The Hero is Overpowered But Overly Cautious volume 1

I think I heard about this story on Tvtropes. Then I saw it while browsing Barnes and Nobles. I picked it up, and these are my thoughts.  

First of, I should make clear that this book is a comedy. Though it has the premise of a hero being summoned to save a world from a demon king via fighting the demon king with swords and magic, it is not an action/adventure book. It is not driven by tension or suspense. A reader has to approach this book with that in mind to get their expectations in order.

The plot is a magic knight and a goddess of healing go out to the save a world from evil. However, the true nature of the story is more like a two-person comedy routine, Straight Man and Wise Guy style.  Seiya does silly/strange/outrageous things in the name of being Overcautious, and Ristarte reacts to them with confusion, anger or frustration.

We, the reader, get Ristrate's perspective on this story. So we are encouraged to see her point of view on Seiya's overly cautious preparations. This helps the comedy angle, because her thoughts are very expressive. No doubt, if we had Seiya's perspective, then the story would be much longer simply because we would have to read through all his extensive plans for all possible scenarios.

The story itself is split into two parts, one is Seiya's preparations and the other is him unloading these preparations onto an enemy. Both parts are comical, but the former is even more so because there is no threat or danger to distract from the comedy, and Seiya's preparations appear all the more ridiculous. I like this set up because it shifts the story's rationale for the outcomes of the set piece battles.

Typically, battles in this story's apparent genre and premise would go the route of guts, sudden power-ups and/or in-the-moment ingenuity.  They are typically won through Heroic Willpower, Indy Ploys or My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours. Those are suitable for visual spectacle and can be exciting. These battles are based in foresight, preparation, and the execution of plans. In other words, the winner is the one who is more Crazy Prepared; like Sun Tzu once said, "Victorious warriors win first, and then go to war". 

There is one thing that I don't like about this book, and that is the personality of its hero, Seiya (hero as distinct from "Protagonist", which is Ristarte). It is not his overly cautious personality, because that is funny and also effective. It is not how brutally honest he is to people when he says something to the effect of "you're weaker than me so you're useless", because his party members really are out of their depths in the S-Class world the adventure takes place in. It isn't even how suspicious and rude he is to everyone, including his party members, because if you are overly cautious to point of paranoia, you assume that everyone is already plotting your demise, so why bother being polite? No, it is how far he goes to prove that everyone is useless. 

Ristarte has unlimited healing power and the ability to open portals to a safe haven? Call her a "walking healing potion", mention that you have dozens of those, and don't mention the portal unless you want to use it. Mash and Elulu have special dragon powers that enable them to use a supermode, find hidden items, and unlock special doors? Call the first redundant, don't acknowledge the special senses, and then break the doors yourself before they get a chance to open them. 

At one point, he gets particularly bad. He gets this auto-attack spell to defeat enemies before they get into melee range and is faster than normal attack spells. He uses this to defeat mook-level enemies that his party members are trying to fight, just for something to do so they can gain EXP. He doesn't explain that his method is safer, and that he doesn't want them getting hurt. No, he tells them that it is impossible for them to fight anything, ever. That's not overly cautious; that's just bragging. It's the opposite of overly cautious because he tells them the spell's limitations. 

It's like he's a badly behaved RPG player. 

Fortunately, it's only that area which is really bad. Otherwise, his paranoia is used for comedy. He also gets a Pet-the-Dog moment shortly after this, which helps to mitigate it. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Hero is Overpowered But Overly Cautious volume 1" 
*because Seiya is not overly cautious enough to think other people might hold grudges against him. 

Click here for my next book review:  Wandering Witch - The Journey of Elania 1

Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle volume 2

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle volume 2

 If am I being honest, I didn't enjoy this volume quite as much as the first one. The art is still good and the stories are still creative. The problem, to me at least, lies with Princess Syalis. She seems less sympathetic in several of these stories than she was previously. 

In volume 1, it is easy to write off her behavior as being side-effects of sleep-deprivation. She is too tired to be fully aware of her actions. So if she were better rested, then she wouldn't being killing demons so she can use their bodies as sleep aids. That doesn't appear to be the case in some of the volume two stories. 

There are two stories in particular where this stands out. The first of these is the story that introduces Harpy. This is a female soldier in Demon King Twilight's army who has been rotated out of active duty so she can take a break in the Demon Castle. So she decides to spend her leave time befriending Princess Syalis. Harpy appears just as benign as the other demons, but friendlier because she is actively trying to become Syalis's friend.

Princess Syalis is unresponsive to Harpy's entreaties until she notices how Harpy's feathers would upgrade her current comforter. So she agrees to be Harpy's friend and even to have a sleepover in her cell, just so that she can sleep on Harpy's feathers. She even tells poor Harpy to be quiet so she can sleep. Harpy is, of course, heart-broken that Syalis only "wants her for her body". 

Yes, I know that is the punchline for the joke, but the illustration of seeing Harpy so upset spoils the joke for me. I don't see the Princess's antics in this chapter to be Comedic Sociopathy in this case. 

The second story line I want to point out is the nightmare one. In a nutshell, Syalis discovers that everyone in the castle has nightmares about her every night. She recognizes this and then immediately dismisses it as unimportant so long as she, herself, is not having nightmares. Stories like these make one question, who is the real demon here? 

Fortunately, these are more of an exception to the rule. The other stories are not like this. For instance, there is a story that has two layers to it. 1.) Demon King Twilight is holding council with his generals about the progression of Hero Dawner's quest, and their future actions. 2.) Princess Syalis spilled fruit juice on her bed sheets and wonders how to clean them. 

The Demon Castle Council lists the magic items they plan to secretly give Dawner and the machines they will send against him to make his quest challenging-but-doable. While this occurs like a voice-over, Syalis finds each item and ruins them all in the process of cleaning the mess she made, unaware of how priceless and important each item is. The dramatic irony here is great, and the expressions of the Demon Castle Council when they see the Princess's good work is priceless. 

Then there are the cases where Syalis makes a mistake with a magic hourglass. It doesn't shrink her as much as make her younger. This leads to a "fawn over the small child" event, which annoys her. There is also the case of her getting sleep paralysis, and her loyal teddy bear demons cause her much comedic embarrassment in their attempts to help her. 
So not everything goes Syalis's way all the time, which helps to balance out the other chapters.  

The quality of the artwork continues. It is cute and comical, and so it is perfect for most of these stories. Even the one about the nightmares has its cute moments, particularly how Syalis resolves the nightmare problem. It is just those moments of unintentionally unsympathetic that bother me. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle volume 2" a B

Click here for my next book review: The Hero is Overpowered But Overly Cautious volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: SAO Spinoff Girls' Ops volume 3

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

SAO Spinoff Girls' Ops volume 3 (read for fun)

This is where the Girls Ops series truly kicks off. I checked this out of my local library at the same time as volumes 1 and 2. The first pair had their flaws, especially the second one, but the third one does not. 

For one thing, it doesn't rely on Kirito's shadow. The "Kuro" avatar does not appear. Likewise, Kazuto himself does not appear. This volume is completely about the Girls' Ops main cast, so their own characters are on display in a way that hasn't happened since the second volume of the main series. 

For the second thing, it doesn't rely on fanservice, not even in a Take-That sort of way, like the second volume. The closest thing to it is more like Fan Disservice, and it is a powerful and dramatic moment. Don't worry about a repeat of volume 2; this one is pure story and feels. 

You see, this story goes into Hiyori's past in SAO, during the two years she spent living as "Lux". It was very unpleasant for her to say the least. It is here that the significance of many things in volume 1 and volume 2 become clear. Why did her friendship with Rossa mean so much to her? Why wasn't she able to trust anyone before meeting Rossa? What was that mark on her thigh that Silica glimpsed when the Lux avatar appeared for the first time in Alfheim? Why did she wear a pareo like a security blanket? The third volume delivers on the answers to these questions, and in a majorly emotional and skillful manner. 

I say with no exaggeration that it is volume 3 that redeemed the series for me. Volume 1 was okay, nothing special. Volume 2 was a borderline disgrace, saved only by Lisbeth realizing that she was being Wrong Genre Savvy about Beach Episodes. Volume 3 took all the build-up from the first two volumes and delivered a magnificent pay-off. 

What is the actual volume's content? Lady Sakuya of the Sylphs calls the main cast for a tea party so she can tell them about a new group of player-killers in Sylph Territory. Shortly afterward, the main cast discovers that the leader of the player-killers is an old friend of Hiyori's. Well, former friend by now. The encounter triggers the release of Hiyori's past as Lux. 

Hiyori really didn't want her new friends to learn about her activities during SAO, because she is deeply ashamed of them. They involve the infamous assassin guild, Laughing Coffin, and how they made her an offer that she couldn't refuse. It is a wonderful delivery of exposition, with a satisfying climax that serves as a springboard into the next volume. 

The art work here does a great job of delivering the emotional content of the story. The battles are also easier to follow here than in volume 1, likely due to the human sized enemies. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Girls' Ops volume 3" an A+

Click here for my next book review (for fun): Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle volume 2

Click here for my previous book review (for fun): SAO Spinoff Girls Ops volume 2

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

SAO Spinoff Girls Ops volume 2 (read for fun)

 This is the second volume of the Sword Art Online spinoff, Girls Ops'. I checked this out of my local library at the same time as volume 1 and volume 3. I must say I have mixed feelings about this one.  It is about a contrast of content. 

Spoilers. Yes, lots of spoilers here. I need to spoil in order to make my point. So take heed, ye be warned of the dreaded spoilers!

The quest for this book is a swim suit beauty contest. Yes, really. The whole thing takes place on a beach area in Alfheim Online, and the main cast wears swimsuits for the whole thing. It is basically a Fanservice Episode. However, it is also a Take-That against fanservice episodes, and fanservice in general. Basically, that pandering to fanservice is missing the point as a storyteller, being ultimately a shallow means of grabbing attention that closes the teller off from a broader audience. 

Going off the prior volume's ending, the main cast needs to repair their armor because it was damaged in the prior volume's quest. So they travel to a renowned tailor who was recommended to Lisbeth by Asuna. This tailor, Ashley, tells them a surprisingly high price for the repairs. After explaining the debuffs currently afflicting their armor, Ashley points them towards the swim suit beauty contest. Its first prize will net them enough to pay the repair fee. 

The swim suit beauty contest rules encourage the contestants to "be the hero of the beach". Rankings in the contest are determined by the amount of attention gathered by each contestant, as determined by focused stares. However the rules clearly state that the Ethics Code is still in full effect, and that "unnecessary staring" will be reported to a game master. So right here we see the contrast, which is made explicit by Leafa: are contestants supposed to attract the sort of attention that could violate the Ethics Code?  

Reki Kawahara and the artist Neko Nekobyou cover many different types of fanservice. It is invoked by Lisbeth to attract the sort of attention that she thinks will win her group the contest. However, the more blatantly she goes into fanservice, the more her group's collective rankings drop. While they brainstorm, a crying NPC girl walks by . 

This leads to accepting the little girl's quest, to find her older sister. This ultimately leads to fighting a giant octopus monster, who had captured said older sister. They do this in front of everyone on the beach, thus gathering the most attention and winning the contest. It is implied that those higher in the rankings were completing similar quests this whole time. 

Evidently, the quest designers planned on someone taking the little girl's quest and finding the giant octopus. After realizing that the monster possessed a great advantage in its lair, the players would drive it out to the beach to deny it this advantage. Defeating this monster would earn them a great deal of attention, thus making them more likely to win the contest. 

So Lisbeth was wrong-genre-savy about the contest. The contest was never about sex appeal. It was about helping others in a beach setting. We can see this in the first chapter, where selling yokisoba was more effective in gaining attention than playing volleyball or dressing up in fanservice costumes. That is, fan service costumes other than swimsuits, of course. 

The message is loud and clear, but the volume still has the main cast and the background characters in swim suits for 90% of the story. Then there's the octopus, who engages in Silica's infamous running gag, and is also the villain of the piece. 

There are other pluses to this story that don't fit into my argument. These include Lux's continuing character development. A lot of foreshadowing is dropped regarding the history of Hiyori's "Lux" avatar, and it becomes the center piece of the next volume. Winning this beauty contest also sets up the plot for the next volume, and it happens in a very smooth way. 

So I have mixed feelings about this piece. 

I don't want to dock points for personal distaste, but I also sincerely don't think this volume is worthy of an A. I know this because volume three is worthy of an A, and volume two isn't as good as volume three. So I will settle in the middle. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "SAO Spinoff Girls Ops volume 2" a B

SAO Spinoff Girls' Ops volume 3 (read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: Sword Art Online Girls' Ops volume one

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.