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While I am a massive fan of the anime, I have to face the facts about the novel - it just isn't very well written.

Instead of writing a scene from the perspective of all of the characters involved, the author repeats the scene from each character's perspective who happened to be there. While this wouldn't be an issue if the retelling added any depth to the scene, the author oftentimes repeats the scene nearly word for word.

Additionally, the author has the characters repeat nuggets of information over and over again. A lot of times the info drops are also word for word from other places ... in the novel. Sometimes it will repeat after only a page or two. All of this repetition padding out the length of the book gets really old really fast and made me want to skim or just skip entire sections of the novel. Reading a light novel from a franchise I already love shouldn't be a grating chore...

The way the book is written also threw me off. The sentence/paragraph structure is basic and simplistic. Although light novels tend to have a simpler writing style than full length novels, they still manage to contain functional paragraphs, exposition, and clear progression of the plot. This had very little of that - the author jumped from point to point without fleshing out the idea they only just tried presenting, and the paragraphs don't really convey a single idea and are more so just a collection of sentences which happened to be thrown together like that.

I had really high expectations going into this light novel considering how great the anime was. However, if you really want to read the story, try the manga since it will circumvent most of the writing issues the novel presented - this light novel was a grand disappointment.

This ending almost retroactively ruins the entire series for me. I'm starting to understand how some Attack on Titan manga fans feel about that series in light of its ending since this makes a lot of the same mistakes - it destroys character growth and development, derails the plot, makes certain points irrelevant, and leaves a lot more to be answered than before I watched it.

Some people think that this was a setup for season 2, but the after-credits scene stated that this was the end of the series. Very unsatisfying - I would have felt better about the rest of the series if I ... hadn't watched this. Not recommended.

REVIEW SUMMARY:

This show has been like a breath of fresh air for the Isekai genre. The art is beautiful, the story is fairly well written, and it's fairly straightforward (i.e. not a convoluted mess of a premise like other Isekai out there). If you're looking for a more relaxed 'summoned to a new world' type of anime, this is definitely for you.

DETAILS:

The real beauty of this show comes in the form of its character-driven focus. Don't come into this show looking for action - the show is very low on that so far. However, the way the show looks at the struggles of its main ... character (and even some of the side characters!) is its main selling point. You really feel the surprise, shock, and other dilemmas of Sei and the supporting cast. One episode goes out of its way to focus on the internal struggle of a side character just to add context and realize that the show's conflict is much more nuanced than you would expect at face value.

The art is gorgeous! The colors are bright and well defined, not falling into the modern Isekai trap of muting many of its colors.

The story is slow paced, and I could see why that would annoy some. However, I like the pacing - it allows for more character development and world building (which the show does a decent job of, as well). Another modern Isekai trap avoided here - a lot of modern shows make their plots rather complicated to differentiate them from others in the Isekai genre, but The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent doesn't need to do that. The story is simple and streamlined but still well-paced enough that it can focus on the characters and their struggles in order to further progress the plot.

Another small nitpick is that I've noticed that the subs don't always match what the characters are saying. The meaning has been changed ever so slightly either to streamline something or provide more context.

CONCLUSION:

The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent gracefully dodges the pitfalls of many modern Isekai shows to provide more of a fresh take within the genre. All in all, this is definitely a show worth checking out!

I don't know anything about the source material, but, if the source material was good, wow did they mess up with the anime adaptation!

I went in thinking this would be about cheating the system (since a lot of isekai are based on RPG mechanics). Not in the slightest. The MC is just OP, something you can find in a lot of other isekai anime. This fact wasn't emphasized nearly as much as you would think, and, when it was, it really felt out of place. Basically, this should never have been the driving mechanic of the show if it couldn't be done right.

The pacing was ... also pretty terrible. Parts were severely rushed, some of the character motivations were highly questionable considering what was actually shown, and the plot didn't really lead anywhere. I just left confused.

Overall, skip this, don't waste your time.