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Jan 11, 2023
This is a review of the visual novel of Witch on the Holy Night and not of the light novel since its impossible to find the original piece of work.
This is my favorite visual novel of all time and a must read for anyone who loves magic, the fate universe or good stories that may take its time but has an extremely satisfying ending.
Story 10
This is a prequel to Tsukihime Remake about Aozaki Aoko and her starting as a mage and someone trying to take her and Alice's Territory when a boy from the mountains who has never experienced technology interferes with their lives. Although
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the story feels like the start of a series (which it is if Nasu ever finishes writing it) its slow storytelling eases and invests the reader into the story quite naturally, it invests and introduces characters who have very minor appearances at the start of the game and will impact the story later on. It never feels like the story wastes your time at the start although nothing really happens till around the end of the second chapter where few of the many pieces start to fall into place. The story first peaks at chapter 5 where you get one of the greatest set pieces I've experienced in Japanese media, the OST, tension and pay off is there and if this doesn't pull you into the story then you will probably not like it as it has few action scenes and more of the slower slice of life moments which are pretty funny at times. By the end you will be satisfied and wanting more since this does not close out most plotlines from the story and leaving a lot to be answered in its 2 sequels if they ever happen but nicely wraps itself up as well.
Art 10
Most high production visual novels have great art so not much to say here, the characters all look great, have great sprites and CGs. Moving on
Characters 10
Side characters are fun but appear most in the slice of life scenes and don't get much time to shine in the bigger more serious moments, especially someone like Ritsuka and the church characters. A lot of these characters might even be missed out on if you skip extra chapters which are found in the archives which is a downside in my opinion and maybe should of been integrated better into the main story. I'm sure they will have bigger roles in the future though. The main characters are all great though Aozaki is my favorite female character in Japanese media, her struggle to balance her life as mage and student is interesting which brings conflict with her friend and mentor Alice from the mage side and her complicated feelings towards Soujuurou and her school life. Alice learning to accept people and Soujuurou learning about the world outside the mountains and learning about his emotions. The main three have such great chemistry with each other that its the main attraction to the story. The main villain is a spoiler but I will say they are this mysterious character who uses puppets and eventually comes out from the shadows. They are intimidating and have moments to steal the spotlight, wish their side story was implemented into the main story just like the side characters and not left until completion of the story though.
Enjoyment 10
I absolutely adored Witch on the Holy Night when it first came out without the voice acting and now it is even better with voice acting. The story is slow but there is some great comedic moments especially with one of the side stories unlocked by completing everything. The action is masterfully crafted and feels extremely satisfying. Your enjoyment though will come from if you can sit through the slower moments and feel rewarded by the set pieces or not. As stated above, if you do not enjoy it by the end of chapter 5 I would recommend stop reading it.
Overall this is a masterpiece and Nasu's best work yet (although technically it was his first), great characters, amazing payoff for Tsukihime fans and newcomers. this is an absolute must read although I do wish that the characters and side stories where better integrated than found in the archives.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 2, 2021
Date a Live has no complete reviews so here you go
Story 10
The story starts of pretty goofy, the MC Itsuka Shidou meets spirits and seals their powers so they can live in society by making them fall in love with him then kissing them. The story blends in some nice foreshadowing which contributes to the story from volume 10 onwards which was a nice surprise from something I didn't expect. The story is probably at the best from volume 16 onwards not to say that there aren't some great books before 16 for example 10 was really good. Volume 13 was probably the weakest feeling
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like a filler book until the end.
Art 10
Just like most light novels the art is phenomenal, it also progressively gets better as well, at least the non-colored ones while the colored ones always looked top tier. Character design is some of the best there is, every female character looks interesting or appealing although the male designs are on the plain side (although it does make sense).
Characters 9
This is one of the better harem cast out there, you like sister but not really sister Date a Live has it or maybe Kuudere Date a Live also has that. It pretty much has all the stereotypical waifus. Why is this not a 10? simple, some of the cast aren't memorable and developed until the very last 2 volumes, which there is nothing wrong with that but the weaker characters needed to be developed a lot quicker to make me care for them throughout the big moments when there is suppose to be tension. The main villains where pretty good with the Spirit of Origin being amazing and Westcott being a pretty decent villain sadly he is pretty generic. The main character is fine until he gets a lot of development in the latter books which made him also a pretty good MC much better than half of the MCs you see in LNs now. Best character is Kurumi, no surprise she is interesting from the get go constantly appearing as a double edge sword which I really enjoyed.
Enjoyment 10
Although the second half was a lot more dark and serious then the first half, I loved them both halves equally as much. The fun dates that the spirits and Shidou would go one where always something I look forward to. In the second half I always was interested to see how the arc would end and what characters would survive or die. The waifus also had a factor in my 10/10 score.
Overall 10
Date a Live was a roller coaster of emotions from fun jokes to the tear jerking moments in the second half. Date a Live is worth the read if you can get into it, don't let the plot make you think this is some generic harem story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 10, 2021
86 Eighty Six (86 for short) is a light novel that has surprised me in quite a few ways.
Minor Spoilers ahead (updates will happen throughout)
Story 9
The story is very simplistic, humanity is against an army of mechs created by humans that are rapidly produced. The story will not blow you away but the way it is told is what makes the rating higher than the normal simplistic humans vs enemy story. The first book really does a great job of creating this world with little to no hope and slowly progresses to show that their is a chance humanity can still win. Yes it does
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what most of these stories do, kill a lot of characters at the start then slowly build up a main cast, this is done fine but it is the smaller details that you may miss which makes this story worth reading through.
Characters 8
I would give characters a 10 but the side characters lack the depth which makes the main characters so damn good. Shin and Lena carry this story by a mile, Shin's growth is one of the best I have seen dealt with and Lena is the complete opposite of him which has this amazing contrast between the two. Side characters no doubt help build the two naturally in a way it makes sense and not to say that some side characters get the meaningful development they need but compared to some of the best in the light novel genre like Re Zero the side characters lack meaningful development. I won't talk much about the villain Legion but I am very intrigued to see in what way their development goes, they can be one of the best villains or one of the most generic villains.
Art 10
Not much to say about the art, all Light Novels have amazing art and thankfully 86 is no exception.
Enjoyment 9
My enjoyment for this light novel is put down a little bit by the first 2-3 volumes action sequences, they bombard you with information dumps on this and that type of legion or ally unit and it can become somewhat of a mess. It gets much better as the series continues hence the rating of 9. All currently released novels have great in between missions sections of dialogue and meaningful development making sure you are always invested.
Overall 9
86 Eighty six is up there with some of the better of the mech genre, its dark tone and amazing main characters really help this a really enjoyable read, hopefully before the series ends (because it is suppose to be about 12 volumes long) they can give some development to the lesser focused side characters and wrap the series up in a satisfying manner.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 7, 2021
Shingeki No Kyojin was the almost perfect story which in its final arc falls
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS NO SPOILERS FOR SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN
Story: 8
The first 122 Chapters are the definition of perfect and subtle build up with amazing pay off. You can tell that Hajime Isayama expertly crafted this story with an actual plan for where he wanted his story to go. The twist at times weren't done in these massive revealing scenes and made me have to go back to double check what they just said, extremely impressive story telling.
The problem for me is the final arc which I will not be spoiling
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in this review, the ideas and concepts are really cool and seems like the perfect way to end the story which has had this 100 chapter set up. The feeling of danger is pretty much gone for the main cast when every other arc the feeling of danger is present and deaths where always bound to happen, to me this arc should of had the heaviest count for deaths. The second last chapter brings a big moment of despair but sadly it is reversed next chapter without it being expanded upon which is a shame. Final chapter was a disappointing way to end Shingeki no Kyojin, this arc had to answer some important questions but we never get them which was bad considering up till this arc we pretty much got answers to the questions presented.
Best Arc: War for Paradis (Chapter 107-122)
Art: 7
The only reason why this rating is so low is because when Shingeki no Kyojin originally started the art was very mediocre but the good thing is is that the art gets better as the story went along. Not to say there isn't amazing panels at the start like the first time we ever see the Colossal Titan. Isayama does go back in later chapters and revisits some of the earlier chapters with his improved art and you can tell the massive difference. From around Chapter 100 this is where the art in my opinion turns into one of the better looking manga with amazing details and facial expressions.
Characters: 10
This in my opinion is where Shingeki no Kyojin is at its best, every single character is amazingly developed and is made sympathetic or at least understandable from their point of view. The best example is Grisha and another character (Which I won't spoil), you see Grisha's point of view which helps you sympathize with him but then you see the characters POV where you start to understand why they do what they did which is phenomenal. The first arcs have in my opinion the weakest character development but as it continues every character becomes 3D. Eren and Reiner are the best examples of characters development and my personal favorite characters from Shingeki no Kyojin.
Enjoyment: 10
Despite the weaker end my enjoyment never fell once during reading the manga, the discussions each time a chapter released talking about what certain plot points could mean was really fun although at times heated. Towards the ending the discussions got more lively and easier to have a debate with which was great. Waiting monthly was also great (at times) letting the big chapters really sink in and eagerly anticipating what will happen next always helped make the months shorter and my mind come up with a bunch of theories.
Overall: 8
Despite the weak final arc Shingeki no Kyojin was one of the most immersive and phenomenal mangas you will read up until chapter 122. From the flawless character development to plot twist which are absolutely shocking and yet well built up, This is the reason Shingeki no Kyojin gets an 8 despite the ending to me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 6, 2021
Re zero is the one isekai that can truely be considered a masterpiece. This is a review of the Web Novel and not the Light novel.
Story 10
The story is about a shut in otaku named Natsuki Subaru who gets sent to another world which goes the way no other isekai goes from his experiences with manga, anime and video games he has experienced. The first two arcs of Re zero are slow there is no denying that and that would be a reason some people may drop it before getting to the best moments and arcs. The story at the moment is nothing like I
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have ever experienced before, the main villain? we may of seen them once or many times, the story? it keeps expanding as we go, there are some clear goals and motives to keep the characters moving from arc to arc, something may get told to us in a early arc and won't get explained or revealed to 5 arcs in the future, this is proof that the author Tappei Nagatsukii has a clear goal and doesn't make it up as he goes along. To me this is one of two (the other being Shingeki no Kyojin) in which the story has been masterfully crafted throughout the start to the current arc 7. Arc 3-6 phenomenal and I can't wait to see the final 5 arcs and the conclusion to re zero.
Art 10
I will be talking about the LN illustrations in this case and they are phenomenal, well detailed and at times brutal to the point of feeling the despair of the main character. It also helps visualize how some of the characters look like if the detailed explanations don't help. Not much to say on this category.
Characters 10
There are so many characters in Re zero but I will focus on my favorite protagonist of all time Natsuki Subaru. A character who's only strong point is return by death. He constantly has to rely on the help around him, which is really fresh in the stale OP isekai genre. At first he is a selfish character doing things for his own benefit and to make Emilia fall for him but that changes in arc 3. He tries his best to save everyone even going so far to reset and try again. Even the decision of killing himself is made into this decision which causes inner conflict on whether he should do it or not. The mental suffering and loss of empathy when people die is done so well. It is simply painful to read but beautiful character development. Not to shine a light off the other characters, every other single character has a backstory, they might not be explored straight away but they will be eventually no matter how long it is into the story. Villains aren't made into good people all the time and are evil without it being generic, it's really good to see a villain who doesn't have a good reason for the stuff they do. There are also villains who do have a good motive which makes them morally grey which is also great, a good mixture of good and bad is a fresh feeling.
Enjoyment 10
Watching people die over and over again in the most painful ways may make me sound insane, but re zero has set its self up perfectly in a way where the readers want to see what can be worst than this death or that death. If you want detailed deaths that will make you feel disturbed or weak in the stomach you will get it. A thing which is never really explored majorly in the anime (not sure about LN) is the lore, the lore in this world is so deep you may be able to make an 1000 page book just on the lore explored so far, with arc 7 in a different country I am sure the lore will get even deeper, deeper than anything I have seen before. Also the way Subaru finds a way to get himself and others to the next save point is amazing, after every chapter you will be thinking what he must do which creates great conversation amongst readers.
Overall 10
If you want something that isn't your typical isekai or something on par with dark storytelling like berserk you have your answer. Fantastic characters lore and arcs that get better, give this a try although you have to get past the first two arcs to see why re zero is a masterpiece.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 20, 2021
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou is a must watch but after you have watched the original series (Original and Kai) or played the original visual novel.
Let's start with why the above is so important, after the faithful adaptation of the first episode the show shows its true intentions, to be a sequel to the original story. Episode 2 opens with dialogue between Rika and Hanyuu explaining that it is a sequel. With this fans who are trying to get into the series with the fresh and much better animation will feel lost and disappointed with the product. This is just one reason why you
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should NOT start with Higurashi New.
Now why as a fan of the original I have enjoyed the first fifteen episodes so far (mostly). The first four arcs mostly start out the same as the originals with some nice jokes so I will go through them one by one.
Arc 1 Demon Deceiving
This one starts the exact same as said before but has a few changes throughout with a certain character hinting at doing certain stuff. The character this arc focuses on is Rika and Keiichi. Both characters are well developed in four episodes. The introduction of Oyashiro-Sama's curse and other plot points are introduced quite well in this opening arc, and so is the supernatural aspect which wasn't till season 2 of the original. This arc has great pacing and a truly shocking final 10 minutes which shocked me and left me feeling uneasy. A great opening act to Higurashi New.
Arc 2 Cotton Deceiving
Now we get to a fantastic arc of Higurashi original. The arc which focuses on Mion. I have some problems with the arc on one reason, this arc will never get the second part which answers all our questions. The original Arc which focused on Mion was so good because the answers came in a later arc which focused on her twin sister Shion, the arcs altogether where 10 of the 25 episodes of Season 1 but in new it is only four episodes. The arc itself is extremely interesting as when it ends even old fans are intrigued about the ending, who is the culprit? who is alive? who is dead? I myself was extremely interested to see the answer arc for Cotton deceiving but it looks like we won't get to it which I will explain later on. Overall though it is still the most ambiguous and interesting arc so far.
Arc 3 Curse Deceiving
Now we get to a more realistic arc, Satako's arc. This arc deals with the abuse of children from their relatives and is done in an extremely well done manner. This arc integrates season 1 and 2 Satako arc which does cause some problems. The arc felt like it dragged quite a bit although it is only 5 episodes, maybe this was because I was watching it weekly but I did get bored of this arc quite quickly. What made this arc maybe the most surprising was the ending, well done on subverting my expectations, once again it was an ending which left me feeling uneasy. This arc is worth it just for that final 10 minutes.
Arc 4 Cat Deceiving SPOILERS FOR ORIGINAL AND KAI
This is an anime original arc so far and it is perfect. Arc 3 perfectly transitions into arc 4. This arc focuses on Rika. I will not say much about this arc but this is what I was missing from the second season. Rika always died off screen and then when it focuses on her in Kai we don't see her struggle that much to break the loop. Two attempts and she makes it out when it is following Rika. I didn't enjoy the second but if we now see her break through the cycle after this arc honestly it would be perfect. This arc also makes me feel that we won't get the answer arc to Cotton Deceiving as it feels like this will wrap up new with no second season.
Overall Higurashi new is a great sequel to the original two seasons and even the visual novel. There is yet to be answers surrounding the circumstances of New but I am sure we will get the answers whether it is integrated into the work of Ryukishi's other masterpieces or not is yet to be seen but hopefully it can end satisfyingly or an ending which wants us asking for more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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