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Isekai Rebuilding Project #1
Isekai Rebuilding Project: Volume 1
ごくありふれた人生をおくってきたエイジ。公務員として役所に勤務する日々を送り、30歳を迎えて結婚を控えたある日突然、異世界へ転移する。その世界はやはり転生してきた勇者によって平和を取り戻していた後だった。ところが、転生した勇者が転生したことによって、世界は別の形で新たな脅威を迎えつつあった。平凡な公務員だった男に与えられた新たな「仕事」。それは、勇者によって崩壊しつつある異世界の「再建」だった―。
124 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 21, 2020
In a world where Isekai books flood the market, it's hard to do something unique. Enter this book, where the protagonist is actually taken to another world to deal with the aftermath of an isekai hero taking power.
There is a lot to love with this book. The first off is the premise of the protagonist trying to solve the issues in a fantasy world after someone from their same time has screwed it up. We enter it generations later and real world issues have taken root in the fantasy world. Half the fun of this is discovering issues that we in the West may not be aware of that happened in Japan. Another is the creative way in which the hero tries to solve these issues.
Another interesting factor is the protagonist's companion, an anthropomorphic dragon. Where the protagonist is average, the dragon is definitely not and has abilities that are often gifted to a protagonist in isekai novels. She is also a perfect companion to him, often being entertaining and a joy to read.
Lastly, there is the fact that unlike a lot of isekai, the goddess who grants the protagonist his powers says that once he is done in the other world, or he dies, he will be returned back to Japan at the time he was whisked away, and he could continue his life. (which is good, cause he had a fiancee and a good job.)
So why not a perfect score for this book?
It's slow. Quite slow at points. This wasn't so much of an issue for me, as I enjoyed this book a lot. However, even with that I did find certain points where the story seemed to slow down, describing things that were kind of uninteresting or just a dry topic.
Still, this was a nice take on the isekai genre and I have already bought the second book in the series. I am curious as to what happens after the end of the first one, which I have to say, I didn't expect and made me want to reread the book just to catch the details that I missed as I read the story.
In the end, I recommend this book a lot. It will make you think about all the other isekai books you have read and just how badly having someone from a modern world come to a fantasy world would be. So check it out!
There is a lot to love with this book. The first off is the premise of the protagonist trying to solve the issues in a fantasy world after someone from their same time has screwed it up. We enter it generations later and real world issues have taken root in the fantasy world. Half the fun of this is discovering issues that we in the West may not be aware of that happened in Japan. Another is the creative way in which the hero tries to solve these issues.
Another interesting factor is the protagonist's companion, an anthropomorphic dragon. Where the protagonist is average, the dragon is definitely not and has abilities that are often gifted to a protagonist in isekai novels. She is also a perfect companion to him, often being entertaining and a joy to read.
Lastly, there is the fact that unlike a lot of isekai, the goddess who grants the protagonist his powers says that once he is done in the other world, or he dies, he will be returned back to Japan at the time he was whisked away, and he could continue his life. (which is good, cause he had a fiancee and a good job.)
So why not a perfect score for this book?
It's slow. Quite slow at points. This wasn't so much of an issue for me, as I enjoyed this book a lot. However, even with that I did find certain points where the story seemed to slow down, describing things that were kind of uninteresting or just a dry topic.
Still, this was a nice take on the isekai genre and I have already bought the second book in the series. I am curious as to what happens after the end of the first one, which I have to say, I didn't expect and made me want to reread the book just to catch the details that I missed as I read the story.
In the end, I recommend this book a lot. It will make you think about all the other isekai books you have read and just how badly having someone from a modern world come to a fantasy world would be. So check it out!
January 31, 2020
Read in Prepub on J-Novel Club's Website
Eiji Kazama chosen to save the world Azur from ruin after a previous isekai hero a hundred years prior set it on a path of ruin. His first task solve a beriberi (Vitamin B1 deficiency) outbreak caused by the introduction of white rice to this fantasy world. Eiji and his dragon companion Tiamat - also sent to save this world from the dragon realm - do so by introducing new foods into the diet of the city of Lishua.
While this light novel deals with food, I would not call it a food novel in the same way that manga like Drifting Dragons, Sweetness and Lightning, Wakako Zake, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? are food manga. Instead, the introduction of a variety of food is a means to complete Eiji's task of setting this world back on course after the previous hero set it off course. And thus it doesn't go into too much depth into the preparation. This novel is more akin to Ascendance of a Bookworm and Dr.STONE, as the protagonist has a task he must achieve and must go through many steps of manufacturing to achieve it.
However, unlike Dr. Stone and Bookworm, Eiji himself lacks any practical skills other than basic historical knowledge. For in-depth knowledge, he relies on Tiamat who acts as his encyclopedia and those he meets in Lishua for the manufacturing and laboring skills to complete his task. The secondary cast of Isekai Rebuilding Project outside Tiamat isn't as compelling as either of these two properties either. With new members, haphazardly added with each new step of the task without much of a compelling reason for the addition, other than their talents are of immediate use.
Eiji is also over critical of the previous hero, thinking him over pompous and self-important, despite never meeting him. The last hero having been dead for a hundred years before Eiji and Tiamat's arrival. Eiji's criticisms come not from meeting the hero but being the one tasked with cleaning up his mess. And thus this novel is not very kind to the isekai power fantasy archetype.
What I did like about this book was there was an undercurrent of commentary on good intention colonialism. The previous hero introduced white rice to both help the people and as a reminder of Japan. But, this ultimately harmed the people as he didn't have the nutritional or historical knowledge of beriberi, causing millions of deaths from his good intentions. It was a message considering the history of my own country, Australia - though the history of the founding of colonial Australia was just plain old greedy colonialism. I can psychologically relate the introduction of rabbits and other introduced species; which were supposed to help the colonists but ended up destroying the land, crops, and native flora and fauna; back to the introduction of white rice in this book. So that aspect somewhat struck a chord with me; even though the execution was far from perfect.
As for the ending, I have somewhat mixed feelings. I both loathe and love it. When it first started I was like "Oh that's some bullshit!" and then when it gets to the second part of the ending I was more on board with what the author was trying to do. And it got me interested in reading the second volume.
Eiji Kazama chosen to save the world Azur from ruin after a previous isekai hero a hundred years prior set it on a path of ruin. His first task solve a beriberi (Vitamin B1 deficiency) outbreak caused by the introduction of white rice to this fantasy world. Eiji and his dragon companion Tiamat - also sent to save this world from the dragon realm - do so by introducing new foods into the diet of the city of Lishua.
While this light novel deals with food, I would not call it a food novel in the same way that manga like Drifting Dragons, Sweetness and Lightning, Wakako Zake, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? are food manga. Instead, the introduction of a variety of food is a means to complete Eiji's task of setting this world back on course after the previous hero set it off course. And thus it doesn't go into too much depth into the preparation. This novel is more akin to Ascendance of a Bookworm and Dr.STONE, as the protagonist has a task he must achieve and must go through many steps of manufacturing to achieve it.
However, unlike Dr. Stone and Bookworm, Eiji himself lacks any practical skills other than basic historical knowledge. For in-depth knowledge, he relies on Tiamat who acts as his encyclopedia and those he meets in Lishua for the manufacturing and laboring skills to complete his task. The secondary cast of Isekai Rebuilding Project outside Tiamat isn't as compelling as either of these two properties either. With new members, haphazardly added with each new step of the task without much of a compelling reason for the addition, other than their talents are of immediate use.
Eiji is also over critical of the previous hero, thinking him over pompous and self-important, despite never meeting him. The last hero having been dead for a hundred years before Eiji and Tiamat's arrival. Eiji's criticisms come not from meeting the hero but being the one tasked with cleaning up his mess. And thus this novel is not very kind to the isekai power fantasy archetype.
What I did like about this book was there was an undercurrent of commentary on good intention colonialism. The previous hero introduced white rice to both help the people and as a reminder of Japan. But, this ultimately harmed the people as he didn't have the nutritional or historical knowledge of beriberi, causing millions of deaths from his good intentions. It was a message considering the history of my own country, Australia - though the history of the founding of colonial Australia was just plain old greedy colonialism. I can psychologically relate the introduction of rabbits and other introduced species; which were supposed to help the colonists but ended up destroying the land, crops, and native flora and fauna; back to the introduction of white rice in this book. So that aspect somewhat struck a chord with me; even though the execution was far from perfect.
As for the ending, I have somewhat mixed feelings. I both loathe and love it. When it first started I was like "Oh that's some bullshit!" and then when it gets to the second part of the ending I was more on board with what the author was trying to do. And it got me interested in reading the second volume.
February 2, 2020
Does he love her or not?
Not a bad story, however the protagonist leaves his very normal if not successful life, with a good job, decent standard of living, and most importantly a fiancé, to travel to new world to fix a problem left by someone else. He arrives in the new world accompanied by a female dragon. They work together to fix the wrongs left by a previous hero. The question is why would he leave his fiancé in the first place? The story never clears that up, and the end is interesting but falls flat. If he was most happy while being with her, then why did he leave In the first place. It might be the translation but there is clearly a component missing.
Interesting take on the genre, but it takes the story in a disingenuous direction. I wouldn’t recommend this to a novice light novel reader, this is strictly for hardcore readers. It is definitely the right book for a book club wanting a book that will lead to many heated conversations among its members.
Not a bad story, however the protagonist leaves his very normal if not successful life, with a good job, decent standard of living, and most importantly a fiancé, to travel to new world to fix a problem left by someone else. He arrives in the new world accompanied by a female dragon. They work together to fix the wrongs left by a previous hero. The question is why would he leave his fiancé in the first place? The story never clears that up, and the end is interesting but falls flat. If he was most happy while being with her, then why did he leave In the first place. It might be the translation but there is clearly a component missing.
Interesting take on the genre, but it takes the story in a disingenuous direction. I wouldn’t recommend this to a novice light novel reader, this is strictly for hardcore readers. It is definitely the right book for a book club wanting a book that will lead to many heated conversations among its members.
February 6, 2020
TL;DR Very interesting concepts, a bit dull when the details get too heavy, but overall entertaining.
In hindsight, I’ve decided to up this review to ★★★★☆, and not because I absolutely love the cover. (I do love the cover. I want to hang it on my wall.)
This light novel has an extremely interesting premise. Eiji, an average Japanese office worker, is brought into another world to fix the mess the previous Japanese hero created. The terrible problem is that the hero introduced white rice to this world without nutritional science. The society is dying of beriberi, a disease caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency—something Japan struggled with even as recently as last century.
Usually, isekai (another world) stories involve a social misfit with very specific knowledge being brought into a rustic world where their knowledge gives them an advantage. They then save the day and introduce Japanese culture to the rubes while the world applauds their wisdom and generosity. There are variations on that theme. Some profit by their knowledge. Some need it to save the day. But all introduce modern concepts, like a Hollywood time travel story where modern characters introduce concepts like penicillin, electricity, or feminism decades or centuries before their time. Those concepts alter society. We are left to assume that the society is altered for the good. The premise of this book is that a society needs to develop modern concepts on its own or it will be out of balance with dire results.
That’s not a bad premise, but I found the story rather dull when it bogged down with details, especially the dialogue. In fact, I found myself skimming large blocks of banter and discussion that felt overly glib, and I would often force myself to reread what I missed. The dragon’s bear omniscient awareness of Japanese history and Eiji’s tastes was explained at the end of the book, but it seemed incongruous and distracting from the main story—like a exposition device more than a hint to a future reveal. Also, Eiji had to introduce other Japanese modern concepts in order to offset the first one. It wasn’t a hypocrisy lost on him, but as a reader I found it a bit convenient—especially the ending. Yet I kept reading. This is why I’ve updated my review. I couldn’t put the book down.
Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed was that Eiji, the office worker, felt he was useless, yet great magical beasts gathered around him as he introduced disrupting technology into society. By the end of the story, he was accompanied with an armed band of warriors and powerful guild leaders and merchants. He uncomfortably mused that he was setting himself up to be a hero out of myth if things kept on the way they were. His humility and self-denial made him interesting as a character. It was too bad the development of these world saving ideas felt so humdrum. After all, how do you make teaching edamame or beet sugar preparation an exciting literary moment? Ascendence of a Bookworm runs into this problem, too, but Myne is humorous and adorable, and the dialogue is sparkly. I’d like to see Minamino improve her dialogue in the next volume.
I’ve decided to read the second book when J-Novel begins serializing it. I didn’t mind reading this volume because the concept was refreshing. Will I enjoy it again in the reboot? I’ll have to see, but for now I recommend this book to lovers of hardcore isekai. There are a lot of interesting philosophical concepts introduced in this series that help it stand out from the crowd.
In hindsight, I’ve decided to up this review to ★★★★☆, and not because I absolutely love the cover. (I do love the cover. I want to hang it on my wall.)
This light novel has an extremely interesting premise. Eiji, an average Japanese office worker, is brought into another world to fix the mess the previous Japanese hero created. The terrible problem is that the hero introduced white rice to this world without nutritional science. The society is dying of beriberi, a disease caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency—something Japan struggled with even as recently as last century.
Usually, isekai (another world) stories involve a social misfit with very specific knowledge being brought into a rustic world where their knowledge gives them an advantage. They then save the day and introduce Japanese culture to the rubes while the world applauds their wisdom and generosity. There are variations on that theme. Some profit by their knowledge. Some need it to save the day. But all introduce modern concepts, like a Hollywood time travel story where modern characters introduce concepts like penicillin, electricity, or feminism decades or centuries before their time. Those concepts alter society. We are left to assume that the society is altered for the good. The premise of this book is that a society needs to develop modern concepts on its own or it will be out of balance with dire results.
That’s not a bad premise, but I found the story rather dull when it bogged down with details, especially the dialogue. In fact, I found myself skimming large blocks of banter and discussion that felt overly glib, and I would often force myself to reread what I missed. The dragon’s bear omniscient awareness of Japanese history and Eiji’s tastes was explained at the end of the book, but it seemed incongruous and distracting from the main story—like a exposition device more than a hint to a future reveal. Also, Eiji had to introduce other Japanese modern concepts in order to offset the first one. It wasn’t a hypocrisy lost on him, but as a reader I found it a bit convenient—especially the ending. Yet I kept reading. This is why I’ve updated my review. I couldn’t put the book down.
Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed was that Eiji, the office worker, felt he was useless, yet great magical beasts gathered around him as he introduced disrupting technology into society. By the end of the story, he was accompanied with an armed band of warriors and powerful guild leaders and merchants. He uncomfortably mused that he was setting himself up to be a hero out of myth if things kept on the way they were. His humility and self-denial made him interesting as a character. It was too bad the development of these world saving ideas felt so humdrum. After all, how do you make teaching edamame or beet sugar preparation an exciting literary moment? Ascendence of a Bookworm runs into this problem, too, but Myne is humorous and adorable, and the dialogue is sparkly. I’d like to see Minamino improve her dialogue in the next volume.
I’ve decided to read the second book when J-Novel begins serializing it. I didn’t mind reading this volume because the concept was refreshing. Will I enjoy it again in the reboot? I’ll have to see, but for now I recommend this book to lovers of hardcore isekai. There are a lot of interesting philosophical concepts introduced in this series that help it stand out from the crowd.
January 10, 2022
Eiji, a 31-year old bureaucrat, is on his way to his fiancé when he suddenly finds himself in an isekai situation. He did not die, and he will return back to the point of disappearance once his task finishes or he dies. He is asked to repair the damage done by an isekai hero and he accepts. Accompanied by a dragon, he assumes that the disease beriberi (caused by not eating enough vitamin B) is the thing he needs to resolve since it was caused by the Hero making white rice popular. So he sets himself on a path to change the diet of the locals together with his companion, a human-sized dragon.
What follows is a long list of rants against isekai tropes while working on the food situation. While the rants can be a bit entertaining to read at times, they leave me wondering what the author is trying to say. If it is a rant against the isekai genre, it is somewhat mean spirited. Some of the arguments are ridiculous and factually wrong (e.g. in RL companies do rank temp employees, might not be by a singular letter, but it is called a degree and resume) and so thick in irony that it might actually be a debate against people who are criticising isekai for its lack of realism. After all, ranting against the hero doing more harm then good and letting people making their own mistakes, while on the other letting an outsider repair the damage is weird (and the MC and his dragon companion are aware of the hypocrisy of the situation). The fact that at times it is unclear whether the MC is holding an internal debate or actually talking to people does not help. The twist at the end felt a bit out of place as well.
Regardless, as a story the book was a bit of a disappointment. Beriberi is not exactly an interesting plot and the MC spends most of his time debating things instead of doing something. What little conflict there is, is resolved with a wave of the hand by others. So, if you like to read somewhat interesting rants about the isekai genre (and some of them are ridiculous, others spot on), and do not care about reading a story, then this book is for you. Otherwise, there are better books out there.
What follows is a long list of rants against isekai tropes while working on the food situation. While the rants can be a bit entertaining to read at times, they leave me wondering what the author is trying to say. If it is a rant against the isekai genre, it is somewhat mean spirited. Some of the arguments are ridiculous and factually wrong (e.g. in RL companies do rank temp employees, might not be by a singular letter, but it is called a degree and resume) and so thick in irony that it might actually be a debate against people who are criticising isekai for its lack of realism. After all, ranting against the hero doing more harm then good and letting people making their own mistakes, while on the other letting an outsider repair the damage is weird (and the MC and his dragon companion are aware of the hypocrisy of the situation). The fact that at times it is unclear whether the MC is holding an internal debate or actually talking to people does not help. The twist at the end felt a bit out of place as well.
Regardless, as a story the book was a bit of a disappointment. Beriberi is not exactly an interesting plot and the MC spends most of his time debating things instead of doing something. What little conflict there is, is resolved with a wave of the hand by others. So, if you like to read somewhat interesting rants about the isekai genre (and some of them are ridiculous, others spot on), and do not care about reading a story, then this book is for you. Otherwise, there are better books out there.
February 2, 2022
The author is clearly trying to subvert as many tropes as possible. And I didn't mind it. Even though everything worked out way too easily and conveniently. What got me is the author's logic in certain scenes.
Spoilers ahead:
The first was that, the reason why beet sugar needed to be invented was to sweeten edamame (a food that is not normally sweetened) because it's "beer food" and too masculine??? Since when? Lol. I understand if that's how the author/protagonist feels but it then gets presented as if it's fact.. OK.
The second was when Eiji is reflecting on how he "should have known" Tia's identity was because Tia is a woman and was not uncomfortable sharing a room with him (a room not a bed)... never mind that Tia is currently a dragon and should not care about human male bodies (he literally dismissed this idea out of hand). Or that if Tia was any other random human woman who had been isekai'd she might have other reasons for not caring about a human male body.... but no, this is somehow the nail in the coffin as evidence that Tia is his fiance. I'm still laughing.
Anyway, the story is alright. I may or may not read the rest of the series just to see what happens.
Spoilers ahead:
The first was that, the reason why beet sugar needed to be invented was to sweeten edamame (a food that is not normally sweetened) because it's "beer food" and too masculine??? Since when? Lol. I understand if that's how the author/protagonist feels but it then gets presented as if it's fact.. OK.
The second was when Eiji is reflecting on how he "should have known" Tia's identity was because Tia is a woman and was not uncomfortable sharing a room with him (a room not a bed)... never mind that Tia is currently a dragon and should not care about human male bodies (he literally dismissed this idea out of hand). Or that if Tia was any other random human woman who had been isekai'd she might have other reasons for not caring about a human male body.... but no, this is somehow the nail in the coffin as evidence that Tia is his fiance. I'm still laughing.
Anyway, the story is alright. I may or may not read the rest of the series just to see what happens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2023
Dnf. Ultimately forgot this was borrowed from my online library but I have no intention of finishing it and so the borrow lapsed.
I just found the MC too helpless and pretty pathetic over all, and as much as he’s enjoying bashing the other Iseki I don’t know that he will be that much better overall. Plus if he likes his former life so much why leave at all? I am confused. Yes, he gets returned to the same point of time but there’s literally no reason for him to accept this chore.
Anyway you’re welcome to let me know if I should pick it back up. It wasn’t terrible per say but it was so mediocre for about at least the first half I just didn’t have a reason to stick with it.
I just found the MC too helpless and pretty pathetic over all, and as much as he’s enjoying bashing the other Iseki I don’t know that he will be that much better overall. Plus if he likes his former life so much why leave at all? I am confused. Yes, he gets returned to the same point of time but there’s literally no reason for him to accept this chore.
Anyway you’re welcome to let me know if I should pick it back up. It wasn’t terrible per say but it was so mediocre for about at least the first half I just didn’t have a reason to stick with it.
June 7, 2020
I was really interested in the premise.
Overall, I found it okay. It was interesting to follow along with his logic of fixing things and making new recipes. Other reviews meantion it dragged on and I agree.
I did have problem with the ending. I felt it very rushed and the future of that town, some of the secondary characters and kingdom was explained in two pages. And some even in two sentences.
Overall, I found it okay. It was interesting to follow along with his logic of fixing things and making new recipes. Other reviews meantion it dragged on and I agree.
I did have problem with the ending. I felt it very rushed and the future of that town, some of the secondary characters and kingdom was explained in two pages. And some even in two sentences.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2020
More like 3.5. Interesting concept, but could use a bit more polish in my opinion.
April 29, 2021
not one of my favorites. a little slow and hard to follow.
January 25, 2025
One word: BORING!
Onto my next adventure, Happy Readings!!!
Onto my next adventure, Happy Readings!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews