Anime Sunday: BOFURI Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering a Winter 2020 Series. It’s my BOFURI Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot: The plot is very relaxed and not all that drama filled. It follows the adventures of a girl named Kaede who really isn’t a gamer, but ends up becoming one as the player Maple and does so in incredibly odd ways. That’s really the best summary of the first episode I could give without being spoilerific and taking all the fun out of watching this. I enjoy the plot of BOFURI quite a bit, it’s something I’ve been watching the past week while I eat lunch alone at home. The time it takes to eat a meal is generally how long it takes for me to watch the episodes and it works out really well, although I’ve had a few close calls with laughing and spewing my lunch everywhere.

Characters: Maple is a delight to watch, and in this first episode we really get to know her. She’s an oddball and a klutz, but is endearing in ways that are just hilarious. The rest of the cast introduced thus far is very small, but quite good.

Art: Silver Link is the animation studio and they did a great job of it. That’s all that need be said, it’s not ufotable quality, but with a series like this it isn’t necessary.

Music: The music fits the series wonderfully, it’s light hearted and upbeat, which is one way to describe the series as a whole.

Overall: This is an adaptation of a delightful Light Novel series that is high on the fluff and low on the drama. If you need a pick me up, and who doesn’t after the year we’ve all been through thus far, BOFURI is easily one of my top recommendations to watch to lift your spirits.

For those who like: Gaming Stories, Comedy, Action, Little Drama, Fluff, Excellent Plot, Great Cast of characters, Awesome Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate all that?

Bookish Wednesday: The Dawn of an Era by Justin Miller

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the sequel to the book I covered last time. It’s The Dawn of an Era, World Keeper Book 02, by Justin Miller!

Plot: This is a great sequel to the first book, and really covers the growth of Dale’s new Earth quite well. It’s pretty humorous for the most part, and it does get past the arc that was ended on a cliffhanger at the end of the first book. That said if you hope for Dale to enter the Keeper’s games, that doesn’t happen in this book, so it’s still pretty slow paced. Still there are plenty of amusing points in the story. My favorite part was the Turtle Tide portion of this book.

Characters: We get introduced to a couple new permanent characters in this book, and my favorite of them is Leowynn, but I’ll leave the why to that is the case for you to find out. The entire cast is great though.

Overall: A great sequel in a very slow paced series.

Bookish Wednesday: Birth of the World by Justin Miller

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with another LitRPG series. It’s Birth of the World, World Keeper Book 01, by Justin Miller!

Plot: This is pretty much a novel about a guy who literally becomes god and gets to play the best God Simulator game out there. Yes that sounds more than a bit ridiculous, but that’s what the book comes down to in a single sentence. Of course it’s not that easy for Dale, our main character, he makes some epic mistakes along the way, but it’s a pretty fun ride. I enjoy this book much more than the author’s previous series, World Seed.

Characters: We get a pretty interesting cast of characters, the fact most of them are “Gods” is amusing, especially when they chew out Dale for making some hilarious mishaps. My favorite character is probably Irena, but that’s because she’s much more of a calm character than any of the others. Tryval is probably my least favorite of this book.

Overall: A fun read, any LitRPG fans will love this series most likely. Fair warning the plot is pretty slow paced.

For those who like: LitRPGs, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fun Plot, Great Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Bookish Wednesday: Temple of Sorrows by Carrie Summers

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with another LitRPG. It’s Temple of Sorrows, Stonehaven League Book 01, by Carrie Summers!

Plot: The plot of this book is fairly good, with Devon being our main character and point of view. The book splits the in game and out of game portions pretty well, although they are pretty much seperate storylines. While this isn’t the best LitRPG I’ve read it’s definitely above most of the others I’ve read, including any of the Russian LitRPGs. That being said the actual game mechanics aren’t this book’s strong points.

Characters: Devon is our lead character and she’s a smart, snarky and no nonsense gal who I enjoyed greatly. The rest of the cast is okay, but Devon really steals the show. She uses her wits and communication skills to power through the game’s challenges which is a nice change from most of the other LitRPGs.

Overall: A fun book with a very strong female lead character.

For those who like: LitRPGs, GameLit, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Strong Lead Characters, Good Plot and Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Serial Saturday: Siphon Volume 2 by Jay Boyce

This week for Serial Saturday I’m back with the second volume of the Siphon series. It’s Siphon Volume 2 by Jay Boyce!

Plot: First let me say that yes I do know that there is an audiobook release of this already out, but I had this post planned for a while and had a rough draft stored in my notes of my thoughts on the original unedited version on RoyalRoad so I won’t be covering the released versions until the third book is released.

With that out of the way let me say that this second entry in the series was pretty good and covered a ton of threads that came up by the end of the first book and has Jade actually attending the school Dracona that was teased way back in the first few chapters. There were some points where I cringed, but that might just be due to Jade being a dork at times.

Characters: We get to meet a bunch of new characters in this entry, which makes sense given all the new people she has to meet at Dracona. Of the newcomers I think Brady is my favorite, if only because he is the small blades teacher and I’ve always loved the rogue archetype. The rest of the cast is good, although there were some characters that felt a bit forced that may or may not show up in the edited release.

Overall: A solid entry, although I do wish the author was more timely with her releases I am given to understand she has been dealing with health issues.