×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent Novel 1




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 645
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:23 am Reply with quote
There's also a recently released manga-original spinoff that focuses on Aira's POV and life.
https://comic-walker.com/contents/detail/KDCW_FL00201873010000_68/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NiPah
Subscriber



Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 205
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:37 pm Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
There's also a recently released manga-original spinoff that focuses on Aira's POV and life.
https://comic-walker.com/contents/detail/KDCW_FL00201873010000_68/


That’s awesome, hopefully it gets picked up soon.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Xavon



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 367
Location: Minnesota
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:21 pm Reply with quote
You know, I don't get why people complain about level systems. Humans love to categorize and box things. You've never heard "my child is a 6 grade reader"? Is that any different than "My child has rank 6 in the literacy skill"? Or taken a survey that asks for your highest level of education or age in a category? So is it that odd to think that people with access to magic would come up with their own way to measure such things, and a spell to view them?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Seagloom



Joined: 04 Nov 2017
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:03 pm Reply with quote
Xavon wrote:
You know, I don't get why people complain about level systems.


It's a lazy, if useful shortcut. Instead of putting thought into creating a power system and figuring out how it fits into your world, it's easier to rely on gaming shorthand that will be familiar to your target audience. As with many isekai tropes, it's simpler to rely on a crutch than meticulously creating your own world and carefully doling out exposition in a way that doesn't bog down your narrative. Writing effective exposition in particular is one of many learned writing skills most amateurs won't have much experience with.

To me seeing stats and level systems in a setting unrelated to games isn't a deal breaker. However, it is an indication that the author is probably a newbie lacking in creativity. A more skilled writer usually won't include such systems purposelessly, if they do at all.

This might not seem bothersome if you only see it once in awhile, but if you're reading dozens of new LNs a year it can quickly become tiresome.

The typical amateur on syosetu doesn't put even a fraction of the thought you put into your own post.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hal14



Joined: 01 Apr 2018
Posts: 664
Location: Heart of africa
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Seagloom wrote:
Xavon wrote:
You know, I don't get why people complain about level systems.


It's a lazy, if useful shortcut. Instead of putting thought into creating a power system and figuring out how it fits into your world, it's easier to rely on gaming shorthand that will be familiar to your target audience. As with many isekai tropes, it's simpler to rely on a crutch than meticulously creating your own world and carefully doling out exposition in a way that doesn't bog down your narrative. Writing effective exposition in particular is one of many learned writing skills most amateurs won't have much experience with.

To me seeing stats and level systems in a setting unrelated to games isn't a deal breaker. However, it is an indication that the author is probably a newbie lacking in creativity. A more skilled writer usually won't include such systems purposelessly, if they do at all.

This might not seem bothersome if you only see it once in awhile, but if you're reading dozens of new LNs a year it can quickly become tiresome.

The typical amateur on syosetu doesn't put even a fraction of the thought you put into your own post.


'Level systems' are a trope and so like other tropes, it's a question execution. 'Level systems' are definitely not the laziest power/magic systems I've come across., that would be most 'superhero' settings, but then again, how well a trope is executed is subjective. I wouldn't call Danmachi's usage of level systems lazy, but that's just me
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Seagloom



Joined: 04 Nov 2017
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:28 pm Reply with quote
HAL14 wrote:
I wouldn't call Danmachi's usage of level systems lazy, but that's just me


That was what I meant by "A more skilled writer usually won't include such systems purposelessly, if they do at all."

The author of Danmachi is purposeful in their writing. You can tell details were thoroughly researched and considered, and not simply tossed into the narrative for convenience. I haven't read the source material, but from what I've seen in YouTube videos reviewing content cut from the anime, it seems like the system was designed with considerable care and woven into the world in a way that impacts it both socially and economically instead of only being a tool to explain why X is stronger than Y in a fight. Or why new enemy is scarier because they are X levels higher.

Compare that to the typical LN series which reskins Dragon Quest systems and calls it day without more than the barest consideration for how it affects the world or how the world would impact the development of those systems. Instead it's just a measuring stick to show off why the protagonist is OP.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hal14



Joined: 01 Apr 2018
Posts: 664
Location: Heart of africa
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:45 pm Reply with quote
Seagloom wrote:
HAL14 wrote:
I wouldn't call Danmachi's usage of level systems lazy, but that's just me


That was what I meant by "A more skilled writer usually won't include such systems purposelessly, if they do at all."

The author of Danmachi is purposeful in their writing. You can tell details were thoroughly researched and considered, and not simply tossed into the narrative for convenience. I haven't read the source material, but from what I've seen in YouTube videos reviewing content cut from the anime, it seems like the system was designed with considerable care and woven into the world in a way that impacts it both socially and economically instead of only being a tool to explain why X is stronger than Y in a fight. Or why new enemy is scarier because they are X levels higher.

Compare that to the typical LN series which reskins Dragon Quest systems and calls it day without more than the barest consideration for how it affects the world or how the world would impact the development of those systems. Instead it's just a measuring stick to show off why the protagonist is OP.


I agree with all of this^, hence why I said the issue is execution. Light novels are a medium that are pretty easy to break into compared to most other media, so you'll get a lot of noobs that execute it poorly. It's not the trope itself that is bad.
To me it's like jumpscares in horror movies. They can be done well but most modern horror movies are just lazy and content to be B tier, popcorn flicks.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Fluwm



Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 889
PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:07 pm Reply with quote
The problem with level systems isn't the fact that they're level systems, it's that they're heavily associated with that bottom-tier of LN writer who thinks the most interesting part of an RPG is navigating the menus.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group