#Geko Hirasawa

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan 1 Review

Author: Kyouchikutou

Illustrator: Geko Hirasawa

Label: Earth Star Novel

Release Date: 15 January 2016

Unfortunately, I didn’t really like this volume. I just found it really inaccessible due to emphasis on agriculture and the Sengoku Era, both of which are topics that I really don’t know much about. I found the story hard to really get into due to that but I think that someone who has an interest in those two subjects will enjoy this.

Story:

Genre: Agriculture, Historical, Time Travel

Shizuko is the student of an agricultural school who has an interest in history. One day, she discovers that she’s somehow time traveled back to the Sengoku Era. She meets Oda Nobunaga who threatens to kill her unless she can prove her worth. She discovers that she can do this by aiding Nobunaga with ker knowledge of agriculture. With no way of knowing how to get back home, she does the only thing she can do: survive.

I found this volume to be very inaccessible, as someone who has a limited knowledge of agriculture and Japanese history (most of what I know about the Sengoku Era is from anime like Oda Nobuna no Yabou and most of what I know about agriculture is from Gin no Saji). But I acknowledge that it’s unlikely that the author ever thought that this novel would be read by someone outside of Japan so I don’t think that it can really be helped. I just found it really hard to get into.

The other thing worth mentioning is that the story has yet to confirm whether Shizuku's actions will influence history or not. She doesn't seem concerned about that possibility but she sure is introducing a lot of technology ahead of their time. Peaking ahead at the volume covers, it does seem like the later volumes will introduce a warfare element as well. Whether it’ll be handled well or not, I can’t say but I think it’s worth a mention.

All that said, I can see that this might have been more interesting had I had more interest and knowledge on the subjects. It goes into quite a bit of detail in describing the agriculture side of things and I can see how that could be interesting. It’s not for me but I can see certain people liking it.

Character:

Shizuku’s an okay protagonist. She didn’t make a strong impression on me but she’s got a strong will and is quite clever. She does feel a bit too clever and OP at times which causes her to not be very relatable to the reader but I didn’t hate her. The rest of the characters were mostly unmemorable but I did like the wolves.

Adapatation Notes:

The manga is illustrated by Hajime Sawada and is ongoing with four volumes currently released. I found the manga to be more accessible than the light novel but it still has issue where it's hard to really get into it unless the reader is interested in the subjects.There are a couple of changes here and there which I think helped the story flow more smoothly but I still found it really hard to get interested in. At the moment, I would recommend the manga over the light novel.

Recommended for:

People who have an interest in agriculture and Japanese history (especially those with an interest in the Sengoku Era).

I won’t be getting volume 2 any time soon but there is a chance that I may reread this volume once I’ve learned more Japanese and more about Japanese history. For now, I have no plans to continue with the series.

Next up is Okitsune-sama no Iruikonintan

[bluewillow-redleaves]

The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner #2)  by James Dashner Japanese book cover Illustration by Geko Hirasawa

[bluewillow-redleaves]

The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1)  by James Dashner Japanese book cover Illustration by Geko Hirasawa