Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (Light Novel) Vol. 1

灰と幻想のグリムガル [Hai to Gensou no Grimgar] (Light Novel) #1

by Ao Jyumonji

The light novel fantasy epic that inspired a critically-acclaimed anime!

Haruhiro awakens to darkness and amnesia, among a group of strangers who can only remember their own names...and nothing else. When they make it into the light, they discover Grimgar--a fantasy world that's like something out of an RPG game. Without apparent skills or knowledge of their surroundings, Haruhiro and his newfound friends band together to form an adventuring party. Only by cooperating, using their wits, and learning new skills can they hope to survive in this dangerous land of monsters and magic.

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Litrpg, Japanese Literature, Adventure

330 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2013

About the author

See also 十文字青.

Reviews

[Alex]

I love how much more "realistic" this series is than the rest of the "dropped into a game" type of story that is becoming more common lately. It does a great job showing how tough it would be as a level 1 character with no particular talents or skills in a world where you have to buy food, lodging, and even underwear.

[Paulo "paper books only"]

I really enjoy this book. Everything in it felt really dark and gloomy.
After seeing the anime 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...

[Andrew]

Pros:

Incredibly great story line.
Character development at its best.
Very deep and a little dark.
Fantasy RPG based world (goblins, mages, warriors, etc.)
Artwork is nice.
Very funny
Good length book and EVENLY paced. (never a dull moment)
Emphasis on character downfalls, economics of living, and philosophy than glory, action, and bling.

Cons:

Can be a little derogatory sexually against woman (can be a turn off for female readers)
Translation can be a little funky (but not too distracting).
Everyone seems to be too beautiful apparently
A typo.

Review:

A group of young people awake and enter a fantasy world with no memory of their pasts whatsoever. They then become soldiers of various types such as warriors, priests, and thieves in order to survive.

After watching the anime, I just had to read the light novel and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the anime. What makes this a great light novel is the detail and chemistry between each characters and the situations they are put in. You know those last few kids who would get picked last in dodge ball? That's who are protagonists are. People you would have never thought would become a group of friends learn to work together in order to survive kind of story. It's also a rags to riches kind of story where even the smallest necessity such as underwear or a simple leather bag is costly to these group of soldiers trying to work for a living. We also get a rich amount of thought dialogue from our main character as he critically thinks about each and every character, every situation, and even his own strengths and weaknesses. The artwork is nice and there is a lot of comedy. But the story can also be quite touching and sad at many times as well.

What I didn't really enjoy was the derogatory dialogue attitude towards females provided by both characters and narration. This could possible be a cultural thing in Japan, but it was a little tasteless for my taste. An example would be one of the male protagonists (I'm looking at you Ranta!) would keep making fun of one of the female protagonists about her small sized breasts while always complimenting the other female protagonist about her larger ones. This happens a bit too much and can get awkward. I mean seriously, who in their right mind does that? But thinking who this character is, it really is no surprise and can be a little awkward to read.

Translation is a little weird. Sometimes some dialogues just doesn't make sense or worded very strangely. I think Yume (one of the female main protagonists) is the best example of terrible dialogue. Her structure in sentences as well as her weird personality just makes it a little harder to understand when she talks especially since she talks third person about herself. I guess this is again a Japanese cultural thing of what is looked as cute when speaking in third person. There's also what I believe a typo but I can't find it anymore.

Apparently almost all the girls in this story is sooooo beautiful or cute. It gets a little annoying when you have to read a small bit of detail of why each one of these characters are just so amazingly pretty (long straight SILVER hair!, nice body figure, BIG BOOBS, shows LOTS of SKIN, etc. etc. etc.). Luckily that's all there is for most of these characters and the author is able to kick in their personality and you realize they are just another human being.

Conclusion:
It's only about $8 on Amazon. Buy it if you are into fantasy RPG like stories. Despite the cons on the blatant attitudes towards women which can be a turn off for female readers and the funky translation, this story is quite deep and delves between the relationships between each character and their unique personalities. I also love the bits of details on economics of living as well as it shows the difficulties of starting from square 0 from living in the slums, to hoping to earn enough just to eat. I already purchased the second light novel and will be reading that shortly.

[Tarl]

I actually got turned onto this light novel series from the anime. It was an interesting take on the whole 'thrown into another universe' theme, and I wanted to see what the book had vs the anime.

First off, there's a lot more to the novel. The anime did a good job hitting some of the beats from the book, but with the book you get a lot more out of the characters. You understand them and their confusion when first being thrown into this new world. Even side characters are handled better, coming across as richer, more interesting people. But this is normally the case with books that have had film adaptations.

I have to say, I enjoyed this book. Compared to other light novels out there, it was a bit slower, taking its time with the plot and letting the reader know the characters better. It captured how interparty relationships would work, and how, much like real life, non-communication between teammates can kill pretty much any teamwork. Where other light novels concentrate on things like boobs, action, or how powerful their protagonist is, this one is far more down to earth. It presents a realistic view of what fantasy life as an adventurer would be like.

Now, with all that said, this book has a lot of exposition and does a lot of telling rather than showing. And when I say a lot, I mean it's most of the novel. Normally this would have me chomping at the bit and annoyed, but for some reason, it worked with this novel. I still caught myself noticing it more than once, but where in other stories it's one or two tells in a novel of showing, because telling is the norm in this book, it just doesn't stand out like a sore tooth. You actually get used to it as a reader.

Does it suffer because of that?
I believe it does, which is why this is only 4 stars rather than 5. But as I said, it seems to work with the author's writing style, and showed me that yes, a good novel can be done with telling rather than showing. It would be a fantastic novel if they showed rather than told, but as it is, it's still a good book.

So in the end, if you want an interesting fantasy novel with a pretty interesting take on just how traumatic it is to kill one goblin, this would be a book I would recommend.

[Christian Anderson]

This story takes a tired genre and makes it interesting. No overpowered abilities no secret prophecy just some kids trying to survive. The fact that they are willing to off some characters makes it so stressful. Every serious fight is a question.

[Russell Gray]

I watched and enjoyed the anime adaptation for this story when it aired a few years ago. I got in the mood for it again and decided to check out the book rather than rewatch the show. For those who are unfamiliar with the story:

This is an isekai plot where the characters are transported from our modern world to a fantasy one...and in this specific case, without their memories. There are 12 young adults who are led to a volunteer soldier training hall and told they basically had no choice but to enlist and then go out slaying monsters to collect loot in exchange for money.

It's a pretty standard setup, but what separates Grimgar is the execution. Usually, these stories follow a main character who is very overpowered as they generally wreck everything and accumulate riches and admirers along the way. Grimgar takes a much more realistic approach and revels in the dread that day to day life of instability causes the main character group. The fights are also a source of constant terror as they realize how ill-equipped they are both literally and emotionally for life and death struggles.

For that difference in execution alone, I would recommend this story to fans of Gamelit, portal fantasy, and general fantasy. I think fans of LitRPG will find plenty to like here as well even though there are no stat screens or character sheets.

This is also one of the few times where I would say that the adaptation is actually a bit better than the source material. Unless you are very familiar with the cultural behaviors and mannerisms, it is helpful to see the character visually. I felt like I was only able to picture certain scenes because I remembered them from the anime and would have probably just shrugged it off as weird without that reference.

[Nicole]

Having seen the Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash anime and liked it, I was excited to finally read the first light novel volume. I think it ended up being just as good as the anime!

The story progresses well and the cast is likable when they're supposed to be and questionable when they're not, which makes them realistically flawed. The plot at first seems typical-- teenagers get sent to another world and can't get back home-- but the added twist makes it special. One of the quotes from Manato later in the book makes you question what kind of world this really is, something you don't usually find in similar light novels.

Unfortunately, the downside of watching the anime first was that I was not shocked at anything in the story. This is not to say that it wasn't exciting; a first-time reader would definitely be surprised at what happens.

Grimgar is very well-written and the story is interesting throughout. I plan on reading the rest of the series; in fact, it's on the top of my to-read list at the moment.

[Lily]

This is my disclaimer that I haven’t seen the anime and while I do plan to, I want to read at least the first two volumes for comparison’s sake.

When certain authors write isekais, the characters don’t go through any strife. They seem to naturally fit in and some of them actually take some dominance over the “lesser” and the “NPCs” and everything is treated like a game.

Another thing too is that it’s usually only one person who travels to a different world.

In this light novel, it’s multiple people who come from the same world. The only thing they remember is their name and whatever modern clothing they have. For plot convenience, they all seem to be Japanese but also seem to speak the same language. But that’s neither there nor here. The thing about it is that this group of people happen to band together and start training to become volunteer soldiers - all for the sake of survival and to eat. And what’s interesting to me is that it’s not easy for them. They struggle, bleed, starve, and then there’s the comrade they’ve developed over the course of time. Not only that, you can see how grueling their training is in their respectful fields. I also like that the main character that’s focused on isn’t a typical hero with the typical heroic job. He’s a thief.

And then, there’s death.

When Manato dies, you can absolutely feel the emptiness they feel for him when he does pass and the desperation of trying to save him. I like that while they do grieve, they don’t linger. They have to move on and are forced to hire another priest who experienced loss of her own. And another thing I liked, especially is that Merry the priest isn’t automatically open to both Haruhiro and the rest of the group, considering what happened to her in the past (or what’s assumed that happened), and instead, the characters are still forced to have to work together through their pain.

However, and this is big, this story isn’t all grim and dark and “realistic”. Thankfully, there is quite a bit of levity and some of the parts that I truly love about an isekai fantasy - the exploration of this world from the point of view of a complete non-native. It does feel as though the world becomes a bit more video game-esque than I would’ve liked but I just liked it. The fact that the female members of the group are treated with as much trust and dependability as their male counterparts is also really nice. Granted, Haruhiro is pretty much the de facto leader even though he’s a thief but I can accept it.

One thing I didn’t like is that there are times where the guys peek at the girls during their bath. It’s such an annoying trope and I really don’t understand why these scenes are absolutely needed. Maybe it’s because of the author’s “intended” audience but doesn’t it get old? Doesn’t it get old to have those scenes over and over? There’s more than enough media out there that have scenes like this and, surely, there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to have those certain scenes together. Ranta is really annoying and really grating with his misogyny. Literally, because of him, I almost dropped this story multiple times because he’s just so grating to me. I don’t see the appeal of him - it is possible to create an abrasive character who puts everyone off without including misogyny, homophobia, and other isms to have people be put off by them. I know I lauded that I enjoyed the fact that I liked the main characters getting their elbows dirty and it is good to see characters see their hard work pay off. But the -isms of characters make it too real. And I’m supposed to be rooting for guys like Ranta? I’m worried there might be a plot point where Ranta will eventually betray the group and I’m supposed to care about that. I want to care about him but give me some room on that, please.

Regardless, the fact that I finished this first novel shows that, in the end, I still enjoyed this. I really want to keep reading this series further to see how this team managed to get through everything. Also, I want to learn more about the mystery of their pasts, why they were all sent there, and where they go after they die.

[LilyGreentea]

3.5/5

[Piotr Nowak]

Jeszcze 21 tomów do przeczytania... (może zdążę zanim autor dokończy serię💀)

[Sasan]

Finally!!! I read the first volume to what I personally consider the best Isekai show ever.

───────────────────

This, from what I’ve seen, compared and remembered of the Isekai shows I actually watched remained the one I would easily say is the best one. Now that I have finally read its first novel, I can for sure say that if you want an actual story of struggle, extremely weak starting protagonists and a world that feels real then look no further than Haruhiro & Co. Now, the novel starts out pretty slow with them exploring this new world and trying to fit into its rules. The thing I like the most about how the premise of the series starts, is that our protagonists don’t even realize that they are in a world that’s not their own. Their memories are not 100% intact and their only lead as this being different is the fact that they remember or say things that don’t make sense when you look around, but they do it anyway. Mystery aspect? Check, now I have to wait for the reveals.

I mentioned struggle earlier and I stand by that, since Haruhiro and those with him struggle for real from day one and unlike a certain wrongfully represented as a “weak struggling protagonist” in Isekai, these guys are literally at that pathetic state you are put into in any rpg style game at the beginning. We learn the basics of the world when it comes to money, banks, guilds and similar basic stuff. The book doesn’t go into huge details when it comes to any of them, just enough to deliver the message or the scene which I personally believe is enough for now and especially assuming that none of the mentioned elements actually end up being very relevant later on. If we’re going deeper later on, then I expect (and hope for) a lot more than this.

Character wise, there are too many of them. I do get that a party needs to have multiple characters and that’s fine, but I didn’t expect that I will be meeting so many others as well. I did watch the anime first so the main main ones did stick around in my mind and made it easier to breeze through this novel, but I do kind of wish that they were presented later on in smaller groups, or better yet, made memorable enough that I won’t feel for a second that I don’t know for sure who this one was. To counter that in a way however, Jyumonji-sensei gives some of his characters quirky personalities, so those were pretty easy to remember because of that so win-ish situation. I did get to meet one character who didn’t make it into the anime so I’m really glad about that and I can’t wait to see more.

Speaking of quirks, he does have Yume, Ranta and Shihoru displaying these as well in their speech patterns. The girls were okay, Shihoru grated on my nerves a bit, but Ranta is in a freakin league of his own. Damn bastard, I can’t believe that this guy is in the main party and he will be there most of the time, it’s just exhausting for me. On that note, stellar performance Yoshino Hiroyuki, well done.

About the actual happenings of the novel, many things do in fact happen. However, it’s more of them coming into terms of their current roles and the realness of Grimgar than an actual progression of the plot. Which I personally thought was pretty cool, especially with the way Jyumonji-Sensei took it. Having his characters be extremely week that even one goblin would be issue is a fantastic way to start, not because I like to watch people suffer, but it’s a new world and having them be great enough or presented with all the tools to immediately make the best of a bad situation is not logical. It’s fantasy, I know but doesn’t deny that your world continues needing logic if you want to keep me and people like me interested.

Loss and having to find replacements were also interesting things to be put into the very first volume of the series, but I believe that it sets this series apart from the other Isekai series where danger is highlighted many times, yet you never actually see an application of it before our already OP protagonist end up being too cool for any struggles. I liked the emphasis on party dynamics and how you need to be to make it work in some ways and this really could be an amazing series if this stays true till the later volumes.

My complaints are minuscule when it comes to the novel, I hated some things concerning the used “nicknames” if you well, as I don’t believe that they are necessary. And I also disliked the lack of illustrations, unlike other novels which are broken up into 6 big chapters, this one had 23 chapters so I expected many many illustrations and I’m kind of bummed out that we didn’t have that in the same quantity I greedily wanted, but like I said, minuscule. It’s a good one, slow for sure, but it knows when to accelerate when needed.

Final rating: 4/5

[Marcus]

This book is an odd one. I would say for the first half of the book i really struggled to get through it and immerse myself in the world the author was trying to paint. I think it was mainly the dialogue and how the characters seemed to say 'ya know?' or repeating phrases like that almost every other line of dialogue they spoke. It really took me out of the book at times and i found myself unable to take the characters seriously, probably didnt help that the character's personalities seemed to be stereotypical to the point of bordering on annoying.

But i stuck with the book, reading a bit of it each and every day. It wasnt until the half way point of the book, after something pivotal happens to our main cast of characters, that the book begins to shift and become more comfortable in the story its trying to tell. The dialogue seemed to gradually become less grating and more natural, the characters and their personalities, though still stereotypical, began to actually develop in some way, the main character especially. There are legitimate moments of heart and introspection that i really appreciated as it made the characters a lot more easy to like.

Whereas at first i really struggled to maintain interest in the book and even considered dropping the book entirely, i feel it really did get a bit better by the end. It definitely has its rough patches, but it also has the potential to become something wonderful as well as the series goes on. As a result i will be checking out the next book in the series. Overall, the second half of the book saved it for me.

[Jennelle]

This light novel starts very slow, to the point where I put it down and read another book before picking it back up. I think that's because light novels are a different beast from normal novels; this particular series is currently at 14 volumes and is still ongoing. So they gave a lot of detail to the beginning of the story; the things that happen in that slow first have set up the motivation for the whole series.
This is a very different isekai than I am used to seeing. Normally they are immediately drawn into an epic adventure, are granted extreme power, or a some kind of destined hero...and I think that's were this is heading, but it's not where we start. We follow a group of 6 as they arrive in this new world and are told the only way they will survive is to become "volunteer" soldiers...normal enough setup for and isekai. But we then follow the slow, often arduous path once they chose their work class and start leveling up. They aren't very good at it, so in the 1st half it drags, watching them barely scrape by.
Still, after the halfway point, the characters draw you in and you can see the potential of the story is going to lead. And while it is slow, the first half isn't bad, and it is interesting to see a more realistic (ie not quick/easy) take on the isekai genre, and I look forward to reading more of this series.

Note: is you do not know the term isekai, it basically means "transported to another world"

[Ridho Febriansa]

Grimgar may looks like another isekai (reincarnated or transferred into another world),
but believe me, IT'S SO AMAZING.
I'll try my best to not spoil a thing, and let you enjoy the story.

Let's talk about its writing format. It has around 20-ish chapter, so that each chapter has enough amount of pages, but its solid, yes.
What I love the most from Grimgar compared to any other isekai LN is, it feels so realistic.
I feel like I am a part of the party, I can feel each ticks of the clock.
There is popular quote of other isekai story, "it looks like a game, so I'll try to do things I knew here to gain most beneficial output" that kind of things. But in Grimgar, there is no such a thing.
I can't longer tell which one is a guy that reincarnated from another world, and which one is a guy that born there. There is no such like a power given by god or smart AI or something.

The author, has playing RPG since in his school life, and also played some western MMORPG too.
His knowledge of RPG and MMORPG are combined properly so the Grimgar can be born.
It's beautiful.
I recommend people who loves isekai story to give a try to read the 1st volume.

[Rebecca]

I admit I kept putting this off because of the Manato thing - imagine my surprise when it turned out that the anime dealt with it much more fully than the original novel! Not that it isn't well handled, but it's not the prolonged examination of grief that its adaptation turned it into. What it did do, however, was make it clear that in order for Haruhiro to grow as a character, Manato had to die - had he not, Haruhiro would have remained dependent and eventually stagnated. Since I've always thought that was a major issue in the Record of Lodoss Wars series in terms of Parn and King Kashew (or however you spell it), I can't really fault Jumonji...and I also was kind of happy not to be reminded of the depths of grief.


Full review of this and volume 2 eventually appearing on ANN.

[Sean O'Hara]

Wow, this really is Murder Hobos: The Series.

[Stephanie Carr]

It's hard to judge because I love the anime to death. With so many "trapped in a game / fantasy world" stories popping up in the anime world now, I think this one definitely stands apart. And a light novel is definitely a nice perspective and way to enjoy it, though I'm not sure how it would be without having seen the anime first. All I know is there isn't a second season of anime and the light novels go much farther so.... once I get there I'll know lol.

Anyway, the story starts out with these young adults, maybe teens, waking up having no memory of where they come from. They barely remember their names. They guess at what they must have been like "before" but they can't recall what "before" even was, just a vague sense that the world they're in is "wrong" somehow. At one point, they comment that the world feels like a game with its classes and clans and fighting goblins and undead - but while they may respond "yeah it is" they quickly wonder "but what's a game?" VERY interesting twist on the somewhat trope that's built now.

Plus with the fact that the main characters aren't very good at what they're supposed to do in this volunteer soldier job they've stumbled into because they have no real choice. To put it simply, they suck. The struggle and they struggle and they struggle some more. Life isn't easy but they have to keep trying because they have no other way to bring in money to survive in this world and with each step forward they slowly fall into forgetting that things feel "wrong" in this world at all.

The translation of the light novel feels a bit stiff, or maybe that's the way the writing is in general, it's hard to tell. I don't envy those who translate, but it does leaving me wanting more flow. It's not the worst I've come across by any means, and I love what I've got. I'd give it five stars if the translation came out better, that's all.

[Willie]

The way Isekai were ment to be

Most Isekai fall into this trope of some shut in gamer who's only life is the MMO RPG they obsesse over, then they miraculously find themselves in the body of their over powered character. And typically the knowledge of the game they have actually applies to the real world. So all the hours they spent gaming actually means something now. Then typically they spend their time either making a harem and/or trying to recreate, things they liked about, Japan in this new world. That is 98% of all Isekai. This book however has none of that. A group of people find themselves in this strange new fantasy world and don't remember anything about where they came from or themselves. The only thing they know is their name.

This story had excellent character development. It's a fantasy story about how a group of outcast strangers must band together to be able to survive in this new world that they have found themselves in. Yes there is magic and yes there's game like mechanics mentioned, but it honestly feels more like a fantasy story than your typical Isekai.

I watched the anime based off this series first before reading the book. I loved the anime and wanted to know more of the story. I was not disappointed in this book as it follows closely along with the anime. By the end of the book it's still not covered everything in season 1.

Great book, I can't wait to start the next one. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is an Isekai fan but wants to read something different.

[Nico Wendland]

Ich kannte bereits den Anime, weswegen ich eine gute Ahnung hatte, worauf ich mich einlasse. Leider hat mich die ganze erste Hälfte ziemlich enttäuscht. Erst ab der Einführung von Merry wurden die Figuren interessant und ich war in die Geschichte investiert. Leider wird kaum Zeit mit den Gedanken der Figuren verbracht.

(+)
- Einzelner Goblin wird effektiv als Gefahr etabliert und die ganze Schwäche unserer Figuren ist echt gut gemacht
- Fallhöhe sehr gut umgesetzt
- Die Gruppendynamik macht Spaß
- Kämpfe hängen von Taktik ab

(-)
- Die Figuren ignorieren das größte Mysterium einfach
- Ja, es sind Teens, aber die ständige Horniness und wie die Mädchen geschrieben sind, ist trotzdem ätzend zu lesen
- Viel zu schnell erzählt

Mein Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWsL...
Mein Bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nico_fantas...

[Cecille]

I like the idea of this story, an "isekai" that focuses on the struggle to integrate and survive in a hostile fantasy world. I feel like, in another writer's hands, this would make for a compelling read. It may yet become compelling as the series progresses.
But here, as is, everything about it is so dry. The characters are flat and tropey, the banter is often either dull or annoying, and when the big emotional scenes come up, they lack impact. I'm often feeling like I care less about these characters than the author wants me to, and I suspect it's because I don't very much like these characters as they are now.
I'll keep reading because Volume 1s aren't often reflective of how much I'll enjoy a series as a whole, but my hopes aren't very high.

[Gain Lã]

Mình đã đọc qua một vài tựa Light Novel rồi và mục đích mình tìm đến LN căn bản là để giải trí thôi. Và xét trên phương diện này thì Grimgar phần 1 tạm gọi là ổn đó.

Nội dung câu chuyện chung quy lại là nhẹ nhàng, ko gây cấn kịch tính dữ dội như những bộ kia và tác giả xoáy mạnh vào tâm lý nhân vật hơn là hành động nên câu từ và suy nghĩ của nhân vật châu chuốt hơn và tâm tư tình cảm hay nói chung tính cách cũng đa dạng hơn miếng nhưng vẫn là nhẹ nhàng làm chủ đề.

Thôi thì chỉ mới phần đầu chưa nói lên được gì nhiều, chắc hẳn những phần tiếp theo sẽ thú vị hơn chăng? Thật đáng mong chờ.

[Apparently a reader]

Very enjoyable read, I liked the realistic approach towards what life would be like in another world filled with fantasy and magic, the characters were all amazing but I feel like with the exception of merry, all the the female characters feel flat and boring.

I'm very exited to see where this goes and hope for the development of characters and the world of grimgar itself

[Stephen Lund]

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is a very enjoyable read. It's a more realistic take on the parallel world troupe. All of the characters feel more relatable and human, and the novel propels itself off of that. It is a little slow in the beginning, but it takes off with a little bit of well-placed tragedy. This is a great book and I recommend you read it.

[Phong Vanvu]

Một cuốn sách cho thanh thiếu niên tuổi teen. Viết về thế giới trò chơi giả tưởng. Như một game sinh tồn thôi. Về độ đặc sắc thì cũng không có gì. Có thể thích hợp với các bạn thanh thiếu niên hơn các lứa tuổi khác nhưng có nhiều chi tiết chưa phù hợp với văn hóa Việt Nam. Nói chung chỉ nên đọc để giải trí.

[Anastasia Maynard]

This book 😫😫😫 I have watched the anime and just reading the first book alone I have learnt so much more than the anime gave on !!

This is such a good book with a great story and concept !

100% would recommend

[Andy Febrico Bintoro]

Quite dark and there are no RPG elements yet to measure the strength of characters. The story is that the main character came to the RPG world, the jobs there, but no leveling up. Only training here and the flow of adventures.

[Bito Dang]

Tưởng rất game nhưng rất thực.

[Marcos Filho]

Eu acho esse daqui um hidden gen no gênero de isekai, gosto muito do personagem principal não ser exepcional, não ser O digiescolhido, ele é um coitado que tem que lutar com unhas e dentes

[Jake Wanthal]

First time reading a Japanese Light Novel. Definitely an interesting experience just because of the difference in writing style

[Pablo García]

This isekai-fantasy (takes a lot of regular young people to this other "world") is dark, violent and emotional. If I were to compare it to a popular war movie, it would be like "Platoon", "Hamburger Hill" or "Apocalypse Now". This other "world" steamrolls the process of bringing/taking people from Earth and getting them here. Regular girls and boys, with no special martial arts skills, no real abilities that are supposed to start from bellow zero to adventure, survive or die. The people brought here die all of the time, with no resets, no redo's, no second chances.
The Dark, violent and emotional, contrast with the lack of emotional intelligence by some of the main characters. Some people believe that it's a kind of "realism", but "realism" in fantasy-fiction is like having sails on a car, or putting plastic/wood chips on food, and working only on the Holidays... The thing is, Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction needs to be rational, logical and make common sense.
The powers that be bring lots and lots of young people to this world, but do nothing to train them, clothe them, feed or shelter them (except the 10 silver for signing up). There are no tutorials, no basic/boot camp training, no one that can help or lend a hand. The main characters are the extreme "left-overs" (people that lack charisma, lack physical prowess, lack intelligence and nobody wants in their "physical education" team...)
I first started reading this light novel series after seeing the first season of the anime, the anime does not have the extreme violence, the extreme fear, the possibility of starvation/living out in the streets if the "volunteer soldiers" do not succeed in this really tough, dangerous and dark place... The anime does not have the constant bullying and sexual harassment that the character Ranta constantly has with everybody in this group of misfits/left-overs...The other people in this "team" are too shy, too incapable, too introverted, to have been sent to this other "world". People really die here, the reference to "ash" in the tittle is to all of the people that have "tried, failed and died" in this other "world". They have all turned to ash...All of the bullying and sexual harassment made me stop reading this series (about 5-6 years ago) at around volume -7-8-9 if I remember correctly...
Things could have been better in this other "world"...The people isekai-ed could have received "basic training", basic food and shelter while they are becoming efficient at combating the monsters found in this place...But this is why this Light novel series in particular is an "atypical" isekai light novel series...That seeks to show how regular people would suffer and die if they do not rise to the challenge of "overcoming the monsters" and becoming economically independent in this other "world"... The "game-like-system" in this other "world" lacks balance. Does not train well the people that come, does not choose the professions that are best for them, along a long series of other problems...
The author believes that sacrificing the best people to protect the weakest, whiniest, incapable is a fair exchange. While all of the worst main characters were constantly complaining, the "Christ figure" in this first book assumed all of the responsibility all of the consequences and for what?? So that the readers can be tortured time and time again by the bully and sexual harasser Ranta, and the rest of the sub-par, whiny, weak and stupid main characters???
There is no warning for all the violence, the blood and gore, the extreme fear or futility that the author constantly transmits throughout his story...The illustrator has his own drawing style and makes everybody a little bit too hairy and elf-like (reminded me of the characters in The Dark Crystal... So, if you have never felt depressed, felt despair, had real reasons to worry about the future, never really experienced a school of hard knocks, then a story that is "raw" like this one, might be something interesting for you to read...