Miss Savage Fang, Vol. 1 - Terrible translation with a lot of anachronisms (MC uses words like “fuckboy”, calling his arm muscles “his guns” and the prince a “femboy”). Just assuming here that the original isn’t that bad. The story itself is cliche and uninspired. The only reason I give it an extra point is that I liked the idea of a princess type that curses like a pirate.- 2/10
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Volume 1 - Apparently I’m now in my Gap Moe phase so I picked another one that sounded similar. As such I thought that this would be another book with a adult returned to a child’s body who would now show some titular “mercilessness”. but just like there wasn’t much Jam in Making Jam in the Woods there is nothing “merciless” in this one. What’s with all the false advertising?! A better title would have been “Nia Liston: The reincarnated maiden that becomes a Magical TV Idol”. And speaking of Magical Television. The book’s world could use a dab more creativity. Or better a large mainline infusion. For example, just calling it “MagiVision” instead of “TeleVision” doesn’t really feel inspired. The iPad type device people watch their “MagiVision broadcasts” on are called “MagiPad”. Cameras are just cameras and have a lens the subjects are supposed to look into. The family has bought “shares” in the “MagiVision Industry” and episodes “air”. The criminal roganization is called “mafia” and so on, and so on. I mean, yes it’s all part of the world building so it doesn’t stand out as bad as the anachronisms in Miss Savage Fang but is like they weren’t even trying to come up with something more magical. A direct comparison for the television stuff would be the broadcast system used in A realist Hero rebuilds the Kingdom as an example. It’s still basically television, but the fantasy patina over it is a lot more substantial. Another thing that stood out was that they might have messed up the order of the chapters, with a side POV chapter reacting to something only happening two chapters later in the main story. At the very end there is a teeeensy little bit of the much talked up Merciless Maiden but it gets cut short with what would be a hard cut to the aftermath in an anime. Picture this: MC makes the first move after a quarter of a chapter posturing and taunting >>>CUT<<< “Afterwards there has been a rumor that a group of thugs moved to the country too scared to ever set foot into the city again”. that type of hard cut. Anyway, even with all those gripes I found the TV idol plot (which was a good 85% of the LN) interesting enough to give the second volume a go if it gets released.- 5/10
I have been reading Nia Liston as a prepub. This really feels like the reader and Nia is getting blue balled with refusal of the bloodshed. She is like the nuclear bomb. The constant possibility that she can scorch the earth at the moments notice and the fact that she chooses to live double life make this LN for me. The secondary characters are just not that deep to get into. Worldbuilding is ok for me as the author gives the vibe that they don’t care. World is just the stage for Nia to shine in.
I would also give it 5/10. I think the titles went from normal titles to bait tiltles and now bait and switch titles
Miss Savage Fang, Vol. 1 - Terrible translation with a lot of anachronisms (MC uses words like “fuckboy”, calling his arm muscles “his guns” and the prince a “femboy”). Just assuming here that the original isn’t that bad. The story itself is cliche and uninspired. The only reason I give it an extra point is that I liked the idea of a princess type that curses like a pirate.- 2/10
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Volume 1 - Apparently I’m now in my Gap Moe phase so I picked another one that sounded similar. As such I thought that this would be another book with a adult returned to a child’s body who would now show some titular “mercilessness”. but just like there wasn’t much Jam in Making Jam in the Woods there is nothing “merciless” in this one. What’s with all the false advertising?! A better title would have been “Nia Liston: The reincarnated maiden that becomes a Magical TV Idol”. And speaking of Magical Television. The book’s world could use a dab more creativity. Or better a large mainline infusion. For example, just calling it “MagiVision” instead of “TeleVision” doesn’t really feel inspired. The iPad type device people watch their “MagiVision broadcasts” on are called “MagiPad”. Cameras are just cameras and have a lens the subjects are supposed to look into. The family has bought “shares” in the “MagiVision Industry” and episodes “air”. The criminal roganization is called “mafia” and so on, and so on. I mean, yes it’s all part of the world building so it doesn’t stand out as bad as the anachronisms in Miss Savage Fang but is like they weren’t even trying to come up with something more magical. A direct comparison for the television stuff would be the broadcast system used in A realist Hero rebuilds the Kingdom as an example. It’s still basically television, but the fantasy patina over it is a lot more substantial. Another thing that stood out was that they might have messed up the order of the chapters, with a side POV chapter reacting to something only happening two chapters later in the main story. At the very end there is a teeeensy little bit of the much talked up Merciless Maiden but it gets cut short with what would be a hard cut to the aftermath in an anime. Picture this: MC makes the first move after a quarter of a chapter posturing and taunting >>>CUT<<< “Afterwards there has been a rumor that a group of thugs moved to the country too scared to ever set foot into the city again”. that type of hard cut. Anyway, even with all those gripes I found the TV idol plot (which was a good 85% of the LN) interesting enough to give the second volume a go if it gets released.- 5/10
I have been reading Nia Liston as a prepub. This really feels like the reader and Nia is getting blue balled with refusal of the bloodshed. She is like the nuclear bomb. The constant possibility that she can scorch the earth at the moments notice and the fact that she chooses to live double life make this LN for me. The secondary characters are just not that deep to get into. Worldbuilding is ok for me as the author gives the vibe that they don’t care. World is just the stage for Nia to shine in.
I would also give it 5/10. I think the titles went from normal titles to bait tiltles and now bait and switch titles