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beneaththetangles · 2 years

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The Text x Context of Haruhi Suzumiya, Part I

Welcome to Text x Context, a new Beneath the Tangles feature that explores light novels on a multi-volume scale!

With the old Light Novel Club, each post dealt with only one volume at a time and there were often long gaps between posts on the same series, meaning it could take a very long time indeed to get through a series, leading to disjointed volume-by-volume analysis and discussion. The goal of Text x Context is to tackle multiple volumes at once, be they from the same series or from across several different series that share some key attribute. This way, we will be able to detect themes, arcs, and other contextual facets that span multiple works and that might otherwise be hard to spot when reading a single volume.

Without any further ado, let’s get started! And what better way to kick off this new project than with the first four novels of the famed Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series, especially since today is Haruhi’s birthday! I do believe she would approve (even if none of us are aliens, time travelers, or espers).

Check out our initial discussion below. We’ll conclude this first Text x Context a week from today!

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Genre • Characters: Haruhi Suzumiya • Kyon • Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, & Nagato Yuki • Who is the protagonist?

Just what genre is this story exactly?

Jeskai: I’d call this a “high school paranormal mystery-comedy.” Start with the setting and characters of a high school romcom. Drop the romance and replace it with The X-Files. Genderswap the lead roles so the “true believer” is the girl and the skeptic is the guy. Done. (Okey-day, I know it’s not quite that simple, but I think my point stands.) It’s actually a pretty interesting concept.

Twwk: Okay, as someone who used “Mulder” in his usernames all through high school, I’m [NOT? the next sentence reads like a concession, which means this first sentence should be a critique.] feeling the whole comparison to The X-Files. Haruhi Suzumiya definitely feels like a paranormal mystery romcom.

Gaheret: I once called it “a romantic comedy of the Evangelion era”. I agree with the above, and I also think that, at its core, Haruhi is a romantic comedy with existential themes, and some science-fiction, mystery, fantasy and parody thrown in for good measure—whatever the concept it’s exploring happens to need. That’s more or less what Neon Genesis Evangelion did with its mecha lore.

sleepminusminus: Although it’s not slice-of-life in the traditional sense, I still want to call Haruhi that, because the backdrop for all the extraordinary occurrences is an ordinary school setting, and some of the arcs can tend toward slice-of-life. I’m thinking specifically about the short stories in book three (The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya), where the focus is less on plot development and more on vignettes of Haruhi-adjacent shenanigans.

Or maybe it’s just because at the time of this discussion we’re in the thick of the Summer of SoL series at BtT? Slice-of-life is just on the brain, I guess. Anyways, I’d probably say Haruhi is a slice-of-life science-fiction comedy. I hesitate to call it a romcom, because the romance features in Melancholy and then sits on the back burner for the rest of the volumes. It’s like with Hyouka. Chitanda and Oreki definitely have a thing going, but the show is more interested in everyday mysteries and character analysis than their budding romance. Similarly, the Haruhi series, in my view, is more interested in its science-fiction setting and Haruhi’s shenanigans than Haruhi x Kyon.

What are your thoughts on the exceedingly quirky characters?

Haruhi Suzumiya

Jeskai: I think Haruhi is an acquired taste. I once tried to read vol. 1 of this series, but quickly dropped it when the title character turned out to be such a jerk. I later powered through the anime and found her somewhat more palatable. She was even more likable in the spinoff that seems to have been inspired by the altered universe of Disappearance. And finally, I read these four volumes and she continued to grow on me. When she’s not being a horrible person, she’s an entertaining mix of silliness, wit, and childlike curiosity. She’s also got some subtle tsundere vibes, where she’s actually a bit more caring than her usual cavalier bombast would lead you to think. Sometimes she’s a bully who could be the mean girl antagonist in a lot of more conventional high school romantic comedies. However, her desire for something wondrous, something beyond the mundanity of the world as we know it, makes her deeply relatable. By the end, I found that Haruhi reminded me a little of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s mischievous, godlike entity known as Q.

Twwk: First of all, it makes me so very happy that Haruhi has grown on you! She’s an all-time favorite character for me. I think tastes have changed over time, but when I first watched the anime (I didn’t read the light novels until much later), I found Haruhi to be a perfect blend: she’s high energy and rude, but rarely to the point of being obnoxious, and has a tenderness to her that is stronger than other famous tsunderes like Asuka. She’s a bit more mysterious to me in the light novels, a character more frequently talked about, giving her that goddess aura that the novelist is going for.

Gaheret: Ever since the first arc of the anime, Haruhi became a special character to me, and she remains so in the novels. I like how terrible she is at the beginning, absolutely disregarding everything but her own ideas and her own enjoyment, and her slow-burn redemption arc conveyed to us through small changes. Through romantic love and an unlikely hope, she gradually becomes capable of making greater and greater sacrifices for those around her. I like her initiative, her relapses when she’s jealous, and how her hope and her despair are portrayed. And her attempts to change herself and the world really speak to me.

sleepminusminus: I definitely agree with Jeskai; I sympathize with Haruhi’s desire for wonder and for the transcendent. I loved that scene with Haruhi and Kyon by the train tracks, where she tells the story about the baseball game and feeling insignificant in the crowd. That’s where she felt most real to me: like a teenage girl genuinely struggling with finding herself in a world that feels so suffocatingly mundane and meaningless.

That’s probably the only thing I like about Haruhi, though. I think she’s obnoxious, and even after reading these four volumes, I don’t see the tenderness that Twwk is talking about (unless it’s the scene I described above), though I can see small moments of growth, like her asking for people’s plans before forcing everyone to come to the Christmas party. Not to mention her uncomfortable interactions with Asahina, which almost made me stop reading at times.

Interestingly enough, I liked her better in the anime than I did here, if only because she definitely had a softer edge in the Disappearance movie, with her alternate-reality self and her care for Kyon.

Jeskai: I think Haruhi’s tsundere tenderness was most apparent in how she camped out in Kyon’s hospital room when he was injured, only to bombastically insist it wasn’t because she was worried about him or anything.

Twwk: I have an anime figure of Haruhi—it’s of her from Disappearance, complete with sleeping bag to pose near Kyon’s bedside. It is apparently a game-changing scene for many of us.

Kyon

Jeskai: Kyon brings to mind other droll, cynical high school boy narrators like those in Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki and Oregairu, except less fun. He’s downright aggressively passive throughout most of the first three volumes, repeatedly going out of his way to insist that he’s helpless and has no choice in whatever is going on. Much like the ancient Israelites, Kyon is constantly murmuring and complaining, and it gets pretty tiresome. Haruhi is pretty unlikeable at first, but as I kept reading I found myself deciding Kyon is actually even more obnoxious (though the fourth volume did go a long way toward redeeming him). The Kyon of the first three volumes reminded of American president / imperialist / adventurer Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech (1910), and not in a good way. It’s a long speech, but a famous part of it includes the following:

The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twisted pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes second to achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities—all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority, but of weakness.

That’s exactly who Kyon is. I said before that he reminded me of other high school boy narrators, but the big difference is that for most of the first three volumes, he isn’t witty, but rather just a kid trying unsuccessfully to be cool and clever and coming across as a whiny loser instead. Haruhi, for all her faults, is at least seeking something, trying to accomplish something, aspiring rather than just giving up and going with the flow like Kyon does. She is much closer to Roosevelt’s “man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive…” This difference is why, after three volumes, I liked the unlikeable Haruhi more than I did Kyon.

But then I read that fourth volume! Kyon finally acknowledges that he has agency. He admits to himself that he is Haruhi’s willing accomplice. He admits that he’s having fun and stops grumbling as much, or at least limits it to genuinely distressing situations. He gets quite literally bloody down in the arena. I still can’t quite say I like Kyon as a character after the fourth volume, but Disappearance did convince me that he has more potential to be interesting than the first three volumes let on. I wonder if he retains this character growth in subsequent volumes of the series.

Twwk: I love Kyon. I like all the main characters of the series very much, but Kyon is among my all-time favorites. His sass is just unbelievable, and I find it really, really funny, particularly because Kyon knows that he’s a loser but talks and thinks quite high and mighty until he’s pushed back down, usually by Haruhi. So he gives these grandiose asides that I often find quite witty, then realizes or is forced to realize that yeah, he’s just a normal dude.

I don’t know enough about light novels to really trace the impact of Haruhi Suzumiya on future light novels, but I can’t remember many featuring a “Kyon type” before this series, while we see so many nowadays. And though I’m partial to Oregairu’s Hikigaya, I still find Kyon to be the most entertaining of this type. He carries the narrative with his personality and humor—I would read a regular romcom with him as the lead—and is, I think, the perfect character to be the “normal” one experiencing all these unusual people and phenomena: he’s dry enough to add humorous reactions to all that’s happening, “weak” enough to let Haruhi trample all over him, and at heart, kind enough to try to protect Haruhi and his world, even when his only real power is the power of sass.

Gaheret: I also like Kyon a lot. I think he’s comedy gold, and I would say that he’s more like Shinji than Hikigaya. He reminds me of self-satisfied noir protagonists like the narrator of Out of the Past. All in all, Kyon is very similar to Haruhi, only he is trapped by his own passive, complicit attitude. Like her, he’s pretty awful at first. The things he does and the things he allows are beyond the pale, and he is incredibly dishonest with himself (and us), but he manages to be at the same time a believable, normal person. And yet, beneath the endless stream of small talk, comparisons he’s proud of, cynical reactions, and ridiculously erudite references, there is a hero in the making, and much like with the rest of the characters, Disappearance shows us a truth that was always there.

sleepminusminus: JeskaiAngel hit the nail on the head (also, I loved that comparison to the Israelites). Kyon’s great with his snark and grandiose speeches and dry humor, but he’s also continually cynical and downright lecherous at times, which really put me off. But I’d say that the visible change comes two volumes earlier, in The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, where he gets annoyed at his friends for talking down on Haruhi’s efforts to make a success of the cultural festival. That’s one of the first times that he supports Haruhi on his own terms, rather than convincing himself that he’s just being dragged along.

Overall, Kyon’s a difficult character. He longs for the extraordinary but resigns himself to the ordinary, dreams up lofty ideals but lacks the courage to believe in them, recognizes his hypocrisy but lingers in apathy, and spends his time navel-gazing rather than opening his heart to the world and the people around him. He calls himself powerless to change his circumstances when he’s clearly capable of doing so. In many ways, he manifests the sin of acedia: the sin of willingly refusing to engage actively with the world, instead preferring idleness and despair.

And I find myself relating to that. It’s easy to see the brokenness of the world and close yourself off, convincing yourself that you don’t have the power to change things because you’re tired of the struggle. It’s easy to make peace with your idleness, even at the same time as you hate idleness in other people, because it’s just hard to put up a fight. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your inward gaze when engaging with the world runs the serious risk of pain or loss or disappointment. So while I don’t like Kyon’s character, I can see where he’s coming from.

Also, I’ll just throw out there that Kyon is much more fun in the anime. The boke-tsukkomi routine he does with himself is just funnier when spoken than when read.

Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, Nagato Yuki

Jeskai: I’m going to deal with all three of these at once because I think they share a major trait: Kyon doesn’t describe them fairly. I felt like I never really had a solid grasp on their motives, goals, or personalities, except for little hints. I don’t trust Kyon’s narration because of how one-dimensionally he tends to describe all characters besides Haruhi. Koizumi is always smiling. Asahina is always cute. Nagato is always emotionless. It’s not that the characters themselves are actually one-dimensional, but Kyon’s depictions of them are mostly flat, even when the characters’ actions and words imply they have more depth than he is acknowledging. The most obvious example of this is of course Nagato in vol. 4, where Kyon finally recognizes that she’s more than just a robot devoid of personality. I got the sense that there was also more to Koizumi and Asahina than Kyon’s stock descriptions would have us believe. In the end, I’m inclined to say these three characters are the biggest mysteries of the story. What really makes them tick? What are they really thinking and feeling, beyond the outward, superficial qualities that Kyon emphasizes?

Twwk: And that’s part of the charm of the novels—we know there’s more to the characters than what first meets the eye or what Kyon sees in them, but how much more? At the point we’ve left off, Asahina and Koizumi could potentially be antagonists for Kyon. This all feels a little like a silly Steins;gate: who do these characters become in the future? I don’t quite remember what I felt when first reading about Nagato’s self-sacrificial fight against Asakura, but it seems that by this point, she’s the character we know most about. Her motivations seem clearest and she is perhaps most supportive, though all three are proving to be good friends to Kyon (probably).

Mikuru, though, is my favorite—and probably because we get two in one. The “adorable” (as Kyon describes her) high school Mikuru is fun, but taken together with the wise, strong adult she becomes, her character has an added dimension that makes her more interesting. I think I may be the only Haruhi fan, though, that would pull for Mikuru ahead of Nagato when it comes to having Kyon’s affections.

Gaheret: Like Haruhi, those three are some of my favorite anime/LN characters ever. Tanigawa does many things well with them, but the thing I’m more impressed about is his foreshadowing. By Disappearance, we know that Yuki Nagato and Itsuki Koizumi have secrets that are hidden in plain sight, and each of them is quite compelling on its own. The three of them have very intriguing backgrounds and stories that we literally cannot imagine. How cool is that?

Koizumi’s jealousy towards Kyon and the fact that he likes Haruhi, put a spin on everything he has felt and done since he received his powers three years ago. I love how, as Jeskai mentions, we come to perceive that our narrator is being unfair to him. Even if Koizumi has a sometimes flawed way of thinking, he is a hero that sacrifices his chances at a normal life on a daily basis to save the world without any reward. Which is exactly what Kyon mentioned that he wanted to be himself in the first chapter. So maybe these two are just jealous of each other.

Although I don’t think that Kyon and Nagato fit together, she is my favorite character in the franchise. What we learn about the evolution of her feelings shows us the care with which all her small progressions have been depicted up to that point. Her becoming slightly angry, humorous, bored, friendly or lovestruck; her being surprised by these responses and reacting in small ways with the emotional resources that she has—all these things are a joy to watch and read about. Meanwhile, Kyon’s ignorance concerning her main motivation in Disappearance makes this story subtly tragic.

Lastly, I would say that Asahina’s dilemma is shown to us in the first Tanabata story. Only there, do we really learn how useless she feels, how confusing it is to receive instructions she doesn’t understand and is afraid to fail in carrying out, and how it all works out from the perspective of the older Asahina. I fully agree with Twwk that this comparison elevates her from a good character to a great one. Details like her being surprised that the ocean is salty, or the specific things she has (and hasn’t) told Tsuruya, are just so intriguing!

sleepminusminus: Kyon’s unreliable narration simultaneously fascinates and frustrates me. I agree with Jeskai: he’s stubbornly unfair to the other characters, which does add intrigue, but at the expense of getting me to actually care about them. As Gaheret said, I literally can’t imagine their backstories—but that’s more confusing than enticing to me.

But at the same time, it reminds me of that article Jeskai wrote a while ago about Tearmoon Empire‘s unreliable narration and what it says about Mia herself as the one whom the narrator fixates on. Why does Kyon speak so harshly about the others? What does he really think about them? What would they look like narrated from a more sympathetic perspective? So I can definitely see the appeal there.

Not too much to say about Asahina or Koizumi, though I appreciate Twwk and Gaheret’s perspective on the dynamics between Asahina’s teenage and adult selves—it’s something that I didn’t notice but that really deepens her character in my mind. And like Gaheret, my favorite is Yuki; I wish we had gone one volume further this time around so we could read the light-novel version of the Endless Eight.

Who is the protagonist of this story?

Jeskai: I thought I knew the answer to this question, but then Disappearance threw me off. I’d argue that for the first three volumes, Haruhi is the protagonist. In those volumes, I think you could replace Kyon with a snarky third-person narrator (a la Tearmoon Empire) without changing the story. He comments on what happens, but he doesn’t drive the plot. He’s the Watson to Haruhi’s Sherlock Holmes (or Hastings to Haruhi’s Hercule Poirot, if you prefer), narrating the tale without being the central character of it. In fact, considering how no one criticizes, opposes, or goes against the will of Haruhi as much as Kyon does, I think there’s a case for calling him the *antagonist* of the first three volumes.

But then I read the fourth volume. With Haruhi’s “disappearance,” Kyon becomes a real protagonist! Being the only one who understands that reality has been altered forces Kyon to really step up his game. For once, he must act on his own and can’t just go with the flow and be dragged around by the other four main characters. He is forced to make a real, meaningful choice about what he wants. Kyon previously dropped hints of protagonist-ism (like when he figured out Koizumi’s murder mystery scheme), but he displays greater character growth in the fourth volume, admitting that he had been too passive and unfairly critical of others. And in taking responsibility, he becomes a true protagonist in his own right, standing beside Haruhi as her peer, if not her equal, in the protagonist role.

Twwk: I agree that Kyon is the protagonist of the fourth volume and that Haruhi would be of the first three. But overall? I think it’s too early to tell. Is it Kyon that’s going to grow and learn and possibly save the universe? Or will Haruhi be the one who grows most considerably and ultimately makes a good decision for the universe? I would still tend toward Kyon, with perhaps his saving of Haruhi (and the world) in volume one a precursor of a larger future event. But we shall see…or we maybe won’t. I don’t think this series, unfortunately, will ever receive a proper ending.

Gaheret: For my part, I think it’s Kyon. Haruhi is a co-protagonist, but it’s his desires and worries that really move the plot forward. This story is completely different from Haruhi’s perspective because she is unaware of the supernatural plot. She can only try to instill hope blindly, but he is the one that may understand the situation and make the big decisions.

sleepminusminus: 4/4 for Kyon. What sells it for me in the first three books is a quirk of the storytelling. Kyon will often say things in the narration that the other characters respond to! Maybe it’s just a quirk of the English localization, but there are no quotation marks a lot of the time, and the other characters are still responding to his mental dialogue. Kyon’s telling the story, so Kyon’s the center of the conversation, even when he doesn’t explicitly say anything. Also, the previous discussion about Kyon’s unreliable narration supports this point. Decenter Kyon and the story would be significantly different. A lot more straightforward—and probably a lot duller.

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We’ll finish off the discussion next week when we ask meaty questions like, Why is Haruhi rebelling, and dig into the fun stuff too, like comparing the franchise to Evangelion! See you then!

#Light Novels #Haruhi Suzumiya #Suzumiya Haruhi #Text x Context #Articles #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: TWWK #Author: Gaheret #Author: sleepminusminus

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beneaththetangles · 2 years

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Light Novel Club Chapter 35: Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai

After several months, the Light Novel Club reconvenes!

Apologies for our long absence. We indeed have been reading and discussing (if just a bit behind and with a break as well), but haven’t posted our discussions. We’ll be catching up over the next few weeks and introducing a different direction our club will take—something to anticipate!

But for now, we’re diving into the second volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream… light novel series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai. Enjoy the discussion below based on questions from our light novel prez, stardf29, and look forward to our next one, over The NPCs in This Village Sim Game Must Be Real, Vol. 1!

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Q1: What are your overall thoughts on the novel?

stardf29: Ah, the classic time-loop storyline. Though time didn’t loop all that many times, all things considered, and it was focused more on the why someone wants to turn back time and how that is worked through. Overall I thought this was a good follow-up to the first volume, allowing Sakuta to deal with a different form of Adolescence Syndrome while interacting with a different focus girl. In that way it definitely has a structural similarity to the Monogatari series, which isn’t a bad thing in my book, and the story itself works well in its own regard too.

Twwk: During our last discussion, I was the Negative Nancy, giving reasons why I was up and down about volume one. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading volume two, which stayed away from what I saw as some of the weak points of the initial release, while creating a surprisingly compelling story. Petite Devil Kohai is a fun and thoughtful read.

Jeskai Angel: To large degree, this volume is “more of the same” as vol. 1, high school romantic comedy with paranormal mystery elements, plus tons of witty dialogue and a lot of heart. In the original anime, this was my least favorite arc, and while I still can’t say I’m a huge fan, I actually think the novel pulls it off more plausibly than I recall the anime doing.

Q2: What do you think of the characters?

Jeskai Angel: Umm…they’re all good? Sakuta remains (often awkwardly) honest and open, but also surprisingly perceptive and impressively compassionate. That said… In this volume, both Mai and Rio call out Sakuta for the Tomoe charade by pointing out how out of character it is for him to engage in such a deception. If multiple characters within the story call out the protagonist for acting of character, shouldn’t that maybe be a warning sign to the author to reconsider whether this is really the best way to tell the story?

It’s totally in character for him to want to help Tomoe. It’s also fine for characters to make bad choices–but their failings or unwise decisions should make sense in character. The way Sakuta goes about helping Tomoe just feels too jarring. I think the novel handled the justifications better than the anime did, but I’m still not convinced it actually makes sense for him to act as he does.

Mai is great; I think perhaps the most shocking part of the story is the way she agrees to put up with the Tomoe charade. That, more than anything, reveals how much she trusts and cares about Sakuta. I also loved how she brought new clothes for Kaede; she tries to play the ice queen role, but her real kindness shines through.

Kaede and Rio are still kind of side characters, but both are prominent enough to hint that they will be significant in the future (especially Kaede, with Sakuta’s ongoing investigation and efforts to help her). Rio was quite funny, with some really great retorts to Sakuta’s silliness that wouldn’t make sense coming from anyone else; she’s also pretty insightful, showing a good grasp of what’s really going on with the Tomoe charade even without being told.

Tomoe is one those “I can’t believe I don’t hate her more” characters one sometimes encounters. I feel like she’s the sort of character I’d expect myself to dislike, but she’s just too real, and goodhearted, to really feel that badly about. She’s also the character with the most development in this volume, and character growth is always great. Whatever her flaws, she is visibly making progress and trying to improve.

stardf29: Tomoe is definitely the highlight character here, and she has the challenging prospect of being a “love interest” that has no realistic chance of actually ending up with the protagonist, which is why it’s a good thing she has her own troubles to deal with beyond her romantic feelings. I will look more at that in a later question, but for now she’s overall a great character and I’m glad she was able to come to terms with her feelings and still have her “place”. Sakuta continues to be a good mix of cheeky and thoughtful. His way of defending Tomoe was amusing, and definitely brave on his part, though I suppose the fact that he figures he has nothing to lose socially as it is helps. Mai, meanwhile, is nicely understanding of Sakuta’s whole fake-dating event, when I certainly wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to understand.

Twwk: I enjoyed getting to know the characters better through this volume. Although sleepminusminus wasn’t real high on some of Sakuta’s actions toward Tomoe, and I tend to agree in some ways, I still definitely admire his courage at the train station (the anime version is a favorite scene for me). Mai was great—no surprise. But what surprised me was how much I appreciated Tomoe’s character. She could easily come across as obnoxious and spoiled, but I thought she was written as well—compassionate, open, and earnest.

Q3: What do you make of Tomoe’s feelings about being afraid of losing her “place” in her social group and how she acts because of it?

Twwk: I kind of went back and forth with it, and reached a far different conclusion than that with which I started. It felt quite superficial at first, a bit like the author was digging for something that didn’t really ring as authentic. And maybe he was—I’m very up and down about the quality of this series—but the issue felt more and more genuine to me the further I read. There’s an intense pressure on kids, of course, to fit in. And with social media now a part of teenage existence, I have no problem buying that this pressure may be higher than ever, and it also feels very plausible that it’s a minute by minute kind of thing, as demonstrated about Tomoe’s worries about responding immediately.

Jeskai Angel: Feelings are always real, but the thoughts that generate them, or are generated by them, are not necessarily valid. So, for example, someone diagnosed with an anxiety disorder experiences painfully real distress when their anxiety is triggered…but that anxiety is not actually based on any objectively valid threat (I mean, if it were, then it would just be natural fear, not an anxiety disorder). With that in mind, I think the novel actually does a pretty good job of balancing the validity of Tomoe’s feels against unreasonable social system and superficial relationships she’s focused on. No matter how irrational the world of high school girl cliques may be, what Tomoe feels is real, and Sakuta acknowledges that. It’s precisely because of the validity of her feelings that he can see her as a parallel to Kaede. That said, how she acts because of those feelings is really messed up. There’s no excuse for asking someone else’s boyfriend to pretend to be your boyfriend for three weeks in order to deceive the entire school.

stardf29: At the most basic level, her need of having a “place” to belong is very normal. Unfortunately, between her immature view of where that “place” should be and the unfortunate reality of high school cliques, she ends up trying to do this whole “fake boyfriend” ploy. I definitely agree that this is a case where I can sympathize with Tomoe despite not agreeing with what she did, because it’s pretty clear that she’s still growing. I also like how her character takes a look at the classic “popular girl” and the internal struggles she goes through to stay relevant to her social group. On a side note, I feel like “disagreeing with their actions but sympathizing with them because they’re immature teenagers” is part of the appeal of all these high school anime/manga/light novels…

Q4: Do you think it would ever be okay in real life to start a “fake” romantic relationship with someone?

Twwk: I’m willing to open myself to some exception to the rule, but I’d have a hard time finding or thinking of one. It was hard for me to even accept it while reading. When you read through material, and it takes longer than an anime and delves more deeply into character’s motivations and thoughts (usually) than in animation, you also consider more and more the situation at hand. Thus, I don’t think it bothered me so much while watching the anime—I just could join in the fun of it. But while reading, I kept thinking about how this A) isn’t really good for Tomoe and B) this really really isn’t good for Mai.

It’s funny—and I think this is flaw of the series—that it makes so much of how famous Mai is, but really doesn’t lay out the impact of her relationship ending with Sakuta and then magically picking up again months later, which in a rumor-filled world would make her look desperate. Mai needs Sakuta’s support (having her be away at a shoot just seems way too convenient and, if applied to real life, doesn’t make it any easier to know your beloved is asking lovey-dovey with someone else), and they should be progressing. So the light novel, as fictional as it is, just couldn’t help but make me think of real life as I read it, and how damaging such a fake relationship could be.

Jeskai Angel: Uh…no? At least not in practical terms. I mean, there’s probably some kind of super niche exception out there that only God knows (maybe something sort of like the spies Joshua sent to Jericho visiting the house of Rahab the prostitute to hid?), but it’s highly unlikely any of us will come within light years of such a situation. It’s unreasonable and wrong for Tomoe to ask Sakuta to do this, and it’s unreasonable and wrong (and out of character!) that Sakuta goes along with it, and the same would be true for you or me. This was my least favorite arc of the anime because of how wrong it all felt, in both a literary and a moral sense.

Twwk: No excuse except that she’s 16? I mean, that’s generally what leads me to accept her actions here, as immature as they are, because she’s just a kid. I was a pretty immature 16-year-old, moreso than Tomoe and with fewer morals—so while I likewise manipulated people to my own ends and deceived them, I know I’d also try to get away with everything she’s attempting to if I had stumbled upon adolescence syndrome.

Jeskai Angel: To clarify what I meant about there being no excuse for what Tomoe does… On the one hand, Tomoe’s immaturity doesn’t make what she does any more morally acceptable. On the other hand, recognizing her immaturity should make us more sympathetic and help us temper our judgment of her as a person. It’s just that showing mercy to Tomoe the person isn’t the same thing as saying what she does is remotely defensible.

stardf29: Fake relationships is one of those tropes which we can be amused with in fiction, but are a terrible idea in reality. Overall, I definitely feel it is wrong because it is ultimately a type of deception, and one that can ultimately harm people in significant ways. I feel like the only time it might be acceptable is some kind of ridiculous life-threatening situation where either you fake a relationship or you die for some reason, and this story definitely isn’t that kind of situation. (Though perhaps in Tomoe’s mind, it does feel like she would “die” socially otherwise, but again, that’s her teenage immaturity.)

I like TWWK’s note about how in reality, such a relationship would be awfully damaging. As I mentioned earlier, Mai was very gracious in allowing Sakuta to do what he did; I absolutely would not have blamed her if she just wanted nothing to do with him after that. I guess it’s a good thing that the time loop ultimately erased the whole thing in the memory of anyone other than Tomoe and Sakuta, so we don’t have to see what kind of consequences that would have. In a way, it’s the ultimate sign of Tomoe’s growth that she ultimately chooses a timeline where she doesn’t feel like she has to fake a relationship.

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Thanks for joining us for this discussion! We’ll be following up with a couple others in the near future, and then big news about the Light Novel Club! Until then, keep reading, dear readers!

#Light Novels #Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai #Seishun Buta Yaro wa Petit Devil Kouhai no Yume wo Minai #BtT Light Novel Club #Anime #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: TWWK #Author: Jeskai Angel

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Light Novel Club Chapter 32: The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! We’ve got a fairly unique light novel to discuss this time around, and this is a great time to discuss it, with an anime adaptation coming up soon and also the recent announcement of hardcover print editions for the series. So let’s jump into the discussion!

Joining Jeskai Angel and I is marthaurion, one of the members of the Beneath the Tangles Discord! This is a reminder that all Light Novel Club discussions are held on the public Beneath the Tangles Discord and anyone can join these discussions, so if you want to join future discussions, check us out over there.

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1. What are your overall thoughts on the novel?

Jeskai Angel: The pacing was a little slow at times, but overall I enjoyed this light novel. Also, it bugs me that I can’t narrow down a specific reason, but this story felt strangely old, like I might have picked it up at the public library back in 1998. I’ve written before about how I think Unnamed Memory doesn’t “feel” like a typical light novel, and I experienced a similar sensation with Faraway Paladin, though I don’t think it was for the same reasons (e.g., how magic works is actually explained quite a bit in Faraway Paladin).

stardf29: Maybe it’s because the author took inspiration from traditional tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, as opposed to video game RPGs like “typical” fantasy light novels?

Jeskai Angel: Ooh, that’s possible! It’s not exactly “You all meet in a tavern,” levels of DnD tropey-ness, but I can definitely see the DnD resemblance now that you point it out.

stardf29: This was definitely an interesting read that is quite different from the usual isekai light novel. It does feel a bit slow-paced because a lot of the beginning is so focused on Will simply growing up with his “parents” and learning about the world. That said, that kind of start is nice every once in a while; it is kind of like Mushoku Tensei in that regard. The worldbuilding is great because of it, and the conflict against the god of undeath is nice, too.

Beyond that, I do like how this story delves into various themes that are worth thinking about. It’s a nice, thoughtful light novel, and as much as I like my brainless fun light novels, having something like this is good for a balanced light novel diet.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters?

Jeskai Angel: By far, my favorite aspect of this story was the active role the gods played. It actually sort of resembles my favorite aspect of Spice and Wolf in that regard. In most light novels, either there’s no evidence gods are real, or they are deistic watchmakers who jump-start the story by isekai-ing the MC but thereafter take a hands-off approach to the setting, or they are benign comic relief. The biggest exceptions I can think of are Invaders of the Rokujouma!? and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, plus Tearmoon Empire (which, thus far, has strongly-implied-but-not-explicitly-confirmed divine intervention).

I think one way to summarize this volume is that it’s the story of someone (Will) coming to know and put his faith in a loving deity (Gracefeel). Since learning about the Lord and then choosing to devote oneself to him is fundamental to being a Christian, it’s actually kind of a relatable process. Gracefeel, as a character, walks a fine line, managing to be knowable while remaining mysterious. She’s not just a human with superpowers, but neither is she a total enigma. She’s also a rare truly benevolent god; her power is finite, but she consistently seeks to use it for good.

Stagnate was…peculiar. Like, if the author had added a line about Stagnate twirling his mustache while cackling evilly, it would have fit right in; he acts almost ostentatiously villainous. At the same time he, doesn’t feel quite as “evil” as he acts. He DID help with sealing away the demon king, and even if he had an ulterior motive, that doesn’t entirely invalidate the goodness of aiding the struggle against the demon king. Then there’s issue of death. Stagnate isn’t wrong to see death a Bad Thing (TM). I got the the sense that he really had at least somewhat good intentions behind his flawed approach to the problem of death. Even his nefarious scheme to ensnare Blood and Mary consisted of…arranging for them to raise the child they’d always longed for. Like, as far as villainous plans go, “Give a childless couple a baby so they can shower him with love” isn’t actually all that fiendish. I can’t be too hard on Stagnate if that’s the best he can do for an “evil” plan.

marthaurion: For what it’s worth, I don’t really think I got the same impression of stagnate as being overtly evil, but maybe I wasn’t focusing on that at the time. From what I read, it seemed like his motivations were rooted in a concept that made sense, but his implementation ultimately brings him at odds with others.

stardf29: I have to agree that Stagnate is not so much “intentionally evil” as much as a sort of “well-intentioned extremist”. I think it’s interesting that Stagnate was originally a “good” god, but would later “stray from that path”; it shows that, putting the initially “evil” gods aside, the gods are not actual moral paragons and are indeed falliable. I’ll have more to say on this in a later question.

Jeskai Angel: Will was surprisingly relatable. The way he described himself, I got the impression that he suffered some real trauma which caused depression or anxiety or some other form of mental ill health, and as one commonly sees in anime / light novels, he never got adequate psychological / psychiatric treatment for it. I also appreciate that his past-life memories were important yet not intrusive. By that, I mean that the story spend a bunch time dwelling on Will’s efforts to replicate modern technology, business practices, or Japanese food culture the way so many isekai protagonists do. That sort of thing is sometimes done well, but other times just feels like a cookie cutter isekai trope. Memories from his past are both inspiring and useful for Will, but they can only carry him so far, something he explicitly notes when talking about how Gus’s lessons eventually surpassed his past-life education level.

Will eventually does end up as an OP Isekai Protagonist (TM), but it feels “earned” in a narrative sense. He puts forth a ton of effort to reach the point of being OP, and even then, it’s not just efforts that make it possible. He never could have reached the point he did without all the care and teaching Blood, Mary, and Gus give him. Mater and Gracefeel also contribute to what he becomes. He isn’t just handed phenomenal cosmic power from the start.

marthaurion: For my impression of will, it was hard for me not to draw parallels to Mushoku Tensei, since both protagonists come from that similar thought of feeling like they want to make something more of themselves in their new lives. It’s hard not to feel like Will’s reincarnation is more of an afterthought whenever it comes up, whereas Rudy’s reincarnation seems to more actively inform many of his decisions. Ultimately, it seems like Will’s reincarnation is mostly meant to tie him to Gracefeel. To be fair, i think this is fine, but the other attempts to tie back to his old life don’t really hit home for me.

Also, I would agree that will’s abilities definitely feel earned, in spite of what I said earlier about how I compare him to Rudy.

It’s more of a commentary on how the reincarnation aspect ties into things.

Jeskai Angel: I haven’t read the Jobless Reincarnation light novels, and only watched the first few episodes before dropping the recent anime adaptation. That said…the big contrast I saw between Will and Rudy is that the former is a relatively good person and the latter is a relatively awful one. I got the distinct sense that Rudy, was a Jabba-the-Hutt-like sleazeball in his previous life, AND that he carried over his perverted habits into his reincarnated life. In that regard, at least, Rudy didn’t even seem to be trying to do better than in his previous life. Perhaps I’m off base in this, and Rudy wasn’t as bad as in his first life as the anime made him seem, or perhaps he eventually turns better in his second life. I just know that in terms of comparisons, I found Will vastly more sympathetic and likeable.

marthaurion: Is that so wrong? Even if I don’t have the same traits, I can respect that Rudy carries over parts of his identity while working past some of the traumas that held him back.

stardf29: Regarding Will, honestly, I don’t really have anything to add here that Jeskai hasn’t already said. I like how his past life memories have enough of an effect on his current self that you’re curious what his past life was life, but not so much that I want the story to actually explain it, leaving that in the realm of fascinating mystery.

Jeskai Angel: I appreciated how each of Blood, Mary, and Gus contributed something irreplaceable to Will’s upbringing. They were well balanced, and had a fun rapport with each other. I also thought it was a fun touch how the story emphasized that some of their knowledge was dated and they don’t really know anything about the current state of the world. I can’t help but suspect all three are some kind of allusion to Christianity, due to in their names. First, having a woman named Mary who ends up with a baby through unnatural means is…not remotely subtle. And once you’ve introduced that, the names of the other two start to seem suspiciously coincidental. “Blood” is in fact a very important thing in Christianity (e.g., the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist). And Gus isn’t in the Bible by his nickname, but “Augustus” (of the Caesar variety) does get a shout-out in Luke 2:1.

stardf29: Man, Blood, Mary, and Gus are great. They are such a great parental trio, with each of them having aspects that are different from each other that allow them to balance each other out, which overall makes them quite good at raising Will. It definitely made me sad that their time with Will ultimately had to come to an end. And I definitely found the use of “Mary” for the mother’s name strangely familiar…

Someone took some creative liberties with their nativity display.

3. What do you think about the setting/worldbuilding in this volume?

Jeskai Angel: Now that you’ve said it, the worldbuilding and setting seem clearly inspired by tabletop RPGs (or video games closely based on tabletop RPGs, like Baldur’s Gate or something), which in turn drew from older western fantasy works (from Greek mythology to Tolkien). It contains a lot of traditional elements, and the end result is something that in one sense feels creative and unusual compared to typical fantasy light novels, but in another sense more derivative than many other fantasy light novels. That is, light novels that don’t draw so heavily on traditional fantasy have room to sometimes do some really interesting things, whereas Faraway Paladin never completely loses that familiar “I think I might have read this in the ’90s” vibe I mentioned before.

marthaurion: I really liked how magic was presented in this world. It feels more grounded to think of it as something that isn’t guaranteed to succeed in a general sense. With that presentation, Gus’s philosophy of choosing words that have the safest failures rather than the most effective successes makes a lot of sense. It truly makes magic feel like a feat of intelligence, rather than just a question of how well you can time or aim the spell, as is the general impression in other fantasy settings.

As for the pantheon, I’m less familiar with kind of the “official” pantheons for D&D, so I didn’t immediately draw that parallel. I felt the similarities to Greek/Roman mythology a lot more strongly when I was reading, where the gods are just presented as very powerful beings that preside over processes.

stardf29: As mentioned before, the current highlight of the worldbuilding is in the gods and how they relate to the people of the world. I do like how the worldbuilding is presented over time, as if we are learning about it alongside Will. This is especially notable since this first volume only takes place in a small area geographically, so there’s still a lot of world for us to learn as Will explores outside the city of the dead.

Also, I like how magic in this world works. It’s not just “oh yeah people can use magic,” nor is it too videogame-like or overly “scientific”. There’s a greater sense of mystique thanks to the connection to the “Words of Creation”, and even Will himself mentions it’s more like classic fantasy novels in this way.

Now, about those gods. As I mentioned before, the “good” and “evil” designation of gods is not static, and that does make me wonder a few things. For one, what exactly defines what makes a god “good” or “evil”? Gus does say at one point that he considers those designations something that their followers, i.e. the people, decided, and that makes me curious as to the greater religious sociology of this world. It also makes me wonder if there are any cases where an “evil” god ends up being more “good”…

4. What connections does this volume’s story have with our Christian faith?

Jeskai Angel: The conflicting divine approaches to death provide fascinating contrasts with the third possibility Christianity teaches. Gracefeel represents reincarnation with no memories. Life ends in death, but then restarts from scratch. In this system, a soul is basically an Etch A Sketch, getting erased & reused over & over. I find this a deeply unsatisfying concept because it makes one’s life meaningless. It doesn’t matter what you do, eventually you’ll die & get erased & nothing about you will carry over. This approach leaves no room for reward or judgment. It actually reminds me a bit of some of my issues the versions of predestination/election found in some circles of Christianity, in that by say God absolutely predetermines the outcome, they risk making this life meaningless.

Stagnate has beef with this, & thus offers undeath as an alternative to reincarnation. Your identity won’t get erased, but you’ll be stuck as some damaged or half-destroyed version of yourself (e.g., a skeleton, zombie, or ghost) that isn’t truly alive. By offering some degree of continuity, Stagnate’s undeath does have an advantage over Gracefeel’s soul recycling bin. Unfortunately, it’s rightly called ‘undeath,” not “life.” The solution to death needs to be life, so in that respect Gracefeel’s approach has an edge over Stagnate’s.

Finally, there’s Christianity, promising a transformative bodily resurrection. Gracefeel & Stagnate only have workarounds to the problem of death; they can’t do anything about death itself. On the other hand, in the person of Jesus, Life directly challenges & overcomes death. In the resurrection, we will still be ourselves in some meaningful sense, unlike Gracefeel’s reincarnation. But unlike with Stagnate’s static, flawed imitation of life, we will be truly alive as transformed, perfected versions of ourselves. In short, the contrast between Gracefeel’s reincarnation & Stagnate’s undeath really drives home how awesome our Lord’s promise of resurrection is.

stardf29: So one of my favorite moments in the novel is when Mater protects Mary, and shows that Mary’s “punishment” was entirely self-inflicted, and that Mater had long forgiven her. It’s a good picture of grace, and how we can sometimes believe we are being “punished” by God, and perhaps even try to punish ourselves, even though God has already satisfied all need for “punishment” through Christ’s death. Sure, we have to deal with consequences of our actions, but that is not some kind of divine judgment.

Now, this story’s theological worldbuilding is based on the idea that “if good is created, then evil must be created to balance it”. There’s also how Will feels like he needs to fear death in order to feel like he truly is living, in opposition to Stagnate who wants to remove death entirely. It’s this idea of “balance” that I think comes from one of the major Eastern religions (will have to do some more research on this) and is fairly popular in fantasy works. It’s certainly a nice-sounding idea, but I think Christianity shows how we can look forward to a future without death, and not feel like we’re “missing” something because of that.

The contrast with Stagnate, as Jeskai pointed out, is particularly helpful because it shows that eternal life, separated from God and His perfect design for life, is pretty crappy. (And I have to agree that Gracefeel’s reincarnation of souls feels rather empty.)

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Thank you for checking out our discussion on The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! The series is available digitally from J-Novel Club if you want to buy this volume or any later volumes for yourself, with a hardcover print edition planned for release in March 2022.

Discussion on our next Light Novel Club title, Tearmoon Empire Vol. 4, has started on the Beneath the Tangles Discord! The discussion will be open throughout the month of August, so there’s still time to read the series and join our discussion.

If you want to prepare for the novels we are discussing later in the year: In September 2021, we will be discussing Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1! And if you want to know what we are discussing in October 2021… we will be discussing the next novel in the “Rascal Does Not Dream…” series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai!

#Light Novels #Christianity #The Faraway Paladin #Saihate no Paladin #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: stardf29 #Author: marthaurion

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Light Novel Club Chapter 31: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 2

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 2! We had a fun discussion of the first volume earlier, and with the anime adaptation giving this series some more attention, why not discuss the second volume? After all, this volume shakes up the story a bit and shows that there’s more to winning the game of life than just following along with a human player’s guide… Join TWWK, Jeskai Angel, and me as we challenge the next level of this light novel!

(Note: At the end of the post are the next light novels we will be discussing in the Light Novel Club. As a reminder, Light Novel Club discussions are held publicly on the Beneath the Tangles Discord, so anyone can join in on future discussions!)

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1. What are your overall impressions on the novel?

TWWK: I’ve watched the series but hadn’t read any of the light novels, so I took a leap by starting with volume two. The experience was quite different from the TV series, which made it feel almost new to me, despite the adaptation having followed the volume closely. I really enjoyed reading about the characters from Tomozaki’s point of view, as he himself is developed as a character with a pretty quick mind and more intelligent than I think he gives himself credit for. So it was a fun, brisk read for me.

stardf29: This was a really nice volume, mainly because it throws a wrench in the “Hinami teaches Tomozaki something about life, and he applies it” formula that the first volume had going. The whole student council election arc was great because not only does Tomozaki have to figure things out on his own, but his opponent is the very person that’s been teaching him the whole time! Using video game terms, it’s as if the first volume is the tutorial stage, and this is the first real level where the player is expected to play the game on his own. I’m also really liking how other characters are being developed, and in particular how Tomozaki and Mimimi associate with each other throughout all this. It expands what could have been a pretty one-note story concept into something more complex, and makes me all the more interested to keep going with it.

Jeskai Angel: It’s a strong continuation of the first volume. Coming back to read it again for this discussion, I also noticed that vol. 2 foreshadows good bit more than I realized during my first read. Finally, I know this is silly, but my inner historian just loved seeing JOHN ADAMS of all people come up in a Japanese novel. Kudos to the author for that historical reference.

TWWK: To be fair, I thought that was a tough question for a Japanese student. I mean…let’s be honest. How many Americans, even students at that age who might be taking U.S. History, would have answered “Jefferson” as the second president? But Mimimi’s point is still well taken.

Jeskai Angel: I mean, if we want to switch it around, maybe the equivalent question for Americans is “Who was the second shogun of the Tokugawa Period?” or something. LOL

2. What are your thoughts on the characters in this volume?

TWWK: As I mentioned earlier, the Tomozaki in this volume comes across very differently than in the anime. His voice is more humorous and sarcastic here. I once heard Jeskai say that he thinks better of him than my favorite, Hikigaya (Oregairu), because Tomozaki is trying to better himself, and I think that’s very clear from the reading, and together with the humor makes him a fun character. He does also come across as trying just as hard in the anime, but is more obviously awkward than in the book, I think—at least how I view him in my mind while reading. The gap between Tomozaki and a top-tier character feels far less surmountable in the TV series.

Likewise, I find Hinami more compelling in the book. I thought the author did a nice job of making her a character that I empathize with, even though she’s “perfect” in all ways except for her sometimes haughty attitude. That there’s some insecurity there and questioning, particularly when she asks Tomozaki if being so good at what she does is the proper approach, humanizes her.

Finally, Mimimi, who gets top girl treatment in this volume, presents a compelling case, too. It wasn’t at all enjoyable to see her struggle in this volume, particularly in the final chapter or two. It was painful, which I think speaks to an authenticity in the development of her character. It just be that, because I don’t think it’s painfully written (it’s quite well done, I think), not do I feel like I can closely relate to her, as I never worked terrifically hard to get ahead of those in front of me academically (though I was in a similar position as her). I think she’s just in a tough spot, one that can be understood, which made for interesting reading, particularly in light of her outside self.

Jeskai Angel: Kikuchi is awesome. My biggest complaint about pretty much every volume of Tomozaki is that Kikuchi doesn’t get enough screen time. And that’s not just because Tomozaki’s descriptions of her are so hilarious. She proves herself quite insightful this time around; even though she doesn’t personally hang out with Hinami and Mimimi all that much, she makes some incisive remarks about both. I thought Kikuchi’s question, “Why does she [Hinami] work so hard to be perfect?” was profound.

Speaking of Hinami, something is seriously off with her. With the benefit of hindsight, I realized this volume reveals or expands on a lot of troubling things about her. There’s a ton of ambiguity surrounding her. Why did she suddenly change so drastically in middle school? Why does she continue to be such a perfectionist? That kind of obsession isn’t healthy at all, and should raise questions about her mental health. Plus, how can she be so two-faced, is she training to become a Batman villain, and how real / sincere is she at any given moment? Then there’s the occasional downright creepy things she says, like that remark about persuading people as the path to become a cult leader. Some of her advice to Tomozaki is legit, but it takes an increasing amount of critical thinking to sift through her words.

Hinami plays a role in my favorite Tomozaki scene of this volume. Earlier, Tomozaki told Mimimi that being number one didn’t matter so much as continuing to improve and not losing to oneself. When he reports the situation to Hinami, she responds that there’s no way he could actually believe that. “…you’re the same as me in that respect, right? You must be, if you’ve gotten that far in Atafami.” And Tomozaki comes back “…What the hell? I genuinely think that. Atafami is a battle against myself.” His advice to Mimimi was good, but it gets even better when it turns out to reflect a fundamental difference between him and Hinami. Also, it’s not like he was trying trick her, but the fact remains that Hinami was WRONG about something: she misread Tomozaki’s motivation and project her own desire to be number one onto him. It’s an important moment in establishing how Tomozaki differs from Hinami.

Mimimi was the star of this volume. She turns out to be a lot more complex than the lovable goofball we met in the first volume. And we don’t just see this through her relationship with Tomozaki, but also her relationships with various other characters, like Hinami and Tama. I mentioned it earlier, but Mimimi in particular had some moments that I didn’t pay much attention to during my first read, but with the benefit of hindsight, seem like foreshadowing.

Something that struck me while reading this volume that I hadn’t really thought about before is how the five main girls in Tomozaki’s life contrast with each other. Izumi, Mimimi, and of course Hinami are outgoing normie girls, but Hinami is duplicitous, while Mimimi and Izumi seem far more genuine. And between Mimimi and Izumi, the former is more independent while the latter is more go-along-to-get-along (though she’s trying to change that). And then Kikuchi and Hanabi are both non-normie girls who don’t quite fit in, but where Tama is bold and outspoken, Kikuchi is quiet and introverted. I knew this stuff about these characters, but didn’t realize just how much each girls serves as mirror for one or more of the others.

stardf29: Tomozaki continues to grow in this volume, not just in how he “plays the game of life” but also how he works through some things on his own, particularly with when he was helping Mimimi with the student council election. And I really like the moment when he explained how his motivation for becoming the best in Atafami is more so he doesn’t lose to himself, and then how that creates a notable difference in his approach to gaming compared to Hinami.

And yes, I like how this volume makes us question the whole mentorship Hinami has over Tomozaki, particularly with how their approaches to “gaming” are ultimately different, but also how Hinami might have her own issues to deal with, as well as how there are things she can’t handle, like the whole situation with Mimimi. It’s part of what moves this story away from just being a “self-help” book and into a more complex story with various character motivations.

Mimimi is the “star” of the volume, and rightly so. She provides an interesting “Player 3” to the story, as her natural friendliness makes it easy for her to get along with Tomozaki, while also having her own history with Hinami and her own perspective towards competition. There’s a nice line of character development for her going through this volume, and I like how it’s neither Tomozaki or Hinami who ultimately helps her with her biggest insecurities; that would be “too easy” for either of them.

Overall, I really like how this series has been incorporating more of its side characters. Even the guys have a good presence here. I’m definitely looking forward to what role these other characters play in the story.

3. One of the themes of this volume is “losing”, and how different people feel about not being “first place”. What are your personal thoughts on how we should approach competition, particularly when we lose?

Jeskai Angel: I think we all take some competitions more seriously than others. The novel shows this with Hinami and Mimimi’s middle school teammates. Those girls just weren’t invested in basketball in the way that Hinami and MImimi were. That doesn’t necessarily mean those girls were all lazy losers who fail at everything in life because they never put forth effort. It just means that particular kind of competition wasn’t as much of a priority to them. A big factor in how seriously we take competition is the stakes. Is there a prize we care about? Alternatively, sometimes we feel our sense of self-worth is on the line in a competition. Of course, it’s not so much the case that our value as a person is on the line, but rather than our pride is what’s at stake.

This brings us to the Bible, with all its “The last shall be first,” and “The meek shall inherit the earth” messages. A consistent theme in the scriptures is that God’s idea of “winning” is different than ours, and God will overturn human expectations about who the “winners” are. The Bible promotes humility and discourages us from seeking the glory of men. Most of the winning we can do in this life just isn’t meaningful.

Now, that said, winning is a lot more fun than losing. It’s okay to wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. But “fun” and “the meaning of my existence” are very different kinds of stakes, and I think Hinami, and Mimimi to a lesser extent, have mixed them up. Mimimi felt kind of lost in this volume; she’s not competing for fun, but neither is she an ego-driven maniac on the level of Hinami. I think Hinami’s form of competitiveness is dangerous, while Tomozaki’s is more benign. Competing because it’s fun to win is much less serious that competing because we need to affirm our pride.

TWWK: Mimimi is a good example of how sport and competition can dictate your self-worth. And not just those, but anything in which we put forth energy and show talent and excellence. Jeskai points toward scripture, which is totally unique is showing that our self-worth is in the creator and his attributes, not in our own, which when lived out most fully can both help us excel in competition while lifting us up in our failures. I think that’s such an incredible and life-giving message, because my experience with some I’ve known in athletics mirrors Mimimi’s, and my own academic studies when I was younger mirrors hers, too—when we eventually fail, for we all will (look at Hinami in gaming), do we have a foundation to help us from bottoming out? If there was is a criticism I have for this excellent volume, it’s that Mimimi recovers almost unrealistically, or at least, without us being truly privy to what it is that leads to that change in her. I don’t think it’s so easy to step back up when you have such a reaction as hers to failure.

stardf29: Given how prevalent “competition” is in the world, there’s clearly something about wanting to beat others at something that is a part of human nature. One could argue it’s not inherently a bad thing, either, as there are plenty of stories where healthy competition encourages two people to both improve. This seems to be behind Tomozaki’s approach to games; he’s mainly focused on mastering the game he plays, and losing means he has more to learn and master. His statement that he mainly doesn’t want to lose to himself is a great statement: when he loses, it’s less about losing to the opponent and more about the realization that there’s still more to be done to master the game. This pursuit of getting better is the healthy side of competition, and if God designed us to seek competition as part of our nature, it would be for this reason.

Unfortunately, competition also has its ugly sides. With Mimimi, we see something more just misguided: the belief that she won’t mean anything unless she is in first place. It’s definitely an unhealthy attitude to have, but thankfully Tama snaps her out of it by making sure she knows she means something to her no matter what. It’s the kind of attitude that can easily come about if one grows up in an environment without unconditional love, and likewise one which God’s unconditional love can help a lot with.

And then with Hinami, we don’t know yet why exactly she’s so fixated on “winning”. Maybe she just likes the feeling of having asserted dominance over other people. That’s definitely a common source of unhealthy competition. She might also feel something similar to Mimimi, where she feels like her self-worth is based on successful competition. Whatever the case, it definitely seems like she’s unhealthily obsessed with winning.

4. Were there any particular bits of advice on life that you liked from this volume?

TWWK: The bit of advice that Aoi had given Mimimi when she wanted to help Tama become integrated in their class was simple but I think helpful in many real-life situations, too—it basically was to talk to her a little each day. I’ve been in Tama’s shoes before, and thanks to friendly and extroverted classmates, have been integrated better into classes and developed good friendships, something that was far from guaranteed due to my shy nature and the frequency with which I transferred between schools as a military brat. I’ve always been grateful for the Mimimi’s in my life, though thankfully, none have been so, uh, intimate with me.

5. If you watched the anime, what do you think about how the anime adapted this volume?

Jeskai Angel: I don’t recall any glaring oddities with the anime. As with many other anime adaptations of first-person-narrated light novels, the biggest difference is the lack of the protagonist’s inner monologue. This a journey-before-destination story. What Tomozaki ultimately says or does is less important that the thought process he uses to get there, and the anime just can’t convey that with the kind of depth we get in the book. More specifically, I think Tomozaki’s comments on the other characters are especially noteworthy. His impressions can reveal things (about himself, and about the other characters) that are much less obvious without that first-person narration.

TWWK: I mentioned it earlier, but what’s most obvious to me is the difference in Tomozaki’s. No, they’re not really developed differently, but the anime is heavily focused on “what we see,” the outsider’s view of Tomozaki, which is appropriately awkward and especially voiced as such. The light novel is almost the opposite, as we mostly experience his inner voice which is witty, humorous, and just as engaging (and usually more so) than that of the people he’s trying to emulate. It’s a nice contrast, actually—I enjoyed this source material more than the anime episodes, but appreciate the anime a bit more now as well, now that I can see a fuller picture of this character.

Christina Kelly, who voices Mimimi in the English dub, chatted with us about the character among others she’s voice.

stardf29: I like the point about the anime allowing us to see Tomozaki more from an outsider’s perspective. I’ve heard others make comments about how “cringe” Tomozaki sounds when they actually got to hear him with proper voice acting, and usage of somewhat-overused buzzwords aside, I think it’s a good reflection of how the anime makes it clear how socially awkward Tomozaki really is, which helps me appreciate his growth more. I do still prefer all the internal monologue we get with Tomozaki in the light novels, but I do like this part of the anime, at least.

Also, while not technically part of this volume, I should say, the anime really went out of its way with the portrayal of Atafami, with a whole bunch of characters designed for the anime that don’t even appear in the story. I like it when animators go just that extra little bit further for these adaptations.

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If you read through our discussion, I hope you liked it! As a reminder, our next Light Novel Club discussion is on The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! The discussion starts on June 25th, and will run through much of July, so there’s still plenty of time to read it and join our discussion!

The following light novel is none other than Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 4! Tearmoon Empire is basically the flagship light novel of the Light Novel Club at this point, and there’s a pretty good chance we will be discussing every volume of this series, so if you haven’t yet, why not start catching up with this series so you can join our discussion? You have a little bit of extra time, too, as our discussion will start on August 1st. Also, starting from this point, all Light Novel Club discussions will start on the 1st of the month, which should make it easy to know when these discussions start.

And why not reveal yet another light novel we will be discussing? After all, on September 1st, we will be discussing one of the most iconic and popular light novel series as we finally discuss Sword Art Online! …or rather, we will be discussing Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1! This is a re-take on the story starting from the Aincrad arc, going into more detail and overall considered an improved version of the story, so this is definitely going to be a great discussion for SAO fans.

If you are interested in discussing any of these series with us, join the Beneath the Tangles Discord and look for the Light Novel Club section. Happy reading!

#Light Novels #Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki #Jaku Chara Tomozaki kun #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: TWWK #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: stardf29

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Light Novel Club, Chapter 29: Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 3

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 3! We are back with Mia, the Great Sage of the Empire, and her attempts to save the Empire and her own skin. Sure, she may have escaped the guillotine, but there may still be other threats to her livelihood in the future… especially when her granddaughter from the future pays a time-traveling visit!

Joining me in this discussion are Jeskai Angel, Gaheret, and marthaurion! As a reminder, the discussions are held on our public Beneath the Tangles Discord server, so anyone can join our discussions. Go to the end of this post if you want to see what novels we are reading next if you want to join our next discussions!

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1. What are your overall thoughts on the book?

stardf29: Seeing as this is the start of a new story arc, I think this volume worked pretty well to set up the next challenge Mia has to deal with. It confirmed my suspicions that there is a demonic force, the Chaos Serpents, that were truly behind the problems that led to Mia’s execution in the last timeline, and even in this current timeline they are continuing to try to cause problems. Bringing Mia’s granddaughter from a bad future provides an interesting “replacement” to the diary, but nevertheless the threat of Rafina going overzealous is there. That said, given that this volume has more of a focus on school activities and is still setting up things to come, it’s also not quite as interesting as the last volume was, which is to be expected. It’s still very entertaining, and sets things up well for future volumes.

Jeskai Angel: It’s great, as expected of Tearmoon Empire. I agree that whole student-council-election plot was…not the most interesting thing, though it still provided many opportunities for humor and character development. I think I mentioned this back when we covered vol. 2, but I appreciated how the narrative wove the new arc into Mia’s original story. I also thought it was great that we’re still getting flashbacks to Mia’s first life (e.g., the birthday observance chapter). She’s altered the timeline and no longer has to worry about that particular fate, but she still experienced those events and they still affect her. I like seeing that kind of continuity / consistency. It was also interesting to learn more about the church and its place within the setting.

Gaheret: As for me, I did like the school council election plot more than the Remno plot (which felt less believable to me, speaking in general). It provided very interesting insights into the religion of Rafina´s Church and of the politics of this world, and I find that topic fascinating. A somewhat sacral democratic election! Ritual attires and baths! Symbolic colours! Moral issues concerning political campaigns! Dukes with theme colours! A tyrant theocratic Empire! A secret society trying to undermine the established religion! Justice and mercy! A proto-alliance against the Serpents! Mia´s theological thoughts! Rafina cracking! It was all great. In general, I´d say that I like Tearmoon Empire more in its St. Noel setting, where Mia can make the most of her knowledge of the future, the geopolitical/social/emotional game is everywhere, coincidences regarding future events are less far-fetched, she knows more or less everyone and more or less anticipates what the challenges of the school year will be, as she is revisiting a known scenario in which she has failed once. I liked this one a lot.

marthaurion: Been a while, so I don’t remember all of the details. I remember being surprised that the diary went away so soon in the story, but the fact that it opens the way for Miabel to enter the story is interesting. It would have been very easy (and safe) to keep the diary as an updating glimpse into Mia’s future, so I appreciate that it’s dumped to give way for new things. I like the idea in general that Mia’s life doesn’t completely revolve around a single tragedy in her future. As a side note, I thought it was funny that Mia dodges tragedy at the guillotine, securing a pleasant life for herself, but immediately ruins it again because she doesn’t want a lot of kids. I think some of this is carried over from the previous volume, but I think we get to see how this plays out in the overall story in this volume.

2. What are your thoughts on the new characters that are either introduced in this volume, or that we see more of this volume?

Jeskai Angel: Starting with her name (literally being a portmanteau of “Mia” and “Abel”), Bel is fun. Mia’s jealousy at the way everyone dotes on her granddaughter is also hilarious. Bel also has a tendency to blurt out truths that Mia hadn’t intended to share. And Bel serves an important role in confirming for us as readers that Mia is the beneficiary of some form of divine providence. Bel’s arrival is unmistakably an answer to Mia’s plea for guidance.

Finally, I think the Bel’s flashbacks (which are still in the future from Mia’s point of view) are another neat way of demonstrating Mia’s effect on the timeline. In her first life, most people rejected and abandoned Mia, but with just the changes she’s made so far, there are now a ton of people who treasure Mia so highly that they’re willing to die for her granddaughter. It’s a weird combination of sad and heartwarming. I want to learn more about how this has affected Bel. We know the royal guard died protecting Mia in her first life, and that Anne and Ludwig were loyal to the end, but beyond that, Mia’s first life experience was all about rejection. Not so for Bel, who was beloved by many, but instead has to deal with the trauma of seeing them all die for her.

Gaheret: Miabel was interesting to read about, but I cannot help but think that her plot could have been much more interesting. What if, for example, she had had some reason to hold a grudge against Mia, or perhaps Rafina? What if their personalities had been starkly different? What if the world of her grandmother had been so different from hers as our world is from the 1970´s, or as 1830 was from 1789, and she just couldn´t adjust? What if she saw things very differently? What if she had been evil or mischievous, or had created some sort of problem between Mia and Abel, or had befriended someone against Mia´s wishes? And, the one I feel the most to be a missed opportunity, what if she had been the one person able to see through her? I think Mia needs someone, anyone, that doesn´t misinterpret everything she does, someone she can be completely frank with. I know I would, if I were in her position. Miabel would have been great in that respect. I thought things were going there when she rejected the cookie and noticed how Mia had gone to Anne´s bed, but they didn´t.

marthaurion: Miabel was a fun addition to the cast. So far, she seems a bit incomplete, given the nature of her arrival. I would have expected a visitor from the future to contribute more than passing a single message from a future Ludwig, which makes me think she’s here for more than that. I’m also curious how temporary her visit is meant to be. If it’s truly temporary, then I think there’s a unique opportunity to provide the story with someone who doesn’t necessarily have to worship Mia. It might take some effort to get her there from her current state of reverence, but she could be the first person with whom Mia can be actually truthful.

stardf29: Miabel is, as mentioned, the “replacement” of the diary as far as a source of information about a bad future, and one that is even more personal, given that she isn’t just a book but a living, breathing person. And because she is going off her memory and records of Mia’s life, she’s also… not quite as reliable of a source, which can certainly make things interesting, as we see here with how she drives Mia towards becoming student council president.

As a character, she is basically a younger Mia, lacking in the wisdom and knowledge Mia has acquired over both her lives, but also lacking the spoiled-brattiness that Mia had once upon a time and lost during her new life. And yes, she’s a lot of fun overall with her interactions with others. I definitely get the sense that she’s finally being given a chance to enjoy life as a kid when she had previously had the whole issue of survival to deal with. She perhaps hasn’t had that much character development at the moment, as the story is still more focused on Mia, and it does make me wonder what Miabel will do going forward. Will she be forced at some point to return back to her old timeline, at which point one would hope she has learned and grown enough to rescue the Tearmoon of that timeline? Or is she stuck in this timeline and will simply continue to be Mia’s “sister”?

Jeskai Angel: Sapphias was a fun red herring. He’s initially set up as a potential enemy…but then turns out to be a just a boy trying to impress the girl he likes. The narrator makes fun of Mia for her groundless suspicions, and by extension, I think, also makes fun of us the readers for suspecting Sapphias. The other facet of his character that jumped out at me is that he’s yet another instance of Mia’s tendency to have a positive influence on those around her. Sapphias starts out as an arrogant jerk, but by the end of the volume he’s happily and humbly accepting a position as subordinate to Tiona, the girl he’d sneered at earlier.

Gaheret: Sapphias. There you have an interesting name. According to Flavius Josephus, Joshua Ben Sapphias was a leader of the Zealots during the war which ended with the destruction of the Temple, the one during which the Christians were advised to flee Jerusalem. He was of high upbringing, the governor of the city. The fact that one of the Dukes, related to Mia, is joining the revolutionaries also has Philippe Égalité vibes. Philippe, the “Godfather of the Revolution”, was a Borbon and married to the wealthiest lady of France, yet he was a Jacobin, the Masonic “Grand Orient de France” and a revolutionary leader who antagonised Marie Antoinette and voted for the death of the king. All of which didn´t spare him the guillotine, though.

As for the actual Sapphias, it seems that he is not the Serpent (I think it´s Ruby, but I could be wrong), and I like he being in the Student Council. In the end, Serpents aside, which caused Tearmoon´s Revolution was a morally compromised aristocracy who abused its privileges, behaved irresponsibly, was quarrelsome and didn´t cooperate. The incident at the frontier, the Tiona issue during the ball, Ludwig´s complaints and the new information we receive in this volume make this abundantly clear. So the main task of Mia is reforming her ruling class, both so they can work together and so they can behave (more or less) for the good of the people and in a way fitting of Rafina´s standards. Thus, Sapphias, who behaves arrogantly and dishonourably during the election, but doesn´t want to let his betrothed down, is perfect to illustrate this sort of change. He working with Mia under Tiona and Rafina is a brilliant move, and I think he will be a very interesting character.

Ruby. We see very little of the future Red Moon Duchess. I think she is an Oscar François de Jarjeyes/Rose of Versailles reference, and I suspect her of being the Serpent. This, both because she seems proficient with the sword and because she seems to be rubbing salt in the wound concerning Esmeralda´s grievances, and she seems clever. She also seems clever. And I´d say that the Red Moon sounds the most villain-like of the four moons.

stardf29: Sapphias, and on that same note Esmeralda and Ruby, are very reminiscent of “old” Mia. They have her self-centeredness and lack the perspective the current Mia has to recognize the larger-scale consequences of that selfishness, but at the same time they don’t seem to be truly malicious. Well, that might just be saying, they don’t quite have the mental capacity to do anything truly malicious… And yeah, the fake-out that Sapphias had nothing to do with the Chaos Serpents and just wants to impress the girl he likes is great.

That said, the main difference between Sapphias and the other two Etoiles we’ve met is that Sapphias has gotten a full dose of Mia’s power of unintentional inspiration, and is on track to becoming a better person. So the real question is… how will Mia change the lives of Esmeralda and Ruby?

Jeskai Angel: Shout-out to the mysterious Citrina, who hasn’t even shown up in person yet. With Sapphias, Esmeralda, and Ruby becoming more prominent in the narrative, it seems logical that Citrina will have a part to play as well. I can’t help but wonder about the fourth gem-themed ducal scion: it’s hard not to suspect the author of holding something back by talking about her yet keeping her off-stage.

3. What do you think of how previous characters have changed or developed in this volume?

Jeskai Angel: In terms of development for a returning character, Sion was the big winner of vol. 2, and for vol. 3, it’s Rafina. She was pretty vague prior to this — somebody connected with religion and hostile to Mia in her first life, but that’s about it. This volume shows more about her background, motivations, mental/emotional state, and social position. Within the setting, she’s basically like heir of the Pope, if the papacy were a hereditary position. For a kid her age, no wonder that’s a lot of stress!

This volume did a pretty good job of letting many of the notable previous characters get a moment or two in the spotlight, even while the main focus was still on Mia, Rafina, and the new (or new-ish) characters. I think my favorite moment was the conversation between Ludwig and Dion, where Ludwig lays out how Mia somehow inspires people to want to be better. It’s cool to see that Ludwig has such a surprisingly good grasp of Mia’s effect on others. But then we also get to see someone in the middle of changing due to Mia’s influence (i.e., Dion) reflecting on how he himself is changing, and deciding quite deliberately to let her continuing affecting him.

Gaheret: Turning to the already-established characters, Esmeralda being Mia´s friend in the previous timeline, yet abandoning her in the time of greatest need is a very interesting development. As Sapphias, she makes a great antagonist and may be the character who, right now, keeps more of the Mia that was. Unlike Shion and Rafina, people that she could more or less avoid, Mia is going to have to deal with her, because she will soon be one of the top members of her nobility. She is also an antagonist both to Tiona and to Mia herself, and it is clear that she has taken to heart Mia´s refusal to join her party. Her conversation with Sapphias is very interesting, too, both because it tells us that these people are connected and honour that, even if they can´t stand each other, and because of the detail that she thinks he is badmouthing Mia, but she is not, because she thinks Mia was in the wrong to disdain a kinswoman of high rank. Now she has chosen Sapphias over her, and it is foreseeable that he will start changing, so she could feel insulted again, and threatened by that change. The narrator tells us that she has plans of her own, and she could easily become the main non-Serpent antagonist very soon.

Dion. This is my favourite development. I found Dion Alaia to be a dangerous battle-addict who could betray his leader the moment he disagrees with her, and become downright murderous. I still find him to be as unnerving as Mia finds him. What if Rafina hadn´t taken the matter of his infiltration with a sword well, as she had every right to do? Why does he think it´s OK to be the only one to enter a school with a weapon? The Reaper, seriously? But to be willing to put his sword aside and take a different road in life for the good of Mia and the Empire, abandoning the dream of dying in the battlefield, is a very significant step for him. And that conversation with Ludwig, it is clear that he is willing to grow, to trust, to change. He may become a true soldier, one who takes the sword to protect the peace and then returns to other kinds of service. Which is the greatest example of the Mia effect I have yet seen, except for…

Rafina! In volume one, I said she had a threatening aura, always judging and condemning while using her influence one way or another. In this volume, we see the reason for this: she has always longed for a friend, yet her friends behave cruelly towards others, which implied that, were she not powerful and important, she may had the same fate. Embedded in ritual, loved by the commoners, unflinching, elegant, the main wall against the Tearmoon nobility ethos, her Empress Prelate was every bit as terrifying as the Penal King, yet somehow more justified. The Serpents discredited her religion precisely by exploiting her weaknesses and make their own destruction her absolute priority, and convincing her of abandoning her neutral, diarchical stance, so carefully built, towards theocracy. Her religion, which feels like a Christianity without Christ, reminded me of Israel at the time of the Maccabees, in need of the plan of salvation which shows mercy to the sinners. And thus, the lesson of forgiveness and mercy Mia inadvertently delivered her, beautifully represented in the red/white contrast, was precisely what she needed. Her stepping down was beautiful. She may be my favourite character right now, and the living proof that Mia is an agent of Providence.

Tiona, Shion, Keithwood, Chloe. Well, too little Tiona, once again. I want her to go beyond her newfound devotion to Mia, and start having her own thoughts, projects and dreams. She was a revolutionary leader, as well as Shion´s princess and her Tearmoon counterpart. She was the “Saint of the Revolution”, a St. Joan D´Arc figure that had everything Mia wanted, and her direct rival. In the new timeline, she may have not lost her family or her dominion, but she has (for now) lost everything else. I want to hear more of her. Prince Shion is ironic and cool as always, yet, according to Keithwood, still not over his heartbreak. So I think the conflict when Mia requests his support and flatters him (barefoot in the sand and at full power of her beauty, if we are to believe Keithwood, who barely escapes Mia´s attraction this time), should be greater. Especially due considering how she behaved in the previous volume. This happens in front of Abel, too, which should awaken his insecurities. Concerning Chloe, I liked how she reasons concerning the supernatural and ghosts, and the fact Mia trusts her to the extent of showing one of her weaknesses. I like how their friendship is going.

Ludwig, Abel and Anne. Concerning Mia´s “inner circle”, Ludwig interestingly described the “Mia effect” to Dion Alaia (he knows everything except that it is unintentional and providential) while creating the opportunity for him to change, and is a major player as the educator of Miabel. His future self also provided the decisive clue concerning the election, and Mia gave proof of her deep trust in him by blindly following his advice. He is a keen observer, and a good leader. As for Abel, everything goes smoothly, perhaps a little bit too smoothly, except that he is yet to know Mia´s “other side”. Miabel doesn´t tell us if he ever discovered it in the other timeline, either. Anne, whose kind, merciful nature is confirmed once again, regards Mia increasingly as a little sister, and actually sees her being afraid or lazy, which is good (even if she still regards her as a prodigy of wisdom). It seems to me that Miabel and her may have provided an interesting subplot, as she is her mother figure, only fifty or so years younger, and Miabel is keeping Anne separated from Mia and of her studies. That should bring conflict, or reveals or something, but it hasn´t, or not yet. In any case, she remains the most trustworthy, loyal and caring of all the characters.

And, finally, Mia. “Tiona’s answer blindsided Mia; she hadn’t considered that line of reasoning, and it was made all the more convincing by the fact that she had firsthand experience of an undoubtedly supernatural phenomenon. Ever since her mind-boggling leap through time, she’d been a believer. Not for any profound or philosophical reason, mind you. She just figured that a miracle like that could only have been the work of God. “The almighty God has bestowed something terribly special upon me. That makes me… the chosen one, in a way…” she mused in a profound moment of whatever the opposite of humility is”. But Narrator-san is wrong here: humilitas est veritas, and Mia is the chosen one, not due to her merits or wisdom. She is conscious that it is her duty to grow, be better while still being old Mia, and save many others, and that she is in a providential position to do so. When she going against Rafina in the election, scared as she is, it´s a big moment for her. I found the moments in which she goes through water purification, chooses guillotine red, drinks from the calyx of martyrs and sits in the Student Council after the ritual election to be very moving and powerful, more so because she is blind to most of it. It is the same for us, most of the time. Mia is not a “phoney saint”, but a very compelling saint-in-the-making with a political role to fulfil, and even if her relationship with this world´s God is indirect, it is increasingly real, because she is cooperating. She has all my sympathy.

At this point, I think that Mia´s biggest problem is that, were Rafina, Shion, Dion Alaia, Sapphias or perhaps even Tiona to know what she has been thinking all along, their friendship would probably not last. Abel, Anne and Ludwig would suffer a blow, but Anne and Ludwig remained loyal to her when she was selfish, and Mia has chosen Abel and helped him, not by mistake. That is a great weight, and there is something both comedic and tragic about all those misunderstandings. She has trusted the benevolent God of her world, though, and it seems that His providence is acting, so I hope it all ends well.

stardf29: Rafina definitely got the most out of this volume, particularly in seeing how stressed out she is about all her responsibilities, but also how she feels like she can’t let anyone else take on those responsibilities, either. It’s easy to see how, in the original timeline, this could lead to Empress Prelate Rafina, someone who believes “I am the only one who can fix what is wrong with the world”, but ultimately only hurts the world more because of her actions.

Thankfully, Mia shows her that she has people she can trust to reduce her workload and help her deal with issues like the Chaos Serpents. She may still have plenty to do, but she doesn’t have to burn herself out doing it.

Mia: I think my favorite bit here was how she had learned the importance of asking questions when needed, and how she observed Tiona and Sapphias in order to determine when to ask questions. Few things really are as valuable in life as the willingness to ask questions to learn what you do not know.

For other characters, I do like how some of the minor characters like Lynsha and Monica from the last volume find a role here in this volume. As the Mia support network grows, we could have quite the team ready to deal with whatever the Chaos Serpents try to throw at them.

Mia still has to deal with crap from horses, though. This time, literally.

4. What do you think of the story’s establishment of the “Chaos Serpents” as the greater evil in this world?

Jeskai Angel: I think the story had three options here: conclude, become a school slice-of-life romcom, or introduce some sort of larger conflict for Mia to overcome. The Chaos Serpents represent the third option, an antagonistic presence that can fuel further adventures. With the story increasingly suggesting Mia is the beneficiary of divine intervention and that Bel’s appearance is an answer to prayer, also it makes sense to add a spiritual (that is, demonic) dimension to her opposition.

I’m also glad this volume mostly kept us in the dark about the Chaos Serpents. We learned they exist…and that’s about it. Obviously, the story will eventually need to reveal more, but by leaving readers mostly ignorant at this stage, the narrative puts us in the same position as Mia, Rafina, and company. We know the Chaos Serpents are out there, and we know a few characters who are clearly not part of them. Beyond that, we can only wonder who might be a Chaos Serpent or what they might be doing now.

Gaheret: The Serpents are really cool villains. They sound like a mix of Dostoyevski´s demi-Satanic, demi-Nihilist anarchists leaded by Paul Stepanovich, the Frenchmasons which influenced the French revolution and standard Satanic cults. They oppose every authority, but hate above all religious authority. They have infiltrated the political structures, with an eye to influential positions. As spies, terrorists, criminal organisations and secret societies in the real world often do, they are able to use the paranoia they create against those who oppose them, and who may end up seeing conspirators everywhere and hurting their own causes. Rafina sent a general against then, and discovered that he was a member of the secret society (that literally happen in Spain with Rafael del Riego). I think they are a very good choice for villains.

marthaurion: Seems promising to me. Referring back to what I said earlier, this seemed a bit necessary to make the time shift possible. It was easy to buy that that Mia originally doomed herself to failure, but it would be hard to accept that this happens again and again, despite her flagrant ineptitude. So, I think it makes sense to add an evil organization that can provide the consistent force driving her to change her future. Plus, there’s a sense of comedy in seeing her bumble through their carefully thought-out conspiracies.

stardf29: Yeah, I really liked the establishment of the Chaos Serpents as the “main” villain, for a number of reasons. One reason is that it addresses the whole idea that Mia was singularly responsible for all of Tearmoon’s problems in the old timeline. It was already an unfair accusation in the first volume, showing how the “revolutionary” army wasn’t particularly in the right, and now it is clear that making Mia a scapegoat for the revolution was exactly what the Serpents wanted. They aren’t a “new” villain, but are now being revealed as the ones that are truly behind everything.

And then there is how these Chaos Serpents give off the feeling of a Satanic cult, and how there may be a sort of “God vs. Satan” element to the story. That certainly makes for an interesting way to view the story, especially from a Christian perspective.

Also, I like the idea of Mia thwarting the Serpents by, well, being Mia. For all of the Serpents’ machinations, they simply are no match for a girl with some foresight, some kindness, and a lot of charisma.

As an additional thought: if we think of this story as being inspired by actual historical events like the French Revolution, it creates an interesting thing to think about: how events like the French Revolution may have been influenced by Satan himself. Maybe there weren’t actual Satanic cultists secretly influencing things, but it’s not hard to think of how the Enemy’s lies might have affected historic events.

5. What did you think of the religious symbols and rituals in the story?

Jeskai Angel: I liked it. I guess what surprises me about the story’s use of religious imagery was how…respectful (?) it was. I feel like ninety-nine times out of a hundred, any organization that appears in light novels / manga / anime and bears the least resemblance to Christianity (and the Roman Catholic Church in particular) is going to be evil. In my experience, it’s actually pretty unusual to see a religion like this portrayed positively. Even in the case of the “Empress Prelate” in Bel’s timeline, it’s pretty clearly depicted as Rafina becoming corrupted and abandoning her true duties as a religious leader. That is, the problem is one leader falling to temptation, NOT the church as a whole being fundamentally corrupt.

And the story doesn’t just portray the church positively, but also…substantively? Church-like religions that show up in light novels / anime are often extremely vague in terms of details like who or what they worship, sacred texts they follow, rituals, structure, purpose, etc., to the point that one wonders why such institutions even exist (other than to provide employment for evil popes). But in this volume, we confirm that the religion has a bible, worships one god, what the church’s role is in within society at large, the range of attitudes toward it, etc. It felt like the author might have done research and was genuinely trying to present a somewhat coherent religion in the story’s setting, rather than just borrowing random stuff to make a cardboard cutout of a religion.

Gaheret: Reflecting about it these days, I think that Rafina gets purified of her main flaw during the rite of purification (hence the tears), and surrenders her position after drinking the cup of sacrifice and martyredom. She is giving the Empress the direct governing power in the sacred election, and yet giving her guidance and counsel.

stardf29: I’m not as familiar with religious imagery, but I do agree that it is very refreshing to see the Church being portrayed positively in a light novel. This is one place in particular where the Chaos Serpents works very well as the villain, as it sets up a nice “good vs. evil” conflict, which I think is all too often made to be either too “morally gray” or make for too much of a “human” problem. Here we have a grand evil force, and a “God” opposed to that evil.

6. Do you agree with Mia that she was chosen by God for a mission? And in that case, what do you think it is?

Jeskai Angel: I do agree with Mia. She’s quite right that dying and going back in time with an evolving diary is NOT a natural phenomenon: divine intervention is the most logical explanation. It actually reminds of a line near the end the great C.S. Lewis novel Till We Have Faces: “This age of ours will one day be the distant past. And the Divine Nature can change the past. Nothing is yet in its true form.” I don’t think Mia’s experience is quite what Lewis had in mind (LOL), but the underlying concept that God can intervene in what we perceive as “the past” rings true. The idea was quite striking to me when I read TWHF in college years ago (as shown by the fact that I remembered it well enough to look it up and find the exact quote), and inclines me to see Mia’s time leap as a totally possible thing for a god to do.

This volume adds a couple of important points. First, I think that by fleshing out the Central Orthodox Church somewhat, the existence of a god within the story feels more plausible. Second, there’s the whole business with Bel showing up. As I mentioned before, the story makes it clear that Mia seeks guidance, and Bel promptly shows up with knowledge from the future. I can’t see that as anything but an answered prayer. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find,” indeed. Finally, I think the Chaos Serpents actually make a pretty good case for the existence of a god in the story. It’s strange that someone like Jem would display such an intense aversion to the setting’s bible if that book is just a bunch of myths and fables, but makes far more sense if (in the setting) the bible is a genuine sacred text from a very real god.

I suppose at this point it seems likely that in terms of the overall narrative, Mia’s mission is to thwart the Chaos Serpents. However, I can’t help but wonder about the Mia Effect. From Anne (the first) to Sapphias (the most recent), Mia keeps positively influencing individuals who come into her sphere. Maybe Mia’s mission isn’t to defeat a civilization-destroying evil cult. Maybe her mission is just to change someone’s life for the better.

stardf29: Oh, I 100% agree Mia was chosen by “God” to go back in time. And I think that highlights something very true about our God: God does not choose “perfect” people for His missions. He chooses broken, sinful people. And not just “kinda sinful” people, but people who still have huge sins to work through.

So what is Mia’s mission? Sure, it’s to thwart the Chaos Serpents and save Tearmoon, and I also agree with Jeskai about how there’s also the element of inspiring the people around her to become better as well. And if I may throw one more thing on there: it’s also to grow herself as a person. And those three things are not separate missions; they are all connected together in a greater mission to, well, simply make everything better. In terms of our own faith, it’s the whole idea of “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

7. Final Thoughts

stardf29: So I would like to take this moment to promote J-Novel Club’s premium e-books, which often have some bonus content, and in this case there’s a very special bonus story… done in the form of a mini choose-your-own-adventure style “otome game” where Mia can end up interacting with one of the many other characters based on your choices. I especially like how it uses the hyperlink feature of e-books to make choices and jump around the book, as well as make it easy to go back to the start. It’s mainly just slice-of-life fluff, but it’s still a fun extra for those buying direct from JNC.

Gaheret: Now that you say it, the choose-your-own-adventure idea is very fitting to the Tearmoon Empire story as a whole. For now, I’m enjoying the ride very much, I think the author is pushing the story in interesting directions, and I wonder about the endgame.

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If you read through our discussion, thank you for following along!

If you are interested in joining future Light Novel Club discussions, I bet you want to know what novels to read. Well, later this month, we will be starting discussion on Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance! Vol. 1! This is another story about a princess who goes back in time to try to stop the fall of her country, so it will be interesting to see how this novel approaches the concept differently. Discussion starts on April 20th, but don’t worry if you need more time to read it, as discussion will run into the first week of May as well.

If you want to look towards our May discussion, you have a good amount of time to read up through Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 2! With the anime adaptation having recently finished, it is a great time to get back to this series and look at how Tomozaki’s attempt to master the game of life goes as he comes up against some unique challenges. Our discussion opens on May 21st!

Have fun reading, and join our Discord if you want to join in on our Light Novel Club discussions!

#Light Novels #Tearmoon Empire #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: Gaheret #Author: marthaurion #Author: stardf29

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

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BtT Light Novel Club Chapter 25: Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 2

It’s time for our discussion of volume 2 of Tearmoon Empire! We ended up having two whole posts of discussion on the first volume of this series (a hint to how much we loved it), but this time we managed to keep things down to a single post. Rest assured, though, Jeskai Angel, Gaheret, and I still had quite a lot to say about this volume, so let’s get started!

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1. What are your overall impressions of the volume?

stardf29: So if there was any concern this story wouldn’t hold up after Mia no longer has to worry about death by guillotine, this volume proves that it can do just fine dealing with other events. Notably, in this volume Mia’s scope of action goes beyond just her own country and into international relations, and she does it all while still “looking out for herself” and others misunderstanding her intentions to hilarious effect. There are a lot of great character moments throughout, and overall the volume makes for a great end to this first story arc (though far from the end of the overall story). I’ll go into details in later questions, but I’ll say that, with this volume, Tearmoon Empire has become my current favorite light novel of all time.

Jeskai Angel: It’s outstanding, a brilliant sequel that brought back the prior volume’s characters and plot threads but then built upon them in fun new ways. The theme of how Mia’s influence ripples outward to change others continues to be a delight. The humor remains a highlight of the story. The goofy chapter titles are great. There was a hilarious callback to the previous volume’s running joke that Mia doesn’t care enough to remember the name of Abel’s brother. And I loved the part where the conspirators are reading Mia and Abel’s letters and drive themselves crazy trying to find their (nonexistent) hidden meaning. Oh, and the scene where the villainous Graham sets his own doom flag by saying “There’s no way she can pull something like that off again.” I have a tough time picking “favorites,” but I feel comfortable saying Tearmoon Empire is undoubtedly in the very top tier of LNs.

Gaheret: For my part, I thought this one was an interesting read. I liked the first one better, though. The first novel had sort of a balance between Mia changing things by coincidence and Mia changing things as a result of a change of perspective. I felt this one was sort of a regression in that front, with almost everything being a result of sheer luck. The conflict with the tribesmen was great, but its resolution was too clear-cut for me. The disappearance of the diary midway took out a lot of the dramatic tension. All the twelve-year-olds infiltrating a supposed warzone was quite unrealistic, mostly in how the adults reacted to it. The clash of ideals between Abel and Shion was a great idea, but I think it was underdeveloped. And I felt that the conclusion of Sion character arc was too on-the-nose.

On the other hand, I liked -a lot- the fact that Mia had earned a Royalist resistance in the last volume, the fight against the future famine, the deal with Chloe´s father, the conflict with the tribesmen (with two different political cultures and sets of values), the revolutionary secret plot and the fact that both Tearmoon Empire´s and Remno´s were “manufactured revolutions” (very interesting parallels with the French Revolution), the idea of a conflict of ideals between Abel and Shion, the Penal King/ Libra King concept and the participation of both Sunkland spies and a satanic cult of sorts as fuelers or the revolution. I´d have liked more emphasis on Tiona, I think.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters, old and new?

Mia

Jeskai Angel: One thing that struck in this volume is that Mia herself has changed. She’s still not the great sage that everyone else thinks she is, but it feels like she’s moving in that direction. She can be still be quite derpy, but she’s definitely a bit more calculating than when she started. One moment that stood out was when Mia insists on sparing the lives of Jem and the White Crows…because she realizes she has no idea how or why this die-and-go-back-in-time phenomenon happens, and doesn’t want to risk any of the baddies getting a second chance and ruining everything. Mia also remains an unusually intuitive protagonist. There’s no other way she could so frequently say or do the right thing at the right time. “It wasn’t so much reasoned analysis as it was intuition,” as Narrator-san puts it at one point.

And she stays true to character in that, although she (wittingly or unwittingly) nudges people and events in the right direction, she’s still very much dependent on her friends and allies. For example, I loved this passage during Sion and Abel’s fight: “Did her words truly reach no one? No! Absolutely not! Though they fell on the deaf ears of the dueling princes, the bonds she’d forged would carry her voice. Whither would it go? Who was listening? Why, her faithful subjects, of course!” The seed/plant metaphor that runs through the book speaks to the same idea. Mia is verging on becoming a real leader — she doesn’t solve problems personally, but she does inspire others and point them toward the best course: “After all, Mia might be incompetent, but she’d surrounded herself with people who were anything but. When the Mia Brigade was on the job, problems didn’t stand a chance.” She’s a joy to read about.

stardf29: One of my favorite Mia moments in this volume is when she’s trying to figure out how to get the army away from the forest, and she decides to play up her perceived selfishness as an excuse to get the army out of there. That was quite a big brain play right there; it’s one thing to act “selfishly”, and another thing to know that people expect you to act selfishly and leverage that to solve a problem.

And yes, she’s definitely changed overall. I especially like the line at the end that says “when it came to happiness, she wanted every last piece — for herself and all those she held dear…” The old Mia would have only thought of herself, but now Mia has people she cares about and wants the best for them as well. (Even if she’s still primarily concerned about herself first…)

Gaheret: And as for her, well, I find her amusing and relatable, and I like her random strikes of brilliance, how she has come to care a little more for others, Abel especially (whatever Narrator-san may say) and also her lazy/tsundere-ish/go-with-the-flow usual personality. As I said, I enjoyed her sudden anger at those who judged and condemned her. I was puzzled by her “seductress of the Empire” behaviour with Shion, both because she seemed more carefree than I had thought (given the situation) and because she knows it could have been a huge problem for Abel´s self-esteem had he even suspected it. Giving that she is, in body and emotions, if not memories, a 12-year-old (and that, in any case, she wasn´t a very mature 20-year-old), I didn´t find her behaviour creepy, as the narrator maliciously implied, just puzzling. Why go there?

Narrator

Jeskai Angel: Am I the only one who felt the narrator was a bit mellower than in the previous volume? Still dispensing over-the-top criticism of Mia and associates, to be sure, but not quite as a harsh or vicious about it? I found it an intriguing change (or else I just imagined this change exists, LOL). It was also fun seeing Narrator-san use that razor-sharp wit to go after the bad guys. The first volume didn’t actually have any real villains, aside from Mia’s flashbacks — even her future-past enemies like Sion, Tiona, and Rafina are still just kids. As a result, all criticism was directed toward Mia and her friends. But with this volume, the narrator could start taking potshots at actual evildoers, and I loved it.

Sion

Jeskai Angel: I feel like Sion was the big winner of this volume (besides Mia) when it comes to character development. He got some great introspective moments where Mia (sometimes unintentionally) challenged him to reconsider his simplistic, black-and-white view of justice. There was also the cool contrast between the austere “Penal King” of Mia’s first life and the more beloved “Libra King” we learn he’ll become thanks to Mia’s influence. I recall that the LNC had some criticism of Sion back when we read the first volume, and it seems to me that vol. 2 goes a long way toward acknowledging his flaws and then helping him grow beyond them.

stardf29: Yes, Sion’s development in this volume was great. That moment when Mia calls him out for planning to enact justice on Abel if necessary without first trying to set him right was a wonderful moment, both for Mia’s personal vindication over her issues with past-Sion and also for Sion to realize that maybe the beliefs he held on to up to now were wrong.

The real highlight, though, was the chapter that showed what (probably) happened in the previous timeline after Mia’s execution. It’s very easy to appreciate how much better things are in the current timeline when we see how bad things got beforehand, and this definitely applies to the character of the “Penal King” versus that of the (future) “Libra King”. Past Sion’s story is a particularly tragic one; I can imagine few things worse than “dying unloved”. But now that he finally knows what it’s like to be in the wrong, and to have to deal with guilt, he can finally become a respectable ruler.

Gaheret: Well, that was a lot of teasing, both by Mia and by the novelist. Sion clearly liked Mia in the previous volume, but in this one, it´s hard to tell. He clearly admires and respects her and is willing to fight to help her, but has to be aware of the fact that she has chosen Abel. He doesn´t show any jealousy, is sincere when asked about his ideals and motives and reacts to her teasing (without knowing that it´s intentional) in the way any boy his age would react. Yet, the novelist keeps teasing us, maybe to make fun of Mia´s tactics of… revenge? Beautiful celebrity syndrome? I don´t know. In any case, as stardf29 and Jeskai have commented in detail, we are shown how he learns to have mercy, a much-needed development for his character.

Dion

Jeskai Angel: First, it throws me off every time Dion’s last name comes up, because in my head, Alaia is the name of an ancient Forthorthian princess. His last name should be Sanders. LOL. Dion was most notable “new” character of this volume, and I liked how the story retrofitted him into Mia’s history. The guy operating the guillotine didn’t really come up in vol. 1, but logically someone had to do it. It was a cool way to bring in a “new” character who had “always” been part of the story. Mia fainting upon seeing him was good for a laugh, but also a reminder that she really experienced that first life and bears scars from it. I liked that Dion feels more analytical and mature than most of Mia’s associates (Ludwig being the exception). It’s perfectly fitting, since Dion is older, more experienced, and exhibits qualities needs to become a general, but it’s great that the author/translator can successfully communicate that difference. There’s also delightful irony of role reversals, as Dion goes from Mia’s executioner to her bodyguard.

Gaheret: About Dion Alaia, I´m with Mia (sorry, Jeskai): I find him unsettling. What sort of Colonel Kurtz figure wanders out of the forest after his men have been killed in action and avenges them by personally executing the 21-year-old daughter of his king? Or infiltrates a foreign Kingdom, there being peace between it and the Empire, and provokes the most powerful fighter of the troop to a duel to the death? “Dion shot her a glance before letting out a very conspicuous sigh of reluctant resignation and plunging both swords into the ground. Then he gave Bernardo a questioning gaze, who tsked and lowered his “spear” with a grimace”. Dion´s loyalty seems to depend on his judgement about the cunning of his superior in any particular decision, he acts as if he had a death wish and joins Mia´s team because he thinks it will be fun. On the other hand, he is competent and effective, and the flashforward chapters tell us that he will be loyal, too. Even so…

stardf29: All I’ll add to this is, Dion was looking like the guy that was most likely to see through Mia’s “not actually that great of a Sage” thing, but then Mia pulls a genuinely brilliant move (mentioned earlier) and now he’s got as bad of a case of Mia-itis as anyone else. But yeah, it’s cool to see Mia’s executioner in the past show up here, and have him ally with her as someone who can handle some of the… grittier? parts of Mia’s reforms.

As for his connection with a certain Rokujouma character… I’m sure I can come up with some kind of convoluted way the two are related if I really wanted to.

The new villains

Gaheret: I liked them. I felt Jem was an appropiated villain, sinister, clever, a fanatic, fearsome and unafraid of death, with the most generic plebeian name in the country he has infiltrated. I would have liked more personal details about him. Similarly, the unnamed assasins, Graham corrupting the Sunkland spies sounded realistic to me (reading about people like Kim Philby, Guy Burguess, James Jesus Angleton or Yuri Noshenko makes you realize how confusing and potentially corrupting the world of intelligence and counterintelligence is). Concerning Monica Buendia, I was thrilled to hear that she had killed Prince Abel in the previous timeline (with Marat and Mata Hari vibes), and I symphatize with her troubles. In a way, encountering her meant that the new Abel was confronting the old, which was especially welcome given that he had larguely been absent. That said, I´m not a fan of how things were played out, especially the melodramatic white crow/black crow thing. I´d rather prefer that we hadn´t been told what she had sent.

Lambert, the so-called Frontman and Firebrand, was a character I liked. Probably my favorite villain of this novel. A very young, orphaned, impoverished nobleman with a gift for discourses, popular and clever, with a loving but very worried sister, Lynsha. He starts talking about politics in a tabern, and ultimately leads the uprising against the Remno Government. We know that the people are being manipulated. While angry, they don´t want a war, or their king killed, or a bloodbath. Lynsha thinks that he is being infatuated carried by the situation, and blind to the consequences. But it turns out that this is not the case. He is fully aware of the plan, and is on board. This could have made everything much more difficult, given that there was a personal angle on both sides of the conflict, but it didn´t. Lambert is pardoned and we probably won´t see much of him. It´s a pity, I think he had potential.

The rest of the villains are proud, vain people in positions of power who cause trouble by their arrogance and egoism, as Viscount Berman, Remno´s king or, to a lesser degree, Mia´s flippant father. Part of the diplomatic game consists in appealing to the things they value or respect (status, military honor, Mia herself) to solve the conflict without violence: I liked that approach. While they need to be corrected, I think that, when possible, this is the best way. After all, blessed are the peacemakers.

Other characters

Gaheret: Concerning the heroes, this novel has a similar structure to the first one, with Anne and Ludwig, fiercely loyal but blinded (to a point) by the achievements of Mia, helping her deal with the Tearmoon Empire, and with Shion, Keithwood, Abel, Rafina and Tiona playing a role in how she dealt with her social life, romantic life and international troubles in the second. Chloe´s merchant father Marco, Viscount Berman, the Lulu chief, the honest priest of Rafina and the Outcount of Rudolvon were credible characters with their own personality and motivations, and I liked that, and also how they were played (though I felt that the resolution of the Lulu´s chief conflict by pure coincidence was not as interesting as this could have been). Tiona´s maiden and Tiona´s brother, on the other hand, were less developed, and I feel there was a certain degree of Bakarina syndrome in how they were dealt with.

I liked Lynsha and the Diamond Spear well enough in their small supporting roles. In this volume, Rafina supports Mia and advises Anne, but to me, she still seems to be ready to cut ties and punish you in the second you do an evil deed. Chloe has a short appaerance, and I would like to see more of her and Mia acting as friends. Tiona appears briefly in the first volume, writes to Mia, doesn´t show signs of being in love with Prince Sion and, outside a significant moment in which she defends Mia´s honor in front of the king of Remno, inspiring the Diamond Spear to do the same, remains mostly out of the scene. I think she would be a very interesting rival/friend, but things don´t seem to be going that way. In general, I think it´s sad that to this point, Mia consistently can´t let her more carefree, tsundere-ish, impulsive personality show in front of anybody except (to a point) Anne and Abel. Her friends love her, but also misunderstand her, and she should be known and loved for what she is.

Anne and Abel had less protagonism that in the previous volume, while Ludwig´s position was similar. I liked how, at least, the first was able to see Mia being lazy, reprimand and advise her, and then save her. I hope Mia manages to tell her the truth about herself, or some of it, in the future. Concerning Abel, he is now a gallant knight and a full-fledged prince who behaves as such. I´m not 100% sure, but I think he was not wrong in carrying out the orders of his father and leading the army against the popular uprising (heh, just like him), and then trying to reform the country from the inside. My only complain is that, with so little time, we don´t see his development. Ludwig remains loyal, clever, useful and kind, but I think he and Mia have lost the personal connection they had in their previous life, and that helped her so much.

stardf29: So Lynsha is a cool gal. She obviously realized something was wrong and did what she could to find a way to resolve it, even if she did resort to some kidnapping to get it done… Anyway, I mention this because she has enough of a presence in this volume that I kind of wonder if she’ll show up more in the future…

We see a bit of Abel here, but perhaps most interesting regarding him is his effect on others back in Remno, particularly the maid and spy Monica. Realizing that he had grown into someone capable of changing Remno’s misogynistic ways and then basically exposing the White Crows’ plans, she shows just how Mia’s “sowing the seeds of hope” have grown. And again, it makes me wonder if we’ll see more of Monica in the future…

(Am I saying this because of certain things I’ve read in the prepubs of the third volume? Maybe…)

Lynsha even gets a full illustration, so clearly they want us to know what she looks like.

3. This volume introduces a greater evil force that is trying to bring the world into chaos. What do you think of this addition to the story?

Jeskai Angel: I didn’t much care for this twist the first time I read this volume, but it grew on me when I reread the volume for our discussion. This may sound ridiculous, but part of what bugged me about Jem’s group (not the White Crows, but whatever organization he really works for) was it’s unhistorical nature. I adored the many nods to real history that appeared in the first volume. Since the French Revolution was not the result some evil international conspiracy, so it felt jarring to have a sinister organization of chaotic evil in Mia’s world. It was like the first volume had a lot of historical allusions, but then the second one turned around and said “Forget history, let’s have a secret evil conspiracy instead!” But, as I said, the second time I read vol. 2, I found myself more accepting of this plot twist.

First, it occurred to me that there are certainly evil spiritual forces working unseen in the world. If I reframe Jem and his ilk as anthropomorphized quasi-demonic agents, working in unseen to lead people astray and cause chaos and suffering, then their presence in the story is more palatable. This is especially true in light of the existing supernatural (time-travel) element of the story. If we posit the existence of some benevolent force that gave Mia a second chance, it seems possible that there might be evil forces, too. I don’t expect this series to become high fantasy or anything, but it’s certainly plausible that supernatural forces’ role in the story will go beyond just Mia’s unexplained time travel. So, basically, refocusing on the supernatural premise of the whole story made me more accepting of the sinister-agents-of-chaos twist.

Second, I more fully appreciated the narrative function of Jem’s organization this time around. When I first read the book,I only saw Jem’s group as a regrettable divergence from the historical flavor of the tale. This time, though, I recognized that establishing a “greater scope villain” creates a bridge between the initial “Prevent the French Tearmoon Revolution” story arc and wherever the story might go from here. We can accept that Mia has successfully altered the timeline enough to avoid the guillotine, while not completely abandoning the story’s initial premise. Having this plot thread keeps Mia’s struggles thus far from becoming irrelevant to her continuing story.

Gaheret: I think I may go on a little about why I liked this development. At University, somebody told me to read Aristotle´s “Poetics”, and I remember this idea that a tragedy is simply history, but told as if the events were an unavoidable, chained to one another until the inevitable conclusion comes. This is why they are great means to learn about the world of human passions and human flaws. Mia´s story was like that: As the Marie-Antoniette of popular culture, she was the embodiement of a corrupt, cruel, vain and egoistical aristocracy which, in a way, brought her own demise upon herself by enraging their people more and more with their capricious and unjust behaviour. And thus, we saw how both the Tearmoon Empire and Mia´s personal world were bound to fall, and what were the deep and superficial causes related to her flaws as a person.

On the other hand, Tolkien observed how a story with a happy ending usually includes a “deus ex machina”, an “eucatastrophe”, which breaks this chain in the darkest moment, offering a path towards hope. Tearmoon Empire was unusual in that this eucatastrophe happened at the beginning. The story played with the fact that people are generally aware of how the French Revolution developed to subvert expectations. It worked, and it still works. It would seem that an evil cabal planning the Revolution, or it suddenly happening in Remno and not the Empire, or to setting Abel´s and not Mia´s flaws as the possible cause, may undermine the message. In fact, I think it deepens it.

How do revolutions work? It is interesting that they happen at times of reforms: It seems counterintuitive, but these are times of unrest and political struggle, after all, when ideas are in the air and everything seems possible. There are ideologues. There is propaganda, and manufactured incidents are very common. As we discussed, unlike Mia, Marie-Antoniette never said the famous “feed them with cakes” line, which had been attributed to a variety of unpopular aristocrats before the Revolution. There were only seven political prisoners at The Bastille when it was stormed. Jacques Necker, the man whose role is played by Tiona´s father in the story, was used as the proximate cause of that uprising, yet when he resigned there was general indiference. The faults are real, but they are also exploited by those seeking to destroy this specific order. I like how [Graham] and Jem literalize that concept.

What I felt lacking in the portrait of the Tearmoon revolution were the ideals of the revolutionary leaders, and whose immediate effect was the dire persecution of the Christians of France. I think it is telling. A totalizing regime, an utopia, will often divinize itself and try to get rid of what it cannot subdue. That is a sign of pride, and as Jeskai Angel said, also of Demonic temptation, masking as glorious freedom what is really self-deception and servitude. While I believe that revolutions can be legitimate in extreme situations, the destruction they bring is enormous, the cycle of violence cannot be ignored, and solving political problems by destructing the opponent has a dangerous appeal. Utopias are usually revolutionary, purporting the destruction of the present order to substitute it with the ideal one. In the end, getting any sort of power may easily make us think that to us that we could do better, if only we could get rid of the human obstacles interfering with our glorious vision. Certainly, the French Revolution, which rename the months of the year, executed the nuns who would not abjure and viciously killed its own leaders, had this approach.

My favorite moment of the novel was Mia basically saying to Sion: Okay, I had terrible flaws, you were right to be angry, but why didn´t you try your best to reform me? Why did you believe the worst? Why didn´t any of you had a little more hope, a little more patience with me, instead of trying to suppress me? I didn´t like everything (in particular, I thought it was a terrible idea to warn us beforehand, as a sudden revolution in Remno and the slow discovery of the propaganda campaign behind it would have been much more vibrant this way). But I think it is a great answer, a great statement of the central theme of the novels, and a great lesson to the rest, to Sion, to Dion, to the villains, to Mia herself. Don´t give up, even if you are flawed, and dealing with what is flawed. There was unsuspected hope, and there still is. Our Lord answering the pride of the Devil with His own humility and hope, and bringing us out of what would have been our tragedy.

stardf29: While I definitely also wasn’t sure if this was the best path when I first read it, as the story went along I definitely started to really like what was going on here, particularly with the hints that this villainous faction may in fact be a demonic cult. Sure, it might not be as “historical” but then again, the idea of a “devil” trying to cause problems in the world is definitely Biblically true for our world, even if there’s no explicit historical records of such. It also helps paint a better picture of what actually led to the revolution that ended Mia’s past life, and how just because her execution might have been averted doesn’t mean she’s “out of the woods” yet.

Also, I love how these “villains” get bamboozled by Mia in various ways (especially when it comes to horse shampoo). They’re a threat, but certainly nothing Mia can’t handle.

4. Last volume we discussed a number of topics about the world itself like the nature of the time travel and whether this story’s world has a “god” or not. How has the second volume affected your view of the story world?

Jeskai Angel: On meta level, I know light novels and anime almost never include the kind of all-powerful, one-of-a-kind deity found in religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. (The only exception I can think of is Invaders of the Rokujouma!?.) So from that angle, I don’t expect the story’s world to have a “God,” at least not one that bears the least resemblance to the Lord we serve. This volume hasn’t changed that view.

However, it has made me more inclined to think this world/story will have supernatural forces. This volume gave us the scene where Mia’s diary disappeared once she altered the past enough, and also the self-erasing anachronistic history book Mia found. Beyond that, there’s the unconfirmed but possibly (?) supernatural associations of Jem’s group, and the hint that Mia is going to end up interacting with one of her distant descendants. If the only remotely supernatural aspect of the story was Mia jumping back in time after dying, the story could probably get away with leaving it unexplained. As the story adds more “doesn’t normally happen” elements, the need for an explanation increases sharply. (The story could also take a sci-fi turn and use advanced tech as its excuse for time travel, but based on vols. 1-2, I think the supernatural is way more likely.)

Gaheret: In the epilogue, we have this: “Whenever demonic cultists or large bandit brigades sought to sow chaos, Dion Alaia would arrive on the scene, his sword offering a swift and deadly rebuke to their ways”. Coupled with Jem terrified reaction to the prospect of being brought to Belluga (while normal bandits smiled knowing that they would be better than usual there), I think we can assume that Jem and Garret are part of those “demonic cultists”, if not downright possesed. That would explain why Jem is not affected by the perspective of death or torture, but Rafina scares him. It makes sense only if Rafina (or her people) has some kind of power to banish or exorcise them.

Rafina´s Papal parallels are now almost complete with the dialogue between Mia and the priest and this description just before: “Offering guiding sermons of salvation to the populace was the Holy Lady, Rafina Orca Belluga, who dedicated her life to maintaining peace between nations”. We come to know that Mia has providentially frustrated the plans of [Graham], so I think we can safely assume that whatever god Rafina and her church represent is the god of this world, working behind the scenes with the purpose of frustrating universal destruction, saving the Empire and/or Mia´s betterment.

It may be, too, that Jem´s terror of Rafina or Belluga is merely superstitious, but having other supernatural elements in the story, I don´t think so. Mia says that it is “As if someone had fabricated this incident to purposefully incite revolution… Or indeed, as if it were willed by God, and the invisible hand of fate were pushing the empire toward its ruin”. It may be just the translation, but I think it may be intentional. So, it is not God or Providence/fate who wills the destruction of Mia and the Empire, the Continent…, but a demonic power, and “God” is fighting against that through Mia.

Time-travel and sudden inspiration would be the means.

Oh, and the diary. Which, as I mentioned, I don´t like very much. Having it vanish in a ray of light midway, especially, suggests that the threat against Mia and the Empire has already been prevented, which makes the rest of the action less dramatic.

stardf29: As interesting as it was to ponder how this world likely has a “god” that took Mia back in time, it’s even more interesting with the aforementioned “demonic cult” implying there may be a “devil” as well, in opposition to said “god”. Now, depending on how exactly the time travel works, and if the timeline in which Mia was executed still exists (and given the story of Penal King Sion, it very well might), the “god” of this world might not quite have the power or intention to completely stop the actions of the “devil”, but at the very least, can prevent it in a different timeline. And the fact that this “god” chose Mia to be the “divine envoy” and for her to be so effective at it… that is both awesome and hilarious.

And yes, this is a great way to provide a deeper conflict that persists even with Mia’s execution stopped. All things considered, there actually aren’t all that many explicit “god vs. devil” stories in light novels these days, huh? The trend seems to be moving towards the “devil” side actually being good, or at least the “god” side being just as bad or worse as the “devil” side. So I do like this more classic “good vs. evil” setup, with plenty of Mia hilarity in the mix.

On that note, I like how Mia considered that, if she was able to go back in time as she did, it’s possible that Jem could also do the same if she were to execute him. That’s actually a very smart perspective to have (and one that I haven’t really seen as much in other time-travel stories, though admittedly I haven’t read that many of such). Whatever we as readers might figure out about how this time-travel works, Mia is completely right to consider the same might happen to other people.

5. At the end of the volume we see a possible future for Mia’s story. What do you think of this future, and the fact that Mia ultimately rejected it?

Jeskai Angel: It was a fun what-if scenario (Mia’s reaction to having eight kids was especially amusing), but I also understood Mia’s logic in saying “No, we can do better,” in terms wanting a future that doesn’t cut Abel off from his family and home. It’s also a cool illustration of Mia’s growth: she started the story wanting to make her own future better, but now she’s valuing Abel’s happiness so highly that she’d also reject a future that isn’t good for him.

Gaheret: I would love to have a large family, so Mia and Abel having eight kids sounds great to me. That said, I think I would do as her: Except for prophecies or warnings that may be a calling for us here and now, I don´t think it´s wise to live constantly thinking about the future or the best outcome.

stardf29: Yeah, as good as that future might have sounded, it’s a great sign of growth that Mia would reject it if it wasn’t the best for Abel. Plus, with Remno basically completely against Abel, does that mean that in that future, Remno will continue to stew in its misogynistic culture? Mia definitely was right to see that as an unideal future, and it definitely makes it interesting to see where her story goes from there.

Final Comments

Jeskai Angel: The main extra thing I wanted to bring up was a statement in the Ludwig-and-the-Penal-King sidestory. Describing Ludwig’s respect for his late princess, the narration says “That was the story of his regent — a princess who struggled against her fate in the worst of times.”

Am I crazy for thinking that’s a reference to the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities? Charles Dickens’s novel set during the French Revolution begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I can’t read the phrase “the worst of times” in a context with links to the French Revolution and NOT see it as a literary allusion. Kudos to author and/or translator if this is intentional and not just coincidence.

Gaheret: I 100% agree that this is a literary allusion.

Abel may be my favorite character, so I think the moment will be this: “Prince Abel. I’ve missed you.” Her argent hair reflected the sunlight, emitting a soft glow like the moon. Wisdom radiated from her eyes, deep and coruscant. Then, there was her pearlescent skin… It was all as he’d remembered. With all the breathtaking beauty of that night at the dance party, Mia Luna Tearmoon appeared before Abel”.

stardf29: This volume concludes the first major story arc, but it’s not over yet! Volume 3 comes out on December 12th this year, and in Japan volume 6 has already been scheduled, so there’s still plenty more to Mia’s story. I definitely ready to be following Mia’s adventures for the long haul!

Jeskai Angel: Finally, if you read all this way but still haven’t read Tearmoon Empire, hurry up and go read it already! It’s awesome.

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Thanks for reading our discussion! As a reminder, we will be covering The Saint’s Magic is Omnipotent, Vol. 1 next month, with an earlier start time of November 14th for our discussion to account for Thanksgiving (the discussion will still conclude around the end of the month). Join our Discord if you want to discuss it along with us!

We’ll be taking December off for the holidays, but we do have January’s title announced on the Discord. I’ll make a post announcing that title next week, but if you don’t want to sit like a tree waiting for that, it’s all the more reason to join us on Discord!

#Light Novels #Christianity #Tearmoon Empire #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: Gaheret #Author: Jeskai Angel

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Light Novel Club, Chapter 28: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Vol. 1

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai!

As a reminder, the Light Novel Club discussions are now held publicly on the Beneath the Tangles Discord server. I bring this up because this time around, we actually have a number of participants in our discussion on Discord, which made for a very lively discussion this time around! That said, because of the sheer volume of the discussion, we cannot post the entire discussion here without making the post way too long, so we instead have a highlight reel of our discussion. So let’s jump in to the discussion on this light novel that inspired a popular anime, featuring a rascal, a bunny girl, and a strange take on Schrödinger’s cat!

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1. What are your overall thoughts on the novel?

Firefox789: My overall thoughts on the novel can be summarized like this: it was an enjoyable and addictive light novel to read. The character interactions really made me enjoy the novel even more than I expected, as some parts of the novel couldn’t be adapted into the anime whether due to the challenge of including them or time/budget contraints (ex. Sakuta’s inner monologue). Character interactions were definitely one of the strong points of the light novel.

Closet0taku: It’s interesting to approach a light novel after having seen the anime (and movie). I enjoyed the LN as it gave more depth to all of the characters I encountered in the anime while also setting up the mysteries that would take another half-dozen light novels to solve. I think, though, that had I read LN #1 first before the anime was released, I’m not sure I would have continued on with the books; the scars on Sakuta’s chest and Kaede’s syndrome might not have intrigued me enough to continue. On the other hand, the denoument with Koga might have been the hook to keep me going. Having very much enjoyed the anime and movie, I find the LNs are indispensable in fully appreciating the whole story, and what points the author was trying to make about culture and relationships.

stardf29: I definitely liked the whole idea of various socio-psychological issues being reflected in the real, physical world. It’s the sort of teenage drama I enjoy from all these anime/manga/light novels in high school settings, since they are issues that people struggle with even after their teenage years, and the novels definitely worked in those struggles well. The novel could also be fun when it wanted to be fun, and the relationship between Sakuta and Mai was also nice, so yeah, definitely a great read overall.

RyanDH: I thought the novel was very fun and relatable. Lots of times, depictions of teenagers can be cringey or out-of-touch, but I found all of the dialogue and characters to be believable and well-written.

Twwk: I mostly enjoyed it! I sometimes got caught up in how poorly the series functions as science fiction—more on that later— and in what I felt was novice-level writing from the author, but when I wasn’t tripped up by those foibles, I blazed through the volume, ravenous for one page after another. It was a fun read.

BambiBethy: I have a confession…I’m only on chapter two because busy mom life! So it’s too soon for me to assess the book as a whole.

2. What made the light novel an enjoyable read for you? (via Firefox789)

stardf29: One reason I like light novels as a medium is how we get to see the thought processes of the characters, and getting into Sakuta’s head here definitely added to how much I enjoyed the novel.

RyanDH: Sakuta was an extremely relatable protagonist for me. I was in a similar situation while still in high school: no phone and a bit of a cynical view of the atmosphere and politics involved in being a teenager. Phones open up so many doors for social interaction, but it also means that nearly every second of young peoples’ lives is now dedicated to maintaining and improving their relationships with their classmates. Look at Kaede’s situation: one missed message and suddenly her friends and her whole class had turned on her. They never get to be truly alone, and I find the whole concept really interesting to try to understand at a deeper level.

BambiBethy: So far I am really enjoying the banter between Mai and Sakuta.

3. If both an anime and LN/manga for the series is available, do you have a preference as to which order you approach them? (via Closet0taku)

FIrefox789: I have learned that my best approach for getting into a title is see how the community reacts to how well the source material is being adapted. If the community thinks that a light novel has a decent to above average adaptation, I will usually watch the anime first and then decide whether I want to read the novels. Bunny Girl Senpai is a case where I was sold on the series to the point I decided to fork out $140 on buying the TV series and movie on Blu-ray and also buying the novels as they released in English officially. However, if it’s the case I hear that the anime isn’t doing the best job at adapting the source material (ex. Horimiya 2021), I will most likely stick with the source material whether it’s the manga or light novel. Manga is sometimes a debatable option for me because I have never liked manga adaptations of light novels as most of the time, they deviate from the novels.

stardf29: So I’ve had the opportunity to approach anime adaptations from all angles: seeing the anime first and then reading the novel, reading the novel first and then watching the anime, and a “hybrid” approach where I read some of the novel, and then watch the anime which goes beyond the point where I read. While I would generally prefer to read as much of the novel as will be adapted in the anime before watching said anime, realistically I often don’t have the time to read that much with all the other stuff there is to read. So the “hybrid” approach is a nice way to see how much I might be interested in an anime adaptation in the first place, and get a feel for how good the adaptation is.

RyanDH: I definitely like to read something before watching it, if possible. It gives my imagination more creative freedom to create the world and characters on my own, rather than just imagine the ones I’m already used to seeing.

BambiBethy: I actually just finished the anime and movie. I usually don’t like reading books if I’ve already seen the live or animated adaptation, but in this case it’s ok since I can imagine the characters from the anime. Also there’s a lot more depth in the LN.

4. In the first chapters of volume, it’s revealed that this novel would be almost a nonlinear story. What was your reaction to this literary writing style? (via Firefox789)

Close0taku: I personally like non-linear novels, films, anime, and other media. It’s a challenge to the viewer to make sense of it. I know some viewers do not like it and find it distracting or confusing—tell me a story, don’t make it convoluted—since it’s obvious that the narrator knows exactly what has happened. But that’s really not how we live life, is it? We often find out “the rest of the story” after we’ve been introduced to people or places; besides, if we were (in Bunny Girl Senpai) to learn at the start exactly the reason for Kaede’s illness or Sakuta’s scars, it wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic. I like mysteries, and while the classic mystery seems linear, it shares the same sort of twists and turns as you discover more information. So, I have no issue with it.

RyanDH: I found the story easy to follow, and it moved at a pace that was just fast enough to progress, but also slow enough to have solid characterization of the main couple, as well as some of the side characters.

stardf29: The funny thing is, this series shares some similarities with Bakemonogatari, which is also non-linear in nature and starts after the protagonist has experienced supernatural events already. (I even read the first Bakemonogatari novel soon after reading this novel…) I think it’s an interesting setup for various reasons. First of all, you don’t have to waste much time with the protagonist getting shocked that supernatural events are happening in the first place. Second, it provides some hooks for future content to revisit the past. Perhaps the most notable thing is yet another thing that Rascal shares with Monogatari: The first story that is told is the one focusing on the girl that the guy is primarily romatically interested in. Because other girls are involved with what happened to them beforehand, this helps “keep them out” of the romance picture; I don’t have to worry about getting too attached to those other girls and not being able to support the “main girl.”

Twwk: That’s really interesting that you make that connection to Monogatari, stardf29. I don’t recall thinking it when I watched the anime series, but while reading the light novel, I kept returning to Monogatari and thinking that it must have influenced it. Rascal is almost a more palatable version of Monogatari, easy to engage with but also less creative (not that a bunny girl isn’t an interesting way to begin a novel series!).

5. The novels get a lot of praise for portraying the relationship between our main duo, Sakuta and Mai, very well and with an entertaining writing style. What do you think makes their relationship so special? (via Firefox789)

RyanDH: What was so funny and likable about their synergy was the shock factor involved in some of their banter. I could NEVER imagine saying to a girl some of the things Sakuta says while poking fun at Mai, but the fact that she responded similarly always made me laugh.

Closet0taku: Sakuta has almost no filter. He often says what he feels. He has a lot of respect and integrity where Mai is concerned, but he can’t turn off his teenage self, either. He’s unapologetic about trying to steal a kiss from Mai (he’s unsuccessful in LN 1), if not more. Mai tries to match Sakuta’s frankness, but falls short, and embarrasses herself when she does. It’s this twisted repartee where both are learning about the other through a variety of trying circumstances as they both come to grips with the strange goings-on.

stardf29: There’s something to be said for the gap in Sakuta’s and Mai’s statuses: Sakuta is kind of the loser guy in school (for various reasons), while Mai is a famous actress. Under normal circumstances, the two shouldn’t even ever talk with each other, but because of the whole Adolescence Syndrome, they find not only a reason to talk, but also a chance to understand each other beyond the statuses they have. As others have said, they also play off each other well, which helps balance out the more serious moments between the two.

BambiBethy: Their personalities are amazing! The way they just clicked when they first met is really special. I love imagining their banter and facial expressions.

6. What do you think of Sakuta and Mai individually as characters?

Firefox789: Sakuta is definitely a great portrayal of a non-typical male teenage light novel protagonist. What makes Sakuta a great character isn’t that he manages to get the girl, but how he does. Sakuta has enough self confidence in himself that he can approach the beautiful actress, Mai Sakurajima, without having second doubts about how he sees himself in comparison to others. He never compares himself to Mai or gets down on himself for wanting to approach her. Sakuta felt attracted to Mai and just approached her without any second thoughts. A reason why Mai was willing to open up to Sakuta was because he was honest to her about why he was approaching her and why he wanted to help her. If Sakuta had lied to Mai even once, it would have been game over for him, so him being honest to her was the one reason why his relationship with her was so successful. A minor complaint about Sakuta is that he can sometimes blurt out the most blatant and inappropriate comments known to a teenage boy, but he has enough good qualities to himself that most readers can overlook his flaws.

Closet0taku: Sakuta is a noble soul trapped in a teenager’s body. “I just can’t ignore someone in trouble,” is his life philosophy. He’s proven it with Kaede, and will demonstrate it again with Mai. I think the consistency of his character is maintained throughout the LN. As far as Mai is concerned…she’s a little more undefined as a person—we don’t get to hear her inner monologue, so we have to take her at face value. I can’t say whether a celebrity would really act this way, but I am happy Mai is doing so.

7. What do you think of the other characters that appear in this volume?

Closet0taku: I like how all the other characters have their quirks—the dismissive Futaba, vulnerable Kaede, brash Koga, reliable Kunimi. They’re not terribly well-developed yet—that will happen in the future—but they are good touchstones for Sakuta to interact with as he moves throughout his day trying to get to the bottom of Mai’s Adolescent Syndrome.

stardf29: I don’t have too much to add about the main characters; they’re both good protagonists for this story as others have said. There sure are some fun side characters, though, which is good because they will be in focus in later volumes. Kaede is your classic Overly Attached Little Sister, though perhaps she has more reason of being so attached given her past. Kunimi is a nice guy friend to support Sakuta (his girlfriend is kind of a jerk, though, to put it nicely). Tomoe is… silly. I mean, it’s one thing to kick a guy because you misunderstood when he was helping a kid, but to ask him to kick you back as penance? Definitely an amusing first impression. And Rio provides the scientific info dumps and assistance with figuring the whole “Adolescent Syndrome” out, and I do like these sorts of “professor” characters like her.

Twwk: Aside from the mains, I definitely found myself liking Tomoe. As stardf29 notes…so silly. What an unusual introduction!

8. What do you think of how the story uses the idea of “Adolescent Syndrome” in general, and the concept of Schrödinger’s cat in this volume?

Twwk: It confused me—though that’s not the novelist’s fault. I thought Adolescent Syndrome was a referrence to being a chuunibyou, as if these occurrences were chuunibyou come to life. But I later gathered that the syndrome is actually completely made up for this series. I do think that using this invented syndrome though, along with the use science elements, weakens the story. Before the discussion above comparing the series to Monogatari, it was more The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya that I was most reminded of. That series—and Monogatari as well—uses the supernatural in a way that makes the science fiction possible, and thus veers it toward a direction where the novel doesn’t much have to explain its science. But here, it feels like we’re supposed to accept the science presented, and that’s problematic because it’s not written particularly well. It feels like the writer did about an hour of research and just went with it, which is fine if your story involves espers and goddesses along with aliens and time travelers, but not when Sakuta turns to Rio for “hard science” advice. If the author just forgot the science angle and say, made Rio into some other type of character (she doesn’t particularly seem a good scientist as she is, by the way, guzzling coffee from beakers), I would have more readily accepted Schrödinger’s cat as an idea just put forward by an adolescent, and it would work in this supernatural environment.

stardf29: I actually liked the usage of Schrödinger’s cat in the story; maybe I’m just more interested in science overall, but I thought the reflection of this bit of quantum mechanics into real-world phenomenon was done pretty well. It’s not so much science working in weird ways to me as it is some kind of supernatural force that has “hijacked” scientific concepts. In that sense it does make me curious as to what this whole “Adolescent Syndrome” actually is, and if we’ll learn more about where it comes from.

RyanDH: So well said stardf29, I agree 100%. A supernatural force “hijacking” science is exactly the vibe I got from that portion of the book, and that theme definitely carried over into the second book as well. I believe our intrinsic need to understand and classify the world and wrap up all of these findings into what we call “science” can leave us with certain biases when we experience something so out of the ordinary

Twwk: So you both like how science is woven into the plot? “Hijacking” science is an interesting way of seeing it, but it’s use in this novel remains a wall for me. When you allow your work to enter the realm of science fiction, it needs to feature a sense of realism related to that science, and somehow talking science without letting it guide the principles of the story feels like a cheap plot device, like, “Let’s throw science in this story to make it distinct! One of the girls can even be a science nerd!” But perhaps that’s just coming from someone with way too much bias for sci-fi novels.

stardf29: Maybe likewise because I’m more of a fantasy person, I can think of this more as “the fantasy-zation of science” rather than science in and of itself?

Closet0taku: I’m fine with the scientific parallels to quantum theory and relativity, and in particular the theories of observation (which go beyond physics and into philosophy) that give rise to Mai’s manifestation of the syndrome.

9. How much can you relate to the struggles that Sakuta or Mai go through?

Twwk: Related to the question earlier about their relationship, I like “watching” Sakuta and Mai. They have a fun report. I don’t necessarily relate to them because I find them a bit idealized—Sakuta is a little too self-aware, confident, and strong, and is too easily able to charm Mai, who on the other hand is walking wish fulfillment—though if I had to pick one, I find her more relateable in the sense that she’s struggling under a weight that she doesn’t necessarily need to carry, but still is unable to lift off herself. I don’t think that’s unusual for people to experience, especially when you’re a teenager.

stardf29: I think what I relate to most, moreso than the characters’ Adolescent Syndrome-related issues, is the whole idea that there’s some kind of “atmosphere” within a certain group (like the students at a school) and how people will get looked down upon for trying to ruin that atmosphere by doing something that “stands out.” That is definitely something that I feel is stifling about socializing, and Sakuta breaking past that to confess his love for Mai was a great “ruin the atmosphere” moment in the book.

Closet0taku: I don’t know that I can relate to their particular struggles, as I think high schools in the U.S. are somewhat less focused on the “atmosphere” and the impenetrable cliques that form. I won’t say it’s unique to Japan, but it is certainly endorsed by its culture.

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Thanks for reading, and special thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion! I would love for future discussions to also have readers like you joining in, so if you are interested, join our Discord server and check out the Light Novel Club channels! You can also join to peek in on our discussions live, to make sure you don’t miss anything we talk about.

For March 2021, we will be reading Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 3! Our discussion will begin on March 20th. We will also be announcing our April 2021 title on the Discord soon!

#Light Novels #Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai #Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai #J Novel Club #Discord #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: Firefox789 #Author: Closet0taku #Author: RyanDH #Author: TWWK #Author: Bambibethy

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

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BtT Light Novel Club Chapter 23: How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 2

Realist Hero is one of the best-selling light novels currently without an anime adaptation. That will change eventually as an anime adaptation has been announced recently, but it is still a novel that has gotten quite popular among English-speaking light novel fans. It was also one of the earlier titles we covered in the Light Novel Club, and one of my personal favorite series, so I figured it was time to revisit it, this time with Jeskai Angel, who has written about the series before. Without further ado, let’s take a look at volume 2 of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom!

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1. What are your overall thoughts on the volume?

Jeskai Angel: This volume was what convinced me to keep reading Realist Hero instead of dropping the series. Way back when I read the first volume, I thought it was actually pretty lame. Souma was a pedantic know-it-all; he may not have been OP in a combat sense, but he was ridiculously OP in terms of his knowledge level. And displayed this by pretentiously lecturing everyone (including the reader) about every topic under the sun. However, because stardf29 spoke so highly of the series, I decided I’d give the second volume a try before giving up completely.

And, well, I went on to read every volume that’s been published so far. This volume pushed the story more toward military strategy, political intrigue, and international diplomacy, which I found a welcome improvement. Those topics remain central to the story in subsequent volumes. I think this series tends to be at its best when Souma is playing the role of heroic mastermind, rather than serving as an adjunct professor of economics at your local community college. Reading through vol. 2 again for this discussion, I felt confirmed in my opinion that this volume is vastly superior to its predecessor.

stardf29: Yeah, I also felt that Volume 2 was where the story really picked up. Volume 1 was fine but if it had just stayed at that level it wouldn’t have become one of my favorite light novels of all time; it would probably just have been “pretty good” for me. But with this volume, there are way more elements at play that start to expand the scope of the novel.

I think what I liked most about this volume is how there’s so many different parties, some allied to Souma, some not, all doing their own part. And as the point of view shifts to these different parties, we see where they all come from. This was something we touched on in the volume 1 discussion: it shows how the story is not just Souma’s story; he might be the “main character” but everyone else has their story in the greater story as well. And while volume 1 does do this a bit, it’s here in volume 2 where that really expands out even beyond country borders.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters?

A. Souma

Jeskai Angel: Souma feels more balanced / less OP than in the first volume. I appreciated seeing how he struggled with the weight of responsibility. Similarly, while it’s great seeing his clever plans succeed, they don’t always work out, and that’s good too. In this volume, Souma actually faces human opponents with plans of their own. That means he’s forced to adapt to the unexpected. He feels more human this way, a satisfying balance of cunning and fallibility.

This is a good chance to raise a question I’ve had before. It’s extremely common in isekai stories for the Japanese characters to refer any sort of killing as “murder,” no matter how justified it might seem in context. E.g., in this volume, Souma refers to Gaius’s death as “murder,” despite the fact that he’s killed during battle. Do the Japanese today tend to consider any kind of killing, regardless of circumstances, to be murder? Or is there some other meaning to their use of this terminology?

stardf29: Definitely agree with the assessment of Souma being more balanced, struggling with responsibility, and having more “difficult” and human opponents to deal with. I really like the moment when he realized that he had basically taken on a fake “king” persona in order to cope with the reality of war. And it’s not just that he has moments of weakness, but that he also feels like he can’t show that weakness to the girls that are closest to him. He might have the mental knowledge to handle being king, but it’s nice to see that at least when it comes to the emotional aspect, he’s still very much normal.

I don’t know the answer to the whole “murder” question, but I can imagine some people having an aversion to killing anyone, no matter how “justified” it is. Maybe they want the world to be as peaceful as possible and hate the thought of anyone dying, or maybe ending someone else’s life makes them think of how someone might kill them for a “justified” reason someday. (Or there might be some other reason I’m not thinking of.) This might be even more prevalent in Japanese culture for various reasons, or it might not. I’d have to consult someone more knowledgeable about Japanese culture on that.

B. Amidonian royals

Jeskai Angel: First, LOL at Gaius, Julius, and…Roroa? One of these things is not like the others, you know? The first two names bring to mind Gaius Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire…but Roroa? Maybe it’s symbolic? Like, her dad and brother have names that (especially together) evoke a famous historical conqueror, while her name is nothing like theirs in order to communicate how different she is from them? Well, anyway, Roroa doesn’t have much of a part to play in this volume, although there’s some heavy foreshadowing she’s got schemes of her own.

Gaius, and Amidonia in general, bring to mind various real-life examples of leaders and peoples bent on avenging past losses. Many in France looked forward to what become WWI because they wanted revenge for their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War a few decades earlier, and they especially wanted to reclaim the territories of Alsace and Lorraine from the Germans. The Nazis used vengeful rhetoric, too, wanting Germany to avenge its defeat in WWI. Even today, there’s still a ton of conflict relating to Israel (the political state) and various groups seeking to “reclaim” what they consider “their” lands — even though Israel has controlled those lands for decades. It’s interesting that the author seems to consistently portray this whole revenge-and-reclamation obsession in a negative light, implicitly repudiating it. Since Japan lost the last war it fought, I wonder if that’s any kind of commentary on the views of at least some Japanese people?

Julius gets more screentime than his sister but less than his dad. We get the impression that he’s a blend of the two of them, actually. It seems pretty obvious, based on how this volume wraps up, that we’ll be seeing more of Julius in the future.

stardf29: The concept and condemnation of Amidonia’s obsession with revenge is interesting because the Amidonian rulers have actually incorporated the desire for revenge and reclamation into the very identity of their country. So it becomes an issue of patriotism and national identity as well, especially as the rulers have assumed those elements of national identity into their personal identity. And once something has become part of your identity, it’s hard to even think of doing things a different way.

I do like how the three main royals represent a scale of how much this national identity has become their personal identity. On one extreme we have Gaius, for whom it has taken over so much that he sees no other option than to pursue revenge, even when there’s no hope of victory and all he can do is a final suicide attack. And on the opposite end there’s Roroa, who refuses to accept that identity and seeks a different way. In the middle is Julius, who has taken up that identity to an extent, but shows signs that it hasn’t gotten to the point of his father, though we’ll have to wait until later volumes to see where that leads him.

C. Souma’s girls

Jeskai Angel: Liscia is still cool. She was one of the better elements of the first volume, and had some really great moments in this one. We see her continuing to grow closer to Souma, showing that she understands him, expressing determination and loyalty with the haircut stunt, frantically trying to get her friend Carla’s life spared, and serving as a mage-general on the battlefield. She has good chemistry with Souma, while her relationships with Georg and Carla show different sides of her and make her a more realistic character.

Aisha is still Goku. Except she’s a female elf, and is less likeable. Castor was right on the money with his “idiot strength” comment. She’s probably my least favorite character in the whole series, so it was great (from my point of view) that she’s mostly in the background in this volume.

This volume does have the bizarre plot point of Juna being commander of the kingdom’s marines. To be fair, young-person-with-absurd-authority is a common trope, so Juna is hardly unique, but it still seems bizarre that someone her age could have found time to both master singing AND become a great warrior. IIRC, the fact that she’s an elite soldier and military officer mostly goes unmentioned after this volume, making me wonder if the author realized it was a bit much and decided to drop it. Young, beautiful, world-class singer who also happens to lead the nation’s marine corps? I find it hard to swallow. Juna is one of the less well-written, less interesting members of Souma’s harem, and I still feel she lacks chemistry with Souma, but at least she’s less annoying than Aisha.

stardf29: I can agree with Liscia and Aisha. Kind of ironic that Aisha is the cover girl but doesn’t have much of a role in the story beyond being a combatant.

As for Juna, it’s definitely a bit much for her to be a Marine leader on top of everything else, but I figured that just comes with the territory of having Excel as a grandmother, and Excel is… well, quite something, to say the least. And while she’s also lower down on my “girls ranking” list for this series, I do think she has at least some “chemistry” with Souma, at least with how she has assumed the role of the “slightly more mature girl who cares for him” and helps “hide his weakness”. I mean, I prefer the “chemistry” that he has with Liscia (and with other girls later on) but at least it’s something… which is more that can be said for Aisha.

Jeskai Angel: That’s fair. Between Juna and Aisha, Juna is definitely the better character (even though I’d only rank her fourth, after Liscia, XXXXX, and XXXXX).

Short-haired Liscia is good, too.

D. The Dukes

Jeskai Angel: I do need to talk about Castor. I can only conclude that he worships Duke Carmine, because he gives Georg the sort of absolute trust and loyalty of which only a god could be worthy. He even divorces his wife for the sake of his freakish devotion to his friend! It’s insane. If someone is acting in a way that seems totally wrong and/or irrational, and they refuse to explain themselves no matter how many times you ask what’s going on… MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T BLINDLY FOLLOW THEM. Just saying. Yes, it turns out Georg actually does have good intentions, but that kind of ex post facto justification in no way excuses Castor’s folly here. Of course, I can’t fault Castor too much, since our world has plenty of examples of blind, unwarranted loyalty. Also, I don’t know if the fault of Castor, his wife, or the author, but there’s a serious lack of creativity when it comes to naming their children. Carla and Carl? Really?

stardf29: Castor and Carla are, in a way, tragic characters. They might not be dead by the end of the volume, but even supposing they’ll escape with their lives intact, they are both currently enslaved (…that’s something we’ll have to address, huh?) and estranged from the rest of their family. Their refusal to question their loyalty to Georg is the tragic flaw that leads to their loss and current predicament. It’s interesting to contrast him with Excel. She was equally in the dark to Georg’s true intentions, but rather than blindly trust him, she sought the truth for herself, sending a spy in Juna to see what Souma was really like, and then allying herself with him when he proved to be trustworthy. I wonder if her having lived longer has given her perspective here. Overall, she definitely is a crafty leader, with how she helped with the defense of Altomura, and she’ll definitely be around to cause more chaos later on…

As for Georg… I’ll have a full question on him later.

As for the names in Castor’s family… all I can say is, I struggle with naming characters myself, so I can’t be too hard on the author on names. Especially since this is a Japanese author coming up with English names; that must be a special sort of challenge for Japanese fantasy authors.

E. Other characters

Jeskai Angel: This volume introduces a ton of new characters and hints at their possible future importance. I already mentioned Roroa and Julius, but the three dukes, Carla, and Maria and Jeanne also all seem like good candidates to reappear in another volume. We don’t really get to know most of them all that well, but they all seem well positioned to show up again. We don’t know her name at this point, but the reference to Maria and Jeanne’s reclusive, eccentric sister comes across as foreshadowing another future character. By the way, it amuses me that this LN has a girl named Maria who is known as “the saint of the empire,” while a totally different LN has a girl named Mia that people call “the saint of the empire.” Talking about this story’s empire also brings up more of the author’s peculiar naming choices — Chaos as the family name of a royal line, but then their family name changes to Euphoria? I bet they were a lot happier and less disorganized after that.

stardf29: Okay, can I just say that Halbert and Kaede are just too cute? I know my love for childhood friend romances is biasing me hugely here but I’m glad their spat in the first volume was resolved and we can just get to the two of them just being close with each other.

We’ll definitely see more of Maria and Jeanne later. For now, though, we do get a glimpse of who’s actually ruling over the supposed strongest power on the continent and… they’re actually pretty reasonable? That definitely gives hope that Souma can ultimately work with them, which should make things interesting later on.

One interesting bit though is how supposedly, Maria rules based more on “logic” whereas Souma rules based more on “feelings”. While I think in context this is somewhat inaccurate–it’s more like Maria rules according to convention–it does remind me that Souma has ultimately taken up rulership because he wanted to protect those close to him that had become his “family”. It will be interesting, though, to see if the two of them can ultimately cover each other’s “blind spots” if they work together.

Oh, and we get to see Juno and the adventurers again! Their presence in the first volume was pretty squarely in “side story” territory, but here they actively participate in the main plot (although it is still more in dealing with a contingency to save lives rather than actively advancing Souma’s military plans). It’s definitely nice to see more of them as a look at another piece of life in this world, and it does seem like we’ll see more of them from here on out as well.

3. What are your thoughts on Georg’s plan to bait the corrupt nobles?

Jeskai Angel: It was certainly a…plan. Talk about not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, though!

In a way, Georg’s gambit actually served to illustrate Souma’s argument about the problems with the kingdom’s divided military command structure. A ton of trouble could have been avoided if Georg had worked WITH the king and the other two dukes, rather than playing his cards so close to his vest. A more unified chain of command/communication would save Georg from acting so unilaterally and inexplicably. His intentions were good, but his decision not to communicate sooner and more clearly with Souma, Excel, and Castor, did a lot of harm. I think it actually comes across as Georg (and, to a lesser degree, Souma) distrusting everyone else. I understand not wanting the corrupt nobles to find out, but were Castor and Excel really so unreliable that there was no way Georg could let them know what was going on?

To be fair, Georg’s behavior isn’t entirely unrealistic. I didn’t feel like the narrative artificially forced him to be unrealistically stupid. History has plenty of unfortunate events caused by poor communication and/or excessive concern with secrecy. And as semi-autonomous general/duke, Georg may very well have acted in a similarly independent way on previous occasions in his career. However, a plan that is bad in realistic ways is still a bad plan.

stardf29: There sure seem to be a lot of “tragic characters” this volume, huh? Characters who make choices and plans that are ultimately folly, but are understandable for how they might have gotten there based on their character flaws. Georg seems to be yet another case of this, where his base plan in and of itself had plenty of merits, but his lack of communication with at least Excel and Castor caused a lot of grief.

Though being in the military, I can at least understand the high focus on secrecy. To put this in modern military terms, Georg’s plan was very much “Top Secret”: something that could cause exceptionally grave damage to “national security” if it got out. And when it comes to any sort of classified information, one of the most important concepts is “need-to-know”: that is, even if other parties are trustworthy, do they actually need to know the information in order for the plan to succeed? Of course, here, Georg made a clear miscalculation: Excel and Castor definitely had a need-to-know, since part of the plan involved the navy and air force joining forces to defeat Georg. And Castor’s refusal to oppose Georg made things much harder for everyone involved.

The balance between “need for secrecy” and “need-to-know” is a cornerstone of military strategy, which I will by no means claim to be an expert in. This definitely seems to be a case where Georg erred too much toward secrecy, though.

4. Strategically, what do you think of Souma’s plan to actively wage war against Amidonia?

Jeskai Angel: The way I read the story, Gaius was a warmonger actively looking for a chance to start a war, and it was absolutely certain that he would do so eventually. In light of that, Souma set a trap to bait Gaius into declaring war on terms favorable to Elfrieden. Souma didn’t cause Gaius to attack, he just took the defensive measure of faking weakness. I have no issues with any of that. It was less about provoking a war and more about giving Gaius the opening he was seeking.

The fundamentally defensive nature of Souma’s strategy also appears in how Elfrieden fought the war. The goal was regime change. Souma didn’t even try to conquer Amidonia; he only aimed to seize the capital. And his goal wasn’t actually to capture Van — it was to lure Gaius into a decisive battle. As Gaius himself belatedly realized, he was Souma’s real target all along. Souma understood, to paraphrase the Klingon ambassador in Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home, “There shall be no peace as long as [Gaius] lives!” Given the constraints “Must remove Gaius,” “Mustn’t upset the Gran Chaos Empire,” and “Must minimize casualties/destruction on both sides,” Souma’s handling of the war was pretty reasonable and effective.

stardf29: Indeed, in this situation it was definitely a reasonable choice to instigate a war that was going to inevitably happen, since it would keep Amidonia from preparing as much as they like (even if they had been preparing in some way otherwise). I think there’s also some extent to which Souma figured that they had some weaknesses they could exploit, or at least unique advantages he had on his side to leverage against them.

This also fits with Souma’s main purpose of ruling in the first place: protecting his “family”. He knows what kind of a threat Gaius is to them, and he will even start a war if that means keeping them safe.

Perhaps the more interesting here is, what does Souma do now that his subjugation is successful? I don’t want to get too much into this here because this is the focus of the next volume, but he has to be aware that defeating Gaius and taking Van is “only half the battle”. Now he not only has to manage formerly-foreign territory and people, but he also has to deal with the inevitable conflict with the Gran Chaos Empire and the Mankind Declaration. Well, this is the sort of thing that helps make this series so engaging; it looks at several aspects of international relations, not just the surface winning/losing of a war.

Jeskai Angel: Think what a mess it could be if someone else were to be scheming about the fate of Amidonia with totally different goals than Souma’s…

5. What do you think about this story’s use of slavery so far?

Jeskai Angel: The first interesting point is that this is an atypical isekai story with slavery. Souma mercifully averts the obnoxious “Isekai protagonist acquires gorgeous female slave who allegedly falls in love with him and prefers remaining his slave to being freed” scenario. I mean, technically, he briefly owns Carla, but A. Carla never falls in love with him, B. Souma passes her off to Liscia ASAP, and C. Souma makes a point of emphasizing that he really only goes along with this because the laws of the kingdom prescribe slavery as a form of punishment, and as chief enforcer of laws, he must avoid playing favorites. In terms of Souma’s direct, personal participation in slavery, he’s doing better than most male isekai protagonists in settings with slavery.

In addition, I think Souma’s discussion with Liscia about enforcing the law in an evenhanded manner raises another important facet of the story’s handling of slavery. Living up to its “Realist” billing, the story shows us that Souma doesn’t like slavery, just as he doesn’t like the laws about corporate guilt that punish members of a criminal’s family, but he can’t just snap his fingers and make them go away. Quite realistically, he understands that even as king he can’t suddenly and unilaterally change these things without the risk of causing other serious problems. We see in later volumes that he does pursue an end to slavery, but in a way that tries to avoid causing major upheaval. In this respect, Souma reminds me of America’s “Great Emancipator,” Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted to do away with slavery, but unlike the abolitionists of his day who wanted it done right this very minute, Lincoln wasn’t wedded to a particular process or timeline, as long he could put slavery “in course of ultimate extinction.” (Yes, the American Civil War happened instead of peaceful abolition, but that was neither Lincoln’s fault nor his desire.)

stardf29: Well, your analysis here is spot-on so I don’t really have anything to add specifically with regards to this story. It does goes to show how, as much as we might expect–and hate–the presence of slavery in these fantasy light novels, how it’s usually pretty unreasonable to just expect even the most overpowered of protagonists to just snap it out of existence. Of course, that doesn’t exactly justify the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach many of them take, either. So Realist Hero’s approach is pretty notable in this regard.

Final Thoughts

Jeskai Angel: Usually, with LNs, the first volume (and sometimes just a portion of the first vol.!) is enough for me to decide whether I want to follow that series. Realist Hero is one of the rare exceptions. I can’t think of another instance where my opinion of an LN changed so drastically based on the second volume. This volume is much better than it’s predecessor, and does a better job of representing the kind of content you can look forward to in the rest of series.

stardf29: Some assorted thoughts that I didn’t quite feel like it justified its own question:

When I first read this volume, I was pretty intrigued by the idea of dragons that could take on human forms and would even marry the knights they allowed to ride them. I think I just like Fire Emblem manaketes too much… At any rate, it seems to be a bit too random of an element to put in a story without it coming into play later on, so I did suspect Souma might pick up a dragon wife at that point. As for whether that will actually happen… well, we know already, but those reading along here will have to wait a few more volumes.

I also found it interesting that Souma would even cover for “red-light services” for his army after the war just to keep them from causing bigger trouble for the people of Van. He really isn’t afraid to use whatever he needs regardless of how “improper” it might be.

Anyway, I’ve read a few other novels that have drastically improved in the second volume (or later); that said, while I still liked volume 1, I did feel that volume 2 is where the story really gets going. Well, this is why I personally consider two volumes to be the light novel equivalent of the “three-episode rule” used for anime, though it does vary per title and sometimes one volume is enough to say “I’m done with this” (like how sometimes one episode of an anime is enough for me to drop it). This, though, is definitely one series where it’s worth sticking around at least for a second volume to see if it’s your thing.

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And that brings our discussion on Realist Hero volume 2 to a close. Starting next month, though, there will be a huge change to how the Light Novel Club discussions work: discussions will now be held on the public Beneath the Tangles Discord, and anyone can contribute to those discussions! Join the Discord if you want more information, including an early announcement of our next light novels for discussion!

We’ll be announcing the next titles on the blog on Sept. 7th, but if you want a clue… uh, let me look at my official clue book… hmm, all I have here are the letters T A R E… what could that mean?

As always, if you read along with us, let us know of your own thoughts on the volume in the comments!

#Light Novels #How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom #Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: JeskaiAngel

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