Jul 29, 2023
One of the most unique isekai story I've ever come across ever since I've watched the anime and got hooked on to it. It may alternate between two perspectives every so often, and at some points later down the line you'd get more than two perspectives and even more to go with, but it never reaches a point that it feels redundant or out of place.
Having two perspectives at the start can help you get an idea of what the world is. In spite of the generic isekai setting at the start, along with the system that is so cleverly disguised to be seen as
...
the usual RPG game system that lets you have skills and such that is usually seen in some Isekai novels, the world never fails to interest me along with its characters. At some point you would sympathize with the human side—Schlain's or Julius's side, and at some point you would sympathize with the monster side—Kumoko's or Ariel's side. Both sides have their own reason for moving forward and doing what they do, and even characters outside of the main cast are treated with enough care to give them depth, namely the demonkind and the humankind later down the story, like Balto, Agner and some of the demon commanders as well as Hyrince, Ronandt and some of the reincarnations. There is never a single dull moment in any of the volumes I've read, even up to the end.
Which brings me to the next point—The ending of this novel:
The only thing that prevented me from giving this a 10 outta 10 is because of how the ending played out. In the 'Everyone's Ever After' chapter in Volume 16, it just played out like a general summary of what everyone did in the aftermath of the final battle, but it felt underwhelming. That type of thing is only suitable for an anime or a movie or something, but not a novel. If this novel had one more volume entailing what happened after that or an afterstory, it would've been a straight 10 out of 10. Not to mention that the final volume's cover literally bamboozled me into thinking that Shiraori and Ariel would have one final meeting, so I am still kind of upset about that.
Next point I wanna touch upon is the characters, which are the highlights of this entire novel for me.
This series gave birth to one of my favorite heroes of all time: Julius. Not the protagonist of the story, but volume 11 solidified his character from a typical hero to an icon that will forever be remembered. Everything that seems 'typical' or 'generic' in this novel is often twisted, given depth, never abandoned, which is why it is one of my favorite novels of all time. Like I said, there is never a dull moment with this series.
Even some of the more eccentric characters—except Suresia, Sue, because screw her—are charming in a way. Through the perspective or POV shifts, you can get an idea of what they are thinking, which is enchanced by the really wacky, fun-to-read and sometimes serious narration (That, depending on who is the narrator).
The monsters in this world in particular are fairly unique. Wrath, for example, has first lived his life as a goblin. However, the goblins in this world are different from the goblins that we are familiar with. They are creatures that have pride in their species, seeing it as a taboo to evolve to any other species like Ogres through the system. The goblins are the ones staying back in the village, and the hobgoblins hunt for food, monsters that is. As we read through his life as a goblin, his family, his siblings, it is all suddenly disrupted when adventurers invade his hometown. The lead up to Wrath's backstory is magnificently written that you can't help but feel bad for the monsters this time around even if you root for the opposite side.
Don't let the outside distract you from the inside. Even as wacky as this novel is, it shines brightest during those rare moments of seriousness.
So that is a 9 out of 10 if I've ever seen one. Even a 9.43200231 if I can give it that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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