Review: Eighth Son!? You’re Joking!

Ratings are designed for large range; I would basically keep myself updated on anything beyond a 1-star rating. I have all 3 published volumes of one of the series I rated as 3-stars. I hope this gives you an indication of the fact that I have scaled things for contrast.

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Has a passable premise. A mediocre salaryman’s consciousness suddenly hijacks a 6-year old son of a poor noble family in another world, and after various things happens, he uses his incredible magical ability to rise up in the world.

Pros

• He has a harem.
• The light novels, which I own, are illustrated by the wondrous and amazing fujichoco-sama. Facebook here.
• The web novels were written well enough that there was hardly any difference with the edited and published light novel editions.
• Has a really enjoyable and exciting Family Feud arc, where [spoiler]http://pastebin.com/QBjrKgij[/spoiler]
  Actually, when vol. 4 comes out (is for this arc), will consider doing it for fun if I still have the spare time.

Cons

• None of the heroines are ever explored in any detail. They aren’t really fleshed out, and are sort of just cute and there.
• The main character stays a mediocre and boring person. His personality is boring. His retorts and jokes are boring. He is boring all around. Normally mediocre people who have incredible things happen to them evolve into incredible people as it goes on. This is not the case. I have read up until the latest chapter of the web novel, and he is still a boring ass motherfucker. He has no flavour.
  He’s just there. He’s the plot device.
• The latest arc is incredibly boring. Even since they stepped foot into the empire, it’s just been a huge, fucking drone that goes on, and on, and on.
• The writer really likes miso. He really, really likes it. Miso is a staple of Japanese food, and has a pleasant flavour to those who are used to it, but has a strange one to those who haven’t. Not entirely unpleasant, but strange the way the flavour of turmeric or oregano is strange to those who didn’t grow up with it.
  Yet, all the characters (who were brought up in a western fantasy world) immediately love it when the protagonist invents it. And the main character keeps talking about miso, and eats everything 味噌たれ. It’s always 味噌だれ、味噌だれ、味噌だれ. They won’t stop talking about miso. It’s Miso Tensei.