NineSwords

joined 8 months ago
MODERATOR OF
[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago

Might I suggest Reincarnated with my Smartphone?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Okay, I got one. A single-volume horror story:

MC is an overworked office worker and moves into a "free" house in the country to get away from the stress of Tokyo city life. Winding down and adapting to the slow life in the countryside isn't easy and unusual sounds and movements outside the room scare him at night. He befriends the locals, helps out an elderly couple tending to their vegetable garden, and gives a young kid who gets bullied at school some helpful words. But the country sounds at night still keep him from any relaxing sleep and the ghostly silhouettes he sees in looking at his house are getting more.

The people start to act strange around him and the elderly couple tells him that they are afraid for him and they make some vague comments about the woman who lived in this house before him. He can't get that comment out of his mind, so he searches for what happened to the previous tenant. After some internet searching he gets in contact with a guy from a small occult magazine in the next larger town over. He tells him that that house is haunted and that the previous tenant saw ghosts as well and was found dead in her old school tatami bedroom. The official report said that the woman killed herself by inflicting several deep scratch wounds all over her body after a psychotic breakdown, but the occult guy says that it was the vengeful ghost of the original owners that built the house and lived their entire life in it before getting murdered in a random break in. He says that they and the previous tenant now haunt the house and gives MC copies of his occult magazine where he wrote articles about the house. MC reads them on his bus ride home and decides to grab his things and leave right away. But even for a seasoned overwork-veteran, the consecutive days of running on adrenalin without sleep catch up to him and he faints in his bedroom while packing his few belongings into a moving box.

He wakes from the sound of someone or something trying to get into his bedroom door which is blocked because he collapsed against it with his backpack. The first thing that he sees is the door being slowly pushed open now that he got up and isn't leaning against it anymore. Then he realizes that all the color has gone from the world and that there is a constant eerie ringing sound that only gets overpowered by the screaming sounds of the thing that tries to get into the room.

When the door finally opens he sees grotesque withered yokai monsters shuffling towards him. He grabs a rice cooker from the moving box and bashes the monster's head in. The other monster gets visibly agitated but he manages to kill it as well. He doesn't give a shit anymore about his belongings and just takes the meanest-looking kitchen knife he has and tries to flee the house. but outside is colorless as well and the ringing sound gets louder and more annoying in pitch. There are also more monsters in different variations. From slow ones who try to attack him from a distance to big and strong ones who rush into close quarters.

After much struggle and several fights against the yokai he manages to flee the village and makes it into the town where he gets in contact with the occult magazine guy and he is visibly disturbed by the story he hears. Together they go to the police and there he is arrested. The police find the residents of the small village all stabbed to death and MC gets locked away after being found guilty of mass murder. He is now waiting in a monochrome horror cell waiting for the day the monsters come for him to kill him. Still hearing that ringing sound until the day of his execution.

The twist is that at some point the reader realizes that something isn't right and hopefully only at the end it becomes clear that the monsters were just in his imagination and he killed all the people he befriended. The second twist is that at the very end, it's unclear if the haunted house made him have the psychotic breakdown or if it's just a coincidence that both he and the former tenant had the same hallucinations. Maybe the last scene could be the house with now 4 ghostly figures behind the window looking towards a moving truck with a new tenant moving in.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

No not even close. The first season adapted only 2 volumes of the light novel which has currently 15 volumes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago

That's a whiplash.

 
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I love their dynamic and hope to see more of them. :)

 

It's a movie edit of Season 1 and the fist two episodes of Season 2.

Key Visual:

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

I wouldn't be too surprised if Overlord weren't at least an inspiration. Just by looking at the MC on the cover I get strong Albedo vibes from the horns and lower-back wings.

I wonder if this will be a strict game world or if there will be some isekai aspect to it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Slow Life and Living with my Mistress for sure. The 3 new ones sound interesting as well. Goblin Maiden sounds like isekai Shrek from the synopsis. Monster Boy sounds generic but I'll give the first volume a go. But EXP is Golden sounds really intriguing. Always a fan of evil MCs.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World Volume 8 - I can't say much about this one. It exists I guess. It's so perfectly midding that it blends into the background while reading it. And it's not like there weren't any opportunities for something interesting. MC is visiting the Beast Nation for the first time, but instead of some interesting world-building you get "Oh this is basically Japan so let's buy some Soy sauce and Miso. Okay. Thanks. Byeeee".

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 22 - Good volume. I love the two new characters and hope that they will join the party again asking (commanding) for tasty morsels. Karion says so as well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Death March would be my #3 pick if I can't get the old Tearmoon translator.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago
  • Bookworm
  • Cooking With Wild Game
  • Tearmoon Empire (but with old translator)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Saving 80,000 - The 1 FUNA series I haven’t started yet

It's even more ridiculous as FUNA's usual antics. Imagine a MC that can freely hop between our and the isekai world. And by freely I mean freely. Including just grabbing a battalion of mercs with their armored vehicles to fight of a invasion of guys with bows and swords GATE style. Same humor and writing style as anything else FUNA so if you like their other stuff I recommend it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Definitively, new Death March and 80k Gold. Babel maybe to see if MC gets better. Volume 1 had its strengths and wasn't all bad.

 

Looks Myne pulled another one into the rabbit hole. That vtuber from last week that made a video about Ascendance of a Bookworm has a video about Lightnovels in general now. Can you hear the silent "one of us, one of us" chant in the distance?

 

I stumbled over a vtuber discussing Bookworm and the differences between LN and anime. Give it a like to encourage her to do more light novels.

 

Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain

“Lady Bumpkin”—that is what most of high society called Agnes Evantail, eldest daughter of the venerable House of Evantail. Ridiculed for her outdated makeup and antiquated clothing, she has been a pariah among her peers for as long as she can remember. After yet another failed attempt at becoming engaged, her parents make her attend the princess’s engagement celebration in hopes of finding a fiancé there. Agnes begrudgingly goes to the party, where she encounters perfect Nazelbart Florescruz, the princess’s fiancé, and the only person to ever show her kindness. When the princess schemes against him and he’s branded a villain, it’s Agnes’s turn to offer him a helping hand. The two are then bound together in the most unlikely turn of events—how will their story unfold?

Disowned but Not Disheartened! Life Is Good with Overpowered Magic

At age three, Tafelina Lowell Lera Duval was disowned by her birth parents, but was that actually a blessing in disguise? Raised in a remote region of Ozeria by the kind earl of Peylon, she was allowed to hunt in a forest full of monsters, invent magic tools based on memories of her previous life, and let her extraordinary magical talents flourish. But that all begins to change with the approach of her thirteenth birthday. As the child of a noble, she’s obligated to attend an academy meant to raise and educate the next generation of nobles. That means moving to the royal capital, a sprawling city quite unlike her beloved home. Lera soon feels like a fish out of water, and things only get worse with kidnappings, the appearance of her half sister, and more. But Lera’s not one to be disheartened easily and that isn’t about to change!

The Countess Is a Coward No More! This Reincarnated Witch Just Wants a Break

Lam Mercure has always led a miserable life. Due to her cowardly nature, she spent her childhood ridiculed by her family, and things only got worse when she became the second wife of Char, the Earl of Mercure. Char is a busy mage who’s perpetually absent from the estate, leaving Lam to fend for herself—and his servants take every chance to torment the poor countess, fully aware she is too timid to retaliate...until something unexpected happens. While being bullied by her handmaidens, Lam hits her head and regains the memories of a past life—five hundred years ago, she was Aurora, the strongest witch in history! Now that she remembers her true self, Lam won’t live as a victim any longer. With her reawakened powers, she’ll punish the servants, talk back to her husband, and reclaim her freedom—on her own terms!

Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner

Felicia Schwarose has been reincarnated as the main character of her favorite otome game—Lady Rose. As Prince Seth’s fiancée, she’s spent her whole life preparing to be his queen, but behind the scenes...she’s been laying the groundwork to get the whole thing called off! Now she’s living out her dreams as “Fii Crow,” a peasant working at a local bakery. Unfortunately, the game’s pesky love interests won’t leave her alone. Will Felicia be able to enjoy her new life as a commoner in peace, or will the love interests’ meddling ruin all of her hard work?

A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch

After getting fired from his adventuring clan for his lack of combat ability, Tori wanders around and runs into the city’s strongest adventurer—the White Witch! Since he has nowhere else to go, she hires Tori for his exceptional skill in...handling chores?! With his talent for cooking, cleaning, running errands, and other domestic odd jobs, he’s the perfect fit for taking care of the extremely lazy White Witch and the garbage dump she calls her house. Follow Tori as he grapples with his new job as the caretaker of the beautiful White Witch and her three familiars. Perhaps once he has cleaned up the place, he can finally live a cozy life in the woods with his new employer!

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates

Do you like cats? Do you like isekai? Do you like dying horribly in an earthquake with your whole family? Then you’d fit right in with the Tanaka family! They might not have enjoyed that last part, but they’re certainly enjoying their new life in another world as the esteemed Stewart family. That’s right—the whole family reincarnated together, and they’re just as messy as they were in their first life. Kazushi (65) and Yoriko Tanaka (65) are now the esteemed Leonard (35) and Melsa (35) Stewart. Their three children, Wataru (38), Minato (35), and Heita (33) are now George (15), Emma (12), and William (9) Stewart. Come follow the Tanakas—or Stewarts—as they navigate high society with tea parties, marriage propositions, fashion design, bugs, monsters, and most importantly, giant cats!

Isekai Walking

Ordinary student Sora has been summoned to another world as one of seven “chosen heroes” meant to battle the Demon King. While the other six are blessed with grandiose titles and superlative stats, Sora is stuck with no title, no level, and a single, underwhelming skill: he never gets tired from walking. After being judged useless to the cause, Sora is thrown out into the streets and left to fend for himself. Nevertheless, he grows determined to turn his unjust treatment and seemingly “useless” skill into a positive by earning money, making friends, and seeing sights he’s never seen before!

 

If you could step into the world of any LN, which would it be and why?

 

It's not often that we see a long-running light novel series come to an end and even less often one as popular as Ascendance of a Bookworm.

So let's talk about the series as a whole. How did you like the story? What were your favorite and least favorite parts? Was the ending satisfying? Who is your favorite character? Who is your least favorite? General thoughts?

 

Share a quote or excerpt from a LN and we have to guess where it's from.

6
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Let's talk about light novels adapting game scenarios this week. Otome games are by now something of a trope for light novels. But how popular are otome games really? Why does it feel like every other LN is playing in a otome game scenario when there are so many video game genres that are so much more popular. There is an argument to be had that the other half of video game related light novels is based on some fantasy (VR)MMO with basic RPG mechanics.

There are also single series that pick up some unusual game/genre like Minecraft in Survival in Another World with My Mistress or a God Sim in The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real!. But those are outliers and I want more of stuff like that. There are enough LN about generic fantasy RPGs and otome games already. I want something fresh. Where's my Anno city/empire builder LN?

Another point for discussion: is Re:Zero a souldborne LN? Lots of death and suffering with respawns at certain points that reset the world.


Some META:

I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks and if someone has an idea for a Midweek discussion I would be glad If someone else could answer the call of duty. (Or want to post about non-Japanese LN or even fat novels but fear my vengeful wrath? This is your chance!)

I'll try to have an eye on here in those two weeks and Myne will post her two threads as usual, but whatever I'll do will be very sporadic and not in a timely fashion.

 

What type of Afterword reader are you? I know someone who reads the afterword first and regardless of how often I tell them that they are a perverse freak and should be ashamed they are unapologetic and don't change their wicked ways.

And while we're speaking about Afterwords, have you come across interesting ones? Personally, I like ones that give some background info about the volume the most and afterwords written as the characters least.

view more: next ›