Tag: Yen On

Bofuri, Vol. 5 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 5 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: 978-1-9753-2360-8
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

After going toe-to-toe with two of the strongest guilds on the entire server, Maple Tree proved itself as a force to be reckoned with when they placed third overall in the latest event. That said, war isn’t all the guilds are good for! Maple and her friends have steadily grown closer to members of the Order of the Holy Sword and Flame Empire as their rivalries give way to something more. With new friends and powers, everyone is more than ready to dive headfirst into the newly released stratum!

Personal & Info

I have no more volumes after this one, so more reviews will be added after I get more.

Characters

Maple Tree

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. At this point, she’s starting to understand how to play games better. She still doesn’t like the pain system, so she puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Kasumi is a katana wielding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event. Her build is normal compared to Maple, Mai, and Yui.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube. He has an amazing memory, which makes him a uniquely skilled player.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s one of the best great shielders in the game, and his build is relatively normal compared to Maple.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best crafters in the game.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

Flame Empire

Mii is a mage specializing in fire magic, with the nickname Flame Empress. She is a role player who is in too deep to quit.

Marx has the nickname Trapper. His specialty is setting traps, and he is eighth in player rankings.

Misery has the nickname Saint Misery. She’s primarily a healer, but she is tenth in player rankings.

Shin has the nickname Splinter Sword. He has a rivalry with Kasumi.

The Order of the Holy Sword

Pain is the top player on the server. He plays a holy sword knight.

Frederica is a mage specializing in aoe attacks. She has an ongoing rivalry with Sally.

Drag has the nickname Groundsplitter. He’s an axe wielder and tends to make Frederica cover his defense while he focuses on DPS. He is fifth in the player rankings.

Dread has the nickname Godspeed. He uses daggers similarly to Sally and appears to be faster than her. He also has a heightened sense of intuition for danger, which helps make him a formidable foe. His ranking from the first event is second.

Story & Thoughts

This volume covers a lot, and I actually have several gripes. First of all, there are two new stratums and two events. The book is not long, so there are significant time skips. It covers everything from roughly October through February. That’s a long time frame! And I don’t mean that in a good way. Despite the multiple content drops, it feels like hardly anything happens.

I think the biggest problem is the story might have too many characters. The first couple volumes are charming because they focus on two friends playing the game and having fun. Now, there is a long list of characters, which means more time has to be spent on individual quests and various group adventures. There are so many time skips, and adventures feel more glossed over. The new characters were interesting for the fourth event in volume four, but now they seem like a hinderance.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the story expanding with new characters. But, right now, they’re all very shallow. I want them to have more in-depth adventures to get to know them better. Chrome had one a while back, and Kasumi gets one in this book, but I don’t think that is enough for them. Most other characters haven’t had any at all, yet, and the group ones don’t quite feel the same since they just walk through everything. The characters have little to no challenge. Boss battles earlier in the series are more interesting and thrilling. The ones here feel a bit lacking in comparison.

The story is still fine and enjoyable. It just feels like there’s a dip in quality at the moment. I hope it goes back up in the next one or two volumes. Also, there are no admin or forum sections. I like those, and actually miss them. With two events and multiple boss battles, I thought there would be at least one, but there isn’t.

Bofuri, Vol. 4 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 4 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: 978-1-9753-2358-5
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

With new allies and skills at the ready, Maple Tree embarks on their first event! The obvious favorites to take the crown are the big guilds like Flame Empire and the Order of the Holy Sword, each boasting well over a hundred members and some of the best players who topped the ranks in previous events. To make matters worse, everyone on the server has been stocking up on anti-Maple skills and items after her rise to infamy. For any hope of victory, Maple Tree will have to overcome incredible odds and shatter all expectations—or wipe out everybody else trying!

Personal & Info

I’m still not impressed with the cheap paper the publisher uses for this series. Three out of four volumes so far have some kind of damage just from normal handling or shipping. Be careful with the physical copies. They are not nearly as durable as the average book.

Characters

Maple Tree

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense. Since starting the game, Maple has become an absolute horror to other players.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance. Like Maple, she has established a horrifying reputation to other players.

Kasumi is a katana weilding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event. She has yet to be infected by Maple’s weirdness.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube. He has an ability that lets him store spells for later use, which makes him a bit overpowered as a mage.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s also one of the best great shielders in the game. He has been infected by Maple’s weird luck and managed to get some overpowered gear and skills of his own.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best in the game. With her new gear and skills, she’s also likely considered overpowered.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

The Order of the Holy Sword

Pain is the top player on the server. He plays a holy sword knight.

Frederica is a mage. She tried to get intel on Sally before the event and has a bit of a rivalry with her.

Drag has the nickname Groundsplitter. He’s an axe wielder and tends to make Frederica cover his defense while he focuses on DPS. He is fifth in the player rankings.

Dread has the nickname Godspeed. He uses daggers similarly to Sally and appears to be faster than her. He also has a heightened sense of intuition for danger, which helps make him a formidable foe. His ranking from the first event is second.

Flame Empire

Mii has the nickname Flame Empress. She is a mage specializing in fire magic. I would guess the guild is named after her.

Marx has the nickname Trapper. His specialty is setting traps, and he is eighth in player rankings.

Misery has the nickname Saint Misery. She’s primarily a healer, but she is tenth in player rankings.

Shin has the nickname Splinter Sword. His rival is Kasumi, because he lost to her in the first event.

Story & Thoughts

The entirety of this volume is the fourth game event. It covers a lot with a large amount of characters. More information about and inclusion of other top ten players are shown. Most of them are in the three guilds the description mentions: The Order of the Holy Sword, Flame Empire, and Maple Tree.

I like the story well enough. The event is interesting and entertaining. The addition of so many other characters makes things feel even busier.

My main issue with the volume is that, despite the expansiveness of the event, it still seems too easy for Maple Tree. In volume three, they reveal what the event will be, as well as all of the terms and conditions. The fact each character can die a certain number of times before being removed from the event left me thinking Maple Tree would suffer more deaths throughout. The actual number of deaths in the book is well below my expectations, and thus leaves me feeling like the story lacks enough tension to truly be satisfying.

Aside from that one thing, various parts of the book had me smiling and giggling. Maple is comically overpowered. If Maple Tree had a harder time, I think my rating would be higher. It can be difficult to have overpowered characters and still keep the right amount of tension. I think the balance is a little off in that regard.

Bofuri, Vol. 3 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 3 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: 978-1-9753-2354-7
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Following their incredible performance in the treasure hunt event, Maple and Sally are interested in one thing and one thing only—buying a house! After all, every guild needs a home. Though their guild is still small, the girls and their friends are excited to have a place to meet, train, and grow—especially now that the newly minted guilds are all going to be facing off in the next big event! This is the birth of the legendary Maple Tree, the guild whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all who hear it!

Personal & Info

I had a headache while reading a large chunk of this, so it’s possible my rating might be a little lower than it deserves.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Kasumi is a katana weilding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s also one of the best great shielders in the game.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best in the game.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is not as thick as the second, but thicker than the first. I’d rather these light novels be a little thicker, because they’re thinner than others I’m used to, but at the same time, it’s nice that they are short. Despite the thinness of the volumes, it always feels like a lot happens due to the shortness of the chapters and the fast paced story telling. They make quick, fun reads.

The book picks up after the second game event. The ability to purchase guild housing becomes available and Maple decides she wants to start her own guild. Everything takes off from there as the girls invite everyone they know, so far, to join.

Things are a little different compared to the first two volumes. Instead of just covering Maple and Sally’s adventures, the book covers all of the characters. For example, there are sections where Chrome, Iz, and Kanade all get their own individual adventures. It’s a pleasant change.

On the negative side, the story has a lot of grinding. Large sections specifically focus on gaining levels, getting a specific skill, gathering a specific item, or hoping to find good gear. Sometimes that’s interesting, but not always.

There is a game event in this volume, but it’s nothing big. It’s very short, and hardly touched on, because Maple can’t easily participate and there aren’t rewards that interest her. After that part of the story, the rest is their guild getting ready for the fourth event, which will be in the next volume.

Overall, a lot happens, but the story is a little too grindy. Regardless, there’s a lot to love. The characters are great, and Maple’s unique luck and way of playing the game seem contagious to those around her.

Bofuri, Vol. 2 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 2 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: 978-1-9753-2354-7
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Maple has become famous overnight after finishing in the tip three of the battle royal and defeating over two thousand players without taking any damage at all. Now, with the treasure hunt event about to start, Maple and Sally set off in search of rare gear and adventure! The game admins and other players look on in both fear and excitement as they wait to see what crazy new development is about to hit the server!

Personal & Info

For others getting the light novels, the cover of the book is the papery kind, not the glossy kind. Because of this, it’s more flimsy. Mine has a small tear on it just from picking it up and setting it down a few times. You might want to be extra careful with how you handle it.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Several new characters appear in this volume. I can’t easily list them here without spoilers, so I’ll let anyone who doesn’t already know who they are find out by reading.

Story & Thoughts

This volume holds up well compared to the first. It’s approximately twice as thick, which is nice. The entire event they were prepping for is encompassed in this one book, so you don’t have to worry about getting the third to find out how it ends.

The length works against it a little, too, though. My biggest issue with the book is that there are several sections of the story where they have to wander around rather aimlessly. But, when something is happening, it’s really good. The various dungeons and bosses they have to clear are interesting. The boss fight with the bird had me on the edge of my seat. There’s still a decent amount of comedy mixed into the story, too.

In the first volume, there are occasional wholesome chapters of what people say in the game’s forums in reaction to Maple’s rise to fame. This one has something similar, which is the admins monitoring the event. Whenever Maple or Sally succeed at something that is designed to be impossible, or stumble into interesting situations, the admins freak out. It’s amusing, because the admins are afraid of either of them getting any more overpowered than they already are. There is also one tiny forum section as part of a normal chapter after the event is over.

The series does a good job making sure the reader knows where and how skills are obtained. However, Maple seems to have some skills that are not on her list of character information. I think they are skills she’s probably had all along, and just did not use until now. Several skills she uses in the event seem to be derived from her Hydra ability. When she first got and used the skills connected to that, there was an implication that there were only two skills: Hydra and Paralyze Shout.

I think I can excuse this, because of how early in the story it is. Maple is likely still learning what she can do. When she has to get down the cliff, she does take some time to look at her skills to see what is available to her. This all leads me to believe Hydra itself is more overpowered than I initially thought.

Overall, the book is really good. I wasn’t even in the mood to read it when I started, but after a chapter or two, I was sucked in. The series really is that good. I might have to bump it up on my priority list, because I’m always sad I don’t have the next volume.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 10 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 10 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: 978-0-316-32236-2
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

After the turmoil in Kerube, Lawrence and his companions make for the kingdom of Winfiel across the sea. Their destination is the great abbey of Brondel, said to hold the wolf bones they seek. Arriving in the kingdom, they hear tell that the abbey, normally prosperous due to its great wool trade, has fallen into a financial crisis. Worse, the most powerful economic force in the world—the Ruvik Alliance—is entering the kingdom with its eye upon the abbey’s land holdings…

Personal & Info

It’s been a while since I circled back around to this series. I don’t remember how the events of volume nine concluded, but I do remember the majority of the significant parts. This book gives a few refreshers about those events, so that helped jog my memory a bit.

Characters

I don’t remember why, but something in the previous volume led me to believe Holo would have reason to be cross with Lawrence. I guess I was mistaken, because she has no lingering anger toward him. Lawrence is set on doing things by himself, so Holo takes a back seat for this one. She actually stays behind at their lodgings frequently, and only gives small indications of moral support or implied guidance when she’s present for negotiations. Lawrence seems to make progress in being honest with himself about his feelings, but he still doesn’t voice any of them.

Col doesn’t seem to have much to do. He’s just kind of around. He doesn’t seem to like some of Lawrence’s more blunt opinions on things.

Huskins is a shepherd. He tends to the Abbey’s vast quantity of sheep. The role he plays in the story is interesting.

Piasky is a face character of the Ruvik Alliance. Lawrence goes to him for pretty much everything. He’s also one of the few characters who can make Lawrence jealous because of what Holo thinks. There’s no problem of a crush like before, though. This one is more of a situation of Holo possibly thinking he is more admirable and capable than Lawrence.

Story & Thoughts

Lawrence’s group has left Kerube. They are following the rumor of the wolf bones to Winfiel, armed only with letters of support from Lud Kieman and Eve Bolan. This is the last journey Holo and Lawrence can currently use as an excuse to stay together, while neither of them is willing to be honest about their feelings.

Our group of travelers has uncanny luck for stumbling into interesting economic situations. They have no intention of getting involved, but of course, they never have a choice in the end. They always get involved.

The story for this one is a bit dull compared to some of the others. There’s a lot of information gathering, and then when things get serious, it feels more like a game of chess than their usual business dealings. I don’t think they make any profit from this trip, either. It’s more like they choose to do a good deed because it aligns with their morals and what they are after.

Honestly, I’m not satisfied with the ending. Lawrence is more honest with himself about how important Holo is to him, but he never says anything about it. Additionally, the group never discusses what they plan to do after their dealings with the wolf bones. I think it’s just assumed that he will go with her to Yoitsu as promised, but if that’s the case, why is he so worried about her running off without him for the duration of the book? He insists on handling everything himself so that she won’t have any excuse to leave. Maybe that’s just paranoia on his part.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 9 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 9: Town of Strife 2 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: 978-0-316-24548-7
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

The capture of a narwhal and the ensuing power struggle between the northern and southern districts of Kerube has Lawrence caught in the middle! Backed into a corner by his own trade guild, can the merchant find a way to extricate himself from this delicate situation? And what of the wolf bone from Holo’s pack? Can the Wisewolf of Yoitsu manage to keep her rage and frustration in check?

Personal & Info

This is the second and final part of a two part event by the title of Town of Strife.

I think this is the first book in which I’ve seen a world map inside in a long while. Every area previously travelled to or mentioned in the series so far is marked on the map. There is also a refresher summary of part one on the map page, as well as an explanation about the narwhal and the town of Kerube.

The table of contents page has an adorable picture of Holo riding a narwhal. Definitely worth looking at.

Characters

Lawrence spends a significant amount of this volume working alone. Holo has little to nothing to do with his dealings, and mostly serves a support role. When Lawrence gets overwhelmed or afraid, she pulls him back to sanity with reason. Col assists in that regard, and also does tasks for Holo and Lawrence. The three of them seem to have a solid friendship at the moment, but I think there’s the implication of Lawrence having to face Holo’s wrath in the end. Their relationship might become more turbulent after this.

Eve Bolan is the most important person in town during Kerube’s negotiations. Everyone wants to make a deal with her, and whatever deal she chooses to make will affect the entire town. Holo despises Eve, but Lawrence and Eve are tentative friends. Lawrence said it’s something along the lines of merchants don’t hold grudges.

Lud Kieman, a senior member of the Rowan Trade Guild, who also runs one of the buildings in Kerube, is among the many who want to make a deal with Eve. He seems like a ruthless person, and obviously doesn’t think of his underlings as people. They are just tools to him. Lawrence fears his wrath, because he wants to stay on good terms with the guild, but Keiman has the power to ruin that.

Story & Thoughts

Since this is part two, it continues almost exactly where volume eight leaves off, and gives a small recap as Lawrence explains to Holo and Col what happened at his meeting with Eve. From there, the story moves forward with Lawrence getting involved in Kerube’s business, whether he wants to or not. He’s sucked right into the middle of things because of his affiliation with the Rowan Trade Guild and his acquaintance with Eve. He has little choice in the matter since a single misstep could ruin his reputation within the guild.

Lawrence actually works on the entire deal on his own. He doesn’t even bring Holo with him. He has this idea that he needs to live up to her expectations, so instead of using her assistance every step of the way, he tries to do everything without her. This delegates Holo to a more morally supportive role, and leaves her available to catch him if he falls. Her biggest job here is to be a sounding board for Lawrence’s thought process. I kind of wanted her to be a little more involved. He tried to operate without her in Lenos, too, so it’s been a while since she has actually helped him directly with a deal.

The money scam with the copper coins comes up again, and thankfully they explain it in more detail. Once they went over it, I finally understood it. I think the story was keeping all the key details secret until the last minute, which is probably why I didn’t quite get it in the previous book.

Something I had an issue with is they seem to speak in riddles more frequently. There are a few places where someone would say something, and I’d have no idea what they meant. Sometimes it would be clarified by a thought from Lawrence, but the clarification didn’t help me see how what they said could possibly be understood by the person on the receiving end of the conversation.

I also had an issue keeping the North and South sides of the town straight during the entire plot. I had a hard time remembering which one is the poor side and which side owed the other what. Or who worked for which side because of those details. Like when it said someone was allied with the North side, I wouldn’t be able to remember if that was the side that needed the money or the side that was greedy. That’s not the fault of the writing, though, it’s just my brain.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 8 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 8: Town of Strife I 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: 978-0-316-24546-3
Rating: 2.5/5
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Description from the Book

Hearing rumors of a “leg bone of the wolf” being used as an artifact of the Church to showcase its power, Lawrence and Holo head to the site to gather more information. Holo can’t just turn away from what might be a relic of her own kind, after all. Of course, upon arrival, the travelers find that the town is the center of a giant trade dispute! Seems that Col will be getting a lesson in microeconomics!

Personal & Info

Again, it’s been a while since the last volume. I keep intending to circle back around to things, but my reading schedule remains a mess.

Characters

Lawrence and Holo trust each other more in this volume than they seem to in most. Holo is left to her own devices with Col multiple times, with the only stipulation being not to let her drink too much. She even runs an errand for Lawrence on her own, which hardly ever happens. Unfortunately, she’s back to hitting Lawrence on occasion when she is displeased enough. Holo does a poor job of hiding her jealousy and anger during the parts of the story that include Eve.

Col enters the story in volume six. He’s at most thirteen, and smart for his age. His intention is to study church law, but first he needs a better understanding of how the world works. He learns various lessons from Lawrence and Holo every day, even if he doesn’t always understand what they mean. While he is a great help and meticulous in his tasks, Lawrence cannot in good conscience claim him as an apprentice.

Eve Bolan is the merchant woman they met in Lenos. Their dealings with her there were not entirely wholesome. Lawrence can’t help but admire her regardless, because her business skills and connections are top notch. Not to mention her pretty face and ability to perfectly control her facial features when making deals. The dealings with her in Kerube are likely not entirely wholesome, either.

Story & Thoughts

Volume seven is a deviation to side stories completely irrelevant to the main plot, so this one picks up where six leaves off. Lawrence and company arrive in Kerube. Priorities are a little different from the initial plans, though. When leaving Lenos, the idea was to catch up to Eve and get Lawrence’s money back. I think it’s pretty clear that was just a pretense for Lawrence and Holo to extend their time together, because now that they are there, they don’t care about the money. That intention is completely forgotten. Instead, they are looking into rumors about the leg bone of a wolf, potentially from one of Holo’s deceased friends.

As far as the story itself goes, this is part one of a two part series of events. Because of that, this volume is entirely the set up. The usual half to three quarters of the volume that normally sets up the problem or scheme is this entire book. It does make it feel a little slow, but the set up is interesting enough.

I have some issues. I don’t know if it’s because it’s been a while since I read something from the series, or if my brain was just tired. It could also be actual editing mistakes that cut necessary sentences from the story. I don’t really know.

What I do know is I had more of an issue than usual telling who was saying what, and there were unclear details that kept throwing me off. An example of the type of detail I’m referring to would be, at one point Lawrence orders himself an ale and has a conversation with Eve. Eve never orders her own drink, nor does the text say anywhere at all that she drinks from Lawrence’s cup. She thanks him for the ale after the conversation, adding to my confusion, and later it clearly states she shared his cup.

There are many parts of the book that caused me this kind of confusion. If I’m mistaken and the text is correct and I just missed something, I’m sorry, but I flipped back several times to check things and could not find mention of the wording that would have said so. To me, it felt as if the text was saying what happened after the fact and expecting nobody to notice.

Some of the writing in this volume is also redundant. In the first several pages, it’s like they can’t stop telling you about the fact Eve sunk a ship in the river. It’s so frequent it’s actually annoying. The other redundant things are smaller, so I don’t entirely remember which details they were stating.

The copper coins explanation didn’t make much sense to me. They didn’t explain that in much detail, because supposedly it’s super simple, but I don’t get it. I read the explanation multiple times and it didn’t help.

Overall, the book is fine. It’s just much slower, because it’s part one of a two parter. The issues I experienced dragged the rating down a bit. I admit I was tired when I read the majority of it, but I really don’t think I missed anything. I’ve read other volumes of this series while tired and didn’t have these kinds of problems.

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.

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.