(L) Infinite Stratos - Light Novel/Manga Discussion

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by blackwhite67

Let me correct my previous post. To my knowledge (and horror), I cannot recall a single instance in which Ichika was able to win without his harem or the help of some girl. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Now I ask again, was anyone, but me bothered by this?

Of Ichika's long list of failings, why is this even an issue? What's wrong with needing help?

[Fireminer]

Easy! First, if losing and winning is not an issue, then why let him use a 4th-Generation at first. Secondly, most people consider this is a fighting shounen, so a loser as the main character is bad. Beside, we hate it when girls bully him, and the fact that he need them when things turned bad only made the situation worse.

[MeisterBabylon]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Of Ichika's long list of failings, why is this even an issue? What's wrong with needing help?

I think, SAO spoilt us in terms of how "awesome" a harem lead should be. Even Otamega had his moments when he was in his element.

Accel World has a super-deformed Haruyuki as the harem lead. He too has a unique super power. And he's a retard. But unlike Ichika, he isn't a retard all the time, and he actually uses his unique power.

Ichika... leans on Byakushiki being awesome to scrape through. Its a terrible waste. I can see why some people take an issue to that.

Interestingly, I don't agree with this being a problem. He clearly does suck, and is only able to keep up so far because his Stratos unit is some Super High School Thingamajig. That is actually internally consistent given his performance in canon. Yes its painful to watch, but since the author has gone out of his way to make Ichika incompetent, a underperforming Byakushiki perpetually needing help is internally correct and strangely not a real problem.

The problem is elsewhere.

[Xero8420]

Originally Posted by Desructo

Also, let us a take a moment of silence in remembrance of Huang Lingyin's sudden demise.

Spoiler for Final Words from the Heroines:

※ To protect their privacies, all visuals and voices have been edited.
“At that moment, we really knew that we won’t be seeing Rin-san’s smiling face again.”
“I thought I saw the devil’s version of the Hyakuretsuki[3]”
“Maybe this is the fate for her. ”
“This is deserved punishment for defying the instructor…but it’s certainly pitiful.”
“She’s, a very reliable friend…a warm-hearted mother…an outstanding teacher…and, what else should I carve…on the tombstone?”
—Huang Lingyin’s death confirmed.

Which part? Volume 9?

No... NO! That's not true... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!

[Fireminer]

Nope, that is after Rin accidently "provocked" Chifuyu in Vol.8. Don't worry, she is still alive!

[Fireminer]

Nope, that is after Rin accidently "provocked" Chifuyu in Vol.8. Don't worry, she is still alive!
@babylon: Is that the reason why you write about an OC? Because you don't want to touch the Core Idea?

[Xero8420]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Nope, that is after Rin accidently "provocked" Chifuyu in Vol.8. Don't worry, she is still alive!

I hope the author is trolling us... :/

[Setsuna Asuka]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Easy! First, if losing and winning is not an issue, then why let him use a 4th-Generation at first. Secondly, most people consider this is a fighting shounen, so a loser as the main character is bad. Beside, we hate it when girls bully him, and the fact that he need them when things turned bad only made the situation worse.

Infinite Stratos is not a fighting shounen.

It is a Armor girls/Harem before anything else

Otherwise it would have focused on Mondo grassi and less on the girls(much less)

Also Teasing=/Bullying

[Xero8420]

Originally Posted by Setsuna Asuka

Also Teasing=/Bullying

OK. BTW, answer this question. Is Tatenashi teasing Ichika means bullying him? *not you, Setsuna*

[HasuMasu]

In response to when IS became a trainwreck, I don't speak for everyone but I thought it was getting better and better until about Volume 7.

Even I didn't like Volume 8 all that much, it just felt off.

[Xero8420]

Anything other thing goes very wrong in Volume 8?

[Fireminer]

Originally Posted by Xero8420

Anything other thing goes very wrong in Volume 8?

Well, the plot is kind of loose. And the only good deed tha Ichika has done (outside of saving Tatenashi) is rescue his harem, just before his copy do (Cough)very "graphic" session(Cough).

[blackwhite67]

Originally Posted by MeisterBabylon

I think, SAO spoilt us in terms of how "awesome" a harem lead should be. Even Otamega had his moments when he was in his element.

Accel World has a super-deformed Haruyuki as the harem lead. He too has a unique super power. And he's a retard. But unlike Ichika, he isn't a retard all the time, and he actually uses his unique power.

Ichika... leans on Byakushiki being awesome to scrape through. Its a terrible waste. I can see why some people take an issue to that.

Interestingly, I don't agree with this being a problem. He clearly does suck, and is only able to keep up so far because his Stratos unit is some Super High School Thingamajig. That is actually internally consistent given his performance in canon. Yes its painful to watch, but since the author has gone out of his way to make Ichika incompetent, a underperforming Byakushiki perpetually needing help is internally correct and strangely not a real problem.

The problem is elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Of Ichika's long list of failings, why is this even an issue? What's wrong with needing help?

Maybe it was just me, but when Chifuyu explained how Byakushiki's abilities were a double-edged sword that only high-class users could use and how she became the strongest with only this ability, I had very high expectations of Ichika. I expected him to fight 1v1 and meet those expectations, but as we all know he didn't.

[Fireminer]

Well, that is another Author's weakness: Spliting un-refined plot everywhere, and one-time used character!

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by blackwhite67

Maybe it was just me, but when Chifuyu explained how Byakushiki's abilities were a double-edged sword that only high-class users could use and how she becoem the strongest with only this ability, I had very high expectations of Ichika. I expected him to fight 1v1 and meet those expectations, but as we all know he didn't.

It would be an even bigger cop out if he's also some genius that could pilot an IS when he has even less training and experience than all the other girls.

[Flere821]

Originally Posted by blackwhite67

I'm not trying to start an argument here, but can someone describe to me in concrete terms where, when, and how IS started to become a train wreck, plot and character wise?

IMO, it's when Tatenashi showed up and curbstomped all the haremettes who're interested in Ichika at that time. That volume was the start of "tournament -> interruption" formula IIRC.

[Xero8420]

Originally Posted by Flere821

IMO, it's when Tatenashi showed up and curbstomped all the haremettes who're interested in Ichika at that time. That volume was the start of "tournament -> interruption" formula IIRC.

Oh, so she is the problem, eh? I thought things was began to mess up since Volume 7.

[Flere821]

Originally Posted by Xero8420

Oh, so she is the problem, eh? I thought things was began to mess up since Volume 7.

'A' problem, not 'the' problem. She's just the first symptom among many that showed IS had gone downhill.

[Xero8420]

Originally Posted by Flere821

'A' problem, not 'the' problem. She's just the first symptom among many that showed IS had gone downhill.

In a way that the harem genre in this series is somewhat ruined because of her? Damn... What was I thinking? Still, I think I didn't took this harem seriously anymore.

At least I'm not infected by "Charl Syndrome".

[Flere821]

Originally Posted by Xero8420

In a way that the harem genre in this series is somewhat ruined because of her? Damn... What was I thinking? Still, I think I didn't took this harem seriously anymore.

At least I'm not infected by "Charl Syndrome".

I'll expand on this a bit more. The 'harem' side of the story was ruined by the author adding in even more girls after the 'main 5' got established, namely Tatenashi and her imouto. Ran might count, if she does show up like the build-up suggested. Another problem was Houki's brute-forced status as 'Best Girl' for Ichika (even if the narrative never outright states it), with 4th Gen IS tuned specifically to be the best partner for Byakushiki dropped onto her and the narrative going out of the way to show Ichika suffers the least when he's with the tsundere. The most blatant example being how the fanservice scenes of Vol8 showed the rest of the 5 main girls are slutty straightforward and acknowledges they want to be (or at least don't mind jumping right to being) very "physically intimate" with Ichika, while Houki had more platonic love and got burned the least by the mental attacks. Bottom line, Houki actually gets some character development post-Gospel arcs, though she's not much better than the 2D caricature characters the rest of the haremettes are.