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Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside Light Novel #1
Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Light Novel), Vol. 1
A heroic and mighty adventurer dreams of...opening a pharmacy?
Red was once a member of the Hero's party, a powerful group destined to save the world from the evil forces of Taraxon, the Raging Demon Lord. That is, until one of his comrades kicked him out. Hoping to live the easy life on the frontier, Red's new goal is to open an apothecary. However, keeping the secret of his former life may not be as simple as he thinks. Especially when the beautiful Rit, an adventurer from his past, shows up and asks to move in with him!
Red was once a member of the Hero's party, a powerful group destined to save the world from the evil forces of Taraxon, the Raging Demon Lord. That is, until one of his comrades kicked him out. Hoping to live the easy life on the frontier, Red's new goal is to open an apothecary. However, keeping the secret of his former life may not be as simple as he thinks. Especially when the beautiful Rit, an adventurer from his past, shows up and asks to move in with him!
199 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2018
131 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 3, 2021
I'm a sucker for a good romance. Give me a solid story about two people falling in love and, you know, actually doing something about their feelings, and I'm gonna enjoy it.
That said, Banished from the Hero's Party is much better than the average light novel with romance. I hate the BS found in most romance series, where it contains 20+ volumes of two characters dancing around each other until the very last volume where they get together at the end. I am not willing to spend that much of my time watching two characters act like idiots.
Red and Rit have clear and obvious feelings for each other from the very getgo, and they act on those feelings instead of wasting time playing "does he/she really like me?" like most anime/manga/Japanese light novels do. It's so refreshing that it automatically shot to the top of my "enjoyed reading list."
Beyond the romance, I like the setting. It's not isekai. However, there's a clear video game component where characters level up and have classes, but the class system is integrated into the story in a way that makes it relevant to the plot itself.
I found this a highly enjoyable read.
That said, Banished from the Hero's Party is much better than the average light novel with romance. I hate the BS found in most romance series, where it contains 20+ volumes of two characters dancing around each other until the very last volume where they get together at the end. I am not willing to spend that much of my time watching two characters act like idiots.
Red and Rit have clear and obvious feelings for each other from the very getgo, and they act on those feelings instead of wasting time playing "does he/she really like me?" like most anime/manga/Japanese light novels do. It's so refreshing that it automatically shot to the top of my "enjoyed reading list."
Beyond the romance, I like the setting. It's not isekai. However, there's a clear video game component where characters level up and have classes, but the class system is integrated into the story in a way that makes it relevant to the plot itself.
I found this a highly enjoyable read.
June 27, 2023
Oki I read the whole manga after watching the anime and... It was great! But I'm too tired to go individually and add all the manga volumes to my read list so here's a general review (spoilers!):
Very wholesome story about this retired adventurer , it's slow and quite and peaceful. The themes explored are stellar and there were a lot of subversions of common hero tropes which I appreciated a lot. If you have a talent for something, does that mean you automatically need to pursue it, even when it does not give you any joy? Are you being selfish by not wanting to take on the burden of saving the entire world? What really makes a hero: their capabilities or their intentions? Is it ethical to put the burden of the whole world on one person, is it okay for this one person to suffer if it means the rest of the world can be safe?
All the characters were adorable and I just wanted more from them. Aaaahhh I wish there was more backstory for Gideon and Ruti, their childhood scenes so cute, I needed more of their dynamic- just so caring and sweet. Also Ruti being this badass war machine without any emotions was genuinely terrifying and intriguing at the same time. Red and Rit had one of the cutest romance and it was so well developed.
The biggest complain about the anime: Ret's clevage ???? Like wtf was happening there??? It genuinely just took me out of the anime bcz she was constantly just shaking those giant sacs around it was very funny but also uncomfortable. And it gave my back an ache just looking at her idk how she did all the fighting and running but yeah I could never-
The biggest complain about the manga: the pacing was all over the place... Ik it's a slow story but still... I later found out it's because this was a light novel before so the chapters aren't paced properly. I actually think the anime sort of made this issue better.
Very wholesome story about this retired adventurer , it's slow and quite and peaceful. The themes explored are stellar and there were a lot of subversions of common hero tropes which I appreciated a lot. If you have a talent for something, does that mean you automatically need to pursue it, even when it does not give you any joy? Are you being selfish by not wanting to take on the burden of saving the entire world? What really makes a hero: their capabilities or their intentions? Is it ethical to put the burden of the whole world on one person, is it okay for this one person to suffer if it means the rest of the world can be safe?
All the characters were adorable and I just wanted more from them. Aaaahhh I wish there was more backstory for Gideon and Ruti, their childhood scenes so cute, I needed more of their dynamic- just so caring and sweet. Also Ruti being this badass war machine without any emotions was genuinely terrifying and intriguing at the same time. Red and Rit had one of the cutest romance and it was so well developed.
The biggest complain about the anime: Ret's clevage ???? Like wtf was happening there??? It genuinely just took me out of the anime bcz she was constantly just shaking those giant sacs around it was very funny but also uncomfortable. And it gave my back an ache just looking at her idk how she did all the fighting and running but yeah I could never-
The biggest complain about the manga: the pacing was all over the place... Ik it's a slow story but still... I later found out it's because this was a light novel before so the chapters aren't paced properly. I actually think the anime sort of made this issue better.
October 19, 2020
This book is better when you read between the lines. Red's "banishment" from the Hero's party (and the Hero being his little sister) is definitely more complicated than it at first appears, and the juxtaposition between that and his new life as an apothecary makes for a more interesting read than you might think. It's still pretty boilerplate RPG-inspired fantasy, but it has potential.
October 15, 2020
Another story about how a man in the hero's party gets rid of the support. The support was the person keeping them all together, keeping food in order, dealing with nobles and other people in power, making sure they never ran out of money, and cooking but couldn't fight well.
The support lived a better live after leaving and the book is about that. Towards the end it goes onto how the hero's party fell apart after he left. On the left page I feel sorry for the hero having lost her brother ( the support ), not being able to sleep, fell sad, fell any amount of pleasure, etc. due to just having all her immunity things. The person who pushed the support out also like in all the others did not get what he wanted by pushing the support out either and just slowed everyone down more.
The support lived a better live after leaving and the book is about that. Towards the end it goes onto how the hero's party fell apart after he left. On the left page I feel sorry for the hero having lost her brother ( the support ), not being able to sleep, fell sad, fell any amount of pleasure, etc. due to just having all her immunity things. The person who pushed the support out also like in all the others did not get what he wanted by pushing the support out either and just slowed everyone down more.
December 16, 2021
Review Summary
“Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol 1” is a meandering story about a man’s desire to live a relaxed and happy life.
If the simple premise plainly explained in the title intrigues you, this book delivers on that, and even has potential to explore some thought provoking topics, such as the morality of leaving the fight against the demon lord for your own sake.
However, it is held back by stunted pacing in its overall narrative, frequent flashbacks, and its explicit storytelling style that lacks subtlety.
From a Stressful Life to a Relaxed One, but not really
As explained in the lengthy title — which are typical of light novels that were adapted from web novels — the protagonist goes from fighting humanity’s greatest threats to living a comparatively slow life in the sticks.
If you are hoping to read a slice-of-life tale about an ex-adventurer, Red, who finally gets to retire from a life-threatening job, this book definitely delivers. Using a wealth of knowledge accumulated from his tenure as the heroes’ guide, he opens an apothecary in a small frontier town and helps the residents with their various problems, big or small. He is eventually joined by an ex-comrade, Rit — shown off prominently on the book’s cover.
The relaxed life they have together is somewhat pleasant to read.
However, the book also spends much of its time retelling past events; a narrative running parallel to present events.
To put it bluntly, the book is over reliant on flashbacks to establish its characters, creating a narrative that moves along haltingly; jarringly.
Although flashbacks occur at opportune moments between story beats, the many switches between the perilous past and peaceful present often disrupts the mood of the story. Although it doesn’t outright kill the pacing, it undoubtedly impairs it.
Both stories, past and present, are worse off as a consequence.
Stunted Overall Pacing
On top of the pacing issues mentioned before, this light novel falls into a pitfall that some of its contemporaries face.
It was adapted from the freer web novel form to the stricter light novel form — from an unrestrained page count to the minimum and maximum length expected from a commercial book. As such, the original order and duration of events may not coincide properly with the book’s end.
The tensest events, which should be placed near the end of the book, occur a little too early before we reach the end. Instead of ending with a satisfying resolution, the excitement sort of peters out.
Despite the author’s efforts to keep tensions rising throughout the book, the most exciting part of the book ended up being the second-last conflict. The final conflict was just a small-time villain who was uninteresting, unimpactful, and easily dealt with.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me, even when we first met, she had this strange habit of covering her mouth whenever she smiled.”
Further detracting from my enjoyment of the book is the explicit storytelling style that spells out what the characters are thinking and feeling.
There is little subtlety to engage the reader; before you can even begin to guess at Rit's embarrassment from the way she hides her smile, the book dictates it to you outright in an abrupt expository sentence.
This mind-numbing diction plagues most of the book, robbing you of the fun of piecing together the scene in your head.
It’s an issue that directly cripples the romance between the two leads, Red and Rit.
Red’s thoughts about Rit are listed out in no uncertain terms and so are Rit’s thoughts about Red; if she’s the current point-of-view character.
Although wholesome, nearly every act of intimacy is robbed of its romantic subtext due to the author’s incessant need to hold the reader’s hand. This is in spite of the fact that both Red and Rit are honest with their feelings and read like an open book — time is still taken to explain the details.
In other words, the romance in here is boring.
Glimmers of Potentially Heady Themes
Despite stumbling in terms of storytelling, there are some intriguing themes that the story seems likely to touch on in future.
Being the only one with the power to end a humanity-ending threat, are you obligated to use it?
Though the moral conundrum is never brought up, the fact of the matter is that the Hero in the titular “Hero’s Party” is deeply unhappy with her lonely quest to defeat demonic threats without Red, the brother she loves. The Hero expresses a desire to resist this obligation and I expect that it will come up again in future volumes.
If you are a vital member in the effort to fight the end of humanity, is it okay to leave for your own sake?
In a similar vein to his sister, Red may eventually have to wrestle with the morality of abandoning a greater cause for his own happiness. Of course, his circumstances are different from the Hero’s since he was booted out, but it seems likely that the story will eventually lead in that direction.
It will be quite interesting to see which side the protagonist chooses, in the end.
Conclusion
However, I will not be reading any further to see these themes explored.
“Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol 1” delivers on the slice-of-life it promises, coupled with a parallel story of the protagonist’s storied past.
Unfortunately, it is held back by a lack of subtlety in its prose and stunted pacing that makes reading a little bit difficult.
I recommend this book if you just want some light and easy reading about a young man’s retirement from his risky job to live out his tranquil dream.
Otherwise, you may wish to skip it.
“Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol 1” is a meandering story about a man’s desire to live a relaxed and happy life.
If the simple premise plainly explained in the title intrigues you, this book delivers on that, and even has potential to explore some thought provoking topics, such as the morality of leaving the fight against the demon lord for your own sake.
However, it is held back by stunted pacing in its overall narrative, frequent flashbacks, and its explicit storytelling style that lacks subtlety.
From a Stressful Life to a Relaxed One, but not really
As explained in the lengthy title — which are typical of light novels that were adapted from web novels — the protagonist goes from fighting humanity’s greatest threats to living a comparatively slow life in the sticks.
If you are hoping to read a slice-of-life tale about an ex-adventurer, Red, who finally gets to retire from a life-threatening job, this book definitely delivers. Using a wealth of knowledge accumulated from his tenure as the heroes’ guide, he opens an apothecary in a small frontier town and helps the residents with their various problems, big or small. He is eventually joined by an ex-comrade, Rit — shown off prominently on the book’s cover.
The relaxed life they have together is somewhat pleasant to read.
However, the book also spends much of its time retelling past events; a narrative running parallel to present events.
To put it bluntly, the book is over reliant on flashbacks to establish its characters, creating a narrative that moves along haltingly; jarringly.
Although flashbacks occur at opportune moments between story beats, the many switches between the perilous past and peaceful present often disrupts the mood of the story. Although it doesn’t outright kill the pacing, it undoubtedly impairs it.
Both stories, past and present, are worse off as a consequence.
Stunted Overall Pacing
On top of the pacing issues mentioned before, this light novel falls into a pitfall that some of its contemporaries face.
It was adapted from the freer web novel form to the stricter light novel form — from an unrestrained page count to the minimum and maximum length expected from a commercial book. As such, the original order and duration of events may not coincide properly with the book’s end.
The tensest events, which should be placed near the end of the book, occur a little too early before we reach the end. Instead of ending with a satisfying resolution, the excitement sort of peters out.
Despite the author’s efforts to keep tensions rising throughout the book, the most exciting part of the book ended up being the second-last conflict. The final conflict was just a small-time villain who was uninteresting, unimpactful, and easily dealt with.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me, even when we first met, she had this strange habit of covering her mouth whenever she smiled.”
Further detracting from my enjoyment of the book is the explicit storytelling style that spells out what the characters are thinking and feeling.
There is little subtlety to engage the reader; before you can even begin to guess at Rit's embarrassment from the way she hides her smile, the book dictates it to you outright in an abrupt expository sentence.
This mind-numbing diction plagues most of the book, robbing you of the fun of piecing together the scene in your head.
It’s an issue that directly cripples the romance between the two leads, Red and Rit.
Red’s thoughts about Rit are listed out in no uncertain terms and so are Rit’s thoughts about Red; if she’s the current point-of-view character.
Although wholesome, nearly every act of intimacy is robbed of its romantic subtext due to the author’s incessant need to hold the reader’s hand. This is in spite of the fact that both Red and Rit are honest with their feelings and read like an open book — time is still taken to explain the details.
In other words, the romance in here is boring.
Glimmers of Potentially Heady Themes
Despite stumbling in terms of storytelling, there are some intriguing themes that the story seems likely to touch on in future.
Being the only one with the power to end a humanity-ending threat, are you obligated to use it?
Though the moral conundrum is never brought up, the fact of the matter is that the Hero in the titular “Hero’s Party” is deeply unhappy with her lonely quest to defeat demonic threats without Red, the brother she loves. The Hero expresses a desire to resist this obligation and I expect that it will come up again in future volumes.
If you are a vital member in the effort to fight the end of humanity, is it okay to leave for your own sake?
In a similar vein to his sister, Red may eventually have to wrestle with the morality of abandoning a greater cause for his own happiness. Of course, his circumstances are different from the Hero’s since he was booted out, but it seems likely that the story will eventually lead in that direction.
It will be quite interesting to see which side the protagonist chooses, in the end.
Conclusion
However, I will not be reading any further to see these themes explored.
“Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol 1” delivers on the slice-of-life it promises, coupled with a parallel story of the protagonist’s storied past.
Unfortunately, it is held back by a lack of subtlety in its prose and stunted pacing that makes reading a little bit difficult.
I recommend this book if you just want some light and easy reading about a young man’s retirement from his risky job to live out his tranquil dream.
Otherwise, you may wish to skip it.
April 28, 2022
I detest web novels and light novel series that have weak main plot arcs or shortsightedness (laser sight) stories. Red (renamed himself with a fake nickname) is the older brother of the Heroine (Ruti Ragnason) of this alternate reality world. Because he is not powerful, because he is an underachiever, that does not want to be recognized, does not want to stand out, his goals, his life, his desires are to not be important, relevant, powerful or wealthy. The additional problem with a closed minded title like this one, is that first Banished (vanished) from the Hero's party means that Red will never be part of a Hero's party ever again and "decided to live a quiet life in the countryside" means that Red will never be important, relevant and will never live in the city, or the capital or another world. The author would have to be very lacking in imagination and creativity to close this story off so much. The moment the author contradicts the title of the story, then he is lying to everybody, or he lied to everybody so it becomes a straitjacket for this story to never develop, grow or improve. Titles like this story should have a warning (Read under your own risk - No way out - No exit).
The only positive point is that this is officially not an isekai (reincarnated/teleported to another world). Hopefully not a harem series, because what girl would want to share a loser, wimp, underachiever as a lover/husband/etc?? Nobody right???
I can understand if the best at some profession or area (from burn-out or other logical reasons) would choose the slow life or retired life. But a main character that has never achieved anything except failure and mediocrity to choose mediocrity is not only depressing but a sure as crap reason for suicide. Not of the author or main character, but for the reader that spends his scarce money, and even scarcer time, reading the life of a loser, wimp, under-achiever, that wants nothing from life, saves no one in his life, and is just totally embarrassing to know him.
So this light novel series, "commits social suicide" by presenting a main character that is embarrassing to know and read about.
This First Volume is short at 160+ pages, with only 6 chapters and a side story. Currently this series has 5 volumes and unless the author changes the title of this story, changes the main plot arc and creates depth and a real role-model to make it interesting to read, this could stay as the story of the resentful and regular Joe (Red), that prefers to risk the safety of his little sister (Ruti Ragnason- the heroine) for an easy and fruitless life. What kind of a bastard, would not be worried about protecting his little sister? You have to be the worst, right?
The only positive point is that this is officially not an isekai (reincarnated/teleported to another world). Hopefully not a harem series, because what girl would want to share a loser, wimp, underachiever as a lover/husband/etc?? Nobody right???
I can understand if the best at some profession or area (from burn-out or other logical reasons) would choose the slow life or retired life. But a main character that has never achieved anything except failure and mediocrity to choose mediocrity is not only depressing but a sure as crap reason for suicide. Not of the author or main character, but for the reader that spends his scarce money, and even scarcer time, reading the life of a loser, wimp, under-achiever, that wants nothing from life, saves no one in his life, and is just totally embarrassing to know him.
So this light novel series, "commits social suicide" by presenting a main character that is embarrassing to know and read about.
This First Volume is short at 160+ pages, with only 6 chapters and a side story. Currently this series has 5 volumes and unless the author changes the title of this story, changes the main plot arc and creates depth and a real role-model to make it interesting to read, this could stay as the story of the resentful and regular Joe (Red), that prefers to risk the safety of his little sister (Ruti Ragnason- the heroine) for an easy and fruitless life. What kind of a bastard, would not be worried about protecting his little sister? You have to be the worst, right?
July 26, 2022
I am a huge fan of smaller scale stories in fantasy settings. I love a story about someone who quits adventuring to open a shop or restaurant. And, while this story hits a lot of the basic things I normally would love, and is in a fun and interesting world, something about this book as a whole is lacking.
I like Rit and Red, the two characters from the cover who are the protagonists of this novel. Red's incessant need to help everyone and Rit's tireless love and devotion to him are fun to see and to read. But, this book feels like half a story. Maybe less.
Red leaving the Hero's party feels awkward and makes less sense with each passing page. The idea that he was what was maintaining the entirety of the Hero's party and came up with much of the strategy that helped defeat the demon lord, and yet when he left he wouldn't even say goodbye to his sister or longtime friends feels terrible. And the fact that the story pops over and shows how terrible things are going for the Hero who's trying to save the world makes the scenes where Red is in a sauna or cooking fish stew for the neighborhood kids feel so bad.
Also, the last third of the book is a long flashback that essentially amount to "here's a new bad guy, but don't worry he'll get beaten in 2 pages after this 40 page flashback about how shitty he is". It felt entirely out of nowhere and really dragged the momentum.
I really would've liked more to do with the domestics of the apothecary. Just more gathering herbs and making potions and stuff. Less of the big scale heroics.
Also, why do the whole Dir sequence when Albert was there already? We already had a character that was shitty and worked with the Thieves Guild. Wasting the final act of this book to establish a second dude who's just the same as the first but more expendable is bad.
I cannot recommend this book. It's not my least favorite light novel, but it's probably my least favorite I've read this year.
I like Rit and Red, the two characters from the cover who are the protagonists of this novel. Red's incessant need to help everyone and Rit's tireless love and devotion to him are fun to see and to read. But, this book feels like half a story. Maybe less.
Red leaving the Hero's party feels awkward and makes less sense with each passing page. The idea that he was what was maintaining the entirety of the Hero's party and came up with much of the strategy that helped defeat the demon lord, and yet when he left he wouldn't even say goodbye to his sister or longtime friends feels terrible. And the fact that the story pops over and shows how terrible things are going for the Hero who's trying to save the world makes the scenes where Red is in a sauna or cooking fish stew for the neighborhood kids feel so bad.
Also, the last third of the book is a long flashback that essentially amount to "here's a new bad guy, but don't worry he'll get beaten in 2 pages after this 40 page flashback about how shitty he is". It felt entirely out of nowhere and really dragged the momentum.
I really would've liked more to do with the domestics of the apothecary. Just more gathering herbs and making potions and stuff. Less of the big scale heroics.
Also, why do the whole Dir sequence when Albert was there already? We already had a character that was shitty and worked with the Thieves Guild. Wasting the final act of this book to establish a second dude who's just the same as the first but more expendable is bad.
I cannot recommend this book. It's not my least favorite light novel, but it's probably my least favorite I've read this year.
August 24, 2021
So, this is another light novel I picked up largely because it's soon to have an anime adaptation. It was okay. The anime may work better, actually. I'll probably take a look, though I'm not entirely hopeful.
Basically, the plot is what it says in the title. Guy leaves the party of the big Hero (his little sister) and ends up starting an apothecary store in a backwater town. A princess/adventurer who fell in love with him for reasons joins him in this endeavour and hilarity ensues. Or I'd like to say it does, but it really doesn't. The writing is competent, there's some possible intrigue brewing in the background, but there really wasn't a whole bunch here to hold my interest. It was kind of like a random selection of short stories glued together under an umbrella plot. The protagonist is typically clueless about the princess's feelings. The Hero has some typically unhealthy feelings for her brother. (Despite this, I'd be more interested in a story about her path to becoming a hero given what's said in the epilogue. It would be a badly depressing story though.)
One thing that really bugged me is the power mechanics. This isn't supposed to be a video game world or litRPG setting, but the power system is point based! As you increase your level (!), you gain points to spend on skills. The protagonist is better at cooking because he took the Cookery skill. Having that sort of mechanic in a 'real world' fantasy setting just felt forced. It broke me out of the story.
Anyway, maybe I'll try another volume of this at some point. Maybe it gets better. Right now, I'm not feeling it.
Basically, the plot is what it says in the title. Guy leaves the party of the big Hero (his little sister) and ends up starting an apothecary store in a backwater town. A princess/adventurer who fell in love with him for reasons joins him in this endeavour and hilarity ensues. Or I'd like to say it does, but it really doesn't. The writing is competent, there's some possible intrigue brewing in the background, but there really wasn't a whole bunch here to hold my interest. It was kind of like a random selection of short stories glued together under an umbrella plot. The protagonist is typically clueless about the princess's feelings. The Hero has some typically unhealthy feelings for her brother. (Despite this, I'd be more interested in a story about her path to becoming a hero given what's said in the epilogue. It would be a badly depressing story though.)
One thing that really bugged me is the power mechanics. This isn't supposed to be a video game world or litRPG setting, but the power system is point based! As you increase your level (!), you gain points to spend on skills. The protagonist is better at cooking because he took the Cookery skill. Having that sort of mechanic in a 'real world' fantasy setting just felt forced. It broke me out of the story.
Anyway, maybe I'll try another volume of this at some point. Maybe it gets better. Right now, I'm not feeling it.
January 2, 2022
I was drawn to this series because I love the trope of the immensely powerful character who just wants to chill and for once was not an isekei. However, while the writing is solid and the characters are likeable (and why the books gets at least a three), I do not believe I will continue the series.
The main reason is there are too many exposition/info dump sections. As it is the first book, some is expected to describe the world and it's inhabitants. However, the one in the book we frequent and jarring enough to pull you from the story. They often felt more like a lecture and less a part of the story.
Despite this, it was a fun enjoyable read, the author clearly loves the RPG genre and has some fun ideas. The characters are unique and fun, and the angst is not overwhelming. The book is a good start and I do recommend it for fans of the genre, I just personally don't want to continue the series.
The main reason is there are too many exposition/info dump sections. As it is the first book, some is expected to describe the world and it's inhabitants. However, the one in the book we frequent and jarring enough to pull you from the story. They often felt more like a lecture and less a part of the story.
Despite this, it was a fun enjoyable read, the author clearly loves the RPG genre and has some fun ideas. The characters are unique and fun, and the angst is not overwhelming. The book is a good start and I do recommend it for fans of the genre, I just personally don't want to continue the series.
March 23, 2021
It was cute. It reminded me of the Fire Emblem video games and, to me at least, read as if it's sort of whats happening behind the scenes of the main turn or combat based game itself. It offers some things to think about regarding each of the main characters too, such as what if the Sage is a power grubber, why is the Hero always levelheaded, what could the characters supporting the main from the beginning only to be surpassed be thinking or feeling.
I've never really read anything like this or with this feel before so that was interesting. I'm thinking I'm going to check out the next book/s because I do want to know what happens next but I don't know if I'm willing to buy it to find out.
So overall enjoyable and quirky; interesting of you like those type of video games too I think.
I've never really read anything like this or with this feel before so that was interesting. I'm thinking I'm going to check out the next book/s because I do want to know what happens next but I don't know if I'm willing to buy it to find out.
So overall enjoyable and quirky; interesting of you like those type of video games too I think.
June 26, 2021
first time i see ln ver <<< wn ver.
.
.
.
just rant ahead
.
.
.
makes u wonder what the editor had done. i guess this was the result of trying to follow popular trend. the author said the editor helped them improved the story. but really. how this all over the place story could be improved ver.
removing contents from the wn just make the romance dev feels rather unnatural.
and the added contents make this series feels like generic haremshit story. so much spotlight for the imouto brocon. and the main heroine becomes typical tsundere chara going deredere in the present, but tsun in the past.
sigh.
tbf, the wn isnt that great either. but this... this is below mediocre.
ah, also. the translation isnt that good as to be expected from yp.
.
.
.
just rant ahead
.
.
.
makes u wonder what the editor had done. i guess this was the result of trying to follow popular trend. the author said the editor helped them improved the story. but really. how this all over the place story could be improved ver.
removing contents from the wn just make the romance dev feels rather unnatural.
and the added contents make this series feels like generic haremshit story. so much spotlight for the imouto brocon. and the main heroine becomes typical tsundere chara going deredere in the present, but tsun in the past.
sigh.
tbf, the wn isnt that great either. but this... this is below mediocre.
ah, also. the translation isnt that good as to be expected from yp.
June 5, 2021
A happy tale with powerful backstories
This one became a personal favorite. The prologue surprised me, and I'm really glad I kept reading.
My favorite part were the backstories. Fragments of the past where Gideon was still with the hero's party. The story was well planned, the pacing is just right, the RPG system is compelling, and I loved the narrative and the silly love story that managed to put a smile on my face.
Still, a few typos slipped in the translation. It needs to be worked on, but the only reason this version was so nice to read was because of good translation and localization. So I'm not taking away stars this time. This is a good book and I recommend it.
This one became a personal favorite. The prologue surprised me, and I'm really glad I kept reading.
My favorite part were the backstories. Fragments of the past where Gideon was still with the hero's party. The story was well planned, the pacing is just right, the RPG system is compelling, and I loved the narrative and the silly love story that managed to put a smile on my face.
Still, a few typos slipped in the translation. It needs to be worked on, but the only reason this version was so nice to read was because of good translation and localization. So I'm not taking away stars this time. This is a good book and I recommend it.
January 14, 2021
Simple but fun plot. Member of hero party gets kicked out and does just fine kicking back in the boonies. Through tiny flashbacks, the best kind in my opinion, we see the dynamics of a hero's party. We see the interactions and how things are not always all that unified.
We see a former hero character enjoying a rest. There just might be a princess thrown in somewhere.
I liked this book. It showed the characters with more depth than is typical in this genre.
Well worth reading!
We see a former hero character enjoying a rest. There just might be a princess thrown in somewhere.
I liked this book. It showed the characters with more depth than is typical in this genre.
Well worth reading!
November 26, 2023
Earlier this year I watched the anime based on these books and decided to check out the novels. This series tells the story of a powerful adventurer in a fantasy world who is expelled from this adventuring party and retires to a small town in the countryside. He is joined by another adventurer and the two of them together set about living a new, quieter life.
The series is quite charming in its way.
This volume covers about the first six episodes of teh anime series.
The series is quite charming in its way.
This volume covers about the first six episodes of teh anime series.
September 25, 2020
Loved it
I chose this rating because I'm a sucker for these types of books I love the trial of our hero and the type of quest he is going throughout it was a great read 5 stars all the way I can't wait till book 2!
I chose this rating because I'm a sucker for these types of books I love the trial of our hero and the type of quest he is going throughout it was a great read 5 stars all the way I can't wait till book 2!
October 5, 2020
Slow and confusing
I thought the Idea of the story was good. But the execution of the story plot... I just struggled to follow it I don't have a better way to put it in that I just felt like it was all over the place and there is no Real rhyme or reason to it
I thought the Idea of the story was good. But the execution of the story plot... I just struggled to follow it I don't have a better way to put it in that I just felt like it was all over the place and there is no Real rhyme or reason to it
April 23, 2023
When The main character is not that strong, the story could be go anywhere, and so for this novel. Well, for the first volume it could be understand, but let see the next volume. The ability of the main character is not that strong, but he mastered his abilities.
February 29, 2020
一出生就被神決定職業的世界真是悲哀
September 27, 2020
Good
The story is good I enjoyed the characters and wanted hang the sage out to dry but the main character is interesting hope for more books
The story is good I enjoyed the characters and wanted hang the sage out to dry but the main character is interesting hope for more books
October 17, 2020
Very good
Thank you for your story. Look forward to more. I dislike writing reviews and only write them for books that I think has something exceptional about them
Thank you for your story. Look forward to more. I dislike writing reviews and only write them for books that I think has something exceptional about them
February 15, 2021
3.5. Nice little slice of life, non-intense story. Good palette cleanser. Not grimdark.
dropped
September 11, 202141%
October 26, 2021
It’s one of those easy to read but goes nowhere book.
December 4, 2021
At last a simple good story, that has a simple romance with 1 person...
Loved it.. going to start reading the second book...
Loved it.. going to start reading the second book...
February 14, 2022
It's a pretty solid start. I like the main character.
June 20, 2022
Slow start but interesting world. Slow build with romance but cute relationship. Leaves you wanting to read the next one.
February 5, 2024
Interesting story but to many flashback into story
August 18, 2024
Not bad, a bit titillating, though not explicit. Still, for later teenage years.
September 6, 2024
Vol.1-14 has come a long way - I'm glad to see Red & Lit got their happy ending. I just finished reading the manga and I have yet to even watch the anime. Overall, it was a good one time read.
October 23, 2020
This is not an isekai. The story is about Red, a young man by the setting’s standards, who was kicked out of the hero’s party for not being a “true comrade” in terms of combat reliability. Accepting his banishment, Red decides that it is time to settle down in a small village and open an apothecary. After opening his shop, a friend from Red’s past shows up and asks to work with him. The story follows the day to day running of the apothecary with enough “side quests” and flashbacks to keep the reader turning the page.
The characters in this volume have greater depth then I had expected. Red had actually lived the life of an overpowered character, but he was eventually surpassed by the other members of his party. Both of these factors greatly impact his mentality, and it shows in how he views himself and the world around him. The other characters range from blue-collar workers to heroes and nobles. They all primarily have roles in the story based off of their relation to the main character, but their roles/impact in the world are based on their own character motivations.
The author, ZAPPON, has a writing style that I love to read in light novels. The volume is written in a first-person point of view which allows us, the readers, to get inside of Red’s head. We get to experience what Red experiences, and we get to know how/what he thinks. Sadly, this point of view style also means that we only receive information from the main character, and we are limited to what the character knows. What I am loving about ZAPPON’s style is that he remedies this “flaw” by switching the point of view over to other characters. However, when ZAPPON does this, he changes the writing style from first-person to third-person. This allows us to see the world through the experiences of other characters without getting confused since “I” will always be Red. To sum up the benefits of ZAPPON’s writing style: We get to bond with the main character as we see the world from his eyes, We get to bond with other characters when the point of view does a confusion-less switch, We get to see more of the world than a normal first-person style book would allow, and we get to know things that Red does not.
I really enjoyed this book. I have been waiting for a male-lead apothecary book for a long time. Sadly, I am one those people who struggles with books that have a female lead because I feel like I cannot sympathize with them. This made it hard to find a book that was about apothecaries since they were predominantly about a female protagonist. This book was a pleasant surprise however. The title does say that Red is going to live a quiet life in the countryside, but that is more so his goal than the outcome. There is enough action in this book to take it away from the more mercantile novels like Spice and Wolf, but the main focus of the story seems to be the struggle for Red to leave his past behind, so that is expected. Another genre that I enjoy is action/adventure, so I enjoyed this plot quite a bit.
Sadly, I cannot tell you everything I like about this book; nor can I review everything without spoiling the story for you, but if you like action, herbalism, mercantilism, male protagonists, romance, RPG skills, fantasy, and trope-bending then, like me, this story is for you! If you want a story that only has one or two of these points, then you can probably find another novel that will more suit your interests.
The characters in this volume have greater depth then I had expected. Red had actually lived the life of an overpowered character, but he was eventually surpassed by the other members of his party. Both of these factors greatly impact his mentality, and it shows in how he views himself and the world around him. The other characters range from blue-collar workers to heroes and nobles. They all primarily have roles in the story based off of their relation to the main character, but their roles/impact in the world are based on their own character motivations.
The author, ZAPPON, has a writing style that I love to read in light novels. The volume is written in a first-person point of view which allows us, the readers, to get inside of Red’s head. We get to experience what Red experiences, and we get to know how/what he thinks. Sadly, this point of view style also means that we only receive information from the main character, and we are limited to what the character knows. What I am loving about ZAPPON’s style is that he remedies this “flaw” by switching the point of view over to other characters. However, when ZAPPON does this, he changes the writing style from first-person to third-person. This allows us to see the world through the experiences of other characters without getting confused since “I” will always be Red. To sum up the benefits of ZAPPON’s writing style: We get to bond with the main character as we see the world from his eyes, We get to bond with other characters when the point of view does a confusion-less switch, We get to see more of the world than a normal first-person style book would allow, and we get to know things that Red does not.
I really enjoyed this book. I have been waiting for a male-lead apothecary book for a long time. Sadly, I am one those people who struggles with books that have a female lead because I feel like I cannot sympathize with them. This made it hard to find a book that was about apothecaries since they were predominantly about a female protagonist. This book was a pleasant surprise however. The title does say that Red is going to live a quiet life in the countryside, but that is more so his goal than the outcome. There is enough action in this book to take it away from the more mercantile novels like Spice and Wolf, but the main focus of the story seems to be the struggle for Red to leave his past behind, so that is expected. Another genre that I enjoy is action/adventure, so I enjoyed this plot quite a bit.
Sadly, I cannot tell you everything I like about this book; nor can I review everything without spoiling the story for you, but if you like action, herbalism, mercantilism, male protagonists, romance, RPG skills, fantasy, and trope-bending then, like me, this story is for you! If you want a story that only has one or two of these points, then you can probably find another novel that will more suit your interests.
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