Memoirs of the Returnee Chapter 326 Discussion

It gets better. It's flawed but interesting. I wasn't bored at all even though I binge-read 326 chapters. Heck, I even was sad there wasn't more to read. Looking forward to more! Great translation btw.

My rating for Chapter 1-20ish is about 3 stars, but it rises to 4.5 stars at ~Chapter 100. It gets even better at 200, so I gave it 5 stars.

The start is pretty confusing / mid. I really thought that this was some newb writer because the writing was a little clumsy despite the great ideas, but no. The author wrote The Novel's Extra (I liked it initially, but it got stale) and The Villain Wants to Live (Liked it a lot). I actually read their oldest novel (A Monster Who Levels Up), so I can tell their writing got a lot better (A Monster Who Levels Up was rough). It's still a bit clumsy especially in the early chapters, but everything gets more interesting after introductory bits are done. That said, there are flaws throughout, but I can ignore them because of how entertaining the plot, characters, and worldbuilding is.

For flaws, I think the author assumes we understand more than we do (it's a bit confusing at times, but that could just be my own s*upidity). Early chapters (introducing the setting/worldbuilding) were especially rough due to that. The MC is also cool, but sometimes his coolness comes off as a bit cringe. Also, I think a lot of things are confusing because the author explains it waaaaaaaaaay later. Additionally, some plot points are a bit contrived and come out of nowhere, but I forgave them because the rest of the novel was awesome. There are also some plot holes and some things I can't believe (EX: Minor antagonist sees the MC eat the snacks he gave the MC. Antag immediately thinks the MC must be an idiot because the snacks could've been poisoned.), but the overall plot is fun and paced pretty well after the early chapters.

Someone in the reviews complained that the MC is a pushover for saving the girl he hates, but they didn't read enough to figure out why he did that (see spoiler). Tbh, that was kinda on the author since bro likes confusing you then explaining later. MC is literally the opposite of a pushover, haha. I feel like him standing up to his bullies early on when he was pretty weak was gutsy. I expected him to be like other MCs and wait for revenge.

Spoiler

MC is very close friends with the girl's brother, and he promised in his past life to protect her for him.

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Not exactly a flaw, but the characters start out pretty flat... but then the important ones (MC, the heroines, etc.) receive really good character development (without removing their original personality too). Problem is, it takes like 100 chapters LOL. Also, the ditsy heroine only got her bit after like 200 chapters XD

Anyways, on to why the novel is good. First, I appreciate how interesting the MC and his powers are. His powers are pretty OP, but the author writes it well enough. Bro has a weakness due to his illness, so it stops him from being literally OP. He's like a burst DPS, haha. His illness and revenge are pretty interesting too.

I think the best part of the novels is the characters. The plot is exciting and the worldbuilding is fun, but the characters make the novel shine imo. They start out flat and 2D (I hated the female bully initially because she was annoying) but then they receive character development over time and now I love them???? The villains are great too. I thought it'd be the good old "evil noble" type, but man, they surprised me. I actually kinda don't want them to suffer from MC's revenge (well, the oldest Libra son can die for all I care), but it seems like he's going to go about it creatively. I can't believe the author made me like literal mass mu*derers lol. If evil, why hot? XD

Basically, the start is really rough. It actually takes a long time to ramp up, and it's going to be a long time until the MC finishes his revenge. I personally felt it was worth the wait, but it's up to you whether you want to get through the first 20-30 chapters. Still, the novel has many hype moments! Lots of drama and emotional scenes.