After reading about 400+ chapters of this novel (I stopped in that Interlude of the Elf Arc to cool off my brain), I have a lot of things to say:
First, the plot:The plot is honestly good. It's edgy and can get a bit smut. The pacing is a bit quick, and while the author may had overused the "MC subconsciously taps into the memories of his future self and defeats their enemy" crap multiple times per arc, the way it's written is good enough for me to not roll my eyes out. The plot becomes a bit dark quickly and doesn't shy away from brutal depictions. Children being fused into bloody flesh with tent**les, people being slowly eaten by large beasts with awfully descriptive processes, etc. But each arc pretty much ends in a mostly good ending and bittersweet implication.
The fights (especially the boss fights at the end of each arc) are usually the best parts. Even though you know that MC will win through some bullsh*t, it's still thrilling and buttclenching as if you know someone might die or be permanently incapacitated.
Second, the Main Character:The Main Character, Ian, is a "mad dog" archetype. He pretty much solves 90% of his problem in the most violent and blatant way possible, thanks to the syncing of memory. And he beats up everyone regardless of gender or circumstances. To give a clarification: he cut off a noblewoman's arm and leg in the academy just because she slapped a person close to her. He's pretty metal, but also sometimes very hypocritic and sociopathic. And he can be more dense than a supermassive blackhole.
There's also Future Ian, though I call him Ian Alter. He's pretty radical and pretty much f*cks the MCs life with wacky hijinks every start of the arc by committing multiple acts of Felony involving Ian's future harem members, but each action of his has a reason, it's just that Ian Alter is so broken and sociopathic that he does it the most violent and unreasonable way possible.
Now, here is the worst part: the main problem with Ian himself isn't the personality of the character itself, but on how inconsistent the author writes the main character. Sometimes he's smart, sometimes he's dumb. Sometimes he's sharp, sometimes he's dense. Sometimes he's empathetic, sometimes he'll butcher the legs of an individual before listening to their words. Yes, the author changes the MC's personality base on his whims just to get max drama on each arc. Another clarification: despite having love letters from his harem members Fiancés from the future being thrown into his face, he f*cking questions himself if the girls who love him. That is not being dense, that is just complete and utter lack of common sense. At least this eventually stops later on, but it took the MC too long for such a simple mental gymnastic...
Third, the Characters:
No cap Saintess is the best girl. Anyone else is just mid maybe except for Elsie.
Waifu aside, the author has a..."problem" in writing actual relationship growth. I am warning you guys, 60-70% of the "relationship" developments here stem from S&M, Pet Play, and Uncomfortable bullsh*t. Minor Spoilers regarding this:
Spoiler
Seria and Elsie were pretty much conditioned into being dependent on him.
MC beat up Delphine so much (well deserved at first for the sh*t she pulled during the hunting festival) that she eventually gets trained Pavlovian style and then Stockholm (I kid you not MC literally used the Carrot and the StickAxe method and turned her into a willing pet, and MC loses his v*rginity to Delphine).
Shien/Cien (the princess in a powertrip) got mentally f*cked and guilt tripped over at the end of her introduction arc despite Ian!Alter starting the mess.
Oh and theres also Celine who was introduced at the same time as Seria and is Ian's childhood friend, but barely has a development arc, which is worse than the whole "Delphine becomes a pet" thing since she's relegated to the void lmao.
Best Girl Saintess has healthier relationship with Ian than the other girls, as she's the only girl who Ian can banter with without any uncomfortable stuff... and he f*cks it up by NEVER EVER doing a proper talk with her until much later on, leading to poor Saintess to have a drop in self-worth by the time he did have one. SAINTESS DESERVES BETTER!
Emma, despite being in a coma for the first 2 arcs, had MORE development than Celine. Despite Emma spelling it out that she LOVES the MC unconditionally, MC takes it as "Oh how great of her, she's willing to marry a Noble like me for her family".
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All of these will work out in the end though and they all establish a willing relationship... somehow? I don't know, I tend to turn off my brain when things become so incomprehensible. Pie Falls, Everyone Eats.
Conclusion:This novel is heavily Character-Driven. It starts off good, but later on, chapters will appear that will have you tearing your upper and lower hair off out of objective annoyance. Though I love the plot itself. I enjoyed reading this despite my gripes. I like how Ian is an imperfect person, and that the story openly points it out. Like how he Spoiler
Parades himself internally as some kind of savior, but gets sh*t on that he doesn't even try and see how life is from the Bottom. Something that I liked from the Elf Arc where MC got humbled.
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If you're gonna read this novel, you're gonna need to one-up your patience. Because trust me you're gonna need it.
Between this and [Main Heroines Want To Kill Me], I'll honestly prefer the latter than this one. Despite the latter being quite miserable, the returns are satisfying, the relationship dynamic is more comfortable to read than this novel's, and the MC is very consistent.
