- #1
Same thoughts as the two reviews just before me. It was really good up until harem. ML and FL had good chemistry, a relationship that was cute and believably genuine. Then, out of nowhere, MC can't say no to other characters completely running the heartwarming and wholesome story up till that point. What makes it worse is that while the FL is a genuine character with some depth to her (definately my favorite character) the other two harem members are almost carbon copies of eachother who feel shallow by comparison, as if their relationships with the MC were added as an afterthought. It was such a sharp change that I wondered if the author was deliberately poking fun at the harem trope. I would have found that amusing in another story, but not in one that had been so enjoyably wholesome until then. The story is character driven, pretty well written, and is genuinely enjoyable. Lefi (FL) and Yuki (MC) really carry the story whenever they are together, and throwing in romantic sidekicks really just takes away from that. That's not to say there aren't good LNs that have harems. For instance, I really enjoyed Arifureta. But Arifureta has two major differences from A Demon Lord's Tale... Arifureta doesn't take itself seriously, and the characters are all well developed. In Arifureta even the harem members treat the situation as a running gag. However, all the characters are engaging and are given their time in the spotlight, endearing them all to the audience, with each being equally well written and developed with unique charecteristics that make it genuinely hard to pick a favorite. This, combined with Arifureta's theme being that the main characters are aware they lack all "common sense" and don't care, instead choosing to live happily in their own little bundle of crazy (much to the frustration of the supporting characters) leads to a harem that is actually entertaining and one of my favorite isekais. Having said that, I am still reading A Demon Lord's Tale. It is still an above average isekai that I enjoy and look forward to updates on, but I can't shake the feeling that it had the potential to be so much more.
