Amogus: the novel
I did not care much about the anime. It certainly didn’t give me the impression that the original work might be good, so I’ve assumed this would be another case where the reception of the novel is high because almost nobody except those who liked the anime rated it. I’m pleased to find out this is not the case.
Granted, the first volume was somewhat weak. The first volume is also the only part that was adapted into anime, so that solves the mystery of the difference in experience with the anime and the novel – the anime is literally just the weakest part of the original work. Well, let’s get to actually reviewing the thing.
The initial concept of impostor hero is definitely an interesting one. And keep in mind this started releasing in 2011, so it’s not actually some sort of knock-off of le imposter memes. But it is also where my main worries come from – how does one stretch the story of finding odd one out in a group into multiple volumes? Wouldn’t it get stale and boring? How would the story even continue in the event that the false one is found out? Thankfully, already the end of the first volume shows that the author has fortunately thought about these questions too, and has a solution prepared. And it is exactly after the first volume when the story really kick off. So worry not dear reader, it actually keeps getting better.
I won’t spoil the specifics as that would defeat the purpose of reading this in the first place, so you’ll have to be content with vague praises. I’m keeping it vague for your own good, really.
I’ll start off with the villain as that’s my favourite part – the villain in Rokka no Yuusha is great. They are fleshed out, their character is compelling, their background and motivations are fleshed out and very importantly, their plan makes sense. It’s definitely not the usual “I’m bad, so I gotta defeat the designated good guys”. “The plan makes sense” is an understatement. It’s in fact one of the greatest strengths of this novel – how it is gradually being revealed, how thought out and complex it is and how it completely adds up with what we’ve seen yet keeps on surprising with every new reveal.
The protagonist characters – on their own they aren’t that interesting, which is precisely why the writing works with them as a group, and it is through this that the character interactions, the accusations, the motivations, alliances and betrayals shine. You could say that the main protagonist is the situation rather than the characters by themselves. That said, even by themselves they are written distinctly enough for them to feel like a different people with their own quirks, strengths and weaknesses, so that’s good.
Although not being a large part of the work due to this being the novel, the artwork is also nicely done. It’s not the usual style of “slightly more detailed manga art”, but it’s distinct and stylish enough to be able to work even as a standalone painting. Props to the illustrator.
It’s not easy to describe the good points in detail without straight out spoiling most of the plot, so let me just say that each volume ends with intriguing cliff-hanger that really made me want to continue and read the next rather efficiently. Unfortunately, the latest volume is no exception, but there is no next part at the moment as the series is currently on the hiatus. It's also why I'm holding of from rating this higher even though I'm almost inclined to give this 8, as I'm still wary of the possibility of unsatisfactory finale. As a consolation, the latest volume also concluded a large arc, so while more new questions were raised, lot of previously presented mysteries were also solved. So don’t be afraid to start this even if it’s currently unfinished.