Sep 07, 2021
And finished. Whew.
I will begin by restating that, by all means, I am as far removed from your target audience as I can be. I don't like isekai, I don't care for ecchi, I am not a fan of absurdist comedy, I don't care much for anime in general so references are lost on me. Disclaimed out of the way, I'll just leave my honest, unfiltered thoughts and leave.
The story is a mixed bag for me.
Snazzy is truly a character. Exaggerated, booming, exuberant and seemingly a non-exhaustive treasure trove of otaku culture and memes. And funnily enough, as much as I should hate him, he is the thing I like the most here. For one, he seems to be the only one with some form of motivation, plan and personality and, obnoxious as it is, at some point he either grew on me or wore me down enough for me to rally behind his antics. So, kudos on that front, you've pierced through my mantle of seriousness. I curtsy.
Overall, I've come to see this as two parts that might as well be two separate stories. I mean this not as a detractor on cohesiveness and connectedness, but more of a general comment. The first bits show a generally laid-back slice of life attitude which I suppose acts as a lure. We're being shown all sorts of wacky shenanigans with a loose thread tying them all up in the hopes that we pick up on one and stick till the end. Quite masterful, dare I say. And whilst I'm not the person to fall for such things, I can't help but appreciate their merit.
As for the rest, unfortunately here's where it breaks.
The rest of the characters feel rather hollow, especially when put next to someone who is, well, slightly less hollow. For the most part everything seems to happen as a response to a plot-related concern. There is very little proactivity to speak of in Maribell, a central character, so the few instances where she acts (the White Witch, the caravan, the final battle) feel unwarranted. Her personality is unsteady to me, it seems like she just moulds herself around the people around her more than having a clear set of rules she needs to follow. And if that was the intention, then I suppose this whole paragraph can be disregarded. But if not, then I don't know what to say. The character of Maribell simply didn't do it for me and she was supposed to be the plot-pusher.
As for Seraphina, I've enjoyed her. She felt genuine in her actions, properly built on and motivated and whilst her intentions were comically twisted, she carried a righteous purpose, one that I stand behind. It was a noble perversion, the way I see it, a machiavellian 'the ends justify the means' way of reaching a freedom that seemed to be otherwise intangible. She would've been a perfect resonance to me, were it not for some bits that were shoehorned in that I've previously commented on.
But my main gripe is with this last arc, particularly the last 5 chapters. Aside from Bernardo coming in to just be some fabricated conflict. Aside from Bella just being some one-note opposite to Snazzy with a weird lust for the priest and a quick getaway mentality. Aside from the 'No, I am your father moment', the reveal of which I've somehow expected, but even so felt rather forced. Aside from the whole shounen power-up and friendship jutsu that popped up to literally Deus-Ex Machina our protagonists away. Aside from all of that, what irks me the most isn't the message, but rather that as much as I would want, I can't get behind it.
The execution, for one, is something that just feels breakneck. We're going from 0 to 100 to 0 to 100 again with every chapter, so much back and forward that it just loses any semblance of stake for me. It feels like every time a bind comes up there is some form of trick Snazzy can pull out of his feelers to save them. Then, when he gets evaporated after his luck runs dry, he gets the whole reflective speech about his reincarnated purpose and how he is just mirroring what he was in the real world. And that, I love, it's great, a callback, a connection and something that only serves to complement the whole of Snazzy's rambunctious personality. But, still, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth because, to *me*, it feels cheap. It feels like, I don't know, all that I've heard about anime being condensed into one scene: friends are all that matters, connections make you strong, you are the sum of the people you touch. And I loathe myself for probably being too cynical to digest these, but at the end of the day I am who I am. I can't pretend to be something I'm not.
Anyhow, to sum it all up, veni, vidi, legi. As much as I can bemoan, I can't detract merit from a story who truly has it, albeit in forms that aren't palatable for me. For all I can see, it's a favourite of many and I envy them. I wish I could understand and enjoy it for what it is and see past some whatever cloudy ideals I have, but eh. For what it's worth, the part I thought I'd loathe the most is the part I've come to like the most. And if that isn't a win for an author, I don't know what is.
Hopefully this message finds you well. I might've sounded spiteful, granted, but I'd like to reassure you that it's more of me being an LN philistine, than being a twat. If anything I wish I could enjoy this.
Kind regards,
Bubbles. :3
