Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Light Novel Vol. 1 by Ao Jyumonji
My rating: 10 of 10 stars
I really enjoy this book. Everything in it felt really dark and gloomy.
After seeing the anime (You can check my review here) I had great expectations on the series since I know that no season 2 is on the making but I wanted to know what happened to all those people...
In this book it depicts probably the first 6/7 episodes. The first 150 pages - the group forms (There are some differences here from the anime) the group train, first goblin kill, the death of a friend (Manato). The second part of the book deal with the loss of Manato and how everyone coop with it and the coming of a new priest Merry.
Haruhiro is the main character and almost everything we see or know its true his eyes.
Ranta is the same in the anime and book (snarky / brash / arrogant and troublemaker), Moguso (is a bit different - in the anime they all band together but in the book Moguso join another group that stole all his money), Shihoru (is almost the same but in the anime there is no indication that she is in love with Manato - but in the book Haruhiro hints at it) but Yume it's all different. In the anime she is very brave and energetic (same as book) but in the book she talks like... "Yume thinks that is wrong." - "Maybe Yume don't want to learn that" - "Yume don't have tiny tits" and so on... in the anime she is quite normal lol Strange... Then we got Merry/Mary which is a new healer totally different of Manato. But very equal in the anime and light novel.
Basicaly the story follows a band of people that awake to be in another world (isekai) but have no recollection of their previous world/life. They know same words of things that don't have there (Cell Phone, australia, tsundere, game and other words). what's odd is that they never try to figure that out and basically accept with resignation their lives.
They are to in a group of trainees where everyone will follow a path (fighter, rogue, ranger, magician, priest and Dark Knight among others) and band together to stop some evil guy that might come out. Most of the book it deals with this struggle of first battles - what I really enjoy is that in the beginning even a single goblin is difficult and not easy peasy like per example "In Another World with My Smartphone". It's really grim(gar) with the loss Manato but there are moments of comedy (not like Konosuba bear in mind) - well basically everything Ranta does).
Really enjoy the novel and going to buy the next ones...
View all my reviews
This TV Series will never see a second season because well it sucked!
This TV Series tried to hard to get someone new to the genre but fail completely. First of all the characters are very bad written. The twin sisters were probably the best of the show. Really enjoy their connection.
Characters
Karen Copeland (US AIR FORCE Female Pilot with fighting skills)
Joshua Copeland a world culture professor
Matt Copeland, the oldest child want to join the peace corps
Dana Copeland (brianna twin sister) aka the smart one
Brianna Copeland (Dana twin sister) aka the famous one
The rest died... they were not that important.
Things I learn after watching this series...
- Demon possession and schizophrenia are a lot alike, so make sure which one it is before you shoot (or call a priest)
- Cellphones will work no matter what. Even after being hit by a EMP from a solar flare!
- You can chase an attacking rabid dog away by squirting them with a hose.
- If a pyroclastic cloud or hot volcanic ash or a meteor strike is headed your way, hide under a bus or RV because all of that stuff only goes around the sides and never under the vehicle...
- Eventually realize that every stranger you meet, no matter how nice they seem at first, will
a) try to kill you,
b) fall in love with one of your children
c) die within a few days,
d) do all three.
-Whenever scouting for food or checking out a new area, be sure to talk loudly amongst yourselves, never look around and not watch your backs.
- Teen girls will get back to smiling, joking and fighting with their sister within twenty minutes of their boyfriend dying right in front of them.
- RVs in the Apocalypse get amazing gas mileage.
- Amish guys weren't made for these end days.
- An RV that's treated like a tank will show no signs of wear and tear.
- No training or practice is necessary to become proficient with all manner of firearms.
- You should use always your aviator glasses (even inside buildings with no light.
- Whenever possible - send your daughter and son in search of a medic and you stay behind kissing, in a place where there are dangerous people.
- Always shoot with your glasses on - it's like night vision!
- With the apocalpyse there is no need to take a bath because your hair never changes.
- 16 Years of Old in the Apocalpyse is the new 21. No law, no problemo...
- A army mother is okay for a 28 year old guy dating her 16 old mother - CHECK!
- While going on the hospital and asked by a woman with a gun, to let their weapons behind because it spookes the patients you shall always abide...
Damn dumb show...
We've got Dragons; FeverHeads; Plants-tree that grab people, Banshee, Water demons, Mermaids, Jubokko plant, Skinwalkers, Fetch (Shape-shifter or Aswang)
How I watch this show... Example
Episode 6
Sally is dead...
So they are good doers. One wants to get supplies to a camp and the other can't stop being a professor and wants to continue it's research... Who doesn't saw, well, any horror movie? DON'T GET SEPARATED! That's a rule. You just reunite with your daughter, so why go separate ways? Separate the families... SMART. Hitting on a 16 years old, after the apocalpyse, is always right. Why not having sex while stacking for food supplies while your mother and brother can come in at any time?
While Momma's group ran against some female prisoners who were living in the camp; Papa's group ran against a Fetch (Shape-shifter). One of the four prisoners was eaten by a vine.
It's seems Dr Douglas train her shapeshifter. Honestly let's start making out while we are getting search by some prisoners with machines guns. Why not? So the Momma and son were capture and they end killing all their captors after being lied about them killing Dana - and so, Dana was upset because of her mother's revenge.
Meanwhile the Amish guy (Devyn) is he posessed by a Skinwalker. But Brianna controls it by loving the guy it seems. The Skinwalker says she won't let him be and so after a fit of rage Devyn controls the skinwalker and commits suicide.
And then, the Rainier volcano explodes..
The apocalpyse is harsh, no doubt about it BUT it seems SyFy is making them even harder.
The Aftermath everything seems harder. Several characters die (althought none of the main characters so far; Van Helsing everyone is a backstabbing son of bitch and most characters died...) The Z Nation everything seems harder now (some fun moments) but I guess someone is going to died by the end of season 3.
Episode 8
I really don't understand what I am seeing here. I only will continue because I don't like to drop out after 8 episodes and I really hope they can become better. So only 4 or 5 episodes to go...
The father, Brianna, Dana and Matt escape to a bunker but then Dana got separated and father goes outside to get her - when he gives her the breating mask she says...
"I know ash is poisonous but don't want put the mask because it makes me claustrophic" Damn that's hard arguing... And then a dragon appears.
FUCK YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!!! SCIENCE SUCKS!
The special effects are awful. The mountain explodes, there is a pyroclast cloud coming but still there is time to go get Dana, escape a dragon, and so on... It seems the vulcano is not that bad. I thought it was one of the worst ever.
Meanwhile Briana and Matt are inside a bunker debating if they should go out or no... (Correct, suicide is always a way ... out)
Meanwhile Mother was under some rocks and a volcanolist helps her. (Why he was there in the first place beats me). He is going to die I bet. Everyone they meet dies.
Well, how to survive a volcano? Hide under the van. No problemo. And it's over in 40m. No stress. All the ash will be gone and you will be fine.... This is some awful shit.
Final Thoughts
Well fuck me Lucifer and Jesus and all the other mythic christians.. things
Need I say more?
This show sucks in so many levels I cannot say them all. SyFy just said to the world - We don't give a fuck about science and logic - we love chaos! This is some Bizarro god-level shit... no wonder it got cancelled.
Fear the Walking Dead
First Episode
The story begins with a young teen (Nick -18yo) in bed trying to discern what is happening since he wake up alone... He finds his girlfriend eating someone and escapes the villa. He is then hit by a car.
Later on, Madison learns that her son has been hit by a car and heads to the hospital. Travis stays at the hospital with Nick while Madison goes to work (councilor teacher). She helps some boy called Tobias which tells her that he is carrying a knife to protect himself from something the government is not talking about. Death's in five states and stories about living dead.
After learning that Nick was drugging himself on a church Travis goes there to see it. He finds a lot blood - more than any person could sustain and does nothing? Damn that's plausible. And Madison doesn't even care... " A lot of bad things happen there... stabbing and shooting" Why call the police?
Afterwards Nicks escapes and Madison & Travis goes search for him at the church. Again, a lot of blood but nobody calls the police. Afterwards the TV shows the first "documented" case of the walking dead. Afterwards the school is closed after many students became absent.
Later Nick is led by Cal under a bridge where he tries to kill him. Cal accidently shots Nick. He then tells his mother and Travis about the accident. When they go the place Calvin's car is there but not Cal's body. They think he is crazy but didn't they found odd that Calvin's car was there with his door opened and a gun in the floor? They find Calvin and Nick runs him over after he try to bite his mother.
But he doesn't died...
This is the first episode basically. I will not be spending much time on each other episode.
Characters from the First Episode
Madison Clark (Mother of Nick & Stacy) - Teacher
Stacy (Alicia's Daughter)
Nick (Alicia's Son)
Travis Manawa (step-father of Stacy & Nick)
Christopher (Travis's Son)
Liza Ortiz (Travis Mother)
Tobias - School boy
Calvin - Nick's friend
Matt - Alicia's boyfriend
Second Episode - Madison tries to struggle to help her son withdrawal and goes to the school to find some medication. There she finds Tobias who says that this is not going to pass. The both of them are force to kill an undead Artie (the principal).
Meanwhile Travis tries to save his son and gets into the city where they barricate themselves with a El Salvador family.
As some of the episodes of the walking dead, it's pretty slow moving... My question is: Why don't they talk about what've seen?? Why the fuck they don't tell their children about the undead?? This is fucking stupid...
Fourth & Fifth episode
Unlike the Walking Dead this one begins before the chaos and during the initial days of the chaos. Unlike Walking Dead we never get to see what happened to the army. Supposedly they died and such BUT it's never confirmed it after all America is pretty big. At the same time we never get to see the rest of the world.
Here we get to see the Military being the evil organization doing the "things" that must be done to overcome everything. Liza Ortiz was bitten and then Travis kills her
The last episode we get to see some couple characters like Victor Strand as well. I wonder why the government was keeping undead inside a football stadium. Odd and a bit of deus-ex-machina.
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Season 2 - Survivors (Families)
Madison Clark (Mother of Nick & Stacy) - Teacher
Alicia (Madison's Daughter)
Nick (Madison's Son)
Travis Manawa (step-father of Stacy & Nick)
Christopher (Travis's Son)
Daniel Salazar (El Salvadoran refugee)
Ofelia Salazar (daughter of Daniel)
Victor Strand(Survivor kind of guy)
The second season I didn't do a step by step but overall review.
Well the first season it sounded a bit different from Walking Dead. Everything seemed different BUT in the second season sometimes I thought that X or Y person in FOTWD is very akin to other WD character.
I think maybe because in the first season of WD is already months ahead of the beginning so people were already conscious of everything. In FOTWD is something new to everyone.
This season they went to Mexico, by Victor request. They had several problems inbetween both in the water and afterwards. Several intense battles.
Nick went one way helping a group of survivors in a close village where he befriends a woman. Travis and Chris separate from them after Chris try to hurt both Madison and Alycia. While the rest of the gang go to a hotel where they also befriend some people who where taking refugee there.
In the last couple episodes Chris separates from his father to go with some american guys while Travis finds Madison and Alycia. Meanwhile the guys Chris was travelling also arrive at the hotel demanding care and telling that Chris had perish. But after they tell how it happened Travis knew they had killed him (previously they had no problem killing one of their friends).
Travis goes into a rampage and kills them both but hurt another survivor who later dies. His brother wants to have revenge and when he was killing Travis and Alycia drives a knife killing him. Later they escape the Hotel (Travis, Madison and Alycia) while Victor stay behind.
In the end the village Nick was was evacuated and they headed to the boarder where they were attacked by army man (para-military of some sorts). Travis, Madison and Alyicia learn of Nick whereabouts and the episode ends while they are heading for the border as well.
Thoughts
- Travis is the character who doesn't want to lose faith of humanity but in the end of episode 15 of season 2 is driven to kill two humans that were responsable of his son death.
- Madison is Rick's counterpart but WD he had more time to ponder his actions and turning into a grey area of moral conduct. Madison when her sons are in danger quickly makes avaiable her animal insticts.
- Alycia is a character that in the beginning is a bit insecure doubting everying and almost in denial but as the second season progress she turns more determined to to anything to help her own family (althought feeling deeply remorsed by her actions).
- Nick is just a cry-baby. Drug addicted, believes the dead are not to be killed and most of time blends covering himself of blood. Althought he kills the dead if needed. As I said drug-addicted turn messiah.
- Victor was an unknown but it seemed everything he did or do was to be together with his lover - but unfortunally he died. He had the chance to kill himself but chicked out.
- Ofelia is captive of some paramilitary kind of guy(s?).
Overall Thoughts
One interesting bit was the technique used of painting oneself in blood. In WD you watch that same technique how many times? Twice? Here is all around and everyone does it. It's like common knowledge.
Another interesting bit was that in WD they had problems with zombies pilling up in the fence but in FOTWD they had no problems whatosever - The zombies didn't even pile up against it. While in WD they did (probably WD the zombies had more hunger...)
There are some differences in both shows and I preffer WD, no doubt about it. The characters in FOTWD are copies of WD. The only ones I am interested is Alycia and Victor.
There are also 2 episodes that were web-released both not encompassing 20m. One is set in a aeroplane and another set in the border between mexico and usa.
The Walking Dead sixth season was one heck of ride...
Why do you ask? Well first of all the season has some particularities I really enjoy. The first three or four episodes were basically in the same timeline but we follow different characters.
I think two things of this, first was it to have the actors schedule a bit more open to do other things? I mean, some of this actors have been here from the first or second season. Probably some are sick of it. I bet that if they divide the episodes this way some actors could be doing other stuff while waiting for their part? I don't know... I am just wondering.
Basically this season follows the last one. Alexandria has a new threat - a zombie horde, and they must drove them out. At the same time they are attack by a group called the Wolves. The first 6 episodes were basically this. We get to know a bit more of Morgan, Carol, Eugene, Sasha and Abraham. Eugene was the character who most develop in this time.
Meanwhile Alexandria is attack by the Zombie Horde (half of it) and they battle for their lives. All of them. Even Gabriel and Eugene. The battle scene on the 6 episode ( or 8?) was probably one of the best of all times in TV. Awesome. This is how heroes are made.
The last episodes were the brief confrontation against the Saviours while helping a village near the Hill.
In the last episode, dramatic 20m I must say - we get to finally discover who Neegan - and one of our characters dies... Who?
So what's good about this season?
Well, first of all the transformation of Eugene, Gabriel, Morgan and Carol. They all transform themselves in this season. Eugene who was a scary shit, still can't fight but puts his inteligence to good use. He even battles first in the Siege of the Dead episode and afterwards when they are driving to the Hill to help Maggie.
Then Gabriel - what hated character this one was. I think they were trying to substitute Lori as the most hate character but then saw potential and he changed. He was trying to make Alexandrians banish Rick's party, even inciting a bit of revolting and after that incident he learn the ways of the Rick and changed. In the Siege of the Dead he made his "flock" help Rick battle the undead and afterwards put himself at his mercy. By the last episode of season six he stay behind in Alexandria as temporary Leader. Really enjoy this change. I think most people were.
Carol and Morgan have nothing in common whatsoever. First Carol has no problem killing anyone (she has been considered a psycopath of some sorts - but always with the best interest of the party) - Morgan turn from a blood driven killer (who would kill anyone or anything) to a goddam hippie who vowed never to kill any again... Aikido will do that to you. After Carol left Alexandria because she wanted to change her ways - Morgan followed suit to try to make her come b
ack. I bet that in the seven season they are changing roles.
Meanwhile Abraham left Rosita to Sasha and they are now together. Maggie is a co-leader of the group and is pregnant. Glenn is more time away than Alexandria and one of the episodes we saw him killed - three episodes later we learn that he was alive after all. I know he dies in season 7. I think the creators were trying to do it but there was a uproar so they brought him back.
Carl is now a one-eyed man after being shot in the eye. He has a love interest Enid. This season was not his...
Michonne is now in bed with Rick. This season was not theirs. And Daryl Dixon is still a monster of a killer. He is no doubt the most beloved character of the fans and probably will not change. But this season since it had more people the action was divided by them all. Basically Daryl is a bit upset because of him one people died.
A lot of people died but not many Main-characters.
Deanna dies (The former leader of Alexandria, Jessie, Sam and Ron all died. Denise also dies (Denise was the medic from Alexandria who had a love interest with Tara).
Overall a really good season, probably better than some of the previous, all because of that intense battle in siege of the dead and the tense minutes from episode 3 (Gleen fake death) and episode 16 where the cameramen someone abraham died
Outbreak Company is anime that took all the tropes in existence and mash them together.
This anime, follows the story of Shinichi as he goes to another world (Isekai) to teach Otaku/Moe culture. Basically Japan discovered a gate to another world and they try to teach Japanese stuff (and they chosen otaku?anime?manga?)
There he meets Myucel an half-elf and Petralka the ruler of the country he is in which will their love interests. There is also Elbia (a werewolf of some sorts) and Minori Koganuma (a JDSF officer) who is not a love interest but wants to see Shinichi and Galious (cousin of Petralka) in some BL (BoysLove) situation.
Well, each episode is basically Shinichi trying to teach something new to Petralka, Myucel and other inhabitants of the fantasy land - from anime to manga, to light-novels and movies. They are very interesting episodes and I really enjoy it. The last two episodes were a bit fast-paced as we learn of why the Japanese Government was trying to expand the Otaku culture to another world (a bit far-fetched BUT plausible).
Interesting is that in some episodes we learn about the world they are like racial problems to culture clashes. We also learn about Shut-in situation in Japan (and how they deal with it)
There are all kind of tropes within - from the breasts and nakedness (never seen anything) to the beach episode most animes have.
In terms of Art I really enjoy it and feel. (the studios) know their stuff.
In terms of characters - they are given depth and I enjoy learning more about Myucel and Petralka power problems.
Excelent soundtrak, no doubt about it and the voice over was HILARIOUS.
Overall I really enjoy the anime and feel. is one of those studios I will look more in the near future. After all they made one of my favourite animes Tsuki ga Kirei which I will make a review in the near future.
Mayo Chiki, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU and Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! are three animes I will be watching in the near future.
They are to in a group of trainees where everyone will follow a path (fighter, rogue, ranger, magician, priest and Dark Knight among others) and band together to stop some evil guy that might come out. Most of the book it deals with this struggle of first battles - what I really enjoy is that in the beginning even a single goblin is difficult and not easy peasy like per example "In Another World with My Smartphone". It's really grim(gar) with the loss Manato but there are moments of comedy (not like Konosuba bear in mind) - well basically everything Ranta does).
