nathandouglasdavis

As I was nearing the final few chapters, I found myself wondering "How are they planning to bring this to a conclusion with so little space left?" And of course, they didn't really, that's how. The story starts out with a clear trajectory, with having the Pope Iris of the Church of Seven Colors sending out feir various generals and chimeric abominations to destroy beastmen and whatever else the Church looks down upon. It seemed like Tsuguna would struggle with the cursed tome and with how to properly make use of its powers without giving in to the darkness. It's not a great plot or anything, but that's what they had come up with. Then there's a complete shift in tone and plot direction starting in chapter 18, with the artwork even becoming more cartoony. The plot after that consisted of a competition to see which of two groups could defeat the level 30 boss in a nearby dungeon. It would've potentially made sense as a transitory plotline, offering a break from the gritty seriousness, but it definitely feels out of place as the finale. A quick glance tells me that the light novel this was based on is still ongoing, so this was either wrapped up prematurely since they didn't have enough source material to draw it out or it was cancelled since it's honestly not that great of a manga (as my score should make obvious).

I don't like any of the characters. I find Yutis's sadistic domineering to be annoying and unrealistic. I find all the girls surrounding Tsuguna to be uninteresting, and I likewise don't care about Tsuguna in the slightest. In addition to that, the worldbuilding felt half-assed and uncompelling. I was not immersed into the culture or daily lives of the characters; it just felt like a generic fantasy world to allow for magical fight scenes.