And I am going to copy my thoughts on previous volumes here for my own convenience.
Volume 1
I enjoyed it a lot overall! I liked the concept of following the group of losers (who aren’t just nominally losers, but actually subpar in terms of… pretty much everything, struggling against challenges that everyone else just shrugged off after a few days of getting used to their environment). The extreme spoiler development towards the middle took me by surprise, and their extra struggling past that point was interesting too. Not quite sure where the setting is going, but I am interested in reading more.
In terms of writing, well, it’s a light novel, not much we can do about that. It’s not great literature, but I’m fine with the frequent grunts and screams being directly transcribed.
The one thing that made me uncomfortable was the bath scene. It doesn’t matter that it was not successful, I would never be comfortable around ランタ again.
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I don’t know, it felt like it was meant as a “funny” scene.
Ah yes, that looks very different. Apparently the change was not even consistent, since whoever wrote that doesn’t understand why one of the characters is apologizing. It would make complete sense with the book version (but there was no apologizing scene)
Anyway, volumes 2 and 3 are free to read until the 17th, so I’m going to read at least volume 2. Not sure I’ll have enough time for volume 3, we’ll see.
Anyway, volumes 2 and 3 are free to read until the 17th, so I’m going to read at least volume 2. Not sure I’ll have enough time for volume 3, we’ll see.
Volume 2
Well, I’m 80% through volume 3, so signs point to “yes”.too “clean” (and a literal deus ex machina) .
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Volume 3
[quote=“Naphthalene, post:5267, topic:38”]kinda slow, and I feel like the main characters are getting a bit too strong… plus the whole thing with チョコ better get somewhere else than just “and now she’s dead”, because it really felt like a waste of time
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I guess that’s the case, but I’m not happy about it being because the author achieved it by just killing off the strongest character. Also, his death makes no sense. You can revive someone (in real life) up to 6 minutes after they stopped breathing, and they have magic. No matter how banged up he got, it seems very weird without extra explanation.
Yes, but that’s not the part I didn’t like. I didn’t like the setup phase (with ランタ spending pages after pages of not saying what was happening on purpose) and the チョコ flashback that has no impact whatsoever. ハルヒロ immediately forgets about it too.
As far as I know. The character list at the beginning of volume 4 isn’t as definitive, but that doesn’t mean anything.
I finished volume 3 and the free preview of 4, and I don’t really feel like going further at the moment. It was an okay read, so I’ll probably come back to it at some point I guess.
(EDIT: well, I guess I did
Volume 4
Putting this here because I changed opinion based on this volume:
tragic case).
Ah, I see your point. Yeah, they (or at least the main character) should have known better, which is what made me annoyed at that specific point. I would have been fine if the book told me sorry bub, he is too FUBAR for even magic to work , but we didn’t get that.
EDIT based on this book: actually that is what we end up learning. So I am fine.
They did?? Was it when マナト died ? I was thinking of your comment from before:
You can revive someone (in real life) up to 6 minutes after they stopped breathing, and they have magic
I reasoned they just didn’t know CPR at the time (or else they’d know that fact), but nevermind I guess
I just finished 灰と幻想のグリムガル level.4 導き導かれし者たち | L31 and there was CPR in here as well. It’s indirectly explained that healing magic doesn’t work if the heart is not beating AND, in the case of モクゾー, the magical buff from メリイ ran out while he was already running on fumes, so it’s implied he died of shock on the spot. So it’s not like he was just barely tipped over the line, he was dead-dead at the time.
In terms of writing, I thought this volume was better than the previous ones, but not beyond what you would expect from the author getting more experience. I started volume 5 as well, but I haven’t seen any major change on that front either.
I liked that battle, by the way, since it really showed how much the range of actions of the party (and their enemies) has expanded. I also appreciated that there was a realistic build up of desperation, followed by a clear shift when the characters are clearly getting the upper hand, but are not done yet and are one mistake away from a total wipeout. That really contrasts stuff like dragon ball Z or ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | L33 and the like where the characters keep getting up no matter how many damages they have sustained (same for their opponents) so that you just don’t feel any tension anymore (and it just end up feeling boring and dragged on).
I meaaaaaan, someone is getting jealous despite trying to restraining himself do agree with him that they are not in a situation to have a romantic relationship going on. That could add unwanted tension, leading to the death of everyone.
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Sounds cool. I might even agree if I read it now, but I don’t really remember it at this point… which feels sorta cruel(?) ironic(?) for something that apparently took me 5 hours of pain to read
but are not done yet and are one mistake away from a total wipeout. That really contrasts stuff like dragon ball Z or ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | L33 and the like
A thing I love about the series in general, especially since we’ve already seen that the author is not afraid to kill off party members, if that’s what the dice roll says the narrative calls for it
That’s exactly why it’s frustrating!!
Thankfully I’m a masochist who loves this kind of slow burn
Also, I do agree with him that they are not in a situation to have a romantic relationship going on. That could add unwanted tension, leading to the death of everyone.
From what I remember of that point in the story, I might actually agree… But like that excuse gets old after a while, especially when you meet other characters who are partied & in relationships
Volume 5
And I have now finished https://learnnatively.com/book/bf7226aed9/ in a day and a half. So I’m not going to say I did not enjoy it (in fact, it was pretty fun) but…
… I do not agree with that statement. If anything, the writing felt worse than the previous volume, since we have a bunch of characters with typical action manga/LN weird speech patterns and unbelievable behavior. Y’all should all be either much stronger or dead with that kind of attitude.incorrect English, because the author couldn’t get anyone to proofread? Or maybe the editor just thought it didn’t matter) and follow the trope of making strange mistakes when speaking. For instance, the character mixes up insults, saying ボケカボチャ instead of ボケナス or ドテカボチャ. Like, it seems like a weird thing to mix up, I don’t know.
On that note, I was quite happy that the character did not accept to date “ミモリン” (or anyone who’s willing to date him just because there’s an opportunity). Slightly unrelated, but I do like the way he is shaping up to be.
I wonder if I should just tempt my luck and go to a BOOK OFF to find the next volume(s) But shelf space is still a premium, so I don’t know.
(Edit: shelf space is for the weak, I guess; just pile up books on the floor.)
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From her description, yes. It’s not explicitly said, because they don’t remember what an English native speaker is, but she is.
That’s not what I meant. I’m talking specifically about the case where a foreigner makes strange mistakes.
I tried to go down the rabbit hole of TV tropes to find the trope name, and found that Yume’s case is Malaproper - TV Tropes instead, but couldn’t find the one I wanted
I am fine with Yume’s case by the way.
Actually, case in point, Yume making that mistake would be fine (I can believe she heard ドテカボチャ at some point in her life and is mixing things up), but not the foreigner with low to mid fluency (who magically understands everything everyone else is saying… but at the same time she has been in a Japanese only environment for a while, so I’m okay with that one).
I was more thinking about the fact that they don’t know anything about each other, but that’s part of it.
He is much more grounded. Doesn’t panic, just get the job done, that kind of thing.
I still wish he would talk more to people. There are a few times when he has potential advices for others but keep them to himself because “it’s not his place” to comment on their stuff.
That would be throwing them away, I guess. The ones I have, I got for ~30 yen. I don’t think any place in Japan would take them back. From experience, selling back stuff from the 110 jpy bin is usually thrown away too (in which case I get 0 yen, but that doesn’t really matter, even if it’s fine I only get ~10 yen; I don’t like the idea of books being thrown away).
Yes. Basically, I’ve been hating this trop since seeing the original Star Trek (Mr. Spoke follows a version of that trope where he mixes up things in metaphors in ways that make no sense).this instance funny; there are other instances, but they were not fun so I forgot the details). The best I can think of is that someone introduced the first word and then immediately got reminded of the second one because of the pattern and mentioned it too, leading to her confusion? That sounds like the kind of weird leap Tokimune or Kikkawa would make.
Also, the whole main party in general, although I would like to know more about them, especially the women. Haruhiro isn’t hanging out with them as of late, so we basically don’t know anything. More chapters from their point of view would be nice.
I forgot to reply to that. I’m talking about them blindly rushing ahead in multiple instances, leading eventually to a near total wipeout. We haven’t seen them fight at full potential (they have multiple healers in a place with no healing magic, so it is unfair), but it’s hard to believe that they didn’t lose party members even with the strength on display at the beginning of volume 6 (I read the free preview, which covers the fight against the giant ). I’m right there shaking my head along with Haruhiro. Or sighing I guess. That’s more his thing.
Well, I ended up going to my local Bookoff. It’s pretty small, so the selection isn’t great, but they did have volume 6 (along with 1, 2, and 4) so I bought it.
Volume 6
Finished https://learnnatively.com/book/26e7589aa6/
I like the plot, but it’s starting to get hard to stand the extra characters. Most of them are typical shonen manga tropes, and 90% of the women are “incredibly hot with revealing clothes”.
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Well, it’s more a question that it wasn’t like that before. Haruhiro’s teacher and the thief from team レンジ were showing a lot of skin, but whatever, let’s say it’s a thief quirk. After all, thieves aren’t supposed to be tanks, the latter was wearing a skimpy outfit from day one (if I remember correctly; or she was in a gyaru outfit? That’s beside the point, it fits her personality anyway). Other women we met were normal (like チョコ and her friend; the wild angels were aggressive, but it makes sense in a war context ).Souma team, the Tokkiz, … old guy team (I already forgot his name), or ララ&ノノ that you mentioned, not only is realism thrown out the window, literally all women are described as hot, with large breasts and revealing clothing (and the illustrator ran with it, as you mentioned).
She is described twice (at least) as wearing the same kind of outfit as Haruhiro’s teacher, soooo…
Honestly, her story of how she broke down her first party by dating both the leader and the mage is probably one of the reasons why Haruhiro is not making any move, so I don’t know if she is a positive influence or not.
That’s the one
Right? I thought they were great, so the author can do it.
That is a thing that happened indeed.
Well, that is reassuring.
Anyway, I just went to one of the largest Bookoff in my area and grabbed volumes 7-12 (the last volume they had… I guess I’ll have to do a bit more legwork for later volumes)
Volume 7
I finished 灰と幻想のグリムガル level.7 彼方の虹 | L31 yesterday. That volume was pretty interesting in terms of world building.
Hard agree on your first point. It actually single-handedly prevented me from giving 5* to this volume.Haruhiro has gone through way more than can be expected of a normal human being without snapping. So if we are to believe that he is indeed “average”, showing signs of burning out are expected, and the way that he reverts to self-deprecation and self-doubt felt reasonable (I’m not sure I would go as far as realistic, but that’s mostly because I have no clue of what people would actually do in that kind of situation)
There were 2 really nice heart to hearts, one between ハルヒロ and シホル , and the other in a bath scene, with the guys.
I don’t know about that first one. It was more about シホル showing what she is trying to do rather than a true deep conversation. It is important plot wise, but I wouldn’t call it a “heart to heart”. Agreed on the second one though (although someone wasn’t fully open).
Yes. And the rest of the world building was also pretty nice too.
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Heart to wall? Please take care of your life → I’ll think about it; Are you in love with メイリ → Nah.
I kinda wonder if I should set up a thread to talk about this series instead of continuously polluting this one
Volume 8 (beginning)
I mean, that didn’t come as a surprise. Haruhiro even kinda calls him on it in volume 7. That being said, even if it is just a coping mechanism, it still sucks.
I only copied my replies to replies because I don’t feel comfortable copying full messages from other people, though.
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