Right? Sometimes there's decent animation and the they do weird stuff to show the pacing to crawl and reuse shots. I might pick up the manga just out of curiosity.
This episode was considerably better than last week's but still. I'm right there with you, watching because it's such a mess and yet somewhere at the studio one intern seems to be trying SO HARD.
Land of the Lustrous. Hear me out. I absolutely loved the anime. So much so that I was like "I need MOAR!" and then binged the manga. Without giving anything away, the complete story ruined me for several days afterwards. Don't get me wrong, it was BRILLIANT but it was also like "fuck..."
Like, have you ever seen Requiem for a Dream? Where you go "wow, that was fantastic... and I never want to watch it again." Except I love Phos and would absolutely spend time with her again and then question my sanity afterwards.
In a similar vein, Planetarian. It gets you right in the feels but is also fantastic. It plays fair and you're left going "yeah, there isn't any other way they could have ended, is there?" while you're bawling your eyes out.
Ah yes. She first talks to the flames first, and then from the books learns it's forbidden magic. My interpretation was "oh, here are books that explain the thing I was learning on my own" and considering that Keigetsu gets proficient enough at it to body swap and contact Reirin at will, I just assumed her dad's books were more of the "Black Magic for Dummies" variety. But it's totally possible the notes were "Earth/Fire/Water/Air magic = good. Black magic = bad." and she learned everything on her own.
This last episode was particularly bad. I thought the first episode was decent from an animation standpoint. Just the fact they were trying to use unusual camera angles and the action sequences seemed decent enough. But omfg the plot is bad and the pacing is terrible. Seriously, this last episode felt like it could've been condensed into 3 minutes, so the rest of the episode they were just wasting everyone's time.
Oh, what an interesting idea. This is the first episode where I've really started to go "huh... things aren't adding up." Like sure, there were a few minor oddities before but this one practically had neon "LOOK HERE" signs. However, if I had to point the finger at anyone, it would be someone from the Kou clan. Shu doesn't seem to have a good motive. But if it was Kou, their motive could be to get Reirin a healthy body.
Your "it was murder" take is actually solid. The mother's abusive attitude doesn't give me "suicide" vibes, and a double-suicide seems even less likely. Adding to the "staged" nature of the parents' deaths, it's kind of interesting that Keigetsu just happened to be locked in a room with books about forbidden magic. I don't think those are the kind of things you'd just find in the back room of a commoner's house.
The other big red flag I saw this episode was the incense in sick Shu Keigetsu's room. Keigetsu was too sick to light it herself, it was there before the empress and prince arrived, and it clearly had some kind of dark aura about it. It also broke when Reirin reached out to Keigetsu after hitting the bullseye. The only people who could have had access to Keigetsu's room are people of the Kou clan.
Also how they keep portraying Keigetsu as a tragic character, with Reirin constantly trying to help her and actually happy they traded places because she can be healthy for once. Really makes me think that the titular "Inept Villainess" is actually Keigetsu.
First, omg, thank you for reading the whole thing. And also for your honest critique.
From worst writing I have ever read to better than some published novels I had unpleastness of reading. Keep going as you will go places. Your skill has improved so much that it actually is a shame how bad the chapter 0 is.
Yes! Thank you. I feel like a lot of people are just "this is good" because they don't want to be offensive. Honestly, your harsh criticism of the earlier chapters is just what I was looking for. It makes the later praise seem earned instead of just platitudes.
Plus, it gets my head out of my ass a bit and gives me a different perspective. If you feel the later chapters are better then they certainly are better. And if the early chapters are that bad, ouch but yes.
In your place I would probably start over, and take a look how to structure a plot with twists and turns. Come up with a hook and first sentence of a book. As they say, that is most important sentence.
This is actually great advice. And I think I see what I'm doing wrong. I have twists IN MY HEAD. But I think I'm too focused on setting up a big reveal later that I'm falling flat early on. Like, I have pages and pages of worldbuilding notes now and you really only start see that stuff in the latest chapter.
So yeah, thank you so much. I'll give this a hard look, go back, and figure out how to set up the story better.
As they say, that is most important sentence.
And mine is "The universe is a prankster." which even I admit is a bit cringe.
I have not. I just started writing and now I'm here. I do eventually want to put it out there but haven't thought that far ahead yet.
Maybe it's the wrong approach but I thought I'd get more written before I posted anywhere. Plus so far I've been going back and making changes to earlier chapters so I'm not sure how that works with sites like you mentioned.
Yeah, that's pretty much my thing too. And if they have a really short pen name, it really sticks. That's how I remember people like Llo (Reincarnated as a Sword artist) and FUNA... names so short they're easy to remember and skill that sticks out. The two is basically brain glue that makes it stick. Although I keep trying to call FUNA "YUNA" for some reason. /shrug
Hey bookworms. Last week I read... absolutely nothing. Oops.
Was spending time with the family and doing a few other things the past couple weeks. I may or may not have a fun project in the works that I'll share later though.
Considering I didn't read anything for over half the year, not bad. There might be one or two things I'm forgetting but whatever.
Speaking of rereading Sword Isekai, I wanted a refresher on the story in volume 15 and I saw that Kindle had this "Get a summary" feature. However, I instantly knew it was horrible AI slop when I used it because it said crap that was straight up wrong from book 15. And like, it REALLY overemphasized some really minor things that happened, and then left out HUGE plot points. It was really horrible. BUT it was enough to jump-start my brain so I could actually remember the REAL summary of volume 15.
Did I comment on AI slop before? I can't remember. But yeah, it's gross.
I think I have that same Albedo figure. No pics right now since I'm visiting family.
As far as new things, just got a bunch of LNs in the queue from the many months I hadn't read anything. Silent Witch may or may not be among them, hehe.
If you like the show, the LN is even better.
Right? Sometimes there's decent animation and the they do weird stuff to show the pacing to crawl and reuse shots. I might pick up the manga just out of curiosity.
This episode was considerably better than last week's but still. I'm right there with you, watching because it's such a mess and yet somewhere at the studio one intern seems to be trying SO HARD.
This whole episode was gold from start to finish.
Land of the Lustrous. Hear me out. I absolutely loved the anime. So much so that I was like "I need MOAR!" and then binged the manga. Without giving anything away, the complete story ruined me for several days afterwards. Don't get me wrong, it was BRILLIANT but it was also like "fuck..." Like, have you ever seen Requiem for a Dream? Where you go "wow, that was fantastic... and I never want to watch it again." Except I love Phos and would absolutely spend time with her again and then question my sanity afterwards.
In a similar vein, Planetarian. It gets you right in the feels but is also fantastic. It plays fair and you're left going "yeah, there isn't any other way they could have ended, is there?" while you're bawling your eyes out.
Ah yes. She first talks to the flames first, and then from the books learns it's forbidden magic. My interpretation was "oh, here are books that explain the thing I was learning on my own" and considering that Keigetsu gets proficient enough at it to body swap and contact Reirin at will, I just assumed her dad's books were more of the "Black Magic for Dummies" variety. But it's totally possible the notes were "Earth/Fire/Water/Air magic = good. Black magic = bad." and she learned everything on her own.
This last episode was particularly bad. I thought the first episode was decent from an animation standpoint. Just the fact they were trying to use unusual camera angles and the action sequences seemed decent enough. But omfg the plot is bad and the pacing is terrible. Seriously, this last episode felt like it could've been condensed into 3 minutes, so the rest of the episode they were just wasting everyone's time.
Oh, what an interesting idea. This is the first episode where I've really started to go "huh... things aren't adding up." Like sure, there were a few minor oddities before but this one practically had neon "LOOK HERE" signs. However, if I had to point the finger at anyone, it would be someone from the Kou clan. Shu doesn't seem to have a good motive. But if it was Kou, their motive could be to get Reirin a healthy body.
Your "it was murder" take is actually solid. The mother's abusive attitude doesn't give me "suicide" vibes, and a double-suicide seems even less likely. Adding to the "staged" nature of the parents' deaths, it's kind of interesting that Keigetsu just happened to be locked in a room with books about forbidden magic. I don't think those are the kind of things you'd just find in the back room of a commoner's house.
The other big red flag I saw this episode was the incense in sick Shu Keigetsu's room. Keigetsu was too sick to light it herself, it was there before the empress and prince arrived, and it clearly had some kind of dark aura about it. It also broke when Reirin reached out to Keigetsu after hitting the bullseye. The only people who could have had access to Keigetsu's room are people of the Kou clan.
Also how they keep portraying Keigetsu as a tragic character, with Reirin constantly trying to help her and actually happy they traded places because she can be healthy for once. Really makes me think that the titular "Inept Villainess" is actually Keigetsu.
Some stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet:
Girls Band Cry. I found the cast really solid, realistic, and relatable.
Land of the Lustrous. Predominantly female world and Phos is a surprisingly deep and relatable character who undergoes a lot of growth.
Isekai Wildcard Picks:
Ascendence of a Bookworm
So I'm a Spider, So What?!
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
The Executioner and Her Way of Life
My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom
The Saints Magic Power is Omnipotent
Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!
First, thanks for reading it! Yeah, it's not a full volume (yet). I wanted to get a bit of feedback because I was hitting some doubts.
I'll do an epub format in the future though, thanks for the feedback!
First, omg, thank you for reading the whole thing. And also for your honest critique.
Yes! Thank you. I feel like a lot of people are just "this is good" because they don't want to be offensive. Honestly, your harsh criticism of the earlier chapters is just what I was looking for. It makes the later praise seem earned instead of just platitudes.
Plus, it gets my head out of my ass a bit and gives me a different perspective. If you feel the later chapters are better then they certainly are better. And if the early chapters are that bad, ouch but yes.
This is actually great advice. And I think I see what I'm doing wrong. I have twists IN MY HEAD. But I think I'm too focused on setting up a big reveal later that I'm falling flat early on. Like, I have pages and pages of worldbuilding notes now and you really only start see that stuff in the latest chapter.
So yeah, thank you so much. I'll give this a hard look, go back, and figure out how to set up the story better.
And mine is "The universe is a prankster." which even I admit is a bit cringe.
Neat! Sounds like I should definitely check those out.
I have not. I just started writing and now I'm here. I do eventually want to put it out there but haven't thought that far ahead yet.
Maybe it's the wrong approach but I thought I'd get more written before I posted anywhere. Plus so far I've been going back and making changes to earlier chapters so I'm not sure how that works with sites like you mentioned.
That's what I'm using! Its so good!
How does it compare to the anime? I really like the anime even though it's undoubtedly silly.
Yeah, that's pretty much my thing too. And if they have a really short pen name, it really sticks. That's how I remember people like Llo (Reincarnated as a Sword artist) and FUNA... names so short they're easy to remember and skill that sticks out. The two is basically brain glue that makes it stick. Although I keep trying to call FUNA "YUNA" for some reason. /shrug
Hey Bookworms! Last week I once again read nothing, but I have good reason!
You see, I'm writing my own LN.
Please check it out, maybe? uwu
I swear I'll get back to finishing Average Abilities isekai soon though.
Hey bookworms. Last week I read... absolutely nothing. Oops. Was spending time with the family and doing a few other things the past couple weeks. I may or may not have a fun project in the works that I'll share later though.
Woot. I liked season 1 so much I read all the LNs.
Lets see...
Considering I didn't read anything for over half the year, not bad. There might be one or two things I'm forgetting but whatever.
Speaking of rereading Sword Isekai, I wanted a refresher on the story in volume 15 and I saw that Kindle had this "Get a summary" feature. However, I instantly knew it was horrible AI slop when I used it because it said crap that was straight up wrong from book 15. And like, it REALLY overemphasized some really minor things that happened, and then left out HUGE plot points. It was really horrible. BUT it was enough to jump-start my brain so I could actually remember the REAL summary of volume 15.
Did I comment on AI slop before? I can't remember. But yeah, it's gross.
I think I have that same Albedo figure. No pics right now since I'm visiting family.
As far as new things, just got a bunch of LNs in the queue from the many months I hadn't read anything. Silent Witch may or may not be among them, hehe.