• I2jgwh0hYtxrCZQ@lemmy.sdf.orgMEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    <Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody> - Volume 24

    Not the best volume but I still enjoyed it. It feels like it wraps up the Arcatia arc. But with the cliffhanger of the appearance of some people and the paragraphs of exposition from others POV who knows.

  • NineSwords@ani.socialMEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    <Take These Talents Elsewhere: A Delightful Demotion to the Countryside> Volume 1 - See this post.

    <The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage: Building a Mighty Empire With Monsters Within the Monsters’ Forest> Volume 02 - some higher powers start to stir shit up and MC’s monster village of Beresdral is attacked by a human army. The volume isn’t bad, but there is some strange pacing. Some leading-up fights are unnecessarily lengthy and detailed, while more “boss” type of fights where you would expect a bit more hype and tension are quickly done and over with.

    <Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody> Vol. 24 - Terrible volume. Just a single mention of Karion and Urion in a byline. Makes the volume barely worth the ink. Also, I guess Hiro Ainana is losing his patience with people calling it a harem because in this volume he isspelling it out twice and very clearly that Satou is not interested in anyone other than Aaze. I mean it was always that way but it hadn’t been spelled out that clearly if memory serves.

  • Mercuri@ani.socialEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    <So I’m a Spider, So What> Volumes 9 - 14. Okay, let me just say that Volume 11 sucked. I mean, not the worst thing I’ve ever read but I really didn’t enjoy it. The ENTIRE book is from the perspective of side characters. Sure, we get some insight into the happenings going on with these characters but we already know what’s going to happen to them so it reads like filler. I will say that there is one piece of information that ends up being quite telling after we get some new information in Volume 12 but damn, I feel like I could’ve skipped that whole volume and been totally fine.

    Worse, the bits of actually GOOD story from Sophia’s perspective were only a page or two in length. I would have LOVED to see more of Sophia’s story. Sure, we get a basic summary of what happened in later volumes but having that in Volume 11 would’ve made it much easier to get through.

    Alright, anyway, where was I?

    Right, even though Volume 11 sucked the rest of the books were like OMFG THIS IS AMAZING! Like, I already had one twist spoiled for me from looking at the fan wiki but it was like, the smallest twist. And the reveals JUST KEPT COMING! Alright, there’s like way too many spoilers so I’m going to reference everything in this spoiler tag and then later on I’ll be like [Spoiler 1] and you’ll know what I’m talking about if you look at the spoiler, okay? okay.

    Numbered Spoilers

    1. Timeskip

    2. Kumoko’s Deification

    3. Kumoko being a spider that was in the classroom / D being the real Hiiro Wakaba

    4. Hyrince being a clone of Guli-Guli

    5. White being the mastermind behind all the happenings to Shun… mostly

    Oh, and it seems I was totally correct about the story continuing from before [Spoiler 1] until it meets back up after [Spoiler 1].

    I knew from the wiki that [Spoiler 2] happens but I seriously thought that would be something that happens more towards the end of the series, not in Volume 10! Then again I thought the form we see her in at the end of the anime / Volume 5 was an evolution past Arachne. Speaking of Arachne, drunk White is best White.

    [Spoiler 3] was also spoiled for me from the wiki, but I still LOVED seeing it unfold in the LN. How cool is it that you can still be going “OMFG!” at a reveal that’s already been spoiled for you? TOO COOL! And it really gives such strong meaning for why White is helping Oka and the other reincarnations.

    Spoiler about Oka's skill as it relates to White

    Also, I originally thought the reason Oka thought Wakaba was dead was because Wakaba was D and D wasn’t a reincarnation. But no, it’s because White became a God and therefore was booted from the System. Since Oka’s skill only works within the System it couldn’t see White any more and removed it from the [Student Roster] which made Oka think Wakaba was dead. We also learn in Volume 14 or so that the [n% I = W] skill puts the souls into the normal cycle of reincarnation rather than keep them trapped on the planet like the natives. So really when [Student Roster] shows a blank spot it’s because the soul isn’t part of the System any more. But Oka falsely thought that blank spots meant the reincarnation had died, which is only one method that a soul would not be part of the System.

    Yeah, I really didn’t like Volume 11, but when I found out about [Spoiler 4], that was completely new information to me. I kind of wish I had known about [Spoiler 4] before reading Volume 11 because then I might have been able to read more into it. As it stands I basically just powered through to get back to White’s story.

    Speaking of White’s story, it was so cool to some things that happened in Volume 5 from a different perspective!

    Spoilers talking about later volumes' handling of [Spoiler 1] and [Spoiler 5]

    Back in Volumes 1-5, the Shun chapters were the only ones happening in the future. Now that White’s caught up to that timeline we got to see those events from her perspective.

    I think my favorite thing was when we saw the Nightmare Vestiges talk to Shun. They were all cryptic and mysterious and made you really wonder what secrets would be revealed later. But when we see it from White’s perspective, they were all like, “We did the thing!” because they were purposely being all dramatic for laughs.

    Likewise, when Ronandt (who somehow looks like Gandalf in my mind despite there being art and anime depictions of him) fights Shun from the roof of the castle in Analeit, it initially seems like he was there as part of some master plan. But when we see those same events unfold from White’s perspective she’s like “what is he doing here?!” And even though Ronandt can tell that something weird is happening in the castle he just dismisses it like, “Eh, I’m sure it’s fine” much to White’s exasperation.

    Finally we see that Sophia always cryptically refers to White as “Master” because it’s a curse placed on her by White as punishment for her unruly behavior. In Volumes 1-5 and in the anime it’s always a really big mystery who Sophia’s master could be and while we have some suspicions, it’s not revealed until the final moments. I just like that there’s a legitimate reason for it and not just that the author was trying to be mysterious.

    That doesn’t mean the author isn’t mysterious though. In Volume 3 there’s a chapter called “???” or something which is an exchange between two unknown characters. In Volume 12 or 13 it’s revealed that those characters were White and Hyrince when they more-or-less have the exact same conversation. It might just be an addition that was made when the web novel was made into a LN but it’s still really cool to see inserts like that when they come full circle.

    It’s so great that all these events we see have explanations behind them but they’re NOTHING like what we would normally expect! And the backstories are amazing too. It’s also great to see how White and Ariel went from enemies to friends. When Ariel wraps White up in a blanket of thread and tells her to get some sleep because she looked tired, my heart melted.

    Volume 14 spoilers

    My favorite thing about Volume 14 is we can see the events that lead to the creation of the system and the origin of Dustin, Potimas, and Ariel. We also get to finally see Sariel before she became part of the System and Guli-Guli before he became an administrator. I had always wondered why Guli-Guli was the only true dragon left on the planet and we get a thorough explanation. We also see how Potimas is an even bigger dirtbag than we were led to believe. And of course, White gets to do White things and be awesome.

    Oh, and Potimas getting absolutely WRECKED and then reduced to such a pathetic state was the cherry on top.

    What I find crazy is that there’s still two more books and we’ve already hit a major event at the end of Volume 14. It really has me excited for what happens next as I have NO idea what to expect! Right now the biggest question I have is how Ariel became a Divine Beast. Based on the backstory given to us in Volume 14 it seems my original assumption can’t possible be true.

    Ariel Backstory Spoilers

    I had originally assumed that Ariel was a spider monster that evolved into a human form. This is also how I originally thought Kumoko was going to get her human form. But it turns out Ariel was always humanoid. And the reason her body is tiny like that of a child is because she was sickly. And we know that Sariel became part of the System. So where did the idea that the Goddess had a pet spider divine beast come from in the Kingdom of Sariella’s religion? Maybe it had something to do with the origin of the Kingdom of Sariella, which shares the name with the Sariella foundation. Regardless, I’m curious if it’ll ever be explained!

    Whew… well, that’s a lot of text and rambling. I think I’ll stop it here for now and get back to reading.

    On a side note, anyone have any recommendations for what to read next? I’m thinking either Slime Iseaki, Average Abilities Isekai, or Overlord Isekai but feel free to recommend whatever.

    • I2jgwh0hYtxrCZQ@lemmy.sdf.orgMEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      Okay, let me just say that Volume 11 sucked.

      What volume 11? There is no volume 11. It never existed.

      It’s also great to see how White and Ariel went from enemies to friends. When Ariel wraps White up in a blanket of thread and tells her to get some sleep because she looked tired, my heart melted.

      White and Ariel are great together.

      On a side note, anyone have any recommendations for what to read next? I’m thinking either Slime Iseaki, Average Abilities Isekai, or Overlord Isekai but feel free to recommend whatever.

      If you want another wild mc, Mile from Average Abilities is your girl.

      If you want something slower and fluffy there’s Making Magic and Death March.

      Side note, I am going to have to reread spider now. I miss White, Ariel, Sofia, puppet spider sisters and even D.

      • Mercuri@ani.socialEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        What volume 11? There is no volume 11. It never existed.

        lol. You’re right.

        White and Ariel are great together.

        Really some of the best moments. I could gush forever on those two.

        If you want another wild mc, Mile from Average Abilities is your girl.

        I think I remember you recommending it in a Midweek question a month or so back so that’s why it’s on my radar. I even enjoyed the low-production quality anime because of Mile’s wacky antics.

        I miss White, Ariel, Sofia, puppet spider sisters and even D.

        White turning the puppet spiders into actual characters was NOT something I saw coming. Ronandt has also grown on me a lot so when Ronandt and the puppet spiders get into it that was great.

    • NineSwords@ani.socialMEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      Volume 11 sucked. I mean, not the worst thing I’ve ever read but I really didn’t enjoy it. The ENTIRE book is from the perspective of side characters.

      That’s the one where I dropped it. I always hated the chapters from the human’s POVs.

      • Mercuri@ani.socialEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        I always hated the chapters from the human’s POVs.

        I remember when the anime was coming out the comments were always like “Noooo… an episode that’s just the human POVs!” Feels the same way. I mean, it does really help flesh out the world when we see different perspectives but urg, volume 11 was bad. It just made me hate Julius as a character, which I think is the opposite of its intended effect.

    • Myne@ani.socialOPBEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      Hello Bookworm! I looked it up, and the Library in Alexandria — which just so happens to be the greatest in all of Yurgenschmidt, nay… even the entire world — has the following entries:

      So I’m a Spider, So What? by Yen Press: 📖 Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; 🖥️ Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; 🎧 Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16