Category: So I’m a Spider, So What?

Weeb Reads Monthly July 2021

by macksamson, posted in Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, DanMachi, Executioner and Her Way of Life, Light Novels, So I'm a Spider, So What?

Yen Press just HAS to publish their new light novel volumes at the end of every month, don’t they? This month was particularly bad because several volumes dropped on the day that this would’ve been posted otherwise. Because of that, I had no choice but to post this in the wrong month, making it irrelevant! And guess what: this is probably going to be the case with every single one of these monthly posts forever! Hooray (am I cursed or what?)!

So I’m a Spider, So What?! Volume 12

Light novels and YA novels seem to have something in common, and it’s that you can have a story arc that is—for all intents and purposes—supposed to be action-heavy. And yet, when you actually get to that part, it turns out that there’s next to no action whatsoever. That’s this volume.

It’s at least better than Julius’ volume. However, don’t rejoice in Best Girl White’s return as narrator. You see, her POV is only in the first and last chapter, and the rest are each taken over by a different character. And boy oh boy… I forgot who almost all of them were. The author does include an overly large bio of each person at the start of their chapter, but I still found myself not caring about them (regardless of if I remembered them or not), and it royally killed the pacing. This is the climax of the series, and you waste our time with backstories that don’t contribute anything to the current moment.

Also, it’s not much of a climax since our protagonists are so stupidly powerful. Furthermore, merely remembering what happens in earlier volumes (which the series is now caught up with chronologically) kills any form of, you know, not knowing what’ll happen. It really shows that the weird timeline storytelling was kind of a shallow gimmick.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Combatants Will Be Dispatched! Volume 6

This is a pretty random volume, to be honest. It’s just various shenanigans that don’t seem to have any real connection to each other, from exploring more of the planet to apprehending a weird criminal. As with Konosuba, focus was never meant to be the core source of appeal anyway.

The aforementioned weird criminal, Adelheid, is as bizarro as you can expect. Despite not being one of the high-and-mighty Heroes from the real world, she sure acts like one. In that classic way of subverting “good guy protags”, she causes mayhem and is completely oblivious to the fact that she is doing harm. And, well, that’s about all there is to cover. Shenanigans and over-the-top action are abound as always.

Verdict: 8.5/10

DanMachi Volume 16

It’s been sixteen volumes, and it’s finally time for Syr to have a character arc! It’s been blatantly clear that she had something to do with Freya, given the fact that they both love Bell, and she’s finally going to make her move. In fact, she proposes a bet with Freya to see who can win his heart first at the Harvest Festival. 

Overall, it’s a solid volume. There are a lot of cute interactions between Bell and Syr that have been long overdue. There is also a huge reveal at the end, which is something I saw coming since the beginning of the series yet caught me off guard at the same time. In fact, I’m still not sure of the logistics behind it.

Verdict: 8.5/10

The Executioner and her Way of Life Volume 2

It feels like it’s been forever since the follow-up to the really awesome first volume of this series. I’ve been chomping at the bit to see what Menou plans to do with Akari, as well as what other insanity is going to take place. And, well, it’s not like I save the best volume of the post for last or anything… but I have a feeling that this one’s gonna slap.

The strange duo find themselves in Libelle, which has a nice view of one of the other Four Major Human Errors: Pandemonium. We get a preview of it in the prologue, and it’s more-or-less the setting of Torture Princess scaled down to a small archipelago with a nasty fog covering it. Not a fun place.

Anyway, due to a lack of travel funds (and the author wanting to find an excuse to put out a self-contained conflict given the nature of the light novel medium), Menou has to solve a classic drug trafficking issue. And, well, it’s pretty telegraphed who the culprit is: Manon Libelle, the daughter of the guy in charge of the town. She’s very unrealistically evil for a teenage girl, but that’s just the kind of series Executioner is. 

Also, it looks like we get some context as for Akari’s suspicious behavior at the end of the previous volume. She indeed knows that Menou is trying to kill her, and furthermore, the events of the series as we’re perceiving them aren’t even Akari’s first experience in this world. Time travel also seems to have given her a weird split personality… or something. 

Overall, this is a phenomenal volume, which further cements Executioner as one of my new favorite light novel franchises (for someone who doesn’t particularly like dark stuff, I sure like all the effed up light novels for some reason). To top it off is a crazy climax and some big developments. Next volume when?!

Verdict: 9/10

Conclusion

Boy, this market is so overwhelming. I don’t know how other people can keep up with this stuff when I can barely keep up with the things I’m dead-set on finishing! And now thanks to release timing, I’m probably never going to be able to make these posts in the correct month ever again. Oh well!

Weeb Reads Monthly March and April 2021

by macksamson, posted in Cautious Hero, Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, Eighty-Six, Infinite Dendrogram, Invincible Shovel, Last Round Arthurs, Light Novels, Rascal Does Not Dream, Re:ZERO, So I'm a Spider, So What?, Torture Princess

Man, going on hiatus stinks. I’ve been backed up with so many posts, that I don’t know what to do! As such, this is going to be a massively long Weeb Reads Monthly. Fortunately, I only had one book for April. Nonetheless, you’ll want to grab some popcorn here!

Re:ZERO Volume 15

It was nice being ahead of the anime. At this point, the second season has likely finished the Sanctuary Arc and started a bit of the next arc. Fortunately, us losers who read the light novels at least get to complete the former before we’re left behind. 

So, in this volume, Subaru and Co. have to beat Elsa, the moe-blob beast tamer whose name I keep forgetting, and get Beatrice, the most stubborn waifu ever, to leave the stupid library. Oh, and Emilia has to FINALLY finish the dumb trials! That’s a lot to do, and it’s impressive that it’s all wrapped up here.

The only real flaws are that the fights are awful. They always were, in my opinion, but it sucks that they haven’t gotten better. You really have to like Re:ZERO for the story or you won’t like it at all. The other issue is that Beatrice really is a stubborn little b****, and they waste time by reiterating her tragic backstory over and over again to make us have feels for her. I liked this arc, but man, it overstayed its welcome!

Verdict: 8.9/10

Combatants Will Be Dispatched! Volume 5

In this volume of Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, we finally get to see the Demon Lord. It wouldn’t be an ecchi light novel if said Demon Lord wasn’t a cute girl, and as such, she’s a cute girl. The new character is named Viper, and she’s basically a parody of the overly self-sacrificial sad waifu. Remember kids: committing suicide is bad! Obviously, she’s no Grimm, but to be honest, she’s probably my least favorite character so far. Her martyrdom is kind of annoying, even when compared to the ever-scummy Six and Snow.

Anyway, the main conflict is them having to fight the Sand King. Action was never this author’s strong suit, and the fight in this volume is pretty unceremonious. There is a fun twist towards the end, but other than that, it’s pretty typical Combatants stuff.

Verdict: 8.35/10

Infinite Dendrogram Volume 14

As expected, the entirety of this volume is the fight that ensues at the summit thingamajig. After being withheld from seeing Nemesis’ fourth form, we waste no time seeing it now. It’s another cool and unusual power that further cements Ray as having one of the most interesting fighting styles among self-insert LN protagonists. The first major battle is against the King of Beasts, whom we’ve been building up to for a long time. And to no surprise, the fight does not disappoint. 

If these fights showcase anything, it’s that Ray still has a long way to go. I mean, c’mon, Dendro really is unfair when it comes to the one-of-a-kind, game-breaking boss drops. Nonetheless, the fights are incredible and engaging. 

Most LNs with all fights would be just that, but Dendro isn’t like most LNs. In the aftermath of the summit war (not to be confused with the Summit War in One Piece), we get some crazy new developments. Sadly, we aren’t going to know what happens next for a while, because apparently, something else was happening at the capital of Altar at the same time. Hopefully, it’ll give us some context on what the hell is going on.

Verdict: 9/10

So I’m a Spider, So What?! Volume 11

This series was finally getting good. A swathe of plot revelations have been brought up: our intrepid hero is a creation made by D, out of sheer laziness, and said intrepid hero becomes an intrepid villain. Ooooh, moral quandaries, even though no one else in the series is likeable so it doesn’t really work! Anyway, with this volume, So I’m a Spider, So What?! should finally be banging!

Having hope was my fault. 

Where the spider stands now, Shun’s red-shirted brother Julius is eleven years old. That means this volume is all about him. Look, I’ve seen all kinds of opinions that I disagree with, but this is a rare time where I’ll question your character if you like this volume. People seem to think that any and all character development is good, but I think this is an example of BAD character development. Sure, we learn about this man and his emotional insecurities or whatever, but… who cares?! It’s not just the fact that we know he’ll die; it’s that his existence has no bearing on the story. Good character development is, you know, ANY character in One Piece. This is just filler disguised as something good. If you have a good reason to defend this volume, let me know in the comments.

Verdict: 4/10

Cautious Hero Volume 6

So, the end of the previous volume was a thing. We have an established final boss, for starters. Oh, and Seiya gets sent back to earth, and is not allowed back. However, that last part is not in play for long. You see, the aforementioned final boss, Mersais, makes a big mess of reality. In order to fix it, they need to defeat her. But since the spirit world is out of commission, they need to restore three of the messed up worlds to establish a connection with where Mersais is, the first of which is Gaeabrande. 

Seiya is better than ever, obviously. But without a spirit world, where can he train? Fortunately, he is able to set up shop in the underworld. There, he lives with these twins who vomit blood on a regular basis. Also, everyone in the underworld is horny for deities. Good thing Cersceus comes with them; he can be used as a meat shield.

Overall, this volume is as good as usual. And despite the fact that we’re reusing assets, Seiya still learns new, interesting powers that further vary his fighting style. Also, there’s a sense of nostalgia for going back to these old worlds, even if the realities aren’t real.

Verdict: 9.35/10

Last Round Arthurs Volume 4

In case this series didn’t love Fuyuki enough, this volume is about her too. Or rather, the lack thereof, for she has a run-in with the leader of the Dame du Lac, and her existence is erased from everyone except Rintaro’s memories. The solution ends up being a quest for the Holy Grail, which Arthur himself couldn’t even get.

To put things bluntly, this volume is about as banger as usual. The action is intense, and the chemistry with the characters is just so darn good. The premise of Rintaro battling his “emo inner demons” has been becoming a bit of a running theme, but it looks like that’s FINALLY resolved here. Also, based on how this ends, there’s a good chance that the next volume will be the finale.

Verdict: 9/10

Eighty-Six Volume 7

It took seven volumes… No, not to capture the Merciless Queen, but something much more important: fanservice! We have a scene of them swimming in the mixed bath, which is supposed to be justified by some bigwigs wanting them to get a whiff of normal life after their constant sortieing. It’s about what you’d expect.

Fortunately, it’s not all filler. After some more of the typical reminders that Eighty-Six is actually a social commentary on racism, we finally get to speak with the Merciless Queen. Unfortunately, due to the fact that she has to be the “enigmatic character who withholds information for no reason”, we don’t get legitimate answers until three quarters into the volume.

Of course, the most “important” part is the party at the end. It would’ve been enjoyable, if I liked more than two of the characters. At the very least, we finally get to see resolution with a certain something (i.e. the something that fans are intended to have wanted the most out of Eighty-Six).

Verdict: 7.85/10

Rascal Does Not Dream of Siscon Idol

Ugh, this crap again. I have no idea how I stuck with it for this long, considering I don’t really like it at all. Anyway, Mai switched bodies with her failure idol of a stepsister, Nadoka Toyohama. While Sakuta has to figure out how to fix this, the girls have to get used to life as each other.

Man, this volume… to be blunt, I hated it. Sakuta doesn’t even do anything to figure out the problem; he kind of just goes with the flow. And honestly, this whole thing is a perfectly normal sibling rivalry drama. 

I just don’t get it… I understand the appeal of relatable issues, but I don’t understand why people laud writers who just take those same scenarios and put a supernatural spin on them. It’s the same thing, but with a cosmetic difference, yet it’s widely considered to be different. I’m any case, it’s safe to assume that I’ll be giving up on Rascal Does Not Dream for good.

Verdict: 5/10

The Invincible Shovel Volume 4

In this volume, every orb is collected. All that’s left is to defeat Zeleburg. Unfortunately, since Lithisia evolved into a shovel, the orbs don’t consider her part of the royal bloodline anymore. SO… they’re useless.

Fortunately, they just march into town and fight him with shovel powers. The usual antics ensue, and Catria gets shoveled more than ever, thanks to a shovel resisting device that needs to be recharged by her getting shoveled. We are also introduced to the shapeshifting demon, Elise, disguised as the pre-shovel Lithisia. Catria takes a liking to her, but sadly, Elise inevitably digs her own grave, just like everyone else.

Overall, it’s a great volume. However, the author might have dug themselves into a corner. You see, the volume ends on an insane cliffhanger, and after that is an author’s note saying “What the hell am I going to do with this?”. I have no idea how much longer the story goes on for, but chances are that Invincible Shovel is going to shovelplode on its shoveself.

Verdict: 8.25/10

Torture Princess Volume 6

This has been one of my favorite light novels of all time since release, but apparently, not enough for me to not miss a volume. In fact, it’s been four months. By the time you’re reading this, volume seven will have come out. But for the sake of being able to talk about it without spoiling THIS volume, I have to save that blurb for May. 

Anyway, shit’s hit the fan. Elisabeth and Jeanne were all means to an end, that end being to have God and Diablo bring about the apocalypse. Kaito has to take matters into his own hands, which is actually easier done than said, since he’s gotten so powerful at this point. Because of how things stand, he gets a real chance to wear Elisabeth’s shoes for once. It’s quite engaging, if I do say so myself.

As expected with Torture Princess, this volume is utter bonkers. We don’t just get insane new plot developments, such as the Saint’s backstory; there’s also a ton of battles against truly nightmarish critters. The ending is, well, a mindf***. And according to the author, this was just the first arc. So, I guess it was a blessing in disguise that I only had to wait one month for the start of part two. 

Verdict: 9.85/10

Conclusion

Boy, that was long! Hope you enjoyed this little college thesis. I’ll be back next month with the seventh volume of Torture Princess, and hopefully other good stuff. Oh, and that’s assuming I don’t end up mashing May with the June stuff (which is just as likely).

Weeb Reads Monthly: October and November 2020

by macksamson, posted in Cautious Hero, Eighty-Six, Konosuba, Last Round Arthurs, Light Novels, Okaasan Online, Rascal Does Not Dream, Re:ZERO, So I'm a Spider, So What?

This was about the most stressful installment of Weeb Reads Monthly thus far. At first, I was going to have about six light novels to read, all releasing on October 20th, including High School DxD and In the Land of Leadale. But for some reason that’s probably related to Covid even though they’re digital releases, Yen Press moved a bunch of those to November, leaving me with only Re:ZERO and Konosuba to discuss for October. In any case, I (should have) recovered from the general toxicity of the digital world that I am forced to be a part of in order to manage my blog. So now, I bring you a hellishly long Weeb Reads Monthly.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Volume 14

This volume made me mad at first, but not because of the volume itself. Apparently, the entire anime community of Re:ZERO already knew the content of this volume before season two of the anime was even announced. For some reason, White Fox decided to make an OVA about Emilia’s backstory even though it was technically spoilers for much further down the road. Well, in my defense… I was probably one of the few to experience it the proper way! Anyhoo, enough rambling, because this volume’s lit.

With no beating around the bush, we jump right in to Emilia reliving her own backstory via the Sanctuary Trial (co-starring Echidna as the witty peanut gallery). This does answer a lot of questions, despite the author’s amazing ability to make straightforward developments feel incredibly convoluted, and it’s very cathartic to see. Unfortunately, it raises a lot of new questions because we see some things that don’t exactly make sense, such as the existence of a secret eighth Witch. Furthermore, there’s a new development that makes me hate Garfiel right after I started liking him. He doesn’t turn a 180 for the tenth time, but it’s kind of a withholding information thing that really shows how much the earlier parts of this arc were blatant padding. But overall, I loved this volume, and it looks like we’re finally about to finish up the stupid Sanctuary.

Verdict: 8.65/10

Konosuba Volume 12

This was the first thing I read following my post-Disney depression for this year, and boy, did I need it! If I hadn’t made it apparent already, Konosuba has been one of my favorite light novel series of all time, and volume eleven’s cliffhanger left us with a startling development: Darkness has a daughter! I just HAD to know what was up with this…!

And it turns out that it was all a jape. The new loli, Sylphina Ford Dustiness, is not Darkness’ daughter, but her cousin. So yeah… that’s anticlimactic. But worry not… things get spicy! Konosuba has been teasing the Kazuma and Megumin ship for a while, and this time, they finally try to do something about it. Usually, making one specific ship canon in these settings is like asking for death threats, but Megumin was probably the best call because she is the Best Girl. It’s basic science.

But we can’t have Kazuma settle without hearing from everyone, and by everyone, I mean Darkness. She comes clean about him in a very uncharacteristically emotional scene, and it’s really awkward and weird. It’s cliché, but interesting to see the cast of Konosuba actually showing visible change instead of reusing the same jokes. 

Overall, the volume is kind of all over the place. In just one hundred fifty-odd pages, we go from meeting Darkness’ cousin, to characters opening themselves up emotionally, to a new tax law in Axel, to helping this orphanage (Hang on, weird orphans!). With five volumes left, I have doubts that the author entirely knows what they’re doing. Konosuba seems to be on the brink of becoming a cringe-inducing shipping war, and that would be the worst way to end it. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Verdict: 8.45/10

Rascal Does Not Dream of Logical Witch

When we last left off our intrepid testosterone-factory, we saw Shouko Makinohara, the girl from Sakuta’s past who basically started it all. However, she’s a bit younger than she was then. And for some reason, she becomes a freeloader at his house. From a writing standpoint, I think that her sole purpose here is to cause controversy. Since Shouko is twelve now, and Sakuta is sort of still attracted to her because of his past, her relationship with him is borderline creepy. Furthermore, since he has Mai as his girlfriend, this case fringes on straight-up adultery. Throw his jealous incestuous sister into the mix and you have Western-drama levels of sin in the Asuzagawa residence. I don’t really care about any of this stuff in the context of fiction (since it’s not real), but as a writer, this really supports my initial impression of Rascal Does Not Dream intentionally being as scandalous as possible in a vain attempt to look intellectual.

As curious as fans are likely to be in the case of Shouko, she is put aside for this volume. The real issue is our Hanekawa wannabe, Rio Futaba. Due to quantum entanglement, there are two different versions of Rio at once. It’s up to Sakuta to figure out what the problem is and solve it using his husbando powers! Just like last volume, it’s all symbolic of very simple and relatable human insecurities blah blah blah. And since this is a Rio volume, Shouko’s character arc is a very rushed one-and-done kind of deal that I felt was put there just for the sake of making you cry. If it weren’t for the genuinely charming prose, I would’ve dropped this thing by now. Well, let’s see what happens next time.

Verdict: 7/10

Eighty-Six Volume 6

I love Eighty-Six, but boy, it is not as amazing as it thinks it is. At this point, the series seems to be getting rather formulaic. For the past several volumes, the first halves have been bombarding us with pretentious and ham-fisted semantics about racism and war as if the author was the first person in human history to ever come up with those notions (with a few brief operations to keep us on our toes), while the second halves are full of action and despair, leaving just enough intrigue to make us want to buy the next book. I’ll admit it’s effective, but that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying.

Sadly, this has been the weakest volume in a while. All that stood out to me was some new character development for Shin. Beyond that, we just have Lena and Shin battling their inner demons while we are repeatedly told how tragic the Sirins are. The second half, as expected, is quite intense, but there really isn’t anything else to say about it. Fortunately, the next volume looks like it’s gonna be a big one, given how things stand at the end of this one.

Verdict: 8.15/10

So I’m a Spider, So What? Volume 10

Last time, we were met with the revelation that our girl is not actually Hiro Wakaba, but a fake created by D, the real Hiro Wakaba (or something). Shockingly enough, this changes nothing of the core content, which is actually something that takes a lot of talent. In fact, she doesn’t even recap the twist at the beginning of the volume, which really shows how inconsequential it is. 

The premise of this volume is some kind of rebellion or something (I don’t know anymore). Over a hundred pages are just White giving us exposition dumps on different mechanics of the world, which don’t matter because the protagonists are so damn powerful they can pretty much end anyone in an instant. Things get interesting in the second half since we FINALLY start converging with characters from Shun’s chapters (remember those good ol’ days?), but it only shows Ms. Oka at this juncture.

Overall, I’m at the end of my rope with this series. It has so many good ideas, but it’s been stuffed with padding and information dumps since the beginning. I also don’t really care about the moral ambiguity aspect, since I only ever sympathized with White. I’m still going to give it a chance, because the end of the volume seems to set up for the endgame, which promises to be nonstop butt-whooping. Fingers crossed!

Verdict: 7/10

Last Round Arthurs Volume 3

Well, here’s another volume of this underrated series. It opens up with a startling development: Rintaro is confronted by his Id, who’s all angsty and stuff and disables his Fomorian Transformation. Unfortunately, this feels like it was done for some unnecessary pot-stirring, because the gang is immediately attacked by two new Kings. One of them is really annoying and not even worth discussing. The other is named Reika Tsukuyomi, and she’s an interesting case who actually gives us more insight on King Arthur himself.

One major concern I have is the new direction for Fuyuki. Early on in the volume, she’s revealed to be a former Dame du Lac person, and is incidentally the one who screwed over Rintaro during the time of King Arthur. However, he doesn’t remember that she’s the person who did it, which makes for a really aggravating case of dramatic irony. Other than that, the action is still as pulse-pounding as ever, even if it’s stuffed with clichés. The climax is insane and stupid and I love it.

Verdict: 8.85/10

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? Volume 7

Sometimes, you need a vacation, and that’s the premise of this volume. After participating in some gimmicky contest, Mamako wins the party a trip to a fancy resort. However, shenanigans ensue and they end up crashing into a deserted island. While it would be a vacation in its own right, well… Amante and Sorella are there too, of course.

The usual antics abound in this volume, but we also introduce a third Heavenly King: Fratello. He pretends to be a good guy for a while (even speaking with a bit of Southern drawl), and takes advantage of Masato’s issues. But between him and his coworkers, he’s my least favorite of the three. Beyond that, we get some great character development for Masato, and a sneak preview of the Fourth Heavenly King, who happens to be the Libere Rebellion’s leader. I’m not sure if I properly understand who the person is, but if I do… OH GOD.

Verdict: 9/10

Cautious Hero Volume 5

In this volume, Seiya now has to deal with the Death Emperor and his army of ghosts. In order to damage them, he gets spiritual training. It goes the way you would expect. But I’m sure you saw my thumbnail with the cover art just now, and are immediately curious as to why there are two Seiya on it. Well, that’s simple. They encounter an alternate reality version of Seiya, you know, like you do. The interactions between the two Seiyas are amazing, but despite being the front cover, they take up a disappointingly short percentage of the book.

This volume also concludes the Ixphoria Arc, which is cool. The final battle against Ultimeaus is excellent, but there’s a development during it that feels like shock value, as it doesn’t affect the story moving forward. Other than that, we get to see just how much Seiya bottles up under his abrasive surface (kind of makes him sound edgy, doesn’t it?), which will probably not be enough to curb the vocal critics’ opinions. Oh, and the volume lays the groundwork for the next arc, which leaves me wanting more very badly. 

Verdict: 9.35/10

Conclusion

Well, that took a while. Overall, there were some good volumes these past two months (at least as far as ongoing series are concerned). I still wanted to cover The Eminence in Shadow and May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace, but I ended up not meeting my budget for them. Hopefully, I’ll get to them next month, because a lot of the next volumes I plan to cover come out at the tail end of the year. Hooray!

Weeb Reads Monthly – September 2020

by macksamson, posted in Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, Deathbound Duke's Daughter, Invincible Shovel, Light Novels, So I'm a Spider, So What?, Torture Princess

I definitely like this new monthly format for light novels. In fact, I’m going to keep at it for… er… ever. Since I’m doing this right out of the gate, there should be a lot more books to discuss in this post. So, bear with me as we tear through the month’s newest releases!

So I’m a Spider, So What? Volume 9

I discussed this series a long time ago, in a post where I compared it to Overlord and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Since then… it’s been the only one of the three I haven’t dropped completely. The series has kind of been in a slump for me lately; after the twist in volume 5, we finally know what’s going on, but after that it’s been a bit of a trudge to get to the good stuff. Looking at the table contents, one chapter towards the end stands out like a sore thumb. Maybe this is when it gets its act back together?

Sadly, the first half of the volume is not particularly exciting. They FINALLY reach the demon realm, and they just cozy up in Ariel’s house. In fact, the interludes seem to have more plot relevance than the main story, such as some side chapters featuring Mr. Ogre-boy from the last volume.

Other than that, Spider is kind of hit-or-miss as always. The volume’s climax is a battle against Ogre-boy, but it’s marred by exposition, and I—to be honest—never really understood what his point in the story is. Anyways, like I mentioned earlier, one chapter stands out, and there is definitely a revelation. Buuuuuut, when we get the whole story, it’s kind of stupid (our girl even reacts as such). And as things stand at the end of the volume, it seems like the next one is going to be back to our regularly scheduled mundanity. I will not be counting these eggs before they hatch!

Verdict: 7.5/10

The Invincible Shovel Volume 3

Alright, it’s time for some more Invincible Shovel! This is about the point where the series ends up becoming repetitive. But if there’s one thing that’s interesting, it’s Catria of all people. She has fought tooth and nail to not fall victim to Lithisia, who has basically evolved into a half-human, half-shovel entity. Her sword has literally become a shovel. But in this volume, Catria starts to do shovel techniques, while still trying to deny that she’s getting shoveled.

Another interesting thing to note is that Invincible Shovel seems to be setting itself up for the endgame. MyAnimeList still says it’s publishing, but it could be wrong. I have a theory as to what a future arc could be, but we’ll have to wait for that point to find out. Otherwise, it’s the same shoveltastic comedy it always is!

Verdict: 8/10

Deathbound Duke’s Daughter: Erika Aurelia and the Angel’s Crypt

I gave the previous Deathbound Duke’s Daughter volume a lackluster score, but I had some semblance of hope for the future of the series. It had a very whimsical world, even if the characters were just about as plastic as any slice-of-life fantasy.

In this volume, Erika goes to Ignitia where she meets the city’s charming prince, August. The really long first chapter is basically to introduce us to the city and the fact that there’s this titular Angel’s Crypt. Erika knows that she is to be murdered by this beast in said Crypt, which August thinks can grant his wish to be better at dragon riding.

Overall, I felt like this volume was slightly better than the previous one. Once it picked up, things got pretty fast-paced and adventurous. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s good enough. August is a typical “bastard child trope”, and felt so manufactured to me; he has absolutely zero hesitation in selling his soul to a demon in order to get his wish. Also, they try to hide who the villain is even though the color pages straight-up tell you who it is (but it’s still predictable regardless). 

Verdict: 7.55/10

Combatants Will Be Dispatched! Volume 4

I’ve been loving Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, but the biggest issue with it has been trying to write a substantial review of the newest volumes. Fortunately, with this new format, I can put in a short blurb and it’ll be fine! Let’s see what Six’s latest adventure has in store for us.

This volume serves one purpose, and that’s to properly introduce a new waifu: Lilith. If you recall, she’s one of Six’s superiors; the mad scientist of Kisaragi. Sadly, she’s my least favorite protagonist so far. There’s nothing wrong with her, but she just falls short of Best Girl Alice and Besterest Girl Grimm. A lot of her lines are just her having straight-man reactions to how ridiculous the fantasy world is and not much else.

Overall, this is sort of a slice-of-life volume (as slice-of-life as Combatants can get). It’s funny, and there’s some good character interactions, but nothing much actually happens. The climax makes you think that they’re finally going to make a move on the Demon Lord, but it ends up getting put off. Maybe they’ll follow up next volume?

Verdict: 8.35/10

Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen Volume 5

This has been one of my favorite isekai of all time. I won’t defend anyone who says it’s edgy, superficial, and trashy, but it has such chutzpah that I love it. The previous volume had the least amount of gore, yet it raised the bar for the story moving forward. Since I made sure this was the final volume we cover today, I saved the best for last! 

Volume five is even more of a departure from the over-the-top gore, and caffeine-fueled villains than volume four. Right away, Jeanne establishes a new goal: kill the Saint so that Diablos can never awaken. But since we have no idea where she is, the only choice is to ask the Saint’s BFF: the Butcher. Of course, it can’t be that easy; in fact, it takes most of the volume to reach the booger.

Just from reading the volume, I can easily assume that this is the point where people would really start hating on Torture Princess. I’m still loving this story, but the way things play out in this current arc really smells like milking the series (which is odd because I don’t think Torture Princess is that popular in Japan). It’s still relatively straightforward for now, but there’s no telling what it’s going to be like in the future. Furthermore, there’s a big scene at the end that will likely come off as contrived and/or predictable (which, let’s be honest, we critics only use those words when we’ve genuinely fallen for a plot twist and we want to write an excuse for it). But as far as this volume’s concerned, Torture Princess maintains its same sense of quality… for what it’s worth to you.

Verdict: 9.15/10

Conclusion

“There should be a lot more books to discuss in this post,” he says… yet he only discusses one more book than the last time. Well, that’s definitely going to change next month, especially if I can go to Disney this year (in which case I’d have to do a mega post for October and November). Anyway, good books this time around. Leave a comment for some feedback!

Overlord VS TenSura VS So I’m a Spider, So What?

by macksamson, posted in Light Novels, Overlord, So I'm a Spider, So What?, TenSura
Cover of each book's first volume

Prior to starting this blog, I had already written three separate reviews for Overlord, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and So I’m a Spider, So What?, all of which are published in English by Yen Press. However, I realized that my feelings regarding all three of these are very similar. So, in this unusual blog entry, I’m going to review all three of them… simultaneously. For reference, I have read the following volumes at this point; 10 for Overlord, 6 for TenSura, and 6 for Spider.

All three try to subvert modern isekai conventions, and whether or not they succeed changes depending on who you talk to. The main characters of each are transported to the series’ respective worlds in unusual forms: Overlord‘s Momonga in the form of his lich-like avatar from a dead MMO, TenSura’s salaryman who gets named Rimuru upon his reincarnation as a slime, and Spider‘s unnamed main protagonist in the form of a spider. All three end up revolving around these characters exploring their worlds and becoming stronger over time. 

On paper, they have their own satisfying, JRPG-like progression system, where you feel genuinely cathartic once they have entire nations at their whim. But in practice, it doesn’t work out so well. In Overlord, Momonga- a.k.a. Ainz’s- avatar is already at maximum power, and all the custom monsters that his minions created are already devoted to him with every fiber of their being. The problem is that the author tries to have Ainz in a struggle of ideals, where he doesn’t want to kill anyone, but also doesn’t want to disappoint his minions. The latter is a moot point (because his minions already love him no matter what), and the former is kind of toggled on and off like a switch. As often as he tries to be “diplomatic” to gain new allies, he mostly ends up just brute forcing it and killing people violently and theatrically in spite of himself.

TenSura is similar, but more light-hearted. Rimuru at least has more interesting powers in that he absorbs creatures and learns their abilities, but when he gains the ability to assume a human shape, he uses it all the time and defeats the purpose of the Slime gimmick. In the end, though, the light-hearted nature of TenSura backfires. Rimuru is written as an utter saint and is never questioned when he murders in cold blood; at least Overlord TRIED to have an existential crisis, as moot as it was given its context.

So I’m a Spider, So What? had the best potential. The main character is reincarnated in a dungeon filled with powerful enemies that could kill her in one hit. As a result, she has to use clever strategies and status attacks to chip away at big enemies’ HP and kill them very unceremoniously. By the time the second arc starts, she conforms to the OP protagonist trope, but it feels like she earned it.

My ultimate complaint with all three of these series is their characters. Ainz is likable when he’s a super badass, but that’s very rare. As cool-looking as his minions are, Shalltear is the only one whose company I enjoy. The rest of the characters in Overlord are villagers and warriors who end up on the receiving end of Ainz’s boot. They exist to have you sympathize with them in order to push the moral ambiguity angle, but the characters themselves are incredibly unremarkable. 

TenSura isn’t much better. The only character I liked is Milim, a character that shows up in volume 3, but- of course- tends to spend a lot of time offscreen, at least up to where I left off at volume 6. Everyone else is just as boring as Overlord, sometimes even more so.

Out of the characters in Spider, the titular protagonist is by far the best. Despite how her chapters are written in monologues, she has a sassy personality that makes Spider a joy to read. However… notice how I said “her chapters.” The story alternates between her and her classmates, who also got reincarnated. In particular, the human chapters focus on Shun, whose new name is Schlain. Schlain is a straight-up human, which defeats the subversiveness of the spider gimmick. He’s at least not overpowered, but that ends up turning him into a whiny YA protagonist who basically has to passively do what his reincarnated class teacher says. The others are almost worse. A male classmate (forgot his name) gets reincarnated as Katia, a girl, which seems like a ham-fisted attempt to comment on gender identity without actually commenting on gender identity (sort of like in Levithan’s Every Day, my second least favorite novel of all time). Hugo is one of the first major antagonists, and basically a clone of Seifer from Final Fantasy VIII. The biggest problem with these characters is that they are introduced poorly. The prologue immediately starts with the class getting blown up and reincarnated, thus you do not get to see any of what they were like prior. As a result, the story expects you to feel the emotions of Schlain as he sees his classmates’ new forms without ever seeing their original forms. If you have that level of sympathy, cool. I don’t.

The writing styles of these light novels are vastly different from each other. Overlord has a very poetic D&D quality to its writing. However, it only gets good when SOMETHING ACTUALLY HAPPENS. A lot of it is other kingdoms discussing various politics that you know mean nothing because Ainz is just gonna smash everything, and it bothers me so much. On the flipside, it makes the few good sequences feel cathartic. TenSura, however, is the most boring. Action scenes could be good, but go by quickly and unceremoniously, which sucks because the author is actually pretty good at building up to major fights, and it all goes to waste. I don’t need tension, especially not for isekai, but novels like Cautious Hero are able to be enjoyable despite having no tension thanks to straight-up great writing. Spider is polarizing to read, because it feels like it’s by two different writers. As previously discussed, the spider’s chapters are great, and Schlain’s are tedious beyond all reason. Most notably, Spider‘s plot is structured to where the spider’s events happen decades before Schlain’s, but it doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose. In fact, the structure almost backfires; we get what I presume to be a preview of the climax of the entire series at the end of volume 5, which makes everything in the subsequent volumes feel like padding since we all know how it’s going to unfold in the first place. Well… it’ll only be a problem if this thing publishes into the double digits.

Lastly, let’s compare the art. The illustrations for all three books are incredible, in their own unique ways. Personally, I think the illustrations of Overlord take the cake, though, as they are gloriously detailed and look almost hand-painted. Spider’s is a more vibrant take on Overlord’s, and TenSura’s is super charming and cartoony.

~~~~~

Verdict: Overlord 7.65/10, TenSura 6.5/10, Spider 8/10

These three light novels have taken the community by storm over the years, and I personally don’t understand why. While I think So I’m a Spider, So What? is by far the best of them, it has its own glaring issues. Overlord and TenSura could’ve been really good, but their authors just seem to be at a crossroads with committing to the best ideas they had for them. I don’t think they’re the worst, but I think they are easily outclassed by other isekais that I’d recommend, like Cautious Hero, Torture Princess, and Otherside Picnic. If you enjoy power fantasies in general, then there wouldn’t be any harm in giving them a try.