Tag: Adventure

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 7 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 7: Side Colors by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-316-22912-8
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

In a break from Lawrence and Holo’s ongoing adventures, author Isuna Hasekura presents Side Colors, a series of short vignettes focusing on the series’ favorite characters.

Personal & Info

There are three short stories in this volume, so I will be breaking them up into their own sections for the review. I will post the overall rating in the usual place above, but the individual story ratings will go in this section.

The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers: 2/5

The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky: 3/5

Wolf and Amber Melancholy: 4/5

Characters

Holo is in all three stories.

Lawrence is in the second and third short stories.

Aryes Belange, which I assume is pronounced as Aries, is a religious girl with little to no knowledge of the world outside her house. I mean this to the extreme. She doesn’t even know flowers normally grow from the ground. Aryes is in the first and longest story, The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers.

Klass is a boy younger than Aryes. He worked in the estate that housed Aryes. Klass is also in The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers.

Norah is the shepherdess from volume two. She is in the third story, Wolf and Amber Melancholy.

Story & Thoughts

The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers

Klass and Aryes, two children of varying ages, were living in an estate out in the middle of nowhere. Klass worked there and slept in the barn. Aryes was basically sequestered away in a building all by herself. Her situation so unusual to the staff that she was always the gossip of the place.

The lord owning the estate supposedly died, and some relative, I think his brother, came to stake his claim of the property. He evicted anyone he considered unnecessary, including Klass and Aryes. Hardly any traveling supplies were given, so the evicted were essentially doomed to struggle to survive or die on the road.

The story starts with Klass and Aryes, maybe two days travel from the estate, and proceeds to cover a portion of their journey. Of course, being part of Spice & Wolf, they end up meeting Holo at some point.

I don’t like this story much. To me, it just comes off as Holo being mean to a young boy for one hundred and twenty pages. She spends the entire story teasing, bullying, and pranking Klass for her own amusement. Her prank went so overboard it could be considered cruel.

We only get to see Klass’ perspective, though, so we don’t get an accurate idea of how Holo treats Aryes. It seems like she’s nothing but nice to her, but with how ignorant Aryes is of everything, we can’t possibly know what kinds of things Holo tells her. Especially since the two of them are always speaking where and when Klass can’t hear them.

The story is definitely not flattering for Holo. There are a few instances in the series where I feel she has been particularly cruel, and this is definitely one of them. Sometimes I just really don’t like her at all.

The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky

This story seems to take place after volume one, but before volume two. Lawrence and Holo appear to still be in Pazzio, and for some reason Lawrence wants them to burn through as much money as possible. I don’t know why, and I didn’t see an explanation for it anywhere.

The plot primarily focuses on that, but at the same time, they are buying clothes for Holo. Lawrence explains a relations tactic regarding buying and selling clothing. The story is only about thirty pages, so it’s short, but I like it much better than the first one. Holo is not nearly as mean in this one as she is in the first one.

Wolf and Amber Melancholy

This is a short story from Holo’s perspective. It takes place after the events of volume two. Holo takes ill, and Lawrence must take care of her. While she is sick, Holo struggles with possessive thoughts regarding Lawrence due to jealousy of his friendly relationship with the shepherdess Norah.

I like this story. It’s interesting to see how things work on Holo’s sides of the conversations. She might not seem so mean if we saw her side more often. It is unfortunate that a lot of her side is hiding her feelings and manipulation, but it explains a lot about how she acts and why.

Overall

Generally speaking, I like this volume. There are things I like, and things I don’t. I think the first story makes Holo look bad, but the third story significantly makes up for that in my opinion. The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky is okay, but I don’t see anything special about it. Wolf and Amber Melancholy is my favorite of the three. I think it gives significant insight into how Holo thinks, since it’s the only part in the series so far that covers anything in her perspective.

Bofuri, Vol. 1 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 1 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2273-1
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Though she doesn’t play many MMOs, Maple has either a natural talent or impossibly good luck, because by pouring every last stat point she has into Vitality, she’s created a character who can’t be hurt! Whether it’s physical attacks or magic or status effects, nothing poses a real threat. In no time at all, news spreads across the server about the adorable terror who can’t be defeated. While Maple may just be having fun, her broken build is sure to attract lots of unexpected attention…

Personal & Info

This is a title I’ve seen around frequently, but when it comes to isekai or video game theme series, I like to be careful with my selections. Those genres are so popular right now, it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth trying. I didn’t decide to try the series until a friend recommended it, and I didn’t get around to having a copy until that same friend sent me one for my birthday.

I’m trying to expand my light novel collection, so for things that have them, I choose to get the light novel versions. The manga for this is probably amusing. The light novel is funny enough, but seeing more visuals must be hilarious. I’ll probably get the manga eventually to have both.

For others getting the light novels, the cover style of the book is the papery kind, not the glossy kind. Because of this, I think it’s a little more flimsy. Mine has a small tear on it just from picking it up and setting it down a few times. I don’t recall doing anything rough enough to cause that, so you might want to be careful with how you handle it. Or maybe I was just unlucky, who knows.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She does not know how to play video games, which leads to her putting all points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduces her to the game, but she doesn’t join her until about halfway through the book, because her parents are making her study to get her grades up.

Story & Thoughts

I wasn’t sure if this was an isekai or not going into it. It is not. This series is about a VR game with the title New World Online, and Kaede’s time playing it.

The chapters are short, and the story is funny with a fast pace. The prologue and chapter one were all I needed to get hooked. Now I have to add this series to the list of many that I need to buy.

I love how much creativity the game allows. I wish games really had this many realistic options. It’s like anything you can think of can be applied to the game mechanics, even if it’s a little ridiculous. Maple’s gameplay experience proves this time and time again.

The gaming community for NWO is so wholesome. Everyone in the forum wants to watch over Maple, because regardless of her build, she’s still new to the game. That is so much better than most of the gaming communities I hear about.

Some of the conversations are not entirely clear about who is speaking, so you have to pay attention to the context.

There’s a bonus chapter at the end. It mostly covers some sightseeing and things Maple does to get materials for her white shield.

If I have to complain about something, I think it’s how much time the grinding at the end takes. By then, they are both just trying to obtain skills and items while time is elapsing until the second event. That felt a little draggy to me.

Daughter of the Deep

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Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
Genres: Adventure, Contemporary, Sci-Fi
Intended Age Group: Middle Grade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-368-07792-7
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana’s parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family she has left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. (And they’ve heard all the Harry Potter jokes already, so don’t go there.)

Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to their ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory other lives.

But wait, there’s more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that Harding-Pencroft has been fighting a cold war against its rival school, Land Institute, for 150 years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full boil, and the freshmen are in danger of becoming fish food.

In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time.

Personal & Info

I meant to read this shortly after Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, but I wasn’t in the mood at the time. It’s apparently recommended to read that first to have some background foundation before going into this book, since this is sort of a spin off. I did not read any of the other books by Verne that had more Captain Nemo in them. Due to how much time has passed, I’ve probably forgotten some things, so I’ll do my best with what I remember for this review.

It may have been a blunder to only read Twenty Thousand Leagues, because this book also mentions The Mysterious Island quite a bit. I didn’t see that one recommended anywhere as a thing to read before going into this. You can probably read the whole thing just fine without reading any of the Verne books, but if you do read them you have more understanding regarding what the characters are talking about, and you may be able to pick out some references to the source material.

However, the book clearly states the Verne books are not entirely accurate as a way to allow for the story and technology to be a little different. So, even if you did read one or both, there are things that will be different. If you are a stickler for details, this might bug you. So, basically, it’s a good idea to read both books for the background, but you don’t have to, but also take everything with a grain of salt if you do.

There are a forward and an introduction at the beginning of the book. The forward gives some enthusiasm and introduction to the book. The introduction talks more about the inspiration behind the book, as well as some information about Captain Nemo for those who might not know about him.

Characters

Ana Dakkar is the main character. She attends Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school for future marine scientists and naval officers.

Dev Dakkar is Ana’s older brother. He is a senior at school while she is a freshman.

Socrates is a dolphin friend to Ana and Dev, but mostly Ana.

Ester Harding is Ana’s roommate and one of her best friends. She is in House Orca.

Top is Ester’s emotional support dog, but he supports anyone who needs it. He is part Jack Russel and part Yorkie.

Nelinha da Silva is also Ana’s room mate, and her other best friend. She is in House Cephalopod.

Gemini Twain, also known as Gem, is the House Shark Prefect. He acts as Ana’s bodyguard throughout most of the book.

Dr. Theodosius Hewett is a theoretical marine science teacher. He doesn’t seem very likable.

Jupiter is an orangutan chef who speaks sign language.

Ophelia Artemesia is a Harding-Pencroft alum. She knew Ana’s parents, and she is from House Orca and Shark.

Luca Barsanti is also a Harding-Pencroft alum. He is married to Ophelia, and comes from House Cephalopod.

There are a bunch more characters, but these are the ones I think are most important. Most of the list is available in the beginning of the book, before chapter one. There is a full list of the freshman class along with which Houses they are in.

Some of the villains have names, but I don’t think they are truly important enough to bother mentioning here.

Story & Thoughts

The school uses a four house system to divide the classes by specialty, which is kind of cool. The houses are Shark, Orca, Dolphin, and Cephalopod. They have a list at the beginning of the book, along with the freshman class, to tell you which characters are in each house and what each house specialize in. The story makes it relatively easy to remember which does what as it goes, too.

The premise revolves around Captain Nemo being an actual historical person. There are names from the Verne books scattered everywhere throughout: Harding, Pencroft, Aronnax, Land, Verne. It does a good job giving nods to the Nemo books. The titles of the books themselves come up fairly frequently as part of the lore of the schools’ origins, and many of the characters have read them.

It took a few chapters for me to get into, mostly because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t like Twenty Thousand Leagues much, so that made me a little wary of this book. The story moves quickly, but the majority of the first half is traveling, with a few events to push the plot forward.

I could predict where the story would end up early on. It’s not an elaborate story, but it is done well enough that I like it despite having figured out the major plot twist right away. I think it’s a good sign of the book’s quality when I don’t like the book that inspired the story, but I do like the resulting story.

I won’t bother trying to point out differences compared to the source material, because they state in the book that the Verne novels are not the whole truth, nor entirely accurate. It’s a good excuse for some creative liberties.

I love how diverse the cast is. The school seems to recruit all types of people from all over the world. There is even autistic representation with Ester.

When all is said and done, I feel like this book is a great starting point for a new series. There are no current plans for that, but the story leaves it open. Maybe some day.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 3

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 3 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2724-7
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

An old enemy returns as Frieren continues her journey north. Decades ago, Frieren and her party defeated a servant of the Demon King called Aura the Guillotine, one of the powerful demons known as the Seven Sages of Destruction. Now Aura is back with a score to settle. But what price did Frieren pay for victory in the past, and how will the choices she made then affect the present?

Personal & Info

I haven’t been to the bookstore in a while due to holidays and various other reasons. I grabbed this on my birthday while going around to a couple different stores. This is definitely a series I intend to read long term.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for Frieren.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He has low self confidence, but great skill as a warrior.

Story & Thoughts

The story here picks up where the previous volume left off dealing with the demons. Those events take up more than half the book. It’s the first really serious battle in the series so far. Not necessarily serious for Frieren, but definitely for Fern and Stark.

There are several flashbacks. The story uses them to show how Frieren originally learns certain skills or advice. They come up frequently for showing what affects her decisions in handling her traveling companions, too. It seems like she had little to no social skills before she became an adventurer.

I love the dramatic moment where Frieren reveals her true strength to Aura. Stark and Fern’s first battle with demons is pretty great, too. The advice Stark applies from Eisen is amusing, but also not wrong.

For an Elf who claims an adventure was only a measly ten years long, that adventure seems to have changed her significantly and drastically affected her thinking and morals.

It looks like the group might be getting a new party member. That will likely be solidified in the next volume.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 6 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 6 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Commerce, Fantasy, Romance
Intended Age Group: 15+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3111-6
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

As Holo and Lawrence begin the final leg of their journey, Lawrence decides to accompany Holo to her ancient home of Yoitsu, if only to forestall their parting just a bit longer. Boarding a ship from the port of Lenos (much to the chagrin of the wise wolf, who is none too fond of water!), the pair’s fate becomes entangled with that of a boy named Col, whose tale of his circumstances – combined with the gossip of the sailors – leads to a shocking revelation about Holo’s homeland!

Personal & Info

It took a couple months to circle back around to this. My reading schedule is still a mess. I’ve been busy over the holidays, and my birthday followed shorty after, so I’ve been reading a lot of manga to make things easier lately. If I’d known this picks up immediately after the previous volume, I probably would have tried to read it sooner.

Characters

This book picks up almost immediately after the events of volume five. Holo and Lawrence experience a lot of awkwardness as their future of traveling together has an unknown timer placed on it. In the previous book they promise to part with smiles, so for a significant portion of this one, it seems like they are uncomfortable expressing happiness, until they decide it’s better to enjoy what little time they might have left.

Col is a twelve or thirteen year old boy who has fallen on bad times. He is smart for his age, and Holo seems to want Lawrence to take him on as an apprentice. If I’m being honest, his entry in this volume is part of why I’m rating it a four.

I got excited when Col appeared in the story. There is a spin-off sequel series called Wolf & Parchment. I recognized his name from the description there, as well as his hair color from the cover of that and the preview pages of this book. I’m curious to see where things go with this character.

Story & Thoughts

The description is not entirely accurate. They are not yet going to Yoitsu. Instead, they are pursuing their double crossing business partner. Lawrence doesn’t seem invested in it, but Holo seems to insist, so he goes along with it so they won’t have to part ways so soon. They board a boat for this purpose, to follow Eve down the river. At no point in this volume does actual travel to Yoitsu occur.

There is no business opportunity in this volume. However, it seems something for later might be in the works. Lawrence puzzles over some documents regarding a trading company that lines up with their destination of Kerube. I imagine whatever answer comes from this will apply once they are in the area to do something about it.

Lawrence is generally made to be the fool multiple times. He and Holo have a spat and everyone seems to know what the issue is except him. Same goes for figuring out the puzzle with the documents. While we are not told the answer, it is obvious both Holo and Col know, but neither will tell Lawrence.

As Holo and Lawrence meet a new traveling companion, we get to see a new side of Holo. We don’t usually get to see her sweet and caring side, but it shows often here. She seems to get more compassionate and maternal around Col, and at some point makes it known she likes children.

The theme of Holo potentially leaving is getting old. It’s in almost every book, and has become an ongoing will she or won’t she aspect of the story. She made her reasons why clear, but she’s obviously torn about her own convictions in the matter.

Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 2

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Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 2 by Benigashira, Muramitsu
Series Name: Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64827-630-9
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

When Uchimura Denosuke agreed to take a job in the demon overlord’s army, he passed his first test with flying colors – despite being a normal human. But when his new boss asks him to resolve a magical dilemma, Uchimura’s office skills may not be enough. Can an ordinary salaryman keep up with the demands of being a heavenly king?

Personal & Info

I don’t think this volume is as good as the first one, but I still like it enough to keep reading. I will likely continue the series, but not as a priority. The reviews for it will likely be random since I don’t know when I will be getting the next volumes.

Characters

Ulmandra, Queen of Assault and Hellfire, is one of the big four. I think she’s considered the military specialist.

Uchimura Denosuke ís an average business man summoned to this fantasy world to use his business skills to assist the Demon Overlord as one of his big four.

The Demon Overlord is a surprisingly good boss.

Orl is the daughter of the ogre leader. She is a cheerful and kind person.

Sylphid, The Conjurer of the Ultimate Storm, is one of the big four. She is an expert in magic.

Story & Thoughts

Uchimura is given another task straight form the demon lord. He must work with Sylphid, the magic expert, to create a means for the weak to be able to use magic. The goal is to help close the class gap and keep people safe.

Ulmandra clearly has a crush on Uchimura at this point. It is blatantly obvious, but it seems like he can’t tell. The gag from the first volume of accidentally doing things that are culturally romantic and thinking he’s just making a nice gesture continues. So he is definitely leading her on, even if it’s not intentional. I mean, giving her a goblet he is explicitly told is intended for newly weds? That seems a bit blatant. He has to be ridiculously oblivious.

The demon lord’s kingdom is unexpectedly wholesome and friendly, but we learn not all countries are like that. The country of Rampaige seems more demon-like. Their ruler is pretty fickle and crazy. He even laughs at the idea of kindness. It could be just him and not the whole country, but Butagarian, the merchant, seems like he doesn’t believe in kindness either. But Butagarian himself is more kind than he lets on, so the world seems to have layers.

Uchimura was given a chunk of runestone in the beginning of the book. I’m not sure what happens to that specific chunk. He never explicitly shows it to Sylphid, and she does not say if she uses it to make the piece she gives him.

Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 1

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Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 1 by Benigashira, Muramitsu
Series Name: Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64827-602-6
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Uchimura Denosuke í your normal, everyday salaryman trying to climb the corporate ladder. But then he’s summoned to a terrifying fantasy world by the demon overlord, who offers him a new job – as one of the heavenly kings in his army, with full benefits! Uchimura may not have muscles or magic, but he does have an office worker’s skills and savvy. Will they be enough to keep him alive?

Personal & Info

Whenever I go to the bookstore, I feel an obligation to buy something, even if it just costs a dollar. I grabbed the first two volumes of this on one of those days. Sometimes reading the first volume of a series is enough to get a good feel for the series, but other times it takes two, so I don’t think it hurts to have the first two volumes of this to start. I ended up liking it anyway, so it’s convenient to already have number two.

I don’t have many isekai on here, yet, but if that is a genre you are into, maybe check out my review for His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper.

Characters

Ulmandra, Queen of Assault and Hellfire, is one of the big four. She’s a magic wielding demon who assists Uchimura with his negotiations.

Uchimura Denosuke ís an average business man summoned to this fantasy world to use his business skills to assist the Demon Overlord as one of his big four.

The Demon Overlord is a surprisingly good boss.

Orl is the daughter of the ogre leader. She is a cheerful and kind person.

The rest of the big four are named in this volume, but they do not play any active role, so I’m not listing them here.

Story & Thoughts

Isekai are a dime a dozen, so I’m always wary going into them. This one is pretty good. I already have a copy of volume two, so I’ll probably read that and get a review up for it at some point.

The story is simple, but well executed. Ironically, the Demon Overlord is a better, more understanding, boss than the typical ones you would find on Earth. Not only that, but he’s not just going around conquering everything for the heck of it. The Overlord legitimately makes life better for everyone in his domain. Villages that join the army gain the benefit of supplies and their economy gets better.

The art is wonderful. There’s a picture of Uchimura getting cheerfully thrown into the air by a minotaur, and it’s glorious. The characters look great. I even noticed a Food Wars reference in one picture with Ulmandra.

Ulmandra is probably my favorite character so far. She is adorable and very expressive. We see many facial expressions from her throughout the book. She also functions as the fan service eye candy, because she wears hardly anything. There is even straight up a nude picture of her at one point, but it doesn’t show anything graphic since the book is rated for ages thirteen and up.

I suspect as the series continues, Uchimura and Ulmandra will probably develop a romance. It seems like there are hints about that in this volume. Ulmandra was acting like she likes him, and Uchimura was saying and doing things that could be construed as the same.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 2

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 2 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2723-0
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Elf Mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

At Eisen’s urging, Frieren and her apprentice Fern head north seeking the land where heroes souls are said to rest, which also happens to be the location of the Demon King’s castle. Along the way, they meet Eisen’s apprentice, whose fighting skills may come in handy – though the Demon King is long gone, his surviving minions have unfinished business with Frieren!

Personal & Info

I forgot I already bought this. Well, I guess that means I can read it sooner than I expected. At the time I am typing this, I already have volume three, so it will follow soon. Anything after three is going to take a little while to get and review. I don’t know when, but I’ll review them quickly once I obtain them.

I highly recommend this series for anyone who likes elves or D&D or fantasy. It’s so good it might even be one of my new favorites.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for Frieren.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He is a powerful warrior whose never seen any actual combat.

Story & Thoughts

Frieren recruits another traveling companion in this volume. Eisen has an apprentice who has run out on him. His name is Stark, and while he has great skill, he lacks confidence. A warrior will be a helpful addition to the group.

The story is gaining more traction as Frieren sets out to complete a goal. She is heading to Ende in search of Aureole, so she may speak with her dead friend Himmel. It takes approximately ten years to reach Ende, and with Frieren’s leisurely pace, it could take far longer than that.

Things get more intense toward the end of the volume. A town is dealing with demons, and in imminent peril, because they are not as aware of demon nature as Frieren. Apparently her reputation is well known among demons.

I love how Stark and Fern interact. Their conversation while clearing the landslide cracks me up.

The art is beautiful. I never tire of looking at it. There’s just something about the style that makes it cute, but also serious, and the backgrounds are always so detailed.

The elf perspective is still done great. Frieren is ready to wait possibly more than three years for permission to pass through a gate, but her comrades are having none of that. We also get a vague idea of how long Frieren will live. Ten years is apparently less than one one-hundredth of her life. It’s mind boggling to think about.

The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! Vol. 1

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The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! Vol. 1 by Shiroichi Amaui, Konekoneko, Tamagonokimi
Series Name: The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon!
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Magic, Vampires, Wolves
Intended Age Group: 16+
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64651-334-5
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Now that he has reached 20 years of age, self-proclaimed mediocre demon Chrono Alkon is eager to begin his mandatory year of schooling in the Demon King’s castle. It’s his dream to spend the year having fun and making friends, but when he gets a shocking result in his class designation test, that dream is put in jeopardy. To make things even more difficult, Chrono is from a small remote village and has little sense of what is considered “normal” at school. As the resident country bumpkin, he finds himself facing maddening misunderstandings and unexpected adventures. Will this “mediocre” demon ever have the peaceful school life he’s always wanted, or will he be derailed by the demons who understand him better than he understands himself?

Personal & Info

I found this at my local book store on a day when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy anything.

It does have slavery aspects in it, so if you don’t like that kind of thing, it might not be for you. The way the story presents it is not abusive or anything, though. It’s actually accidental and contributes to the main story. Kind of like how How Not to Summon A Demon Lord starts off with accidental slavery.

Characters

Chrono Alkon is the main character. Apparently he is a Jinn, but I’m not sure which lore, if any, this series uses for that.

Grude Vogney is the class bully, but he seems easily disarmed by Chrono’s antics. I get some Bakugo vibes from him.

Sofia Grave is a vampire princess. I have no idea what kind of lore they are using for this. She has wings, and nobody mentions anything about any sunlight issues.

Liza Malta Philanikos is the current Demon King. She’s short and busty.

Dante is one of the faculty members of the school. He seems to be the primary instructor, and some sort of canine in the furry category.

Yukino Salmard is a lycanthrope. She does not appear to be one in the traditional sense, but more of the person with animal ears way. She’s a veteran in the Special Exploration Unit.

Story & Thoughts

I’m wary of trying isekai and fantasy manga these days because they are so popular and there are so many. Because of that, I don’t want to commit to any unless I try reading the first volume. I am so glad I tried this one. It’s fantasy, starring demons, with an over powered main character.

Generally, I tend not to like over powered main character tropes, but this one does it right. Chrono is powerful, without being intentionally cool or edgy. He doesn’t even think he is powerful, hence the, “self proclaimed mediocre,” part of the title. It makes the story so much more enjoyable, and adds wonderful comedy.

The characters are charming and amusing. I think the Demon King seems a little weak for her title, but that might just be a reflection of how strong Chrono actually is. Even the bully character, Grude, is amusing. His interactions and reactions with Chrono are hilarious.

By the end of the volume, I think I’m getting some possible harem vibes, but I don’t know enough about the series to be sure. What I do know is the three girls in his life all seem very fond of him. I would not be surprised if it goes in that direction.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 1

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 1 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2576-2
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

Decades after their victory, the funeral of one of her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…

Personal & Info

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series, and it popped up regularly in advertisements. When I saw it in my local bookstore, I made sure to grab it to give it a try.

People who enjoy fantasy, stories about elves, or D&D will probably like this series. I definitely plan on continuing to read and review it. It might not happen quickly, but it’s definitely on my list of things to continue.

Characters

Frieren is the main character. She is the elf mage in a party that defeats the Demon King and then goes their separate ways. She’s also a bit of a slob and rather lazy.

Himmel is listed as the hero of the party. He is the pretty boy with a heart of gold.

Heiter is the priest of the party, constantly called corrupt by his comrades because of his drinking and ideals.

Eisen is the Dwarf warrior of the party.

Fern is an aspiring mage in the care of Heiter. She becomes Frieren’s new companion in her travels.

Story & Thoughts

I hear this series is a bit of a tear jerker, and I can see why. The cover is beautiful, but the implications start immediately. Upon opening the book, the first page is a blackened out version of the cover image, so all you see is Frieren sitting by herself with barely visible shadows of her friends beside her. As the elf of the party, it is her fate to outlive everyone she meets.

The first chapter does a good job pointing out the differences in how an elf thinks compared to the average person. Her life span is so much longer that while everyone is commenting on how it’s been a long ten years and discussing retirement from adventuring, Frieren is thinking of it as having been ONLY ten years. What is a long time to her companions feels more like five minutes to her. The comments she makes in this chapter really drive the point home. She talks about meeting up in fifty years like it’s nothing.

When the reality of her life span becomes obvious to her, Frieren decides to travel. Her reasons are unclear to herself, but I think she wants to honor her comrades and clean up whatever messes are left unfinished. She thinks her reasons are to learn more spells and do tasks specifically for herself in a form of self gratification, but I’m sure there is more to it than that.

The elf perspective is done wonderfully, and the responses to Frieren’s behavior and ideals as an elf are great. It is perfectly understandable for a human to get a little impatient spending six months simply looking for a flower.