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Do you know the saying "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey"? I do, and I've become well aware of it... especially after I've spent 15 hours modding Skyrim for 30 mere minutes of gameplay. Anyways, we're getting offtrack here.

So I'm A Spider, So What has a fairly interesting premise, in which a female (!) MC gets reborn as an average monster (!) and has to survive by any means necessary. I mean, the Isekai genre is already so overused, there must be plenty of stories similar to this one, according to the Infinite Monkey Theorem... but hey, you don't see a female ... human-to-monster reincarnation every day.

There are two things that made this novel a delight for me to read. (at least... at first!)

1) Our dear spider wasn't exactly the most social youngster back in her original world. As a result of her somewhat self-centered, socially awkward personality, her POV is written using an interesting narrative mode I've yet to see elsewhere. Each action is described using her thoughts and her perspective, and only that... as if you were listening to her adventures instead of viewing them through her eyes directly. While it does give off a feeling of distance, I found it quite enjoyable.

2) There are two POV's shown one after the other (spider/human). You'll notice very quickly that these two don't match up at all... It takes some brainwork to try and understand how these two are connected, and it's a very enjoyable task, too.

HOWEVER.... Remember my opening statement? Yes, this saying ABSOLUTELY applies to this novel.

While it has its flaws, the plot is fairly entertaining. Each character is written in a way that makes you grow fond of them, especially our enthusiastic, greedy, power-hungry little spider. And while worldbuilding isn't pushed as far as other series (*cough* Overlord, especially its glorious unofficial story *cough* Valkyrie's Shadow *cough* *cough*), it is appreciated.

Until volumes 15-16 throw all of that out of the window. A severe case of writer's fatigue, and an incomprehensible deadline of 2 months for another volume, led our dear Okina Baba to publish one of the most DISASTROUS ending of all times. Character consistency? Plot relevancy? NO. All the efforts made by the characters, all of their sacrifices are in VAIN. "Oh, you did this, you did that, you got this legendary item that can even [Redacted-due-to-spoilers]? Haha, too bad it WON'T WORK. Hold up, let me pull a fucking deus ex machina off my ass to end this garbage of a story".

Do you know what's the worst of all things? For all the time, all the years the main cast worked towards achieving its goals, what do we get right after this anticlimactic episode? Two lines, for each significant character involved in the story. TWO LINES EACH. Yes, we've spent 16 volumes hyping up for this. No, a ton of plot elements are left to be dealt with. What do you mean a refund, good sir?

It IS also, at least a TINY bit, about the destination. If the One Piece ended up being "the friends they made along the way", millions of books would be burnt. A bad ending can, and WILL spoil (as in, "rot" or "decay") the entire story. And unfortunately, So I'm A Spider, So What had such a GARBAGE ending, it kicked the whole journey off my mind... all that remains is this disaster of a Volume 16, like the godawful taste of Jägermeister after drinking too much of it.

TL;DR. Good story, good characters. Ending SO BAD it will make you wish a refund for all the time wasted reading this...

One of the best slice of life stories ever written!

You see, I am in fond of this specific manga genre: high school romcoms with a twist. Be it Sora no Otoshimono, Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan, or Midori Days among many others, it's always a pleasure to read those kind of unordinary plots in a very ordinary setting.
These stories shine through their uncommon plot points. For instance, Midori Days has a guy who gets his hand replaced by a girl. How unusual! But most of the time, that's it. You get the generic - yet quite comforting - slice of life tropes, such as the ... almost-universal generic high school building, the temple prayer on Christmas, the classic fireworks after the traditional festival... leading to the final chapter, where the MC usually confess to the romantic interest.

AND THEN there's 'Jitsu wa Watashi wa'. You expect to read the same kind of story as you've read before? Hell no! This story constantly toys with our expectations: unsettle us when we expect it the less, and somehow make us die of laughter three seconds later.
NOTHING is predictable. 'Oh, a new character. I guess we're gonna get some boring backstory for a few chapters at least. Wait... this character was actually THAT ONE CHARACTER ALL ALONG? WHAT THE FU-' is what's gonna happen to you if you read this.*
And most importantly, this manga has serious character development. I don't know how the heck it's possible considering the sheer amount of characters, but the author truly managed to make them both memorable and unique. They all have unique personalities, and they all grow throughout the story.

You know what I really loved about this series? It may be a little spoiler, so avoid reading the remaining if you wish.
Remember when I said what happens on the final chapter of typical slice of lifes comedies with a twist? Well, it doesn't end here. You get to see what happens after this usually 'final' event! Most authors usually end it there saying "go imagine the rest yourself" in a open-ending-way. It's refreshing to see something else for once.

So go read this manga now!!!

Unlike the manga which is a worthless and disgusting piece of coomer garbage, the Golden Boy anime is a wonderful story.

The journey of a perverted yet wise young man aiming to to learn and to make others learn about life. Featuring well-made appreciable characters alongside a whole lot of light-hearted jokes and comical situations. Sometimes the jokes are a bit dirty but they're funny nonetheless !

The Golden Boy anime is a must-see ! Not like the original manga, which you should never EVER touch no matter what as it is filled with the most degenerate fetishes ever known to mankind...

To LOVE-Ru was a very enjoyable series. Likeable protagonists such as the gleeful Lala, appreciable plot (when there was one), nice fan service from time to time.
And then came Darkness.

Most of the likeable protagonists became secondary characters. The plot became unnecessarily serious. And as for the fan service, well, in a way... it completely disappeared as the series became softcore hentai.

By the way, on a completely unrelated note, remember Lala ? Yes, the prequel's protagonist. A joyful maiden who's apparently in her 16. Wait, 16 ? Fan service ?... No it's okay, the fan service shouldn't matter since it's completely censored.
Anyways, if you ... didn't know, Lala has a younger sister, Momo, the protagonist of Darkness. According to the wiki, she's two years younger than her older sister.

Now you might say, "Ok nice but come to the point". Remember how Momo is 2 years younger than Lala (16), so 14 years old ? Remember when I said this series is basically softcore hentai unlike its predecessor, with bare breasts and practically uncensored genitals ? Connect the dots and you will understand why you should stay away the hell away from this.

An incredible story which somehow ties together high school girls, politics and supernatural. Who else could do it besides the Japanese !

High quality art style and well-thought characters make this manga a must-read without hesitation. NEVERTHELESS... the fact that the main character wants to shut down nuclear facilities makes no sense at all in real life, a decision which would only greatly increase electricity cost without necessarily producing less pollution.
A real politician (or at least, not a retarded one) would instead significantly strengthen laws and securities concerning nuclear facilities, such as not building one in front of the sea in a country with frequent tsunamis ... (*coughs* Fukushima *coughs*). It is obvious that the author was, just like many Japanese citizens, traumatized by the 2011 nuclear disaster.

But even so, politics aside: if you put yourself in the Japanese's shoes, you can overcome the bad plot points in order to enjoy this fantastic story. Recommended !

A very interesting series with good likeable characters. Reading it with Mallsoft music in the background gives a very nostalgic feeling.

HOWEVER (light spoilers), the final part of the manga (starting at about chapter 300-400) ultimately gets VERY boring. The protagonists have a lot of possibilities to kill (or at least, neutralize) the villain, but he just WON'T DIE ! It just feels like the author became a coward who couldn't innovate and bring new fresh villains for the series, instead opting for the same thing again and again without taking risks. In the end, it just became very frustrating for the reader.

To conclude : up ... until the plot-armored villain, this was a 9 out of 10. But as I mentioned before, the final chapters get very exasperating despite the enjoyable characters, bringing down the score to 7/10. If you feel bored near the end... don't be afraid of giving up, you're not missing out anything really.