Forum - View topic

REVIEW: Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons LN 1

I understand not liking Naofumi (I don't like nor dislike him) but compare him to Keyaru or this girl it's way, way too much and kinda feels parodic of the hate boner some people have for Shield Hero.

Minos_Kurumada wrote:

I understand not liking Naofumi (I don't like nor dislike him) but compare him to Keyaru or this girl it's way, way too much and kinda feels parodic of the hate boner some people have for Shield Hero.

Naofumi tortures children and everyone he dislikes is written as malicious, incompetent, or both.

all-tsun-and-no-dere wrote:

Minos_Kurumada wrote: I understand not liking Naofumi (I don't like nor dislike him) but compare him to Keyaru or this girl it's way, way too much and kinda feels parodic of the hate boner some people have for Shield Hero. Naofumi tortures children and everyone he dislikes is written as malicious, incompetent, or both.

If you think that's equivalent to Keyaru's crimes I quite frankly don't know what to tell you.

It's probably worth noting that the Rising of Shield Hero has two versions, the original web novel one that was posted online and translated many years ago, and the light novel that is currently still in publication and neither the Japanese nor English fanbase know where it's going because it abandoned the original direction of the story somewhere around volume 4.

The original web novel had such pearls as Naofumi sitting down with popcorn so he can watch a 4-hour recording of Myne being sexually assaulted to death, as well as an entire chapter of him presiding over a mass execution of everyone an antagonist cared about, including women and children, complete with graphic descriptions of multiple deaths.

Yes, it's easy to pretend that Shield Hero's reputation as obnoxious edgelord bullshit is overblown and falsified, but believe me, the original web novel made even the more grotesque content of Redo of Healer look like footage of kittens rolling around in a basket.

To go back to Villainess: Reloaded!, I feel the review is, perhaps, a touch harsh. The opening scene is shocking, yes, but it serves a valuable purpose: If it turns you off, stop reading. If you carry on, I imagine your response will be very similar to the reviewer's. It is also worth pointing out, though, that it isn't clear how canonical the opening is; we're given no context to the slaughter, and the story immediately jumps back to Astrid as a pre-school child. In the "past" (the rest of the story's present), Astrid does nothing (ok, very little) that's morally suspect. Her mental commentary is something else; but again, if you get through the opening scene, it's not going to phase you. I'm also going to question how reliable a narrator Astrid is - this is someone who's doing experimental brain surgery on herself, after all.

As for the complaint that Astrid is brilliant at everything and everyone loves her... I'm pretty sure this can be levelled at 90% of isekai. Probably more. This isn't to say that it isn't a flaw - it very much is - but if you're reading this genre, it isn't likely to be a fatal one.

The other complaint in the review that's repeated is that the writing is poor. I'm not necessarily going to disagree - but I don't think the writing (or translation? It can be tricky to separate the two) ever really dropped below average? It might be worthwhile including an example of the poor writing, if it was such a turn-off for the reviewer.

And finally... no positives? At all? At the very least, the novel is trying to play with different tropes (and a very different protagonist) than pretty much any other isekai I've read. As with most evolutionary experiments, this one is probably destined to be niche success (at best), but it is at least different. And in Isekai, is this not something to be treasured?

the way she casts herself as a victim while admitting to bullying the heroine reads, to my American eyes, like a mass shooter's manifesto as she revels in the death and destruction she has caused

“Do you not even have love for your own country?” the old man asked.
“Hmm. Guess not. My only concern right now is the total annihilation of my enemies. Though I would prefer it if the people of my homeland welcomed that.”
Love for my country? Why would anyone love a country that banishes a duke’s family over nothing more than the heroine getting bullied a bit?

“Blau. Was that every enemy?” I asked with the hot muzzle of my gun pointed toward the sky.
“There are no more, Master,” my fairy Blau replied. “But are you sure about this? You didn’t have to go this far...”
“It’s necessary, Blau. The enemy takes me too lightly. I have to make them all experience true fear. And I want to collect field data.” Gotta admit, my real motivation for all this is that field data though. Tee hee.