- #1
I can't particular find much to like about this novel, personally. It's not bad, and I think it gives soothing vibes to a reader who's feeling a little down on life, but the plot kinda just happens without the MC really doing anything for it. Maybe I need to put more time into the novel, since it seems it's at 900+ chapters now, but based on the reviews I've seen so far it doesn't seem to improve much going forward.My main gripe with the novel is perhaps its pretense that the MC is "special". Most of the novel is the MC being pampered by the neighborhood okaa-san characters like the main heroine Kuro (which gets odd real quickly since she's the neighborhood loli okaa-san character/TS?), who all tell him that he's great and that he's working hard while feeding him cookies and giving him lap pillows. It's not a bad atmosphere to cheer up a reader who's a little down on life, but otherwise it's a novel about a guy in his mid-twenties acting like a child to the neighborhood aunties, asking for lap pillows and headpats.The MC doesn't particular have a tragic past or motivating storyline either. He's pretty much your classic introvert - he doesn't really aspire for social interaction, but he's not catastrophic when he needs to talk to someone. He knows how to be a good senpai to his kouhai and how to talk respectfully to his seniors. He's not particularly competent, and knows how to read the room to get out of situations that might disadvantage him, like any other salaryman (which he is, as some reviewers seem to forget - he's not a high schooler). However, anyone who he tells his story to seems emotionally invested in him to an absurd degree, creating a horrible positive feedback loop where the MC keeps getting pampered by the neighborhood aunties.I wouldn't dissuade someone from giving it a try, but I can't particularly recommend it either. 2/5 stars for me (1/5 for the story and 1/5 for the wonderful translation quality).