A collection of stories that focus on the romantic feelings between some of the lesser characters. The author was quite good at including important main plot tidbits around the book, making it unskipable. There is also an atempt to clarify the whole god+adventurer relationship and in the end there is no right answer. Quite liked that about the book, there wasn't a standard answer that solved all problems. Kudos to the writer for that.
As I quite like the overarching story, my scores per individual story are low. There is little progress plot wise. However, I still enjoyed the book. There is a lot of world building that I quite enjoyed as I am a big fan of the series.
Review for the 6 stories: 1 Mikoto (*) Ties for last place. Simple story, has its fun moments but only made me lose interest in the characters involved. 2 Lilly's (****) Because the previous was bad, I thought "here we go again". Turned out to be one of the best ones and a bit unpredictable. 3 Welf's (*****) Best part of the book! Welf totally rocks! 4 Eina's (*) I like Eina's character, but really pointless story. 5 Sir's (**) Slightly better than the previous, some good main plot points. Average story 6 Hestia's (***) A bit of a mess. Trying to fit Hestia and Aiz in the same story did not work, just made everything awkward. In the end, it felt like it could have been great but fell short. There were some great Hestia - Bell dialogues though.
Volume 8 was not the series I signed up for. A between-arcs short story collection isn't bad in itself, but becomes bad when all the stories are fumbling attempts at romantic comedy that this curmudgeonly fan found neither heart-fluttering nor funny.
Some possible spoilers ahead, so please read on only after completing the book.
I mean, what's with this disturbing GodCrush theme Omori's got going here? Whatever happened to a human finding a fellow human? You know, a classic boy meets girl story? We've got an adoptive daughter crushing on her father figure, a pint-sized prum pining for an impossibly unattainable human, and a man falling in love with his erstwhile one-eyed goddess (who even peeks under the patch).
Then there's a "bombshell" half-elf hotly pursued by two suitors: a meaty-armed dwarf with a Scottish burr and a flaxen-haired elf. Sorry boys, she only has four eyes for her volunteer bodyguard.
And that's when I DNF'd this dud. As I closed the book for good after Eina's story, Hestia was looking right at me from the cover with a motherly expression of disappointment, as if asking, "...Really?" Yeah, I had some twinges of regret quitting, as I was 246 pages into this bloated behemoth's 393. But look at what lay ahead... a story about the insignificant and insipid Syr and then the Hestia abduction that sank the anime's second season when adapted for its final two anticlimactic episodes. No, I suffered enough.
Okay, if pressed, I would begrudgingly admit Welf's story was a 6.5 out of 10 as it provided insight into his troubled family and why he left it. We also get further details about the (in)famous Crozzo magic swords that explained Welf's ambivalence to forge them. But by the conclusion the story was heaping unto itself every family drama cliche, like an abusive father and son conflict with the wizened and wise Gandalfesque grandfather giving tacit approval and affirmation to his rebellious grandson.
I groan whenever there's a hooded figure who steps forward to reveal himself as the last person you'd expect and there were a lot of those supposedly shock-and-awe face reveals in this book. Groan.
And yeah, it was nice to visit the 18th floor's Under Resort again, albeit briefly. Long enough to confirm my suspicions that the Rivira adventurers are nothing but Barbary Coast pirates.
I have all 19 volumes of this series on my shelf, so I'm loath to quit despite loathing this volume 8. I'm putting the series on double secret probation and will read volume 9 with high hopes and adjusted expectations that the third arc demonstrates a turnaround in an epic looking creatively bankrupt.
What I hope to see is Mikoto go back to Takemikazucchini Familia. And take that tail-swishing renart with you! It's obvious Omori is infatuated with Mikoto. Fine. I could suffer her presence alone... but her hovering helicopter clan follows wherever she goes! Their presence is approaching co-star level. And approaching creepy level is this young woman having her romantic yearnings validated and returned in the sword ceremony by her father figure/god, who I assume is immortal. Watch the old Twilight Zone episode "Long Live Walter Jameson" to see how these May/Infinity romances play out (spoiler: badly).
(Playing my own devil's advocate, Woody Allen married his de facto stepdaughter Soon Yi, a whopping 35 years his junior, and now they're coming up on 30 years of marriage in 2027. As the old song asks, What is this crazy thing called love?)
My takeaways include deducing from geographical information in the prologue that Orario is located in Gaul/France, that Rakia is proto-Germany (with Crozzo sounding Swiss, where Italians and Germans meet). And the Far East is Japan, as has been established.
The details revealed about the Guild were as fascinating as they were eyebrow raising. Like how the Guild is akin to old Hollywood: "while skills and personality were considered during the selection process, the Guild prioritized looks when hiring its receptionists" (p. 194). So of course "the Guild receptionists were each a bombshell in her own right" (p. 194). Yet these "flowers" of the Guild (p. 193), despite being hired for looks, apparently had a paradoxical policy dictating they rebuff lusty adventurers asking them out on dates. The receptionists are "to smile from ear to ear while politely turning them down" (p. 193). And uh, on the downlow maybe redirecting the horny sword swingers to the Pleasure Quarter? Yeah, there's something unseemly and sus about this whole setup and the now defunct Guild-Ishtar arrangement (i.e., human trafficking and prostitution ring).
Speaking of "sweetheart deals," we also learn Eina has only one lone adventurer to advise: Bell. Wow. That's the sweet spot and plum assignment five years on the job will earn you.
Ending on a high note, Suzuhito Yasuda provided some peak illustrations, with the cover a real standout. I also liked a lot the chapter head illos of Eina and Hestia. But even the talented Yasuda couldn't make Asfi alluring, try as he did in the foldout. She's just too spinster librarian (Hermes, to his credit, did not prioritize looks when hiring his confidential secretary).
Try the DanMachi drinking game: Take a swig of (root) beer whenever Omori describes a character's skin as "wheat-colored." You'll burp the night away...
Volume 9 you're mine! Will it be a happy Valentine sweet surprise with a happy ending... or a bitter breakup? You better sit down, kids...
Not my favorite of the series but still really liked it as a whole. Any time you put together a collection of stories some will be better than others... and such is the case here. None of them was truly awful but a few certainly stood out. And as usual, there is often not a consensus on which ones are which. Often it has to do with which characters you like. These stories were about love and romance. The love between a god and their child was the big thing, even though there was a very majorly minor all out war going on behind the scenes.
Verdict: Worth reading if you like the series and the characters. If you're after more of just the plot, then read a synopsis because in nearly 400 pages not a lot of plot development happens.
While the story still follows the same characters, this felt more like a side story than something that contributed to the actual plot. I believe this one should have been advertised separate from the series to allow readers wanting more content to be able to read it separate from the main plot.
Despite this, though, it was still nice getting to know all the characters a bit better! There was even a bit of character development in Bell after this one, as well as foreshadowing with the last scene in the book. I am excited to read the next installment in this series.
Each story was great. They were well written and very entertaining.
I will admit this took way longer than any book I have ever read. It wasn't a bad book. I just was never into books of short stories. Each story was well written and good in the own right. Each story takes place during a war between cities without really having anything to do with war. Each story had a stopping point so it was easy to put down and come back. I Just came back alot later then I expected.
No big quest or happening instead nice little side stories in which the focus is shifted to other characters to give them some time to shine.
I enjoyed getting some time with the other characters to step inside their way of thinking instead of Bel. And eventhough it are five short stories they are in chronological order so the main story keeps progressing.
All in all a nice read but to be honest it is a filler
this ended up being the longest volume so far, but the collection of 6 side-character's stories was extremely satisfying. already having a feeling for Loki Familia from Sword Oratoria also helped enjoy one story in particular. While Bell was not the focus for these, everyone else grew as characters in this world, and the story is better for it. Can't wait to read what happens next!
Collection of trivial stories that feel like filler and add little to the overarching plot. This should have been released as a side "novel" not part of the main plot.
Lots of short stories this time round, aimed at each other the individual characters love interests with some good comic relief.. While the individual stories were playing out there is a bigger overall story of the city going on int he background and throughout each story there are a few "click" moments for Bell as he realises things that tie into previous encounters or little snippets of information (relieves) come to light leaving Bell with some more questions to ask and also giving the reading some more questions...
It kinda gives a hint on whats to come next and also starts to bring a side character or two a little more into the story/light seeing another side to them.
All in all an enjoyable addition to the series...
Not stop reading if this if you don't like guessing... But I'm starting to guess that....
Sry is actually half god? Maybe I'm wrong, just a guess but Freya having a following keeping an eye on Sry and making sure nothing happens to her seems a little over protective.
This volume provides a more personal insight into some of the secondary characters of the story, but there are still some progression in the story setting up many instances of foreshadowing. If you were looking for more plot-progression I would recommend that you skip this novel, but I would recommend this book if you are interested in the more character development side of the story. Overall I thought that the book was a good way to expand some of the secondary characters, and it was a fun series of short-stories.
I've been enthralled with this series and this book is no exception. I feel bad about taking a star away, but the annoyance I felt needs to be noted. The chapter images were setup as links. So if you are like me and tap to change pages, instead of it continuing like it should it returned you to the table of contents. I wish they didn't do that. First book I've found that did this.
This book was somewhat of a departure from the series in that it's more about various side stories with romantic undertones. There's a plot thread that loosely ties them all together. I enjoyed the slice of life aspect and of course, the romance angles which let a lot of side characters grow and become more fleshed out.
This volume plays out in a series of vignettes revolving around major players and their love for a god, or a god's love for them. In the beginning it felt a bit disjointed, but does come together in the end for a worthwhile read as well as some heavy foreshadowing at things to come.
I enjoyed the short story aspects of this volume compared to the others...it was fun learning of the back stories of all the different characters ....looking forward to getting back to dungeon crawling tho
I love the longer format. Defiantly worth the wait.
While it did take much longer to get through, the end of this book is satisfying. Defiantly setting things up for future story arcs. And also a greater depth to the characters themselves. Go get em Bell.
A group of short stories about the romantic lives of each of the major characters. Nothing is really resolved, but there were some interesting moments. I find myself wondering how many plot lines will really get wrapped up and resolved with only two volumes left in the series.
8th in the series.... Really a collection of short stories set against one main arc. I like the characters, but it was a bit annoying to get involved with a little story and then have the book jump to the next. It did work for the over-all story though.
I feel like the writing and translating weren't as good as the previous novels, but the stories themselves were great. The last one had me in tears. It's also nice that all these short stories included a part of a bigger story, giving them a sense of unity.
I still enjoy the story line of tale. The goofiness and awkwardly way the main character interacts with the other sex is true to many coming of age stories. It is of course over done as most manga is, but the overall store of this boy becoming a hero is wonderful.
Great collection of individual stories, exploring the relationships between mortals and gods! Fans of the first seven volumes, will not be disappointed.
"Bref, ce huitième tome de DanMachi – La légende des Familias de Fujino Omori est un peu particulier mais je l’ai beaucoup aimé. L’auteur prend le temps de développer ses autres personnages et leurs histoires tout en gardant un bon rythme et une certaine tension avec l’armée de Rakia qui est aux portes d’Orario. Ce tome permet aux lecteurs de souffler un peu avant de mieux repartir pour la suite !"
Was this written in 1950? Ōmori's primitive ideas about women and romance have always been embarrassing, but in a collection of slice-of-life romantic-focused stories, his chauvinism REALLY takes center stage.
The only redeeming quality to this collection is the legitimately (and surprisingly) moving final story (which was the only story from this volume adapted for the anime, as the season 2 finale).