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鍛冶屋ではじめる異世界スローライフ [Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life] (Novel) #1
Ma vie tranquille de forgeron dans un autre monde : Tome 1 (Francais Light Novel)
Alors qu’il rentre chez lui après des heures supplémentaires tardives, Eizo sauve un chat et se fait renverser par un camion. Le chat en question s’avère être une divinité, et pour se faire pardonner, il lui offre la possibilité de se réincarner dans un autre monde avec les compétences de son choix.
Eizo souhaite vivre de son hobby de fabriquer des choses, et débute une activité de forgeron. Il fabrique immédiatement un couteau en usant de ses nouvelles capacités, et pour le tester, tranche un fagot de chaume… puis fend jusqu’à la planche sur laquelle ce dernier était posé.
Il semblerait que les compétences qu’on lui a octroyées soient à même de produire des articles cheatés qui pourraient ébranler un gouvernement… ?
C’est bien trop dangereux, lui qui aimerait gagner tranquillement sa vie en tant que forgeron modérément compétent…
Eizo souhaite vivre de son hobby de fabriquer des choses, et débute une activité de forgeron. Il fabrique immédiatement un couteau en usant de ses nouvelles capacités, et pour le tester, tranche un fagot de chaume… puis fend jusqu’à la planche sur laquelle ce dernier était posé.
Il semblerait que les compétences qu’on lui a octroyées soient à même de produire des articles cheatés qui pourraient ébranler un gouvernement… ?
C’est bien trop dangereux, lui qui aimerait gagner tranquillement sa vie en tant que forgeron modérément compétent…
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 10, 2019
181 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
January 11, 2024
DNF 76%
I struggled with this book. The tone was pleasant, as was the protagonist... if a little bland.
What I couldn't understand was why the author decided to make blacksmithing the central theme since he knew so little about it. He seemed to think that sharpness was the defining characteristic of any blade. It took half of the book before hardness was added as a favorable characteristic. My god, he thought cast iron swords would be better than average blades. Mold casted swords haven't been a thing since the Bronze Age.
It wasn't until a fight with a "giant" bear with nothing but a spear, that I reached my limit. Everything was easy and nothing was earned. This author should write a story about someone winning the Lottery and spending his money on fast cars and fast women... it would have the same vibe.
I struggled with this book. The tone was pleasant, as was the protagonist... if a little bland.
What I couldn't understand was why the author decided to make blacksmithing the central theme since he knew so little about it. He seemed to think that sharpness was the defining characteristic of any blade. It took half of the book before hardness was added as a favorable characteristic. My god, he thought cast iron swords would be better than average blades. Mold casted swords haven't been a thing since the Bronze Age.
It wasn't until a fight with a "giant" bear with nothing but a spear, that I reached my limit. Everything was easy and nothing was earned. This author should write a story about someone winning the Lottery and spending his money on fast cars and fast women... it would have the same vibe.
January 19, 2022
This is very soft and nice. It's pretty well what it says on the title. I'm actually way less interested in the overall plot than just seeing this little family live happily. It's relaxing. Probably not for everyone but I like it.
September 23, 2024
I really liked this one. Cottage core I think. No huge stakes, but enough adventure to keep one interested. He has an unintentional harem, but it’s all platonic. I approve.
4, going to try the next volume, stars.
4, going to try the next volume, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2024
For me this has been one of the saddest reads. What a great concept ruined by actually not caring about the actual skill. HAd this author did just 10% research and cared about blacksmithing this could have been so damn good. But the author doesn't care, you can actually hear the wizbang boo of the writing itself. So it just sorta loses it's stakes, it's care, and just about everything to push out this harem crap. Guy can't satisfy one woman why does he need more? So, the "romance" is shallow, his crafting is shallow. The quiet life is OKkkkkkkkkkkk nice slice of life moments but really just barely readable.
I think readers in this genre are so thirsty for litrpg in another world, fantasy stuff that these subpar books just skate by in the wave of them actually wanting quailty in the genre.
I think readers in this genre are so thirsty for litrpg in another world, fantasy stuff that these subpar books just skate by in the wave of them actually wanting quailty in the genre.
October 3, 2023
DNF at page 100
I'm forcing myself to continue but I'm not enjoying any aspects of the story.
He is cautious when he's opening the door of his new home, but takes a total stranger(injured) to his home, offers them to stay till they are healed without knowing anything about them, then he asks them to help him in his shop? How does this make any sense?? What if they were a wanted criminal or a pervert or God knows what? Did the female had to be introduced this way😑 I kept reading but I couldn't get this out of my head. And why the hell is he giving her tools without her paying anything.
I think it would have worked for me if the MC spend months alone instead of dumping females into the story.
I'm forcing myself to continue but I'm not enjoying any aspects of the story.
He is cautious when he's opening the door of his new home, but takes a total stranger(injured) to his home, offers them to stay till they are healed without knowing anything about them, then he asks them to help him in his shop? How does this make any sense?? What if they were a wanted criminal or a pervert or God knows what? Did the female had to be introduced this way😑 I kept reading but I couldn't get this out of my head. And why the hell is he giving her tools without her paying anything.
I think it would have worked for me if the MC spend months alone instead of dumping females into the story.
April 3, 2022
Enjoyed that the LN had some extras in comparison to the manga, light but present. Don't care for harem, which the first novel establishes in its epilogues, but it's a generally chill story otherwise so far.
March 13, 2022
Super chill book, the perfect read after a stressful day at work.
April 11, 2025
When JNC announced their releases, I decided to give My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World a shot. The premise sounded mildly intriguing—another middle-aged guy gets isekai’d, but this time just wants to live a chill life making swords. Unfortunately, reading this book felt less like discovering a hidden gem and more like slogging through a lifeless script with no pulse, no charm, no tension, and no narrative spark whatsoever.
Let’s start with the core of the story, which is already built on shaky foundations: Eizo, a 40-year-old office worker, dies while heroically saving a cat from a truck. Turns out the cat is some kind of interdimensional being and thanks him by reincarnating him into a fantasy world—with cheats. And right here is the story’s first big problem: nothing Eizo does feels earned. Absolutely everything is attributed to his downloaded knowledge or his cheat skills. It’s not just that he’s a good blacksmith—it’s that he’s suddenly strong, combat-trained, knows how to treat wounds, and generally has some magical autopilot telling him what to do in any situation. He barely understands what he’s doing half the time; the story just casually shrugs and says, “His cheats handle it.” And that’s that. How am I supposed to take him seriously as a protagonist when nothing is his own achievement? He’s basically spectating his own journey, like he booted up an RPG, switched on every cheat code, and then tossed the controller to the AI. Sure, he thinks about what to do sometimes—after all, the book is written entirely from his first-person perspective—but it doesn’t matter. Every decision leads to success, and none of it stems from his own insight, effort, or struggle. His actions are irrelevant, because his cheats erase any sense of risk or growth.
The most interesting thing about him isn’t even him, but the myth he builds around himself. Because of his northern looks and use of a surname, he spins a convincing tale about being a nobleman from the North who chose to live a quiet life as a blacksmith in the woods. That’s actually a decent setup—one that could go somewhere. But the book barely touches it. It’s used occasionally to insert bits of world lore, and those moments are actually the best part of the book. There’s some fascinating stuff about dwarves—like how their surnames are their guild names, or how they all live together in open homes without doors. When Rike, the dwarf girl, becomes Eizo’s apprentice, she even takes his name, which reflects their cultural identity. That kind of detail was genuinely interesting. And then… that’s it. That’s the highlight. Those rare glimpses of a deeper world get lost in a sea of static, painfully boring dialogue and characters who are indistinguishable from each other. Nobody speaks with any flavor or emotion. Conversations play out like generic templates, devoid of rhythm, tone, or personality. There’s no conflict, no tension—everyone just nods and agrees and moves on. It’s all painfully stiff, and somehow still manages to lack even the faintest bit of humor or charm. There’s only one moment that even attempts an emotional beat—when Samya greets Eizo after his fight with a bear—but by then, it’s far too little, too late. The entire book is emotionally sterile. The characters don’t feel anything, and neither does the writing. Everything is told, never shown. Everything is described, but nothing is felt.
And because of that, the story’s biggest issue becomes unavoidable: it is crushingly boring. Practically nothing of consequence happens. The entire book is just: Eizo arrives, finds his pre-built house, rescues Samya, makes a few trips into town to sell things, meets Rike and takes her in as an apprentice, upgrades his house, makes a sword for a customer named Helen, and kills a bear. That’s it. There’s no clear narrative goal, no stakes, no momentum. It feels like I’m reading someone’s listless daily logs in a fantasy-themed life sim with all the sliders turned to “Easy.” And if at least the journey there was fun, I could forgive the lack of stakes. But it’s not. The scenes aren’t exciting, funny, emotional, or insightful. They’re just… there. Flat. Monotone. Even the illustrations seem confused—they show vibrant, expressive moments that the writing completely fails to deliver. In Chapter 3, there’s an illustration of Eizo annoyed at fishing while Samya and Rike happily splash around on the beach. But in the text? Zero emotion. It reads like a Wikipedia article generated by ChatGPT on a sleepy Monday. That sense of lifelessness isn’t helped by the utterly chaotic chapter structure. There are only four chapters, but the first one takes up almost half the book, while the third is barely a few pages long. There’s no rhythm or narrative flow, no sense of pacing—just a story that plods forward, dragging you along whether you like it or not.
And just when I thought it was finally over, the book throws not one, not two, but three epilogues at me: one main epilogue and two “special chapters.” The first of those jumps from Rike’s backstory to a random historian’s biography of Eizo, written from a future perspective. The sudden shift was so jarring it took me a moment to even understand what I was reading. Then came the second special chapter and… I gave up. I couldn’t do it. After trudging through an entire book of lifeless prose and empty scenes, I wasn’t about to endure another soulless info-dump wearing the skin of a bonus story.
I genuinely struggle to describe how bad I found this book. What really baffles me is that it has not one, not two, but ten sequels. Ten. The only tiny glimmer of hope lies in the final pages, where—miracle of miracles—the characters actually show a hint of emotion. But by then, it was like getting a single drop of water after crawling through a desert of boredom. I don’t plan on repeating this experience. Once was enough.
Let’s start with the core of the story, which is already built on shaky foundations: Eizo, a 40-year-old office worker, dies while heroically saving a cat from a truck. Turns out the cat is some kind of interdimensional being and thanks him by reincarnating him into a fantasy world—with cheats. And right here is the story’s first big problem: nothing Eizo does feels earned. Absolutely everything is attributed to his downloaded knowledge or his cheat skills. It’s not just that he’s a good blacksmith—it’s that he’s suddenly strong, combat-trained, knows how to treat wounds, and generally has some magical autopilot telling him what to do in any situation. He barely understands what he’s doing half the time; the story just casually shrugs and says, “His cheats handle it.” And that’s that. How am I supposed to take him seriously as a protagonist when nothing is his own achievement? He’s basically spectating his own journey, like he booted up an RPG, switched on every cheat code, and then tossed the controller to the AI. Sure, he thinks about what to do sometimes—after all, the book is written entirely from his first-person perspective—but it doesn’t matter. Every decision leads to success, and none of it stems from his own insight, effort, or struggle. His actions are irrelevant, because his cheats erase any sense of risk or growth.
The most interesting thing about him isn’t even him, but the myth he builds around himself. Because of his northern looks and use of a surname, he spins a convincing tale about being a nobleman from the North who chose to live a quiet life as a blacksmith in the woods. That’s actually a decent setup—one that could go somewhere. But the book barely touches it. It’s used occasionally to insert bits of world lore, and those moments are actually the best part of the book. There’s some fascinating stuff about dwarves—like how their surnames are their guild names, or how they all live together in open homes without doors. When Rike, the dwarf girl, becomes Eizo’s apprentice, she even takes his name, which reflects their cultural identity. That kind of detail was genuinely interesting. And then… that’s it. That’s the highlight. Those rare glimpses of a deeper world get lost in a sea of static, painfully boring dialogue and characters who are indistinguishable from each other. Nobody speaks with any flavor or emotion. Conversations play out like generic templates, devoid of rhythm, tone, or personality. There’s no conflict, no tension—everyone just nods and agrees and moves on. It’s all painfully stiff, and somehow still manages to lack even the faintest bit of humor or charm. There’s only one moment that even attempts an emotional beat—when Samya greets Eizo after his fight with a bear—but by then, it’s far too little, too late. The entire book is emotionally sterile. The characters don’t feel anything, and neither does the writing. Everything is told, never shown. Everything is described, but nothing is felt.
And because of that, the story’s biggest issue becomes unavoidable: it is crushingly boring. Practically nothing of consequence happens. The entire book is just: Eizo arrives, finds his pre-built house, rescues Samya, makes a few trips into town to sell things, meets Rike and takes her in as an apprentice, upgrades his house, makes a sword for a customer named Helen, and kills a bear. That’s it. There’s no clear narrative goal, no stakes, no momentum. It feels like I’m reading someone’s listless daily logs in a fantasy-themed life sim with all the sliders turned to “Easy.” And if at least the journey there was fun, I could forgive the lack of stakes. But it’s not. The scenes aren’t exciting, funny, emotional, or insightful. They’re just… there. Flat. Monotone. Even the illustrations seem confused—they show vibrant, expressive moments that the writing completely fails to deliver. In Chapter 3, there’s an illustration of Eizo annoyed at fishing while Samya and Rike happily splash around on the beach. But in the text? Zero emotion. It reads like a Wikipedia article generated by ChatGPT on a sleepy Monday. That sense of lifelessness isn’t helped by the utterly chaotic chapter structure. There are only four chapters, but the first one takes up almost half the book, while the third is barely a few pages long. There’s no rhythm or narrative flow, no sense of pacing—just a story that plods forward, dragging you along whether you like it or not.
And just when I thought it was finally over, the book throws not one, not two, but three epilogues at me: one main epilogue and two “special chapters.” The first of those jumps from Rike’s backstory to a random historian’s biography of Eizo, written from a future perspective. The sudden shift was so jarring it took me a moment to even understand what I was reading. Then came the second special chapter and… I gave up. I couldn’t do it. After trudging through an entire book of lifeless prose and empty scenes, I wasn’t about to endure another soulless info-dump wearing the skin of a bonus story.
I genuinely struggle to describe how bad I found this book. What really baffles me is that it has not one, not two, but ten sequels. Ten. The only tiny glimmer of hope lies in the final pages, where—miracle of miracles—the characters actually show a hint of emotion. But by then, it was like getting a single drop of water after crawling through a desert of boredom. I don’t plan on repeating this experience. Once was enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2022
A bit flat, lifeless
The story itself is quite enjoyable, but the telling is very flat. There is no rise or fall of emotion and nothing ever goes wrong for the main character so it's hard to get invested in his successes. The scene with the bear is ridiculous, he has two strong and powerful women with him who apparently both turn into weak snivelling shrimps for the chapter - it felt very contrived. I wouldn't recommend this book as it stands, but maybe the author can grow into a second book. Not sure I'll want to invest to find out though :/
The story itself is quite enjoyable, but the telling is very flat. There is no rise or fall of emotion and nothing ever goes wrong for the main character so it's hard to get invested in his successes. The scene with the bear is ridiculous, he has two strong and powerful women with him who apparently both turn into weak snivelling shrimps for the chapter - it felt very contrived. I wouldn't recommend this book as it stands, but maybe the author can grow into a second book. Not sure I'll want to invest to find out though :/
October 12, 2025
Hot hybrid cat girl (?) and hot dwarf live with de aged old man to fulfill some sort of fantasy the author had in a fever dream. Old but de aged man makes very sharp knives and he is able to build an honest living selling his wares and builds a cabin for cat girl and dwarf lady.
April 12, 2023
There was a surprising amount of differences between the light novel and manga. I actually like the story progression in the novel more than the manga. Even if you've read one medium, you should definitely still check out the other.
The title is pretty self-explanatory. Main character dies in the real world by accident and gets a chance to live a second life as a blacksmith in another world. Of course, this guy isn't a normal blacksmith. He's been blessed with all sorts of cheat skills enabling him to easily create god-tier weapons causing him to be dragged into all sorts of national and political issues. This volume follows a pretty relaxed pace. Eiza just arrived in the new world and is slowly getting accustomed to everything. He meets a lot of people that help him assimilate into his new world.
The plot is easy to follow for the most part. There are a few blacksmithing terminologies I had to look up. I don't know if everything was accurate but it was easy enough to imagine from a layman's point of view.
There were a lot of change of POV chapters which I'm on the fence about. I liked the flashbacks changes in POV but I'm not sure about all the foreshadowing chapters set further in the future. Future volumes will tell for this.
Lastly, this volume doesn't really have any romance, harem or otherwise but it's entirely possible all the platonic female family members he's been acquiring will turn into harem members in the future. Again, only future volumes will tell.
The title is pretty self-explanatory. Main character dies in the real world by accident and gets a chance to live a second life as a blacksmith in another world. Of course, this guy isn't a normal blacksmith. He's been blessed with all sorts of cheat skills enabling him to easily create god-tier weapons causing him to be dragged into all sorts of national and political issues. This volume follows a pretty relaxed pace. Eiza just arrived in the new world and is slowly getting accustomed to everything. He meets a lot of people that help him assimilate into his new world.
The plot is easy to follow for the most part. There are a few blacksmithing terminologies I had to look up. I don't know if everything was accurate but it was easy enough to imagine from a layman's point of view.
There were a lot of change of POV chapters which I'm on the fence about. I liked the flashbacks changes in POV but I'm not sure about all the foreshadowing chapters set further in the future. Future volumes will tell for this.
Lastly, this volume doesn't really have any romance, harem or otherwise but it's entirely possible all the platonic female family members he's been acquiring will turn into harem members in the future. Again, only future volumes will tell.
January 18, 2022
Eizo is granted a new life with his choice of abilities when he dies after rescuing a cat. Now a blacksmith in a fantasy world, he aims to build himself the peaceful life he always wanted.
The main problem is that the novel is supposed to be largely about crafting, but the crafting details are uninspiring at best, and downright wrong at worst (witness the hilarity of Eizo using clay molds to cast his swords and calling that the pinnacle of skill). It would have been better to either go into more detail (with correct details) or less (and just let magic explain all the fiddly bits).
It's disappointing, because the story both tries to focus on the details, and then still defaults to "but I'm the awesomist because I got cheats." Cheats brush away absolutely everything, like what makes one sword better than the other when the story can only offer spending a few more hours on it as a cop-out, without even saying what those extra hours are used for.
The other characters were okay. Nobody was excessively clingy (yet), or falling out of their clothing on purpose. But that's about all. I didn't really find any of them compelling, and nobody's got much complexity. It's all simple motivations and interactions.
Overall, this one should be skipped. It's not even bad as much as aggressively mediocre. I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
The main problem is that the novel is supposed to be largely about crafting, but the crafting details are uninspiring at best, and downright wrong at worst (witness the hilarity of Eizo using clay molds to cast his swords and calling that the pinnacle of skill). It would have been better to either go into more detail (with correct details) or less (and just let magic explain all the fiddly bits).
It's disappointing, because the story both tries to focus on the details, and then still defaults to "but I'm the awesomist because I got cheats." Cheats brush away absolutely everything, like what makes one sword better than the other when the story can only offer spending a few more hours on it as a cop-out, without even saying what those extra hours are used for.
The other characters were okay. Nobody was excessively clingy (yet), or falling out of their clothing on purpose. But that's about all. I didn't really find any of them compelling, and nobody's got much complexity. It's all simple motivations and interactions.
Overall, this one should be skipped. It's not even bad as much as aggressively mediocre. I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
April 30, 2022
The majority of this story was a very enjoyable read, even though there were several things that I really didn’t like..
The blacksmithing part of the story is totally unrealistic, but quite early in the book I just decided to let this go and I was able to ignore most of the problems.
What did really annoy about the book, was the Prologue that patently wasn’t and seems to have the only purpose of spoiling the main story, it then ends with an epilogue that was equally pointless.
The blacksmithing part of the story is totally unrealistic, but quite early in the book I just decided to let this go and I was able to ignore most of the problems.
What did really annoy about the book, was the Prologue that patently wasn’t and seems to have the only purpose of spoiling the main story, it then ends with an epilogue that was equally pointless.
April 27, 2022
no research at all
Iron swords ? Steel should work, but iron is too weak. And making molds for swords ? Molds ?
Plz. Just watch a YouTube video already.
Iron swords ? Steel should work, but iron is too weak. And making molds for swords ? Molds ?
Plz. Just watch a YouTube video already.
December 11, 2023
As i'm a big fan of the "Slow life as a cheat pharmacist" light novel i decided to give this one a chance. it had a middle aged protag, was a light novel, and had "quiet life" in the title. i was pretty sold. I was a bit annoyed it was kindle only, but i sucked it up and decided to give it a try.
The start is your pretty stereotypical isekai fair. guy dies, gets reincarnated in another world as a cheat blacksmith. it's not remaking the wheel, but it's really not supposed to. it's one of those books that you know what you're in for going in.
When the guy arrives he gets a live in tiger beast girl and a dwarven apprentice to learn his awesome blacksmithing skills. The world itself isn't really built up in this one, but i think that's to be expected. like pharmacist, there isnt' really a lot of world lore dump and you learn a little bit at a time which is nice so it's not overwhelming. There's definitely some magic in this world but it's not super commonplace so our main character only knows a little bit like lighting a fire with his hands.
I actually found the reactions of people when they see the quality of his cheat wares to be very funny and looked forward to every scene where he went into town and showed off his swords and knives. If i had to have any real nitpick of this, it's that this story spent a weird amount of time showing off hunting stuff. Like, there's a LOT of repeated dialogue about how they hunt an animal, dress it, and cut it up which i honestly didn't sign on for. I want to read about a blacksmith, not about hunting protocol. I feel like if they cut these scenes out and just said "we went hunting and caught a deer" it would have been less weird for me. Every scene where they talk about that, i kind of skimmed over, because honestly i didn't want to read about how you gut and skin and cut a deer. thanks, not what i'm here for.
This alone is the reason i can't give this a 5. it would be fine it was only once or twice, but this type of scene happens way more than once or twice and it's to the point where you're like "okay seriously stop that's enough."
The characters themselves are fine. main guy is fine, as is tiger girl and dwarf girl. Even his buddies the store owner and town guard are all good too. i actually don't have any issues with any of the characters really and due to being a "slow life" book, there's no real enemy or antagonist to speak of (yet anyway).
I find it weird that this book had essentially THREE epilogues, one with a random character (i'm sure they're not random but i haven't really met them yet) and 1 with dwarf girl's backstory and one with mercenary girls' backstory. Interesting and i guess the author didn't know where to put them, but...not entirely needed.
All in all though, i still had a good time and definitely am interested to read book 2.
That being said, easy 4 out of 5. just seriously though. calm down with the hunting.
The start is your pretty stereotypical isekai fair. guy dies, gets reincarnated in another world as a cheat blacksmith. it's not remaking the wheel, but it's really not supposed to. it's one of those books that you know what you're in for going in.
When the guy arrives he gets a live in tiger beast girl and a dwarven apprentice to learn his awesome blacksmithing skills. The world itself isn't really built up in this one, but i think that's to be expected. like pharmacist, there isnt' really a lot of world lore dump and you learn a little bit at a time which is nice so it's not overwhelming. There's definitely some magic in this world but it's not super commonplace so our main character only knows a little bit like lighting a fire with his hands.
I actually found the reactions of people when they see the quality of his cheat wares to be very funny and looked forward to every scene where he went into town and showed off his swords and knives. If i had to have any real nitpick of this, it's that this story spent a weird amount of time showing off hunting stuff. Like, there's a LOT of repeated dialogue about how they hunt an animal, dress it, and cut it up which i honestly didn't sign on for. I want to read about a blacksmith, not about hunting protocol. I feel like if they cut these scenes out and just said "we went hunting and caught a deer" it would have been less weird for me. Every scene where they talk about that, i kind of skimmed over, because honestly i didn't want to read about how you gut and skin and cut a deer. thanks, not what i'm here for.
This alone is the reason i can't give this a 5. it would be fine it was only once or twice, but this type of scene happens way more than once or twice and it's to the point where you're like "okay seriously stop that's enough."
The characters themselves are fine. main guy is fine, as is tiger girl and dwarf girl. Even his buddies the store owner and town guard are all good too. i actually don't have any issues with any of the characters really and due to being a "slow life" book, there's no real enemy or antagonist to speak of (yet anyway).
I find it weird that this book had essentially THREE epilogues, one with a random character (i'm sure they're not random but i haven't really met them yet) and 1 with dwarf girl's backstory and one with mercenary girls' backstory. Interesting and i guess the author didn't know where to put them, but...not entirely needed.
All in all though, i still had a good time and definitely am interested to read book 2.
That being said, easy 4 out of 5. just seriously though. calm down with the hunting.
January 15, 2025
Of course, it's not the WORST book I've ever read/listened to. However, it was bad enough that I had to force myself to finish it. The overall story is 'fine,' I guess. But the writing is just so dull and 'bad.' It all sounds like some overly smug guy telling you about how great he is at everything he does. Here is how most of the book goes:
If you can't tell by how I've written this so far, I also got really sick of hearing "of course." Everything is handed to the MC and, of course, he sees it all as just his due. Everyone kisses his rear end and, while he blushes, he knows that he really is that great. So, OF COURSE, they all love him.
His harem will ask if they can do something. He rejects them and tells them to do something 'better' instead. Of course, they agree without complaint and praise him for being so smart.
I'm probably failing to describe how bad the writing is. But, of course, I am not the MC in this story so I don't automatically succeed at everything. :)
I will not be reading any more of this. Best of luck to you if this is your kind of story.
If you can't tell by how I've written this so far, I also got really sick of hearing "of course." Everything is handed to the MC and, of course, he sees it all as just his due. Everyone kisses his rear end and, while he blushes, he knows that he really is that great. So, OF COURSE, they all love him.
His harem will ask if they can do something. He rejects them and tells them to do something 'better' instead. Of course, they agree without complaint and praise him for being so smart.
I'm probably failing to describe how bad the writing is. But, of course, I am not the MC in this story so I don't automatically succeed at everything. :)
I will not be reading any more of this. Best of luck to you if this is your kind of story.
July 11, 2022
Isekei
Fantasy alternate universe magic cat girls
I won't go into the blurb. No sex. MC Eizo is an interesting and chaste weaponsmith, the actual name for a blacksmith that specializes in making weapons, aided by tiger-girl Samya and dwarf woman apprentice Rike. I was quite enjoying the story when it abruptly changed. I don't mind POV (first person) stories, but when the story switches characters, as this does in the last quarter, it actually makes me angry, especially if I have to try and figure out who this is -- which I had to. Lazy writing. After two hundred pages of day to day living, the story jumps decades into the future, talking about how famous his weapons had become. What? WTF? Then short blurbs told from from Rike's view, and from Helen's, Eizo's first custom weapon job. Because of the disjointed ending, these came across as minor writing exercises and added nothing to the overall story. Only a handful of errors. I have book 2, but since we suddenly jumped nearly a century ahead, what's the point of a second book? I found most of the writing engaging; the last bit was more like a multi-year pileup and trying to figure out who the bodies were. And 75 page chapters? Layout and structure issues being lost in translation.
Fantasy alternate universe magic cat girls
I won't go into the blurb. No sex. MC Eizo is an interesting and chaste weaponsmith, the actual name for a blacksmith that specializes in making weapons, aided by tiger-girl Samya and dwarf woman apprentice Rike. I was quite enjoying the story when it abruptly changed. I don't mind POV (first person) stories, but when the story switches characters, as this does in the last quarter, it actually makes me angry, especially if I have to try and figure out who this is -- which I had to. Lazy writing. After two hundred pages of day to day living, the story jumps decades into the future, talking about how famous his weapons had become. What? WTF? Then short blurbs told from from Rike's view, and from Helen's, Eizo's first custom weapon job. Because of the disjointed ending, these came across as minor writing exercises and added nothing to the overall story. Only a handful of errors. I have book 2, but since we suddenly jumped nearly a century ahead, what's the point of a second book? I found most of the writing engaging; the last bit was more like a multi-year pileup and trying to figure out who the bodies were. And 75 page chapters? Layout and structure issues being lost in translation.
July 11, 2024
If you don't know anything about smithing but don't mind reading about it (and not taking what's written about it as the truth), this is a great & relaxing series! I don't know shit about smithing and I had a wonderful time reading this and the volumes following it. It's feel-good, found-family, and while the MC technically has a harem, it avoids a lot of tropes surrounding that kind of thing (not all, but the most annoying of them). Dude is respectful! If you're looking for something relaxing yet not without action, stakes, or suspense, this series is great. A nice escape.
This is for SURE a power-fantasy, but one of those power fantasies where it's not about the MC fighting and punishing people. Sure, fights and conflicts do occur, but it's mainly about a nice dude and the wonderful relationships and little family he slowly acquires/fosters (and he is also very good at fighting and even better at making things but that is secondary). Love the epilogues in each volume that give a look back from the future in-world - telling the reader a lot about where things end up and how certain characters and places are affected by the MC, but not enough where you lose all suspense or have too concrete of an idea of what's to come.
This is for SURE a power-fantasy, but one of those power fantasies where it's not about the MC fighting and punishing people. Sure, fights and conflicts do occur, but it's mainly about a nice dude and the wonderful relationships and little family he slowly acquires/fosters (and he is also very good at fighting and even better at making things but that is secondary). Love the epilogues in each volume that give a look back from the future in-world - telling the reader a lot about where things end up and how certain characters and places are affected by the MC, but not enough where you lose all suspense or have too concrete of an idea of what's to come.
August 21, 2023
So first off, this is probably the closest thing I would have to an isekai fantasy. Die, get teleported to another world, and do a simple, enjoyable job, and make a lot of interesting friends. Toss in a tiger-girl companion, and there you go, a great dream to have.
This book is actually pretty darned good. I would have given it a 5 star rating, but the outro just didn't feel right and more tacked on. Sure, showing how people in the future were affected by the blacksmith is cool and all, but it just felt off and like it didn't belong in the story yet.
Other than that, the characters are interesting to read about, and the little bit of info tossed in about forging swords was interesting. There is a nice bit of world building in this book, and learning about things like how dwarves live was actually handled really well. (same with the animal people) There is a certain amount of 'healing anime' vibes to this story as no true antagonist shows itself, which is kind of nice, though I can see a need for one on the horizon.
In the end, a good book in a great series, and I will continue reading!
This book is actually pretty darned good. I would have given it a 5 star rating, but the outro just didn't feel right and more tacked on. Sure, showing how people in the future were affected by the blacksmith is cool and all, but it just felt off and like it didn't belong in the story yet.
Other than that, the characters are interesting to read about, and the little bit of info tossed in about forging swords was interesting. There is a nice bit of world building in this book, and learning about things like how dwarves live was actually handled really well. (same with the animal people) There is a certain amount of 'healing anime' vibes to this story as no true antagonist shows itself, which is kind of nice, though I can see a need for one on the horizon.
In the end, a good book in a great series, and I will continue reading!
September 16, 2023
This was a short but fun slice of life isekai novel about a man who just wants to be a blacksmith. There is next to no conflict here at all and it is 100% wish fulfillment from start to finish.
Personally I can live with that sort of storytelling if the concept is interesting enough and the characters are developed enough to hold my attention. However, I imagine that a lot of people won't be into that and there I can fully understand where people might not like this book.
One element I would like to have seen improved is the 'cheats' that are given to the main character. This is basically an excuse for setting up a Gary Stu character who is awesome at everything right out of the box and doesn't have to earn anything. It's really unfulfilling and hollow to read about this kind of character and will definitely cause issues going forward with this series.
Overall this book did just enough right and hit enough personal topics of interest of mine that I enjoyed this read, but objectively speaking, there's a lot of room for improvement here.
Personally I can live with that sort of storytelling if the concept is interesting enough and the characters are developed enough to hold my attention. However, I imagine that a lot of people won't be into that and there I can fully understand where people might not like this book.
One element I would like to have seen improved is the 'cheats' that are given to the main character. This is basically an excuse for setting up a Gary Stu character who is awesome at everything right out of the box and doesn't have to earn anything. It's really unfulfilling and hollow to read about this kind of character and will definitely cause issues going forward with this series.
Overall this book did just enough right and hit enough personal topics of interest of mine that I enjoyed this read, but objectively speaking, there's a lot of room for improvement here.
February 20, 2022
Cute but dry
Cute book. Entertaining. With very dry delivery I'm sure that is the translation problem. But the other part of the problem is not translation it's depth. There is new crunching us to this no numbers no details. The black smith makes superior items. No description on how that happens other than it's cheat from the watchers gift. Did someone like me who loves crafting that was a bit of a disappointment. The story is fun But dry and delivered very plainly. If you're expecting harem or romance this is not where you look. If you're expecting crunchy crafting don't bother. If you're looking for a cute story of someone who goes to another world and makes his mark without making he's mark and this might to for you. I did enjoy the book somewhat though certainly not at the top of my list. If you like crunchy and details look elsewhere if you like a decent story that's very shallow but entertaining than this might do.
Cute book. Entertaining. With very dry delivery I'm sure that is the translation problem. But the other part of the problem is not translation it's depth. There is new crunching us to this no numbers no details. The black smith makes superior items. No description on how that happens other than it's cheat from the watchers gift. Did someone like me who loves crafting that was a bit of a disappointment. The story is fun But dry and delivered very plainly. If you're expecting harem or romance this is not where you look. If you're expecting crunchy crafting don't bother. If you're looking for a cute story of someone who goes to another world and makes his mark without making he's mark and this might to for you. I did enjoy the book somewhat though certainly not at the top of my list. If you like crunchy and details look elsewhere if you like a decent story that's very shallow but entertaining than this might do.
February 18, 2022
Satisfyingly OP-Slice-of-Life
A harmonious slice of life story about a wage-slave isekai'd to become a blacksmith (and the exact process of the transference and ensuing conversation was a nice take on said procedures as well. From the story content itself that is pretty much all this is, sure his blacksmithing "cheat" skills are shown to be powerful, certainly more-so than he himself actually realizes, but within the story itself they don't necessarily come across as truly broken: merely peak level. However, the prologue and epilogue/interludes that show the world from other's perspectives really present a different viewpoint. Granted, most of those are set from a future standpoint, yet that just serves as an underlying foreshadowing and more objective portrayal of just how OP the MC actually is and/or will become as time passes.
A harmonious slice of life story about a wage-slave isekai'd to become a blacksmith (and the exact process of the transference and ensuing conversation was a nice take on said procedures as well. From the story content itself that is pretty much all this is, sure his blacksmithing "cheat" skills are shown to be powerful, certainly more-so than he himself actually realizes, but within the story itself they don't necessarily come across as truly broken: merely peak level. However, the prologue and epilogue/interludes that show the world from other's perspectives really present a different viewpoint. Granted, most of those are set from a future standpoint, yet that just serves as an underlying foreshadowing and more objective portrayal of just how OP the MC actually is and/or will become as time passes.
October 19, 2023
Likeable characters
Enjoyable read.
The characters aren't annoying, nor does the protagonist do too many stupid things.
The author should research more about blacksmithing technology, especially weapon metallurgy.. I blame the usual 'cool' bullshit stuff you see in movies etc about weapon forging where they make flashy brittle cast iron decoration wall hangers that would fail quickly under use.
I did like how a gold coin was worth a lot as in equivalent to maybe 80,000 yen*, instead of a mere 1 yen.
* guesstimate based on current conversation rate on a normalised average gold coin ( unfortunately lots of size and mass variations there due to no single real world wide standard over history leading to some much smaller examples and some huge coins about 50 or more times heavier than the smallest).. purity and other factors muddle things)
Enjoyable read.
The characters aren't annoying, nor does the protagonist do too many stupid things.
The author should research more about blacksmithing technology, especially weapon metallurgy.. I blame the usual 'cool' bullshit stuff you see in movies etc about weapon forging where they make flashy brittle cast iron decoration wall hangers that would fail quickly under use.
I did like how a gold coin was worth a lot as in equivalent to maybe 80,000 yen*, instead of a mere 1 yen.
* guesstimate based on current conversation rate on a normalised average gold coin ( unfortunately lots of size and mass variations there due to no single real world wide standard over history leading to some much smaller examples and some huge coins about 50 or more times heavier than the smallest).. purity and other factors muddle things)
February 4, 2024
Never in my life had I throw away a book as fast as this one.
2 chapters.
2 chapters of the most boring, most cliche, most unoriginal prose I had ever seen. The fucking god define the world as "your typical fantasy sorcery world". The fuck? How lazy can you get. How utterly lazy. Oh and the fight of the demon lord and the hero was... so they stopped because their weapons were so good they couldn't be broken? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? That's not how fighting works. Oh I guess having indestructible weapons against indestructible weapons means that peace must be achieved.
Its so stupid.
God, this is isekai bottom. The lamest of the lamest.
2 chapters.
2 chapters of the most boring, most cliche, most unoriginal prose I had ever seen. The fucking god define the world as "your typical fantasy sorcery world". The fuck? How lazy can you get. How utterly lazy. Oh and the fight of the demon lord and the hero was... so they stopped because their weapons were so good they couldn't be broken? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? That's not how fighting works. Oh I guess having indestructible weapons against indestructible weapons means that peace must be achieved.
Its so stupid.
God, this is isekai bottom. The lamest of the lamest.
February 17, 2022
Hey Nice slice of Life story
I really like this slice of Life story it was a nice quiet warm-hearted story. The characters are developed well enough to get into their personalities and the world building is just getting started. The main character of course is a little bit clueless but not as bad as a lot of other light novels that I have read in the genre. Again I say this is a nice read for a quiet afternoon with a little bit of entertainment and the pictures drawn are very well done.
I really like this slice of Life story it was a nice quiet warm-hearted story. The characters are developed well enough to get into their personalities and the world building is just getting started. The main character of course is a little bit clueless but not as bad as a lot of other light novels that I have read in the genre. Again I say this is a nice read for a quiet afternoon with a little bit of entertainment and the pictures drawn are very well done.
July 19, 2022
Well written, organized and story is straightforward. Main character, Eizo, saved a Goddess but died in the process. The Goddess reincarnates him with special abilities and a profession of Blacksmith. Eizo asks for a "quiet life" with a cat and a blacksmithing job. Eizo's cat turns out to be a tiger beast-kin Samya. Then Rike a girl dwarf asks to learn from Eizo's trade.
The action is slow, but everything is okay. No extreme violence or gore, no profanity, no sexual assaults. The story is interesting and entertaining so far.
The action is slow, but everything is okay. No extreme violence or gore, no profanity, no sexual assaults. The story is interesting and entertaining so far.
May 31, 2022
An isekai novel about blacksmithing. The world is interesting but a little dry. The MC doesnt really do much and neither do the supporting characters. I also dont like that the “hero” and main “antogonist” are introduced and there is no mystery or build up to leveling up his skills. Rather theyre preset and he already knows everything which to me isnt that interesting. However, it has a good idea and worth the read I think because it’s an isekai and I really enjoy blacksmithing and the process into making swords and such…
January 18, 2023
Not bad
Really interesting story. I would have preferred that more forging techniques had been included in the story but overall it was ok. Only part of the forging I had a real issue with was when he folded the metal over to make the katana. There is a lot he left out.
My only issue with the book is the first paragraph in chapter 1. It should be in the main text or deleted .
Really interesting story. I would have preferred that more forging techniques had been included in the story but overall it was ok. Only part of the forging I had a real issue with was when he folded the metal over to make the katana. There is a lot he left out.
My only issue with the book is the first paragraph in chapter 1. It should be in the main text or deleted .
January 24, 2024
There is a reason they call these light novels in Japan. If you like slice of life it might be worth reading. If you like blacksmithing do not expect anything in this series to be in anyway accurate. Quenching everything in water really made me cringe. This is also a harem series w/o any sex. The characters are not very developed but if you want a light distraction while you work and you are a fan of anime this might work for you.
March 13, 2024
I LOVE THIS, I’M GLAD THERE IS MORE
The story is nice, the characters are lovely and full of character. The MC isn’t dull. The writing is detailed enough.. sometimes there are repeated descriptions of the characters as to remind us of them .. it kinda gets a little annoying but I don’t know if it would be better without them as an emphasis..
But I really love this so much .. onto the next volume we dive
The story is nice, the characters are lovely and full of character. The MC isn’t dull. The writing is detailed enough.. sometimes there are repeated descriptions of the characters as to remind us of them .. it kinda gets a little annoying but I don’t know if it would be better without them as an emphasis..
But I really love this so much .. onto the next volume we dive
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