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Act-Age. I don't know if it was due to my love for character dramas or my experience in moviemaking in high school, reading this manga mesmerizes me.

Act-Age, Chapter 62: Shinjuku. My favorite manga chapter of all time.

Act-Age, Chapter 62, page 21. It was Kei, tired and sweaty, yet still smiling at the camera. My favorite manga page of all time.

That chapter was the big turning point in Kei's career, with the people around her starting to recognize her and the music video showing her talent in method acting and being the reason why everyone started noticing her as more than a supporting actress. That page, ... in particular, shows how talented she was and how much she was in love with acting.

When I read the news of the cancellation, it hurt me. It might be somewhat overdramatic, but I clearly reminded being disappointed and sad because of this. As a matter of fact, looking at the MAL page makes me sigh in disappointment. To this day, I still can't find a character drama that comes close to Act-Age. Some of them might be better, some of them might be worse, but I never found something I love as much as this manga.

To the artist, I hope you good luck in future endeavors, and I hope you get a good author that is also a decent human being, or even make your own story if you want to.

To the author, fuck you.

I've never read an isekai until it's ending. While it is mostly due to the fact that I mainly read mangas, which usually lags behind the source material, it's also because I've never felt compelled to go and read the light novel. Even with the ones I enjoy, such as Shield Hero and Moonled isekai, I never felt like I cared enough. So, why did I do it for this light novel?

This story is very much a wish fulfilment fantasy, just like almost every other isekai. There's a lot of tropes (or should I say, birthed a lot of tropes) that I've read time and ... time again, and the premise itself is so weak, that if I didn't know that it was the story that basically shaped the entire isekai/fantasy genre, I wouldn't even bother checking the MAL page of this LN.

So, why?

Just like isekai stories where the wish is being able to live a peaceful life, or going on a big adventure, this is also about the MC, a 34 y/o NEET's wishes. Except, his wish was not about being successful, being at peace, or even being happy.

The wish was to experience life.

This is a story about finally losing your virginity, it's about being a pervert, it's about reconnecting with your estranged family members, it's about helping your friends out, it's about almost missing your child's birth, it's about doing everything to protect your family, it's about losing and winning, it's about regret, and it's about self reflection.

Do I like everything that happens in this LN? no, of course not. If you can't sympathize with MC's character, there is a lot deplorable, cowardly, and just generally bad stuff that he did which wouldn't feel good if you're used to the typical hero/villain archetype in isekais, the writing (at least in the translation I read) is very dry and uninteresting to read, and the fights and worldbuilding, while generally pretty fun and is better than most isekai I've read, still very much follow the generic anime tropes, which would be a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking for.

That being said, if you are a fan of isekais, this LN is a must read. Not only because this story being the grandfather of the genre, but also for being a straight forward fantasy isekai that does the wish fulfilment fantasy correctly.

8/10, would try my best.

This is very much your typical mid-2000 manga. All of it's cliches, all of it's tropes, it's there. And I love those. The cringy, corny tropes that are fun and shallow as hell. And I'd be lying if Yoshikazu Hamada did a bad job in doing those. This manga fully realized that those tropes are there, and makes it work with a decent story and a damn beautiful artwork.

So why, did I not enjoy this manga?

If you want a more "objective" reason, then it's because of the current arc that changes our main character from a middle schooler in a middle school (Which in ... itself always fun as long as done well), to a boring hero without any personality , the story that seemingly takes itself too seriously, and a new cast characters that are more annoying rather than "boring but it has a twist".

But if you want a subjective reason, then because it's a smut, it's for lolicons, and the fact that this has taken a somewhat dark fantasy approach. For the lolicon thing, It's up to you to like or not. I don't care. Smut and lolicon? okay, I read stuff like Prisma Illya, and well, it's weird, but it's not all that disgusting. But combined with dark fantasy?

Fuck you.

On a final note, it's a good manga. It did the tropes really well. Shame that this manga has an actual pedophile character that potrayed as a good guy.

I wish the author didn't do all that.