sigh…

Okay. The stupid setup is out of the way now. The fun can begin. Only problem is that they have spent maybe all of 3 frames in the OP for best girl, so I keep my expectations low.

Check out the LN though. It’s good fun.

Abducted Princess - Volume 1

This is how I feel when I remember that there is only 1 volume:

I will take an MC that knows he is hot shit over a bland, boring MC any day.

While I agree in general, I still found this MC to be unlikable. Where are the good rom-com MC’s of seasons past? Where are the Ryūjis (toradora), Houtarous(Hyouka), Yuutas (Chu2Koi), Hachimans (oregairu), etc?

It’s super cute, and Doux is adorable as can be, but the humor doesn’t really hit for me. I’m not sure if “adorable” is enough to keep me interested enough to keep watching over the entire season.

Question about the Epilogue (Mostly Part 3 spoilers, 1 Part 4 Spoiler)

<Sentenced to Be a Hero> Vol. 1 - I read it because I got curious after I’d seen a couple of people looking forward to the anime this winter season. I can’t say that I like it. It’s on the bad side of emotionally manipulative. The emotional manipulation lacks subtlety. It’s like the author is bonking you on the head and screaming in your ear what you’re supposed to feel. I’m sure it will find its fan base in the anime adaptation for the constant action and the half-naked loli (I’m sure she’ll get some VA with a super cute voice to finish the otaku-bait package). The general premise is interesting at least, but it feels rough around the edges. Like the idea is there, but it’s not quite ready to be put on the page. Maybe it matures in the following volumes, but I think I have seen enough from the written source and it’s not for me. Maybe the anime will make me reconsider, but until then, it’s a hard drop for me.

edit: Okay I’ve seen the anime’s pilot and it stays a hard drop. Exactly what I expected it would be.

<Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools> Volume 11 - The story is at a standstill and not moving forward for several volumes now. It switched POVs away more and more from the main couple to side characters like padding. If the author doesn’t know what to do with it, they should end it gracefully and continue with side stories in this setting like Lucia and the Loom. They clearly can write good (sometimes bordering on great) prose, there is no reason to let this series drag on longer as it needs to.

<The Accursed Chef and His Pair of Furry Foodies> Volume 2 - pretty much more of the first volume, which was pretty much more of Sword Tensei. The next volume is set up to be a break from the established setup, so I want to see how it will play out.

<My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!> Volumes 1, 2, 3 - Overly simplistic romance. MC is written in an inconsistent manner. She is extremely confident, extroverted, and competent, but every now and then, the author seems to remember that the premise was that she is supposed to be the typical OP but low self-esteem trope. Just to be forgotten 2 paragraphs later, where she beats up bullies or tells nobles that they can eat dirt. I think this is a case of an author being shackled by their own stupid series title. Volume 3 was a tournament arc, which I generally see as a personal affront to my sensibilities. But the end of it was good, at least, so I’ll let it pass.

Fune Wo Amu vibes. Might become a 10/10.

Best Debut <Abducted Princess Running Rampant: Wielding Forbidden Magic in the Demon King’s Castle>

Oh, I thought that was last year. I want to change my pick now. That volume was great. Sadly seems to be dead :(

• Best Volume : Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom - Volume 5

Love the internal struggle of MC.

• Best Debut : The Accursed Chef and His Pair of Furry Foodies

The new series from Yuu Tanaka of Sword Tensei fame.

• Best Protagonist: Devil Princess Yulucia from “The Devil Princess”

I have a thing for main characters that aren’t shackled by fake morality (you know the type that kills 1000 underlings without a thought but then is too “good” to kill the actual boss pulling their strings). And this year there wasn’t a character more ruthless than sweet Yulucia.

• Best Antagonist: The human heroes in Zilbagias the Demon Prince

Even if I were to disregard the whole flipped good/evil plot and just look at them as a counter to MC they are still written with a clear motivation and individual personalities that stay consistent.

• Best Supporting Character: Louis (Secrets of the Silent Witch)

Got even his own spin-off. He’s that good.

• Best Couple or Duo: Ai-Fa and Asuta (Cooking With Wild Game)

As always.

• Best Author: Matsuri Isora (Secrets of the Silent Witch)

Clearly written like Ascendance of a Bookworm with a clear outline of the entire plot already laid out.

• Best Worldbuilding: The world of Ascendance of a Bookworm

My favorite light novel world got fleshed out more in the Hannelore spin-off series.

• Best Overall Series: Cooking With Wild Game

Even though many of this year’s volumes were an arc that I didn’t like very much it’s still consistently great to read and every volume is a highlight for me. Silent Witch is getting there.

• Best Emotional Moment: The opening to “Welcome to Monstrous Miss Sophie’s Enchanted Salon of Healing”

Not going to spoil it, but man… God damn it man.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything this year that clearly stood out for the Illustration award, so I pass this one.

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<Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want!> Volume 11 - Great volume. Killer cliffhanger. Can’t wait for the next one. Seriously, maybe the best cliffhanger I’ve read in years. That’s how you do it.

<Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden> Volume 8 - Tournament arc. Which means fights (my most disliked scenes in every series) back-to-back for the entire volume. With MC just waxing poetic about what makes a martial artist in the most esoteric ways between fights to break it up. The entire volume can be skipped.

I’ve read a little bit of the manga and I think this is exactly the type of series where KyoAni excels with.

I think I have that same Albedo figure.

Impeccable taste.

I got a new Holo for my collection.

a group of fans over on [email protected] as well

Can confirm. Nero is certified cool. Also, the series is objectively (as one can be) in the higher quality echelons of light novels.

To be fair, the crop is unusual. My hint was that it looked like a stagecoach, and I didn’t see anyone holding the reins.

A third person sitting in front of the girl, leaning forward with the head and arm cut off by the image crop. At least that would be be my interpretation of the picture without any context.

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.

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.