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How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Light Novel #1
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Volume 1
"O, Hero!"
With that cliched line, Kazuya Souma found himself summoned to another world and his adventure--did not begin.
After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and militarily, the king cedes the throne to him and Souma finds himself saddled with ruling the nation! What's more, he's betrothed to the king's daughter now...?! In order to get the country back on its feet, Souma calls the wise, the talented, and the gifted to his side. Five people gather before the newly crowned Souma. Just what are the many talents and abilities they possess...?! What path will his outlook as a realist take Souma and the people of his country down? A revolutionary transferred-to-another-world administrative fantasy series starts here!
With that cliched line, Kazuya Souma found himself summoned to another world and his adventure--did not begin.
After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and militarily, the king cedes the throne to him and Souma finds himself saddled with ruling the nation! What's more, he's betrothed to the king's daughter now...?! In order to get the country back on its feet, Souma calls the wise, the talented, and the gifted to his side. Five people gather before the newly crowned Souma. Just what are the many talents and abilities they possess...?! What path will his outlook as a realist take Souma and the people of his country down? A revolutionary transferred-to-another-world administrative fantasy series starts here!
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 24, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
June 7, 2023
I'm a little torn on this one. I love the premise -- some poor schlub gets summoned to another world and informed that he's the Legendary Hero of Destiny, but instead of going out and becoming an awesome adventurer with magical powers, he decides that what the world needs is a sensible system of government based upon modern economics and political science, leavened with a good dose of Machiavellian realism. The hero spends the first quarter of the book conducting an audit of the kingdom's finances, and then resolves a famine by introducing farm subsidies to encourage farmers to switch away from cash crops like cotton and focus on staple foods.
It's riveting!
The main female character, a princess who gets betrothed to the hero in order to make him the next king, is also pretty cool. Her half of the story feels like a shoujo fantasy story like The World Is Still Beautiful -- she kicks ass, acts reasonable, and mostly avoids any tropey behavior.
But there are some problems, too. Most obviously, it's yet another trapped-in-another-world series (though thankfully not one inspired by MMORPGs), and though the author quickly takes it in a different direction than most, the first chapter is boilerplate. Much like Shield Hero, the protag is familiar enough with the genre that the moment he finds out he's in a fantasy world, he's like, "Oh. Then I suppose I'm the hero who's supposed to save the world from destruction. Please tell me my goals." It's like the author knows his audience has seen this all a million times before and there's no point wasting time on the set-up.
There are also a few points where the story does get tropey, though the author usually pulls back in time. For instance, after surrounding himself with a bunch of women who all take a liking to him, the protag discovers that this new world permits polygamy (including polyandry, it must be noted), and that several of his female companions would be open to sharing him (and not just on different nights). Yay. Harem BS. But the protagonist, being a realist, thinks about this for ten seconds and decides the hassle far outweighs the fun and it's better to focus on a single woman.
If Goodreads allowed half stars I'd put this at 3.5, though the potential for subsequent volumes to shine is there.
It's riveting!
The main female character, a princess who gets betrothed to the hero in order to make him the next king, is also pretty cool. Her half of the story feels like a shoujo fantasy story like The World Is Still Beautiful -- she kicks ass, acts reasonable, and mostly avoids any tropey behavior.
But there are some problems, too. Most obviously, it's yet another trapped-in-another-world series (though thankfully not one inspired by MMORPGs), and though the author quickly takes it in a different direction than most, the first chapter is boilerplate. Much like Shield Hero, the protag is familiar enough with the genre that the moment he finds out he's in a fantasy world, he's like, "Oh. Then I suppose I'm the hero who's supposed to save the world from destruction. Please tell me my goals." It's like the author knows his audience has seen this all a million times before and there's no point wasting time on the set-up.
There are also a few points where the story does get tropey, though the author usually pulls back in time. For instance, after surrounding himself with a bunch of women who all take a liking to him, the protag discovers that this new world permits polygamy (including polyandry, it must be noted), and that several of his female companions would be open to sharing him (and not just on different nights). Yay. Harem BS. But the protagonist, being a realist, thinks about this for ten seconds and decides the hassle far outweighs the fun and it's better to focus on a single woman.
If Goodreads allowed half stars I'd put this at 3.5, though the potential for subsequent volumes to shine is there.
July 4, 2020
Souma Kazuya (referred to as Souma from here on out because the other characters misunderstood and thought that was his given name) has only ever wanted to be the best civil servant he could be and live a quiet and stable life. His grandfather told him to build a family and then protect them no matter what, so that had become part of his goal as well.
Then he somehow ends up transported into another world, where he is told he's a hero who has been summoned "to lead the change of an era." The country is facing food shortages and is in a precarious political position, and there's a Demon King causing problems. Rather than be a more traditional hero and train to fight the Demon King, Souma decides to stick to his strengths and work on various plans and improvements designed to deal with the food shortage. The king is so impressed by his practicality and level-headedness that he abdicates the throne to him and promises him his daughter Liscia's hand in marriage. And so begins Souma's work to save the kingdom.
I liked the idea behind this series a lot better than the execution. Souma initially reminded me a little of Log Horizon's Shiroe, another main character content to play more of a support role. And a series more focused on the practical side of helping a fantasy kingdom survive than on epic battles seemed like a good fit for me, considering my enjoyment of series like Spice & Wolf and Ascendance of a Bookworm.
However, Souma's initial efforts to improve the kingdom weren't exactly thrilling and left me feeling like the kingdom had previously just been incredibly badly managed. His first step was to sell off any royal treasure that had purely monetary value. How had it not occurred to anyone else to do this? Then he put out a call for anyone with special talents of any kind and ended up with a small group of people with an odd assortment of abilities. Readers were told that the absolute most important person Souma had managed to find was Poncho Panacotta, a man who'd bankrupted himself in an effort to seek out and eat any and all kinds of food. I correctly guessed why Poncho was so important, but it would have made much more sense for Poncho to have been a knowledgeable cook rather than a self-proclaimed glutton.
Souma spent a brief period of time demonstrating how to cook and eat several new foods via what was essentially the country's first entertainment broadcast, and again, I wondered why people undergoing a food shortage hadn't begun trying to find new sources of food themselves. Anyway, this was one of the few times in the book where Souma tried to enact any changes or reforms on-page. For the most part, readers were just told what he'd done after he'd done it - transportation route improvements, setting up a functional aqueduct and sewer system, introducing Roman concrete, etc. How did a guy who was just studying to be the best civil servant he could be even know how to do all of that?
Rather than focusing directly on Souma's efforts to improve the kingdom, readers were instead treated to lots of scenes in which Souma interacted with the various ladies now swarming around him. (If you're wondering how he had the time, when Souma transported to this world he gained the ability to transport copies of his mind into ordinary objects, allowing him to do four or five times more paperwork than a single person. Handy.)
The author tried to be practical there as well, by explaining that this world allows both polygamy and, to a lesser extent, polyandry, but Souma and his various ladies were still essentially the stereotypical ordinary anime guy and his harem. Liscia was the tomboy who'd previously never thought much about romance, Aisha was the hottie who liked to eat, and Juna was beautiful, mature (this word was used to describe her possibly every single time she appeared on-page), and hiding secret loneliness. There were several "lay your head in my lap" scenes, and despite what readers were told about polygamy being accepted, there were still occasional light undercurrents of jealousy between the female characters.
Things got a little more serious at the end of the volume, as the political situation began to heat up. I imagine the next volume will be devoted to Souma somehow dealing with the unrest among some of the nobles, who were unhappy that he expected them to not be corrupt. I don't know that I'll be continuing on, however. I wanted more of a focus on Souma working with others on specific improvements to the country, and what I got instead was a lot of boring infodumps and several girls occasionally attempting to catch Souma's interest while he stubbornly told himself that they couldn't possibly be interested in him. Roroa, the princess of a neighboring kingdom, was intriguing, but considering how Dojyomaru squandered the potential of the book's other female characters, I doubt she'll be handled any better. In fact, odds are good that she'll end up as another member of Souma's harem somehow.
Additional Comments:
I suppose the translation was technically okay, but I did notice that one character's name was misspelled at least once (Kwongmin instead of Kwonmin).
Extras:
Black and white illustrations throughout; three full-color color illustrations at the beginning (the cover art and a couple parts of the "finding talented people" scene - instead of opting for folded pages for the larger images, they were printed as two-page spreads, which unfortunately made Juna impossible to properly see); and seven bonus short stories (Souma going adventuring as "Little Musashibo," an unnecessary story devoted to Roroa, a prequel showing Aisha leaving the God-Protected Forest, Tomoe literally just describing how she views the other characters, Juna learning some songs from Souma, a one-page dialogue between Souma and Liscia about what they wanted to be when they were kids, and Liscia getting ready for her date with Souma).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Then he somehow ends up transported into another world, where he is told he's a hero who has been summoned "to lead the change of an era." The country is facing food shortages and is in a precarious political position, and there's a Demon King causing problems. Rather than be a more traditional hero and train to fight the Demon King, Souma decides to stick to his strengths and work on various plans and improvements designed to deal with the food shortage. The king is so impressed by his practicality and level-headedness that he abdicates the throne to him and promises him his daughter Liscia's hand in marriage. And so begins Souma's work to save the kingdom.
I liked the idea behind this series a lot better than the execution. Souma initially reminded me a little of Log Horizon's Shiroe, another main character content to play more of a support role. And a series more focused on the practical side of helping a fantasy kingdom survive than on epic battles seemed like a good fit for me, considering my enjoyment of series like Spice & Wolf and Ascendance of a Bookworm.
However, Souma's initial efforts to improve the kingdom weren't exactly thrilling and left me feeling like the kingdom had previously just been incredibly badly managed. His first step was to sell off any royal treasure that had purely monetary value. How had it not occurred to anyone else to do this? Then he put out a call for anyone with special talents of any kind and ended up with a small group of people with an odd assortment of abilities. Readers were told that the absolute most important person Souma had managed to find was Poncho Panacotta, a man who'd bankrupted himself in an effort to seek out and eat any and all kinds of food. I correctly guessed why Poncho was so important, but it would have made much more sense for Poncho to have been a knowledgeable cook rather than a self-proclaimed glutton.
Souma spent a brief period of time demonstrating how to cook and eat several new foods via what was essentially the country's first entertainment broadcast, and again, I wondered why people undergoing a food shortage hadn't begun trying to find new sources of food themselves. Anyway, this was one of the few times in the book where Souma tried to enact any changes or reforms on-page. For the most part, readers were just told what he'd done after he'd done it - transportation route improvements, setting up a functional aqueduct and sewer system, introducing Roman concrete, etc. How did a guy who was just studying to be the best civil servant he could be even know how to do all of that?
Rather than focusing directly on Souma's efforts to improve the kingdom, readers were instead treated to lots of scenes in which Souma interacted with the various ladies now swarming around him. (If you're wondering how he had the time, when Souma transported to this world he gained the ability to transport copies of his mind into ordinary objects, allowing him to do four or five times more paperwork than a single person. Handy.)
The author tried to be practical there as well, by explaining that this world allows both polygamy and, to a lesser extent, polyandry, but Souma and his various ladies were still essentially the stereotypical ordinary anime guy and his harem. Liscia was the tomboy who'd previously never thought much about romance, Aisha was the hottie who liked to eat, and Juna was beautiful, mature (this word was used to describe her possibly every single time she appeared on-page), and hiding secret loneliness. There were several "lay your head in my lap" scenes, and despite what readers were told about polygamy being accepted, there were still occasional light undercurrents of jealousy between the female characters.
Things got a little more serious at the end of the volume, as the political situation began to heat up. I imagine the next volume will be devoted to Souma somehow dealing with the unrest among some of the nobles, who were unhappy that he expected them to not be corrupt. I don't know that I'll be continuing on, however. I wanted more of a focus on Souma working with others on specific improvements to the country, and what I got instead was a lot of boring infodumps and several girls occasionally attempting to catch Souma's interest while he stubbornly told himself that they couldn't possibly be interested in him. Roroa, the princess of a neighboring kingdom, was intriguing, but considering how Dojyomaru squandered the potential of the book's other female characters, I doubt she'll be handled any better. In fact, odds are good that she'll end up as another member of Souma's harem somehow.
Additional Comments:
I suppose the translation was technically okay, but I did notice that one character's name was misspelled at least once (Kwongmin instead of Kwonmin).
Extras:
Black and white illustrations throughout; three full-color color illustrations at the beginning (the cover art and a couple parts of the "finding talented people" scene - instead of opting for folded pages for the larger images, they were printed as two-page spreads, which unfortunately made Juna impossible to properly see); and seven bonus short stories (Souma going adventuring as "Little Musashibo," an unnecessary story devoted to Roroa, a prequel showing Aisha leaving the God-Protected Forest, Tomoe literally just describing how she views the other characters, Juna learning some songs from Souma, a one-page dialogue between Souma and Liscia about what they wanted to be when they were kids, and Liscia getting ready for her date with Souma).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
June 1, 2017
Light novels featuring protagonists transported to different worlds have become a dime a dozen. There are so many of these novels, many falling on the exact same tropes and storylines that each other one tells, it's hard to appreciate this subgenre.
However, there are always diamonds among the rough. We already have Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- by Tappei Nagatsuki, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World by Natsume Akatsuki, and The Rising of the Shield Hero by Minami Seira making waves, but I want to add Dojyomaru's How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom to this list.
With an absolutely phenomenal first volume, this series makes a solid case for standing head-and-shoulders above most of the other series using the transported to a different world trope. Following Souma Kazuya as he finds himself in a fantasy kingdom, the story focuses on his surprising ascension to king and his subsequent plans for the improvement of the nation he is now in charge of.
Focusing far more on the elements needed to improve the kingdom rather than any of the traditional antics found in these sorts of stories, HRHRK manages to be equal parts different and compelling. Whether it's his call for people with talents, or the deep discussions on how to improve a nation's economy, the story doesn't shy away from going into topics that would typically bore an average reader.
However, the mixture of some of light novels' most common tropes - a bevy of beauties and some mild romantic development chief among them, as well as escalating tension between nations - keeps the story from becoming nothing more than a lecture.
That said, there are a couple of missteps to the story. First and foremost is the large number of characters who are implied to be quite important; there are a lot of them. Due to this, it is sometimes hard to be invested in some of them on an emotional level as they haven't really been given the time to develop; only Souma and the princess he was first betrothed to are given much development throughout this volume. Also, despite J-Novel Club's overall excellent translation, there are a number of spelling errors throughout the Kindle release.
Despite these little issues, I would still highly recommend this series to anyone interested in a light novel that does things even the slightest bit differently. I, personally, am super excited to be digging into the second volume soon.
However, there are always diamonds among the rough. We already have Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- by Tappei Nagatsuki, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World by Natsume Akatsuki, and The Rising of the Shield Hero by Minami Seira making waves, but I want to add Dojyomaru's How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom to this list.
With an absolutely phenomenal first volume, this series makes a solid case for standing head-and-shoulders above most of the other series using the transported to a different world trope. Following Souma Kazuya as he finds himself in a fantasy kingdom, the story focuses on his surprising ascension to king and his subsequent plans for the improvement of the nation he is now in charge of.
Focusing far more on the elements needed to improve the kingdom rather than any of the traditional antics found in these sorts of stories, HRHRK manages to be equal parts different and compelling. Whether it's his call for people with talents, or the deep discussions on how to improve a nation's economy, the story doesn't shy away from going into topics that would typically bore an average reader.
However, the mixture of some of light novels' most common tropes - a bevy of beauties and some mild romantic development chief among them, as well as escalating tension between nations - keeps the story from becoming nothing more than a lecture.
That said, there are a couple of missteps to the story. First and foremost is the large number of characters who are implied to be quite important; there are a lot of them. Due to this, it is sometimes hard to be invested in some of them on an emotional level as they haven't really been given the time to develop; only Souma and the princess he was first betrothed to are given much development throughout this volume. Also, despite J-Novel Club's overall excellent translation, there are a number of spelling errors throughout the Kindle release.
Despite these little issues, I would still highly recommend this series to anyone interested in a light novel that does things even the slightest bit differently. I, personally, am super excited to be digging into the second volume soon.
May 3, 2017
This week J-Novel Club put out a week's free trial of their service and enabled all subscribers to go back and read pre-published versions of their published works. Therefore, the version I am reviewing is the finished pre-published version of this novel.
I have to say, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom pleasantly surprised me. I had previously seen it compared to 公爵令嬢の嗜み 1 Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami 1 (fan translated as Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter), another book series I have recently been enjoying, so I decided this would be one of the novels I would check out for JNC's catch-up week. I can certainly see why people made the comparison as both novels focus on (fantasy) national economics and politics with a focus on improvement through reform. Thankfully though, the difference in perspective and style makes them feel separate enough to not feel like I read the same story twice.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is an isekai light novel but, perhaps in part due to the unusual setting, it feels a lot fresher than many other stories of this kind. The main character Kazuya is an everyman gifted in one particular area but, instead of the isekai-usual combat skill, that area is governance. This one subversion shapes the story and helps Kazuya become a different kind of hero, one for whom the focus is not on saving an individual or a village but a whole nation. Kazuya himself is fairly likeable, hard-working and practical, often taking a realistic view in the face of others' wishful thinking. If I had to nit-pick him, my issue would be that perhaps his breadth of knowledge is a little too vast - I would like to see some kind of vulnerability in his plans or an opponent who can pressure him. The novel hinted that this was on the way in the sequel so I will look forward to reading volume 2 to see if this has been addressed.
Much like Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami, there are a fair amount of side characters in this story and most of them are not particularly developed in the first volume. Kazuya's fiance Liscia gets a decent amount of time spent on her and is the most fleshed out of the side characters but I feel like outside of her growing relationship with Kazuya, she never had a moment where she truly shined. With the exception of Aisha (who spent most of her time getting excited about food but found time to occasionally be serious), the other side characters got much less development and time, so it's hard to say much about them. Again, I hope some of the side characters get some time and polish in the sequel volumes as this was, for me, the weakest element of the novel.
Overall I enjoyed the story quite a lot. It has its flaws, as I've mentioned, but it's still fun and creative and different enough from other isekai works that it's worth checking out.
I have to say, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom pleasantly surprised me. I had previously seen it compared to 公爵令嬢の嗜み 1 Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami 1 (fan translated as Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter), another book series I have recently been enjoying, so I decided this would be one of the novels I would check out for JNC's catch-up week. I can certainly see why people made the comparison as both novels focus on (fantasy) national economics and politics with a focus on improvement through reform. Thankfully though, the difference in perspective and style makes them feel separate enough to not feel like I read the same story twice.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is an isekai light novel but, perhaps in part due to the unusual setting, it feels a lot fresher than many other stories of this kind. The main character Kazuya is an everyman gifted in one particular area but, instead of the isekai-usual combat skill, that area is governance. This one subversion shapes the story and helps Kazuya become a different kind of hero, one for whom the focus is not on saving an individual or a village but a whole nation. Kazuya himself is fairly likeable, hard-working and practical, often taking a realistic view in the face of others' wishful thinking. If I had to nit-pick him, my issue would be that perhaps his breadth of knowledge is a little too vast - I would like to see some kind of vulnerability in his plans or an opponent who can pressure him. The novel hinted that this was on the way in the sequel so I will look forward to reading volume 2 to see if this has been addressed.
Much like Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami, there are a fair amount of side characters in this story and most of them are not particularly developed in the first volume. Kazuya's fiance Liscia gets a decent amount of time spent on her and is the most fleshed out of the side characters but I feel like outside of her growing relationship with Kazuya, she never had a moment where she truly shined. With the exception of Aisha (who spent most of her time getting excited about food but found time to occasionally be serious), the other side characters got much less development and time, so it's hard to say much about them. Again, I hope some of the side characters get some time and polish in the sequel volumes as this was, for me, the weakest element of the novel.
Overall I enjoyed the story quite a lot. It has its flaws, as I've mentioned, but it's still fun and creative and different enough from other isekai works that it's worth checking out.
July 21, 2018
What?!? Another isekai light novel? It’s almost like I really really really enjoy this trope.
This book starts with a pretty intense exposition dump facilitated by our hero meeting the king of the kingdom who summoned him. I guess it is an easy way to get the worldbuilding out of the way quickly (too bad worldbuilding is one of my favorite things to read...).
The king dumps the responsibility of being king upon our hero, betroths him to his daughter and then enjoys a life of ease. All of this happens in the prologue and the goal seems to be get all the dull stuff out of the way as quickly as possible even if it gives your readers whiplash.
At first I was really liking the book. The lead has a clear power (so many books put no limits on what their leads can do and it is merely plot convenience when new powers arise). However, as more and more women were added into the story my interest flagged. I find myself getting tired of harem style novels (particularly in the isekai genre). This story was particularly blatant in the direction they wanted to go (bringing up poly marriages and the princess stating how many other wives she would tolerate). The lead just isn’t interesting enough for me to buy that all these beautiful and talented women are into him. All these virtually flawless beauties didn’t really feel developed either (eating a lot is not a personality trait).
I did end up finishing the book, but I doubt I’ll keep reading. If you are really into harem isekai stories this might be your cup of tea, but I’m so bored with them at this point.
This book starts with a pretty intense exposition dump facilitated by our hero meeting the king of the kingdom who summoned him. I guess it is an easy way to get the worldbuilding out of the way quickly (too bad worldbuilding is one of my favorite things to read...).
The king dumps the responsibility of being king upon our hero, betroths him to his daughter and then enjoys a life of ease. All of this happens in the prologue and the goal seems to be get all the dull stuff out of the way as quickly as possible even if it gives your readers whiplash.
At first I was really liking the book. The lead has a clear power (so many books put no limits on what their leads can do and it is merely plot convenience when new powers arise). However, as more and more women were added into the story my interest flagged. I find myself getting tired of harem style novels (particularly in the isekai genre). This story was particularly blatant in the direction they wanted to go (bringing up poly marriages and the princess stating how many other wives she would tolerate). The lead just isn’t interesting enough for me to buy that all these beautiful and talented women are into him. All these virtually flawless beauties didn’t really feel developed either (eating a lot is not a personality trait).
I did end up finishing the book, but I doubt I’ll keep reading. If you are really into harem isekai stories this might be your cup of tea, but I’m so bored with them at this point.
November 29, 2018
There is so much I disliked that it could've been also 1 or 2 stars but it the end I still enjoyed it. I like the spin on the Isekai genre that the main character is not a fighter but he's modernizing the fantasy kingdom. But I'm not a fan of the harem trope.
March 27, 2021
I enjoyed this book a lot. Unlike other isekai light novels where the protagonist is summoned to save the world as a great and powerful hero, our protagonist saves the country he was brought to! It is a very interesting read, with some good humor here and there.
September 30, 2025
A kingdom in economic crisis summons a hero to placate an empire at war who demanded either money or a hero. Of course, the summoner gets exactly what the ritual promises: somebody to save their kingdom, not the empire. In this case, that is an administrator with a thorough understanding of modern economics and business management (a student studying such at a university in Japan who always wanted such a position). What follows is the hero's struggle to reform the kingdom through various scenes and situations ending with him having overcome one issue and preparing for the next: war.
As other reviewers have stated, it is not an action filled book. The hero is a manager, and that is what he does best in the book. It is not a dry description of problems and solutions though. Entertaining interactions between the characters, such as for example holding a cooking broadcast to showcase rarely used ingredients, are used to highlight problems and solutions. The hero not being a jerk, nor naive or constantly abused is also a nice change of pace. I also like the twist on the hero's typical role from a warrior into an administrator and ruler. There is also no self-pity or trouble getting adjusted, which for me is a good thing. Mind you, he does not want to be king, but that is shown more by him calling himself temporary king and not through complaining and grumbling.
Translation feels good, although there are a couple of spots where the book could have used foot notes. Sure, one can expect the reader of a translated light novel to know a bit about Japanese honorifics or at least to understand said discussion when talking about how his translation magic works, but there are limits to such basic knowledge. For example. at one point a city mascot is discussed with references to regions in RL Japan that make little sense to me and it covers several paragraphs.
Having said that, at times the story does become a bit boring in spending too much time describing the world or the situation. Do we really need a couple of pages explaining feudalism or that old families look down upon recently appointed nobles? I am also a bit doubtful on some of the hero's so-called modern solutions (especially the forest management part is grating to me), but considering RL economists don't agree with each other and it is not overly important to the story I can let that aspect slide.
Regardless, I greatly enjoyed the book and I will definitely read the 2nd one.
As other reviewers have stated, it is not an action filled book. The hero is a manager, and that is what he does best in the book. It is not a dry description of problems and solutions though. Entertaining interactions between the characters, such as for example holding a cooking broadcast to showcase rarely used ingredients, are used to highlight problems and solutions. The hero not being a jerk, nor naive or constantly abused is also a nice change of pace. I also like the twist on the hero's typical role from a warrior into an administrator and ruler. There is also no self-pity or trouble getting adjusted, which for me is a good thing. Mind you, he does not want to be king, but that is shown more by him calling himself temporary king and not through complaining and grumbling.
Translation feels good, although there are a couple of spots where the book could have used foot notes. Sure, one can expect the reader of a translated light novel to know a bit about Japanese honorifics or at least to understand said discussion when talking about how his translation magic works, but there are limits to such basic knowledge. For example. at one point a city mascot is discussed with references to regions in RL Japan that make little sense to me and it covers several paragraphs.
Having said that, at times the story does become a bit boring in spending too much time describing the world or the situation. Do we really need a couple of pages explaining feudalism or that old families look down upon recently appointed nobles? I am also a bit doubtful on some of the hero's so-called modern solutions (especially the forest management part is grating to me), but considering RL economists don't agree with each other and it is not overly important to the story I can let that aspect slide.
Regardless, I greatly enjoyed the book and I will definitely read the 2nd one.
February 7, 2017
The first in a light novel series, Realist Hero is basically the story of an economics student dropped into a medieval fantasy world and tasked with reforming the kingdom into something more sustainable.
Starting with characters, we've got our hero Souma. He's someone with a historic knowledge for past civilizations and society in the real world, able to use his knowledge to fix problems in the Isekai (Another World). These are things like suggesting unusual food preparations, like Octopus, to get the kingdom through a food crisis, and building roads that'll last 2000 years out of Roman Concrete.
Souma is joined by a host of capable women, as is kind of typical for a light novel, and there is some suggested romantic feelings for a few of them towards him. Romance will probably be a slow burn, and the mention of polygamous marriage makes me think there won't be much in the way of decision making going on later. Still, the book doesn't include any racy images of the female cast members like some other light novels, so it's not too bad representation wise.
There are some male characters introduced too that help in the administration of the kingdom and other nobility outside of the kingdom. It's a moderately sized cast, though each chapter can be read in spurts for the most part, each chapter playing out like one episode of an anime, so you're never too bogged down.
While there's no blood and guts yet, nor sex, I'd call this book's target as maybe 13+. It's got a lot of detailed info about economics and politics, with real world references thrown in. There's some fun tropes and stuff thrown in between all of that as well to keep the average reader going. I'd say it compares favorably to Maoyuu and Spice + Wolf.
Overall, enjoyed it. Like I said, it can be a bit dense in terms of the governing bodies, factions, and also the different races represented, so I think is going to be one that I'll go back in to gather info from before Volume 2. It does seem like they're setting up for some conflicts within and outside of the kingdom, so there may be more action next chapter; there wasn't much in this one, unless you consider eating lunch with lovely women, holding talent competitions, and building roads as action.
Starting with characters, we've got our hero Souma. He's someone with a historic knowledge for past civilizations and society in the real world, able to use his knowledge to fix problems in the Isekai (Another World). These are things like suggesting unusual food preparations, like Octopus, to get the kingdom through a food crisis, and building roads that'll last 2000 years out of Roman Concrete.
Souma is joined by a host of capable women, as is kind of typical for a light novel, and there is some suggested romantic feelings for a few of them towards him. Romance will probably be a slow burn, and the mention of polygamous marriage makes me think there won't be much in the way of decision making going on later. Still, the book doesn't include any racy images of the female cast members like some other light novels, so it's not too bad representation wise.
There are some male characters introduced too that help in the administration of the kingdom and other nobility outside of the kingdom. It's a moderately sized cast, though each chapter can be read in spurts for the most part, each chapter playing out like one episode of an anime, so you're never too bogged down.
While there's no blood and guts yet, nor sex, I'd call this book's target as maybe 13+. It's got a lot of detailed info about economics and politics, with real world references thrown in. There's some fun tropes and stuff thrown in between all of that as well to keep the average reader going. I'd say it compares favorably to Maoyuu and Spice + Wolf.
Overall, enjoyed it. Like I said, it can be a bit dense in terms of the governing bodies, factions, and also the different races represented, so I think is going to be one that I'll go back in to gather info from before Volume 2. It does seem like they're setting up for some conflicts within and outside of the kingdom, so there may be more action next chapter; there wasn't much in this one, unless you consider eating lunch with lovely women, holding talent competitions, and building roads as action.
June 28, 2019
I swear, I have tried for at least a month to read this and, while it starts out promising, the middle is so bloody BORING.
I don't know if it's a quirk of translation or a cultural divide, but in the middle of something even semi-interesting, the narrative would come to a complete stop and turn into a freaking textbook entry. The character would start talking about the economics, geography, politics, or some other dumb educational thing and the story would be left behind for pages and pages and pages.
I get it. It's a story of how a mystical hero shows up from our world into this fantasy land and, rather than being a traditional hero in shining armor, he saves the kingdom with his knowledge of economics and diplomacy. But can't you make that interesting? Like, the other kingdoms and his subjects are surprised by his skills? Or that amazing things happen because of the policies he puts in place? Do we need to be bored to tears with his treatise on crop rotations or social classes in this world? Seriously - there's a chapter that starts off with something to the effect of "Now we will look at the classes of citizens in this kingdom." That's when I finally quit.
This character is the literary equivalent of dry toast. Time for something else.
I don't know if it's a quirk of translation or a cultural divide, but in the middle of something even semi-interesting, the narrative would come to a complete stop and turn into a freaking textbook entry. The character would start talking about the economics, geography, politics, or some other dumb educational thing and the story would be left behind for pages and pages and pages.
I get it. It's a story of how a mystical hero shows up from our world into this fantasy land and, rather than being a traditional hero in shining armor, he saves the kingdom with his knowledge of economics and diplomacy. But can't you make that interesting? Like, the other kingdoms and his subjects are surprised by his skills? Or that amazing things happen because of the policies he puts in place? Do we need to be bored to tears with his treatise on crop rotations or social classes in this world? Seriously - there's a chapter that starts off with something to the effect of "Now we will look at the classes of citizens in this kingdom." That's when I finally quit.
This character is the literary equivalent of dry toast. Time for something else.
July 8, 2018
Realist Hero is one of the better light novels out there. I was putting this off because it seemed so generic compared to other series I've heard of, but volume 1 was enjoyable to me.
My favorite thing about Realist Hero is the research that goes into Souma's character. As a literal realist hero, the protagonist focuses on the raw facts that help "rebuild the kingdom" of the world he was summoned to. Souma's actions are fact-based, using his knowledge of his own world to help progress the country he becomes the king of. There is a lot of detail that goes into his thoughts and actions, which I enjoyed throughout the book.
I really liked volume 1 of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. The characters aren't super generic, Souma is a likable protagonist, and the story progresses well without being boring, even with all of the factual dialogue.
My favorite thing about Realist Hero is the research that goes into Souma's character. As a literal realist hero, the protagonist focuses on the raw facts that help "rebuild the kingdom" of the world he was summoned to. Souma's actions are fact-based, using his knowledge of his own world to help progress the country he becomes the king of. There is a lot of detail that goes into his thoughts and actions, which I enjoyed throughout the book.
I really liked volume 1 of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. The characters aren't super generic, Souma is a likable protagonist, and the story progresses well without being boring, even with all of the factual dialogue.
March 10, 2022
I was genuinely entertained for the first third of it. Then they started broadcasting cooking to the nation and discussing how many wives the MC should take from his bountiful harem. The MC is this gigachad hardworker who's got just the skills for the job and everyone loves him within a few minutes of meeting him. To top it off, the last third of the volume started laying out some dogshit evil plans by a handful of characters we've never heard of. The writing and pacing are just odd. A lot of what they do is so silly and anything remotely interesting they do, the outcome is told in this retrospective 5 year future perspective. I'm not inclined to give it another volume, so I'll have to leave it at just that.
August 10, 2017
Nice new take on the isekai theme that's popular in light novels right now. Instead of a hero's journey thing and becoming OP himself, other characters get the glory and the story focuses on how MC manages the country. Somewhat reminiscent of Spice and Wolf. The first volume focuses on economic and infrastructure topics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2021
I had very high hopes for this book, as I really like stories about people using modern means to make a fantasy world better.
Unfortunately this book is full of anime bullshit and the plot seems to often just randomly take a hike to do a random anime thing like the characters hanging out in school uniforms for no good reason.
Another place where anime bullshit really shows is the character relationships. Of course everyone wants to jump on the MCs dick for no apparent reason, with characters arguing in one scene about how they would split the MCs time among themselves if he decided to have multiple wives.
Despite that, after his wife gives him a kiss on the cheek, our mega giga chad of an MC spends time wondering if his betrothed wife (who has shown great affection for him throughout the entire book and has on more than one occasion basically told him that she wants him) likes him.
After around 4 chapters of nothing really happening, we get the final chapter, where plot finally happens! Unfortunately, because the book spent the whole of itself on anime bullshit it is incredibly rushed and we get introduced to 4 or 5 new characters who tell us all their evil plans. Then the MC decided to be ominous for a page or 2, quotes The Prince and bam, book finished.
Why didn't the book just give us all this plot in small pieces throughout the book instead of dumping it at the end? Why does the book seem to do random things which seem to have no significance other than pleasing anime fans? I don't know the answer to any of these. Maybe the book just isn't made for me and it's actually a fantastic read. Maybe it gets a lot better in vol 2. I don't know.
What I do know, however, is that if you like anime tropes, you're gonna really like this book.
Unfortunately this book is full of anime bullshit and the plot seems to often just randomly take a hike to do a random anime thing like the characters hanging out in school uniforms for no good reason.
Another place where anime bullshit really shows is the character relationships. Of course everyone wants to jump on the MCs dick for no apparent reason, with characters arguing in one scene about how they would split the MCs time among themselves if he decided to have multiple wives.
Despite that, after his wife gives him a kiss on the cheek, our mega giga chad of an MC spends time wondering if his betrothed wife (who has shown great affection for him throughout the entire book and has on more than one occasion basically told him that she wants him) likes him.
After around 4 chapters of nothing really happening, we get the final chapter, where plot finally happens! Unfortunately, because the book spent the whole of itself on anime bullshit it is incredibly rushed and we get introduced to 4 or 5 new characters who tell us all their evil plans. Then the MC decided to be ominous for a page or 2, quotes The Prince and bam, book finished.
Why didn't the book just give us all this plot in small pieces throughout the book instead of dumping it at the end? Why does the book seem to do random things which seem to have no significance other than pleasing anime fans? I don't know the answer to any of these. Maybe the book just isn't made for me and it's actually a fantastic read. Maybe it gets a lot better in vol 2. I don't know.
What I do know, however, is that if you like anime tropes, you're gonna really like this book.
January 28, 2025
My son is really into isekai novels and anime. He gave me this book for Christmas. I was very excited to share in some of his interests, and this book was fun and interesting.
I will confess, it wasn’t my cup of tea, and I have no idea how they continue on in so many volumes, but it was a fun, engaging story and the world was very fleshed out. It felt very video game-like, and I think that was the point (also the part that made it not my favorite). I was excited to get a glimpse into this world, and even if I don’t pursue it further, I’m happy my son has found a genre and a world he enjoys visiting.
I will confess, it wasn’t my cup of tea, and I have no idea how they continue on in so many volumes, but it was a fun, engaging story and the world was very fleshed out. It felt very video game-like, and I think that was the point (also the part that made it not my favorite). I was excited to get a glimpse into this world, and even if I don’t pursue it further, I’m happy my son has found a genre and a world he enjoys visiting.
September 29, 2024
2024/09/28 Notes:
Well, my gamble on trying this series failed. Bought the audiobooks while they were on sale. The anime is probably more entertaining than this poorly cobbled story.
Well, my gamble on trying this series failed. Bought the audiobooks while they were on sale. The anime is probably more entertaining than this poorly cobbled story.
September 4, 2021
2 stars, okay.
I got many chapters into the manga.
This is an interesting take on isekai, having the mc manage a country instead of fighting monsters. Ultimately though, the grounded content of the novel undermines it, since it is often inaccurate and non-comprehensive in its depictions of what is needed to run a country, and so is just plain annoying to read.
Characters: 3/5 I liked some of them
The main character here is remarkably driven and interesting. He seems like a competent person and acts relatively realistically. However, this is shafted by the story, as I'll get into later.
World: n/a
I haven't read enough to form an opinion on this.
Story: 1/5 disliked
Though the premise is new to me and thus very interesting, the interactions of the characters and the depictions of running a country are too annoying to bear. People seem to act completely irrationally around the MC in ways that are clearly just ways to advance the plot without real story-writing effort. For example, just because the mc has some tips about running the economy of the country, the king gives the mc the throne, even after the mc said he didn't want it. Do you know how bad of an idea giving the throne to someone uncommitted is? The mc suddenly dives into reform and starts improving things without understanding anything about the power structure of this medieval society. Realistically, he should be running into all sorts of political and military opposition as he purges the government, especially since he HASN'T BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE MILITARY YET. At the end of the day, endless such annoyances slay me, and I sadly cannot stand to read this book.
I got many chapters into the manga.
This is an interesting take on isekai, having the mc manage a country instead of fighting monsters. Ultimately though, the grounded content of the novel undermines it, since it is often inaccurate and non-comprehensive in its depictions of what is needed to run a country, and so is just plain annoying to read.
Characters: 3/5 I liked some of them
The main character here is remarkably driven and interesting. He seems like a competent person and acts relatively realistically. However, this is shafted by the story, as I'll get into later.
World: n/a
I haven't read enough to form an opinion on this.
Story: 1/5 disliked
Though the premise is new to me and thus very interesting, the interactions of the characters and the depictions of running a country are too annoying to bear. People seem to act completely irrationally around the MC in ways that are clearly just ways to advance the plot without real story-writing effort. For example, just because the mc has some tips about running the economy of the country, the king gives the mc the throne, even after the mc said he didn't want it. Do you know how bad of an idea giving the throne to someone uncommitted is? The mc suddenly dives into reform and starts improving things without understanding anything about the power structure of this medieval society. Realistically, he should be running into all sorts of political and military opposition as he purges the government, especially since he HASN'T BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE MILITARY YET. At the end of the day, endless such annoyances slay me, and I sadly cannot stand to read this book.
July 17, 2017
Not bad, but bad troping with the worst of them
The trapping of an isekai surrounding an administrative drama. I enjoyed the references to Machiavelli and other philosophers of state and realpolitik. A pity that the very mature subject matter is hobbled by Japanese light novel conventions that undercut and degrade the tone and theming. This results in a (male) main character who is a university student studying to be a politician, being fully versed in matters of state but can't hold an adult conversation about sex and a (female) main character being a blushing posy whilst also being a military commander and tactical mind in her own mind.
Mansplaining, my friends. Mansplaining for miles.
Why the hell do authors feel the need to pat female characters on the head. Are they supposed to be infantilised?
Anyway 2/5, will read next volume if only to see if anyone fucks in that one.
The trapping of an isekai surrounding an administrative drama. I enjoyed the references to Machiavelli and other philosophers of state and realpolitik. A pity that the very mature subject matter is hobbled by Japanese light novel conventions that undercut and degrade the tone and theming. This results in a (male) main character who is a university student studying to be a politician, being fully versed in matters of state but can't hold an adult conversation about sex and a (female) main character being a blushing posy whilst also being a military commander and tactical mind in her own mind.
Mansplaining, my friends. Mansplaining for miles.
Why the hell do authors feel the need to pat female characters on the head. Are they supposed to be infantilised?
Anyway 2/5, will read next volume if only to see if anyone fucks in that one.
June 4, 2021
The same failures
The same failures seen in many amateur authors are on full display here. Half of the chapters are built on explaining things, most of the time things that have already been covered. Plot points are delivered in strange places and left to hang, then repeated several times as if the reader forgot them. The author also has a nasty habit of switching perspectives, breaking the 4th wall, and at times it's difficult to distinguish whether the author is the narrator or the protagonist is. There are many huge time jumps that are completely unnecessary and break the immersion further.
It's rare for me to write a review on a light novel, but I'm really disappointed by the author and taking such a cool premise and destroying it with his ineptitude.
The same failures seen in many amateur authors are on full display here. Half of the chapters are built on explaining things, most of the time things that have already been covered. Plot points are delivered in strange places and left to hang, then repeated several times as if the reader forgot them. The author also has a nasty habit of switching perspectives, breaking the 4th wall, and at times it's difficult to distinguish whether the author is the narrator or the protagonist is. There are many huge time jumps that are completely unnecessary and break the immersion further.
It's rare for me to write a review on a light novel, but I'm really disappointed by the author and taking such a cool premise and destroying it with his ineptitude.
July 19, 2017
I review Light Novels on YouTube
Click on the link to view my Review of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Volume 1
Click on the link to view my Review of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Volume 1
May 22, 2017
Great!
Great book, funny story with great characters, I like the way it is written, it really feels like watching a manga...
Great book, funny story with great characters, I like the way it is written, it really feels like watching a manga...
June 16, 2017
I loved it
Way too short of a book. It's not hero fights people story it's more of a hero uses what he has on hand kind of story. Use your brain type.
Way too short of a book. It's not hero fights people story it's more of a hero uses what he has on hand kind of story. Use your brain type.
November 8, 2018
The true splendor of a deluge of content spanning any particular medium or subgenres of significance is that there is something for everyone. This has never been more acute in the case of light novels, translated from Japanese and presently arriving on western shores. HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM is dry, nerdy, and affixes itself to reader interest in the most sufficiently pragmatic way possible: strangeness is relative.
Alas, when Kazuya Souma is transported to a fantasy realm, complete with animal people and magical gemstones, he goes about ensuring his survival the only way he knows how: he bargains. Kazuya is an aspiring business professional with a background in socioeconomic studies . . . He does not have a winning personality. He is not a romantic. He has no family. The guy is boring. He's also extraordinarily studious. Perhaps that's why the sitting king of the fantasy land that summoned Kazuya willingly bequeathed his crown to the college kid and declared a new era of intellectual foment.
HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM is the kind of brusque, odd, and intensely clever fiction that comes from a creative mind all too eager to escape reality (but not the cultural obligations inherent to their native world). The new King Souma is a typical, Japanese white-collar paper-pusher. All of which means this is not a book for the faint of heart. The novel concept is funny and anomalous, but readers craving demon-slaying adventure will be very disappointed, and readers curious for loincloth-loitering harems will be routinely discouraged. This is a book about a struggling nation's interior polity . . . and nothing else.
King Souma is one smart cookie. But he has a long set of tasks ahead of him: alleviating poor land use, ameliorating civil unrest, comforting the immigrant/refugee population, building sustainable infrastructure, culling military dissent, instituting short- and long-term economic reforms, and more. Fortunately, King Souma is the ultimate pragmatist. Early into his tenure, the man enlists the help of the local soldier-princess, Liscia, to serve as his eyes and ears of the land. He also dignifies the most awkward among his new subjects by putting to just about everybody to work. The idea that a single young man can move the wheels of a whole kingdom in roughly six months feels laughable in some respect, but the man's intelligence is definitive and his charisma is pure and unflinching.
To this end, the book does feel like an extended exercise in medieval business analytics. The novel is smart, witty, and gets to the point when introducing an array of modern industrial concepts meant to lift people out of poverty and starvation. The god-protected forest is aging and the dark elves are perishing under landslides? The new king introduces time-tested forestry practices. It's taking too long to transport goods from lands of bounty to regions of depression? The new king builds several well-lit roads.
HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM doesn't move fast and doesn't introduce any particularly groundbreaking narrative strategies . . . but the book does have a confident and even-handed pacing that permits readers to enjoy the intellectual curiosity necessary to actually, physically "rebuild" a Dark Ages kingdom.
Not to say the book is entirely explicit in its pragmatism. Some of the novel's antagonists are a bit too obvious, for example. While at the other end of the spectrum, Liscia is supportive but has her doubts (and voices them frequently). Liscia trusts King Souma's knowledge but doesn't trust the man's self-limiting capacity (judiciousness) to discern when to step back and let the people of find their own way. This is an interesting dilemma. How much help is too much help? How much generosity stymies the industry/progress of others? And if one splinters their attention too much, what is the likelihood that innocent people will be left in the dust (or in the case of war, submitted as collateral)? Liscia is forever thinking about the consequences of intended goodness. And while she may be construed by some as a reader-analog in this novel, she is truly a Shakespearean chorus -- the voice of the common people, even if, at times, she is willfully ignorant of their basest needs.
The trick to enjoying HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM is to focus on its problem-solving and rationalizing of age-old community-building, to focus on how King Souma navigates current and future sociopolitical dilemmas with a sometimes pure and sometimes volatile mixture of anxiety, ambition, and regret. Foreign adversaries seek to reclaim old land. Internal advocates for change hoard their goodwill. And as one tiny kingdom sets upon the path toward rejuvenation, demons from another realm purport to spread chaos of their own accord.
Alas, when Kazuya Souma is transported to a fantasy realm, complete with animal people and magical gemstones, he goes about ensuring his survival the only way he knows how: he bargains. Kazuya is an aspiring business professional with a background in socioeconomic studies . . . He does not have a winning personality. He is not a romantic. He has no family. The guy is boring. He's also extraordinarily studious. Perhaps that's why the sitting king of the fantasy land that summoned Kazuya willingly bequeathed his crown to the college kid and declared a new era of intellectual foment.
HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM is the kind of brusque, odd, and intensely clever fiction that comes from a creative mind all too eager to escape reality (but not the cultural obligations inherent to their native world). The new King Souma is a typical, Japanese white-collar paper-pusher. All of which means this is not a book for the faint of heart. The novel concept is funny and anomalous, but readers craving demon-slaying adventure will be very disappointed, and readers curious for loincloth-loitering harems will be routinely discouraged. This is a book about a struggling nation's interior polity . . . and nothing else.
King Souma is one smart cookie. But he has a long set of tasks ahead of him: alleviating poor land use, ameliorating civil unrest, comforting the immigrant/refugee population, building sustainable infrastructure, culling military dissent, instituting short- and long-term economic reforms, and more. Fortunately, King Souma is the ultimate pragmatist. Early into his tenure, the man enlists the help of the local soldier-princess, Liscia, to serve as his eyes and ears of the land. He also dignifies the most awkward among his new subjects by putting to just about everybody to work. The idea that a single young man can move the wheels of a whole kingdom in roughly six months feels laughable in some respect, but the man's intelligence is definitive and his charisma is pure and unflinching.
To this end, the book does feel like an extended exercise in medieval business analytics. The novel is smart, witty, and gets to the point when introducing an array of modern industrial concepts meant to lift people out of poverty and starvation. The god-protected forest is aging and the dark elves are perishing under landslides? The new king introduces time-tested forestry practices. It's taking too long to transport goods from lands of bounty to regions of depression? The new king builds several well-lit roads.
HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM doesn't move fast and doesn't introduce any particularly groundbreaking narrative strategies . . . but the book does have a confident and even-handed pacing that permits readers to enjoy the intellectual curiosity necessary to actually, physically "rebuild" a Dark Ages kingdom.
Not to say the book is entirely explicit in its pragmatism. Some of the novel's antagonists are a bit too obvious, for example. While at the other end of the spectrum, Liscia is supportive but has her doubts (and voices them frequently). Liscia trusts King Souma's knowledge but doesn't trust the man's self-limiting capacity (judiciousness) to discern when to step back and let the people of find their own way. This is an interesting dilemma. How much help is too much help? How much generosity stymies the industry/progress of others? And if one splinters their attention too much, what is the likelihood that innocent people will be left in the dust (or in the case of war, submitted as collateral)? Liscia is forever thinking about the consequences of intended goodness. And while she may be construed by some as a reader-analog in this novel, she is truly a Shakespearean chorus -- the voice of the common people, even if, at times, she is willfully ignorant of their basest needs.
The trick to enjoying HOW A REALIST HERO REBUILT THE KINGDOM is to focus on its problem-solving and rationalizing of age-old community-building, to focus on how King Souma navigates current and future sociopolitical dilemmas with a sometimes pure and sometimes volatile mixture of anxiety, ambition, and regret. Foreign adversaries seek to reclaim old land. Internal advocates for change hoard their goodwill. And as one tiny kingdom sets upon the path toward rejuvenation, demons from another realm purport to spread chaos of their own accord.
August 5, 2023
My review is certainly coloured by the fact that I've watched the anime already, which seems to cover books one and two. I quite enjoyed that anime and watched all the episodes one after another instead of what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to read the original material, so when I stumbled upon these in a shop I grabbed them. (In my country, it's very hard to get any light novels beyond the most popular ones unless you custom order them for $30 a piece, which can make a 10-novel series a $300 investment.)
Anyway, I remain a fan of the premise: a person uses their study of economics, administration, and general smarts to improve a suffering kingdom. He doesn't battle and scream his love interest's name as he plunges a sword through a demon. Instead, he figures out policy changes needed to boost the place he lives. This book does have elements of a harem anime with at least four beautiful women interested in the MC. At the same time, it does it pretty healthily with the MC only seriously interested in one, and even the nods to polyamory are of the healthier version of people bringing different things to a relationship, rather than jealousies, misunderstandings, and lies.
Book one does wander a fair amount. Other than the premise, it's hard to say exactly what the plot is. It is mostly episodic, doing one thing and then another. However, I'm halfway through Book Two now and it is all coming together where these earlier episodes show up into a coherent plot. It might be best two treat books one and two as really one novel. Something else contributing to the episodic nature is the inclusion of multiple stories even after the main plot stops for dozens of pages. Book One is sort of like a collection of stories about this MC being in this world, and the MC's PV is only about 40% of the book.
Overall, I'm enjoying this. I like the slow-life slice-of-life genre far more than shonen adventure. I don't even read the latter, tbh. For a book like this one, a date between the MC and the princess is as important as a governmental reformation, and I like that. But know it going in.
At the same time, most of the weaknesses of the novels have been solved by the anime. Where the novel can have very superficial writing of emotion and scene, the anime puts those missing elements on the screen while following the plot pretty faithfully. (I've not figured out yet whether the writing I see in light novels reflects Japanese story telling, light novel story telling, or mediocre translators who probably aren't paid enough for flourishing prose.)
If you can only do one, I'd recommend the anime, but the light novels will give more depth and explanation (and wandering). Of course, the anime may never get a second season, so if you want to follow the story beyond the first two books, the novels are your only choice.
Anyway, I remain a fan of the premise: a person uses their study of economics, administration, and general smarts to improve a suffering kingdom. He doesn't battle and scream his love interest's name as he plunges a sword through a demon. Instead, he figures out policy changes needed to boost the place he lives. This book does have elements of a harem anime with at least four beautiful women interested in the MC. At the same time, it does it pretty healthily with the MC only seriously interested in one, and even the nods to polyamory are of the healthier version of people bringing different things to a relationship, rather than jealousies, misunderstandings, and lies.
Book one does wander a fair amount. Other than the premise, it's hard to say exactly what the plot is. It is mostly episodic, doing one thing and then another. However, I'm halfway through Book Two now and it is all coming together where these earlier episodes show up into a coherent plot. It might be best two treat books one and two as really one novel. Something else contributing to the episodic nature is the inclusion of multiple stories even after the main plot stops for dozens of pages. Book One is sort of like a collection of stories about this MC being in this world, and the MC's PV is only about 40% of the book.
Overall, I'm enjoying this. I like the slow-life slice-of-life genre far more than shonen adventure. I don't even read the latter, tbh. For a book like this one, a date between the MC and the princess is as important as a governmental reformation, and I like that. But know it going in.
At the same time, most of the weaknesses of the novels have been solved by the anime. Where the novel can have very superficial writing of emotion and scene, the anime puts those missing elements on the screen while following the plot pretty faithfully. (I've not figured out yet whether the writing I see in light novels reflects Japanese story telling, light novel story telling, or mediocre translators who probably aren't paid enough for flourishing prose.)
If you can only do one, I'd recommend the anime, but the light novels will give more depth and explanation (and wandering). Of course, the anime may never get a second season, so if you want to follow the story beyond the first two books, the novels are your only choice.
March 6, 2022
I think this light novel is one of the better Isekai (transported-summoned, reincarnated to another world). This one is like a textbook example of excellent governance. Author demonstrates vast knowledge in construction, infraestructure, imagination in kingdom and territorial development. A bad comparison to this Light Novel would be The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt. Good governance Light novels are like Death March on a Parallel Universe, Demon King and Hero, In another world with my smartphone, Lazy Dungeon Master, Log Horizon, Overlord and Arifureta. Great web novels that deal with world development and good governance are like Monster Paradise, Second Coming of Gluttony, Memorize, The World Online, The Taming Master and Mechanical World Emperor. Although Isekai has become rather cliché, all of the light novels and web novels recommended are positive, creative, purpose driven with ambition and success.
There is what I consider dark Isekais, that deal with wimpy, under achiever, pervert, main characters that receive super powers OP (over powered) from the get go and can't even manage their lives, their success, or the alternate world that they are sent to. Only Overlord is like an anti Isekai because main character is the antagonist of the world that he gets sent to.
Things that could get improved in this Realist Hero Light novel is that the author freely and without any warning, changes the time and tense of the story, from future, to past to present and also changes the point of view from first person to third person, to to and fro of the characters that surround or are close to the main character Souma Kazuya.
I also think that the readers misunderstand the capacity and potential that Souma's skill has. Souma in this first volume uses it mostly for bookkeeping but his puppet mastery and enormous mana/magic capacity if used correctly can defeat almost any opponent.
I hope this light novel advances quickly. It's depth is enormous so I hope the author does not sink the main character and his retinue in just a bookkeeper/zombie boring work all the time light novel.
There is what I consider dark Isekais, that deal with wimpy, under achiever, pervert, main characters that receive super powers OP (over powered) from the get go and can't even manage their lives, their success, or the alternate world that they are sent to. Only Overlord is like an anti Isekai because main character is the antagonist of the world that he gets sent to.
Things that could get improved in this Realist Hero Light novel is that the author freely and without any warning, changes the time and tense of the story, from future, to past to present and also changes the point of view from first person to third person, to to and fro of the characters that surround or are close to the main character Souma Kazuya.
I also think that the readers misunderstand the capacity and potential that Souma's skill has. Souma in this first volume uses it mostly for bookkeeping but his puppet mastery and enormous mana/magic capacity if used correctly can defeat almost any opponent.
I hope this light novel advances quickly. It's depth is enormous so I hope the author does not sink the main character and his retinue in just a bookkeeper/zombie boring work all the time light novel.
March 9, 2018
This book would be interesting, it's my opinion when reading the prologue and first chapter. Using mainstream Japanese Light Novel theme about summoning from another world, yet we have the main character, Kazuya Souma, not follow the usual trope like perform party and goes adventure to slay the demon king. Surprisingly, he was crowned as the King on the Elfreiden Kingdom, where he was summoned.
Thus, what you expected from this kind of story? As for me, I would expect about politics, coup d'etat, clash with corrupt noble, using tactics to subdue the opposing party and of course find the queen(s). Sadly, it's not meet all of my expectation.
I bemused how easy Kazuya Souma reform the Elfreiden Kingdom, no hurdle on his way to reform the kingdom. Instead drama and scheming scenes what I have is just a slice of life of new King gather his subordinate and implement all of modern Japan knowledge even the food cuisine. Is not like I hate this kind of story because of this I still could manage to finish it, but sure it's a little disappointing me. In my opinion instead of rebuilt the Kingdom why not using theme about built a Kingdom from nothing? I believe it's much better than using existing Kingdom as the base.
I understood the author wanted to make Kazuya Souma as intelligent character, but the way he was doing is very weird. I mean how could the princess of the Kingdom could not realize the cause of food crisis even she is on Military academy? Then we have Dark Elves that is not very Elf-y, I mean when I heard about Elf, is creature that becomes one with nature and in here it was described not wanted to cut down the forest and couldn't predict about landslide. Then why not describe them as normal village than an Elf, sighs.
Well, maybe my expectation was too high for this book. I wouldn't say is very bad, actually I'm enjoying some scenes and is very slice of life story. But, yeah the way the author wanted to make the Main Character looking smart with made the side character extremely dumb is very disappointing.
Thus, what you expected from this kind of story? As for me, I would expect about politics, coup d'etat, clash with corrupt noble, using tactics to subdue the opposing party and of course find the queen(s). Sadly, it's not meet all of my expectation.
I bemused how easy Kazuya Souma reform the Elfreiden Kingdom, no hurdle on his way to reform the kingdom. Instead drama and scheming scenes what I have is just a slice of life of new King gather his subordinate and implement all of modern Japan knowledge even the food cuisine. Is not like I hate this kind of story because of this I still could manage to finish it, but sure it's a little disappointing me. In my opinion instead of rebuilt the Kingdom why not using theme about built a Kingdom from nothing? I believe it's much better than using existing Kingdom as the base.
I understood the author wanted to make Kazuya Souma as intelligent character, but the way he was doing is very weird. I mean how could the princess of the Kingdom could not realize the cause of food crisis even she is on Military academy? Then we have Dark Elves that is not very Elf-y, I mean when I heard about Elf, is creature that becomes one with nature and in here it was described not wanted to cut down the forest and couldn't predict about landslide. Then why not describe them as normal village than an Elf, sighs.
Well, maybe my expectation was too high for this book. I wouldn't say is very bad, actually I'm enjoying some scenes and is very slice of life story. But, yeah the way the author wanted to make the Main Character looking smart with made the side character extremely dumb is very disappointing.
January 28, 2023
Another light novel, and other one in the Isekai genre that has been blowing up over the last 10 years. At this point the main draw to any isekai is what sets it apart from all the other escapist fantasies, and this one is relatively unique in concept and surprisingly well executed. Made to appeal not to the kid/teen who wants to be a hero. But the young adult who feels like they could accomplish so much more than just sitting in a cubical if they just had a slight edge. Its literally about a guy transported to another world and is *just* nerdy and knowledgeable enough about a wide array of subjects (particularly politics, history and economics) to kick start a societal, economic and technological revolution. Not because he has a unique skill that makes him a physical god, but because he was a diamond in the rough who never would have got a chance to show his insight and knowledge in our world.
It goes a little over the top, particularly with one or two machiavellian schemes. But otherwise its just a pragmatic hero getting to do what many nerds dream of "If I was sent back in time could my modern knowledge make the world a better place." And this story is actually a really fun and creative exploration of that idea. The world building is strong, and the introduced concepts and reforms have logical roots, and reasonable if exaggerated consequences.
Surprisingly, or maybe less so given the type of reader the story might attract, the translation is extremely well done. Its not the outright best ive seen but its at least in the top 10 if not the top 5 of books ive read for consistency and getting a translation where even the jokes land most of the time.
In the end I guess the best thing I can say about this is that a normal Isekai usually has the power fantasy of Wizard/Fighter/Monk. This has the Isekai energy of an engineering student playing an artificer and trying to break the world.
It goes a little over the top, particularly with one or two machiavellian schemes. But otherwise its just a pragmatic hero getting to do what many nerds dream of "If I was sent back in time could my modern knowledge make the world a better place." And this story is actually a really fun and creative exploration of that idea. The world building is strong, and the introduced concepts and reforms have logical roots, and reasonable if exaggerated consequences.
Surprisingly, or maybe less so given the type of reader the story might attract, the translation is extremely well done. Its not the outright best ive seen but its at least in the top 10 if not the top 5 of books ive read for consistency and getting a translation where even the jokes land most of the time.
In the end I guess the best thing I can say about this is that a normal Isekai usually has the power fantasy of Wizard/Fighter/Monk. This has the Isekai energy of an engineering student playing an artificer and trying to break the world.
August 1, 2024
This is my first foray into Japanese isekai having read a lot of the western style portal fantasies in the recent past. The conversational tone of the story was a bit odd, especially coming from several POVs.
I quite enjoyed the MC's focus on rebuilding the kingdom. This plays well into my enjoyment of base building stories/games and frankly is the reason I opted to read this specific story.
The cultural references were pretty easy to follow even for a gaijin like me. Even though the food and songs mentioned (mostly) were not things I was familiar with, it did not take away from the story at all. I also thought it was interesting the prominence of Machiavelli principles. While this was not something I was expecting in a Japanese written novel, I think the use was appropriate. I think a writer in modern times should be well read especially with philosophy from around the planet, regardless of culture.
Here is my main critique though. Chekhov said "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." I would think this is even more true if you have three or four loaded rifles on the stage and none of them get fire. And by loaded rifles I mean love interests. There is the betrothed Princess, bodyguard turned foodie, an idol and a thief that has the hots for the puppet. There are several others that are likely to soon be loaded rifles, also. The problem is that none of these rifles are getting fired.
Honestly, I don't think the story needs to have a harem nor does it really need to get too deeply into a single love interest. But this limbo state of having unfired rifles is annoying; Fire them or leave them out. This is the reason it isn't 5 stars. If after the next book there are more loaded rifles and none getting fired, this score will be a lot lower.
I quite enjoyed the MC's focus on rebuilding the kingdom. This plays well into my enjoyment of base building stories/games and frankly is the reason I opted to read this specific story.
The cultural references were pretty easy to follow even for a gaijin like me. Even though the food and songs mentioned (mostly) were not things I was familiar with, it did not take away from the story at all. I also thought it was interesting the prominence of Machiavelli principles. While this was not something I was expecting in a Japanese written novel, I think the use was appropriate. I think a writer in modern times should be well read especially with philosophy from around the planet, regardless of culture.
Here is my main critique though. Chekhov said "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." I would think this is even more true if you have three or four loaded rifles on the stage and none of them get fire. And by loaded rifles I mean love interests. There is the betrothed Princess, bodyguard turned foodie, an idol and a thief that has the hots for the puppet. There are several others that are likely to soon be loaded rifles, also. The problem is that none of these rifles are getting fired.
Honestly, I don't think the story needs to have a harem nor does it really need to get too deeply into a single love interest. But this limbo state of having unfired rifles is annoying; Fire them or leave them out. This is the reason it isn't 5 stars. If after the next book there are more loaded rifles and none getting fired, this score will be a lot lower.
December 13, 2020
How do you feel when you suddenly got summoned to a foreign country and in a matter of days, become the king of said country?
When I first read a few of the first chapters, I am hook immediately. The premise of the story is good and the styling is great. However, once I reach the middle part, things get ugly. There is one time the author pulls a deus ex machina by suddenly revealing a smartphone and a few times where the author just twists the story out of nowhere. The foreshadowing in this story is executed badly, as instead of showing the information bits by bits the author decided to withheld the information by "cutting" the relevant parts.
The style is captivating enough to let me finish the story. However, the lack of date or time and lots of time skip making me confused about the chronology. I just know that it is going forward but I don't know for how long. There are lots of perspective shifts here and while it is a good way of showing what the other characters think, it might leave you feel a little disoriented.
The character interaction is.. well.. let's just say it is there. Mostly, the interaction is about the harem, so a warning for those that are not fans of that genre.
World Building is surprisingly quite detailed, I can get an overview of the continent and about the current condition of the country. Not to mention the early reveal of what might be the main enemy of the series.
I don't know whether I'm going to continue reading the series or not. I'm not exactly a fan of the harem genre and the fact that it is showing this early into the series gets me worried. On another note, I do like this kind of kingdom building story, and the style, pardon the time skip, is good and interesting.
When I first read a few of the first chapters, I am hook immediately. The premise of the story is good and the styling is great. However, once I reach the middle part, things get ugly. There is one time the author pulls a deus ex machina by suddenly revealing a smartphone and a few times where the author just twists the story out of nowhere. The foreshadowing in this story is executed badly, as instead of showing the information bits by bits the author decided to withheld the information by "cutting" the relevant parts.
The style is captivating enough to let me finish the story. However, the lack of date or time and lots of time skip making me confused about the chronology. I just know that it is going forward but I don't know for how long. There are lots of perspective shifts here and while it is a good way of showing what the other characters think, it might leave you feel a little disoriented.
The character interaction is.. well.. let's just say it is there. Mostly, the interaction is about the harem, so a warning for those that are not fans of that genre.
World Building is surprisingly quite detailed, I can get an overview of the continent and about the current condition of the country. Not to mention the early reveal of what might be the main enemy of the series.
I don't know whether I'm going to continue reading the series or not. I'm not exactly a fan of the harem genre and the fact that it is showing this early into the series gets me worried. On another note, I do like this kind of kingdom building story, and the style, pardon the time skip, is good and interesting.
June 24, 2023
Man, that was boring. And boy, does it have a poor grasp on economics, social studies, and military matters. It tries, it tries so hard to create a genius character through monologue and off-screen results of investigation and analysis (Like Brandon Sanderson in Emperor's Soul), but it fails so hard because, if you know anything about medieval culture, politics, or about group management... The MC is such a fucking idiot. His ideas are poorly explained, and not implemented beyond saying he did the paperwork and he never, ever face any consequences nor blocks that are not from terrible no good nobles. He has all the resources, all the knowledge (with superb memory and decades of experience while being a student) all the people who are superhuman, all the knowledge, and all the skills to simply act as if he had reality-warping magic.
And he triumphs because all the rest are fucking idiots. Like the kingdom has 0 culture, 0 philosophy, and some of the most piss poor social management in a fantasy setting, which put him in the normal category of Isekai stories, to be fair.
But this is not Spice and Wolf. Not by a long shot.
I mean, this person explains it more thoroughly than I could ever do and while this is for the anime, the LN is just as bad. Honest (https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/commen...)
And he triumphs because all the rest are fucking idiots. Like the kingdom has 0 culture, 0 philosophy, and some of the most piss poor social management in a fantasy setting, which put him in the normal category of Isekai stories, to be fair.
But this is not Spice and Wolf. Not by a long shot.
I mean, this person explains it more thoroughly than I could ever do and while this is for the anime, the LN is just as bad. Honest (https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/commen...)
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