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I'm Not the Hero! #1
I'm Not the Hero! Volume 1
Once upon a time, there was a middle-aged Japanese salaryman, a schoolgirl, and a speed demon of a truck driver. The man tried to rescue the girl from the truck, and... Well, I bet you can guess what happened next.
That man was me, by the way—“was” being the operative word, because the next thing I knew, I came to inside the world of my favorite game, Braves and Blades, as Rex Tauren. Rex is the most powerful character in the early stages of BB, a level 50 jack-of-all-trades who’s got tons of class skills and one huge drawback—Rex is only a minor character, so past the tutorial stage, his growth rate tanks and he’s all but useless.
In other words, my quest is now to find BB’s true protagonist and dump all of this saving-the-world stuff on them. I just wanna kick back and... Hold up! Why does everyone keep calling me the hero?!
That man was me, by the way—“was” being the operative word, because the next thing I knew, I came to inside the world of my favorite game, Braves and Blades, as Rex Tauren. Rex is the most powerful character in the early stages of BB, a level 50 jack-of-all-trades who’s got tons of class skills and one huge drawback—Rex is only a minor character, so past the tutorial stage, his growth rate tanks and he’s all but useless.
In other words, my quest is now to find BB’s true protagonist and dump all of this saving-the-world stuff on them. I just wanna kick back and... Hold up! Why does everyone keep calling me the hero?!
- GenresLight NovelFantasy
380 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 24, 2023
25 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 20, 2024
I picked this up on a whim for a "side read" that would be more relaxing than dense. It was a mixed bag, but ultimately delivered what you would expect.
Plot - 6/10, Character - 5/10, Setting/Magic - 7/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 5/10
The plot is mostly a collection of familiar tropes and cliches and the author is aware. The story opens with the time-tested MC saved a young girl from a traffic accident and gets hit by Truck-kun in her place. His last thought was that he wished he could have played his favorite childhood video game one last time. Lo and behold, after dying, he is reborn as one of the characters in that very game. The trope is subverted a bit because the MC isn't reborn as the player character destined to be the hero, but instead as the strong early game crutch character who helps the hero early but eventually becomes worthless as the game difficulty outscales his usefulness. It's an interesting setup that technically delivers but just manages to avoid being satisfying.
From a character standpoint, our MC is the typical weak-willed salaryman type guy who annoys me about 50% of the time. The other characters had no real personality and were just a group of young adventurers from the game world. They are really no more than the class they represent: fighter, mage, archer, healer. All the characterization is pretty shallow other than various dips into nonsense where ppl act tsundere or where the MC gets nervous around young girls which is a trope that could die in a fire if I had my way.
The author is evidently a game designer and it shows in the game mechanics. The video game rules that run the world are arguably one of the stronger elements of the story, but that also makes them unsatisfying at times. Sure, the MC uses some skills that he learned as a player of the game that are unheard of by the in-game characters. But the whole gimmick of the plot is that his character is doomed to die or become worthless as his stats can't keep up with the game's difficulty curve. So all of his OP cool scenes tend to revolve around gimmicky tactics with equipment that just don't feel too satisfying.
The writing was functional and easy to understand, with minimal errors. My main gripe with the writing was more with the tactical choices since the author constantly rehashed scenes from alternative povs just to show how cool Rex was to the other characters. We already know and it's honestly just fluff because none of the other characters have any personality. It was also difficult to tell whose pov we were in for the first few paragraphs after a switch because the voices were all the same.
I really enjoyed the first 20% of the book, but things started getting a bit stale the longer things progressed. I'll read the next book since light novels are quick and simple, but the plot will have to do some heavy lifting to compensate for the lack of investment I have in any of the characters.
Plot - 6/10, Character - 5/10, Setting/Magic - 7/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 5/10
The plot is mostly a collection of familiar tropes and cliches and the author is aware. The story opens with the time-tested MC saved a young girl from a traffic accident and gets hit by Truck-kun in her place. His last thought was that he wished he could have played his favorite childhood video game one last time. Lo and behold, after dying, he is reborn as one of the characters in that very game. The trope is subverted a bit because the MC isn't reborn as the player character destined to be the hero, but instead as the strong early game crutch character who helps the hero early but eventually becomes worthless as the game difficulty outscales his usefulness. It's an interesting setup that technically delivers but just manages to avoid being satisfying.
From a character standpoint, our MC is the typical weak-willed salaryman type guy who annoys me about 50% of the time. The other characters had no real personality and were just a group of young adventurers from the game world. They are really no more than the class they represent: fighter, mage, archer, healer. All the characterization is pretty shallow other than various dips into nonsense where ppl act tsundere or where the MC gets nervous around young girls which is a trope that could die in a fire if I had my way.
The author is evidently a game designer and it shows in the game mechanics. The video game rules that run the world are arguably one of the stronger elements of the story, but that also makes them unsatisfying at times. Sure, the MC uses some skills that he learned as a player of the game that are unheard of by the in-game characters. But the whole gimmick of the plot is that his character is doomed to die or become worthless as his stats can't keep up with the game's difficulty curve. So all of his OP cool scenes tend to revolve around gimmicky tactics with equipment that just don't feel too satisfying.
The writing was functional and easy to understand, with minimal errors. My main gripe with the writing was more with the tactical choices since the author constantly rehashed scenes from alternative povs just to show how cool Rex was to the other characters. We already know and it's honestly just fluff because none of the other characters have any personality. It was also difficult to tell whose pov we were in for the first few paragraphs after a switch because the voices were all the same.
I really enjoyed the first 20% of the book, but things started getting a bit stale the longer things progressed. I'll read the next book since light novels are quick and simple, but the plot will have to do some heavy lifting to compensate for the lack of investment I have in any of the characters.
September 2, 2023
When a man reincarnates into a world just like his favorite video game, it should've been a good thing. Except the character he now possesses is Rex Tauren, the early-game crutch character whose usefulness falls off a cliff as the plot progresses. With only his initially high stats and game knowledge to back him up, Rex is determined to find a way through the plot, even if he isn't the hero.
Do you like mechanics? That one question is going to determine if you'll like this book or not. It is, at its heart, a very deep exploration of a particular game, and the guy who devoted his life to it. There are pages and pages of "here's how this worked, and why, and what tricks you can do with it."
Personally, I find that sort of thing engaging enough, as I enjoy seeing the system delineated as well as how he intends to break it, but I can absolutely see it being a dealbreaker for others. Because Rex has a problem, and it's one he can't resolve just by trying to level up. He is a Jeigan-acheteype character, which means the developers only specced him to be good for the initial, low level, crappy stuff. And even if he doesn't die to motivate the hero party to press on, his future growth potential might as well be nil.
This is a problem when the world is being overrun by demons stronger than anyone currently around.
So Rex is trying to plan his way around how to coax the ACTUAL hero party (confirmation pending---he's not entirely sure he picked the right group) along the path with the greatest returns, even though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom. And also deal with his sister, who was a character who originally died and therefore he knows nothing about.
Overall, I enjoyed this. Rex is challenged badly enough by some of the things he runs into even now (watching him confront the "unwinnable cutscene fight" in real life was amusing), and he's got a pretty severe challenge ahead even with all his cheat knowledge helping him. If game-adjacent stories are your thing, Recommended.
Do you like mechanics? That one question is going to determine if you'll like this book or not. It is, at its heart, a very deep exploration of a particular game, and the guy who devoted his life to it. There are pages and pages of "here's how this worked, and why, and what tricks you can do with it."
Personally, I find that sort of thing engaging enough, as I enjoy seeing the system delineated as well as how he intends to break it, but I can absolutely see it being a dealbreaker for others. Because Rex has a problem, and it's one he can't resolve just by trying to level up. He is a Jeigan-acheteype character, which means the developers only specced him to be good for the initial, low level, crappy stuff. And even if he doesn't die to motivate the hero party to press on, his future growth potential might as well be nil.
This is a problem when the world is being overrun by demons stronger than anyone currently around.
So Rex is trying to plan his way around how to coax the ACTUAL hero party (confirmation pending---he's not entirely sure he picked the right group) along the path with the greatest returns, even though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom. And also deal with his sister, who was a character who originally died and therefore he knows nothing about.
Overall, I enjoyed this. Rex is challenged badly enough by some of the things he runs into even now (watching him confront the "unwinnable cutscene fight" in real life was amusing), and he's got a pretty severe challenge ahead even with all his cheat knowledge helping him. If game-adjacent stories are your thing, Recommended.
May 23, 2024
I read all the 31 chapters available, which actually - from what I saw and searched - means that I finished this manga series, and I enjoyed but it wasn't meant to finish 'here'. We don't even came to a firm conclusion of Rex saving the world and having a happy ending with his colleagues, though the author put the effect of indution at the end to close this hole.
August 7, 2023
I liked the story for the most part. Felt like it was just a smidgeon too long considering it is a series.
January 26, 2024
I enjoyed I'm Not the Hero! but there were some parts that were confusing, complicated, or hard to understand.
I'm not sure if it's a translation issue or if it's just the way it was written.
I do recommend this one if you like light hearted comedic isekai about growing stronger and battling evil.
I'm not sure if it's a translation issue or if it's just the way it was written.
I do recommend this one if you like light hearted comedic isekai about growing stronger and battling evil.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews