No.6

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I'll begin this review talking about the anime of N°6 first, because it's how I discovered the novel and because it influenced quite a lot my reading sessions so bear with me just a little. When I first watched I liked it, honestly it was a nice take on the dystopean/utopian system without anything mindblowing but the athmosphere was veryenjoyable, while Nezumi and Shion had quite a good chemistry I think it was honestly the athmosphere I prefered in the anime.

But years passed and N°6 the anime wasn't something I remembered as a work that had struck me. One day just like that, I ... decided to pick up the novel as I had the chance to get a hang of it in physical form -though the 3 last volumes weren't translated in my language due to a lack of populariy - The very beginning is honestly like I remembered it, a delight, the first episode of the anime really did justice to the great first scenes Asano sensei exposed as the introduction to the readers with the "fated meeting".
I must say, the writing is not always that subtle or smooth but it was so pleasant, I could read chapters and chapters without feeling tired of it. There aren't a lot of modern light novel that I had this much pleasure reading not talking about the story itself but the writing style (I know it's not a light novel, but I found the format pretty similars).
Anyway, after the first few volumes, I got to the real quality the novel format and lenght coupled with Asano great writing revealed of n°6 : the characterization, I already had a gist of the overall trope of each main and secondary characters from what I remembered of the anime, but I didn't expect to intrude this much into their psychology in the novels. While the nuance brought to the characters isn't that different it captivated me to dig deeper into each of their fear, joys and overall thoughts that would solidify my conception of them as existing entities.
This realisation did take a few time from the moment I picked up the first volume, but I think it's also what made it more special during the last moments. From then on, my heart was with them during the whole journey and never left them.
The rythm of the narration was almost very good to me, not everything was perfect but I liked taking it slowly with shion and Nezumi, when they had a scene either serious or witty, the scene wasn't rushed and it was made sure it was the only focus at the moment, while asano still made sure the progression of the story was consistent.
I said I prefered the athmosphere from the anime, but clearly from the novel there's so much more to like the dynamic between Shion and Nezumi, the little thoughts only we know parasiting and enriching the conversations and KARAN, such an appreciable character and I don't even know why ! And at one point I just automically assimilated the best qualities of the anime into the novel and it made it into such a nice experience.
Watching back on the anime, I don't think I can watch any of the episode of it honestly except the first one for the epic scream, the novel is just too superior to compare, but the visualisation of some elements definitely added to the reading.

TLDR; great novel, great main cast and conflicting positions. Sometimes not very subtle or perfect elements in the narration but makes an amazing story for the heart.

I read it years ago but I was obliged to leave a review as it is definitely my favorite novel.

The anime doesn’t do it justice, so they do want to know more about No.6, it would be good to read the novel.

History: This is a post-apocalyptic world where Shion and Nezumi unravel the secrets hidden in the city. Under this premise develops a great science fiction story, even if you are not a fan of this genre I can assure you that you fall deeply in love with everything.

Characters: The characters are really endearing, each with a very outstanding personality, most have an incredible development.
I ... would like to make special mention to Shion and Nezumi as they both share a very special bond; each interaction is a heart attack. You get to love them too much.

Enjoy: Since you start to read it, it gets you hooked in a great way, so if you’re even busy, you find yourself reading it every time you have some free time. The enjoyment is great.

General: As in everything, there are moments with which I do not agree (especially going towards the end) but it is minimal in contrast to the whole work in its entirety.

History: 10.
Characters: 10.
Enjoyment: 10.
General: 10.

Please encourage yourself to read NO.6! you will not regret ^^

No.6 is one of my favorite books series.

Story - 10

In the "future" of 2013, after a huge war, most of the people around the world live in what they call city states.

Our main character, Shion, is an elite in the city of no.6, and after saving a stranger (Nezumi), he is stripped of his position as an elite, because the boy that he saved was actually pursued by the authorities of the city.

Several years latter, he gets again in trouble and he is sent to the correctional facility of the city, but Nezumi rescues Shion before he is sent there. Now Shion will discover ... that no.6 is not actually utopia as well as the true reality of the world.

The main story focuses on that, the life of Shion outside the city and his findings about no.6.

There is a sub-plot, which is the relationship between the two MCs, Nezumi and Shion (their friendship and romance). Since it's not the main focus, it would be not fair to label this as shounen ai, due to the fact that the rest of the mangas are not labeled as romance just because there's a relationship. (And I actually think shounen and shojo ai should be just romance, but then again, different mindsets exist) So, if you don't like this issue, you know what to do.

So this gets a 10 because I find that the world the author has created is really amazing, and because the relationship between Nezumi and Shion it's a really special one. It's one of my favorite pairings ever.

Characters -10

Each character is complete and unique, and you get to know some background story about most of them. Did I already say that the two protagonists are amazing? No, right? Well, they are.
The character development of Shion and Nezumi, individually and as a pairing, is also another of the best aspects about the books.

Enjoyment - 10

I enjoyed these books a lot. Proof: I finished all the books in a bit more than one week. The books are short, 150-200 pages each, well written. Some of them are slow-paced while others are intense, but every one of them is truly enjoyable.

Still, I warn you, they are not completely flawless, since they include some unexpected fantasy. (Deus ex machina?)I didn't find it too bad though.
(You'll understand if you read the books)

Summary (TL; DR)
- Story: 10 (It is a fantastic dystopia)
- Characters: 10 (All of them are complete and unique; lovable MCs)
- Enjoyment:10
- Overall: 10
- Shion and Nezumi are more than friends, but unless you are an homophobe, you won't mind this/will find this really adorable.

I would recommend this to anyone in general, but specifically to the people who enjoy dystopian-type sci fi.

The last thing I want to say is that this is a hundred times better than the anime (and it was not a bad anime), you don't really need to watch it, go for the books instead. If you liked the anime, you will enjoy the books. There's also a manga, but it's not finished, sadly.


Thanks for reading! ^^