- #1
Well, this is an isekai through and through, so I guess about everyone here will have a decent idea what basic patterns to expect. Therefore, I will just give a rough idea what I see this story excelling or failing at in a pro/con comparison.Pros:- It’s 18+While some might be off-put by the amount of s*x scenes or dislike heavy topics, it’s still a general pro to have mature story telling that doesn’t need to worry about staying within an age rating. The author mostly keeps the tone of the story light, but you frequently encounter darker topics like mu*der, r*pe, ab*se and more, using graphic depictions.- It’s not going on about “Japan being the greatest”Too often we have stories around MCs’ that bring their moral points of view to the isekai world. Not here. The moment we leave the MC’s previous life, we live by the rules and morals of the isekai world. The MC doesn’t try to play the messiah and change the world to his own ideals. And on a personal note: No never ending excursions talking about food or recipes the MC brought over from Japan.- MC is decentHe is an adult, and mostly feels and acts like an adult. So not your typical virg*n MC or “chuunibyou” power fantasy hero. He also keeps true to his own goals and isn’t a push-over being swept along by the flow all the time, instead is taking the initiative if necessary.- Powerlevels don’t feel like total bullshitThe MC is neither overly weak nor strong. Same applies to the enemies. Power increases feel plausible and aren’t constantly powercrept by the next bigger villain appearing.Cons:- Narrative heavyLike it’s typical in WNs, we have a heavy focus on narration, often going over several pages without any dialogue. And even the dialogues themselves are mostly explanations of skills, areas, dungeons and so on (if the author wanted to mimic typical NPC dialogue, the ones you usually end up skipping in a game, I guess he did a good job in a sense). Otherwise, probably like a third of the dialogues in this WN happen during s*x scenes.- Boring explanationsLike it’s typical in isekai stories, you get forced through extensive RPG system and world expositions. Some might call it necessary, but it just feels like I’m being forced to read tutorials for systems everyone who ever played an RPG already knows about (levelling, EXP, skills, quests...).- Cosmetic side castOther than the MC, there is no real cast that stays. Every person the MC encounters usually only stays for the length of a volume and then disappears for good. Not meaning to say the characters are bad. Just them getting too little time to grow on you before they inevitably disappear again. Characters get reintroduced every now and then, but it’s only few in between (at least as of volume 7).One thing I’d like to mention, and sets this story apart from other isekai more or less, is the kind of “heroines” you should expect.Spoiler
Don’t expect anything virg*n here, or at least don’t expect it as a norm. So far the women in this WN are mostly prostit**es, widows, married or r*pe victims (or a random mix of those), with a general focus on mature women. Also, these characters exist mostly for the MC’s s*xual gratification. Otherwise, they offer only little to no value to the story.
[collapse]Neutral:- It’s an isekai by the bookDon’t expect anything novel in here. It’s a dungeon crawler isekai through and through, mixed with copious amounts of wish fulfilment. Guy gets isekai’d, acquires skills, gains levels, adventures and meets girls. If you dislike isekai stories, you’ll dislike this WN. If you like them, you might also like this WN.- Repetitive structureThe chapters tend to feel very uniform in structure. Mostly being cut in a s*x part in the beginning and/or ending of a chapter, and a story part. It can grow bland after a while, but at the same time the author stays true to his style and doesn’t suddenly change how his story is written midway. (Also allowing for an easy skip of s*x scenes for anyone that has grown tired of them after the 100th repetition.) In conclusion:It’s a readable isekai, neither great nor horrible. Its pros and cons balance each other, so it’s probably very individual whether you’ll like it or not. If you want to give this WN a chance, I’d recommend reading about the first 2 volumes (50 chapters). After that, you should have a good idea about this WN and whether you like it or not.Just take this one warning before you start though: This story isn’t just sunshine and happiness. The world it is set in is ruled by the strong. And our MC is far from being powerful enough to play the hero in every situation, nor does he even want to. So if you can’t take a punch or two, better stay away. (Small note for those that come here from the manga and are surprised about the differences: The manga pretty much starts at volume 5 of the WN, so pretty late into the story.)