I’ll Pick Up T*ash to Support You, Little Brother! Chapter -- Discussion

(Not gonna give a rating yet since I haven't finished and might just wait for the translation. This isn't an in-depth review either, just some of my thoughts.)

If I had a nickel for every time I read an apocalyptic guide-verse novel with two protagonists six years apart (6 and 12) who found salvation and peace in each other as they battle to survive against zombies, mutants, nature, and a possible government conspiracy, all while holding the key to stop a deadly virus that could very well end humanity, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Jokes aside, I really liked the author's previous novel, "The Human Cub's Guide to Wasteland Survival, " and immediately jumped to MTL when I saw that there was a sequel set about a hundred (?) years into the future. Maybe it's because I read HCGWS beforehand and have a bias, but I didn't find myself enjoying this novel as much. Sometimes, it feels like I'm just reading a reincarnation of Bubu and Feng Chen, but the dynamic isn't nearly as interesting. It's like the author saw the success of HCGWS and wanted to replicate it using the same formula. Not that there's anything really wrong with that, but I think it could've been much more interesting with different character settings since the world building is already there.

The basic spolier-y plot from what I could remember:

Spoiler

We have our protagonists, Chu Ya (CY) and Shen Qianqian (SQQ). CY is the son of a high ranked official who lives in Yun Dian (Cloud Peak), a city built above the ground after no food could be grown in the soils beneath. SQQ is an orphan from the Angel Welfare Institute in the Abyss, a district on ground that's basically a wasteland and Yun Dian's landfill. Every few months or so, officers from Yun Dian would come down and visit the orphanage, where they would then select one or two orphans to bring up with them. It turns out kids placed in the orphanage were screened and are 90% likely to differentiate into sentinels or guides. The kids who the officers would bring up with them are the ones in the process of differentiation. However, over the past year, no child brought up to Yun Dian could be contacted, which belies the question: What happened to them?

Meanwhile, CY's family was caught up in a conspiracy that could possibly be related to what's going on in the orphanage. CY fell down to the Abyss in the midst of escaping and was rescued by SQQ, much to the dismay of the orphanage staff since CY is now wanted by the opposing political fraction in Yun Dian. sh*t went down and the protagonists, along with most of the orphanage, run away to a safe place, where they can hopefully grow into their power, uncover the mystery behind whatever tf is cooking in Yun Dian, and save the world on the side.

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IMO, the biggest weakness is the romance. If you thought the romance in HCGWS was slow, this is even slower... The bulk of the story takes place when they're young, and time skip happens:

Spoiler

I think in chapter 131? (It's out of 184 chapters when I was reading this and extras begin chapter 173. In comparison, the time skip in Wasteland happened chapter 92/234.)

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I got kinda tired (and bored) while reading, which is a shame since I really liked the world setting. The novel wasn't bad; pacing could've been faster (time skip could've happened wayyy sooner) with a different CP dynamic. Just going to let this one marinate for a while before continuing and maybe my feelings will change since MTL was also hurting my head lol.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite moments without context:

Spoiler

CY having a parenting moment where he learned if he bought something for one kid, he also had to give the same thing to the other two.

This exchange:

• • YT: Let me go!

• • XR: I told you before that if you appear in front of me again, I will never let you leave.

• • CY: *standing guy emoji*

• • XR: You're like a brother to him, what do you think he thinks of me?

• • CY: Please sir, I'm just a child.

A stuffed bear shaving its "beard" and ending up with a bald mouth.

CY planting flowers for SWW after seeing that he likes them even when every little plot of land they have is valuable.

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