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魔法科高校の劣等生 [Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei] (Novel) #3
The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 3: Nine School Competition Arc, Part I
(Volume 2)Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba are brother and sister, but they share a bond that transcends mere blood relation. Despite the fact that they're siblings who attend the same school, their lot in life couldn't be more different. Miyuki's a Bloom, one of the elite students of Magic High, while Tatsuya's a Weed, with low expectations and even lower levels of respect. But having skillfully diffused a tense situation, Tatsuya finds himself recruited by the school's disciplinary committee and soon discovers there's more to Magic High than he realized...
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2011
101 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
Tsutomu Sato
152 books146 followers佐島勤 / Tsutomu Sato / Tsutomu Satou
Author of 魔法科高校の劣等生 / Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Author of 魔法科高校の劣等生 / Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 16, 2024
Okay, things are finally picking up.. a bit. Hopefully we see more of Tatsuya and Miyuki's family soon.
October 16, 2018
Loaner from my friend: 3/3. Thanks, B!
This is a perfect two-star series. What do I mean by that? It's fast-moving and entertaining, the artist did a great job making the characters cute and appealing, and--much as with fan works--you can get a decent idea of the author's eccentricities because there isn't much editorial interference in between them and the reader, and that adds a lot of charm (and cringe, sometimes). The "magic tournament" in this sequence is fun, with weirdly-named events like "Battle Board."
But... it isn't very good. The translation continues to be a hair's breadth from being a total shambles, and this volume in particular has a lot of overwriting and retconning in the world building, like the author was making it up as he went along. After almost 300 pages, there's only the faintest hint of a plot, and it feels almost identical to the not-much-of-a-plot in the first arc. And the cast is getting large enough that I don't know who's who at times. Even the girls, who Satou seems to have a greater interest in making somewhat distinct from each other.
I'll ask to borrow the fourth volume which completes this story arc, and we'll see where it goes from there.
This is a perfect two-star series. What do I mean by that? It's fast-moving and entertaining, the artist did a great job making the characters cute and appealing, and--much as with fan works--you can get a decent idea of the author's eccentricities because there isn't much editorial interference in between them and the reader, and that adds a lot of charm (and cringe, sometimes). The "magic tournament" in this sequence is fun, with weirdly-named events like "Battle Board."
But... it isn't very good. The translation continues to be a hair's breadth from being a total shambles, and this volume in particular has a lot of overwriting and retconning in the world building, like the author was making it up as he went along. After almost 300 pages, there's only the faintest hint of a plot, and it feels almost identical to the not-much-of-a-plot in the first arc. And the cast is getting large enough that I don't know who's who at times. Even the girls, who Satou seems to have a greater interest in making somewhat distinct from each other.
I'll ask to borrow the fourth volume which completes this story arc, and we'll see where it goes from there.
August 14, 2017
This book is about 30% plot, 70% magic technobabble and terrible exposition. So, you know, a bit like the show. Unlike its animated adaptation, this novel does provide some very important information about Tatsuya that makes him a more understandable character, and the 30% that is story is decently good.
That other 70%, though...
That other 70%, though...
November 30, 2019
See book 4...
October 14, 2025
3.4/5 🌟
April 28, 2021
Volume 3 and 4 are part of the Nine School Competition arc and should be considered 1 book and for a light novel thick ones at that. Tatsuya Shiba takes a central role at the competition as an engineer for the First High School, again breaking with expectations. Of course, while the event itself is tense more is going on then meets the eye when a crime syndicate starts sabotaging events. By end of part 4 the situation is resolved and you have learned a lot more about Tatsuya, some things you might have guessed from the earlier parts and some surprises. You also got to see your favourite characters from earlier parts with some new added depth. Of course, Tatsuya is powerful, but his victories do not come easy.
Still, it is a light novel that breaks some of the tropes (no harem, no stupidly dense protagonist, a good mix of male and female cast) while sticking to others (rather powerful high school students who achieve rather extreme things, a good mix of silly situations). The plot itself is simple and a tad predictable and I had guessed the motivation of the bad guys, but somehow even the adults never made the connection until the end. O well, it is not as if I read light novels for the believable plots ;)
All in all, an entertaining read that did not disappoint.
Still, it is a light novel that breaks some of the tropes (no harem, no stupidly dense protagonist, a good mix of male and female cast) while sticking to others (rather powerful high school students who achieve rather extreme things, a good mix of silly situations). The plot itself is simple and a tad predictable and I had guessed the motivation of the bad guys, but somehow even the adults never made the connection until the end. O well, it is not as if I read light novels for the believable plots ;)
All in all, an entertaining read that did not disappoint.
August 29, 2021
There is something I like about Irregular. But I find myself struggling to get through the novels. I can always seem to find a reason to put them down for a bit and read a different one. I like the technical magic aspect, but it does slow down the pacing when trying to explain it. As it is a wholly new concept there is a LOT of exposition for it.
In a school setting you can have scores of characters with names, but you've got your core group... well, this volume doesn't focus as much on the core group and so was perhaps not as interesting and focused on people that I hadn't invested as much effort to remember.
I'll pick up the 4th one to finish off the second story arc... but I'm definitely going to read something in between. Probably several somethings.
Verdict: Not bad, really. Just not all that good either.
In a school setting you can have scores of characters with names, but you've got your core group... well, this volume doesn't focus as much on the core group and so was perhaps not as interesting and focused on people that I hadn't invested as much effort to remember.
I'll pick up the 4th one to finish off the second story arc... but I'm definitely going to read something in between. Probably several somethings.
Verdict: Not bad, really. Just not all that good either.
October 27, 2020
Great story and details.
Another great volume in this serie. The story is good, the author keeps adding more details and twist that keep you interested in each chapter. The amount of details to the sport competition is really good, you can see that the author put a lot of effort and research in order to make this school games believable. The characters keeps being developed and each of them are having a lot of attention and detail from the author. Another great reading in this serie.
Another great volume in this serie. The story is good, the author keeps adding more details and twist that keep you interested in each chapter. The amount of details to the sport competition is really good, you can see that the author put a lot of effort and research in order to make this school games believable. The characters keeps being developed and each of them are having a lot of attention and detail from the author. Another great reading in this serie.
August 26, 2018
To be honest I’m probably rating this higher than I should, while the translation is fantastic the text is quite basic and doesn’t exactly hold up against the typical authors I read.
That said the story itself is awesome, the character are great. Most of all I’m deeply enjoying the little details that didn’t make it into the anime.
That said the story itself is awesome, the character are great. Most of all I’m deeply enjoying the little details that didn’t make it into the anime.
February 28, 2020
The way Tsutomu Sato writes these books are rather intriguing. He writes in a way that shows the characters know facts and scenarios about each other without revealing to the audience what those facts and scenarios are. It adds to the mystery of the story and characters as you wonder what their various pasts and lives are. Another great addition to the series.
May 31, 2020
This one was very boring. It was 90% sport explanations and 10% plot. I could care less about the rules of the game they are participating in. The author cared way to much about the technical aspects of the sports event in my opinion. You could probably skip this arc of the story and be fine. You are not losing anything if you do.
February 1, 2017
no matter how many times I read these volumes I just love it....the character development is so well done and the series is so deep that it just makes me love it even more
July 26, 2018
I think things are about to get really exciting.
May 5, 2019
I love the scientific exploration of magic in these books.
December 15, 2020
The magic system is so deep and complex, and its great getting a much more deep dive into it with this volume.
December 31, 2020
The writing stile has clearly improved from the previous two books, but we still find the question marks on it (?).
It was shown more of the main characters pasts, Shiba siblings, and how they are that strong when compared to the others, also the lack of emotions from Tatsuya.
Based on the few appearances of adults so far, we can conclude that the adults have less thinking prowess than young teens, maybe for this genre/theme it works, but we know it is not like that (I hope).
New characters presentation is always good. I believe this gives the story more depth also points that can be explored in the future.
It was shown more of the main characters pasts, Shiba siblings, and how they are that strong when compared to the others, also the lack of emotions from Tatsuya.
Based on the few appearances of adults so far, we can conclude that the adults have less thinking prowess than young teens, maybe for this genre/theme it works, but we know it is not like that (I hope).
New characters presentation is always good. I believe this gives the story more depth also points that can be explored in the future.
September 12, 2016
Most of the plot wasn't a surprise for me as I've already watched an anime series based on that. But there were still some big facts that they've omitted in the anime and now more makes sense.
It was a good reading, I could refresh my memory about what happens in the series and get back on track. And I think the language of the English translation and how it reflects Japanese reality is better in this volume than in the previous two.
It was a good reading, I could refresh my memory about what happens in the series and get back on track. And I think the language of the English translation and how it reflects Japanese reality is better in this volume than in the previous two.
January 3, 2015
Outstanding theory dumps
January 24, 2015
Scientific Magic in sports! I love it!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews