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kaib55's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Xenophobia, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
raypaws's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
may be a little hard to get into at first because of the amount of tech and mecha-related slang. the characters are not fully fleshed out yet (presumably, because it's only the first novel to many!), but i'm excited for what's to come ^^
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
frappucinno's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's not that I hate having young main characters; it's that I dislike the way they are often handled. This light novel revolves around the main characters who are in their mid- to late teens, and while the novel does give justification for most of the Eighty-Sixers being this old, I still believe that this type of story would have been better with an adult cast. Given their actions, it is either difficult to see them as children, or their cynicism comes off as superficial at best. This is something I am willing to suspend disbelief over, however, and so it was generally an okay experience.
Having watched the anime adaptation before reading this light novel, I couldn't help but compare the two. As someone who generally dislikes mecha, I would have had a hard time visualizing action scenes without having seen them animated, but the art was nicely detailed. The writing is simple and straightforward, although perhaps to its detriment; save for Shin and Lena, the two main characters, the rest felt underdeveloped to me that I would not have had any sort of attachment whatsoever had I read this before watching the anime. They felt much more alive then, to the point I felt attachment towards
The epilogue, which so happens to be my favorite part of the anime, was a pleasant surprise, as I was expecting to have to go through Volume 2 before reaching that part; if it were, however, meant to serve as a standalone novel, it comes off as a hasty conclusion. My goal is ultimately to read the volumes beyond what the anime adapted, but now I'm not sure I can get past the writing without the help of the anime's visualization.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, and War
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
i_llumi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
there were, well, pretty overused tropes and themes (Kind But Mysterious Young Prodigy With Dark Past, FREEDOM, Young Female Innocent Ojyousama, etc) which did distract me a bit but. I guess stories have to start somewhere.
ps: this was my first light novel ever!!! in case anyone plans on reading this in japanese/just wants to read something entertaining with some depth that's not Classic Japanese Literature, i 100% would recommend this!! almost all of the kanjis had kana, and i found the writing quite accessible and easy to follow. the military terms + all the katakana (Juggernaut? Amaze? the names?) did take a while to get used to, but once that initial barrier was conquered the reading flowed nicely.
overall, i'm excited to see where the story is heading towards and i can't wait to get more of the characters' interactions (and deaths!!!!! i want to cry and despair!!!!!!!!!!!!)
update! i just finished the anime and damn A-1 knows what they are doing. the adaptation is so good! i'll start reading the second volume right away, can't wait for season 2 \o/
FUCKIN' GLORY TO THE SPEARHEAD SQUADRON!
update april 2022: i just cited this franchise in an essay about information in the battlefield so um. hopefully i get a good grade
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail