Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Note: Review of Web Novel

I would describe Death March as a Slice of life novel of another world. Nothing much really happens from the main male character going to tea parties with nobles, to going on a desperate multi-day quest for the sacred ingredient, pickles. The side stories include the main character nonchalantly killing off demon lords and dragon gods, and the like. Of course while killing demon lords seems uneventful to the overpowered main character, side characters and the world itself become greatly affected by such "trivial" actions. This causes several events to unfold simultaneously, building up to some interesting situations throughout the story.

Premise: ... The main character gets transported to another world as an OP (overpowered) character. He has no distinctive quality other than being overly cautious and doesn't like pain, which contrasts greatly with the level of over-kill he is. Kind of like, although getting slashed with a sword would feel as bad as getting a paper cut, he still doesn't want a paper cut. I mean, would you? As a result, rather than spending time getting into battles, he becomes a full-time tourist of this world. As he slowly learns about the world through: food, crafting, skills, magic, trade, politics, religion, etc. the reader does too.

Story: Since this story is like a slice of life, there honestly really isn't much of an overarching story. There are some sub-stories that are interesting due to the "all-map" skill that the main character has. Basically, he can track what everyone is doing from a 3rd person perspective. (Think of tactics games such as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, or Fire Emblem) As such, he also plays the role of strategist when confronting battles and problems on large scales. Other than the slice of life feeling of the story, this is my favorite aspect. The large-scale tactics are well done in my opinion. Hence an 8 for story despite the lacking overarching story.

Art: What can I say. It's a novel. There isn't much art? It seems decent to me though. Pochi is particularly cute in the art! nanodesu =w=)~

Character: While the main character has no personality, the side characters have very distinctive personalities that are quite easy to like. (Pochi and Tama are my favs. Can always use more Tamarin and Pochinium -- Intermission SS4 Volume 9 reference) While there honestly isn't much character growth (if any at all), since there are a lot of chapters from the side character's POV (point of view), sometimes the same event from multiple perspectives, the characters do give another depth the story. They are what drive home the story's charm. At least for me, some of my favorite chapters are from a side character's POV.

Enjoyment: Due to its light-hearted nature, this story is very relaxing to read, and very easy to enjoy. I'm an avid reader of transported-to-another-world type novels, and I would rank this one quite up there due to its unique perspective on the genre. Other novels that I have read or am still reading, and like (for reference) include: Cook of the Mercenary Corp, Mushoku Tensei, History’s Number 1 Founder, Transcending the Nine Heavens, Crossing to the Future it’s Not Easy to Be a Man, Kenkyo Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu.

One other thing to address: Right, there is technically a harem. But honestly, it's closer to a teacher taking their students on a field trip. The main character isn't interested in them, and the attempts of the harem to advance towards the main character at a certain point becomes more jokingly, rather than with seriousness. Or at least that is how it's portrayed. As a novel of its genre, it's rather absent of excessive sexual comments. Which is a nice change of pace.

Conclusion: Slice of life style stories aren't for everyone as they are slow paced. Especially with the lacking overarching story, if you are looking for something high powered, this is definitely not the story for you. For the casual-type story reader, this would be of more interest.

Skip this novel. Seriously; go read Log Horizon, Mushoku Tensei or Tate no yuusha instead. This one is just a bad, sad take on the virtual MMORPG/ rebirth in a new world genre. Slight SPOILERS ahead.

If I had to pick the one thing that makes this novel a good choice for garden manure, it would be that the author seems to be too lazy to flesh out the world and the characters himself. Upon checking his page, I saw that this was his only publication according to MAL. In this case I can only hope he matures as a writer in his next attempt. ... Everything just falls into place in this novel like a jigsaw puzzle because it is expected that it would. The game system is weird and intrusive, rewarding the character for doing anything other than simply breathing. The guy is automatically one of the most powerful people there. There isn't even some power to master or some trial to overcome. The guy just is all-powerful. He takes down a dragon God in the second chapter and becomes an extremely overpowered guy the very instant he wakes up. We learn next to nothing about the city, but it's all fine because there is nothing here we need not expect. There are slaves (there always are); there is magic (to be fair, there is a system involved but its not well-explained) and there are demons (how else can the OP MC do anything)
Most of the time, I found myself filling in for the author from other, better series. It wasn't even that funny.

Next, onto characters. I'm going to take the unconventional route and start with the women in this novel. Never have I felt more sorry for characters in a fictional world. Most of the women are cute, big-breasted (obviously) and eager to talk but sadly unavailable. The women who are available are either lolis or flat-chested or both. Would it have hurt to make some sort of well-defined character? I still don't know anything about the personalities of any of the female characters. I'm not even too sure about the female knight in the second chapter because she was always far too shy. I couldn't even properly empathize with Arisa's story in the third chapter. There's too many vague factors, we don't see Arisa work hard for her country once and the ordinary LN style narration did not help. The MC is detestable. At one point, he didn't land the killing blow on a demon in the city and the author brushed it off by saying something to the effect of "Well, I couldn't really do that, you know?" I get it. Modern men are mostly not used to killing and bloodshed and would be hesitant to kill something, even a confirmed demon. However, the author should not be allowed to explain this away so easily. Put some weight behind the words for god's sake. This is just a rip-off of any other novel in the genre with none of the emotions or strong characters. There is nothing that makes me like this character or respect him. On the contrary, I constantly wished this was a joke and the real MC would appear sometime later.

The art in this work was pretty average and expected of the LN I'd say. Nothing unusual or worthy of praise.

I know I haven't read a lot of the LN; just a little over a volume really. However, I have never been so eager to drop one. Some of the commenters on the website found it enjoyable. If so, I'd like someone to enlighten me about it.

FINAL SCORE: Your princess is in another castle/10.

I don't write reviews often, (like once or twice). But I had to write one for this. Seriously though, there were people here giving it an overall rating of 3 or 4. So I felt that it was under-appreciated.

First of all, this review is based on the Web Novel.

Story: 8/10
The Story is certainly interesting, rarely strays from original objective, quite original. Also, a tip for all of you who plan to read it, read the intermissions and short stories in between chapters. They add A LOT to the story development. The story is a bit original I guess, it does have similarities with other ... (transport / reincarnated into fantasy world like novels), however I assure you that each "Arc" (that's what i'll call it) are certainly original. I assure you that as you keep reading the web novel, you will not be bored with it.

Art: 7/10
Uhh, the art is taken from the Light Novel. Honestly I couldn't say it's bad, the art is certainly nice. However because the LN and WN has slightly different stories, sometimes the art doesn't fit. Fear not, the Translator-San of the WN in Sousetsuka has explained this so.

Character: 8/10
Nice character dev. They're pretty unique. The Main Character is quite typical for this genre. However other main heriones / characters are pretty unique, they add a lot to the story line too. Also there's A LOT of side characters that are mentioned, and it's quite essential to remember them as they do reappear often. Because of this complex network of lots of characters, it adds a lot to the story of the WN also.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I can CONFIDENTLY say here, that I really enjoyed reading teh WN of this. As I have said before the story si very nice, and there's a lot of twists about the plot / MC hinted in the intermission and Short Stories. There's a lot of implicit meanings and ambiguous things in the WN. But because of the ambiguity, it allows me as the reader to enjoy the thrill of guessing ahead of the story and come up with our own ideas as to what they are.

In conclusion. I really recommend this WN to others, I've recommended this WN to some of my friends, and all of them agree that this WN is certainly interesting.

For Recommendations of similar WN / LN to this, I'd definitely recommend Mushoku Tensei. Yes, yes. It's all the hype now, but seriously, it's really good.

Cheers :)

9.8/10, Truly masterpiece, underrated novel, absolute bliss.
[review as webnovel volume 13-36 (405 chapter)]

this is not hot-blooded type novel who makes rush adrenaline.
this is not carefree without any plot/4 koma type novel.
this is rational, cautious, mystery type novel with harem of course.
slice of life tag is too misleading.
i know, sometimes this novel following about cooking, annoying noble's attire, lip service, etc whice makes plot slower. but it is a must for main character development, well writen story, and future potential plot.

the main character (satou/suzuki ichirou) is overpowered, rich, rational (mbti type: intp), human mind reader extreme, cautious, neutral (not altruist, not evil), open-minded.
the best point about ... satou is his cautiousness. i can even say that with personality like rudeus (mushoku tensei), ernesti (knight's and magic), ainz (overlord), shin (magi grandson), hajime (arifureta), eliza kaldia (akuyaku tensei), and other 'another world' MC can't live long (at least live without depression) in satou's world without satou's cautiousness.

about romance, satou is neutral (not too passive like rito (TLR), not too monogamous (hajime-arifureta) )with his companion member. he has one person he love, but he is open to his lover except for noble's girl. well writen.

This is review of the Light Novel. I've not read the web novels. The author says, in the afterword, that the light novel contains 70% new material. I suspect that the negative reviews are mostly based on the web novels, where the author did not have professional help with editing. Not to mention that the web novels were translated by volunteers - who, sad to say, while enthusiastic are usually not good writers.

First of all, the LN has had a GOOD translator and the translation/edited version is much better done than most. No the writing isn't ... great, but it is reasonably good.

The story itself starts with what is now an almost worn out premise. Person living in Japan gets drawn into a parallel, fantasy world. BUT, the story is everything, which is where this shines. For once the author talks about the drawbacks of a true medieval world. No toilet paper, no baths, food is scarce. Bandits are a true and deadly problem. Slavery is rampant and prejudice towards those who are different is real and potentially fatal. Most surprising of all is that the author grasped that in those days, even in jail, money was useful.

Everything from the way buildings were in those times, to how clothing and supplies were purchased, and even how churches worked is reasonably accurate. (And before you ask, yes, I am a student of medieval history.)

As for the plot, for the first time we have a "harem" story where there is no harem, just children that the protagonist takes under his wing. Yes they're all cute females, but the way they are treated is different, so if you're looking for lots of bouncing breasts and sex, this series is not for you.

Given the substantial difference from the web novels, I would suggest that you not read them, but rather that you wait till the LNs are released in English. Whether or not the impressive tone of the first volume can be maintained, well, who knows? However, this first volume is giving me hope for what will come next.

Warning: contains mild spoilers (but nothing we haven't seen in other isekai stories before).

Death March begins with the protagonist Suzuki being transported to a fantasy world and wiping out armies of mobs with an inexplicably-obtained spell. This leads to him becoming so powerful, that nothing poses any real threat.

Now, an overpowered protagonist isn't a bad thing if the story manages to present it in a humorous way, or if there are equally strong enemies. This isn't the case with Death March, however; you can expect Suzuki to destroy any opponent with ease, as long as he isn't holding back for some silly reason. ... Most of the time, he is.

You see, Suzuki is some sort of a pacifist, which is funny considering wiping out hundreds of sentient lizardmen doesn't bother him much. In fact, no one talks about the cataclysmic event that his arrival caused besides a few casual mentions. Acquiring the obligatory harem is much more important, apparently.

To no one's surprise, the secondary characters are all female. Shortly into the story, Suzuki purchases no less than five (mostly loli) slave girls, who are, of course, completely devoted and love him for being such a kind master. At least Naofumi from "Shield Hero" had good reasons to purchase a slave. Here, it is nothing more but a cheap way to instantly build a harem of girls who will never leave the protagonist. Don't expect anything raunchy, though. Among his many sins, Suzuki is a complete herbivore.

I enjoyed "Mushoku Tensei", so it's not like I hate wish fulfillment stories or harems. It's just that Death March is an awful example of both. I'm legitimately surprised that this tripe is considered good enough to get published and get an anime adaptation in Japan.