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REVIEW: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Novel 1




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ScreamingLemming



Joined: 30 Nov 2017
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:48 pm Reply with quote
@Rebecca Silverman - This might seem like a minor thing, but please can you check your facts before you write stuff.

The original publication date for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime in JAPAN was May 2014, and preceded both So I'm a Spider and Realist Hero by 18 months and 2 years respectively. That being the case, how the hell can it be a "child" of both series?

Also, how is it close to genre standards? Is this another John Carpenter moment so the thing that popularised this whole isekai sub-genre has been relegated in favour of more recent and popular spiders, dragons, swords, hot springs, vending machines skeletons, etc?

Sorry to bring this up, but I'm seeing more and more incorrect information creeping into the reviews on ANN and it's very frustrating as it's often things that could be fixed with a simple check.
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LegitPancake



Joined: 26 Jun 2017
Posts: 1294
Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:57 pm Reply with quote
I would’ve read the novels, but the fact that Kodansha is releasing the manga a volume every 2 months, I would much rather that than waiting for Yen Press’ ridiculously slow pace.
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myskaros



Joined: 13 Jun 2011
Posts: 598
Location: J-Novel Club
PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:17 pm Reply with quote
ScreamingLemming wrote:
The original publication date for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime in JAPAN was May 2014, and preceded both So I'm a Spider and Realist Hero by 18 months and 2 years respectively. That being the case, how the hell can it be a "child" of both series?

Quote:

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime's first novel feels a bit like the child of So I'm a Spider, So What? and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.

It feels like the child of the two because, for the average English reader, it is more likely that they read Spider and Realist before Slime instead of vice versa, like Rebecca probably did.
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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:27 pm Reply with quote
These recent isekai light novels have potential and getting reincarnated as slimes and spiders allows for some creative ideas. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime does sound a bit more traditional than So I'm a Spider, So What which was very entertaining and was almost a survival story. The idea of a super powerful slime as the protagonist sounds fun and will definitely pick this up.
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Aezreal



Joined: 05 Apr 2016
Posts: 26
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 2:01 pm Reply with quote
ScreamingLemming wrote:
Also, how is it close to genre standards? Is this another John Carpenter moment so the thing that popularised this whole isekai sub-genre has been relegated in favour of more recent and popular spiders, dragons, swords, hot springs, vending machines skeletons, etc?

Sorry to bring this up, but I'm seeing more and more incorrect information creeping into the reviews on ANN and it's very frustrating as it's often things that could be fixed with a simple check


If it had a hand in making the genre, then naturally it's close to current genre standards. It's right there in your reply. Even if it was one of the works that popularized the genre, that doesn't mean you can't note that as a minus when you look back on it today, with an entire genre dedicated to the same kind of stories and an audience partially saturated by it. This is a review based on the current market and (in a general way) the experience of English light novel readers.

Neither of the things you pointed out were "incorrect information". One of them was focused on something that wasn't even stated in the text (that this novel came out before the other two), and the other is merely something you disagree with (that because it helped spawn the genre, you shouldn't hold it against the story when it sticks to well-known formulae).
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Calsolum



Joined: 11 May 2010
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:19 am Reply with quote
ah I'm glad this is coming out cause i definitely need more isekai in my life.
well interesting ones that arent self inserts with harem protagonists, although I suppose that still undetermined in rimaru's case.

There's something that's just hilarious about a slime being at the top of the food chain in any situation except if its a giant slime cause those things are huge.

The naming mechanic in the series is ...strange to say the least but its certainly not overused.
I know that there were some series that put an emphasis on names bestowing power of some sort(or used to take power) but at the moment the only thing I can remember is the whole knowing your zanpakto's name in bleach. And The Familiar of zero.

huh theres been quite alot of unusual... ones.
reincarnated as a spider
reincarnated but raised by undead(faraway paladin)
reincarnated as a goddess?(nirvana)
sent to another world as an overlord(overlord)
reincarnated as a goblin

here's to hoping we get more interesting reads, oh and if anyone knows of any others i didn't mention feel free to shout it out
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CrownKlown



Joined: 05 May 2011
Posts: 1762
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:53 pm Reply with quote
Aezreal wrote:
ScreamingLemming wrote:
Also, how is it close to genre standards? Is this another John Carpenter moment so the thing that popularised this whole isekai sub-genre has been relegated in favour of more recent and popular spiders, dragons, swords, hot springs, vending machines skeletons, etc?

Sorry to bring this up, but I'm seeing more and more incorrect information creeping into the reviews on ANN and it's very frustrating as it's often things that could be fixed with a simple check


If it had a hand in making the genre, then naturally it's close to current genre standards. It's right there in your reply. Even if it was one of the works that popularized the genre, that doesn't mean you can't note that as a minus when you look back on it today, with an entire genre dedicated to the same kind of stories and an audience partially saturated by it. This is a review based on the current market and (in a general way) the experience of English light novel readers.

Neither of the things you pointed out were "incorrect information". One of them was focused on something that wasn't even stated in the text (that this novel came out before the other two), and the other is merely something you disagree with (that because it helped spawn the genre, you shouldn't hold it against the story when it sticks to well-known formulae).


While I agree with you that technically the writer did not state anything inaccurate, it is close to a fact that ANN has a really low standard for an alleged anime site. As someone making a review about something and making comparison with something else, you should at least be moderately familiar with preceding works (and even if she does not outright state it, with the way she wrote it the implication the reader would get is what the first poster suggested, that is simply poor writing skills), yet I feel like anytime you read an ANN article especially the Top 7 list, most of these guys are not even familiar with a lot of the fundamental works in those genres. Its usually like 6 works from the last two years and then they throw out one older work, and I can just picture them there with some smug look on their face, "yeah I know my stuff, I am throwing out this one random work, and these suckers wont have anything to say". I mean if it was just a fan writing on a blog I don't care, but these guys are allegedly "professional writers on anime site".

Its basically like writing a scientific article in a journal but ignoring the first 100 or so years of history with the most recent ten.

And no I am sorry but I disagree with love hina syndrome. A work is no less of a work because it either established or codified standards that became cliche after many works emulated it. I have never got this. I can understand it wont have the same impact, ala Luke I am your father, but its not somehow bad no because its standard. That is like saying Newton is a bum, because Einstein came later on an expanded on his concepts.

I think I agree with the concept, not the actual statement that the writer makes, I do think something can be done better in a following work, and hence the reputation of that work is higher, but I dont think you can treat that as a negative on the original work. I mean do people look back at first car as any less of a marvel with its 1/2 hp and no brakes and steering when comparing it to a 1500 hp Bugatti, no. I also dont think Realist in any case is better world builder, in the first novel or any succeeding ones.
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Aezreal



Joined: 05 Apr 2016
Posts: 26
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:26 pm Reply with quote
CrownKlown wrote:


(and even if she does not outright state it, with the way she wrote it the implication the reader would get is what the first poster suggested, that is simply poor writing skills), yet I feel like anytime you read an ANN article especially the Top 7 list, most of these guys are not even familiar with a lot of the fundamental works in those genres.


Is that so? I certainly didn't get even a hint of that impression on my first reading. I'm not so sure what you're arguing is "close to a fact" in a lot of points as much as it is what you've deemed true. Have you tried researching to know if "these guys" (as you put it) actually know the "fundamental" works? I have done so on occasion, and found no validation for such concerns. They add more recent works because sometimes, their writers favor more recent works? It's really that simple. People have personal tastes.


CrownKlown wrote:
A work is no less of a work because it either established or codified standards that became cliche after many works emulated it. I have never got this. I can understand it wont have the same impact, ala Luke I am your father, but its not somehow bad no because its standard. That is like saying Newton is a bum, because Einstein came later on an expanded on his concepts.

No, you're just mistaking these reviews for some kind of "absolute evaluations of a work's value, while in a vacuum". With regards to your example, what Rebecca is saying here is more like "If you go back and look at Newton's work, you might be bored by how it feels so samey and identical to what most of us have seen already". It's a fair point. It doesn't mean Newton is worse for it, it means the way it impacts anyone's perception is worse than if you were seeing it all for the first time.
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klv
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Joined: 08 Feb 2017
Posts: 84
Location: Ba Sing Se
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:41 pm Reply with quote
I am a huge fan of the manga. I want Rimuru for mayor of my town.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3442
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:25 pm Reply with quote
klv wrote:
I am a huge fan of the manga. I want Rimuru for mayor of my town.

Well, why not for president while we're at it? How worse a job could he do? Smile Well, there's always the protagonist from How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom if a slime is a no-go...
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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 5:34 pm Reply with quote
CrownKlown wrote:
And no I am sorry but I disagree with love hina syndrome. A work is no less of a work because it either established or codified standards that became cliche after many works emulated it. I have never got this. I can understand it wont have the same impact, ala Luke I am your father, but its not somehow bad no because its standard. That is like saying Newton is a bum, because Einstein came later on an expanded on his concepts.
I see the point of taking the publication date into account when talking about how a light novel compares to similar titles that were released later. If something is impressive enough to start a trend in an industry than even if later works might improve on that idea it is notable that the original work was made.
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trilaan



Joined: 17 Jan 2009
Posts: 1054
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 2:15 am Reply with quote
Even better than the standard Isekai story of a person going to another world is an Isekai story of a person going to another world and being transformed into something else!(A plot I grew to love reading the Saga of the Well World books by American Sci-Fi author, Jack L. Chalker).

I love these stories so much! All I need now is more gender changing to be included to REALLY give the main character something unexpected to deal with. As long as it's not overly-sexualized. I prefer a mental exploration over a physical/sexual one.
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