This is honestly a very hard review for me.
I watched the anime a few months ago, and I remember I was shocked by the incredible worldbuilding. Something to rival the most top tier anime I've watched no joke.
Just at that time, I stumbled upon the manga that just started being published in my country and decided to pick it up, since it was low investment and I already had some attachment to the characters.
I kept going and going, up until volume 6, where i realized how much stuff the anime cut away. Normally, that would make me hate the anime as a not-100% faithful adaptation,
...
but I now totally understand why they did that and I'm grateful for it.
Let's go in order tho,
ART: 10/10
The art is undoubtedly the best part of the whole product. You can tell Issei Hyoju is a master at that.
The panels all have an distinct quality and style to them, and I'm not only referring to the sex scenes.
Usually the quality of the art is a huge factor for me in a manga, since I value them as collectibles as well, and this one didn't disappoint on that regard
STORY: 5/10
I wanted to give this a higher score since, as I mentioned previously, the worldbuilding is top notch... Maybe too much, tho.
In anime form, you can manage hearing all the overly detailed explanations of a super-cautious protag, that has to deal with life and death every day potentially, so he obviously has to calculate all moves... but in writter form it can really get tiring at some point, to get through all the textwalls of inner dialogue.
However, I could put up with that. The real issue I personally have with the plot is that, after volume 2 (or episode 4 of the anime) it turns into a slice of life story, where most of our time we see the daily routine of Michio and Roxanne, from the most mundane things to simple grinding in the dungeon.
Now I can see somebody like this, but for me personally I couldn't take it at some point. Main reason being the complete lack of goals and struggle for the protag. I know the goal should be building a harem, and I'm not asking Michio to go kill the king of demons, but I felt like the fantasy setting and isekai element were completely wasted at that point.
Of course, we can't not mention the sex scenes. Honestly, they were not a main reason why I bought it, but I have to be honest: without sex scenes, the story would just be too dull. They became some more than necessary pacebreakers at some point.
CHARACTERS: 6/10
The two main characters are Michio and Roxanne.
Michio is a teenage boy that reincarnated in a new world after joining an online game where he maxed out his skill points. At the beginning we are told he has been bullied and considered taking away his own life, but we were never shown his suffering.
Once in a new world that resembles an RPG he decides to settle in, once he studied all his abilities and rules of the world.
After knowing slavery is a thing, he gets persuaded by a slave owner to purchase Roxanne, who's gonna be his loyal life companion. Despite the slave-owner relationship, Michio is extremely kind to her, treating her as a human after the longest time. This is probably the best character dynamic in the story.
Roxanne, on her part, is a loyal and knowledgeable party member, extremely grateful and to her new owner for the way he treats her and slowly growing accostumed to the apparent freedom she got under him.
Like I mentioned previously, the only issue I have with the characters is the completely lack of goals and struggle for the Michio. It contributed to make the story too boring at some point.
Seeing Michio and Roxanne a happy, chill and cozy life can be entertaining at a certain dose, but after four volumes, I just couldn't keep up.
There are more characters, but they are very secondary and only interact with Michio and Roxanne when needed, just to peace out until a second call (like the slave owner).
I got the part where Sherry joins the harem, but then I gave up, so I can't talk about her.
OVERALL ENJOYMENT: 5 or 6 /10
The overall story is not bad, keep in mind. However, it just wasn't enough for me. From volume 4 onward I kept buying each volume at release until volume 6, both because I hoped for the story to get more interesting and a little bit of FOMO (since it's from a niche publisher in my country). Once I discovered in Japan it's at 12 volumes of the light novel, waiting to get adapted, I realized I was good.
I usually don't drop any manga. At worst I'll hold to them until I get finished with some other stuff I'm more invested in, but I seriously can't see myself picking this up again any time soon. Especially with all the headaches to get your hands on some rare volumes. I'd just rather spend that money on other series.
CONCLUSION
In the end, Harem in the labyrinth of another world is not a bad manga by any means. It does so much stuff really well; namely the worldbuilding and art. It just ended up not being what I expected, but things might be different for you.
I think it's worth checking out and making your own thoughts about it, especially after volume 2, where I personally think it reaches its first climax (giggity).
Jun 25, 2023
Isekai Meikyuu de Harem wo
(Manga)
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This is honestly a very hard review for me.
I watched the anime a few months ago, and I remember I was shocked by the incredible worldbuilding. Something to rival the most top tier anime I've watched no joke. Just at that time, I stumbled upon the manga that just started being published in my country and decided to pick it up, since it was low investment and I already had some attachment to the characters. I kept going and going, up until volume 6, where i realized how much stuff the anime cut away. Normally, that would make me hate the anime as a not-100% faithful adaptation, ... |
