The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious, Vol. 6

Leave a reply

By Light Tuchihi and Saori Toyota. Released in Japan as “Kono Yuusha Ga Ore TUEEE Kuse Ni Shinchou Sugiru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matt Rutsohn.

And so the series that really should have ended after Book 2, and then had another perfectly good stopping place with Book 5, continues with a new arc. So we get the usual sense of the author taking stock and continuing with what works while throwing out what doesn’t. Somewhat vexingly, this means that the romance, such as it is, between Seiya and Ristarte is at an all-time low in this book – on both sides! Ristarte has one or two brief fantasies about Seiya here, but for the most part has simply grown used to his treatment of her, and he is (as its typical at the start of these arcs when we don’t have all the information we need) being rather rude to her. On the bright side, there’s less actual physical abuse, as we bring along a different God for that, but that does not mean that there are not moments that are literally designed to humiliate her. The book can be frustrating.

Last time I wondered if we’d have a Civil War in Heaven, and we come close, though it’s more of a one-sided battle. Yes, Mersais and their allies are back, and they’re here to destroy everything. Now Ristarte, along with Cerceus, is seemingly the only survivor and must try to salvage something from this and restore the spirit world… which means summoning Seiya again, of course. He’s got to train in the Underworld now, but that doesn’t make his training… or attitude… any less bananas. Then we find out what’s happened to the actual worlds they usually save – they’ve become dark, twisted versions of themselves. So we need to go back to the beginning, as Seiya and Rista return to Gaeabrande, the world of the first two books, which is now ruled by the Dragon Lord, as humans and demons alike forge an alliance to stop his dreadful reign of terror. Wait… isn’t the Dragon Lord a bit familiar?

As always with this series, what interests me most is Rista’s character development. The very fact that we have to being the God of Cakes… erm, Swords along with her and Seiya is a sign that she’s moved past the punching bag that she used to be, and for the most part has settled into realizing that when Seiya says he’s going to do something ludicrous, it’s usually necessary. That said, she and Seiya are still clashing. Because these are twisted, dark worlds that will theoretically be fixed and restored once they defeat the Big Bad, Seiya is seemingly of the opinion that it doesn’t really matter if they have to kill people to solve the problem, as they won’t really be dead. Rista, as she herself points out, can’t have that callous a viewpoint – seeing people suffer in front of her causes her pain and distress. I’m inclined to be on Rista’s side here, and thus am annoyed at Seiya right now. Still, he’s always had a good reason before, and this arc isn’t over, so I’m sure we’ll get another one soon.

We’re almost caught up with Japan, so I suspect these books will come out far slower soon. Still, if you’ve been enjoying the series for its goofy comedy and seeing Rista get humiliated, there’s plenty of that here, including her having to imitate a gorilla. I will cautiously read the next volume.

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve read a light novel that’s come out long AFTER the anime adaptation, as opposed to before. Unlike other licenses where the Japanese publisher is clearly pushing it because they know they’ve got a surprise coming in the next year or so, the Bofuri light novels remained untouched until well after the series had already finished. And so we’re left with a flipped sort of question, as instead of being grumpy about whatever vital scenes the anime cut from the book, we can read the book and see what extra content we get. The answer, honestly, is “not much”: this book is covered by the first three anime episodes, and that seems about right. You will notice where the anime added or changed things (Frederica does not show up early to direct Maple in the book), but you won’t be getting details about Kaede’s home life or things like that. Which is fine, we’re here for the game.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, Kaede is a teenage girl who’s not all that into gaming, but her gamer friend Risa has convinced her to try the hot new virtual reality game, New World Online. Sadly, Risa can’t game right away as she got a bad test score, so Kaede starts the game on her own. It’s a VR game, so Kaede (who calls herself “Maple” in game, a pun on her name and probably a reference to Maple Story) thinks that if she’s attacked she’ll feel actual pain. As such, she chooses the strongest shield, and sinks all her points into Vitality. ALL of them. As Maple slowly (very slowly… she can’t walk fast as she only has points in defense) starts to play the game, her offbeat way of thinking leads her to make choices that, almost by accident, cause her to level up and gain cool powers. Indeed, she is rapidly becoming a bit of a monster…

While reading this, I’d mentioned on Twitter it felt a bit different from the anime in terms of mood. Don’t get me wrong, Maple is still absolutely OP and broken as a character, but the anime really wants to show that off, while the book is more about Maple’s experiences and interaction with New World Online than its reaction to her. The anime seems like it takes place over only a couple of days in these first three episodes, while the book makes it clear that weeks and months are passing. There’s also more gamer chatter – Maple is “not a gamer” the way that I am “not a gamer”, which is to say she knows the lingo simply by being around Risa. Overall, I’d say the book feels relaxed – the author states they wrote it as a downtime change of pace sort of story, and it feels that way. Some story bits are seemingly dropped halfway, like the chat group full of players talking about Maple, which disappears around when Sally and Maple team up, though if the anime is accurate it will be back. Oh yes, most importantly, this is, so far, a game free of all the Gamergate nonsense you would likely find in real life – the players all seem nice and helpful.

I will note that if you’re on the fence about picking this up because you’ve seen the anime… it’s not essential? It doesn’t add anything major to what you already know. But if you loved the anime and want to read the original’s slightly more relaxed, meandering take, then Maple is here for you.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Siscon Idol

Leave a reply

By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Last time I said that the book felt a bit quieter than the first two, and that goes double for this one, which I definitely enjoyed but which feels a little bit insubstantial compared to the previous books. Part of this could be that there does not seem to be any sort of danger of things being catastrophic if things don’t work out as with previous books. Nodoka’s issues do matter, don’t get me wrong, and I feel for her, but you are 100% not surprised at the solution to this particular adolescence syndrome, and honestly I feel it might have been able to be solved even earlier. That said, having it drag on does help to really hammer home the crux of those issues, and the fact that if there’s going to be any changing and growing being done, it’s going to have to be on Nodoka’s side – Mai, despite being as blunt as her boyfriend at times, is doing just fine.

As with most of this series, the book picks up where the previous one left off, with Sakuta confronted with a Mai who isn’t. When “Nodoka” also shows up, clearly with Mai’s personality, it rapidly becomes clear what’s happened. The issues involved are fairly straightforward – Nodoka and Mai have different mothers, and Nodoka’s mother wants her to be a top idol just as Mai is a top actress, which has led to stress. So Nodoka has run away and swapped bodies. Turning to Mai for comfort is not really working out for her, as Mai is not a comfort sort of girl. Plus this means she has to hang around with Sakuta all the time, who is… well, see the previous three books. She’s astonished Mai is going out with him. Unfortunately, as with prior “syndromes”, knowing the issues doesn’t solve the problem. What’s worse, they each have to take on each other’s career, and, well, one of them is much better at it than the other.

This book emphasizes that family is not something you can narrow down to “I love them” or “I hate them” in absolute terms, and that’s the book’s highlight, as I think it does a good job showing that. Midway through, Sakuta has a very awkward dinner with his father, and we get to see exactly why he feels rather ambiguous about him. At the same time, he’s also searching for thoughts on what being a parent is like to help Nodoka, and gets good, if oblique, advice. Nodoka, fitting with the “annoying little sister” box she sort of falls into, can be sympathetic, especially watching Mai in Nodoka’s body being an even better idol than she normally is, but I 100% agree with Sakuta that her over the top reaction of walking into the ocean to “drown” herself, knowing he’ll stop her, is really irritating. Fortunately, the resolution is cute. That said, one thing this book does do that won’t snap back is Mai and Sakuta’s relationship, which is now public. Fortunately, Mai is very good at damage control.

The next book’s title implies we’re going to focus on Sakuta’s own little sister next time, as she seems to be wanting to return to school… maybe. I get the feeling it will be a bit less relaxed than this book. Still, this is a decent enough volume, especially if you love Sakuta simply saying whatever he’s thinking at the time, no matter how bad it will be for him.