Forum - View topicREVIEW: Ryuo's Work is Never Done! Novel 1
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Morry
Posts: 756 |
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It's a shame to hear the romance relying so heavily on conventions right off the bat, but I'm a lot more interested in this kind of mash-up than past manga/novels/anime about shogi.
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Hades_ANI
Posts: 20 |
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I'll spoiler the story of the book in this post, I'll spoiler tag the more important spoiler, but if I tag everything, the text will be unreadable. So this is only for people who read the book or who aren't interested in it. Personally I really liked it and so I will try to defend it.
That is obvious and not only used at this scene, but also later on. He is not only attracted to Ai, but also to her classmates and even the 6-year old girl gives him some strange feelings. Also, I think it is quite possible to be attracted to someone even with having a crush on someone else. The next thing I want to mention is the fact that the sexual attraction between him and Ai is not only used in this one scene. Even at the end it is said that spoiler[that they will marry if specific criteria are fulfilled ] - so it is not a short joke from the author. Now is the question, why ? Why would you add a romantic and / or sexual story line into this ? The question is rather easy: passion. Like the reviewer already mentioned Ai re-kindled the passion for Shogi in Yaichi and Yaichi kindled the passion already some time ago for Ai. This passion is also symbolized in their connection during the game, in which they can give each other the motivation to hold on and this is also symbolized in their romantic / sexual interaction. This interpretation gets a stronger footing with the introduction of his "idol", the daughter of his old teacher. He was the person teaching him and the person who gives him the knowledge to win his title and moving forward. The moment he won against him, he couldn't stop losing his matches against further opponents, since he lost the person who could motivate him. Since he doesn't understand this connection, he doesn't understand that his "crush" on his idol is already over and so he tries to hold on onto this.
I can understand that this realistic view point is quite disturbing, however her actions are easily to understand if you start to interpret the situation. Ginko, being the sparing partner of Yaichi and now being in a different league, was and is never a real opponent for Yaichi, she is only the friend to play some days on the week days, if nobody else has time. With that, Ginko unable to give Yaichi a reason to play against her, starts to attack him off the board. She tries to hinder his grow, as you mentioned earlier. The girls in Yaichi's life are all in a symbolic way integrated and so the shogi game and the real life goes hand in hand in this story.
I would like to add, that the Shogi games are one of the more entertaining ones in this novel, besides the fact that they are checked by real shogi players. The author can really well explain what happens on the board without the need of pictures or clear positions. It even motivated myself to learn shogi, which deepens the understanding but shouldn't be necessary. The creative way of using pictures and text position is also well done. If I have to criticize something it is the last chapter after the actual afterword. It is kind of unneeded and does not give any information. Also the opening scene at the park was not well used, not because of the joke, but because that we never got back to that moment. Normally after coming back to such a scene, it would be used to show us how we, as the reader, would interpret the situation different, knowing their backstory and their struggles, but that never happened. |
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Blanchimont
 Posts: 3446 Location: Finland |
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Any comments on the quality of the translation?
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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^It was quite good. There are a few awkward moments where it feels like the adaptation is trying to stick too close to a literal translation (mostly with Yaichi's self-proclaimed rival), but for the most part it reads smoothly.
@Hades_ANN I hadn't thought of Ginko as seeking to compete with Yaichi off the board since she doesn't get to play against him much anymore. That's an interesting thought - I'll keep it in mind when book two comes out. |
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switchgear1131
Posts: 219 |
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You had me ready to buy this until it became apparent it was going the pedo route, such a shame. I really hate when stories that looked like they could be really interesting go that route.
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LegitPancake
 Posts: 1294 Location: Texas, USA |
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And I thought Isekai Smartphone pushed the limits with potential romantic partners at the age of 11 and 12. But 3rd grade?! Wtf! I paid like $5.50 or something when this first came out on BookWalker but I haven’t touched it. Now I’m very skeptical I ever will.
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Angel Investor
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I'm a simple man. I see a loli romance LN, I buy it. Haters gonna hate.
Edit: By the way, where can I buy this? I can't find it on amazon or rightstuff. |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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It's an e-book from BookWalker. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I probably should have mentioned it in the review, but yes, you can only get this from BookWalker themselves, and you have to read it using their ap or website. It's an easy set up and comparable to reading on a kindle, but if you like to have hard copies or at least a copy on your e-reader, it's a little frustrating.
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hack5
 Posts: 159 |
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This is not to say that a game plot cannot coexist with a romance plot. It's entirely possible that later novels in the series will bring these two ideas together more harmoniously as Shiratori grows more comfortable with his subject matter. At this particular moment, however, the romance elements rely too much on formulaic conventions. The character who actually suffers from this the most is Ginko. She begins the story as a tsundere, but she still could have been a perfectly sympathetic character. The problems arise when she begins spreading rumors about her supposed friend and crush, obviously meant to be Yaichi. Once Ai moves in with him, Ginko begins publicly spreading rumors that he's got a lolita complex, which could have very real repercussions for him as a shogi professional. While this is fiction and should be treated as such, Ginko's actions still go beyond the pale, particularly given that we already know that Yaichi's reputation as a pro is under attack online. While destroying his career would take him out of Ai's life, it seems extreme under the circumstances.
This is why i hate the childhood friend,they are always portrayed is horrible human beings there is no excuse for acting the way some of them do. |
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Catsplay
 Posts: 381 |
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Man it's nice to see people that like the same stuff. I'm all for loli romance in light novels, manga, and anime. I'll enjoy one of my favorite fictional genres thank you very much. |
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Kougeru
 Posts: 5527 |
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This. Or rather, I can understand both sites but I personally don't see it has a dealbreaker even if I hated the genre. If it's done well, that's all that matters. Same goes for any relationship at all, IMO. At least when it comes to fiction. |
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