Author: Hasekura Isuna/ Illustrator: Ayakura Juu Read: 19/20 +/-
+The medieval atmosphere. The cities, villages all have unique and memorable environment, food and traditions.
+Lawrence and Holo's relationship. As the two are from different worlds, their value of time flows differently. Lawrence's whole life may be just a blink of an eye in Holo's perspective. As the journey continues, they understand each others wishes, fears, struggles and tries to seek the best ending together.
+Intelligent dialogues. The dialogues are well thought out and extremely enjoyable.
+The economics factor never becomes too difficult to understand.
+The Ending.
The ending is really meaningful and satisfying. I'm so glad the author took a realistic approach than making a miracle happen. Lawrence eventually is going to pass away before Holo that is a fact. However, he built a new home and future for her. The bathhouse is a perfect home for them, as it's close to Yoitsu they can go there when Holo is ready. Also I think the two are going to be really busy taking care of their new born! :D
+The story is really emotional. Most of the cast has darkness within them. Throughout the series they struggle and hope to find the answer their looking for. Some grow slower than others but you can see they're moving forward and facing their fears, which is great character development.
+The character's scenarios are similar to literature stories from time to time. It's like reading a story within a story which is really interesting. I personally love the" Night on the Galactic Railroad" arc and the "Undine" arc.
+Touko is such an amazing character.
The reason why she consumes books is because she cannot taste any normal food(literally) and can only get the feeling of "taste" from eating and savoring stories. After she consumes the stories she gives very descriptive feedback on the stories as if they were real food (ex. She once described a story as seafood salad, with al dent prawns, white squid, fresh octopuses, pepper that has the taste of the sun, fresh celery and cucumbers, served with olive oil and lemon juice sauce). I am impressed with her attitude and imaginations of taste which normal people might not even thought of.
Although Touko always seems to be a jolly and cheerful person she has stuggles and worries towards Konoha's feelings. She is the most charming character I have seen.
+ Konoha and Touko's relationship is done really well.
When Konoha faced pressure towards writing novels and rejecting others, it was Touko who mended his heart. Their after school activities were also really cute. Konoha writes three topic short stories for Touko as snacks everyday even though he decided not to write novels ever again. Touko is always by Konoha side even when he feels depressed or helpless. I also love the parts where Konoha always buys Touko's photos from the photographer's club. Stating because of her flat-chest, nobody's going to buy the pitiful photos and they are going to stay there forever so he decides to buy them out of sympathy, which I find hilarious.
+ Has some of the most high quality short stories I have ever read.
+Gorgeous artwork.
Bungaku Shoujo Episode +/-
+"Episodes" is far more than just fillers. Though they are short stories, we get to explore the cast's true feelings which was not clearly stated in "Bungaku Shoujo", it gave so much character development.
+Konoha and Touko's relationship is seen through different individual's perspective. We get to understand her affections towards Konoha.
+Side characters received a great amount of development. We also get to see their life after the main story.
+"Episodes" is as good as the main story. Even though they are a collection of short stories, I felt just as emotional or even more when reading "Episodes". Bungaku Shoujo fans should definitely read this after the main story. P.S. There are a lot of Konoha and Touko's snack time in "Episodes"!
Author: Uno Bokuto / Illustrator: Sanbasou Read: 12/14 +/-
+Ikuta stands out from most of the the typical, dull male LN protagonists. I am impressed by his determination and the sacrifices he makes. The only male lead that made me go "Wow what a character" while reading.
+An extremely high quality tactical war novel.
+The brutal, desperate war atmosphere is brilliantly created.
+The atmosphere. B.A.D. creates it's dark atmosphere through different human sensations. There were visual, sound, smell, touch and even taste descriptions. This makes B.A.D. stand out from other horror themed LNs.
+Mayuzumi's doesn't give a shit attitude.
Mayuzumi is a believer of fate/destiny, there is always consequences from harming others. One of her quotes that I really like is "By killing someone in their sleep, the consequence is getting killed while you're sleeping." She also accepts the fact she is going to get murdered sooner or later, not because she was born as Azaka but because she is Azaka. She is twisted in her own ways such as she enjoys watching other peoples unfortunates and thinks it's interesting. Although Mayuzumi is cruel, readers could see that she is different from the twisted psychopaths in the series. Also the scenes where she panics after seeing a certain "god" is really cute.
+Detailed Artwork design. Kona designed a huge variety of Gothic Lolita dresses for Mayuzumi. In one of the volumes, Mayuzumi had at least five different dresses.
+Really satisfying character development. The author also puts in an amount of time and effort to develop the side characters.
+Kujou Minato. One of the most charming male LN protagonists I've seen. Not only is his cynical attitude entertaining, some of the unique method he uses to deal with the strangeness just blows my mind.
+ The author perfectly balances traditional Japanese yokais and the scientific modern world setting.
+The variety of stories. It depends on one's taste if you find them enjoyable or not. To me reading Kino' Journey is like unwrapping a present, you never know what you're going to get. There are twisted stories about the ugly side of humans, stories about Kino's past, mysteries with unexpected plot twists, introductions to new characters and so on. Most of them are high in quality. I've read 16 Volumes and there is only one particular story I really dislike.
+Readers become the protagonist of the story. As Kino seldom expresses her opinions towards events or countries she travel to, readers could draw their own conclusions to the open ended stories.
+Prefaces. From Volume 2 onwards the Author has tried so many ways in writing creative prefaces. He tried turning the preface into lyrics, a food menu and even introducing himself as a character into a preface. He even wrote an "easily discovered preface" at the back cover on one of the books, which was actually a trap, there was a second preface hidden really well inside. Joke prefaces has sort of became Kino's journey's tradition, it is also a good interaction with readers.
Categories: Short stories, Varies (includes Mystery, Action, Adventure, Healing and so on), unexpected Prefaces
+The structure of the story is well thought out. By reading Vol.1-6, one may think that Tsukumodo Antique Shop is a collection of short stories with little connection. However when the main plot kicks in, which is Vol.7, it all connects together. Tsukumodo would be incomplete and less satisfying if any of the previous short stories are ignored.
+Saki's personality. Saki, the female lead is a emotionless character. To be honest, I am not a big fan of emotionless female characters. However this is not the case for Saki, her emotionless personality could be explained and it's an essential part of the story.
+Switching of character's perspectives. One of the Authors writing skills is he switches from a characters point of view to another from time to time. This made Tsukumodou an unique experience to other mystery solving light novels. Usually we only get to be in the protagonist's shoes in most LNs. It is refreshing to be in the antagonist point of view when confronting Tokiya who is the main protagonist.
Not to mention, Saki benefited the most from this writing method. There is extremely few light novels that is narrated in the female lead's perspective and Tsukumodou is one of them. As I mentioned Saki has a emotionless personality, this writing skill aided Saki to express her thoughts well and also her feelings towards Tokiya.
+Tokiya and Saki chapters. In each volume, there are four chapters and in Vol.1-5 the author dedicates the fourth chapters just to focus on Tokiya and Saki moments. Although these seem like filler chapters, the author has planted some foreshadowing in them. Not only were the Tokiya and Saki moments fun to read, there were a degree of character development.I love the Tokiya and Saki dating scene in Vol.5. When Tokiya arrived Saki struggled how to greet him, out of nervousness she said "Welcome! (to Tsukumodo)" XD
+Volume 7. Vol. 7 which is the final volume is really high in quality. It has intense battles, unexpected plot twists, deep emotional scenes. Once I started reading I could not put it down before I finished reading. Without Vol.7 Tsukumodo is a great short story series itself, it has memorable characters and cases. However Vol.7 brought Tsukumodo to a whole new level.
Categories: Short stories, Mystery, Antiques with magical powers
Author: Yanagino Kanata/ Illustrator: Rin Kususaga Read: 5/5+
Author: Awamichi Homura/ Illustrator: Fruit Punch Read: 3/3
+/-Mii-kun's unique narrative style. It really depends if you like his narrative style and the references he makes. I enjoyed it a lot, some of his dark humor made me chuckle.
+ The story is worth thinking about after understanding the hidden truths. The author also throws in different elements in the later volumes which makes the story even more enjoyable.
+ Has a group of charming characters. Usodakedo.
- Some of the mysteries isn't that great. Though the main focus is the two's abnormal relationship rather than the mysteries.
Author: Hashimoto Tsumugu/ Illustrator: Yamamoto, Keiji Read: 8/8 What I like:
The realistic nature of the story. The story is about a girl named Rika, who has a serious heart problem and the main protagonist Yuuichi, who tries to enter her world. The series focuses around their daily life in the hospital and how they start to understand each others feelings. There isn't any mind-blowing plot twists or miracles happening that could heal Rika's sickness completely. Looking up at the Half Moon is an ordinary story with extraordinary emotional moments.
Yuuichi's growth.
Yuichi recieves an amount of character development throughout the series. He starts off as an optimistic teenager that never even thinks about his future. Through Natsume sensei's actions, he realizes Rika's life span is very limited and sacrifices must be made to be with her. He finally understands that his true wish is to be by her side, even if it means to give up his own dreams of living in bigger cities such as Tokyo.
Impactful scenes. Although this is a slice-of-life series, there are memorable scenes from time to time. Here are some of my favorites:
The final scene in Vol.4, where Yuuichi shows his determination to stay with Rika, stating he is willing to sacrifice anything to stay by her side and the two saying they will be together forever.
The scene in Vol.6, where Natsume sensei bluntly tells Yuuichi that although the operation is very successful, Rika's life could only last around 5-10 years maximum. He also encourages Yuuichi to be prepared to live in a world without Rika and tells Yuuichi to protect and cherish Rika.
The "wedding" scene in Vol.8.
Lovable cast. Rika and Yuuichi's relationship would not have blossomed if any of the casts were ignored. The cheerful nurse Akiko who introduced the two's encounter and always supporting them, Doctor Natsume who teaches Yuuichi to face reality, Yuuichi's helpful and encouraging friends and even Yoshizou Tada, the perverted old man in the hospital who helped the two create unforgettable memories.
Simple yet lively and vivid character designs.
As a side note, the one-shot Looking up at the Half-Moon~ "Flower Crown" is the epilogue to the whole series, a must read!
+Phantom Books. The concept of knowledge brings destruction to the people who chooses to abuse it is brilliant. In most of the independent short stores, readers becomes the victims of the phantom books and the reason is because they try to take advantage of the forbidden knowledge. It was the knowledge alone that brought destruction instead of overused plots such as " mystical creatures coming out of the book scenario", which is refreshing. Not to mention that an amount of the phantom books used are from Greek or Chinese mythologies, all thanks to the author's research.
+Character's interactions. Huey, the keeper of the key is a polite, well trained gentleman and also sort of a silent protagonist. However when paired with the gluttonous, sharp tongued tsundere Dalian, the fun never ends. Although the stories are not really that dark, their cute interactions provides an amount of relief. Here are my favorite moments:
Dalian holding Huey's hands while crossing a dangerous bridge and comforting him. While the truth is she's afraid of heights herself. (Vol.2)
Dalian puts her hand in Huey's jacket pocket and tries to grab his pistol but accidentally tickles him instead. (Vol.5)
Dalian accidentally got thrown into the ocean. (Vol.6)
Dalian becomes afraid of eating biscuits. (Vol.8)
Aside from the two, Hal and Flamberge also has great moments. Hal is a libricide officer that burns phantom books, he has a strict and serious nature. Because of this, Flamberge always says lewd jokes in front others to embarrass Hal which is hilarious. The two pairs of characters seldom encounters and when they do things get out of hand, which is really entertaining to watch.
-?There isn't a main plot since it's made up of short stories. To me it isn't really a problem as I enjoy them as independent, entertaining short stories.
-The ending(if you could call it that) is too open ended. There are way too many unanswered questions both story and character wise. An addictive series with so much wasted potentials.
Categories: Short stories, Mystery, Phantom books that contains forbidden knowledge, Fried bread with lot's of sugar
Author: Fujiwara Yuu/ Illustrator: kaya8 Read: 6/6 What I like:
[list][*]The concept of "Ren". In Rengoku Hime's world, scientists found a way to extract a new source of energy from the Rengoku, which is a poisonous gas they named "Ren". Temporary objects could be created using "Ren", such as weapons in battles. Also as "Ren" is an energy, it could be used as a fuel to cast spells, the more you pull out from the Rengoku the stronger the spell. However, "Ren" is poisonous and harmful to the human body, one must balance the amount of usage and it's effectiveness. The author put a lot of effort in establishing the rules and tactics of using "Ren" in battles. This made Rengoku Hime stand out from average fighting light novels.
[*]The "special bond" between the two leads Alto and Fog.
Alto, the female lead is a cursed princess whose body is connected to the Rengoku, aka Rengoku Hime. Her body releases "Ren" constantly and uncontrollably which is extremely dangerous to the people around her. She is locked up in a tower's dungeon living her life without sunlight. One day the protagonist named Fog appeared in front of her and became her knight. Not only is he immune to "Ren", he could absorb it as energy. Fog never had a purpose in life so he dedicated himself to Alto. Alto also finally found someone who she could interact and share her feelings with. The two lived for each others sake which is rather touching.
[*]Alto's growth.
Alto was locked up in the dungeon for most of her childhood. She grew kind of twisted and thinks herself as the master of the dungeon. It was Fog who brought Alto out of the dungeon for missions and letting her see the real world. At first, she was similar to a marionette, only executing Fogs orders and sometimes even overdriving because of her connection with the Rengoku. In the end she learned to control her powers and fought back to back with Fog, supporting him closely.
[*]Cursed swords. In the series, there are 18 cursed swords created by Iris, the "mother of cursed swords". These cursed swords all have creative and unique abilities. Not to mention they all have their weaknesses and never overpowered.
+ This LN has everything to offer. Impressive, in-depth world setting, charming, well developed characters with satisfying interactions, enjoyable dialogues, heartwarming moments and some decent action scenes. A brilliant one-shot.
+ The tactical, military aspect is a lot more in-depth and enjoyable than I expected. The desperate, depressing war atmosphere is well created in vol.2. IMO it's as good as the masterpiece tactical war novel- Alderamin on the Sky.
+ Shera's wisdom is well balanced with her insanity.
+ Has a bunch of likable and memorable side characters, even the nameless loyal soldiers.
Yo I noticed you've read all the volumes of Tsukumodou Kotoutten. Was it a translation in your native language or is there a complete english translation?
All Comments (242) Comments
我頭腦比較簡單
3本字典
700幾頁lol,係咪因為佢有好多個結局？
哈哈，你對作者都幾熱情，我通常要睇多幾個同作者作品先會再追佢其他動畫作品。
狼辛聽講好好睇,但睇大網又好似普通,你覺得狼辛有咩吸引地方?
我通常唔會睇輕小，因為唔係好鍾意文字，買返黎通常得過擺字，哈哈
去買遊戲嘅人又去，動漫人，兒童都去，搞到排角川嘅人多到爆。
Cp 就多數係同人野，唔係太大興趣