Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki (light novel)
Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun Volume 1 Discussion
| Read the first volume today and I have to say, while I can see the appeal of it and I even appreciate some of the concepts behind it, the novel was rough to get through. The first volume and the setup for the story feels like a self-help series to a degree, as this novel revolves around Aoi Hinami, the seemingly perfect girl and 'top-tier character', assist the 'bottom-tier' Tomozaki to give the Game of Life a chance and improve himself in the real world by turning him into a better, more likable and presentable person who can be vocal, have conversations and make friends/relationships with others rather than be all alone and depressed about reality being an awful game. So throughout the book, Aoi gives advice and steps for what Tomozaki should slowly do to improve his overall image and even throws in challenges that he should accomplish to be able to progress further and further with his evolution through the 'Game of Life', and the book is heavyhanded with gaming references and steps to make the story really feel like a game. I find the story on paper to be pretty solid but execution wise, I personally feel it's incredibly lacking and even sort of unlikable too at times. The main girl Aoi Hinami is meant to be a bit of a prick on the inside as she presents herself as a perfect girl on the outside, but man she annoyed me for the most part and while some tips sound helpful, the way she explains it makes this seem like more of a burden. If I had to deal with this person in my personal game of life, I'd rage quit eventually out of frustration for dealing with her. Other than that, the gaming references with Atafami were way too much at some points, and the speech at the end by Tomozaki defends the game in such a cringey and annoying manner (which is definitely intended for sure due to his awkward nature), that it really felt rough reading through that portion. The book has the right heart, but the presentation turns me off severely in some areas that regardless of whether or not it tried to do the right thing, I couldn't like it. The side characters too I didn't really care for much, although there is time for them to grow on me. For now, this series has potential somewhere but I didn't like this first volume. It had its solid moments and concepts here and there, but I hated the end and the characters left me severely underwhelmed. I'll see how the rest of it goes though. |
animejasSep 28, 2020 4:14 PM
| Good first volume! It was slightly boring at the start but then got more and more intresting I really like Aoi as the main heroine and she's probably my favorite character so far. The other girls were also good but they didn't get as much focus in this volume, except for Izumi A pretty good start, now on to volume 2 |
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| Okay first volume. The first 1/3 was excruciatingly painful and cringe-y, the middle 1/3 was decent, and the last third was slightly better too. I think my problem is that the author simplifies social interactions way too much. Sure, intonation, smiling, planning out convos, and body language can help out with your social life...but I think there is way more to it than that. I couldn't help but feel that the author is making too large of an emphasis of the differences between normies and people like Tomozaki, class hierarchies, and "adhering to the mood." Maybe it's just a cultural difference. The way that Hinami is teaching Tomozaki is pretty grayscale too...manipulation is not how you win at life. You live with integrity and dignity in what you do and love. I guess if manipulation leads to you enjoying your life, that's okay? This plot point definitely needs some expanding on. I'm happy Tomozaki had the integrity to not follow through with his lie to Kikuchi. Sure, he "sounds like a virgin," but that's an outdated and lame response. Lying is okay to start relationships? If it blossoms, it makes the lie alright? Hinami is clearly an "ends justifies the means" consequentialist type of person. She should read up on deontology. I'm a loner-type character too, so I thought I could empathize a bit with Tomozaki's struggles. Nope. I think part of it is that the author spells out every social interaction to you. It's hard to understand the struggle when the presentation is so simple and foreign to reality. Anyway, good stuff: Tomozaki's improvement was great. Aoi Hinami is an interesting character. I really wanna know why she is the way she is. Same with Yuzu Izumi. Nakamura had some good development. The volume ended on a high note and a few cool plotlines to follow. I hope they're not squandered, and I hope that the author doesn't oversimply stuff too much in later volumes. I also hope the manipulation is addressed in negative light rather than a positive one... 5/10 for now. I'll chalk it up to cultural and moral differences. |
N30-R3TR0Nov 13, 2020 10:03 PM
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