emiliosandoz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
so easy to read. also the anime was an excellent adaption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Xenophobia
raypaws's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
as someone who watched both the anime and read the book, both of them are really good !
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 ^^
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 ^^
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, War, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
frappucinno's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Fight on. Until fate itself grows weary. Fight on, until the very end.
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 cannot 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 towardscharacters outside of the five who survived, like Daiya and Kaie, who did not feel relevant enough this time around to evoke sympathy. I had expected to be privy to more details, not less, although on that regard, the anime is quite a faithful adaptation of the light novel.
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.
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 cannot 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Death, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
i_llumi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
I'm honestly a bit confused about some of the plot elements and events, and I'm just generally not super satisfied with most of the characters BUT I do think that this is a pretty interesting concept and I will definitely keep reading this series because,, oof. there's a lot coming
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/
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, Blood, Child death, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Gore, Colonisation, Hate crime, Gun violence, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
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