Aug 22, 2024
Spoilers for the timing of events around volumes 10-13
Overall I agree with what others have said about this series. I'm currently caught up with all 13 volumes currently out (as of august 2024) and I would say the author stays pretty consistent in their writing style. That said, some things have really started to grate on me. The slow pace was nice for the first several volumes, but Rent (the MC) is still a bronze class adventurer (the rank he started at) 13 volumes in and sometimes it sometimes seems like an entire volume goes by without anything really happening. An example of this is
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how the silver class exam (which seems like it should be a really important plot point) is given a set date of 1 month away in volume sometime around volume 11 (might be 10, don't remember anymore), but by the end of volume 13 he is still nowhere near taking the exam and another whole arc suddenly started unfolding out of nowhere with only 3 weeks to go until the silver class exam. Not just that, but the entirety of volume 12 covered the events of 5 days. At the current rate, from the point of the silver class exam being announced, it is likely 4-6 volumes will have elapsed. The story is overall fairly engaging and world is really cool, but to say the story moves at a snail's pace would be saying it moves faster than it really does.
The only other main gripe I have with the series is that the author is just a bit sexist. Its nothing overt and any one instance wouldn't really amount to anything, but there are just enough micro-aggressions that it has become a bit frustrating for me to read. This author is MUCH better than many other authors in this regard, especially in the fantasy/isekai genres, but if you notice it or are paying attention to the things the characters say or think about women as a whole, you do start noticing a pattern.
That said, the author does use that slow pace to create a really interesting world and the author really fleshes out a lot of interesting characters. None of it is super revolutionary, but it is still a relatively unique and well thought out take on a fantasy world including everything from how villages manage their resources so as to avoid over harvesting the local fauna to the race dynamics between the various fantasy races, like humans, beast men and even vampires. The author often times also gives pretty in-depth backstories to even fairly minor characters at times. But, of course with all that focus on the world and characters, the plot takes a serious hit (as I mentioned before).
Overall, I have still enjoyed this series quite a bit and have found myself relating to some of the struggles Lorraine faces as someone with that funny pair of a bit of ADHD and Autism, but this series does really have some problems with pacing. If you are ok with just drifting along with the story as it takes it's leisurely time, then you might enjoy this series too, but if not you should either just wait for the anime or read something else.
TL;DR: The plot, character development and world are really cool, but the story movies slower than molasses and a frigid winter day and the author is just sexist enough to notice and be a bit annoying.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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