OniBarubary
Banned
Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki 28
I love getting surprised by manga. Obviously you're gonna still find well-worn tropes and sorta nonsensical shit based upon not alienating slimy virgins or to meet magazine requirements, but when people just describe something as LN trash I love finding something that is exactly what they hate but executed well or well-written. It's why I like reading so many isekai manga because sometimes you find one that's good and it's like "Neat"
That's basically this manga. It's about some 30s salaryman who doesn't have a hobby so he decides to play the latest VR fantasy game but decides he wants it to be relaxing so he picks a lot of lame and unused skills and stuff that aren't designed for adventuring. But because he's not an idiot he obviously becomes super good at them and gains attention even though he doesn't want it. Kinda lame, a very contrived "I just want to live my normal life without complications!" MC that exists everywhere but it's saved by the writing.
For example, let's take this chapter. Last chapter he picked up a baby red dragon through various shenanigans in the fairy kingdom. The Fairy Queen shows up because he calls her over to ask what the consequences will be (cause she wants to S his D and put it in her A). She basically outlines the diplomatic issues with the dragons, red dragons in particular, and notes how they are very isolationist and don't look down on other races but simply dislike interacting with them because they have to restrain themselves around them and hate going out of their area. So in the middle of this, he gets informed two red dragons are coming towards the area. He decides to go out and meet them and the conversation basically goes like this:
"WHY THE FUCK YOU STEALING OUR CHILDREN?!"
"I didn't, I actually saved him from thieves."
"IF YOU'RE NOT LYING, GIVE HIM BACK"
*puts baby dragon on the dragon's claw*
"Oh, you were telling the truth. Thanks."
"No problem."
And then the dragons ask him what he wishes and they will grant it for him and he asks them to not hold it against the faeries and start aggressive shit with them because it wasn't their fault it happened within their borders and to pretend the meeting didn't happen so he doesn't get more famous; the dragons agree because they say they weren't gonna do shit to the faeries or hold it against them anyways and they prefer to keep their business private. And then they fly off.
With that out of the way, the dude fucks off in a carriage to a different town (lying to his carriage mates about soloing a Raid Boss so they don't bug him) and runs into a non-human koboldy dude who takes him aside because his daughter was one of the Faeries commanders of their southern garrison and she treated the MC like shit and a criminal for petty reasons so the Fairy Queen demotes her and her entire family (instead of killing them, because the MC asked her not to). So the guy takes him aside and basically apologizes, saying that her being spoiled probably led to this and he doesn't mind working his way back up from the ground floor, thinking it'll make his daughter more humble and a better person. And then he lets him into the town.
Once in the town he visits the inn for quests but they're all taken except for group ones the innkeeper offers for him to work for some money so that he can have somewhere to stay/wait for more quests to open up.
Like, everything about it is just written with a distinct lack of idiocy or "plot hooking" where something happens even if it's out of character or doesn't make sense to move the plot forward. The MC "Earth" is consistent, pretty relatable (cept for the "hot lady wants to hump til I can't feel my legs?!?! BETTER RUUUUNNNN")and moreso is very crafty and creative which leads to his fights being very smart and won through tactics. As a result of how this manga is, the tone is kept pretty consistent which can be either good or bad; it's very calm even when he fights and is moreso about the overall feeling of the manga but as a result there aren't a lot of variations or spikes in excitement. You're either interested and enjoy it all the way through or you're waiting for a climax that never really happens.
As such, it's a good read. Pretty neat.
Hare no Hi (oneshot)
Good oneshot about a gay novelist raising his kid after his wife and he divorced and the kid coming to terms with some of the same feelings his dad went through.
Pretty standard and nothing surprising in this, but considering it's a manga that is respectful and open in treating it's gay story, I'll take by the numbers as that makes it 1000x better than 99% of the gay representation in Japan.
I love getting surprised by manga. Obviously you're gonna still find well-worn tropes and sorta nonsensical shit based upon not alienating slimy virgins or to meet magazine requirements, but when people just describe something as LN trash I love finding something that is exactly what they hate but executed well or well-written. It's why I like reading so many isekai manga because sometimes you find one that's good and it's like "Neat"
That's basically this manga. It's about some 30s salaryman who doesn't have a hobby so he decides to play the latest VR fantasy game but decides he wants it to be relaxing so he picks a lot of lame and unused skills and stuff that aren't designed for adventuring. But because he's not an idiot he obviously becomes super good at them and gains attention even though he doesn't want it. Kinda lame, a very contrived "I just want to live my normal life without complications!" MC that exists everywhere but it's saved by the writing.
For example, let's take this chapter. Last chapter he picked up a baby red dragon through various shenanigans in the fairy kingdom. The Fairy Queen shows up because he calls her over to ask what the consequences will be (cause she wants to S his D and put it in her A). She basically outlines the diplomatic issues with the dragons, red dragons in particular, and notes how they are very isolationist and don't look down on other races but simply dislike interacting with them because they have to restrain themselves around them and hate going out of their area. So in the middle of this, he gets informed two red dragons are coming towards the area. He decides to go out and meet them and the conversation basically goes like this:
"WHY THE FUCK YOU STEALING OUR CHILDREN?!"
"I didn't, I actually saved him from thieves."
"IF YOU'RE NOT LYING, GIVE HIM BACK"
*puts baby dragon on the dragon's claw*
"Oh, you were telling the truth. Thanks."
"No problem."
And then the dragons ask him what he wishes and they will grant it for him and he asks them to not hold it against the faeries and start aggressive shit with them because it wasn't their fault it happened within their borders and to pretend the meeting didn't happen so he doesn't get more famous; the dragons agree because they say they weren't gonna do shit to the faeries or hold it against them anyways and they prefer to keep their business private. And then they fly off.
With that out of the way, the dude fucks off in a carriage to a different town (lying to his carriage mates about soloing a Raid Boss so they don't bug him) and runs into a non-human koboldy dude who takes him aside because his daughter was one of the Faeries commanders of their southern garrison and she treated the MC like shit and a criminal for petty reasons so the Fairy Queen demotes her and her entire family (instead of killing them, because the MC asked her not to). So the guy takes him aside and basically apologizes, saying that her being spoiled probably led to this and he doesn't mind working his way back up from the ground floor, thinking it'll make his daughter more humble and a better person. And then he lets him into the town.
Once in the town he visits the inn for quests but they're all taken except for group ones the innkeeper offers for him to work for some money so that he can have somewhere to stay/wait for more quests to open up.
Like, everything about it is just written with a distinct lack of idiocy or "plot hooking" where something happens even if it's out of character or doesn't make sense to move the plot forward. The MC "Earth" is consistent, pretty relatable (cept for the "hot lady wants to hump til I can't feel my legs?!?! BETTER RUUUUNNNN")and moreso is very crafty and creative which leads to his fights being very smart and won through tactics. As a result of how this manga is, the tone is kept pretty consistent which can be either good or bad; it's very calm even when he fights and is moreso about the overall feeling of the manga but as a result there aren't a lot of variations or spikes in excitement. You're either interested and enjoy it all the way through or you're waiting for a climax that never really happens.
As such, it's a good read. Pretty neat.
Hare no Hi (oneshot)
Good oneshot about a gay novelist raising his kid after his wife and he divorced and the kid coming to terms with some of the same feelings his dad went through.
Pretty standard and nothing surprising in this, but considering it's a manga that is respectful and open in treating it's gay story, I'll take by the numbers as that makes it 1000x better than 99% of the gay representation in Japan.
