- #1
Honestly, I have a fondness for series like these. It's always great to see how the author can take the most idiotic premise and execute it well.In any case, this is one of those cases. The protagonist isn't overly special, but he has an extreme enthusiasm for vending machines. Seeing what absurd antics he can pull is fun, whether it is trying to sell food to stay alive, fighting bosses single-handedly, or taking care of certain societal issues. Sure, he uses common sense like a lot of isekai protagonists, but he can only do that because of all of the crazy vending machines he has encountered throughout his life. The heroines (?) and side characters aren't that well developed in and of themselves, but they have fun dialogue with the protagonist and each other. The novel's gimmick of restricting the protagonist's speech to a few words, and the side characters trying to interpret what he's trying to say make simple conversations more fun than they should be. Eventually, they grow to love the vending machine, and he grows to love them. There's a real sense of community between the characters of the novel.The pacing is overall slow, and this story isn't for everyone mainly for that reason (and the absurd premise). For me however, it is very entertaining. If you want a weird SOL story, try this one out.