On Eighty-Six v1

The cover.

If you follow LN news, you might have heard about this one. Eighty-Six, by Asato Asato. In 2016, this very book was the winner of the Dengeki Novel Prize‘s grand prix. Many Dengeki Prize winners are books forgotten by history, ones that don’t ring any bells even among experienced LN readers. But not this one, I think. It wouldn’t surprise me if it got animated at some point. Very recently, its English translation was published by Yen On, so I absolutely had to get my hands on a copy. Google a bit and you might find a curious label used to describe Eighty-Six: “the antifascist light novel”. How seriously can this line be treated? Let us find out.

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On Rokka no Yuusha v6

The cover.

Hi there. The time has come to read the sixth, and last (?), volume of Rokka no Yuusha. A book I started with plenty of trepidation, since I spent a large percentage of my adventure with the fifth volume shaking my head and going all “no no no no” in thought… The previous book in the series ended at Hans and Chamo escaping from the rest of the Braves after a falling-out over differing opinions on what to do with Fremy and Adlet. Hans had figured out the truth: Fremy contains the Black Barrenbloom, a magical thingy which will kill all the heroes soon just by being nearby. And Adlet, though he’s unaware of it, is Tgurneu’s pawn intended to keep her around. Most of the party rejects Hans and his proposal of killing the two, forcing the catlike Brave into banishment. The clock is ticking…

On Gothloli Takkyuu v2

The cover.

Sup. It’s time to write something about Kaiji But Cuter again. The second volume of Gothloli Takkyuu was released mere three months after the first one, in December. Sagu-sensei’s worries about his novel’s potential proved to be completely groundless. And now, three further months later I’m done with the second volume of the series, so get your reading glasses and pingpong tables ready.

On MahoIku v4

BI BI BI! (way more interesting than the cover, isn’t it?)

Hi there. I bear good news: it’s time to return to the bloody-cute world of MahoIku. But, I also bear some bad news. The fourth volume of the series is a collection of short stories. No new deathgame to get excited about, I’m afraid. If you have any experience with light novels, you should know why I’m not particularly happy about that. Story volumes are usually skippable – they don’t include crucial material influencing the novels in any meaningful way. Is MahoIku: Episodes any different…? This book includes six stories based on MahoIku: Unmarked and nine – on MahoIku: Restart.

My Problem with JRPG Combat

“Four Black Mages? That’ll never work.”

Hi there. I write about old-ass 2D games more than anything else these days, don’t I? Before I get to what this blogpost’s title claims is the topic, I will say a few things about a different genre of video games. One that some don’t even consider to be video games.