- #1
This is such a fluffy novel that I feel compelled to review it. It's not even my normal type of novel - in fact, judging by the content (and content it doesn't have), I'd normally heavily dislike it or ignore it outright. I was pulled in by the unique protagonist choice, and I haven't regretted it so far.First of all, I'll get the bad part out of the way: The story is seen through the filter of an airhead who is only interested in art. While it's interesting, it drains pretty much any tension from the dangerous situations and makes everything feel a bit slow and relaxed even when it shouldn't. Similarly, the ability is basically omnipotent, only held back by the protagonist's personality and his weakness of being a human being. That's the other reason that it's hard to feel tense at what should be the climax of each arc: the protagonist can easily resolve any situation as long as he knows what to draw.Now that that's out of the way, the good parts: The story is well-structured, with each arc dealing with a specific incident while also revealing or resolving more of the protagonist's past. The overall story also seems well-planned and the arcs feel like they're all part of a bigger story. In fact, I'd say this is a prime example that you don't need romance or slice-of-life to have a fluffy story, and you can be fluffy while advancing the plot.There's a heavy reliance on misunderstanding for the comedy, but instead of having the same group of people being surprised by everything the protagonist does, the characters who spend any time with him get to know him and resolve their misunderstandings easily. While the side characters tend to get most of their obvious development in their main story arc, they continue to live their own lives after the arc (aside from certain characters who look after the protagonist who is kind of helpless in daily life).The author does a good job of developing the setting along the way, too. Instead of just dumping a chapter or two of exposition on the backstory and magic techniques, those get chopped into bite-sized pieces because the protagonist isn't really interested in any of them, so we only learn anything as the protagonist is forced to know it because it's keeping him from painting. I don't remember anything especially unique in the setting itself, but just the fact that the author doesn't force unique settings onto the novel is a plus IMO.Overall, the tone is fluffy. Comfortable. Relaxing. So it's not for those who want constant action or steamy romance or a hundred jokes per chapter. It's not for those who want to see an underestimated protagonist slapping the faces of an army of arrogant young masters though come to think of it, he is underestimated and there are a few arrogant young masters here and there...Plus, I like how the novel avoids certain tropes without making it look like the author is blatantly avoiding it just to be smug about it. For instance, Spoiler
When a friend recommends the protagonist to get s*aves as caretakers and guards (because he's pretty helpless), the friend says "you should get a beautiful woman of course", so of course the protagonist picks a man with beautiful muscles because they'd be really good references for paintings.
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