Over the past fortnight I have focused catching up with series (mostly isekai, I have a problem) that I had read partway and then let slip by the wayside for one reason or another. I have listed a selection of those below. However, before that I just want to encourage more people to read Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyu-bu as it has been consistently great for a long time. With that out of the way, some selected series I have been catching up on in no particular order:
- Konjiki no Word Master - Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat: I have read up through what is translated of the WN for this series and enjoyed it. The manga is a good portion through the story that I have read (if memory serves). Overall, I like the art in this one and the story is good enough to keep my interest though the pacing can be a bit uneven. The most recent chapters have really reinforced my opinion that Eveam is best girl.
- The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic: I have not read any of the source material for this story. I had stopped keeping up with the manga during the arc (trying to keep it spoiler-free) centering around trying to save a disappearing princess. Overall, I think the ensemble and MC of this story is good, but it tends to have a bad habit of splitting the party and only focusing on the MC and 1-2 other characters. The story has not been as interesting in my opinion since the MC left on his journey to be a letter carrier.
- Reincarnated as an Aristocrat with an Appraisal Skill: This story is a weird one. I actually like the characters individually and the interactions when they are together, but all of that feels out of place with the rest of the world that the story is set in. This story feels like if you take the characters from a slow-paced iyashikei series, but then puts them in a pretty dark world full of the horrors of war. The setting just feels discordant with the characters.
- Saihate no Paladin: I had dropped this one when it entered its city-building, dwarf-training phase. However, after picking it back up again, I am pretty on board with the dragon-hunting arc. In particular, I think this series really benefits when it focuses less on the supporting characters and more on Will and his moral dilemmas. As an example of what I mean, I especially loved Chapter 47 and the conversation with Stagnate. It had similar vibes to Bilbo/Gollum from The Hobbit.
- Lv2 kara Cheat datta Moto Yuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life: Honestly, I caught up with this one, but might just drop it. It still hasn't hooked me with the most recent arcs. I think this story is one which would be better served by focusing on the fluffy, feel-good relationship side of things and less on the serious world-at-war storyline. The main couple is great, but we only get glimpses of them being a couple because the rest of the world and its story that I don't care much about keeps intruding.
- Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita: I have not been a fan of the arc in which they go to some island undergoing a revolution and had dropped this series early on in that arc. However, after forcing myself to get past it, the story has picked back up. This is a series that is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Fran and her sword. The island arc just expanded the cast too much and made Fran into a bystander while other people lived out their stories. I am fully back on board now that since we are currently in a (cooking) tournament arc, so you know it will be good.
There are other series I have caught up on but I frankly don't feel like writing more, so I have included very short impressions below, but can expand if there is interest:
- Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu: Not a huge fan
- Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni: This one deserves all the razzing it gets
- Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear: Still cute and fun in its own way
- Yondome wa Iya na Shizokusei Majutsushi: Interesting story, but can't help but feel there is important plot lost in the adaptation from LNs
- The Modern Strongest Hero Who Came Home: This one isn't really stupid fun...just remains pretty stupid
- Finally, last and also least Kanojo, Okarishimasu: One of the things I miss the most from reddit are the many, many ways /r/manga used to shit on this series. Once even they were tired of beating that dead horse I let this series go. I am proud to report that, after catching up, it remains just as bad as before.