Madan no Ou to Vanadis [Light Novel]

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by xBakaChanx

Yeeees vol 4 is finally out~ I been looking forward to it all month ~

Go go go!

Currently at the part where Tigre and Rurrick have a close moment together. Pretty awe inspiring...but I hope this isn't setting Rurrick up for a death flag or anything of the sort. ;_;

[EnigmaticAxiom]

I'm still reading through volume 1. Since 2 was summarized in detail, I'll go to 3 afterward. Dammit, wanna read more

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by EnigmaticAxiom

I'm still reading through volume 1. Since 2 was summarized in detail, I'll go to 3 afterward. Dammit, wanna read more

I'll advise you not to skip Volume 2 just because it's been summarized. The summaries, while rather detailed to an extent, left some details out here and there that makes the story feel more alive and the characters more resonant. For example, Lyudmila's attitude. She's not your typical snobbish noble stereotype; far from it, but the summaries have omitted the small details that Tigre noticed to point her true character out near the end.

It's very much worth reading from start to finish.

[willx]

It's interesting that this LN attracts such high praises, but other than Florza who so kindly started this project as a teaser, I don't think there's been much interest in people translating it.. which is a tad disappointing.. I did hear that some people like reading it for pure enjoyment, and that translating it might turn it into "work" so they don't want to do it

[whsie]

Originally Posted by willx

It's interesting that this LN attracts such high praises, but other than Florza who so kindly started this project as a teaser, I don't think there's been much interest in people translating it.. which is a tad disappointing.. I did hear that some people like reading it for pure enjoyment, and that translating it might turn it into "work" so they don't want to do it

Well, I can tell you the Chinese light novel community didn't hold it in really high regards early on. The first two volumes seemed too echhi and harem like for some people's taste. The translator (a female btw) of the first two volumes dropped the work because there was too much "skin" for her taste. It wasn't until the last 3 or 4 months that the project was picked up again (with considerably higher reviews this time).

Yes, there are the nude scenes (walking into a naked Ellen, Lumirada, Sophia, etc) and the harem aspect, but those take a background role compared to the action, strategy, and political machination.

[Belgaesh]

Originally Posted by willx

It's interesting that this LN attracts such high praises, but other than Florza who so kindly started this project as a teaser, I don't think there's been much interest in people translating it.. which is a tad disappointing.. I did hear that some people like reading it for pure enjoyment, and that translating it might turn it into "work" so they don't want to do it

In the poll in BT for Code-Zero next project, Madan no Ou only got 20 votes being mine one of them. It's such a shame that a series good as this it's not recognized as it should.

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by whsie

Well, I can tell you the Chinese light novel community didn't hold it in really high regards early on. The first two volumes seemed too echhi and harem like for some people's taste. The translator (a female btw) of the first two volumes dropped the work because there was too much "skin" for her taste. It wasn't until the last 3 or 4 months that the project was picked up again (with considerably higher reviews this time).

Yes, there are the nude scenes (walking into a naked Ellen, Lumirada, Sophia, etc) and the harem aspect, but those take a background role compared to the action, strategy, and political machination.

MF Bunko knows that fanservice sells...and unfortunately, that's why they emphasize it so much with the colored pages. I mean, just look at any MF Bunko LN, and most of the time the colored pages are sheer fanservice meant to lure people in. While it might hold some truth to some of their haremy, lovecom-y series, Vanadis suffers from it because people end up dismissing it as another harem title and then miss out on a great medieval political war story.

Plus, while this series is indeed REALLY fun to read as a hobby, translating it ends up as a chore because of the sheer clusterfuck of the names. It would REALLY help if MF Bunko did something with Vanadis like what Ichijinsha does with Thousand to Aegis, which is also by the same author, Kawaguchi Tsukasa. But I doubt they care, which...sucks.

Originally Posted by Belgaesh

In the poll in BT for Code-Zero next project, Madan no Ou only got 20 votes being mine one of them. It's such a shame that a series good as this it's not recognized as it should.

There was really very little material to promote Vanadis with during the time of the poll, aside from whatever available illustrations were accessible after a quick google search. One glance at the naked Vanadis ladies, and they probably just dismissed it as sheer harem.

Not everyone also had/has access to the summaries made by zephyr from jcafe, which would have definitely perked interest up for it.

[whsie]

Originally Posted by Erhjegel

Checked up the jp wiki 'cause of a friend's request, my eyes ended up catching a line or two and now I've been bothered by this tidbit for a while now. So here's a question to those who have read Volume 5. Because it is really, really bothering me.

Spoiler for Don't bother opening me if you have no idea who Drechvach (ドレカヴァク) is in this series. I'm serious. Otherwise it's just going to open another can of worms, people are going to ask for more information, summaries plz, gimme spoilers plz. and all that, etc., tons of inane speculations out the wazoo, so DON'T.:

The Vanadis Valentina joins up with Ganlon and Greast? Really?

Not that I want to spoil myself, because I don't ever get spoiled very easily.

Spoiler for Semi-Summary of Volume 5:

Assuming Ganlon and Tenaldie refers to the top 2 Nobles in Brune, not exactly. At the end of Volume 4, the "Red Beard" from Mouzinel called Tigre a warrior and general in the same calibre of Roland. The first reason for this proclamation was that Roland was defeated by Tigre (in Volume 3) and by spreading Tigre's martial prowess, his own reputation stays intact. Second, he wanted to use that proclamation to lift Tigre into a 3rd power in Brune along with Ganlon and Tenaldie. He hoped to create a triumvirate in Brune that would fight with each other and hereby weaken the country's power.

For reasons I don't remember, Ganlon and Tenaldie (assuming these are the two nobles) fought with each other. Tenaldie unleashed the dragons on Ganlon and I believe it was Ganlon who lost. As he escaped, he set fire to his own land (scorched earth). Afterwards, Tenaldie turned to Tigre. After a fight in which a Twin Headed Dragon and Fire Dragon were unleashed and combated by Ellen and Lumirada respectively, Tenaldie lost about a fifth of his army of 24,000 while Tigre lost less than a 1000.

With Ganlon gone, the princess wanted to head to a monastery in Ganlon's previous territory. After a very messy situation in which Bartlett dies protecting Tigre, Tigre in his melancholy activates his bow's power and summons a Black Dragon (symbol of Brune) from under earth.

After this side trip, Tenaldie's and Tigre's force begin round 2. I'll leave the details of the battle out, but in the end Tigre maneuvers himself to the front of Tenaldie's tent. Tenaldie comes out and challenges Tigre, who has one arrow left, to a duel. As the two of them ride away with Ellen behind, Tenaldie wanted to stop at a location where everything is in his favor. In particular, he wanted a location where the location was blowing toward Tigre. When he stopped and faced off against Tigre, the strong wind suddenly weakened into nothing while the rain also stopped. With the sudden change in conditions, Tenaldie gravely miscalculates the arrow's trajectory and ends up dead. Ellen asked her Viralt if it changed the wind for Tigre. Her weapon conjured a minor wind in response, denying it did anything.

Afterwards, the king sends an ambassador to invite the two Vanadis and Tigre to the palace. Sophia also shows up at the palace as the ambassador for Zestch (the Vanadis country) After the king publicized the princess' identity, the king asked Tigre for his reward. Tigre asked for 1. 50,000 gold for Zestch 2. War reparations for Zestch. All money Zestch spent in this war will be paid by Brune. 3. A piece of land is given to Zestch 4. A 3 year peace treaty.

In addition to these, the king also grants Tigre the title of "Moonlight Knight." Even though this occurred a long time ago, the prime minister thought to himself that this title was given long ago to another person (so long ago that the person's name is forgotten) who eventually married the princess to become king.

At the celebration party, Tigre slipped away because he didn't have a very good experience with the palace in the past. Also, because his contract with Ellen is still in effect, he'll be heading back toward Zestch. This would create an awkward situation with the court. He's soon joined by the 3 Vanadis. Upon seeing Tigre, Sophia stuffs his face into her chest (to the jealousy of Ellen and Lumirada).

Elsewhere, Ganlon is at a sea port in the north end of Brune. He and his subordinate are received by Valentine.

Note: I left out a lot. The side trip and all the details of the battle are left out.

Valentine (Scythe Vanadis of Darkness) showed up 3 times in this novel. 1. She slipped into Tigre's tent and was essentially sexually harassed by a snoring Tigre. 2. She met with Sophia back at Zestch's court. Sophia is suspicious of Valentine and is trying to figure out her motive. 3. Valentine picks up Ganlon.

Sasha (Dual blades Vanadis of Fire) didn't show up. She's supposedly still bed-ridden. I don't understand how Ellen "never once beat her."

Isabella (Whip Vanadis of Thunder) has sent an ambassador to establish political relations with Tigre.

Ellen (Sword Vanadis of Wind) returns home and decides at the end of the volume to send Tigre to one of the other countries.

Lumirada (Spear Vanadis of Ice) returns home.

Sophia (Sceptre Vanadis of Light) also returns home.

Olga (??) is still wandering elsewhere. She's the only Vanadis yet to show up.

[willx]

Originally Posted by whsie

Spoiler for Semi-Summary of Volume 5:

Assuming Ganlon and Greast refers to the top 2 Nobles in Brune, not exactly. At the end of Volume 4, the "Red Beard" from Mouzinel called Tigre a warrior and general in the same calibre of Roland. The first reason for this proclamation was that Roland was defeated by Tigre and by spreading Tigre's martial prowess, his own reputation stays intact. Second, he wanted to use that proclamation to lift Tigre into a 3rd power in Brune along with Ganlon and Greast. He hoped to create a triumvirate in Brune that would fight with each other and hereby weaken the country's power.

For reasons I don't remember, Ganlon and Greast (assuming these are the two nobles) fought with each other. I believe it was Ganlon who lost and as he escaped, he set fire to his own land (scorched earth). Afterwards, Greast turned to Tigre. After a fight in which a Twin Headed Dragon and Fire Dragon were unleashed and combated by Ellen and Lumirada respectively, Greast lost about a fifth of his army of 24,000 while Tigre lost less than a 1000.

With Ganlon gone, the princess wanted to head to a monastery in Ganlon's previous territory. After a very messy situation in which Bartlett dies protecting Tigre, Tigre in his melancholy activates his bow's power and summons a Black Dragon (symbol of Brune) from under earth.

After this side trip, Greast's and Tigre's force begin round 2. I'll leave the details of the battle out, but in the end Tigre maneuvers himself to the front of Greast's tent. Greast comes out and challenges Tigre, who has one arrow left, to a duel. As the two of them ride away with Ellen behind, Greast wanted to stop at a location where everything is in his favor. In particular, he wanted a location where the location was blowing toward Tigre. When he stopped and faced off against Tigre, the strong wind suddenly weakened into nothing while the rain also stopped. With the sudden change in conditions, Greast gravely miscalculates the arrow's trajectory and ends up dead. Ellen asked her Viralt if it changed the wind for Tigre. Her weapon conjured a minor wind in response, denying it did anything.

Afterwards, the king sends an ambassador to invite the two Vanadis and Tigre to the palace. Sophia also shows up at the palace as the ambassador for Zestch (the Vanadis country) After the king publicized the princess' identity, the king asked Tigre for his reward. Tigre asked for 1. 50,000 gold for Zestch 2. War reparations for Zestch. All money Zestch spent in this war will be paid by Brune. 3. A piece of land is given to Zestch 4. A 3 year peace treaty.

In addition to these, the king also grants Tigre the title of "Moonlight Knight." Even though this occurred a long time ago, the prime minister thought to himself that this title was given long ago to another person (so long ago that the person's name is forgotten) who eventually married the princess to become king.

At the celebration party, Tigre slipped away because he didn't have a very good experience with the palace in the past. Also, because his contract with Ellen is still in effect, he'll be heading back toward Zestch. This would create an awkward situation with the court. He's soon joined by the 3 Vanadis. Upon seeing Tigre, Sophia stuffs his face into her chest (to the jealousy of Ellen and Lumirada).

Elsewhere, Ganlon is at a sea port in the north end of Brune. He and his subordinate are received by Valentine.

Valentine (Scythe Vanadis of Darkness) showed up 3 times in this novel. 1. She slipped into Tigre's tent and was essentially sexually harassed by a snoring Tigre. 2. She met with Sophia back at Zestch's court. Sophia is suspicious of Valentine and is trying to figure out her motive. 3. Valentine picks up Ganlon.

Sasha (Dual blades Vanadis of Fire) didn't show up. She's supposedly still bed-ridden. I don't understand how Ellen "never once beat her."

Isabella (Whip Vanadis of Thunder) has sent an ambassador to establish political relations with Tigre.

Ellen (Sword Vanadis of Wind) returns home and decides at the end of the volume to send Tigre to one of the other countries.

Lumirada (Spear Vanadis of Ice) returns home.

Sophia (Sceptre Vanadis of Light) also returns home.

Olga (??) is still wandering elsewhere. She's the only Vanadis yet to show up.

OH MY.. Tigre/Tigul finally gets some recognition .. which means it's setting everything up for EVEN MORE conflict to come! Man.. I wish I could read this myself.. I think I'll whip out some Japanese dictionaries and give it a shot with my Pre-Kindergarten level skills..

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by whsie

Spoiler for Semi-Summary of Volume 5:

Assuming Ganlon and Greast refers to the top 2 Nobles in Brune, not exactly. At the end of Volume 4, the "Red Beard" from Mouzinel called Tigre a warrior and general in the same calibre of Roland. The first reason for this proclamation was that Roland was defeated by Tigre and by spreading Tigre's martial prowess, his own reputation stays intact. Second, he wanted to use that proclamation to lift Tigre into a 3rd power in Brune along with Ganlon and Greast. He hoped to create a triumvirate in Brune that would fight with each other and hereby weaken the country's power.

For reasons I don't remember, Ganlon and Greast (assuming these are the two nobles) fought with each other. I believe it was Ganlon who lost and as he escaped, he set fire to his own land (scorched earth). Afterwards, Greast turned to Tigre. After a fight in which a Twin Headed Dragon and Fire Dragon were unleashed and combated by Ellen and Lumirada respectively, Greast lost about a fifth of his army of 24,000 while Tigre lost less than a 1000.

With Ganlon gone, the princess wanted to head to a monastery in Ganlon's previous territory. After a very messy situation in which Bartlett dies protecting Tigre, Tigre in his melancholy activates his bow's power and summons a Black Dragon (symbol of Brune) from under earth.

After this side trip, Greast's and Tigre's force begin round 2. I'll leave the details of the battle out, but in the end Tigre maneuvers himself to the front of Greast's tent. Greast comes out and challenges Tigre, who has one arrow left, to a duel. As the two of them ride away with Ellen behind, Greast wanted to stop at a location where everything is in his favor. In particular, he wanted a location where the location was blowing toward Tigre. When he stopped and faced off against Tigre, the strong wind suddenly weakened into nothing while the rain also stopped. With the sudden change in conditions, Greast gravely miscalculates the arrow's trajectory and ends up dead. Ellen asked her Viralt if it changed the wind for Tigre. Her weapon conjured a minor wind in response, denying it did anything.

Afterwards, the king sends an ambassador to invite the two Vanadis and Tigre to the palace. Sophia also shows up at the palace as the ambassador for Zestch (the Vanadis country) After the king publicized the princess' identity, the king asked Tigre for his reward. Tigre asked for 1. 50,000 gold for Zestch 2. War reparations for Zestch. All money Zestch spent in this war will be paid by Brune. 3. A piece of land is given to Zestch 4. A 3 year peace treaty.

In addition to these, the king also grants Tigre the title of "Moonlight Knight." Even though this occurred a long time ago, the prime minister thought to himself that this title was given long ago to another person (so long ago that the person's name is forgotten) who eventually married the princess to become king.

At the celebration party, Tigre slipped away because he didn't have a very good experience with the palace in the past. Also, because his contract with Ellen is still in effect, he'll be heading back toward Zestch. This would create an awkward situation with the court. He's soon joined by the 3 Vanadis. Upon seeing Tigre, Sophia stuffs his face into her chest (to the jealousy of Ellen and Lumirada).

Elsewhere, Ganlon is at a sea port in the north end of Brune. He and his subordinate are received by Valentine.

Valentine (Scythe Vanadis of Darkness) showed up 3 times in this novel. 1. She slipped into Tigre's tent and was essentially sexually harassed by a snoring Tigre. 2. She met with Sophia back at Zestch's court. Sophia is suspicious of Valentine and is trying to figure out her motive. 3. Valentine picks up Ganlon.

Sasha (Dual blades Vanadis of Fire) didn't show up. She's supposedly still bed-ridden. I don't understand how Ellen "never once beat her."

Isabella (Whip Vanadis of Thunder) has sent an ambassador to establish political relations with Tigre.

Ellen (Sword Vanadis of Wind) returns home and decides at the end of the volume to send Tigre to one of the other countries.

Lumirada (Spear Vanadis of Ice) returns home.

Sophia (Sceptre Vanadis of Light) also returns home.

Olga (??) is still wandering elsewhere. She's the only Vanadis yet to show up.

Thank you so much for the very detailed response, as it contained the answer to my question (Valentina picking up the two you-know-whos). By Greast I was referring to his subordinate, the one who was making creepy advances on Eleonora in Volume 3 Chapter 2 right before the "forest ambush" battle; Tenaldie was the other noble. I blame you not, though, as I'm sure you can attest to just how utterly CONFUSING the names are in this series.

It might be presumptuous of me to say it at this point seeing as I'm just in Volume 3 Chapter 3, and I know this has been already repeated time and time again, but seriously. Just from reading those alone, one can already get the idea just how the actions taken during volume 4 brought about the situations in volume 5 (and vice versa with the actions taken in volume 3 regarding volume 4, and so on). It needs no reiteration at this point, but seriously, this world's "domino effect" is just really remarkable.

Originally Posted by willx

OH MY.. Tigre/Tigul finally gets some recognition .. which means it's setting everything up for EVEN MORE conflict to come! Man.. I wish I could read this myself.. I think I'll whip out some Japanese dictionaries and give it a shot with my Pre-Kindergarten level skills..

Just reading about it actually brings me to near tears, really. The only ones who really recognized Tigre for his outstanding characteristics are the Vanadis and the people of Zhcted (and even then it was not immediate as evidenced by Lyudmila taking quite a huge dislike of Tigre initially), as well as his enemies; but to his own country, he continued to be viewed as a traitor and a paragon of shame. Despite heroic acts such as repulsing forces even up to 10 times larger than his own troops.

Reading about him getting the recognition he FINALLY deserves is just...wow. *sniffs* I'm sure I'll be much more emotionally driven once I read about the whole thing myself, but I'm glad with this development.

[whsie]

Yeah, the names has me spinning in circles. Need to go change the names. And yeah, Greast is a creep, but also extremely sharp. He essentially coerced Tigre into a no-win situation. Tigre could either be the "invader" or have his land pillaged.

Also,

Spoiler for something about Ganlon:

I don't think Ganlon is human. He boasted to the other noble that he could easily crush a Dragon's head and the other noble didn't think he was joking. The implication is that Ganlon is not exactly human.

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by whsie

Yeah, the names has me spinning in circles. Need to go change the names. And yeah, Greast is a creep, but also extremely sharp. He essentially coerced Tigre into a no-win situation. Tigre could either be the "invader" or have his land pillaged.

At first I was ecstatic over Tigre's victory against Greast's, because of the way he turned the enemy general's expectations against them plus his own tactic's ingenuity. I was smiling from ear to ear at that point. Then it switched to Greast's POV, and with all the stuff he mentioned, at first I was a bit dismayed to find out that he had "accomplished his duty" there. It felt like it cheapened the victory as it was actually what Greast, send there by Ganlon, was meant to achieve.

And then it hit me, after I just remembered that Roland was on the march. This was definitely not good for Tigre in EVERY way, as:
1) It would cement him as a traitor who is willingly collaborating with foreign agents on their own soil in Roland's eyes;
2) Considering the military prowess of the Navarle Knights (THE best of the best, and with Roland leading them no less), the morale gained from Tigre's "victory" against Greast might be used against them once they go against the knights and they might end up harshly demoralized.

That maneuvering was just...wow. Brilliiantly devious. Granted, I've yet to hit the battle (I just arrived at the part where Sophia meets Tigre for the first time), so I don't know just how true these assumptions of mine are.

Originally Posted by whsie

Also,

Spoiler for something about Ganlon:

I don't think Ganlon is human. He boasted to the other noble that he could easily crush a Dragon's head and the other noble didn't think he was joking. The implication is that Ganlon is not exactly human.

Regarding this,

Spoiler for You might want to get some popcorn and some drinks; this might be a bit long:

You might just be right. I remember during Greast's POV that he mentions how Ganlon "isn't relatively human" after Ganlon handed down his orders. It might just have been due to the inhumanity of Ganlon's orders regarding how to handle Tigre-

-But here's the brilliant thing. To someone like Greast, who has been established to care little for the lives of commoners and is used to razing, pillaging and killing for the sake of Ganlon, why would he view Ganlon as inhuman after having merely handed down orders which to him would be nothing but ordinary?

And then, taking your point into account; then yes, it might just be possible that he isn't human. In fact, this might tie in perfectly with the introduction of Drechvach and Vuojanoi (he's the "man" who ate those gold coins Drechvach asked Tenaldie for with regards to raising more dragons).

PS. A bit off-tangent, I digress, but this series should have a disclaimer on it or something along the lines of: WARNING: If you came here because of the boobies and the fanservice on the colored pages, you should turn back ASAP. Prepare to be bored by political intrigues and maneuverings along with medieval warfare at every turn, as well as characters who are not strictly bound to their perceived archetypes. This is about as far away from shounen and harem as you can get; you have been warned. Because otherwise a lot of people coming into this series based on the cover pages alone are going to be disappointed.

[blackwhite67]

What can Valentine's viralt do?

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by willx

OH MY.. Tigre/Tigul finally gets some recognition .. which means it's setting everything up for EVEN MORE conflict to come! Man.. I wish I could read this myself.. I think I'll whip out some Japanese dictionaries and give it a shot with my Pre-Kindergarten level skills..

My own Japanese comprehension is nowhere even near good, and I admit that it's lacking. But I'd like to think that the desire to read stuff like this is a good opportunity to hone and learn more about the language.

I highly suggest picking up whatever furigana the story drops. You can also make use of sites like these to look up words down to their multiple radicals, since Vanadis doesn't provide much furigana regarding commonly-used kanjis most of the time.

It might take some time and your reading is going to feel a bit sluggish, but it is very much worth the effort once the ball gets rolling.

[blackwhite67]

Whatever happened to Prince/Princess Legunas? I know she met Tigre, right?

[Reek of Blood]

This series seems full of brutality eh? They didn't hesitate to show pile of corps everywhere. Even in some parts there are depiction on how limbs chopped off and bodies got torn away. In the middle of war, human lives are ridiculously cheap

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by Reek of Blood

This series seems full of brutality eh? They didn't hesitate to show pile of corps everywhere. Even in some parts there are depiction on how limbs chopped off and bodies got torn away. In the middle of war, human lives are ridiculously cheap

It's not THAT brutal, really.

[Reek of Blood]

@Erhjegel. Could you explain to me the real abilities of [Undefeated Sword Durandal]? Since that weapon capable of making Vanadis possessors like a joke.

[Hemisphere]

Originally Posted by Reek of Blood

@Erhjegel. Could you explain to me the real abilities of [Undefeated Sword Durandal]? Since that weapon capable of making Vanadis possessors like a joke.

Unfortunately I've yet to reach the battle with Roland, so I can't help you with this.

[Ddraig]

Originally Posted by Reek of Blood

This series seems full of brutality eh? They didn't hesitate to show pile of corps everywhere. Even in some parts there are depiction on how limbs chopped off and bodies got torn away. In the middle of war, human lives are ridiculously cheap

This is nothing compare to Akame ga Kiru.