romp. I don't think this one will stick with you necessarily, but it's a good pallette cleanser book if you've been reading some harder edged material. Looking forward to the next volume, especially after the epilogue of this one....more
This Isekai (travel to another world) Light Novel kind of reminds me of New Life +, an insane bloodthirsty ruthless type hero from Japan. It makes a lThis Isekai (travel to another world) Light Novel kind of reminds me of New Life +, an insane bloodthirsty ruthless type hero from Japan. It makes a little bit less sense here maybe physically, the character in Ryouma only being 16, but somehow not only having the appearance of an adult, but also the movements of a trained warrior (he wins some ridiculous battles). He does retain his memory here, and the author built in this weird backstory where his grandfather taught him martial arts. Still, it doesn't seem like purely fight or flight response that causes him to take actions that are morally grey (even if necessary), like killing a doctor. Most of the stuff he does is premeditated and planned. His opening (view spoiler)["body swap plan" (hide spoiler)] at the start reminded me of Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, so I was already unsettled before that scene by him.
The side cast hasn't really stood out to me yet. The main focus is definitely on Ryouma, but they do introduce a few key figures. Celia, the daughter of the first man Ryouma fights, a noble who organizes a plan to get him back to the castle and try him / kill him. There's a few different retainers and Noble friends introduced who help Celia try to track him down, including Shardina, Saito, Celia, Durnist the prime minister, king Lionel Eisenheit, Orlando, and Rolf. Big cast, but not too well developed yet. I wonder if they'll remain the enemies throughout or differences will be settled later? There's also some shopkeepers who appear that kind of push the plot forward significantly, but they don't seem to be major figures we'll see much of again. In addition, (view spoiler)[ there are some women introduced late whom the plot uses Ryouma's protection of them from kidnappers + assaulters as an excuse to... Have them be his loyal slaves. There's a whole ridiculous set of circumstances that lead that to be the only reasonable choice which the author creates well enough I guess, but it's just a really forced way to get these characters in his party. We learn a little about their background, but their personalities (outside of their loyalty) may shine later. (hide spoiler)]
The story begins by introducing a grandfather figure and a childhood friend that's a girl (and takes care of the two of them). I never really get why stories like this and Cooking With Wild Game introduce these childhood friends early with names that... We'll probably never see again. Maybe they want to use them as fallback plans in case they have to end the series early, have the hero sent home but he has a bride candidate waiting for him? Idk.
The setting is kind of a hodgepodge due to the nature of summonings. Summons are mainly used as punching bags for nobles; they use them to level up as any defeated creature or human in that world attains the killer points for... Leveling or something. There's a level system (highest known level being 7) and a guild ranking system (F-A). The few summoned not used as punching bags have influenced the world before, but only with the knowledge they have. IT people are more likely to be summoned than, say, a paper manufacturer that understands the processes involved of making that kind of material, so computer like systems exist, but notebooks made of paper don't. It's kind of medieval, kind of not.
Phycial movement in this one was good despite it all taking place in the capital + neighboring town / city + surrounding forests. This is due to the nature of Ryouma's plight, him having to escape capture after his bloody ordeal to start the story. The setting itself is ok, but I might have missed some of the chatter about what it looks like in between other scenes. Overall, I get the impression it's medievally... except not (there's a guy that looks like a businessman who is in the imperial force, bankers that look like your average teller would in Japan). There's talk about other lands, including Eastern lands that use Katana which leads me to believe this will mirror a bit of our real world. There's also beasts, like giant bees and wolves, and the typical guild reward setup you'd be accustomed to from Monster Hunter for cutting off monster parts or taking on quests. But the plot frequently mentions that 'this is not a video game' as the laws of the world go counter to game logic sometimes (like potions being super expensive).
Ultimately, I will read more of this series. Not sold on it yet, but it is very visceral. I kind of wonder what the message will be considering how anti-hero the protag seems. We're sure to deal in politics and war as well, and we'll see how much of that mirrors real world strategies. It has promise, but we'll see what they do with it. ...more
It took me a while to read this one. Just not totally my cup of tea (or bowl of soup if you will). Very vignette-esque in nature, every chapter seeminIt took me a while to read this one. Just not totally my cup of tea (or bowl of soup if you will). Very vignette-esque in nature, every chapter seemingly focusing on a new customer to Nekoya. You can't even really call the restaurant master the main character since I don't believe he gets a name, nor do you ever see his face, and even in the story you only get a vague sense of him as a character. There's no overarching tale yet, but it does seem like they're setting up a lot of actors for this story so they can go back to them.
I was kind of craving some relationship focus, and it seems like they will do that with certain members of the cast as time goes on. For this volume, the connections are mostly familial or nobility wise. The commoners are much more on the loner side so far, them having their small connections. It'd be nice to see Nekoya become a sort of networking hub for folks. The rules of Nekoya ban fighting, but I don't know that they ban scheming or business deals there.
There's also a sense that Nekoya is helping change the Other World. Some of the characters that eat at Nekoya try to emulate the dishes there or surpass them.
Since so many characters get introduced in such short chapters, and frequently they're referred back to by their dish and not their real names, it's sometimes tough to remember who is whom. To add to the confusion, there are characters in similar stations with similar appearances (light haired princesses; diviners / sorceresses; gruff old men who were warriors once or samurai). Definitely worth a reread, especially if we'll be dealing with some of these characters again in V2.
Overall, not my favorite LN title, but I'll continue with it to see where it goes. The comfort food dishes in this may make your mouth water, and I think it'd be a kind of neat reading challenge to read maybe one chapter a day and then buy that dish each day. At least I'm tempted to do that. xD...more
Read up to the end of the epilogue (the story of Ai Fa and her father follows, so I'll try to go back and read that later). Ok chapter that once againRead up to the end of the epilogue (the story of Ai Fa and her father follows, so I'll try to go back and read that later). Ok chapter that once again focuses on the Ruu household. We get to see the full reaction to the meal that Asuta prepared, which is mostly positive, but the small group of naysayers is enough for him to go back to the drawing board and come up with a meal to satisfy the whole family (and teach them methods to make it).
Ai Fa's support and the burgeoning relationship developing between her and Asuta continues to be a major factor this volume. Ai Fa's resolve and belief in Asuta is a driving force this chapter, as are her words to Donda Ruu and the Rutim clan.
It feels like Asuta's advice is maybe going to create more issues later as well. I can totally see Vina's cooking skill increasing making her a more viable marriage candidate for others. She says she wants to get out of the village, so I'm pretty interested to see where her character goes from here (she, Reina, and Ai Fa are clearly the viable romantic interests at this point, though Ai Fa the only one he'll end up with unless they do a multiple partner thing).
Lala Ruu is another problem character, a more boyish girl who doesn't appreciate the mushy hamburgers Asuta serves his first time in the Ruu home. I don't believe we see a ton of her reaction to the second meal in the story, but I may have missed it. M
Once again, a male main character is being painted under a misunderstanding as a pervy dude (he (view spoiler)[walks in on a bath; he thought the women of the Ruu and Ai Fa were just cleaning pots and pans; he only locks eyes on Ai Fa though, so he doesn't face any real punishment (hide spoiler)]). I don't know, I just don't like that story / joke trope being so overused in LN. You could see it coming from a mile away too when you heard about them washing stuff, so very telegraphed "comedy". Maybe they'll use it as ammo later to try and force him to marry a member of the Ruu clan? Guess we'll see. As of now, they get off with only brief bouts of glares from the women of the clan and a stern talk to.
Overall, a decent chapter, but I don't think it'll stick with me that much. There's still a bit of unresolved tension in the story (between Donda's cold rewarding attitude, Vina's desire to leave the village, and Lala's attitude towards Asuta). Reina didn't factor in too much despite some characters trying to pair her off or say she had feelings for Asuta.
I wonder if this can even go harem since Asuta doesn't hunt. Maybe the male heads of the Ruu clan could help them with the "Mundt" meat they don't eat? I'm intrigued where they'll go with this, though the next chapter is catering a wedding for a clan we barely know. I hope we get to know them a little better than the lovebirds and their father from the Rutim this chapter....more
This volume introduces so many new characters, maybe too many to keep up with (it's 11 or 12 new characters added to an already solid returning cast sThis volume introduces so many new characters, maybe too many to keep up with (it's 11 or 12 new characters added to an already solid returning cast set). We get a little bit more world building, us going to the Empire and it's capital city, us meeting the hero of El Meide, learning about a female sword hero we haven't met from the Saadi (spelling?) alliance, and more. There's a new Magicka magic introduced as well with our shadowy criminal, the Dark Magic skillset. It's up to Suimei and the new hero Elliott to find this figure. Can they do it? And will they like the answer when they do find out?
It does waste a bit of time with some of jokes that maybe don't really hit (particularly the "loli-con / pervert" jokes Suimei gets hit with becoming tired). The payoff for those jokes in volume 4 was not worth it, so it really doesn't feel like they were necessary. Lefille is stuck in her little form after the last volume, and some of our other characters are starting to come back on the scene (particularly Felmenia, who is now a loyal puppy dog to Suimei).
Reiji and co continue to be heroes in name only, their power being just enough to squeak past an already defeated demon lord group that Suimei saw last chapter. Their part of the story is mainly about introducing two lordly noble characters, Highness of the Empire Graziella along with the Duke that tried to off Suimei. The Duke's goals are alluded to, but you wonder if they're noble goals or not. Actually a lot of the characters in volume 3+4 operate on that more gray morality or they just outright get used by villains to the point you can't really call them culpable. I'm curious how far the author will go with all of this.
Solid volume. Not as much reward in terms of the action (most of the conflict gets left unresolved). Volume 4 is pretty much a necessary companion piece, so buy these together. Just a warning: Volume 4 has no black and white illustrations, so don't expect them. 3 has quite a few though. ...more
So, this is a bit of a frustrating volume. Two major things happen that will help waste more time: 1) Kuzaku (view spoiler)[couldn't carry their moneySo, this is a bit of a frustrating volume. Two major things happen that will help waste more time: 1) Kuzaku (view spoiler)[couldn't carry their money because it was too heavy, so he leaves it somewhere stupid, and it might be gone (hide spoiler)]. 2) Haruhiro and co get contracted to a merchant who says he's going back to Alterna, but they wind up putting themselves in an even more timewasty position by heading to another world (Parano).
Setora features on the cover, and the title is provocative, but the actual content doesn't really hold up for those two elements. More than half the story features Haruhiro being separated from the group, and I guess the title refers to the character he is with on his journey. The little that Setora was in there was mostly comic relief between her and their masochistic employer, Kejimann, her deriding him or slightly praising him leading to his strange eccentric expressions of joy or depression. Kuzaku and her also have some back and forths as well. She does have a slightly awkward "girls talk" scene between Merry and Shihoru, all of them being more reserved personalities, so tough to open up really. I guess I was kind of interested in this having more shippy elements, but that didn't really happen (if the new character introduced is a romantic figure, then that just throws another wrinkle in that will delay the shipping).
Merry x Haru is proceeding slowly as always. You get some insight into Haru's reads (and misreads) of Merry's attitude towards him. Merry has another cryptic "identity" scene where she worries about who she is. As with everything in the story, it doesn't feel like any plot will be wrapped up with a bow any time soon, unless Haru gets encouraged to make a move (and that probably would solve Merry's crisis a bit if she realizes someone loves her for who she is now). Haru is still kind of trying to deny Merry's "knowledge" as anything crazy, that maybe she could know stuff because she was an adventurer before them.
The new area feels much like Yume Nikki, fever dream like. There's bizarre, shadowy creatures that resemble tendril like figures Haru is familiar with but with bizarrely humanoid heads or figures (from Octopus, to Snakes, to even flying intestines; you just get a vague image of these bizarre things from his descriptions; I don't believe any were drawn in the black and white images). This part of the story deals with a bit of psychology / mental health aspects, throwing around terms like Id and Ego to describe status ailment phenomena, leveling aspects, and magic abilities. It really is a new world.
Haruhiro, who usually is an amazing character imo, becomes an annoyingly pathetic character in this volume as the "sweet scent" of Parano's air fills his lungs and fills him with feverish dreams (that end up manifesting in actual enemies in Parano, including one that looks like himself), he begs for food + water (there's no sense of time in Parano, so you can live without those, but you also do feel pangs of hunger still), and tries to either kill himself to escape the world or eat something dangerous from that world. The one he is dependent on is a new character, Alice, who basically acts as Haruhiro's babysitter. Alice's gender is neither confirmed nor is it important to her (probably a result of her mental anguish from bullying, or maybe because it doesn't matter in Parano if you're a guy or girl, you're just survivors).
So yeah, I had a lot to say on this one, but not as much super positive. I always hate being separated from our main cast, and you delay their trip home even more? And all these other storylines (Merry's feelings, Merry's identity, ) are still not really progressing. And Setora has a lot of art, but I don't really get why (they throw a random image of Setora in when Haru is talking with Alice about his comrades for instance; the other major piece of art with her was from the scene where she talks to Shihoru and Merry). I appreciate it trying a different, new setting; the timing on that is just not great though by delaying the reader from where they want to go, especially because it seems like this world will drag into volume 14 as well....more
**spoiler alert** Fairly focused volume on Darkness, although as Konosuba is known to do there are diversions before the main plot gets going. Among t**spoiler alert** Fairly focused volume on Darkness, although as Konosuba is known to do there are diversions before the main plot gets going. Among these being a repeat of the frog enemies, YunYun's introduction (she's like Megumin, a member of her clan, and a competitor with Megumin), a new cat companion (Chomsky?), and a carnival town atmosphere scene.
The main thrust of the story starts with Kazuma facing threat of going to jail for his orders in the battle against Destroyer (he told Wiz to randomly teleport an explosive, and it just so happened to destroy a Noble's Manor). This sees the introduction of another new character, the prosecutor Sena, a beautiful dark haired glasses wearing lawyer who has a troublesome serious countenance that makes it tough for her to find a man. Unfortunately, Kazuma is the object of her attacks this chapter, from arresting the so called hero of the attack on Destroyer in front of his guildmates (who defend him only to a point... Once it becomes clear defending him will lead to nothing good), to using a lie detector to assess his truthfulness while in jail, to finally meeting him in court to decide Kazuma's fate.
The second half of the main story revolves around Darkness, and we basically learn her whole backstory. In the process, we learn about a man who is pursuing Darkness as well, a fine upstanding gentleman... who is unfortunately too good for Darkness' "M" sensibilities (her ideal scenario is having a previously rich noble, lecherous with his maids, always up for action, but down on their luck bankrupt sending Darkness out to 'use her body' to provide for the family; ideally she'd also be caught by the demon lord and tortured by monsters as well).
The whole story culminates in meeting the new Demon army member, Vanir. He's a doll maker, making explosive dolls that unfortunately for our companions cause havoc around a cave they previously visited (Kazuma thinks Aqua caused the appearance of monsters outside the cave initially because she had stupidly placed and not removed a warding circle in a major part of the cave, potentially pushing monsters out like she did at the graveyard). Darkness' "M" tendencies along with her defense come in handy here, her taking damage from the explosive dolls while our party (and Sena + her group of protectors) slowly finds their way to the source. After this, the battle becomes tense as Kazuma tries to outsmart our new Demon, Vanir, a man who can forsee and read the minds of those around him (even reading Darkness and Kazuma's unspoken lust for something to happen between them).
Let's get to those spoiler elements. So the trial is a huge cluster. (view spoiler)[ Kazuma is going to go to jail, and they suggest there could be a dark magic user manipulating the scenario (or that the noble whose home was destroyed is intimidating the judge and prosecutor). Ultimately, Megumin's level of defense isn't enough to win against insurmountable odds, and it takes Darkness standing up and offering herself to the Nobleman to turn the tide. The Nobleman seems to recognise her, and it isn't until much later in the plot that we see why. Darkness is a daughter of nobility, daughter to the Dustiness family. They're known all over the country, very rich and influential. Darkness unfortunately has a devoted dad who gave her anything she wanted, too much freedom, and so Darkness craved a less free / open environment (hence her desire to become under a Demon's strict rule... Umm). The Nobleman whose house was destroyed offers her his son in marriage. Our heroes try unsuccessfully to get the marriage proposal to go ahead and be accepted (because that would lead to Darkness, a big headache, leaving the party; and it'd be good for her too they think). Darkness finally defeats the noble by showing him that she has the resolve of a true "M" tendency figure, and that only someone with Kazuma's level of lecherousness can defeat her (umm). Oh, and Kazuma promises to do something horrible to Darkness if he defeats her (which he does with drain touch, sapping her energy). What he decides on is revealing her true name to the rest of the guild, Lalatina Ford Dustiness. Definitely not what she wanted or expected. (hide spoiler)]
It was a solid chapter. Character introductions were a bit sudden. Sena, the prosecutor, is not really super likable yet. Yunyun is tough to read, and not too developed yet. Vanir was pretty interesting though, and adds a nice element (someone who can read the future to an extent... Or is he just good at reading people, and pushing prophecies he desires to happen?). Wiz gets mentioned a lot this chapter, but doesn't appear too much. She's on the cover of volume 4, so I'm hoping she's more involved there. Megumin doesn't really shine too much in this one either (I think there's a random bath scene between her and Kazuma this chapter, and she gets a cat). Aqua is Aqua, she's as involved as she usually is....more
The second volume of the tale of our Visual Novel star Villainess... kind of. If it wasn't apparent enough already, this volume proceeds to move her eThe second volume of the tale of our Visual Novel star Villainess... kind of. If it wasn't apparent enough already, this volume proceeds to move her even more into the sphere of "good" and on the path away from a bad ending. But still, there is some trouble and unexpected twists for Katarina she must overcome to get to the end.
This volume introduces two brand new characters: the student Council vice president and the protagonist. First off, the student council is the organization that all of Katarina's talented friends get elected to. Using negotiation skills, they get the school to let Katarina Claes visit the council whenever she likes as well. The student council vice president is a very friendly fellow who serves tea to all her friends and generally has good comradery with them (and of course fellow acting president, Nicol).
Now the protagonist of the game, Maria (not to be confused with Mary), is one of the main focuses of this work. When I started the series, I figured they'd twist the story, have her be the antagonist, but nope, she's just as friendly and unassuming as she is in the game's story. The best thing about her part of the story is she not only shows you what her life is like (the bad mouthing nature of jealous idiots around her, the difficulty of her family having to deal with her sudden influx of magic power) but also helps you see how great a gal Katarina is. The "evil" look that Katarina thinks she has just isn't there. Maria even thinks she looks graceful and her visage is kind. Other characters who are noble say Katarina looks plain, but not many say she looks evil or mean at first glance. (Of course, you take a look at those covers, and you may be tricked).
The rest of the cast was kind of whatever this chapter. There's a side story at the end for Prince Jeord if you care to read that (he more explicitly shows an interest in closing the deal with Katarina this volume, much to the chagrin of her brother Keith). Alan and Nicol don't really do much iirc. Same for Sophia and Mary.
Overall, comedy is still pretty good, though less insanity this chapter (the most ridiculous thing is Katarina towing some fields at the academy in her overalls). The comedy is mostly the Baka part of Katarina's nickname (Bakarina), the dumb behavior she has towards romantic interests.
They do also introduce a new form of magic that does involve some form of memory control. You wonder if they'll do anything with that (maybe the "evil" Katarina from the game was just under a dark spell that altered her good behavior to be evil? I'm kind of expecting the real Katarina to show up at some point if Katarina conks her head again). There's some other revelations early about a certain other character in the story that do change things somewhat, but we'll see if for the better or worse.
So, it's pretty clearly a harem by the end of this volume. You wonder if Katarina will come to realize their attraction ever, or if she'll remain clueless even if they all start living together. For now, they're still in school, a second year of academy life. Once they all graduate, it should get really interesting I hope. I'm a bit worried about them getting passed the game scenario though. Part of the fun in this story is seeing Katarina deal with avoiding bad ends because she knows the game scenario. Taking that element out just makes this another Shoujo like novel, no game element. ...more
My Next Life as a Villainess is a female focused comedy series involving a young maiden who gets transported to the world of an Otome game as KatarinaMy Next Life as a Villainess is a female focused comedy series involving a young maiden who gets transported to the world of an Otome game as Katarina, the villainess / romantic rival to the as yet to be seen protagonist of said game. Armed with the knowledge of that game's scenario, Katarina knows how to plan against getting a "bad ending" for her character by preventing the rest of the cast from falling for the protagonist + forging bonds with them.
The comedy aspect is mainly that Katarina has a tough time reading the thoughts and attitudes of the potential suitors. For instance, there is Jeord, her fiancee who takes her hand in marriage initially as a sense of duty / honor to make up for her smacking her head on the ground when she slipped while clinging to him. He develops a personal interest in Katarina that the character in her video game didn't because of Katarina's uniqueness and her kindness. But Katarina reads a lot of what he says and does in a different way, and thinks the engagement is simply a ploy for him to keep other female suitors off his back. This denseness could become annoying down the line, but it's ok for now.
The cast is fairly large, but they do introduce characters little by little. That said, some characters do start to blend once they become Katarina's friends, in particular the girls who like the romance novels and the more stoic, quiet figures of Keith and Nicol. And then, a few of them are members of Jeord's family; Alan in particular has the distinguishing feature of being just a little bit worse at everything than his brother Jeord (though, it sounds like going forward he'll distinguish himself further with his musical abilities).
I was surprised how much of this was focused on Katarina's younger days. Despite featuring the 15 plus yr old Katarina on the cover (who will attend school in the next volume with all her friends), this volume focuses on the 7-9 yr old tales of Katarina. Again, it's nice that the story establishes her relationships to characters early on in a slower paced manner so we get to know them. Another bit of comedy is Katarina's sense of maturity (I mean, she is a 17 yr old reincarnated into this world) combined with her seeming childish + precocious behavior, much to the chagrin of her mother, her maid servants, and even some of her suitors. Then again, it's this whimsical attitude that attracts people to her, and her eccentricity is what will probably keep the reader entertained.
I like the whole multiple perspective aspect, but I think it's a bit recap heavy to an extent. Sure, we're seeing another character's perspective, but you want to get to the good stuff quickly, the new content or major reaction moments, but sometimes they bog you down with stuff you could already infer. And then one of the final stories focuses on Katarina's maid who recaps how each of the suitors feels + acts towards Katarina, which may have been best saved for the next volume entirely (I mean, I expect some level of recap in future works).
I'm curious where they're going with this story. There's a reverse harem angle (with a few characters who are smitten with her despite being female, though the plot makes it clear time and again that Katarina "doesn't swing that way"). In the game world, a true harem route was possible for the protagonist, but Katarina is the villain. You wonder if maybe she's going to take all the men (and ladies) and get that true harem route for herself; but if so, what happens to her other friends? Does Mary leave Alan behind (or vice versa)? How about the heroine of the story who we've yet to meet; will she not find happiness now that everyone is interested in Katarina? It shall be interesting to see what happens....more
Read through this one after a long hiatus of Overlord. And I really enjoyed it. I like how Momonga / Ainz is just a bit different than some other "I'mRead through this one after a long hiatus of Overlord. And I really enjoyed it. I like how Momonga / Ainz is just a bit different than some other "I'm reincarnated as a demon lord, now I have to fake my way through" characters in that his grotesque species self of the Overlord has almost it's own brain chemistry that kind of melds with or tapers off some of his human consciousness. It's less "I'm a human faking my way through" and more "I have some humanity and memories, but I am Ainz Owal Gown".
This volume introduces a lot of new characters, a new city (E-Rantel), and new lore. I don't think volume 1 really had a lot of those elements, so it feels like the author hit his stride and found out what he wants to do with the world between volume 1 + 2.
It's definitely still a dark humor element to it, but there are some serious scenes and moments. I think it kind of goes with that element of feeling out who Momonga is (like, how much humanity he really has; some of his thoughts don't mix with his actions, sometimes he's more or less cold than you'd think for a human). Overall though, it still remains a bit of an OP character in a world of characters that underestimate him (now that he's getting more renowned, he may face stiffer challenges though).
Interested to see where volume 3 goes, and where they go with all the new factions mentioned (Blue Roses; Drop of Red; Dark Society) and some returning ones (Slane Theocracy). There's a Golden Princess out there too with hints of Noble's being corrupt and unfair towards some, with her potentially not being so (or putting on a facade she isn't so)....more
Pretty solid little work, though you could argue that it barely gets going this volume, a real introductory Slice of Life tale, this follows our hero Pretty solid little work, though you could argue that it barely gets going this volume, a real introductory Slice of Life tale, this follows our hero Asuto as he travels from our world where he was an assistant chef to the world of a 17 yr old, lone, tribal member Ai Fa. Needless to say, this is a culture shock, but for Ai Fa, this change in lifestyle gives her a chance to repair her relationship with the rest of the tribe members (she was ostracized after refusals of marriage to other strong tribal leaders' sons). For Asuta, it's a chance for him to really challenge himself with his cooking ability despite being in a new world with entirely different food tastes and ingredients (though, conveniently, they all have some real world equivalent).
So this one opens with the introduction of our hero, his circumstances in his real world (which curiously features a named childhood friend along with his father... Two characters we seemingly will never see again passed the introduction), and how he gets to the other world (a very dumb action he takes leading to his death that even he acknowledges was stupid).
One thing I really liked was how, overall, Asuta is presented as intelligent and reasoning. He doesn't fall into the rom com oblivious trappings you're used to; he acknowledges when something someone says or does appears to have a potential hidden meaning, romantically or otherwise. He also doesn't hide who he is from others, Ai Fa and he deciding to be up front about his journey from Japan to this other world.
The name of the game for this one is in the title: "cooking" and "wild game". First, in a reversal of typical gender roles (even for Ai Fa's society), Ai Fa is the hunter and the male Asuta is the stay at home cook. Well, Asuta doesn't always stay at home; in fact, we first meet him when he stumbles into Ai Fa's traps upon entering this new world, Ai Fa being the tough motherly character who rebukes him but still ultimately helps him survive.
The cooking portion of that title refers to the real battle of the story, the battle of Asuta to cook dishes with strange fruit, spice, and meat he's never heard of or cooked with before. Almost every chapter features a new dish for him to conquer, be it stew, bread, burgers, etc. His excitement for cooking I think may be lost a bit on readers who aren't into food, but if you're even somewhat interested in cooking, the descriptions of the process of making the dishes may make your mouth water. =P
Ai Fa's weaknesses are shown in the story, mainly related to her role in the tribe and lack of family, friends, and disinterest in potential partners. If anything is going to keep the reader interested in coming back to this series, it's probably for Ai Fa's development in both forging bonds she thought were broken through the help of Asuta's cooking and how she and Asuta will someday acknowledge their need for one another. There's a clear end goal, Ai Fa and Asuta becoming partners, and her bloodline continuing with a child. The question is, how are we going to get there? How are the other families, especially the Suun family who are prone to fits of jealousy and violence, and the Ruu family who are fighting for control with the Suun, going to acknowledge Asuta as a marriage candidate for Ai Fa, and will there be any power struggle issue between the sides? And ultimately, is living on the outskirts of civilization with Giba meat as their primary food source, a solitary + uneventful existence in the world sphere, what our heroes will aspire to? Will there be harem? A lot of questions that one short / compact volume won't answer....more
This story details the life of Misato... Excuse me, Adele... Excuse me again, Mile, the college student, middle schooler, and hunter professional. GotThis story details the life of Misato... Excuse me, Adele... Excuse me again, Mile, the college student, middle schooler, and hunter professional. Got all that? No. Well, let's dive into this review anyways.
So it's an Isekai, a travel to another world story, god granting a young woman a second chance at an "average" life in a new land. Memory retention is a thing in this tale, though more for the sake of her having knowledge about elements and physics that she'll need in the magical world to conjure up a spell utilizing them. It's a very sort of passively important memory retention, though she does remember the details of her life fully, they just don't factor in much to the plot (besides her desire for friends and to live a more normal life in this world).
A lot of the story is comedy. Lots of setup + punchline stuff; lots of characters making judgments that turn out to be rash (like assuming Adele is snacking on a bone because it's in her drawer; saying someone is a generous king before the deliver the ultimate shrewd comment afterwards about using people). A lot of grins at the cuteness, and some almost rolling on my sides moments, so I'd say it passed muster on the comedy front. There are some recurring types of jokes, but nothing that felt super gag-character esque (besides the "normal" gag with Adele, and maybe Reina's character, but even she defeats her tough stereotype with bonds of friendship).
The cast is rather packed. As I hinted in the opening, this story kind of has four spheres: reality (which hasn't factored in much), her Noble home life (count and sister who treat her like an afterthought; dead mother and grandfather), school life (first friends; school troubles), and hunter life (Hunter school, party). Within these, there are many friends, adversaries, and instructors. The standouts were definitely Marcella, Reina, and Pauline. There are male characters as well, some who are very positive and helpful and named characters (some who seem like they may be vying for the main character's attention when she's of marrying age too), so this isn't an "all the guy characters are just window-dressing" kind of series. They're all involved in the story. Some of the instructors don't get much, if any play, particularly the ones late in the story at the Adventurer / Hunter school; they all get names, but I think only the principal gets lines. And it's not like we'll be revisiting the school as a student, that is wrapped up after this volume, so I don't know why they got names (there's other characters with actual personality that don't get names, like iirc the mage that quakes in his boots at Reina, and the boy that tries to come on too strong with Adele / Mile).
For just a slight bit of negativity here, I didn't love the amount of inessential detail we get in this volume. Some of it's fine, like giving reasons for why she's able to create certain magics. Other stuff was less essential waste of time stuff like the week / day / month calendar system operating on 6s, or the bell system in one of the towns she goes to having each ring detailed and explained for seemingly no reason. You can say that's worldbuilding, but you kind of hope they have reasons to give you that more mundane info. I guess we'll see, but for this volume, some detail wasn't necessary.
Like a lot of early web novel based stories, this one is very much an intro story, though it moves well enough that you don't feel like you haven't seen enough to figure out if you'll like it. Still, the fact that we abandon friends and make new friends, it kind of gives you a bit of anxiety about where our little miss will end up. Will she become a noble who sits on a throne? Will she toil away as an adventurer? Will she find that meager "normalcy" that she desires in a world that is anything but normal?...more
**spoiler alert** Solid little opening story to a more fluffy, but still action oriented dual setting Isekai + real world story. This really is a shar**spoiler alert** Solid little opening story to a more fluffy, but still action oriented dual setting Isekai + real world story. This really is a shared setting more than anything I've read yet in the LN genre, the main character moving between worlds when he goes unconscious.
The title character of the Elf is really more of an ally / friend who he has known in the dream world for a long time (he's been going there since he was 5, and he's 20 in the real world now), and they're now starting to really work together on the regular... Until she and he both die in each others arms to a monster. Luckily, our hero's skill allows him to bring back to his world any food and / or people around him when he dies, so Ms Elf gets to go to Japan with him.
I think the Elf is a decent character, but maybe it didn't really explore her life enough yet (we get a vague mention of her guild mates being tough on her because her level is lower than others, I think she mentions nobility too). I'm hoping we see both of their close ones / family in the future (we get a promise of a vacation trip at some point to Kazuhiho's grandfather's countryside home after Ms Elf takes a liking to an anime's picturesque scenery).
Three side characters get really only introduced in this volume: a librarian, a dragon, and a young cat boy beast dude. None of them really get any major play, just really introductory sequences, the dragon probably the most we learn about to get a sense for her worldly importance and personality.
One thing I was struck by was the quality of description elements in scenes. They really try to put you there in the scene. From descriptions of sand, heat, water veins, to descriptions of action elements and fast travel traversal methods. I do think Japan might need a bit more emphasis though. The first scene they see the cherry blossoms, but I didn't really get a breathtaking picture there. There's probably more natural wonder they can find, in addition to some local customs and festival scenes in future volumes... And a beach chapter can always be fun, ha ha.
Ms Elf, Marie, and her male ally Kazuhiho are a great pair. They really play off each other well and care about the other one's well being. Marie in particular attempts to improve her Japanese ability to meet his and tries not to be a burden on him monetarily. In addition, Kazuhiho gives Marie the opportunity to work out what he's thinking sometimes about strategy, and they're on a similar wavelength. Marie and him share a lot of simple interactions you might expect from friends or lovers, just really genuine human contact and comfort, things as simple as brushing back hair, patting their head, falling onto the other's chest, and just generally lazing about. It's nice and comfy.
People always ask about Ecchi content in these types of works, and I don't think this is that bad (I hear some of the insert pictures look racy, but I haven't looked at those to confirm). There's basically 3 racy scenes: Marie waking up in the Earthly world naked in bed, Marie dropping her covers as she turns around to Kazuhiho after starting out the window at Japan that morning, and Marie jumping at Kazuhiho with nothing on as she gets scared out of the bath from an Earthquake. None of these are that bad in terms of description, though the guy has some slightly lecherous thoughts on his mind that pass quickly (just absentminded staring mostly, which he'll conclude by saying he's tempted to do because 'he's a man'). The characters hug each other tight while in pajamas in bed to go to the other world together when they fall asleep.
I'll definitely read more of these. The premium EBook from J-Novel has 3 short stories, so those may be worth it if you want to see more fun interactions between our elf and her Earthly companion. The volume definitely feels incomplete a bit as it just kind of ends, no cliffhanger, but not really a resolution or clear path ahead or even final line to leave us with. It ends on an Interlude in fact, a story that takes place outside of the major otherwoldly events, a simple shopping trip with Marie....more
The writer describes this one as a more fluffy adventure, and it is in a way since we're dealing with pirates, but it still felt like Grimgar to me. WThe writer describes this one as a more fluffy adventure, and it is in a way since we're dealing with pirates, but it still felt like Grimgar to me. We met new creatures, both friend and foe.
Haru and co meet a girl named Momohina. She's basically Yume in behavior, but she's a lot tougher (she's a mage and Kung Fu master, how cool is that?). Through circumstance, they end up working for her K+K Pirate crew, a band of pirates that operate in a town called Roronea, a seaport, merchant, commerce, island township. The head of the town and the pirates need help with a dragon problem, and that's where our heroes come in (whether they want to do it or not). Some fun pirate stuff and some tense moments in this one, but not a ton of character stuff (it was a very plot centric chapter, though not in a way that advances the main plot either, so I'd say you could even skip this one if you wanted to). The only real character moments were a handful of Haru x Merry and Haru x Setora moments that go nowhere. Setora is on the cover of the next volume, so I'm hoping they do something there.
The black and white art in this volume was fairly forgettable too. Grimgar has never really struck me as having very active art, most of it being wistful looks and character portraits. I felt like the dragons could have used some art in the final chapters of the book though. I don't even know if we get to see what the item that was stolen from the dragons looks like, we just hear about how hard its surface is and a general sense of size.
The biggest event in the story? Another one of our heroes leaves the party. Won't spoil how or why, but it was definitely a bit of a surprise to throw that into the end of this volume. I actually want to give this a 4 for enjoyment, but writing this review, it's probably a 3 just from what was contained within. It's very much a "filler" chapter, although it'd be nice if some of the K+K crew come back into the plot later as characters....more
So you get your wish to go to another world and live out your gamer fantasy... Unfortunately, your mom is also going to tag along. How would the 15 yeSo you get your wish to go to another world and live out your gamer fantasy... Unfortunately, your mom is also going to tag along. How would the 15 year old you react?
That's the basic setup of this story, Masato being sent to another world with his mommy Mamako after the Japanese government selects him and mom to participate in their Beta test of a Mother-Son bonding MMORPG.
Definitely a few chuckles, but not as silly as I expected. Part of the issue is that this first volume is establishing Ma-Kun's initial reaction to travelling with his mom, and unfortunately it's not a positive one initially. The other issue is that there's some setup in terms of systems and worldbuilding required for this volume, so it's not a quick starter necessarily.
The setting isn't that interesting, it's more the Mother game mechanics that keep it a bit unique. A lot of the area names and item names have something to do with mothers; they go to a village named Mamon, known for producing Mamon's milk (which the plot makes no bones about alluding to breastfed milk); their currency is Mums; the skills Mamako receives are directly related to being a mom, like her lap pillow technique that puts younger characters to sleep, and her positive motherly glow being an actual literal light in the dark glow. Some of the abilities may turn out to be a bit annoying, like the ability to interrupt any developing scenario, which I can only imagine them using to interrupt romantic development later on.
Mamako is the star of the show, but I'd honestly say she's not my favorite character so far (and neither is Masato). She kind of operates on gag comedy, and some of the jokes that don't hit early will continue to miss the mark as they get repeated again and again. She's a caricature of both the good and bad aspects of a mom as seen from a child's perspective; forgetful of things her son says to her directly (insert firepower joke here), introducing her son all the time instead of letting him introduce himself, saying embarrassing stuff aloud for all in the room to hear. Though, honestly, I didn't find her that annoying. If anything, Masato was the one being ridiculous. He brings all the problems and stress on himself, not Mamako. None of the NPCs nor the human party members judge Masato for traveling with his mother or the things she says / does, but this doesn't seem to get across to Masato as he still thinks she's embarrassing him. I feel like he has an inferiority complex; his ideas about gender roles are pretty basic too (for instance, he concludes all girls = like shopping; guys = hate shopping). His testosterone levels may be a bit off. x)
I'd say this volume focuses pretty equally on Mamako, Masato, and the third major character, fellow adventurer and also 15 year old Wise the mage. It's pretty well established early that Wise wants to scheme up a way out of the game world, especially if it means gaining a healthier parent-child relationship in the process... Even if that relationship is with someone who is not her real mother. Wise has some of the most fun scenes in the story since she's that sort of prideful / boastful character, and of course the plot plays with that for comedic purposes.
The last two major characters are Porta, their human luggage carry all, and Sherase, the game administrator. Porta in particular is not too interesting so far, but maybe she'll get more play in the next volume. The plot has her failing and being pretty useless too much early, and the praise she receives for small accomplishments seems a bit unworthy. She is the youngest member of the party, I want to say 12, and again, she's non combat, so I don't know how much she can really contribute besides simple item usage. She seems to serve as more of the "cute" character that the others forgive and support easily when things go wrong.
The game administrator Sherase is, like Mamako, a walking, talking gag character. Her gag is mainly the Kenny-syndrome from South Park; she probably spends more time in a coffin than actively walking around in this volume. Her name means to inform, and she'll let you know that every... single... time she explains something, for comedic effect. She likes to change her job as well, or maybe she's an AI program with multiple personalities that can appear simultaneously? Who knows.
So this was solid, I give it four stars for construction because there's really nothing wrong with it from the perspective of world building and character building. I'd say setting wise it isn't that interesting, but it's not really a setting focused series so far. One thing I really appreciated was how this is one of the few game based worlds where the NPC administrators acknowledge the game like element; like the King NPC they meet initially tells them that the item descriptions are just flavor text and then proceeds to give them actual knowledge on their item's damage totals in a guidebook fashion instead of flavoring it, ruining Masato's immersion. So yeah, it's got some fun uniqueness to it, but I think some of the mean spiritedness of the parent-child relationships early kind of dragged the mood down early, and some of the gag comedy gets repetitive. Now that the characters and world are established, hopefully volume 2 can be more fun....more
**spoiler alert** This is the most "undecided" series I've read so far from J-Novel. This and actually the last one I read, "The Magic In This Other W**spoiler alert** This is the most "undecided" series I've read so far from J-Novel. This and actually the last one I read, "The Magic In This Other World Is Too Far Behind" both kind of tell very small time stories for a plot that is seemingly larger, so we don't really know what the tone will be going forward (obviously serious, but how serious, how adventurous + globe trotting, no way to truly know). The Isekai type aspect to it is a bit curious as well, and seems like a slow burn.
For what we've got, it holds a lot of similarities to me with Arifureta, which unfortunately is not one of my favorite series. This includes aspects like other students looking down on the main character, him discovering an ability set that outstrips them, him letting bad things befall the cast he really doesn't care about (but saving the girls), potential harem element despite having an early fated romance that spurred him forward, and of course (view spoiler)[ the fall from the cliff and separation from the cast (hide spoiler)].
The political elements are decent enough. Basically, there are some power plays in the kingdom, King Phillip the third being someone who rose to power at too young of an age, so he acquiesces to the knowledge of his subordinates (to the point he gives them too much say). It's difficult to pin down what exactly each family's desire is though, they just feel like they want power for the sake of power, but they also don't feel like they oppose each other that much in terms of common goals (like trying to take out the hero, Rio). There's some other members in the background that I'm still not fully informed on, like this mage dude Reese who seems to be at the forefront of a lot of the issues here.
Besides Celia, we don't really get to see Rio interact with too many of the other female cast in any positive way. In fact, Flora, the princess of the kingdom, is a constant damsel figure, which is pretty annoying as a reader. I suppose maybe someone is targeting her, but yeah, it's still a bit annoying to have this helpless healer. I'm sure in the time Rio is gone, she'll be perfectly fine, but when he comes back, she'll be targeted once again. =/
Some characters have been named that we haven't seen yet (or at least haven't seen their identities yet). For instance, the prostitute character in the open, Gigi, had a sister named Angela iirc? And we haven't seen much of the Knight, Vanessa, once the school portion begins. Christina (the other princess) and Roroa kind of round out the cast, and have their roles, but they haven't shined yet.
The art for the girls in this is kind of not a huge draw for me. The black and white in particular makes everyone look the same. Like, I'm not sure if the girl on the cover is Flora or Celia (the fact they made Celia stop growing in physical maturity from 13-17 was a bit annoying personally; hopefully they won't do that with all the major female characters in the cast). I assume it's Celia just because of her hat and outfit in a few of the images. Two of the princesses also share that Lavender hair color, so even in color art, they may look alike. I did appreciate that they did have a piece of art for the bull headed demon (Minotaur).
Overall, I just leave undecided on this. Even if he doesn't choose to marry multiple women, it's a harem, with all the side glances and blushing going on in scenes between Rio and virtually any named female character. Rio himself doesn't display much of a personality either besides "smart" to others since he's trying not to harm his relationship with the nobility (and, of course, just the intellect is enough to get scorn from male students and desire from female classmates, go figure). I heard some called it an academy tale, but it really isn't much of one so far. The whole bodysharing aspect hasn't really been fully developed yet either, we just know Rio has the memories of a deceased individual from reality, and that he didn't gain them until he was seven. I appreciate time skips, but again, if you don't age your characters like with Celia, it kind of rings hollow a bit. Hopefully if they time skip again, we see some changes physically. I feel like some time needs to pass if Celia x Rio is the canon ship....more
I'm only giving this 4 stars just because it's not as adventurous as past volumes, and the split perspectives led to some characters getting coverage I'm only giving this 4 stars just because it's not as adventurous as past volumes, and the split perspectives led to some characters getting coverage who had more or less interesting things going on plot wise.
There is some time skip early. Not a huge amount of time, but they basically explain away characters leaving the group, build up Setora's part in the party a bit, and explain the new Weps and armor for Yume and Kuzaku (samurai swords, shield + helm for Kuzaku).
This one introduces one new major piece of lore, the children of the No Life King's monsters (mostly goblins) that were born from human x goblin relations. I believe there name was Gumos?
Besides that we meet an interesting male character who seems like he could push the "why are we here, how do we get back, regaining our memories" Isekai plot a bit. Of course, if he dies, then that goes out the window. It really could just be a tease.
Ranta is still in their heads, but no so much in the story yet.
It ends with a cliffhanger, so you'll probably want to grab this one and 11 at the same time so you can just jump in to the next volume. Overall, decent action, some interesting theories presented on what this world is and why they're there, and a small but important piece of worldbuilding....more
This volume doesn't do much to advance our hero's journey (finding a way to create a portal home), just more presents problems and new characters for This volume doesn't do much to advance our hero's journey (finding a way to create a portal home), just more presents problems and new characters for him.
We get to see the limitations of Suimei's abilities. I kind of zoned out towards the end, but I know he mentioned using his Mana Oven or whatever, which is like the highest powered magic he has. So demons are pretty strong in that world, he won't be able to just fry through a million of them in one battle likely. Suimei's goal is also a bit more childish than I took him for, as is his reason to fight (I thought he'd be more about himself, which I would like, but nope, he's more altruistic and empathetic than he put on in volume 1; kind of disappointing honestly).
This introduces a new main character, a red head, Lefille Grakis, who our main character meets by chance. She's still a bit mysterious I think, but we do learn a bit of her backstory (adventurer seeking retribution for some event from her past involving demons) and get to see what she brings to the table battle wise. This series seems like it will go harem, but I guess that remains to be seen. Most of the rest of the introduced cast are more side character in nature, besides maybe Dorothea at the guild.
Besides Lefille, we do briefly see Mizuki, Tia, and our hero, along with Tia's retainers. One of her retainer's hints of a skeem to take advantage of Suimei as a decoy (I guess they threw out hints of him being the hero?) to help our hero escape. Of course, the group is having none of this, and the hero runs off towards Suimei. I believe he didn't reach him this volume, so we'll see what happens in the next one.
Similarly, our mage friend, Menia / Felmenia is also on the hunt to catch up to Suimei. She had some last second preparation (she's got some writings with advice about his magic iirc), so she's still chasing his heels. We don't see much of her after the opening, so pretty much what we know from volume 1 is what we've got.
I'm intrigued by some things that weren't 100% spelled out in this volume. One was Tia's line about misreading Suimei. I'm wondering what she took him for, and if she had read his character right, what she would have done differently. Lefille seemed more mysterious than she let on, but I think I just misread that myself. There were little wrinkles at the beginning and at the end that I didn't really love involving mindwiping and infantilising characters. I just don't like when what seems like a character relationship setup is hampered by supernatural elements that keep characters from getting closer.
The final twist involving the Demon-Lord wasn't really anything too crazy considering other series that have featured that trope. I do feel like the Demons in this series will be more sympathetic at the end of the day, maybe even the key to going home, but where will that leave our hero's party and the initial kingdom (along with the rest of the world)....more
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