Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest (Light Novel) Vol. 9
Having finally found a way home, Hajime and his party head to the final labyrinth--the Frost Caverns. There, in that frigid land, the party seeks out the last ancient magic they'll need to go back to Earth. Upon entering the caverns, a maze of ice and an ever-present sinister whispering chips away at their concentration. As they proceed through it, the party is split up. Separated from the others, Shizuku is forced to fight a copy of herself. Will she be able to overcome this trial and surpass her limits?
Reviews (51)
Ninth verse, and only now worse?
So, let's get down to business, cause I love this series. Easily the best isekai novels I have ever read, and let me tell you, that hasn't changed with this volume either. Personally, anything from Ryo Shirakome is an instant 5/5 in my heart. But, as this volume also shows, what's in your heart doesn't always reflect reality. If all you want is more Arifureta, then look no further. The story progresses, characters develop, and our overpowered troop is still flirting. But, if you have to be discerning, I have to say that this volume (at least for now) deserves a soft pass; don't go out of you way to avoid it, but don't pick it up if something else has caught your eye. Instead of praising the author to high heaven, as I have done too many times to count by now, I will instead lay out the problems that, for the first time in this series, have reared their heads and cannot be dismissed. 1. This volume is designed as a part 1 of 2 for Schnee Snowfields conquering, meaning that this volume not only needs to be a complete story in of itself, it also has to set up the second volume (10), leading to very inconsistent pacing and poor editing. Well, editors have never really been that good in the light novel scene, but the pacing has, for me, been a high point in Arifureta so far. But because this arc is split into two volumes, there are periods of overly lengthy explanation or discussion, followed by intense and quick action, then a random flashback, sometimes a bit of inner monologue, then bam! next chapter. Ryo Shirakome's style is pretty consistent in how information is presented, but here, you can feel certain scenes being stretched out or cut back just to meet limits. It wouldn't be so bad if, to stretch out this volume, it was merely repeated ideas or flashbacks that, while mildly interesting, don't really give the reader anything that they didn't already know. 2. The labyrinth our group is attempting to conquer this time around in based on psychological warfare, an idea that sounds incredibly interesting, given that just about every character in this series is carrying serious trauma that could be explored. And while there are hints to this for each character, this volume really only focuses on three: Hajime, Shizuku, and Kouki. And all three respond exactly how you expect they would when faced with their own emotions and mental scars. Hajime got his spotlight back in volume 8, which was amazing, and Shizuku is of course going to go through the exact same character arc most everyone else has, just with her life on the line instead. To be honest, while Shizuku is a likeable character, she's been wearing her heart on her sleeve and, yet, the climax of this novel treats this like it was something no one saw coming. Though, I will admit, Shizuku's shortcomings here are mostly due to the overly straight-forward nature of this labyrinth, which could have been played much more subtly to greater effect; they literally confront their emotions in this volume, rather than having to really overcome them internally, which I feel is a slight disappointment; will hold out hope that the rest of the cast get a slightly better treatment in this regard. Also, please kill Kouki. The only improvement his character needs is a dose of death. 3. Not enough Yue. Given volume 8's cliffhanger, and the final challenge of the Snowfields, she is likely to have a major character development moment in the future, but I need more vampire princess. Again, I do love this series, and enjoyed this volume like I have every other, but you are better off picking up 9 and 10 at the same time, and you will likely be better off than sitting on the flaws of an incomplete arc like I am.
Great characters developments.
The Frost Caverns Saga book of Arifumeta combine splendidly character development and labyrinth exploration with a great theme. Exploring the feelings, weaknesses and mental conflicts of characters is not easy, but the author did a wonderful job. The action scenes are superb with fight scenes narrated in a wonderful way. The trials and inner turmoils of the characters are combined nicely in the narrative with humorous touchs that doesn't break or detract from the narrative. A great book and entertain reading that won't dissapoint fans of this serie.
Very good, clear line-of-sight plot, mixture of action/personal level expansion
The entire series clearly provides a great- line-of-sight to the plot from book to book. It fleshes out the key players in such a way as to ensure that their personalities, capabilities and contributions are clear. While there is a level of juvenile level interactions, it fits with the story line (after all it is a lite novel with audience target for Teen and older teen.) For adults though, it throws in sufficient action, step-by-step build up, while being a fast read to escape the real-world for awhile and just sit back, relax and enjoy a work of art - don't read things into it that's not there, just take as-is and not try to dissect it. The only thing keeping it from a full 5-star is that, #9 goes hand-in-hand with #10. Without the #10, gaps exist in #9 that clearly beg for conclusion. Simply though, a very fun read.
This is book nine. You should know what to expect by now. But....
Only issue I had is that it seems like it changed translators suddenly. Quite a bit more cursing and seeming changes in personality (not counting the scheduled changes). Honestly the fan translation I read for this one seemed better than this official translation. Not sure why the changes happened between book 8 and this one.
The Story is Far From Over
If a non-hero completed this labyrinth beforehand, you'd expect it to be a cinch. But, with its own set of rules, it just might be the most entertaining one yet. This volume had plenty of action. And it kept me laughing and entertained from start to finish. Can't wait to read what happens in next volume.
4/5 for this one
I absolutely love this series, I slept on it for awhile, but when I started reading book 1 I knew that this would be one of my top 5 best light novel. So far I have every book, and plan to continue buying as long as they keep coming. Suck that I'm going to have to wait awhile for the next one, but oh well. Oh and please, kouki, he wouldn't be missed if...you know. Very sorry if I'm all over the place with this one, but one last thing very excited for the anime coming to the west, really looking forward to it.
Great series. Next book please.
Fun iseki harem series. Well worth the read and I am impatiently waiting on the next book. Read this book.
Still rolling string loved it
Loved it! can't wait for VOL 10!
Did you like the last 8? Then you will like this one.
Another great entry, but honestly if you liked the last ones then you will like this one. Its really not hard to with a great series like this
Another great one
Really like this series and character development is awesome. Excited to start reading the next one. I highly recommend picking up this entire series.
Comments
Post a Comment