While I am very happy for the author that he was able to overcome his medical issues and fulfill his dreams of writing a novel (per the afterward), I wish he had not written this book. Apart from the fact that it's so full of tropes instead of plot (only boy in school! two jealous childhood friends! immature teachers!), it's also sexist and a bit racist to the point where I had to wonder if the author ever talked to his wife (or any other woman) or anyone from another country.
Long story short, there are better mecha and harem LNs out there. Maybe read one of those instead.
I finished volume 1. It's a harem series in a high school setting, so expect to see all those tropes that come with that (Tsunderes, dense guy, misunderstandings).
What makes this one a bit interesting is that a lot of it is told from a first person point of view with our dense hero, so we hear what he sees, and since he is dense some of what he sees isn't quite what's going on. Like, one girl looks away when he turns to her and he thinks she is being cold towards him, when she in fact is probably looking away out of embarrassment.
The characters aren't that interesting as of now, and I doubt they'll get much better. Our protagonist Orimura is just stupid and dense (he doesn't see anything sexually; like, one of his childhood friends promised him when she got older and good at cooking she would cook him pork for life... He took this as an opportunity for free food, and not as her offering to be his wife). The supporting cast fit into some tropes, although Orimura sometimes incorrectly reads their characters, so you do kind of have to work to figure out which trope they really are. Houki, the forced lead and cover gal is honestly not that endearing to me, and our protagonist can't even really recall his past with her, which seems like a recipe for disaster. The cast is rounded out by Cecilia (Brit Ojou character), Rin (childhood friend #2) Yamada Maya (teacher) and Chifuyu (Sister and Homeroom Teacher).
The Mecha gets introduced pretty early on, and it's fairly important, though harem shenanigans probably take up more pages. You only learn some small details about the history of its invention (created by Houki's sister, developed for space travel, used in sports, only to be used for emergency military operations). We get a few opportunities to see IS in action, though really only two combat scenarios. There's probably more to learn there.
Overall, it was ok. I think it does some stuff that I find fun (like Orimura's horrible cliche sayings, and his confidence in his very wrong deductions), but yeah, it wastes a lot of time with harem stuff. I think introducing Rin in this volume was a bit much. Her story kind of takes over the plot halfway through the book, whereas the other two gals I didn't think dominated the first half as much. I'd like to learn more about Chifuyu too.
This is one of the "older" light novels, first published in 2009, that deal with the classroom environment. The volume size is short, 4 chapters, the theme is kind of flat and uncomplicated. The main character Orimura Ichika, is an underachiever, lack of ambition, excellence, good study habits/study methods etc. given a unique opportunity on Earth, probably because he grew up with the inventor of the IS (Infinite Stratos) mecca robotic structures (Exoskeleton) that this school (IS Academy), and Earth's current defenses favors. Main character is the only guy in an all girls school. This has been made into an anime series. It also has a manga (better suited because of lack of substance) and insistent pursuit of trying to check of as many cliches, puns, awkward situations as possible. Author probably has a very low emotional intelligence or decided to dumb everyone down in this light novel. Everything so far is centered on physiological needs. (Food, sleep, sexual attraction, bathroom, bathing, etc.) The title really doesn't describe anything. Infinite Stratos (ongoing forever covering or spread out). Unless, stratos is supposed to mean "cover" or maybe "shield"? Then these exoskeleton "robotic" weapons and structures would make their bearers like future fighting "knights" and "Lady Knights. There are 467 IS equipment for up to that many (women) assigned to them. The main character is the first "male" that has been assigned an IS equipment. The little "action" in this volume is the sparring sessions and competitions that the students have with each other. Because they receive no real technical, strategy, fighting, it seems like the characters are just playing around with extremely expensive "tech-toys".
Interesting read. In this case, the anime version was better. This has a slow pace.
All of the Japanese tropes are in place and played up more than usual. I can see this one making certain types angry. I love it! When asked about some of the warped thinking in this type of book, the Japanese audiences will point out that one needs to have a sense of humor and take things like this with a grain of salt. Think about it, the book is the basis of a glorified cartoon!
As far as the story goes, I hope it gets better as it goes along. "Interesting" is not the same as action packed or thrilling. The world described is coherent and consistent and leaves a lot of room for development.
I look forward to seeing where the author takes the series.
Wow, I knew going in it was going to be a harem and fan service heavy. What I did not expect was to not like a single character. Nary a one of them is worth a second volume.
While it's a given that the hero will attract the romantic interests of anyone even slightly attractive, this novel wound up being ridiculously sexist.
What I found most unappealing was the authors refusal to treat his own setting (women are in charge of everything, because tech makes the much stronger than men) seriously. It seems this was really just an excuse for the protagonist to have no male competition, and a convenient excuse to demonstrate that women really do want the man to be in charge if at all possible.
Other than the hard-core sexism, the book was an entertaining read, though fairly typical for a light novel.