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空ろの箱と零のマリア [Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria] #7
The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria, Vol. 7
(Volume 1)
Kazuki Hoshino leads the easy-going life of a typical high school student--until the appearance of a new girl in his class turns his world upside down! Introducing herself with a promise to "break" Kazuki is abnormal enough to make an impression, sure, but why does she seem so familiar...?
Kazuki Hoshino leads the easy-going life of a typical high school student--until the appearance of a new girl in his class turns his world upside down! Introducing herself with a promise to "break" Kazuki is abnormal enough to make an impression, sure, but why does she seem so familiar...?
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2015
15 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Eiji Mikage
12 books136 followersDropped out of college to become a writer; he still works a part time job to make ends meet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 23, 2015
Having reread the entire series up until the seventh novel, I felt as if I had been with these characters for a long time. After all, I have experienced their stories for the length of twelve novels now, and experienced one form of post-finale depression the first time around. Having returned to the spot I was left at 6 months ago, I could not help but feel excited: the hole is about to get closed off, for good. My excitement was mostly due to the fact that it was going to finish off the series, and less so because I was going to read yet another Hakomari novel: after all, no novel could have me interested as much as the fourth one could, right?
But I was wrong. I did not foresee the emotional road the next 4 hours would bring me.
The seventh volume is, by far, the darkest and most painful read of the series. You can see the resolutions of our main character's arc, the incredible trial, and some of the most heart-thumping, fingernail-biting, heart-rate-inducing scenes a novel could bring. There is no 'slow ride' here, and it made the series-one which I considered close to perfect- that much better.
I will read this again, if only to experience the madness this novel has exemplified. This is the second time a series has given my post-finale depression, and I feel state, it was absolutely worth it.
But I was wrong. I did not foresee the emotional road the next 4 hours would bring me.
The seventh volume is, by far, the darkest and most painful read of the series. You can see the resolutions of our main character's arc, the incredible trial, and some of the most heart-thumping, fingernail-biting, heart-rate-inducing scenes a novel could bring. There is no 'slow ride' here, and it made the series-one which I considered close to perfect- that much better.
I will read this again, if only to experience the madness this novel has exemplified. This is the second time a series has given my post-finale depression, and I feel state, it was absolutely worth it.
September 27, 2019
Review for vol. 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review for vol. 6: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The finale of The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria doesn't quite live up to my expectation, it's like that the main couple is still going to extreme measure () to grant their wishes, but the truth about Maria's older sister (Zero?) is a bit flat and underwhelming.
I don't hate this book, the plot and the ending do make sense to me, but I'm not very engaged with the story.
Review for vol. 6: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The finale of The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria doesn't quite live up to my expectation, it's like that the main couple is still going to extreme measure () to grant their wishes, but the truth about Maria's older sister (Zero?) is a bit flat and underwhelming.
I don't hate this book, the plot and the ending do make sense to me, but I'm not very engaged with the story.
August 5, 2015
Never getting over this.
March 26, 2024
i'm reading threads of people begging for anime adaptations of this series and bemoaning how this novel isn't popular in japan in comparison to its oversea audiences, and that's just about the most satisfying thing i've gotten from reading this. i hope this novel dies in obscurity.
July 5, 2020
After a long several months of going through this series, I finally reached the end and got all of the closure I've been waiting for. It wasn't the perfect kind of happy ending that one might have hoped for, but somehow it was still incredibly satisfying! The story itself was more of a throwback more than anything, making it come full circle from where the story started with the Rejecting Classroom, but giving one final good-bye to the characters as well. The epilogue got me all sentimental too...
What an incredible series. I ought to look a little bit more into light novels in the future, but I have another mission I need to finish in the meantime...
What an incredible series. I ought to look a little bit more into light novels in the future, but I have another mission I need to finish in the meantime...
February 9, 2016
need more attention.
deserve more rating.
deserve more rating.
April 23, 2022
Well.... This was a little disappointing, but I can afford this decent finish.
As a first disappointment, we have Maria's past, not for the lack of surprises, but for the inconsistency of the writing, the narrative and the lack of logic in the respective parts...... I mean, while I might think the writing remains decent , the narrative seems strangely misplaced. The situations that the characters find themselves in are poorly explained and even considering the point of view of fiction, they are incongruous and do not do justice to human complexity. Most of them later turn out to be predictable plot twists and even with very cliché settings. In general, reactions do not seem to connect well with the grandeur of the facts, whether this is due to the author's incompetence in passing the flow of information so that we can think like the characters or simply because of his clear lack of cohesion that seems to laugh at all the complexity. human, like a political stand-up show in which satire only hides the hate
Flashbacks are commonly used to bring empathy, it's the most practical way to feel the pain of others and their sins, but it seems that some authors completely forget the power of context and think that all feelings can be conveyed by a quick and superficial writing. ..... Shit, that's not how literature works!
I can clearly see a depth here and I catch it before being drowned by the pressure of the cliché, but this small remnant doesn't serve to overcome all the negative pressure caused by the sea, thus creating a typhoon, a maritime distortion that takes everything around it. , even the remnant of depth
(Hey... Was I the only one who laughed when Kazuki kills a dog? I'm not a sadist or ibama's worst enemy {I leave that title to Hoshino}, but the narrative construction of this was comical shit lol)
But, with the slight inclination of the narrative, a clear change of quality appears, bringing itself to the vision of Kazuki and later... The "approximation writing" here ties to Kazuki and his endless loops, thus generating well-written literary plot twists. pleasant people who manage to hide a little between mystery and obviousness, the latter usually camouflaged by how absurd the situation is (in a positive and creative way)
Of course, we have an interesting amount of philosophies here, with some decent answers!!!
Lies are cheap, truth is expensive. Human beings usually take the path of least resistance.
The choice is yours: watch the crack in the wall grow until the bricks fall on your head, or tear down the opaque wall and build a low fence or a wall with windows, to let the truth shine through.
But obviously, still, something cheap can still be more important than something expensive, everything is based on reframing the context of what you really want to protect at the moment and this is reason enough to lie or tell the truth.
Lies have always been two sides of a coin, they are neither absolute evil nor the ultimate good. In the same way they can be used as a refuge to protect yourself or someone, for example a child who had his father's absence as a mark of loneliness for much of his childhood and if he asks if his father is still alive, just we have to lie that he sure is, after all, the only duty of children is to smile and be happy and we can't spoil all this by throwing the cold and mysterious reality for them. In the same way, they can be used as a way to hurt and I don't even need to explain this, after all the amount of kidnapping scams or fake products speaks for itself.
But regardless, as long as there was humility in the heart of a lost man, there would be courage in the heart of a hero. While everything seems to be falling apart, there will always be someone who will be willing to protect you from the rubble, even if they hide this virtue behind a black and somber layer. So, scream for help and stop carrying silly guilt that will develop into an infinite trauma, because then, surely someone will try to help you
So when Aya Otonashi calls for help, she becomes Maria and so the empty box that is her fearless knight who lost everything appears once again.
Every human being makes mistakes, that is obvious, but every human being also has the right to apologize, and it will be this excuse that will hold his momentary status. It is from the moment you are able to overcome the bubble of pride and take the next step that you can mend what has been cracked by the past.
Yes... Human complexity is infinite, so when interspersed with another infinity, equalities will appear infinitely. So, even without your connoisseur, the world didn't end, you just need to give the world and its people another chance. Just like astronauts landing on the moon, this was a small step towards change, but a huge step towards salvation.
In the end, with all the distortions caused by the box, one's indestructible motive still remains! A boy who traded his everyday life for solid love and finally understood what it's like to connect with someone and what "the eternal" means to this idiotic world of constant changes caused by the box that mock the everyday!!!! To love is to never give up, it is to capture this fine line between a discolored world and another one surrounded by the organoleptic rainbow. From the moment you let go of it, it means that love is lost as well as what you wanted to prevail in the end.
Any idiotic rebuttal of this fact is probably a denial of reality...... After all, when was there a love that involved abandoning oneself?
Just like an illusionist who pretends to create distortions in reality, this is this author's fantasy world, sometimes allowing himself to be the magician of his own story and sometimes being inferior to his own audience, but in the end, his career is over. and his magic was marked, even just as a form of illusion, becoming a real writer
As a first disappointment, we have Maria's past, not for the lack of surprises, but for the inconsistency of the writing, the narrative and the lack of logic in the respective parts...... I mean, while I might think the writing remains decent , the narrative seems strangely misplaced. The situations that the characters find themselves in are poorly explained and even considering the point of view of fiction, they are incongruous and do not do justice to human complexity. Most of them later turn out to be predictable plot twists and even with very cliché settings. In general, reactions do not seem to connect well with the grandeur of the facts, whether this is due to the author's incompetence in passing the flow of information so that we can think like the characters or simply because of his clear lack of cohesion that seems to laugh at all the complexity. human, like a political stand-up show in which satire only hides the hate
Flashbacks are commonly used to bring empathy, it's the most practical way to feel the pain of others and their sins, but it seems that some authors completely forget the power of context and think that all feelings can be conveyed by a quick and superficial writing. ..... Shit, that's not how literature works!
I can clearly see a depth here and I catch it before being drowned by the pressure of the cliché, but this small remnant doesn't serve to overcome all the negative pressure caused by the sea, thus creating a typhoon, a maritime distortion that takes everything around it. , even the remnant of depth
(Hey... Was I the only one who laughed when Kazuki kills a dog? I'm not a sadist or ibama's worst enemy {I leave that title to Hoshino}, but the narrative construction of this was comical shit lol)
But, with the slight inclination of the narrative, a clear change of quality appears, bringing itself to the vision of Kazuki and later... The "approximation writing" here ties to Kazuki and his endless loops, thus generating well-written literary plot twists. pleasant people who manage to hide a little between mystery and obviousness, the latter usually camouflaged by how absurd the situation is (in a positive and creative way)
Of course, we have an interesting amount of philosophies here, with some decent answers!!!
Lies are cheap, truth is expensive. Human beings usually take the path of least resistance.
The choice is yours: watch the crack in the wall grow until the bricks fall on your head, or tear down the opaque wall and build a low fence or a wall with windows, to let the truth shine through.
But obviously, still, something cheap can still be more important than something expensive, everything is based on reframing the context of what you really want to protect at the moment and this is reason enough to lie or tell the truth.
Lies have always been two sides of a coin, they are neither absolute evil nor the ultimate good. In the same way they can be used as a refuge to protect yourself or someone, for example a child who had his father's absence as a mark of loneliness for much of his childhood and if he asks if his father is still alive, just we have to lie that he sure is, after all, the only duty of children is to smile and be happy and we can't spoil all this by throwing the cold and mysterious reality for them. In the same way, they can be used as a way to hurt and I don't even need to explain this, after all the amount of kidnapping scams or fake products speaks for itself.
But regardless, as long as there was humility in the heart of a lost man, there would be courage in the heart of a hero. While everything seems to be falling apart, there will always be someone who will be willing to protect you from the rubble, even if they hide this virtue behind a black and somber layer. So, scream for help and stop carrying silly guilt that will develop into an infinite trauma, because then, surely someone will try to help you
So when Aya Otonashi calls for help, she becomes Maria and so the empty box that is her fearless knight who lost everything appears once again.
Every human being makes mistakes, that is obvious, but every human being also has the right to apologize, and it will be this excuse that will hold his momentary status. It is from the moment you are able to overcome the bubble of pride and take the next step that you can mend what has been cracked by the past.
Yes... Human complexity is infinite, so when interspersed with another infinity, equalities will appear infinitely. So, even without your connoisseur, the world didn't end, you just need to give the world and its people another chance. Just like astronauts landing on the moon, this was a small step towards change, but a huge step towards salvation.
In the end, with all the distortions caused by the box, one's indestructible motive still remains! A boy who traded his everyday life for solid love and finally understood what it's like to connect with someone and what "the eternal" means to this idiotic world of constant changes caused by the box that mock the everyday!!!! To love is to never give up, it is to capture this fine line between a discolored world and another one surrounded by the organoleptic rainbow. From the moment you let go of it, it means that love is lost as well as what you wanted to prevail in the end.
Any idiotic rebuttal of this fact is probably a denial of reality...... After all, when was there a love that involved abandoning oneself?
Just like an illusionist who pretends to create distortions in reality, this is this author's fantasy world, sometimes allowing himself to be the magician of his own story and sometimes being inferior to his own audience, but in the end, his career is over. and his magic was marked, even just as a form of illusion, becoming a real writer
February 8, 2017
(this review includes volume 6)
I completed the final two novels much faster than I expected, since there was close to nothing new going on in them. There are no new boxes appearing, no new opponents to defeat, and no new challenges to talk about. It’s basically the epilogue, stretched over two whole volumes, because the author had run out of ideas and was procrastinating by rehashing the same ideas and events for over a dozen times. Basically, what was simply the bland MC saving his waifu was stretched into a clip show of previous books.
The first big WTF is the introduction of Maria’s sister. There was no foreshadowing about her existence, she is dead way before the events of the first book, and she doesn’t have any actual purpose in the plot, other than being the avatar of Maria’s box. Basically, there was no point being there. And by the way, where did the protagonist’s sister go? She was also introduced out of nowhere in the second book, the only thing we learned about her is how she loves walking around in her underwear, and that’s it. She is never seen doing anything else ever since. The author had no idea what to do with her, so he simply wrote her off and introduced another sister which again he has no idea what to do with.
The only purpose she serves is to increase the edge for the sake of it. She hated her school and ruined the lives of several students and teachers. What effect does any of that have on the plot? Absolutely none; these events were shoehorned in the epilogue without a purpose… besides offering edge that is; which is exactly why they are so shallow and passable.
A big part of whatever the author considers a plot has to do with the bullying and torture of one of the girls. Putting aside how overused it is as a theme in Japanese culture, it doesn’t add anything to the character in question. If it was introduced sooner, there would be room to do something with it, especially in terms of explaining why she was behaving like a slut for all these books.
But this late in the story and after all those time resets, it means nothing. The characters go as far as admitting how whatever the boxes were doing all this time was pointless, since no matter what their power were, it was getting erased at the end. How do you expect the reader to care when you make it so obvious that it’s pointless to care?
And I am just baffled with how lazily the author handled the after effects of the previous box. It was the single case where the victims did not forget the whole thing after it was over, and they don’t react to it. They just go on with their lives like it was never important in the first place. It’s as if even the amnesia gimmick was pointless, since people wouldn’t give a shit about the devastation the boxes are causing either way.
That is exactly what makes the final book impossible to care anymore. It’s about the MC trying to make Maria remember all the fun times they had together, although we are told a dozen times how it doesn’t matter because the outcome is pointless.
It’s even ridiculous how he is trying to make it happen. He starts by spending 50 pages in admitting he is a pervert who gets a boner out of cosplay and unshaved armpits. How does admitting your fetishes, brings you any closer to your goal? You are not trying to redeem yourself by admitting you are an otaku, you are trying to make your waifu to remember.
This is exactly why any of the themes of guilt these books are going for, come of as pretentious at best. They are just non-stop self-deprecation without meaningful catharsis. The author thinks that by constantly torturing his characters in the most humiliating ways imaginable, is somehow fixing all the shit going on in their sick minds. No, it doesn’t. Admitting you have issues and being tortured because of them does not give you means to come out a better man, you are just becoming a self-loathing punching bag.
This is why when the protagonist thinks that the best thing he has to do, is commit suicide and reset time 100.000 times, comes off as completely retarded. Death has no meaning, guilt has no meaning, nothing has any meaning. These are just gimmicks for pleasing the edgelords instead of exploring themes or developing characters. It’s torture for torture’s sake. It’s exactly why the suffering and constant dying in Rezero were bullshit as well.
By the way, if you think I am overreacting, would you still say that when I inform you the protagonist is eventually thinking that the best thing he can do is murder everybody? And that he’s inspired by what he sees on television regarding shootings in American schools? Or blow himself up like an ISIS terrorist? What kind of sickening chuuni bullshit is this where you get waifus by killing hundreds of innocent people? And if you think he doesn’t actually do any of that, you are mistaken.
He poisons everyone and jumps to his death. He kills himself a dozen times without doing anything of notice, because he had a fit of reason. He rams the school with a truck. He takes hostages, ties them up, and burns them alive. Let me spare you the cringe. This goes on for 100 pages. 100 pages of killing innocent people in various ways. And then they marry. The end. You really expect me to care after all this bullshit? That was terrible. If this is the highest rated light novel in human history, just imagine what the rest of them are.
I completed the final two novels much faster than I expected, since there was close to nothing new going on in them. There are no new boxes appearing, no new opponents to defeat, and no new challenges to talk about. It’s basically the epilogue, stretched over two whole volumes, because the author had run out of ideas and was procrastinating by rehashing the same ideas and events for over a dozen times. Basically, what was simply the bland MC saving his waifu was stretched into a clip show of previous books.
The first big WTF is the introduction of Maria’s sister. There was no foreshadowing about her existence, she is dead way before the events of the first book, and she doesn’t have any actual purpose in the plot, other than being the avatar of Maria’s box. Basically, there was no point being there. And by the way, where did the protagonist’s sister go? She was also introduced out of nowhere in the second book, the only thing we learned about her is how she loves walking around in her underwear, and that’s it. She is never seen doing anything else ever since. The author had no idea what to do with her, so he simply wrote her off and introduced another sister which again he has no idea what to do with.
The only purpose she serves is to increase the edge for the sake of it. She hated her school and ruined the lives of several students and teachers. What effect does any of that have on the plot? Absolutely none; these events were shoehorned in the epilogue without a purpose… besides offering edge that is; which is exactly why they are so shallow and passable.
A big part of whatever the author considers a plot has to do with the bullying and torture of one of the girls. Putting aside how overused it is as a theme in Japanese culture, it doesn’t add anything to the character in question. If it was introduced sooner, there would be room to do something with it, especially in terms of explaining why she was behaving like a slut for all these books.
But this late in the story and after all those time resets, it means nothing. The characters go as far as admitting how whatever the boxes were doing all this time was pointless, since no matter what their power were, it was getting erased at the end. How do you expect the reader to care when you make it so obvious that it’s pointless to care?
And I am just baffled with how lazily the author handled the after effects of the previous box. It was the single case where the victims did not forget the whole thing after it was over, and they don’t react to it. They just go on with their lives like it was never important in the first place. It’s as if even the amnesia gimmick was pointless, since people wouldn’t give a shit about the devastation the boxes are causing either way.
That is exactly what makes the final book impossible to care anymore. It’s about the MC trying to make Maria remember all the fun times they had together, although we are told a dozen times how it doesn’t matter because the outcome is pointless.
It’s even ridiculous how he is trying to make it happen. He starts by spending 50 pages in admitting he is a pervert who gets a boner out of cosplay and unshaved armpits. How does admitting your fetishes, brings you any closer to your goal? You are not trying to redeem yourself by admitting you are an otaku, you are trying to make your waifu to remember.
This is exactly why any of the themes of guilt these books are going for, come of as pretentious at best. They are just non-stop self-deprecation without meaningful catharsis. The author thinks that by constantly torturing his characters in the most humiliating ways imaginable, is somehow fixing all the shit going on in their sick minds. No, it doesn’t. Admitting you have issues and being tortured because of them does not give you means to come out a better man, you are just becoming a self-loathing punching bag.
This is why when the protagonist thinks that the best thing he has to do, is commit suicide and reset time 100.000 times, comes off as completely retarded. Death has no meaning, guilt has no meaning, nothing has any meaning. These are just gimmicks for pleasing the edgelords instead of exploring themes or developing characters. It’s torture for torture’s sake. It’s exactly why the suffering and constant dying in Rezero were bullshit as well.
By the way, if you think I am overreacting, would you still say that when I inform you the protagonist is eventually thinking that the best thing he can do is murder everybody? And that he’s inspired by what he sees on television regarding shootings in American schools? Or blow himself up like an ISIS terrorist? What kind of sickening chuuni bullshit is this where you get waifus by killing hundreds of innocent people? And if you think he doesn’t actually do any of that, you are mistaken.
He poisons everyone and jumps to his death. He kills himself a dozen times without doing anything of notice, because he had a fit of reason. He rams the school with a truck. He takes hostages, ties them up, and burns them alive. Let me spare you the cringe. This goes on for 100 pages. 100 pages of killing innocent people in various ways. And then they marry. The end. You really expect me to care after all this bullshit? That was terrible. If this is the highest rated light novel in human history, just imagine what the rest of them are.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2024
The end to a long running 7 book series. Good bye Maria, good bye Kazuki and good bye to all the other characters that have been on this journey with us readers for the past 7 books.
I feel bittersweet, melancholy, that such a series has ended. One part of me wants to know and read more of their adventures while another is releived that both Maria and Kazuki can rest.
I remember starting this series in the darkness of my bedroom. I remember the plot twists of volume 1 and 2. I remember the vile plot twists of volume 3 and i remember the saddening plots of volumes 4, 5 and 6.
Volume 7, is the volume where the story fully focuses on our two main protagonists where the previous vols felt like the main protags were solving the problems of other people. How volume 7 differs is that we zero-in on Maria and Kazuki, only them and only between them. We focus on their relationship, their emotions towards each other and their philosophies as we go through this journey with them.
Maria's past exposed along with the mysterious figure of Aya Otonashi unraveled. Maria's flawed self view which gave rise to the boxes and her knight, Kazuki, set her free. Past chains severed, future hope is being created as the present links are being renewed.
Overall, the perfect ending to a 7 book series where everyone is happy. Some might say it's cringe and it's unrealistic but I cannot care less, is it wrong to wish for an ending where everyone lives happily ever after?
Oh Hakomari, you have been with me and on my bookshelf for years and only now has the words within each page embraced me.
Farewell Hakomari. Farewell Maria, the lonesome princess and farewell Kazuki, the lonesome prince.
I feel bittersweet, melancholy, that such a series has ended. One part of me wants to know and read more of their adventures while another is releived that both Maria and Kazuki can rest.
I remember starting this series in the darkness of my bedroom. I remember the plot twists of volume 1 and 2. I remember the vile plot twists of volume 3 and i remember the saddening plots of volumes 4, 5 and 6.
Volume 7, is the volume where the story fully focuses on our two main protagonists where the previous vols felt like the main protags were solving the problems of other people. How volume 7 differs is that we zero-in on Maria and Kazuki, only them and only between them. We focus on their relationship, their emotions towards each other and their philosophies as we go through this journey with them.
Maria's past exposed along with the mysterious figure of Aya Otonashi unraveled. Maria's flawed self view which gave rise to the boxes and her knight, Kazuki, set her free. Past chains severed, future hope is being created as the present links are being renewed.
Overall, the perfect ending to a 7 book series where everyone is happy. Some might say it's cringe and it's unrealistic but I cannot care less, is it wrong to wish for an ending where everyone lives happily ever after?
Oh Hakomari, you have been with me and on my bookshelf for years and only now has the words within each page embraced me.
Farewell Hakomari. Farewell Maria, the lonesome princess and farewell Kazuki, the lonesome prince.
August 9, 2024
Glad to be done with this series. A meh conclusion to a series that started really good and became meh. I liked that there weren't any real loose ends. They all got tied up. But at the same time, I think the ending was a bit too happy for all the characters considering the contents of this novel and previous ones.
April 3, 2020
So that's it.
I finished the 7th volume of HakoMari in 1 day, having read the entire series in sthg around 1,5 weeks time in total. I guess that's one meaning of "light" in light novel.
Was it light though? No. Definitely not even close.
I had heard many people say HakoMari is not for fainthearted - a very depressive and life breaking read. While that statement for sure will hold true for some, I did not find this to be it's most recognizable quality. The novelty of approach to narrative is.
Please do not misunderstand - there are also many artsy and original ways in which LN authors tend to tackle storytelling (Ryohgo Narita, NisiOisiN) that might feel consistently better than Mikage-sensei's. The beauty of HakoMari's novelty lies in how dynamic the changes in the flow of story are and this is achieved not only by quite a number of plot twists or abstract (AF!) ideas but most importantly by psychological drives and mental landscape of it's characters.
Speaking of characters. Well... Did I mention HakoMari is basically a character study with some stuff happening in the background? No? I'm pretty sure I did. Those 7 novels are just pure mindscape and if we were to exclude anything other than inner world's of the cast we would end up with pretty much the same content. The only flaw from my perspective was that literally everyone (apart from Haruaki) was IQ300 lvl genius able to read other IQ300 level genius' mind. Unfortunately, it came at an expense of story's credibility (if you can say that about any fiction) as there were other possible solutions for many puzzles or situations - a phenomenon mostly apparent in vol 5 & 6.
Again, I'm commenting on fiction, yet my feeling of immersion was broken a couple of times by excessively violent actions of some characters. I'm not saying Mikage-sensei didn't provide any reasoning for all of them - I mean that everyone in the series was driven to the extreme by emotion, even the manipulative and cold-hearted (see Yanagi & Iroha). I also find it hard to believe the blood drive and uncontrollable desire to drastically scar one another ie. in 12-15 year olds. In stark opposition - the largest, most grotesque gore fest in the entire series is actually amazingly well explained and developed (want to say justified in some manner, but that would be a tad socio/psychopatic).
All in all, I would recommend HakoMari to any psychological thriller fan that is not scared away by characters "going overboard" with their actions. Also, to any sicko romance fans out there!
Side note:
I have read the Polish translation of HakoMari published by Waneko. As with many JP->PL light novel conversions, the language tends to be cringy and awkward most of the time (cannot be sure if it's translator's fault) but is of generally decent quality. I am however displeased by the editorial level - missing commas, letters, full stops, repeated words and (the horror!! the horror!!) entire paragraphs seemingly in a different font than the previous. Unfortunately, a great disappointment in that regard, also because it's not a problem with just one volume. There is even more than 1 editor mentioned in the credits section!! Guyz, plz!
I finished the 7th volume of HakoMari in 1 day, having read the entire series in sthg around 1,5 weeks time in total. I guess that's one meaning of "light" in light novel.
Was it light though? No. Definitely not even close.
I had heard many people say HakoMari is not for fainthearted - a very depressive and life breaking read. While that statement for sure will hold true for some, I did not find this to be it's most recognizable quality. The novelty of approach to narrative is.
Please do not misunderstand - there are also many artsy and original ways in which LN authors tend to tackle storytelling (Ryohgo Narita, NisiOisiN) that might feel consistently better than Mikage-sensei's. The beauty of HakoMari's novelty lies in how dynamic the changes in the flow of story are and this is achieved not only by quite a number of plot twists or abstract (AF!) ideas but most importantly by psychological drives and mental landscape of it's characters.
Speaking of characters. Well... Did I mention HakoMari is basically a character study with some stuff happening in the background? No? I'm pretty sure I did. Those 7 novels are just pure mindscape and if we were to exclude anything other than inner world's of the cast we would end up with pretty much the same content. The only flaw from my perspective was that literally everyone (apart from Haruaki) was IQ300 lvl genius able to read other IQ300 level genius' mind. Unfortunately, it came at an expense of story's credibility (if you can say that about any fiction) as there were other possible solutions for many puzzles or situations - a phenomenon mostly apparent in vol 5 & 6.
Again, I'm commenting on fiction, yet my feeling of immersion was broken a couple of times by excessively violent actions of some characters. I'm not saying Mikage-sensei didn't provide any reasoning for all of them - I mean that everyone in the series was driven to the extreme by emotion, even the manipulative and cold-hearted (see Yanagi & Iroha). I also find it hard to believe the blood drive and uncontrollable desire to drastically scar one another ie. in 12-15 year olds. In stark opposition - the largest, most grotesque gore fest in the entire series is actually amazingly well explained and developed (want to say justified in some manner, but that would be a tad socio/psychopatic).
All in all, I would recommend HakoMari to any psychological thriller fan that is not scared away by characters "going overboard" with their actions. Also, to any sicko romance fans out there!
Side note:
I have read the Polish translation of HakoMari published by Waneko. As with many JP->PL light novel conversions, the language tends to be cringy and awkward most of the time (cannot be sure if it's translator's fault) but is of generally decent quality. I am however displeased by the editorial level - missing commas, letters, full stops, repeated words and (the horror!! the horror!!) entire paragraphs seemingly in a different font than the previous. Unfortunately, a great disappointment in that regard, also because it's not a problem with just one volume. There is even more than 1 editor mentioned in the credits section!! Guyz, plz!
May 24, 2016
To be frank, i'm really expecting lot of thing in the last vol of hakomari because of the cliffhanger from the previous volume, but i got pretty disappointed with this very last volume of the series.
Eiji-sensei writing is as striking as always, the story goes darker and darker and make me pause lot of time to catch my breath before continuing to the last paragraph, it's seriously make me wonder how Eiji-sensei could maintaining his sanity write such a piece, even i as a reader felt want to scream many time while reading this story.
but the major problem to me is, the plot is somewhat contradict with the other 6 volume i've read before.
What with Maria past? there's nothing to be repented from that. yes she could be resigned from that, grieving for it. but it's not as if she got any reason to felt responsible and burdening a sin heavy enough to make Daiya shaking on his feet while embrace her past sin.
Then how does Kazuki even trapped inside "that world" which is not even a box nor flawed bliss?
How did Kazuki know about Aya while he's actually trapped in secluded space? does it only his mind that trapped on include his body? what happened to Kazuki in outer world?
I don't have any problem with the ending, in fact ; i like it very much. it just the whole process to reach there is kind of forced and rushed into one volume and somewhat cheesy.
But after all, this is a good series and i didn't regret reading it.
Eiji-sensei writing is as striking as always, the story goes darker and darker and make me pause lot of time to catch my breath before continuing to the last paragraph, it's seriously make me wonder how Eiji-sensei could maintaining his sanity write such a piece, even i as a reader felt want to scream many time while reading this story.
but the major problem to me is, the plot is somewhat contradict with the other 6 volume i've read before.
What with Maria past? there's nothing to be repented from that. yes she could be resigned from that, grieving for it. but it's not as if she got any reason to felt responsible and burdening a sin heavy enough to make Daiya shaking on his feet while embrace her past sin.
Then how does Kazuki even trapped inside "that world" which is not even a box nor flawed bliss?
How did Kazuki know about Aya while he's actually trapped in secluded space? does it only his mind that trapped on include his body? what happened to Kazuki in outer world?
I don't have any problem with the ending, in fact ; i like it very much. it just the whole process to reach there is kind of forced and rushed into one volume and somewhat cheesy.
But after all, this is a good series and i didn't regret reading it.
August 23, 2016
Let me be honest: I cannot believe how much I liked this series! I loved the constant plot twists, I was engaged by the fast paced action and best of all, I found the characters believable. Not in the all-my-friends-are-murderers way, but in their rendition as broken people, with faults and dreams. The dialogue didn't seem forced (for the most part) and that's something that I rarely encounter with Japanese light novels or manga. I don't know how to express it...maybe the over-the-top moeness of female characters or the annoying tsundere-types...None of these were glaring here, which made me enjoy the entire experience even more.
This is a series that will make you excited about light novels and parallel worlds and utopias and mysteries of all sorts. And I have a feeling it will be some time before I find something else to match it!
If you're one for psychological thrillers, I warmly recommend HakoMari. You will only put it down when tiredeness beckons another cup of coffee...or sleep.
This is a series that will make you excited about light novels and parallel worlds and utopias and mysteries of all sorts. And I have a feeling it will be some time before I find something else to match it!
If you're one for psychological thrillers, I warmly recommend HakoMari. You will only put it down when tiredeness beckons another cup of coffee...or sleep.
June 17, 2020
This. Was. Perfect!!
The novel was set up similarly to the first novel, with Kazuki's "happy" world resembling the mechanics of the Rejecting Classroom, only very much longer.
Through this method, the story was brought full circle. The repetitive same day brought Kazuki and Maria together the first time and set them on the path towards O. And a different but same repetitive day stopped O, destroyed the Misbegotten Happiness, and brought Maria and Kazuki back together again.
The entire series had us witness these characters go through painful hell and beyond. Though not everyone made it to the end, the ones we cared about the most made it. That's what I love the most: this series' ultimate ending, where everybody made it; happy, smiling, and working forward to a bright future for themselves.
As far as I know, there are not a lot of books that can do what 'The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria' did.
That's why I recommend this light novel series for those who want to go on a dark adventure tunneling towards a bright end.
Enjoy :)
The novel was set up similarly to the first novel, with Kazuki's "happy" world resembling the mechanics of the Rejecting Classroom, only very much longer.
Through this method, the story was brought full circle. The repetitive same day brought Kazuki and Maria together the first time and set them on the path towards O. And a different but same repetitive day stopped O, destroyed the Misbegotten Happiness, and brought Maria and Kazuki back together again.
The entire series had us witness these characters go through painful hell and beyond. Though not everyone made it to the end, the ones we cared about the most made it. That's what I love the most: this series' ultimate ending, where everybody made it; happy, smiling, and working forward to a bright future for themselves.
As far as I know, there are not a lot of books that can do what 'The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria' did.
That's why I recommend this light novel series for those who want to go on a dark adventure tunneling towards a bright end.
Enjoy :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2021
Content warning: murder, death
This is final volume of the series and what an emotional rollercoaster it was! Everything finally comes to a head and it makes for an amazing ride. Kazuki and Maria's relationship has continued to strengthen across the series and the last few books have really put it to the test. Here though we see how strong it really is and whether it will be enough to save both of them.
Its also fascinating to see how much Kazuki has changed since the first book when I initially thought he was rather bland. He's almost a totally different person now, better in some ways and more terrifying in others. But the relationship between him and Maria has always been the strongest part of the story and that remains true here as well
Its an ending full of overwhelming despair but also irrepressible hope and the refusal to give up. Its an emotionally exhausting novel but a satisfying one as well and it makes me very glad I gave this series a try.
This is final volume of the series and what an emotional rollercoaster it was! Everything finally comes to a head and it makes for an amazing ride. Kazuki and Maria's relationship has continued to strengthen across the series and the last few books have really put it to the test. Here though we see how strong it really is and whether it will be enough to save both of them.
Its also fascinating to see how much Kazuki has changed since the first book when I initially thought he was rather bland. He's almost a totally different person now, better in some ways and more terrifying in others. But the relationship between him and Maria has always been the strongest part of the story and that remains true here as well
Its an ending full of overwhelming despair but also irrepressible hope and the refusal to give up. Its an emotionally exhausting novel but a satisfying one as well and it makes me very glad I gave this series a try.
February 5, 2017
This series was described to me as "anime in book form". I didn't have much experience with Japanese literature aside for "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruhi Narukami, but given what I have read (read a translation by Baka-Tsuki), I can say that this series does fantastically for its medium (called light novels).
I can't exactly judge this book by realistic standards. I've watched a couple animes before so I'm aware of certain tropes that are often used in anime, and they don't exactly conform to our reality. So that's why I read this book like I was watching an anime. The result? An incredible thriller that surprised me in more ways than one.
I would strongly suggest picking this book up if you're looking for an easy read with thoughtfully written scenes.
I can't exactly judge this book by realistic standards. I've watched a couple animes before so I'm aware of certain tropes that are often used in anime, and they don't exactly conform to our reality. So that's why I read this book like I was watching an anime. The result? An incredible thriller that surprised me in more ways than one.
I would strongly suggest picking this book up if you're looking for an easy read with thoughtfully written scenes.
November 20, 2019
It sucked hard! I was hanging in there hoping the last volume would deliver an amazing punch...
what a dud... I really struggled to finish it.
In a way, it pushes the idea that "you can't make people happy by picking their happiness for them", which is pretty obvious . In another, it glorifies this sick twisted version of love that is beyond obsessive... and that did not resonate with me at all!
And the ending could have stayed true to the tone of the series... but it just felt like the editor told the author to go and write something different that people will like more...
The gimmicks of the boxes make the series passable, but overall, I was really disappointed and it did not live up to the hype at all
what a dud... I really struggled to finish it.
In a way, it pushes the idea that "you can't make people happy by picking their happiness for them", which is pretty obvious . In another, it glorifies this sick twisted version of love that is beyond obsessive... and that did not resonate with me at all!
And the ending could have stayed true to the tone of the series... but it just felt like the editor told the author to go and write something different that people will like more...
The gimmicks of the boxes make the series passable, but overall, I was really disappointed and it did not live up to the hype at all
July 27, 2015
Holy. Hell.
I described the first book in this series as being like Groundhog Day as written by Philip K. Dick. I take that back.
THIS volume is like Groundhog Day written by Philip K. Dick.
You remember that part in the middle of the movie where Phil goes a little crazy and starts trying to kill himself? That's this entire book. Only it's much, much worse. This series has been pretty dark from the get-go, but this volume surpasses everything, even the Game of Idleness arc. And despite that, Mikage still nails the ending in a way that's completely satisfying.
I described the first book in this series as being like Groundhog Day as written by Philip K. Dick. I take that back.
THIS volume is like Groundhog Day written by Philip K. Dick.
You remember that part in the middle of the movie where Phil goes a little crazy and starts trying to kill himself? That's this entire book. Only it's much, much worse. This series has been pretty dark from the get-go, but this volume surpasses everything, even the Game of Idleness arc. And despite that, Mikage still nails the ending in a way that's completely satisfying.
August 17, 2016
A great finish to an astonishing series. Even more of a roller-coaster ride fully concluding everything, including Maria and Aya's backgrounds, Hako's infinite fight.... probably the best of them all.
7>1>3=4>5=6
7>1>3=4>5=6
October 16, 2018
A beautiful end for a beautiful story. Thank you, Eiji Mikage, for creating this amazing LN. This series shall stand immortal in my booklist as the best of all LNs I have, and probably will, ever read.
Final rate: 10/10.
Final rate: 10/10.
January 3, 2023
200 pages of a crazy person just talking? Sign me up
July 7, 2020
Enam tahun lalu maraton baca serial ini di baka-tsuki, dan volume 5 yang waktu itu belum diterjemahkan ke bahasa Indonesia, bisa dibilang, novel pertama yang saya baca secara utuh dalam bahasa Inggris. Kebetulan semalam teringat sosok Maria dan waktu dicek, volume terakhirnya sudah selesai diterjemahkan. Saya terkejut masih banyak mengingat cerita maupun emosi dari apa yang saya baca 6 tahun lalu sampai bisa begitu menikmati tumbuhnya para tokoh yang sudah jauh lebih dewasa ini, meski usia mereka nyaris tidak bertambah.
Volume terakhir kembali ke volume pertama: Kazuki terjebak dalam satu hari yang terus berulang, dan untuk bisa mengingat hari sebelumnya, dia harus selalu mengakhiri hari dengan bunuh diri, agar cukup shock ketika memulai hari baru.
Tapi pengulangan di volume terakhir ini betul-betul neraka, karena sekarang Kazuki sama sekali sendirian dan pengulangannya mencapai 400.000 lebih. Mencoba berbagai cara untuk keluar dari pengulangan, Kazuki beranjak dari maniak bunuh jadi pelaku pembantaian massal. Kalau buku-buku sebelumnya berkutat di mempertahankan kemanusiaaan (selalu mencari jalan keluar tanpa membunuh), volume terakhir ini berkutat di menghilangkan kemanusiaan (kesediaan membunuh demi menyelamatkan yang dicintai). Kazuki terjebak dalam pengulangan yang saking memuakkannya bikin dia sampai membunuh satu kota, demi keluar dari pengulangan dan bertemu dengan yang Maria, walau tahu kalaupun keluar nanti akan jadi orang yang tidak waras dan merasa tak layak dicintai.
Ini penutup yang sangat memuaskan. Meski ceritanya memang dark sedari awal, saya masih nggak nyangka serial yang dimulai dengan uwu-uwu ini bakal ditutup dengan horor seseram neraka dan percintaan romantis yang sedihnya bukan main; nggak nyangka Maria & Kazuki yang penggarapan asmaranya di tiap buku cenderung tipis-tipis, klimaksnya sampai semendalam ini.
Yang agak disayangkan memang ini light novel, jadi plot dan karakter sebagus ini eksekusinya berasa mubazir teknik penulisannya terlalu enteng: adegan-adegan yang bisa diperkuat dengan deskripsi, misalnya, sering cuma jadi telling 1-2 kalimat yang bikin berasa baca sinopsis. Tapi soal menyusun struktur yang merekam perubahan kondisi psikologi dari hari ke hari, Eiji Mikage tampaknya sekelas master.
Volume terakhir kembali ke volume pertama: Kazuki terjebak dalam satu hari yang terus berulang, dan untuk bisa mengingat hari sebelumnya, dia harus selalu mengakhiri hari dengan bunuh diri, agar cukup shock ketika memulai hari baru.
Tapi pengulangan di volume terakhir ini betul-betul neraka, karena sekarang Kazuki sama sekali sendirian dan pengulangannya mencapai 400.000 lebih. Mencoba berbagai cara untuk keluar dari pengulangan, Kazuki beranjak dari maniak bunuh jadi pelaku pembantaian massal. Kalau buku-buku sebelumnya berkutat di mempertahankan kemanusiaaan (selalu mencari jalan keluar tanpa membunuh), volume terakhir ini berkutat di menghilangkan kemanusiaan (kesediaan membunuh demi menyelamatkan yang dicintai). Kazuki terjebak dalam pengulangan yang saking memuakkannya bikin dia sampai membunuh satu kota, demi keluar dari pengulangan dan bertemu dengan yang Maria, walau tahu kalaupun keluar nanti akan jadi orang yang tidak waras dan merasa tak layak dicintai.
Ini penutup yang sangat memuaskan. Meski ceritanya memang dark sedari awal, saya masih nggak nyangka serial yang dimulai dengan uwu-uwu ini bakal ditutup dengan horor seseram neraka dan percintaan romantis yang sedihnya bukan main; nggak nyangka Maria & Kazuki yang penggarapan asmaranya di tiap buku cenderung tipis-tipis, klimaksnya sampai semendalam ini.
Yang agak disayangkan memang ini light novel, jadi plot dan karakter sebagus ini eksekusinya berasa mubazir teknik penulisannya terlalu enteng: adegan-adegan yang bisa diperkuat dengan deskripsi, misalnya, sering cuma jadi telling 1-2 kalimat yang bikin berasa baca sinopsis. Tapi soal menyusun struktur yang merekam perubahan kondisi psikologi dari hari ke hari, Eiji Mikage tampaknya sekelas master.
December 10, 2019
Overall it was a very enjoyable series. Sure, everything is downright dramatic(were the underlines also present in the original japanese novels?), and sometimes the fantansy phenomena of the plot is constructed in such a way to conveniently to create even more emotion, which feels very unnatural. Kazuki's sediment, the first box, why O explained stuff to the enemy, the good ending. It's like the author got tired of thinking and went for the easier route.
Are the feelings of the main characters so intense that they had to sacrifice everything and cling to just one thing? Are the really extreme situations(the Kazuki loop, damn) really justified, can you really care for a person that much?
I wanted more Kazuki and Maria "screen time". Maybe I would've liked it better other arcs of the series were compressed(Kingdom Royale and Wish-Crushing Cinema), just to fill this purpose. Because their relationship was key to solve everything, but it was so postponed and neglected, so the reader couldn't really feel their "unshakable bonds provided by the Rejecting Classroom" and be fully content with the events of this final arc. It feels like a huge detour, all the volumes separating volume 1 and volume 7.
It lacked substance, it felt cheap. It was a little rushed, a little messy. It had so much potential, but it was unpolished. Unfortunately, I couldn't take the series at face value, as much as I wanted. But I liked, nonetheless. It's weird that I can't explain why I liked, but I can criticize so easily. Maybe the good aspects are just something that couldn't be explained with words, you have to experience it directly. Or I'm just lazy and a cynical human being.
Are the feelings of the main characters so intense that they had to sacrifice everything and cling to just one thing? Are the really extreme situations(the Kazuki loop, damn) really justified, can you really care for a person that much?
I wanted more Kazuki and Maria "screen time". Maybe I would've liked it better other arcs of the series were compressed(Kingdom Royale and Wish-Crushing Cinema), just to fill this purpose. Because their relationship was key to solve everything, but it was so postponed and neglected, so the reader couldn't really feel their "unshakable bonds provided by the Rejecting Classroom" and be fully content with the events of this final arc. It feels like a huge detour, all the volumes separating volume 1 and volume 7.
It lacked substance, it felt cheap. It was a little rushed, a little messy. It had so much potential, but it was unpolished. Unfortunately, I couldn't take the series at face value, as much as I wanted. But I liked, nonetheless. It's weird that I can't explain why I liked, but I can criticize so easily. Maybe the good aspects are just something that couldn't be explained with words, you have to experience it directly. Or I'm just lazy and a cynical human being.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2025
With this, I have finished the Zeroth Maria series. I do not know how to feel. Bittersweet? Melancholic? I don't think I'll find another series that has thrown me for so many emotional and mental loops.
I swear I've said this almost every volume but I'll say it one last time - I FEEL SO BAD FOR MOGI.
What a great series. I have many other light novels to read, but I would not be surprised if years down the line I pick this back up again.
I swear I've said this almost every volume but I'll say it one last time - I FEEL SO BAD FOR MOGI.
What a great series. I have many other light novels to read, but I would not be surprised if years down the line I pick this back up again.
July 21, 2025
Y llegamos al final... Las cosas que me gustaron de este volumen son que contaron el pasado de María y Aya, me mantubieron muy respectante de esa parte y lograron sorprender con la revelación final de la verdadera voluntad de Aya. Otra cosa muy bien hecha fue el final de los personajes, me encantó como todos tuvieron su redención por así decirlo, lograron salir adelante a pesar de todo lo que había pasado.
Tambie. Hubieron partes que no me gustaron como todo lo que hizo Kazuki para volver a verla, concideranso que se volvió en todo a lo que ella estaba en contra y aun asi eso no causó ningún efecto negativo en María, lo cual me parece muy contradictori. Y por último esas últimas palabras que le dijo Kazuki a María y como no hay más detalles al respecto.
Por lo demás muy buena novela ligera, totalmente recomendada.
Tambie. Hubieron partes que no me gustaron como todo lo que hizo Kazuki para volver a verla, concideranso que se volvió en todo a lo que ella estaba en contra y aun asi eso no causó ningún efecto negativo en María, lo cual me parece muy contradictori. Y por último esas últimas palabras que le dijo Kazuki a María y como no hay más detalles al respecto.
Por lo demás muy buena novela ligera, totalmente recomendada.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2023
The ending was exactly what it needed to be. It took until the final few pages of this series for everything Mikage-sensei built to come to fruition, but after all this time I can finally say it was worth it. You don't know how cathartic that feels.
There are details I could complain about, especially in some characterization choices. I won't do that though. There's no need. Like I said, the ending was what it needed to be. That's all I could really ask for.
There are details I could complain about, especially in some characterization choices. I won't do that though. There's no need. Like I said, the ending was what it needed to be. That's all I could really ask for.
January 18, 2022
There are so many things, that are wrong with this story... I was struggling to not dnf this volume, bc I read previous 6... I think author has too many ideas, and want to put all of them into this vol... I liked first 3 volumes, maybe even 4 too... But after this story is a mess, characters are changing their personality like a snap. Idk maybe Mr Mikage was beliveing that will be soo twisty twist, but it ends like 'I am 14 and this is deep'. I am just happy I can forget about this forever <3
September 26, 2018
So a happy ending then, great :)
June 10, 2020
It was realy hard for me to see kazuki this way , hard enough I couldn't enjoy the happy ending, I've never expected this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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