<Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life!> Volumes 7 - 10. Kinda surprised that there are so many volumes about a perfectly ordinary, normal, average girl.
Who am I kidding. Mile is a ditz gremlin. And everyone around her just rolls with it. Right now the scenes that stick out the most in my mind are with Faleel.
Faleel Shenanigans
When Mile walks into that in and sees the catgirl and is immediately like “WE HAVE TO STAY HERE! ACTUALLY, LETS LIVE HERE FOREVER!” Hilarious. Especially when she’s trying to treat the catgirl like an actual cat with catnip and cat toys and the father is like “She’s not a cat!” but it’s implied that he tried to use cat toys on her too.
And I LOVED how when they were finally leaving the in, FIVE voices called out… because Mile and Reina were trying to leave with Faleel.
And now every time they check into a new inn and there’s no catgirl Mile is bummed. That’s SOOO like Mile. A++
I will say that FUNA’s writing structure is a bit unique. Like, you’ll be in the middle of one plot arc and then a “Side Story” chapter will come up. Usually when that happens, the side story is something that happens around the same time as the main arc but isn’t relevant to the main arc. Like maybe in the main arc they’re trying to cross an ocean on a boat, but the side story will be about them going to the beach while they’re there. That sorta thing.
It feels like FUNA just goes “I had an idea for a side story so I’m just going to SLAM it right here in the middle of the book whether it belongs there or not.” I mean, other authors usually put all their side stories that don’t cleanly fit anywhere at the end of the book. FUNA does that too, but not always. It can be a little jarring because it’s like “oh, we’re in this country? Oh… now we’re back in Tils? AAAANNNDD… back in the first country.”
And some of the side stories are really, REALLY wacky and out there. You read them and you’re almost like “wait, that’s not canon, is it?” That’s just FUNA for you. I remember in Potion Isekai how the MC abused the “the potion bottle can be anything I want” clause of her powers to make absolutely ridiculous potion bottles that were swords or horse-drawn carriages. So, basically it’s like “yup, that’s FUNA.”
Back to the plot of Average Abilities
I like how there are now hints that maybe Mile’s super abilities were on purpose and not a cosmic misunderstanding. Like, if the world she was reincarnated in was REALLY abandoned by the Gods, why send Mile there at all? Surely there were better options available.
We also see that Mabel, Adele’s mother, was also airheaded and wild just like Mile. It makes you wonder if maybe Mile’s that way because she inherited it from her isekai mother or because Misato was also that way and the God’s just picked a suitable mother. It’s implied that Mile’s personality is a mashup of Adele and Misato so I’m leaning towards the former explanation but it’s probably a blend of both.
Also, Mile assumed she was pretty because her face was an “average” of everyone’s face and therefore a “universal beauty.” However, she looks EXACTLY like Mabel so that can’t possibly be the case. And when you think about it, she has white hair too which isn’t an average of anything. This ties back to the idea that she wasn’t truly “average” on purpose. The god purposely took “average” to the limit for plausible deniability.
And we keep things being slightly and subtly wrong. First the Elder Dragons looking for the ancient civilization. Then the Scavengers operating a mostly broken and abandoned ancient facility. The cultists trying to summon “Gods” from another world. And then the orcs and ogres from another world.
And FINALLY the Nanos are becoming their own character, but it’s still nothing like the anime.
Interestingly, I am still not tired on the ongoing gag of “there’s a bunch of young rookie adventurers. They’re probably weak. OMG NOPE!” so YUNA is definitely doing something right.
So, basically it’s like “yup, that’s FUNA.”
That’s the most FUNA thing to say.
But joking aside, he got his style and runs with it regardless of series. If you like it you can literally pick up any other of his series and feel right at home.
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:
Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! by Seven Seas Entertainment: 📖 Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20; 🖥️ Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
<In Another World with Household Spells> Volume 3 - There are 3-4 shotacon references in the volume (like when describing a classmate, she says that he’s too old for her taste, etc.). If they were to remove those completely unnecessary parts, it would be an okay series. They don’t add anything to the plot at all. All they do is make MC unlikable. I am still unsure whether this is a problem with the translation or not. In the west the term “shotacon” has a clear sexual connotation, but I don’t get that from MC here at all in the context. I think using the shotacon term in the translation might be an error since there is a different meaning over here. To put it differently, the use of the term makes you expect Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, but the prose and actions of the MC give you Takanashi from Working!. As I said, it’s kinda unnecessary and sticks out negatively in an otherwise good series.
<Cooking with Wild Game> Volume 31 - End of the Observers Arc. I didn’t like this arc much, but I’m looking forward to the next arc since EDA is hyping it up in the Afterword. As a sidenote, I wish the illustrator would get his shit together again. Illustrations have become so rough and off-model. Look at this volume’s cover
Cover Vol 31
and then compare it to volume 3, for example
Cover Volume 3
(same peopleon the cover). Usually, the illustrations get better with time, but I consider this a step back. This is my favorite still-running series, so I wish the illustrations would get more care.
<Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World> Volume 12 - I don’t have much to say about this volume. List the last couple of volumes, it’s kind of boring. Feels like the series is treading water and the author is just trying to get something onto the page to fill the page requirements for a volume. Go into the dungeon with a different party. Then go into the same dungeon solo. Then go into the same dungeon again with MC’s own party. Then start discussing marriage with the in-laws. Then discuss the marriage with the royals. Then discuss the marriage with Mc’s grandparent. Then discuss the marriage with your close friends. Then discuss the marriage with another group of friends. Then, announce the marriage officially at a gala. Then discuss the marriage with the group of girls they had kept it secret from. And so on and so on. It’s boring to read the same thing again and again, and it honestly feels like a chore.
I wish the illustrator would get his shit together again
I seriously double and triple-checked the Illustrator credit just to make sure. That’s CRAZY. No perspective, barely any shading, no inking of the lines, barebones use of 4 colors… and then blurry brown rectangles because they were like “fuck it, I can’t be bothered to draw a second leg.” And now I just realized that’s supposed to be the same outfit on the guy… wtf?!
Yeah, I would say it’s around volume 28 when it started to get sloppy. The cover for 29 was okay again, so I thought it was just a one-off thing, but 30 and now 31 are just sloppy.
And the insight illustrations aren’t faring much better. Here is Rimee Ruu in volume 31 and 3.
Rimee Ruu Volume 31
Rimee Ruu Volume 3
Everything is just off-model and that’s especially jarring when you have read a series for such a long time. A series that excells at making the reader care for the characters.
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:
In Another World with Household Spells by J-Novel Club: 🖥️ Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4
Cooking with Wild Game by J-Novel Club: 🖥️ Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World by J-Novel Club: 📖 Vol. 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 🖥️ Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
