TNT: Almadianos Eiyuuden Volume 01 by Takami Ryousen

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m back with another Light Novel series. It’s Almadianos Eiyuuden Volume 01 by Takami Ryousen!

Plot: The plot is pretty good, although it takes the Isekai and Tensei genres in a rather new and interesting way. Instead of taking a character from Earth we get an all powerful character from some random fantasy world who is so bored that he ends up hitching a ride in the head of one of his other incarnations in another world. The fact that he ends up being ignored half the time by said incarnation is just half the fun. That being said this does have a more romantic bent from what I can remember so if you don’t like your action and adventure novels having that you will not enjoy this series.

Characters: Bernst and Kurats are the leads, with Bernst being the old man who is hitching a ride and Kurats being his incarnation. Kurats is kind of a dolt though. That being said Lunaria is probably my favorite character, if only because she’s the somewhat sensible one. The rest of the cast is fun as well, but Lunaria is my favorite by and far.

Overall: A fun series at least thus far from what I’ve read in this single volume alone.

For those who like: Isekai, Tensei, Action, Adventure, Harems, Fun Plot, Varied Cast of Characters.

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

Bookish Wednesday: Pet Peeves

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m continuing my mini-rant on things that make me drop a series or even an author if they do it even more. It’s all about some Pet Peeves of mine.

Pet peeves: I have a huge list of pet peeves that will get me to stop following an author or dropping a series entirely if enough of them pile up. But here are some that really get on my nerves.

#1 Killing Off Love Interests: I hate this plot device and frankly it’s not quite a bottom line, but it’s damn close. I respect that sometimes characters have to go through adversity, but we read fiction for a reason. Keeping a bit of hope in a story is a good thing. Dark and dreary stories are not fun for me to read, and that may be because of my own mental health issues. However this is one of my  personal pet peeves. Now killing off parents of characters? I can deal with that, it’s a different sort of emotional impact for both the character and the reader.

#2 Separating Love Interests: Chinese authors have a terrible habit of doing this, and it ticks me off. They are often poorly done harem stories that has the main character leaving behind his loved ones at every freaking opportunity for no particular reason other than to go galavanting off on an adventure. It doesn’t matter how it occurs, it’s a stupid plot device. It also cheapens the loved one as a character. If they get left behind they aren’t going to grow, either emotionally or in more concrete things like strength.

I will admit that Eternal did one thing right and that was keeping the main characters. who are soulmates, together. They overcame every obstacle together, and frankly there’s no reason why other authors shouldn’t do the same. Having some random teacher drag off the main character’s loved one to get training is also bullshit plot device that I despise and I sincerely hope never gets any traction in the Western world. Having a couple that can actually fight together and work together is a great way of showing character growth. Because anyone who has played a team activity will tell you that no matter how much solo practice you do, it still requires just as much if not more time practicing with your partner(s) so you don’t get in each other’s way. But the character’s will never learn that if they get separated.

#3 Dense Harem Leads: If an author has to write a freaking harem story, at least make the freaking lead character open to a more diverse relationship with all of their potential love interests. Because frankly no matter what the author does, they’re going to piss off one reader or another. Yes polygamy and polyandry are illegal in most of the world, but here’s the thing. It’s a freaking story, and the author can write it however they wish. Maybe they have to deal with the social backlash of being in such a relationship, would make for great character growth.

#4 Forgotten Side Characters: I hate it when authors leave side characters in the dust and just forget about them. This ties into #2 a bit, but more than that some authors are just terrible about remembering all the various side characters they introduce. I Eat Tomatos in particular is a notorious author for doing just that. “Cough” Haeru “Cough”

Those are just some of my personal pet peeves, and there are like I said above many more. But that would be a very long post and frankly I’m not interested in listing every thing that ticks me off in a story.  That’s it for this week’s Bookish Wednesday.

Anime Sunday: Strike The Blood

This week on Anime Sunday we are going over one of my favorite Fall 2013 Anime, Strike The Blood! Strike The Blood is an anime that is currently airing, as of this writing, on Fridays in Japan. It’s an adaptation of a light novel series written by Gakuto Mikumo.

Story Summary:  The Fourth Progenitor—That’s the world’s strongest vampire that should only exist in legends. Accompanied by twelve Kenjuu and spreading calamity, this phantom vampire appeared in Japan. For the observation and obliteration of this Fourth Progenitor, the government and Lion King Organization decided to dispatch an attack mage known as a Sword Shaman. However, for some reason, the one chosen for the observation was an apprentice Sword Shaman girl, Himeragi Yukina. Wielding the strongest anti-progenitor spirit spear, Yukina arrived at Demon District, Itogami City. What is the true identity of the Fourth Progenitor, Akatsuki Kojou, she encountered over there!?

Plot: Amazing, I actually cried during episode 3 for Yukina. I won’t spoil the plot too much, but it’s very good. This easily has one of the better plots of a battle series that I’ve seen in recent years.

Characters: Kojou looks pretty harmless, and he would like everyone to think that and leave him alone, of course the world just won’t do that. I actually like Yukina’s relationship with him as it’s not just a “love at first sight” sort of thing that you see all too often for series like this one. Speaking of Yukina she kicks some serious ass in just the first episode alone.

Art: Amazing, easily one of the most beautiful series of the past year, probably only behind Kyoukai no Kanata for me.

Music: Amazing, it gets the blood pumping in the right spots and sets up the tension in just the right spots. The music in episode 3 was particularly good, from what I remember. The opening and ending themes also are amazing, I actually enjoyed all 4 of them equally; something I usually don’t enjoy for any series, not even One Piece.

Overall: An amazing series that should suit any anime fan. Yes it has it’s fanservice moments, but they are never overdone.

For those who like: Kick ass leads, amazing plot, lots and lots of blood spilling, Fantabulous music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above or fanservice of any kind whatsoever.