- #1
Rating: 3.5-4, Translation: 3.5-4 (My reviews may sound negative, but my format is short on positive comments (avoiding spoilers), and often lists reasons why I didn't give 5 stars.) [Rating/Translation scale: 5 = almost all readers may enjoy / infrequent minor errors. 4 = large majority of readers may enjoy / frequent minor errors or infrequent major errors, no difficulty to read. 3 = 50% of readers may enjoy / frequent major errors, unable to understand some sentences or a paragraph in a chapter. 2 = niche audience may enjoy / unable to understand moderate portion of a chapter. 1 = portion of niche audience may enjoy / unable to understand most of a chapter.]Intro: Guy gets hit by car, reincarnates as an "Intelligent Magic Sword" in an alternate, fantasy-RPG world. He has the cheat abilities of floating/flying around on his own, absorbing skills from defeated enemies, and sharing them with his "owner." He meets as 12-year-old cat-girl, and they decide to level up and travel around the world.Positives: Contains all the regular makings of an Isekai reincarnation story, while going the route of reincarnating as a nonhuman. Becoming an inanimate object is a less common idea, so it may be a novel idea to some readers. The storytelling is simple and focused, so it does not suffer from jumping around too much or from poorly developed arcs. The relationship of a sword being the guardian of a middleschool-aged cat-girl is a little cute.Negatives: The storytelling scope might be a little small for some readers, as the 2nd MC is a kid and doesn't participate in big events in the world. They are just traveling from one town or adventure to the next. Because the story is focused, it may feel to slow to some readers. The intro, maybe first 15 chapters, may feel especially slow. The MC sword does have lots of cheat abilities and quickly levels up; some readers may not like that. Story does have the usual Isekai tropes; an example is it spends a whole arc on a cooking contest, which I was less interested in.Other: There is a LN version of this WN; I don't know what the difference is. I think the LN is not far along in translation. The recent translation rate is quite fast, 2-3 per week.Translation: There have been multiple translators. Most are pretty good, around 4 on my scale. One potential issue is I suspect the current translator may be taking creative liberties with the translation. It seems a bit different from the previous translators. An example is the amount of mild profanities used, when almost none were previously used.Overall: Somewhat different variation of Isekai story, MC becoming an inanimate object, partnering with a cute cat-girl. Cute and focused/straightforward story. There are some issues, but I think most reincarnation fans would enjoy; close to a 4 on my scale.