Kinofhera's book reviews

This is a surprisingly fun read with just an extremely simple premise, and pushes wish fulfillment to another level!

You may say this is a non-isekai, supernatural version of Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. The protagonist was born with an absurd skill (which he wasn’t aware of until later). When he was 24, he became the caretaker of an empty house which was once owned by a (late) distant relative of his. Little did he know that house was built on a sacred ground where a lot of gods and spiritual beings reside. Soon he befriended all the gods and spirits (with food porn!) and he was blessed by them every day with health, wealth, luck, and what not. He has practically become a walking Deus ex machina LOL

It’s a pure slice of life series without much plot and action going on though. I don’t think it will appeal to a lot of people but I did enjoy it a lot.

Warning first: the coloured illustrations contained a highly-NSFW image which I don't recommend reading this while commuting.... (that's what I did).... (SMH)...

From the author Kagyu Kumo who wrote Goblin Slayer. Funny though this book was published with a “volume 1” tag, but in the afterword the author mentioned he has no plan to write a second volume. And even if he did, it will be a completely different story but set in the same universe. Kind of like the Brunhild Series I guess, if a second book is ever released.

The story is set in an alternate version of Earth where the Soviet Union did not fall and the Cold War continued to 2160. Pretty much a futuristic cyberpunk-dystopian story but without too much focus on the sci-fi element. In fact, it felt more like a slice of life than an action thriller, even though the plot is about Danila, the protagonist, and all his missions.

To be honest, I am not quite sure how to review this novel. On one hand I enjoyed reading it a lot. It has that decadent, degen vibe that is rare to be found in LN. The characters, even though they are extremely nasty and obnoxious, are all quite lovable. There are a lot of slice of life scenes telling the daily life of the protagonist and his siblings (found family), and it's oddly heartwarming and satisfying to read. On the other hand, this felt more like a spin-off novel for the terrible lack of world building and character building, as usually those things would have be done in the main story. Except that we are already reading the main story here.

Having said that, it’s still a charming novel to read.

It’s quite an eerie horror series that reminded me a lot of Stranger Things (American TV show) where several elementary school kids are summoned to an alternate reality, pretty much like the Upside Down, to perform a task

The premise is based on Nana-fushigi, or the urban legend that there are always seven paranormal activities in every school in Japan. These students’ task is to eliminate them before they begin to wreak havoc in the reality dimension. It's a race whether the students will accomplish their tasks first, or they get devoured, literally, by those Fushigi. It could get really gruesome and unsettling.

It might sound like an action story but it’s actually a mystery. They don’t take those Fushigi out by brute force, but by investigating them and eliminating the source, or the cause of those paranormal activities. Needless to say, it’s a very intriguing story to read and I am enjoying it so far. I will definitely continue to read the second volume.

A pretty disturbing revenge story involving the delicate relationship between the perpetrator, the victim, the perpetrator’s family, and the victim’s family.

Instead of school bullying, this novel talks about criminal offences. It also focuses on the problems of juvenile laws, which could easily be bent to protect the defendants instead of punishing them. Criminal laws don’t apply to kids and juvenile laws mostly “protect” them so they could get a second chance in life and society. But what if a kid did commit horrible crimes like arson, murder, or… terrorism? Just a year or two rehab? What would the victim’s family feel? What actually are punishments? Will they make the victim's family happier? Or will they make the criminal a better person?

Lots of questions raised in this novel.

Written by Shiomi Natsue who also wrote I Wish I Could Meet You Again on the Hill Where That Flower Blooms, one of my favourite authors who wrote a lot of bittersweet / tragic romance stories.

This one is quite hardcore. It has an in media res prologue about two high school students committing suicide together. So you could probably get the gist of this novel. The story of two teenagers coming from broken families with abusive, overbearing single mothers. It contains some interesting moral debates on whether committing suicide is in fact considered a “bad choice”. Since it is both stated in the Bible and in Buddhism that it is considered a “sin”, as one indeed kills someone (oneself). But then, what about free will?

It’s a rough ride but also very thought-provoking.

Written by Shiki Taiga who also wrote Miri Lives in the Cat's Eyes. Unlike his previous two novels which are very depressing and brutal, this one is actually quite heartwarming. It’s the story of a shut-in girl who could not face work and society anymore and decided to live inside a bathtub. Luckily she has a geek older brother who transformed the bathtub into some kind of state of the art automated living environment, including air conditioning, internet and computer, hi-end audio equipment, etc.

The premise might sound a bit sad but she ended up getting addicted to gaming and eventually became a very popular ASMR vlogger, live streaming everything from inside the bathtub! It’s surprisingly a very motivational read, and it also showed how family support could heal a broken soul.

Shiki Taiga’s writing and prose is always the best. You might wonder if you are actually reading a bungei novel instead of a light novel.

This series is getting better and better, with a lot of surprises!!

I was expecting a slice of life food porn when I began reading volume 1 but there are more and more exciting, high stakes adventures and conflicts as the story progresses. It almost felt like a light-hearted action thriller to me!

It’s also a heartwarming romance and it reminded me of the manga/anime series Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again. Although the main couple was just high school students, they were in love for more than one thousand years! As they were both reincarnations of high-rank demons from the Heian Period. So they acted and talked like grannies, which is the best comedic element of this series too.

A very satisfying romance story complemented with action, adventure, and food porn.

A spiritual sequel to Otsuichi's Summer Ghost.

It’s a very down-to-earth slice of life romance, having quite a similar theme like I Want to Eat Your Pancreas where the protagonist took the dying FMC to visit various tourist attractions in Japan. Well, except in this novel the FMC was pretty much dead… as a ghost.

Can’t say I totally enjoyed this novel because of the slow-burn slice of life. Well, I was actually expecting something more peculiar and bizarre as it’s coming from Otsuichi. In the end, it’s a very realistic (apart from the ghost element) romance story, which is kind of surprising too! Having said that, it’s still a very well-written story that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.