- #1
A lot of people like power fantasies, a lot more people like power fantasies that show the efforts and struggles of the main character. I struggle to categorize this novel as a power fantasy because rather than such it's like reading a Rocky film or like reading Shounen battle manga with all the training and tournament arcs (seriously it's a main focus). Don't let the Harem tag lure you in though, if you're looking for harem fluff, you'll be severely disappointed.The story is all about a guy who's had enough of playing second fiddle (despite being one of the elite) to his peers and gets a ghost demon lord as his personal coach. Sound familiar? The premise has been done time and again but the character conflicts make up for it.Ambition is the main theme of this novel, why you want be the strongest and how that ambition can ruin the relationships you have. It's all about being placed on a label and a certain expectation and wanting to be free from that. Finding your own path and tossing everything behind to pursue your own true self is the goal of this series. We've all had that fantasy before and if you're into that you'll find it here.Despite reading this long and trust me it gets a lot longer, there was no emotional payoff. Has Earth learned from his mistakes? No. Has Earth understood the consequences of his actions? Yes, but he doesn't care and he even Spoiler
outright tells the person he loves that he won't come back home until he becomes the strongest (for some reason)
[collapse]. Earth just runs and runs away despite fighting head-on being his motto. A real man faces his problems, a little man runs away.There are other themes present in the story, racism, parental conflict, weight of expectation and other stuff but it's mostly just about training, fighting and then moving on to the next city, maybe having a girl fall for you and then moving on. Rinse, repeat.I can see why the LN was cancelled. If you want Shounen battles, go read Bleach, Naruto and what have you. They're the same thing but with better writing (except maybe the endings) but you'll get better fights and better villains there.