I'm a fan of the manga series, but didn't decide to pick this one up until recently since I'm not big on light novels -- I read a couple of badly translated anime tie-ins years back, so that kind of coloured my opinion. I'm really glad I decided to read this one though. I loved getting to hear more of the internal voices of all the characters, and I especially enjoyed the fact that Crim is referred to as 'them' during third person narration. That made me happy. If you've read the manga then this is more of the same -- a group of likeable degenerates getting their rocks off with an assortment of fantasy females. My favourite chapter was probably The Crack In The Door, and getting to see another side of Stunk. (Getting to see Aloe the fairy reappear was great too). I really love the colourful, fun world that's been created here.
Reviewing erotica is a difficult prospect. Like horror or comedy, it can be highly subjective. And while I found this book to be adequately written, I didn't really find it hot. The sex scenes mostly meandered from all right to holy-crap-big-squick.
The story follows a group of guys from different fantasy species who "follow their compass" to brothels. And if you rolled your eyes at that innuendo, be warned the book -loves- it. So anyway, they decide that they're going to offer reviews of the different places they go, because different species are looking for different things in a stimulating sexual experience. And on its face, that's a heck of a concept. There are so many weird, interesting things you could do with it.
So, I guess a big part of my problem is that the book actually does very little with the concept.
Our group of reviewers includes all sorts of different folks -- a dog man, an elf, a halfling, an angel, etc. But for some reason, we focus on Stunk, a human. He's just ... eh. Your mileage may vary, but I found him to be such a boring window into the world. His experiences of sex are just the human ones. We almost never dive into the thoughts of the other characters, into their experiences. We don't really find out how their experience worked out until the end of the chapter.
It was also kind of weirdly ... heteronormative? Like, most of the experiences were some form of unusual foreplay, followed by regular sex. But there's this one time they go to a place where the gimmick is you take a gender change potion. So I'm thinking, OK, this should be interesting to see how Stunk handles this one. But then we hop into the head of the angel character instead. Now, the angel has both male and female sex organs, but the potion gets rid of the male ones. but then, it turns out the person they're having sex with is also a woman. So, cool. Except... the sex scene still comes across like regular male/female sex scene?
I don't know, I guess maybe I was expecting a little too much out of an erotic light novel about having sex with monster girls. :)
But it was a quick read, and kept things moving along. Some of the other reviews' reviews were a lot of fun to read, as the differences in their physiology made different types of experience way better or worse. For instance, the elf is particularly attuned to the magic of the person he's with, while the dog man is sensitive to smells. So if it sounds interesting, give it a shot. :)
Went into this expecting a raunchy comedy just like the namesake anime. Instead got an erotica novel that really overstayed its welcome. The beginning plays out a lot like the anime did and it felt very basic. I stuck with it thinking that it must get more interesting in the latter half; it got weird, but it never got anywhere else. There was even an attempt at adventure/action in the final chapters that just felt tedious to read.
Surprisingly, the translation read just fine, which is nice, considering that most LN translations I've encountered were very lacking. The translation did get a little nonsensical/redundant in some exposition parts towards the end. Also, having Crim referred to as "them" got confusing in several parts, especially when Crim was accompanied by a group.
Overall, nothing redeemable about this book in the comedy department and it's sorely lacking in good erotica; you're better off finding some random fanfiction to read about SCPs, if that's what you're after. And I say this as a fan of the anime and manga.
Though this book is comprised of short stories that stand on their own, there is an overarching plot that keeps it all focused.
Really well done selections. Each story has a different sexual experience. This made me love Crim even more, especially after reading their emotional story with Elza.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Crim having They/Them pronouns and in another scene the characters bring up non-binary. Totally wasn’t expecting that.
Interesting continuation of the Manga story. Getting Stunk’s backstory was heartbreaking in many ways! It really adds perspective on why hes hypersexual, knowing that he was in a heated relationship with a maid at 14. Also love the nonbinary/intersex character Crim, he’s endlessly loveable!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.