Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament Chapter 21 part2 Discussion

Translation: Travis Translations. Feels like an MTL, there are a couple sections that are clearly unedited or wrongly translated, and combat scenes can be disorienting to read through.

Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament so far explores similar topics to Madoka Magica, with Magical Girls that make contracts with otherworldly beings in order to fight monsters. Yes, Magical Girls die fighting monsters. But in every other aspect it's uncomparable with Madoka Magica. While it's admittedly early to have a deep opinion on the novel, there are no signs of interesting characterization or intriguing conflicts to explore. Plotwise, it does set up a couple of mysteries that add some depth to the story but there are a few red flags that make me apprehensive:

Spoiler

Gluttony skill: I've read too many poorly written novels where the main character becomes too powerful because of some sort of Gluttony skill that powers them up. It would be nice if this novel had some drawbacks or some kind of dark side associated with the skill. There are a couple clues that there is a deeper connection, but I don't have high hopes.

No established goal: Or rather, I should say the main character accepts the situation way too easily and is being carried by the narrative. He doesn't have a real goal or something he aims to achieve as a Magical Girl, he simply follows the whims of his contractor.

Foreign countries are bad: During the introduction chapters, the novel mentions that every foreign country cuts off connections with Japan when the catastrophe happens. This immediately signals to me that 1: foreign countries are going to be antagonists later on in the story, and these kinds of stories are generally biased and gross to read; or 2: the author has no interest in politics and doesn't have the ability to write something interesting here, because this is entirely unrealistic.

Hints of harem: His "twin sister" likes him. His teacher likes him. His senpai likes him. Maybe I'm reading too deep into it, since I suspect the novel won't go down the harem route completely due to the slight gender identity problem with the whole Magical Girl thing.

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Overall, Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament does create a somewhat interesting premise with something similar to Madoka Magica, but the way the novel is developing so far feels like it's going down the typical light novel fantasy route. Tentatively 2.5/5, but somewhat willing to keep up and see how it develops.