Wow, crazy stuff.

Highlights:
*Ruziu and Saito fighting is depressing, but it keeps me flipping pages

*ジュリオ is a weird character. He seemed to flip-flop from gallant, to crass, then back to gallant. I dont know what he's all about, except that he seems to know way too much about everything. I wonder if he's not part of sheffield's secret team of king-maker/artifact collectiors or something.

Lol, you're so mean to Henrietta and Siesta.

In my opinion, Henrietta is one of those characters who hits rock bottom doing shameful things and can't blame anyone but herself for it (kind of like her real life counterpart). From an observer's point of view though, you wish she would just stop sulking already and recover her former self.

The post-war period in volume 8 probably served as a rebound period for her. It appears she's finally ready to take the stage again in vol.9 as a serious competitor against Louise and Siesta (according to the preview).

As for Siesta, I already talked about her actions in vol.7 plenty here, so I won't mention them again.

All I can say is that this is just another personal preference thing, it's all down to how you attach meanings to her actions, be they favorable or unfavorable opinions.

Also, about those dragon knights, it's pretty clear that Miss Bust Revol- I mean Tiffania saved them, if you have noticed that she said "again?" in the epilogue when she found out that "another" injured person was down in the forest.

If you want a story with a deep (and I mean deep) world view and heavy (and I mean heavy) background settings, this is it.

Kawakami Minoru-san is a very talented writer, with a very unique writing style. It may be a little hard to get used to his writings in the beginning, but once you catch on, it's a smooth and thrilling ride.

Owari no Chronicle itself looks like a SF story on the surface, but it's really a lot more than that (much like any great stories). Well, if you're interested, you can try looking it up (Amazon.co.jp have customer reviews, you can try there).

The series is also well known for it's thick volumes. Kawakami-san is the kind who never stops writing once he begins, hence the ridiculous book sizes. :heh:

There's a total of 7 volumes for the series, but don't be fooled into thinking "oh, that's less than Zero no Tsukaima!":



I predict there will be an anime adaptation of this series in the future as well.

Here's a MAD movie made for the novel:
http://stage6.divx.com/members/66788/videos/2874

If you want a story with a deep (and I mean deep) world view and heavy (and I mean heavy) background settings, this is it.

Kamikawa Minoru-san is a very talented writer, with a very unique writing style. It may be a little hard to get used to his writings in the beginning, but once you catch on, it's a smooth and thrilling ride.

Owari no Chronicle itself looks like a SF story on the surface, but it's really a lot more than that (much like any great stories). Well, if you're interested, you can try looking it up (Amazon.co.jp have customer reviews, you can try there).

The series is also well known for it's thick volumes. Kamikawa-san is the kind who never stops writing once he begins, hence the ridiculous book sizes. :heh:

There's a total of 7 volumes for the series, but don't be fooled into thinking "oh, that's less than Zero no Tsukaima!":



I predict there will be an anime adaptation of this series in the future as well.

Here's a MAD movie made for the novel:
http://stage6.divx.com/members/66788/videos/2874

still has his laptop with him

For your first concern, I can tell you this: the story has its own world view. That is, although the setting appears to takes place in the real-life world, it's not really the case. So it would be best to read the story without trying to connect the story's world to our real world. The reason for this will be revealed later on, but you'll have to read on to find out.

On the other hand, if you're only concerned about the believability of the story, don't worry, once you're on track, you'll accept the story's world without any problems.

As for the reviews, yes, I don't blame those people who gave bad reviews on it. This is probably one of the hardest novels I have ever read (surpassing even Kara no Kyoukai :heh:). Even for native Japanese readers, this novel can leave half of them going :confused:.

The prologue of the first volume can be particularly confusing, since you're bombarded with all these developments with absolutely no explanations, only complicated descriptions (which makes it hard to create an image of the situation in your head), on top of hard-to-understand vocabularies being tossed around everywhere. But endure through it, and once the story "resets" and begins for real in chapter 1, you should be able to slowly catch on.

Either way, it's true that the writing style is very different from novels like Zero no Tsukaima (it's like comparing an university textbook to an elementary textbook ^^; ), so it may not match everyone's taste. On the other hand, I guess you can say that an university textbook is far more rewarding to read than an elementary textbook if you can understand it. ;)

By the way, I haven't finished the novel myself either. I'm saving it for my fall semester school commute trips. :heh:

Ruizu is surprisingly suicidal. I supposed having your loved one sacrifice himself to save you might exacerbate one's desperation, but she truely goes overboard -- **actually jumping off the roof in order to die** I cant respect that no matter how much she loved him.

Siesta is .... simply too good of a person. Her taking care of, saving the life of, and ultimataly making an alliance with Ruizu is so unexpected as well. Im finding it hard to grasp her motivations, unless she is some sort of ero-saint or something.

Saito's actions I can sympathize with. He knows how ruizu feels, and he knows that going back to her as a mere weak boy is only going to put her in danger. Putting her safety above his happiness is rather noble for your average teenager. Despite the resignation there, he continues to train and tries to get stronger.

Aniesu: wow! This is the first time she's gotten to show off her cool side, and the first time Ive liked her as a character. She totally put what she thought was right ahead of "orders", and I have to respect her for it. Perhaps the events from the previous volume have changed her personality, and finally she sees the world in three dimensions. A welcome change.

And Tifania. I can only describe her as a present, all wrapped up with a bowtie.
Yamaguchi-sensei is sparing no expense in reminding us of just how hot she is.
In so many ways she is the total opposite of Ruizu, and her near total lack of hubris
puts even siesta to shame. My only exception to her is that... well... ridiculously over sized blobby breasts are not that attractive. (I guess thats her human half expressing )
She has stated her intention to go off adventuring, and I get the impression she wants to go with saito. It makes me wonder what she plans to do with all the orphans though :( Don't take on obligations if you have wanderlust babe.

The change of pace in this volume is very welcome.
I get the impression that if saito gets a second chance at being Gardaarubu, he's going to be much more impressive the second time around.

Blobby boobs!? ( :heh: ) Ok, you're just trying to pick bones in an egg now.
Despite how Miss Bust Revolution's "assets" might look like when "external forces" are applied to them, this is what she looks like
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/3...4th0bj6.th.jpg
and if Saito's not complaining, I don't see why we should. :heh:

As for your comment about Tiffania's desire to see the world. Can you blame her? Remember, her elf status meant that she's a feared existence, literally forbidden to walk the lands of Halkeginia. Tiffania knows that perfectly well herself too, otherwise she probably wouldn't have boxed herself inside that tiny village all her life, erasing the memory of everyone who crossed her path.

As for Louise's attempt to suicide, I don't see anything there that made me lose any respect for her. If she was trying to kill herself because she wanted to end her life, then that's another story. But she was trying to kill herself in order to "meet Saito". The motive is different, one is constructive, one is destructive, and it's important to notice that.

Sure, suicide is a foolish thing to do, no matter what the reason may be, especially if it's something as stupid as "so I can meet my dead beloved". But Louise's act here is only a testament of her true character: blind when it comes to love. Everyone make mistakes, especially if it's their first time experiencing something, so I won't look down on her just for a silly mistake. In that respect, Siesta is far more collected and calm, proving that she's actually much less impulsive than Louise when it comes to love affairs.

Of course, it is a well known fact that tsunderes like Louise are usually the kind who are the most likely to become kamikaze love fighters. Probably because of all those pent up feelings. :heh:
(What this also means is that it's probably a good idea to leave your real-world standards behind when you read these novels, people like Louise and Siesta obviously don't exist in real-life, so it probably wouldn't work very well to try to judge them like you would for normal real-life people)

And no, I don't think Siesta has any "ulterior motives" here. If you have followed the novel this far, you should know perfectly well what kind of girl she is. She may be Louise's rival, but she's not so coldblooded as to let Louise drop to her death.

As for Saito and Agnes, well, you'll probably have more comments about them by the end, so I'll leave them for now.

Sure, he's not complaining, but it makes me wonder how the Tifania vs Ruizu showdown will play out. I bet at some point he's going to be forced to choose between them. Tifania wanting him to accompany her on an adventure to the east, and Ruizu wanting him to return to serve as her familiar.

Oh, absolutely not. I'd want to see the world just as desparately.
However, I doubt she's going to bring a village of children on a dangerous quest, and since she's the only adult in the little village, what will happen to them?? The way she resolves this situation is going to tell me alot about her personality.

Meh, the motive is all the same to me: Wanting to escape from a painful reality rather than face it.
She has no real evidence that she'll be able to meet him in the "afterlife" anyway, I guess she's just a queen of self-delusion.
I have to admire her sense of loyalty to saito, while at the same time I cannot respect her lack of maturity and she seems to lack in the ability not to deceive one'self.
(of course, if she was perfect, there would be no story. The Ruizu parts are the most gripping for me, making me all teary eyed even... )

Its one thing to try to stop her, to make her food, and be nice. But sacrificing herself to save Ruizu is more than you can ask. After being rejected so many times, I dont know what makes her tick. Perhaps she's betting everything on a long-shot, that in the end saito will see her and choose her.

She's such a sweet girl, and her physical (non-oversized) physical description is far more alluring than some other characters. Her flip-flop passive-aggressive behavior is so cute too...
I think she deserves someone who will treat her good at the very least.

1. I think you alluded to Saito losing his powers. Did he decide to stay away from Louise then due to the fact he's now weak and useless (to her)?

I can see where did situation would be to Siesta's or Tiffania's advantage. With Saito being reduced to a normal boy, there is no really a good reason for Saito to be with Louise.

But Saito does love Louise. The big factor is whether Louise can go against just about everyonne in her strata in society to be with Saito.

Of course, there's Louise can always try the method that Emiya Shiro used to restore Saber's mana when they spent the night at Eisenbern forest. :D

I'm halfway through volume 8 , and saito has lost his powers because his heart stopped.
(it seems tiffania saved him before he died completely, but it was enough to end the spell.
If you remember the condition for the "summon servant" spell to end from volume 1)

The way to get is back would be for ruizu to re-summon him, I think She created a portal and
I think its still appearing in front of saito. (meaning he is still her most ideal familiar in all the universe?)
Im eagerly looking forward for that to happen later in this volume, but on the other hand, I'm very curious to see what saito can do under his own steam.

If he can prove that he's a warrior of his own right, then he would make a far more impressive gandaarubu than he did the first time around :) :)

luckily, since the books are not based upon eroge, sex is not the only way to get stronger ^^;;

How their showdown will play out?

Louise: "Besides! What's so good about this elf any-"
Louise's glance floated over Tiffania's chest, and her eyes opened wide. With her eyes pinned on Tifannia's chest, Louise whispered in a trembling voice,
Louise: ".........au"

That's how. :heh:

One word: drama

I don't think Siesta even thought about the risks. Louise was jumping off in front of her face, so she reached out and grabbed her, it's that simple. There was no time to go "oh look she jumped, should I risk my life to save her or not?"

I'm a Siesta x Saito supporter, although some people think her attitude towards Saito is pretentious, I like her for her courageousness. She's willing to expose her feelings even while knowing Saito may never be able to respond to her. The bedroom scene in vol.7 showed just how determined she was.

For the record, Siesta was never rejected. Saito never openly rejected her feelings (rather, he accepted them), it's just that he doesn't think he's able to *return* those feelings.

That problem gets resolved by the end of vol.8, so you don't have to worry about what the change of status will mean for Saito.

But it's still true that Saito's relationships with the girls (Louise, Siesta, even Henrietta + Tiffania) has deepened quite a bit by the end of vol.8, compared to their pre-vol.7 status.

I really enjoyed the slow pace. But the ending chapter and epilogue seemed crowded- way too much stuff happened in far too few pages. Perhaps he struggled to fit it all in the end there.

I was surprised that Tifinia's status is unresolved at the end. I dont know what she plans to do. Ruizu and the others don't know her secrets yet. Hehe, the confrontation between her and ruizu hasnt happened yet at all. And im not talking about a love-confrontation- which I no longer expect. Tiffania has certainly seen the depth of feeling between those two, and she doesnt seem like the kind of character who would try to but in between. So all that romantic buildup between the saito and tifania was diffused, just as soon as saito dived through the portal.

Amazingly, Ruizu still has not uttered the word "好き" directly to saito yet. I was sortof expecting some romantic progress at the end of some time. But, one thing I wasnt expecting, Ruizu to give up all her trifling with "honor" and put saito ahead of her ambitions. wow, that was an unexpected surpise. *doki* He has done the same for her, so now what will they do next? Perhaps thell get drawn into Tifinia's quest.

I supposed siesta could even go with them: she seems to have the best fieldcraft skills, and is domestic enough to make food etc for their little adventure. Certainly a useful member. Plus she's not possesive, and seems not to mind sharing her love interest with others. (a required attribute for a long time second seat in a harem?)

Theyll make an impressive party of adventurers, with two 担い手. Sadly, Tiffania has lost her music box however, so she's not going to be able to learn new powers.

In fact, there are so many unresolved things, I can hardly wait for volume 9's beginning part.

As a bad guy, I dont care for blue-haired Josef much. He seems much less intimidating than Cromwell used to. Oh well. At the very least I'll be plenty enthiused when Tabasa skewers him. The sooner the better.

Im hoping some of the mages increase their level soon. It'd be nice for kyuruke to advance to square rank, for example. Saito has certainly progressed, and gotten stronger. I was expecting his "contract servant" ceremony to be a bit more dramatic. Perhap a bit more hesitation. Perhaps a bit more pain or something. Perhaps a much more deeper and soul-touching kiss. (i love those) I got the feeling it was a bit of a reset, due to the lack of drama and/or comedy. It made me realize that the whole series lacks actual sex scenes, except perhaps the inferred off-scene ones from kyuruke in volume 1.

After all this progress from Saito and Ruizu, I want to see other cast members get stronger too now. Perhaps Gisshu will stop being a dot mage one day.

アニエス has certainly gotten stronger, in a fundamental way. (no more cast-iron-bitch) I wonder what she will do next: will she quit the 銃士隊 perhaps? Her heart is clearly not in it anymore. Maybe she'll join saito's 一行. Whatever it is, I'd love too see Anrietta's reaction. Volume 8 left me wondering about her state of mind.

Tifania's 調べ clearly has a magical wanderlust inducing effect on everyone there.

So what made Ruizu invoke the summoning spell again? Did she have a clue Saito was still alive? If not, was she surprised?

How did Ruizu put Saito in front of her honor?

In what ways did Saito become stronger? Did he end up with the same power as before when the familiar contract was restored?