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REVIEW: Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest Novel 1


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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 641
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:31 am Reply with quote
The LN illustrator, Takayaki, is more famous for their hentai manga.
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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2855
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 10:13 am Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
The LN illustrator, Takayaki, is more famous for their hentai manga.


a decent amount of LN artists do hentai manga, well, most mangakas also do.
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:20 am Reply with quote
I've never heard of this one before, I'll check it out. Judging from the review it sounds like a darker version of the shield bro story.
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BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Posts: 1488
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:50 am Reply with quote
I finished reading the first volume when it was prepub.

I think Arifureta has become sort of infamous among fans of isekai webnovels, with the way it changes tone at certain parts. It has some weird comedy later on. Not that it's bad. It just weirds you out.


Last edited by BlueAlf on Mon May 22, 2017 6:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2597
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 12:22 pm Reply with quote
That's a pretty good comparison, ultimatehaki. Naofumi's a little more cynical and (for a given value of it) more mature, but the situations aren't totally dissimilar.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
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Joined: 17 Apr 2015
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 3:17 pm Reply with quote
I had much less of a problem with Hajime and Yue's relationship than... well, his relationship with any of the other women in this series, quite frankly. Yeah, Hajime x Yue are pretty co-dependent, but at least their interactions seem more or less predicated on them being equally-overpowered light novel characters thrown into a situation where they are forced to rely on each other for survival.

As the story went on and on, it became increasingly clear that every other one of Hajime's relationships was going to involve some form of unrequited hero-worship, to the point where I started to feel more than a little skeezed out. I usually have a high tolerance for this stuff, too (I mean, I'm an Index fan, after all).
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2153
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 4:29 pm Reply with quote
BlueAlf wrote:
I think Arifureta has become sort of infamous among fans of isekai webnovels, with the way it changes tone at certain parts. It has some weird comedy later on. Not that it's bad. It just weirds you out.

I could've done without each and every one of the -bels, personally.
BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:
I had much less of a problem with Hajime and Yue's relationship than... well, his relationship with any of the other women in this series, quite frankly. Yeah, Hajime x Yue are pretty co-dependent, but at least their interactions seem more or less predicated on them being equally-overpowered light novel characters thrown into a situation where they are forced to rely on each other for survival.

As the story went on and on, it became increasingly clear that every other one of Hajime's relationships was going to involve some form of unrequited hero-worship, to the point where I started to feel more than a little skeezed out. I usually have a high tolerance for this stuff, too (I mean, I'm an Index fan, after all).

Yeah, I could've done without Hajime x spoiler[Aika and Shizuku, let alone the Myuu teasing.]

The first volume was my favorite in terms of event and tone. The rest of it fluctuated in quality for me, but aside from the Fire Temple and the final boss battle nothing really came close. Still a fun read, though.
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 5:32 pm Reply with quote
Just read the first volume. Hajime and Yue relationship was adorably funny in the epilogue although it does seem a bit codependent (similar to sora and shiro from NGNL) it wasn't unbearably so, I found it ok. I'll get the next volume.
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BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 7:02 pm Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:

Yeah, I could've done without Hajime x spoiler[Aika and Shizuku, let alone the Myuu teasing.]


Has it been confirmed that the LN will follow, you know, the same routes? From what I've heard, I personally think the development of the relationships were ridiculous. I had been hoping an editor would veto it or something.

On another note, I feel the author added the extra story near the end of the volume simply to answer questions regarding Yue's purity. I mean, I kinda wondered about that too when I read that part in the novel, with her being aggresive and all. And, well, this is Japan we're talking about.
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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:19 pm Reply with quote
Apparently the source webnovel is now complete.
The author's still writing post-ending stories though.
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CatSword



Joined: 01 Jul 2014
Posts: 1489
PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 12:22 am Reply with quote
They're really using "retarded" in the official translation? What is this, 2003? Rolling Eyes
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Pacify



Joined: 24 May 2017
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:52 am Reply with quote
Arifureta starts out somewhat reasonably (I'd put it probably at B- or C+), then very quickly falls apart, become a super generic harem in another world series. Definitely not a series I'd recommend reading, as if you enjoyed the start you will end up very disappointed in what the series ends up turning into
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switchgear1131



Joined: 14 Mar 2013
Posts: 219
PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 6:04 am Reply with quote
pros mention Kaori as a mirror but then the actual article mentions her only in passing as a reason for the bullying.
Why is she a mirror? Is this just the guessing of the review projecting into the future of the story? Does he have weak powers and is falling out of favour with the group? Does she start with a super strong power and is thus going to be corrupted by it.

Why mention it in the summary of grades if you aren't going to talk about it in the actual article the pros and cons should be a quick summary. This review feels incomplete because it and it is really annoying.
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Princess_Irene
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Joined: 16 Dec 2008
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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 6:09 am Reply with quote
She's not so much a mirror as her group's development on the surface parallels Hajime's - as he's getting harder, Kaori is getting more determined and the rest of her group is trying to grow stronger, albeit without actually learning the life-or-death lessons Hajime is.

In hindsight, "foil" would have been the better word.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
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Joined: 17 Apr 2015
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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 6:19 am Reply with quote
switchgear1131 wrote:
Why mention it in the summary of grades if you aren't going to talk about it in the actual article the pros and cons should be a quick summary. This review feels incomplete because it and it is really annoying.


In general, ANN reviews have never treated the Pros/Cons section as a "summary" of the article. They are simply an additional part of the review. ANN's editors have also said in the past that they wish they could do away with the Pros/Cons and Grades entirely, because they don't like how people seem to treat them as the end-all and be-all of the review, but whenever they have tried in the past, people complain.

In terms of Kaori, the reviewer essentially covers everything important related to her character as of the end of the first novel. Honestly, she's not even the sixth most interesting heroine in this series. Very Happy
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