- #1
Really mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it’s a fantastic super-sentai parody that really pokes fun at the genre. The characters are whacky and lively, and it answers the question: ‘Why didn’t the power rangers ever bring a grenade to a fistfight?’ (The answer is: cause that’s all kind of messed up, ya know?) On the other hand, this story has every one of my least favourite comedy tropes, all jam packed into one place. Accidental groping, constant misunderstandings that label MC as not just a s*xual pe*vert, (but a pe*ophile!), constant misunderstands in general, and characters that provide very little in the way of actual entertainment but seem to exist just to torment him. (And of course, we’re expected to believe that they’re all friends.) I’m a hairs breadth away from dropping the series after its latest “gag”, where Spoiler
the MC is literally r*ped off camera by the ‘love interest.
[collapse] Which is obviously all kinds of messed up.The series starts strong. Our MC, Rintaro, is initially a joy to follow. He’s that guy in the group project that’s frighteningly efficient. In a super sentai world, that means he was consistently confused by his colleagues’ under utilisation of poison, traps and hostages in taking down the dastardly mysterious beings. It’s all in the name of justice, right? Of course his colleagues, with actual human morals take issue with this, and he is “reassigned”, which eventually leads to a misunderstanding that lands him in the enemy camp.Watching him do his best to struggle and survive while not blowing his cover or his cool exterior is lots of fun, as was theorising what underhanded tactic he’ll use next, and the unintended consequences of doing so.Unfortunately as the story progresses, Rinatros personality is slowly leeched from him, as he becomes yet another bland first person audience shoe-in. He begins feels more like a puppet to showcase other characters talents, rarely explains his plans in any way beforehand and continues to pull bullsh*t out his ass instead of actual strategies and tactics. Not to mention watching him have to put up with colleagues that look like they come out of a 2000’s school harem character guidebook on personality types is all kinds of frustrating. Watching him getting tortured (not literally) for the sake of comedy is frustrating enough that I started to wish something ACTUALLY terrible would happen to him, to at least give me some catharsis.The more I write this review, the more I wonder why I gave it 3 stars. But I do, strangely enough, have mostly positive feelings towards the series, and as someone who drops novels like a blind man with Parkinson’s, I’m somehow still reading this after a year or more.If you found it funny in comedy when the MC gets slapped for accidentally peeping on a girl, this is the novel for you. If you’re really into super sentai and wouldn’t mind a light hearted parody, this is also for you. If you have anger management issues... probably not. God speed reader.