Hametsu no Madouou to Golem no Banhi
The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of the Barbarian Queen

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Do you like stone-cold women? Like women that are made of literal stone? But with elf ears? Boy, you have specific tastes, but here’s the appetizer! I say appetizer because this is only 12 chapters long. It’s based on a popular web novel so if this appeals to you maybe go check it out.
The manga itself is pretty decent, the art is good, the plot in the short time it has isn’t anything crazy but definitely makes me want to read the web novel. I would recommend this to someone who wants a quick sweet story. Like candy, not much nutritional value but sweet ... and pleasant. Overall 6/10 isekai manga. And hey, at least this one actually ended.

tl;dr: A slow but solid isekai that ends before any real progression.

This manga is an adaptation of a web novel that’s also receiving a light novel. It’s an isekai that begins with the protagonist being summoned to a new world, wherein afterwards a spell is immediately put on him that’ll transform him into the Sorcerer King of Destruction. However, he stubs his toe in the middle of this and breaks the spell, and thus ends up only partially transforming. As a result he’s lost most of his memories of his original world but still has bits and pieces. He’s learned how to read and speak ... the language of the new world, but otherwise knows nothing about it. He has incredible magic powers, but can only use the Earth element. And furthermore, he’s trapped all alone in a basin with cliffs on all sides. It isn’t hard to survive in the basin, so he spends his time learning about and experimenting with magic, and ultimately he creates his golem companion, Gol, with whom he finally sets off on a journey to see the rest of the world.

The plot in this manga moves incredibly slowly. It’s still pretty well paced however, giving more of a relaxed feel than a dull one. Still, with this manga only being two volumes the manga ends without there having been any progression at all really. It spends it’s time slowly conveying aspects of the magic system and such, but beyond that there’s been very little world building. At the end of the manga, the protagonist still hasn’t reached a town, and beyond the protagonist and his golem, he’s only encountered one other character. There were also only really three fights that mattered. So as far as the manga gets, it feels like it’s still in the introduction phase and it isn’t clear at all what the overarching plot will be.

Despite that, it’s still reasonably enjoyable if you’re just in it for the ride. The protagonist doesn’t have an especially strong or interesting personality, but the manga does a good job of conveying his thoughts and emotions so he’s incredibly easy to understand and empathize with. Thus, it’s easy enough to find him likable and get invested in his story. Gol is also a pretty interesting character. She starts out as a generic mannequin looking golem, but eventually transforms into the girl you can see on the cover. There are very strong hints that she’s not just a golem but rather has a much more complicated story, though she can’t speak so she can’t directly communicate it, at least not yet, and thus it’s left as a mystery. Still, her dynamic with the protagonist is still pretty adorable and filled with lots of fluff. She’s clearly at least somewhat of a yandere, but there haven’t really been any situations that have really pushed that so it’s not clear what type or how extreme of one she is, so for now it’s all been pretty lighthearted.

The art and designs are pretty solid and work well with the story it’s trying to tell for the most part. The main exception I suppose would be that in minimally shaded black and white it’s kind of hard to convey that golems are made of stone, so while it’s clear that Gol is pretty much entirely pure white and thus looks very different from a normal human, in most of the manga she looks just like any normal girl would so the overall impression given is pretty different from what I think was intended.

+ Fairly interesting, with an engaging premise that keeps you curious about what will happen next.
+ The waifu is not only cute but also has a personality (or lack thereof) that makes her stand out, adding charm to the story and making interactions enjoyable.

# The story does a great job of setting up multiple threads, giving the impression of a larger, well-developed world with plenty of potential. It teases various intriguing elements, such as lore and conflicts that seem like they will lead to something bigger. Unfortunately, much of this potential remains unrealized.

- The story is very short, cutting itself off before it ... can truly develop the world it teases. There are several aspects of world-building that feel like they were meant to go somewhere but are ultimately left unresolved, which can be frustrating for readers who get invested in the setting.
- Depending on the translation, the text can be riddled with errors, awkward phrasing, and unnatural dialogue. In some versions, this makes reading a chore rather than an enjoyable experience, as you may need to re-interpret sentences to understand their intended meaning.

I wouldn't recommend it because of how abruptly it ends and how much potential is wasted. It feels like the start of something great that never gets the chance to flourish. However, despite these issues, I still found myself enjoying the read while it lasted.