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Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria
The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
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Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: HakoMari

Japanese: 空ろの箱と零のマリア

Information

Type: Light Novel

Volumes: 7

Chapters: 40

Status: Finished

Published: Jan 10, 2009 to Jun 10, 2015

Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural, Suspense

Themes: Psychological, School

Serialization: None

Authors: Mikage, Eiji (Story), Tetsuo (Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.71¹ (scored by 20,511 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #59²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #133

Members: 103,068

Favorites: 5,355

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 47 / 48

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Jan 21, 2016

berganda

Not Recommended

Plainly put, this is garbage.

This is the type of story writing and story telling that is killing the writing industry.
It's a story disguised as a complex one, but at the core, it is simple beyond belief.

The twists and turns of the plot are simply there to briefly trick you even though you've already known the outcome of a certain event.

All its "complexity" just seems like the author getting new ideas and then cramming that idea into the story, realizing it doesn't end in a favorable outcome, and then finding ridiculous ways to explain why the favorable outcome was achieved.

This is just over-hyped beyond belief.
...

Jul 20, 2013

RadiGen

Recommended

Preliminary (40/40 chp)

--This review is intended for those who plan to read the novel therefore, it is free of spoilers--

"Kazuki Hoshino. I’m here to break you. This is my 13,118th 'School Transfer'. Even I can't help but get annoyed after so many. So for a change, I'll proclaim war." Those are the words that Aya Otonashi proclaims to our dumbfounded protagonist in the start of the series, and surely, this line not only perplexes the characters in the story, but us as well.

The simple setting of a 13,118th school transfer is enough to pique your interest as this is something that is obviously uncommon. Fortunately, the ... first sections of the novel hints of an intricate plot in contrast to the introduction that usually leaves a first impression of a clichéd rom-com act(It turns out to be anything but). The plot would gradually unravel the underlying dark theme that is behind something that is seemingly bright.

Hakomari’s narrative starts by introducing our protagonist Kazuki Hoshino, a rather typical student with an anomalous attachment to his ‘everyday life’. Our protagonist is in the belief that there is no difficulty that cannot be solved by the continuity of everyday life. A belief he later finds to be challenged by no other than the transfer student of phenomenal beauty, Aya Otonashi, who with every school transfer throws the class of 1-6 into confusion and chaos through her stunning looks and resolute personality, and her introductions and statements that unerringly leave the class flabbergasted.

The manner in which the first volume is narrated is somewhat unique. It tells the context of the plot by gradually unravelling the events in the story through an experimental anachronistic manner. (This experimental manner of telling the story would be one of the best aspects to be found not only in this volume, but the others as well, but is most eminent in this volume) It is this manner of narration that I would describe as the glue of the entire novel. The author would always follow a constant perfect pace in character and plot exposition, unveiling his well-thought and complex plot that infallibly leaves the reader impressed.

Plot-wise, the story is narrated in a way that resembles a detective novel and is somewhat reminiscent of Death Note. This is no other than due to the fact that the novel is partly mystery. It sets the pace of the novel by pre-emptively unveiling a mystery that drags the reader to its pace and leaves the reader glued to figuring out the happenings. What’s amazing is, Hakomari is not a detective novel yet it surprisingly does it better than most detective novels and would even rival the acclaimed Death Note in terms of complexity. It has become somewhat of a detective novel because the reader would constantly engage his mind in thinking, constantly trying to figure out the reasons of the events, constantly analyzing the statements and dialogues of each character while evaluating if they hold water, only to find their conjectures more or less wrong as the author unravels his grand scheme. This only serves as a testament that the plot is well-thought and effective because the deception is reflected not only on the characters, but also on the readers – you cannot help but get fooled into thinking what the characters were thinking.
One might even call this novel a quasi-detective novel if not for its disparate focus.

With regards to the supernatural aspect of the novel, the narrative first reveals of the existence of supernatural wish-granting machines called ‘boxes’. These boxes are what sets our novel into perpetual motion. It introduces boxes as something that grants our wishes to the extent and limited by how much we believe in the wish, in other words, a 'box' grants wishes exactly as the person pictures it, that means whatever doubts you have in mind would also be brought to fruition. The idea of a box granting a wish distorted by one’s own beliefs is already enough to catch one’s interest, what’s more interesting though is the possibilities that come along with it that become more or less the core of each volume. In other words what gives this series its spice is not the idea of a flawed wishing machine, but the realization that such a premise has the potential to achieve unique and entertaining plot lines. These said boxes are the complete antithesis of our protagonist’s ideal ‘everyday life’ for which he would constantly seek help in order to neutralize and return to a semblance of his everyday life, even to the point of cooperating with his antagonistic rival – Aya Otonashi.

A bonus that comes off from the nature of the boxes is it becomes well-defined. (Death Note for example has its rules written down for the viewers.) This limits the author to reason out the happenings in the plot unlike most series which involve the supernatural that leave explanations to plot convenience. To add to that, despite having a well-defined set of premises, the author still managed to make a very entertaining, unique and outstandingly dramatic story out of it, which I think is very difficult to do. It does the explaining far better and more intricately than say… genie stories where the source of the story’s plot progression is the malign intentions of the genie in granting wishes, where the author can easily manipulate the actions of the genie to fit his mould of the story rather than constructing a logical plot built on well-defined premises. And when I mention ‘genie stories’, I refer not only to genie stories per se, but it extends to all stories that involve the supernatural but altogether fails to construct a coherent plot.

Despite all the praise Hakomari has, all of it would be impossible if not for the well-rounded and well-conceived characters. From the self-sacrificial perfectionist Aya Otonashi, the unbreakable Kazuki Hoshino to various other characters such as the cryptic and intelligent Daiya Oomine. The cast consists of a set of various characters who come along contrastive personalities at times, but in no manner is any character introduced or portrayed as an airhead. The characters all posses a degree of intellectual independence where the absence of which often leads a story to banality since we rarely find high entertainment value in a story where a protagonist’s inherent ineptitude constantly becomes pivotal to a story. In other words we won't be seeing our clichéd and stereotyped males who are inept at everything they do and our unreasonable females whose insights defy all logic and is commonly attributed 'female intuition'. Actually, we get some of this to a certain degree, but they primarily serve as comic relief.
It is also interesting to note our protagonist's character development as he changes his perception of 'everyday life', some may find it as progressive and some may find it loathsome.

The characters and their respective actions are certainly well-thought that we could sympathize with despite them being fictional. They portray reality very accurately that we can’t help but think that the actions they take bear semblance to what we would. This accurate portrayal of reality would inevitably make others feel that the story bears more semblance of reality and mystery rather than supernatural despite it being the main element of the novel, an aspect that makes the reader attached to it like he is with reality, despite the fact that the story is fantasy/supernatural. To evoke attachment to supernatural fantasies is something rarely achieved in the history of (supernatural) literature as they usually feel ‘distant’.

The author (Eiji Mikage) is able to truly manifest his skills in writing in this novel. He manages to display versatility in sub-genres throughout the volumes by shifting from mystery to commonplace mundane themes and even to engaging in light existential and ontological allusions which he usually integrates to his plot. He blends several elements such as psychological, tragedy and even slice-of-life (as some may perceive it) uniquely in each arc resulting in the readers having mixed feelings. He would also insert his timely scenes of comic relief. Exercising the skill of stacking multi-layered plots through each volume, he would further surprise his readers by unveiling a bigger picture that could have only have been written coherently if the author already has the story conceptualized and laid out in his mind, and only has to fill in the details.

With all of that said, Hakomari is one of the best of stories that has surfaced into the literature repertoire. It is a must read recommended for almost anyone as it explores different genres that reach and appeal to people of different tastes. It always leaves the reader impressed through its outstanding narrative and convoluted plot that would always leave the reader with a satisfying explanation, and always urges you to want to read more through other volumes. And despite this being a novel, where music and animation are absent, I would say that it delivers far more entertainment value than most series (including animations) because it exercises your imagination through its rich narrative that would at times border between metaphorical and literal statements, and unveils a plot that barely falls short of perfect.

That being said though, I wouldn't recommend this to the typical elitist who finds that anything involving teenagers and a school setting is abhorrent and would rather stick to his deliberately ambiguous impossible-to-decipher ultra-philosophical anime. Nor would I recommend it to people who find critical thinking to be a chore.

Jul 27, 2015

HaXXspetten

Recommended

After an excruciatingly long time of waiting, at long last the seventh volume of Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (more commonly referred to as HakoMari) has now been released, and with that it's finally time to close the lid on one of the greatest works of literature to have ever originated from Japan, and the overall best light novel I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

HakoMari's story is... *unique* to say the least. It can be classified as fantasy, mystery and psychological above all else, but it really touches upon just about every genre imaginable during the course of its progression. It starts ... out seemingly ordinary with a typical high-school boy named Hoshino Kazuki who is extremely fond of the idea of having a so-called "normal, everyday life". But when a mysterious girl called Otonashi Aya one day joins his class, announces that it's her 13,118th school transfer and that she's here to "break him", Kazuki's life immediately becomes as far from normal as humanly possible.

The plot progression of HakoMari is very difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't read it, because it's unbelievably complex and also very niche. It primarily revolves around a wish-granting device called a "box". The "boxes" are given to various people and function in different ways depending on the characters' personalities, what they wish for and also how much they truly believe in the concept of granting wishes to begin with. But either way a box can be considered a space like a fictional world which people can be trapped inside, and it operates under its own rules. In this way, effectively anything is possibly in HakoMari because all laws of normality are completely thrown out the window.

I think HakoMari can be classified as "Chaos Theory". It's completely erratic, yet very systematic. It's completely irrational, yet makes absolutely perfect sense. It's abstract, yet completely logical. It messes with your head like nothing else from essentially the first sentence of the first volume and it never ever stops, but neither does it stop fascinating you with what it's capable of. The plot twists are so incredibly difficult to predict, but they always make you feel like the answer was so obvious all along once the truth is revealed. It's just that well-written, and as a result it never fails to make you smile and impress you.

Almost every single volume is very different from the rest since every box operates under its own set of rules, but they still always maintain the same dark, cryptic yet incredibly captivating atmosphere. This is all possible because the writing and narration is simply superb. The author makes the readers dance to his tune like puppets with his almost cult-like writing style, and when all is said and done it's probably the main reason why HakoMari is so interesting to read. It's like trying to lay a three-dimensional puzzle in the dark, except the author is helping you by guiding your hands for you. In that way it feels like you're being presented an overall storyline that reasonably shouldn't be possible to write, except somehow it actually works out. But it's something that cannot really be explained in words alone, you have to read it for yourself.

Another interesting aspect is that HakoMari has multiple protagonists. It constantly changes perspective. Each and every character is thus provided incredible depth, much more so than you would ever expect from a novel only seven volumes long in total. Furthermore, given the abnormal nature of the story itself, the different perspectives give you vastly different impressions of the flow of events.

Overall, what you have is a light novel which is unlike anything else on the market, has some of the best writing I've ever seen and never ceases to amaze you with its unbelievable twists and turns. It makes you care about the characters something tremendously due to how captivating it is from the very beginning, and presents you with a storyline which is as about as close to flawless as you can possibly get. I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who's read HakoMari and didn't like it, which is something I don't think I've experienced with any other series, regardless of medium.

As it is though, HakoMari is only hyped in the west, but it's basically unknown in Japan. Thus the chances of HakoMari ever getting an anime adaptation are probably rather slim, even now after the novels have finished publishing. However, I do not believe it is humanly possible to make an adaptation of HakoMari that would do the novels justice anyway, so maybe that's for the best. Either way, I'm more than happy with what we got, because it is my all-time favorite light novel and quite simply one of the overall best reads I've ever had in my life. Highly recommended to essentially everyone.

Aug 2, 2015

Sereth

Recommended

"Do you have a wish?"

I don't think myself able to write an objective critic to HakoMari, not while the last volume is still so vivid in my mind. As such, this is not a review, but a love letter to this wonderful novel.

HakoMari is, in a nutshell, a wild ride. A crazy, reckless and downright cruel wild ride.
The story, while thought out really well, is really just a container. It's the playbox where all the characters are thrown into while being told "Now do what you want".
And the characters are really what makes this series so worthwhile and unforgettable.

Characters who love each other but ...

Nov 24, 2013

castor212

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

HakoMari's story is one of the most 'cult' light novel story I have ever read, throwing mainstream out from the window right away.

It made me scream like a fangirl.

The story is about Kazuki Hoshino, a boy who very much treasures his normal 'everyday life'. An everyday life, which is no longer normal without he himself realizing it when he met a mysterious transfer student Aya Otonashi.

-- Story : 9/10.

HakoMari's genre is somewhat a combination of fantasy and mystery. The story, like I said, avoids today's light novel mainstream and cliche plot. It's not a stupid boy-meets-girl-then-continue-to-meeting-harem-member. It's a boy-meets-girl-then-reality-went-to-shit kind. ...

Aug 6, 2015

Tebaldi

Recommended

If you have a box that grants any wish, would you use it?
Can you actually believe that something like really could exist?
Actually not, isn't it?

SPOILER FREE!

I assume that I was really anxious to see the end of this novel to know it and write a review. As far as I can concern, The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria a.k.a HakoMari) is one of the Japanese Novels that touched me most. There is the Japanese masterpiece for 21th century.

Often people who follow something want a STORY to enjoy, or for enjoyable presentation, at least. Instead of deliver it, HakoMari ... works with epiphanies, metaphors, examples and human questions inside several somewhat big monologues. Actually they are not exactly "funny", but amazingly INTERESTING and good to make you reflect, think about yourself and people around you. The monologues are so fantastic that it can be "simple" but complex. Immature but mature. Irrational but rational. They can fit in most kinds of tastes, however it goes deeper and deeper and author isn't afraid to show the weirdest side of world. Obviously there is a story. However, this is not the most important thing. The "messages beneath the surface" are the most important thing here. Think and look forward to see it! Moreover, suspense on this is great and VERY hard to predict. It will always trick with your mind! Twists are not forced and they are very coherent, and had with little flaws (especially in last volume, as I expected).

Characters are good too! They are humans. They are natural and believable! Every single character have their own personalities and thoughts, except for singular cases here and there that are minor characters. Also the side cast has their space to think, act, appear as main characters sometimes. You can love or hate someone from beginning, but your perspective could change bit a bit as you read. As someone said, "when you know someone, this person couldn't be your enemy anymore". HakoMari works with this line regarding characters and readers. Furthermore, their reactions, thoughts twists and trouble treats are the center of attention for those novels. It could help to understand better how human heads work.

Illustrations are good, sometimes help to clarify some things, especially the characters physical features, but they are not so amazing and there are few pictures as many other light novels... I think it's a good point, though, since it depends heavily on words and readers imagination, so images aren't that needed at all. Because of these elements, my grade is seven for it.

Well, I love it and recommend to all people who want to know more about human beings and enjoy to learn about at same time. It's interesting without any boring parts... Oh, except for second volume. If you would like to give up because of it, forget this stupid idea. Second volume is the major flaw on the series in my opinion, but once you overcome it, you can access the whole potential of this novel. YOU MUST READ IT! XD

Oh, yes. Settings are somehow different too. Situations and plot are somewhat innovative. "Nothing is priceless" is remembered in whole novel, so you have to expect that it can be interesting with almost flawless formula. Finally I can say that this work of fiction is the prove of that depression can be productive.

Jun 25, 2014

linoras

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

This is a masterpiece. It is truly unbelievable what the author has managed to do with so very little. Hell, the first volume takes place nearly entirely in the same location and you don't care. The story is THAT compelling. If you are looking for a good story, one that gives you something that makes you want to keep reading, read this.

It has plot twists like no other story I've ever read. Plot twists that you don't see coming, but make sense. They make such perfect sense you can't believe you didn't realize it yourself.

I would only start if you have time to spare ...

Jul 14, 2014

kickmesign

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

Story
Simply put, the more you progress through the story arcs, the more convoluted it becomes. It gets really bad during the survival game part that is covered in 2 volumes. It is equivalent to an 8 year old continually making rules to a game that is changed to his or her convenience. That really summarizes all the story sections in general.

Characters
The way the characters think and talk seem like they are trying to sound really clever when it really is a bunch of bs that would make a politician blush. The amount of dialogue needed to convey their feelings and attitude is often only a ...

May 8, 2015

zRonin

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

"Masterpiece" is a buzzword commonly thrown about in relation on this website. There are many pieces of fiction people consider worthy of the title, and many more people overlook. To be honest, when I looked into reading this, I was not expecting much. At the very most, it seemed a redundant amalgamation of all of the generic clichés that come with "school life" fiction. In addition, having read Oyasumi Punpun and Onani Master Kurosawa prior to Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (which fans have likened as Hakomari), the bar was VERY high.

My God, was I shocked.

STORY: 9 ... -- Immediately from volume 1, you get a grasp of this odd sort of chaotic coherence, and the ordinary conventions and tropes are deconstructed and defenestrated. The utter nuance of the piece is incredible.

Volume 1 does take its time unraveling the plot; details aren't force fed, but allowed a slow digestion time as the story lets you catch up at the same pace as the characters. Volume 2 was rather weak, in my opinion, as the story had very little to grant--it seemed almost as if an episodic nature had been born. Volume 3 seemed to continue the trend, and I had even considered absconding from the series for a short reprieve...but then I read volume 4. Suddenly, the characters develop at an incredible rate, and their stories are enough to send chills down your spine--and it only picks up from there.

I won't dally too much on the details of the story, but I will say that it is intricate and complex; there is no definite plot for the first few volumes, as it forgoes that for developing the character interactions.

ART: 9 -- The art, of course, is Light Novel art. There's not really much to work off of, but the art is very befitting for the sort of story the author is trying to convey.

CHARACTERS: 10 -- This is, in my opinion, where Hakomari excels above all other. The characters in this story are so well-made that realistic does not begin to describe them. Every single character's complex psyche is explored in this story, and you begin to realize the sheer intimacy of the characters that acts duplicitously from the grand scale of the plot.

ENJOYMENT: 10 -- This is a series that you can't seem to put down. It latches on to you with incredible force, and you find yourself absorbed into the story to the point where it would not be surprising to find yourself making exclamations while reading. I certainly did.

Overall: 10 -- The themes dealt with in Hakomari are dark. The story is a very cynical take on society, but it deals with that take so fluidly that it almost feels comfortable with the flaws in its society. It is a perfect union of euphoria and melancholy.

Is it a masterpiece? That depends entirely on how Eiji Mikage ends the story. But I will say this: it is the single greatest piece of fiction I have ever read from Japan.

Aug 14, 2013

dx349

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

THIS is the light novel that just keeps you at edge of the seat.....the story revolves around wish creating box .simple but main point of the story is about what u gain and what you lose after being granted those you strive for.These box also opens up negative side of your wish ie curses to be granted aswell. this is a story about a guy who loves his daily life and doesnot want any change to it and a girl who sacrifices herself to give other wishes .this is a story about clash between rationality and irrationality.IN THE END THIS IS STORY ABOUT PPL WHO ...

Oct 23, 2014

Sorrow

Recommended

Preliminary (31/40 chp)

What a beautiful piece of writing~
Have you ever wondered if there's a divine deity watching us?
Have you ever wanted to escape your repetitive everyday life?
Have you thought for a moment that you could change fate/destiny?

Basic Story Outline: A story revolving around Kazuki Hoshino, a student who lives quite the delightful and repetitive everyday life. However on the 2nd of March, near the end of the class year, a beautiful and mysterious girl named Aya Otonashi is transferred for the 13,118th time in his class and when she introduces herself, she directly targets Hoshino, saying that she’ll break Hoshino. Confusing and pretty bizarre huh?

Utsuro no Hako ... to Zero no Maria is certainly a complex, mysterious, dark, twisted, and surprisingly rather funny story about people's most basic values vs reality of the world. At first look, the story just seems like a mystery with some random murders/deaths here and there and some suspense. But oh my, is it so much more. The viewers are led to follow the characters in masterfully done multiple iterations of the same day and the struggles they have in each one. The grand suspense that's built up through small, detailed developments are brilliant. The feelings of every character: Loss of a "human" way to think even if our senses kick back just to take us back to reality. The mysterious aspect of this show is similar to that of Death Note (and if you haven't read/watched Death Note, then I don't know what you're doing with your life). The symbolic, and most important things in the manga though are the boxes. The wishes are supposedly "wish-granting genies" and depending on how strong your passion for that dream is, it'll come true. Now, this is obviously not just some easy, Aladdin 3-wish childish stuff. The boxes are a symbol of temptation and they are an escape of Kazuki Hoshino's repetitive everyday life.

Absolutely a marvelous story, but it'd be nothing without the magical characters. All the characters are absolutely genius, and no one will leave you annoyed; they'll leave you rather dumbfounded after each thought (especially Aya). The change in the characters throughout the novel is wondrous, especially Kazuki's perception of "life" itself. The art was average, could have used some better art, but nonetheless it was readable, and enjoyable. Honestly, the art needed a more dark premise approach to it... Oh and did I ask you yet...? Do you believe in God?

A fine masterpiece indeed. One of the more genius writings of literature. Definitely a novel that people should check out, if they can process some complex/confusing/deep stuff. Closest similarity to this novel would be Death Note. Check out both, they're both masterpieces.

Jan 30, 2015

falcon12

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

Simply the best thing ever written hands down. Only one complain. It is hard to read and understand at first but you will get use to it half way through. A masterpiece written by a genius. Download it right now and just go READ IT. I have nothing else to say.

Story: 10/10
You will find the best plot twists ever. Its impossible to guess right. You are never correct. In just one sentence everything will twist.

Art: 9/10
Well its a light novel so it only has a few pictures.

Characters: 9/10
The characters are amazing and so smart. I love Otonashi. I don't ...

Aug 6, 2015

Potatonoob

Recommended

Warning! This novel will make most tragedies in other stories seems small when compared to this novel.

Before I read the Volume 7 , I thought the best story was Vampire Juuji Kai. It has a really awful tragedy that is thoroughly logical, and no other stories can compare to that. I have even read it 4 times, because it is that good. I thought no other stories can match to Vampire Juuji Kai. Volume 1-6 of hakomari can't match Vampire Juuji Kai too IMO, even though volume 1 has a really awesome story.

But then, volume 7 came out fully translated 1-2 weeks ago. I ...

Feb 17, 2015

czxcjx

Recommended

Preliminary (6/40 chp)

You could say that Hakomari is a mix between 'chessgame' type fiction like No Game No Life, Kaiji and Akagi, Yasutaka Tsuisui and Dostoyevsky-lite (or Kokoro Connect). The light novel works on two levels, the first being the highly satisfactory intellectual level of how the games and betrayals pile up on top of one another, and the second being the extremely brutally pessimistic worldview of Eiji Mikage. Most characters contain deep psychological traumas derived from the worst part of humanity. The main failure of most other chessgame fiction is the lack of characterization and an overt focus on the games themselves. What made Kaiji great ...

Dec 23, 2014

SerPounce

Recommended

Preliminary (6/40 chp)

I would like to start this review by saying that I'll be covering all 6 volumes of the light novel in this review. While the first volume might be used as the framework and even the basis of the entire novel, the volumes that followed Volume 1 are equally important and I'll try to focus on the series as whole instead of talking about the almost flawless first volume. [If you see me say Hakomari it is another title for Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria. It's just easier to type]

Story - 10/10
Assuming you have read the synopsis of this novel you'd have ... some kind of idea about the setting and atmosphere of the story. I feel that the synopsis really doesn't describe the novel as a whole and even though it focuses on outlining the first volume's plot, it fails to encompass the entire theme and idea behind the novel. Hakomari's first volume flawlessly expands on the synopsis provided to create one of the most intriguing and complex stories that you'll find. You will constantly attempt to solve the mystery yourself and while the story may provide clues to the reader you will often find yourself mistaken in many aspects of this story. The novel does this throughout its entirety and although Volume 2 falls slightly in this regard the rest of the novel is almost perfect. The story is constantly evolving, changing and twsting itself into a seamless expanse of "mind-fuckery" (as I like to call it).

Art - 8/10
I would have liked to leave Art out of the review as I felt it played no part in the novel whatsoever apart from putting a face to my beloved characters. I've given it an 8 simply because it didn't feature prominently in the novel and wasn't an integral part of it. Added to that is the art itself. I liked it but I felt something was off. No idea how to describe it.

Characters - 10/10
Hakomari might seamlessly twist and weave a story that leaves you wondering what's up and what's down but it is the characters presented in the story that manage to steal the spotlight. Throughout its entirety, Hakomari creates some of the most fleshed out and developed characters that you'll ever find. I'll take for example, Kazuki Hoshino, who begins a transformation in the latter half of the 6 volumes that leaves him as a completely different person. Eji Mikage manages to make this transformation seamless as Kazuki slowly but surely transforms into one of the most amazing characters. He's my favourite character for a reason as his transformation uses some of his most defining features and amplifies them due to his obsession with someone. I used Kazuki as an exaple but I can promise that every single character is just as fleshed out and many of them do go through transformations or personal makeovers due to their indivual challenges.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Hakomari is my favourite light novel for a reason. the very first volume takes place in literally one classroom and for most of the volume the setting never changes. Even though the setting doesn't change the story and characters are phenomenal and I was simply drawn in and wasn't let go until I finished all 6 volumes. All 6 volumes are unique, diverse and above all interesting and enjoyable. Hakomari is simply a masterpiece.

Overall - 10/10
I wish more people would recognise the masterpiece that is Hakomari. Today's manga and anime industry is flooded by copy-paste, bland and unoriginal content that uses the same formulas. Hakomari surpasses these constraints and manages to pull off a unique concept flawlessly. If you haven't done so already go pick up Hakomari now and get nice and comfortable because you're about to go on a ride that you'll likely never want to get off of.

Mar 25, 2015

saosurvivor69

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/40 chp)

I'VE ONLY GONE THROUGH THE FIRST VOLUME.

I'm sorry to be 'that guy' but I really don't understand why this is rated so high. This is the first light novel I've read and I did enjoy it but it isn't the best thing ever.

To all who are not sure of reading it, give it a shot. You might enjoy it. The character Aya Otonashi might just be the best thing in this first volume followed by Usui. I didn't really feel much for the main character. He just seemed bland and boring in his choice of dialogue. I also wasn't really sure which side he was ...

Jan 11, 2016

Noneoftheabove

Recommended

Wow. Just Wow.

I usually don't write reviews. But for this novel, I even made this account just for the purpose of making this review. Why ? The reason is simple, it's because this is the best story I have ever read / known in my life.

Let's start with art. Art is not needed in this novel, because the novel is relying on obscuring the facts, especially in volume 1 and 7 , so I rate the art 7/10.

The story , character, and enjoyment from volume 1-6 are really great, The story is really good with plot twist you would not see coming but makes ...

Aug 9, 2015

BattleHammer

Recommended

Ahhhh, how I love stories that go against the flow of the river like a beautiful school of salmon. In a type of media that seems to be swarming with Harem, RPG SAO wannabes and bad attempts at making something different, HakoMari certainly comes as a nice a gem. If you are tired of those types of stories, and want something different, or if you like some nice mystery with romance and some suspense, then this is light novel for you.

However, I believe there is just too much hype over this one. It is good, yes, it is great! But I think there are too ...

Mar 1, 2016

You

Recommended

"Do you have a wish? This is a box that grants any wish."
"Kazuki Hoshino, I'm here to break you."
"We are surrounded by soft, sweet, and pure white despair."

The Empty Box and The Zeroth Maria is a dark story about a flawed wish-granting device that causes trouble for our protagonist Hoshino and Otonashi.

Settings:
The story took place around Ikebukuro, in which a district of Japan. The settings are mostly involving just one tileset at each volume, mostly around the school. But the story are somewhat unique that you will not be bored despite being so.

Plot:
The story begins when a transfer student called Aya Otonashi, that have just ... transferred to a a school and intends to 'break' Kazuki Hoshino, a normal boy in which likes umaibo snacks and heavily attached to his daily life, right after her introduction. She claimed that it's her 13,118th transfer. She then told Kazuki about the existence of box in which could grant any wish, and that they're trapped inside a box and must find and stop the culprit, because some tragic incident happened involving the box, in which every box design was the symbolizations of the 'owners' characteristics, as it's their wish. Because of this, Kazuki's 'daily life' ruined. As the story goes, stress, depression, identity crisis, moral dilemmas, how a seemingly perfect system flawed heavily, and even death occurs. HakoMari managed to give a heavy thrilling, sinister, and surreal athmosphere as you read it. There's also so many other unexpected plot twists too, but I avoid of telling them so that you can enjoy HakoMari at it's fullest.

Art:
Nothing Much to say here, same as other Light Novels, there are only few illustrations about it, it somewhat surreal, and it's good IMO.

Characters:
This is one of the most interesting part of HakoMari IMO. There are many characters here and most of them are well developed, in which a character that takes a main role on a volume may recurring at some next few volume, either be a protagonist or an antagonist. I can also say that all of the characters are well developed, as how their backstories such as tragic pasts, how they deal with the 'box', their involvement on mind games, ulterior motives, how their personality changes as more box involved around their life, and their aftermath. I think almost every characters tend to have spoilery stories so I also avoid to told it more. Such tragedy happened in almost every characters and you may even shocked or shed some tears.

Enjoyment:
Couldn't expect more from this story, it's a brilliance IMO. I glued at this story, even when I was a bit sleepy, HakoMari managed to make me stay awake when I read it. Even the tiniest bit of comedy managed to make me laugh as I read this story. Also, I enjoy this story because of it's not focused just on one characters (I don't really like stories that only develops 1 character) To be honest, I can say that this is the current Magnum Opus story I've read so far. Completely mindblown.

I highly recommend for you guys who are fans of time traveling stories like Madoka Magica or Steins;Gate, and Survival or Mind Games like Death Note or Danganronpa to read this LN. And if these LNs was sold in your local bookstores, I recommend you to just buy it, because it's a bit sad that such a Masterpiece not sells pretty well in Japan, as this story is 'different' than most LNs.

Okay I think that's all for my reviews, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed my review!

May 24, 2019

Tyykko

Mixed Feelings

As, of now, one of the top 5 light novel series on MAL, and as someone whose only read a few light novels, I thought it would be fair to take a dip into this series to get me more into the medium. With countless reviews praising it as genius, and some spouting it as a masterpiece, I thought I would also be rating this a 10 in the end along with the many others. However, as you can see by my score, HakoMaria is by all means not what its all cut out to be.

When I finished this series, because of the ... little light novel exposure I had, I thought it would be best not to treat it as just a light novel and compare to light novels, but as a book series. With this perspective in mind, let me tell why I don't think this is a super great book series.

I think one of the main problems with this story are two things: complexity and characters. To begin, if we strip away all the fluff from the conflicts, if we actually look at the stories without all the dressing, we get some pretty overused clichés and concepts. Now, I am not saying these clichés and concepts are a bad thing, I am just saying there is nothing original about it. The author tries to add these complex tidbits as a way to, in a sense, "distract" the reader from what is going on, but for a person like myself, I already new what was going to happen next. Not only that, he extrapolates those idea and draws them out as long as possible. It gets to the point were the worst arc takes up an entire two novels! I forced myself to get through. In other words, the author tries to add complexity to predictable story plots which in some cases, makes reading such a drag.

And then there is volume 7, something, in comparison to the rest, is actually pretty good. So does having a good ending mean all the rest is good as well? That is up to debate, but I will allow you to make the choice for yourself.

Another problem with this story is the characters, in particular, those stereotypes. You got your pretty stereotypical protagonist, that bossy girl, that pretty girl, that smart girl, that smart evil guy, the cool guy, that quite girl, and then might as well throw in a villain that really doesn't have a reason for doing anything except add to the plot. If this work was a masterpiece, I need more realistic characters please. Now, I am not saying I don't like the characters, I particularly enjoyed Oomine the most, but I just need better character development and something that can really relate me to them, not just some protagonist whose like "oh, I want to maintain my normal life" and that is it. And then, suddenly, he starts doing some mad #### to protect this philosophy. Even though the character's thoughts and psyche are explored, that does not entail realism or relatability.

Overall, do I hate this series? No. I enjoyed reading it, and I enjoyed the entire concept, and I thought it was cool. I don't want to hate upon the series, I do think its good, the ending was great, but in my opinion, this series by no means deserves masterpiece status.

Anyway, I'll leave the rest up to you. Take a dip.