Ahhh ok. I’ll probly stop w/ the updates then and save my thoughts for a review, unless anyone else expresses interest.
You said back when you were on chapter 2 that you felt is was lighter than 本好き or SAO, but that you were relying on the translation more for this. On the surface that sounds contradictory, so I’m curious if you still feel that way after chapter 6 or if your view has become more nuanced after reading more.
Yes. In summary: I’m a bit of an SAO otaku & have also finished 3 of the LNs in JP. The content is more dense/complex, and there’s way more domain-specific vocab, but I’m overly familiar with SAO, so it’s easier to understand overall. 本好き has simpler vocab and sentence structures, but compared to Grimgar, much more inner monologue, analysis, and slow pacing (I’m only on p. 85 though). Also it has 18-column pages, whereas Grimgar is 16-column. Grimgar’s writing style is more action-based, and there’s more dialogue. I also finished rewatching the anime in JP last week. So while I have to check the translation for certain sentences, I still know what’s going on in general.
More details:
SAO
I’ve finished 3 SAO novels, and watched the entire anime in JP (and before that w/ EN subs, multiple times). I’ve also read all the EN novel translations, and most of the side stories, and video games w/ EN subs. So I’m very comfortable with the author’s writing style, the world, how the characters think/speak, etc. The main challenge for me with SAO is the amount of vocabulary (and domain-specific vocab). Otherwise, there is a lot of internal monologue, analytical thinking, description, and world building. The pacing varies immensely, and It’s much denser than 本好き (so far) or 灰と幻想のグリムガル. At this point I can read the chapters and get things mostly right, but miss certain details or confuse some points. So more work to read overall, but easier to intuit/comprehend the meaning.
本好き
I’ve been first reading along to the chapters with the audiobook, then reading them without audio. While that probably helps comprehension and reading, it’s also more cumbersome. On one hand, the vocab and grammar are pretty straightforward. Otoh 本好き has a lot of inner monologue, analysis, and description so far (I’m only up to p. 65, but so far I’d say it’s like 80% inner monologue). Additionally, the pacing is pretty slow so far. It’s also the only story I’m not already familiar with. Also 本好き has 18-column pages, Grimgar has 16 columns. My reading speed for the two is about equal (Grimgar is slightly faster rn)
灰と幻想のグリムガル
I’ve already seen the anime twice (incl. a week ago with JP subs), so even when I’m stuck on a sentence, I know what’s going on in general. The hard parts for me are vocab (domain-specific stuff, hiragana words), some of the speech patterns and grammar, and some really long sentences. In general, the writing is more action-centric and dialogue-based. You get Haruhiro’s thoughts, but it’s not generally not that deep. So besides the world building stuff, it’s less dense, and faster-paced than the other two. (I wouldn’t describe it as fast-paced, but it’s never felt slow so far)
Curious if that sounds less contradictory now.