April Catchups Are No Joke!
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Did you enjoy the new entry in our Hit By a Truck April Fools' series? Well, you don't have to worry about any tricks when it comes to April catchups!
With a second season of anime coming very soon, refresh yourself on the events of the first season, or catch all the way up to the currently streaming volume 27, because the popular In Another World With My Smartphone is on catchup! Touya dies in a freak accident, but that's no problem for God, who sends him to another world of medieval adventure! He even gets to bring along his new magical smartphone! Follow along as Touya makes the most of his new life!
On a more subdued note, you can also read about Shiori, the Housekeeping Mage from Another World. This story is a more grounded take on the challenges of finding yourself somewhere unknown with nothing but the clothes on your back and the grace of strangers to keep you alive. How has Shiori eked out a living over the past few years, and does it have anything to do with the phrase "housekeeping mage"?
Finally, the manga of the zero-to-hero story Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party is a short and sweet tale of Note, a boy who strives to become worthy of the overpowered party with a use for his useless skill.
Gather your adventuring gear; you'll need it for this month's 30+ volumes of catchups!
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Pinned by
myskaros
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Short list this month, but I guess Smartphone does have more than 20 volumes, putting the group in the 30+ volume range still.
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I plan to read Housekeeping. Is Mapping worthwhile? As far as Smartphone goes I might give it a go once I read the others but no way I can catchup. Does anyone know where to start reading if you watched the Anime? Is it worth starting at the beginning?
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@geetop said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I plan to read Housekeeping. Is Mapping worthwhile? As far as Smartphone goes I might give it a go once I read the others but no way I can catchup. Does anyone know where to start reading if you watched the Anime? Is it worth starting at the beginning?
From the beginning is ideal, the anime left out a lot of things. the first series are the first two volumes and half of the third. As for the second series, it's hard to guess now, but at least until volume 6 from the trailers.
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I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story. -
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story.All of that. One thing I like, and that the anime failed to convey properly, is that he spends a lot of time working on his skills and crafting before he needs them.
It isn't the lazy anime / LN trope of learning a new skill or finishing move just in time for the current battle.
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@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story.All of that. One thing I like, and that the anime failed to convey properly, is that he spends a lot of time working on his skills and crafting before he needs them.
It isn't the lazy anime / LN trope of learning a new skill or finishing move just in time for the current battle.
That said, the author can only keep it up for so long. It wore out its welcome for me around volume 10.
...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.
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@Travis-Butler said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story.All of that. One thing I like, and that the anime failed to convey properly, is that he spends a lot of time working on his skills and crafting before he needs them.
It isn't the lazy anime / LN trope of learning a new skill or finishing move just in time for the current battle.
That said, the author can only keep it up for so long. It wore out its welcome for me around volume 10.
That's the major question, at what point does it cease holding interest.
All your libraries are belong to us. | Aub Rozemyne | Those who do not read shall not eat.
Help me, Satomi-san. You're my only hope. | Fight! Yurika! | WW[R|S]D
Croquettes, Baguettes, and Books, oh my! -
It doesn't matter. People are buying it because it holds. Maybe not for you but you don't go 10 or 20 volumes without selling well.
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@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Travis-Butler said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story.All of that. One thing I like, and that the anime failed to convey properly, is that he spends a lot of time working on his skills and crafting before he needs them.
It isn't the lazy anime / LN trope of learning a new skill or finishing move just in time for the current battle.
That said, the author can only keep it up for so long. It wore out its welcome for me around volume 10.
That's the major question, at what point does it cease holding interest.
There was a dud volume for me here and there (like the racing volume) but aside from those I thought it was pretty good up through volume...15? which resolved all of the main arcs.
We've then had 10+ volumes of after story some of which I've enjoyed, many of which were better than staring at the wall. I haven't gotten around to reading the last 3-4 yet.
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The best thing about Smartphone is that there are several self-contained adventures per volume. Even if there's one that not very interesting to you, just skim over it to the next one.
Plus there's no overly long dialogs, battles that drag on for way too long or pointless monologues about random topics that are barely related to the plot. It really feels like you get your money's worth when buying the books.
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@JRPG-Nation said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
It doesn't matter. People are buying it because it holds. Maybe not for you but you don't go 10 or 20 volumes without selling well.
Um.
Excuse me?!I'm not discussing whether others should read it, I'm discussing whether I'll continue finding it of interest.
My tastes differ from a great many.
A couple of the top selling LN series out there...I wouldn't line a bird cage with because it'd harm the bird; clearly others feel differently, as is their right.
Wondering if it will continue to hold my interest very much matters to me.
It's a reasonable thing to ponder upon in discussion with others. -
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Travis-Butler said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I must admit I'd never even cracked the cover of Smartphone, nor looked at the back cover blurb, to use print media references.
Having just completed part 5 of volume 1, it's not bad for an OP MC Isekai.
I must admit to questioning the sanity of the locals in that they've been very accepting of what they are aware of his OPness, which is so far beyond what anyone else in their recorded history has been capable of.
It seems well written and the story builds upon itself in an acceptable manner.
There are constraints concerning what he can do with various abilities that make sense even in an OP MC story.All of that. One thing I like, and that the anime failed to convey properly, is that he spends a lot of time working on his skills and crafting before he needs them.
It isn't the lazy anime / LN trope of learning a new skill or finishing move just in time for the current battle.
That said, the author can only keep it up for so long. It wore out its welcome for me around volume 10.
That's the major question, at what point does it cease holding interest.
I think it depends on your tolerance for Marty Stu antics. He does indeed work to develop his Cool Stuff instead of having it pop up out of nowhere... but the dice are loaded so far in his favor that just about everything he tries works after a little bit of tinkering, and usually with very OP results. Fun at first, especially when you see him being creative, but it wears thin after a while. Worse, just about everyone but the Super Evil Bad Guys loves him and gives him VIP treatment on first sight; again, it's the sort of thing that was OK at first, but I got tired of after a while.
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@Geezer-Weasalopes said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:
I'm not discussing whether others should read it, I'm discussing whether I'll continue finding it of interest.
My tastes differ from a great many.
A couple of the top selling LN series out there...I wouldn't line a bird cage with because it'd harm the bird; clearly others feel differently, as is their right.Yep, tastes are different, especially for humor.
I barely made it through 1 volume of Last Dungeon Boonies, and not even that far into Overly Cautious and KonoSuba. On the other hand, Loner Life is one of my favorite reads.
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@Geezer-Weasalopes I didn't direct that at you in particular. It was commentary on the tone of the conversation I was reading.
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Hello,
Let’s all dial it back a bit. It is starting to get a bit too hot in this topic.
Feel free to discuss any negatives or positives you find in any of the series. If the conversion turns to excessive praise or condemnation we will address that.
Thank you
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I really liked Mapping. A shame that it didn't get to conclude, but I recommend it to anyone who is at least a little curious about it.
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I've got to say that this month's catch-ups are right up my alley. I've been wanting to try Housekeeping Mage. I liked the Mapping Light Novels (I was lucky enough that they were catch up series around when I finally joined.) I've been working on Smartphone, and am up to volume 8. I was buying a volume or two every payday for a little while, but I felt that it was getting a little bogged down. So I was prioritizing other series for a bit.
This and last month were really great for my tastes.
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This post is deleted! -
The strength and weakness of Smartphone is that it knows exactly what it wants to be (a lighthearted OP romp with very little dramatic tension), and refuses to deviate from that one bit. The author basically admits to this in a few of the Afterwords. The only thing vaguely surprising about it is how far it's willing to go to push the OP part.
If you're in the mood for comfort food, it's a fun read. If you want actual character arcs and development ... maybe not so much.
I watched most of the 1st season of the anime last night, and it is an awful adaptation. It's like they decided to speedrun some of the "best of" plot points, but without any connective tissue whatsoever.
