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空ろの箱と零のマリア [Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria] #2
The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria, Vol. 2
When your world is crashing down around you... who can you turn to?Nothing is more important to Kazuki Hishino than his normal, everyday life. But his friends are accusing him of committing offenses he doesn't remember, and his closest relationships are crumbling one by one. Soon, the life he knows will vanish forever.If a Box is involved, as he suspects, Maria is his most valuable ally... but how will he keep from losing her, too?
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
46 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Eiji Mikage
11 books136 followersDropped out of college to become a writer; he still works a part time job to make ends meet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
January 5, 2017
The second book of this masterpiece of a series begins in a bland romantic comedy style with everybody cock teasing romantic tension where there is none for the sake of making the reader start shipping characters and reinforce head canons. Why else would you be reading these books, for the plot perhaps?
After 30 pages of nothing, since they are only talking about food and going to the blandest of settings which is a freaking high school, the author remembers there is a story that needs to be told.
And it all begins with retcons. All of a sudden the protagonist has a sister which was never mentioned before but is otherwise living in the same house as him. And before you tell me it’s not an asspull because there was no need to be mentioned in the first book, I will retort by saying there is so little world building going on that the author doesn’t even bother to mention what his family was doing all this time, or for that matter anyone outside that school. And when he finally asspulls an extra girl into the story, the only characterization he offers is her being half naked. Frakk personalities.
Anyways, they are eventually attacked by another box owner, who has the dreadful power of… telephone pranks. And, because this is a light novel, they always have to do with sex. What did you expect, thought provoking philosophy?
Eventually, the prankster takes over the body of the bland protagonist, because he wants to have sex with Maria and for some reason believed the two of them are a couple. Which they are not. He got trolled by the done to death light novel cock teasing.
This guy is a total psycho who murdered his parents using the protagonist’s body because they were constantly beating him. So basically it’s all about done to death victimizing and gore, the usual light novel bull the edgelords consider deep and mature, although they are not.
Wait, there is more. It’s eventually revealed this guy wants to replace the protagonist because he is jealous of his happy life. Why should he be happy and not me? Our main villain is a spoiled crybaby.
There is even more. This guy is actually a girl, who plans to kill more people and commit suicide once she has sex with Maria. Meaning, on top of being a psychotic killer, she’s also a suicidal transvestite lesbian. Light novels, ladies and gentlemen, the pinnacle of storytelling.
The final showdown is decided to be held in, what else, the freaking high school, since there is absolutely no world building. The school is the only place that exists in these books, so of course and they would be doing it there. Why do they make it sound like there are more options?
And do you know how they fix this whole mess? By resetting everything with amnesia. That’s right, everything goes back to normal and nobody remembers a thing, because ef you character development.
And thus the story ends with everyone continuing the done to death cock teasing that will never lead anywhere because everything in these books is about time resets and amnesia. And this is why it’s the highest rated light novel of all times.
After 30 pages of nothing, since they are only talking about food and going to the blandest of settings which is a freaking high school, the author remembers there is a story that needs to be told.
And it all begins with retcons. All of a sudden the protagonist has a sister which was never mentioned before but is otherwise living in the same house as him. And before you tell me it’s not an asspull because there was no need to be mentioned in the first book, I will retort by saying there is so little world building going on that the author doesn’t even bother to mention what his family was doing all this time, or for that matter anyone outside that school. And when he finally asspulls an extra girl into the story, the only characterization he offers is her being half naked. Frakk personalities.
Anyways, they are eventually attacked by another box owner, who has the dreadful power of… telephone pranks. And, because this is a light novel, they always have to do with sex. What did you expect, thought provoking philosophy?
Eventually, the prankster takes over the body of the bland protagonist, because he wants to have sex with Maria and for some reason believed the two of them are a couple. Which they are not. He got trolled by the done to death light novel cock teasing.
This guy is a total psycho who murdered his parents using the protagonist’s body because they were constantly beating him. So basically it’s all about done to death victimizing and gore, the usual light novel bull the edgelords consider deep and mature, although they are not.
Wait, there is more. It’s eventually revealed this guy wants to replace the protagonist because he is jealous of his happy life. Why should he be happy and not me? Our main villain is a spoiled crybaby.
There is even more. This guy is actually a girl, who plans to kill more people and commit suicide once she has sex with Maria. Meaning, on top of being a psychotic killer, she’s also a suicidal transvestite lesbian. Light novels, ladies and gentlemen, the pinnacle of storytelling.
The final showdown is decided to be held in, what else, the freaking high school, since there is absolutely no world building. The school is the only place that exists in these books, so of course and they would be doing it there. Why do they make it sound like there are more options?
And do you know how they fix this whole mess? By resetting everything with amnesia. That’s right, everything goes back to normal and nobody remembers a thing, because ef you character development.
And thus the story ends with everyone continuing the done to death cock teasing that will never lead anywhere because everything in these books is about time resets and amnesia. And this is why it’s the highest rated light novel of all times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2018
Final rating: 3.5/5 stars
Completely subjective opinion here again: I loved this one more than the first one, even when people call it the weakest in the series, i found it the most interesting so far (having read up to volume 3).
Anyway, instead of infite day loop, this time our main character, Kazuki Hoshino gets his body hijacked... by none other than "himself". Or, shall we say... an unknown person who used the wish of the box to become Kazuki Hoshino and now shares the body with him. Except, Kazuki has only 7 days left until the ghost inside his body takes over completely.
It was more psychological than the first volume and i loved it, so why the heck not.
Anyway, this series is addictive, but still nothing special yet. At this point i'm just reading to find out the truth of this mystery and boxes.
Completely subjective opinion here again: I loved this one more than the first one, even when people call it the weakest in the series, i found it the most interesting so far (having read up to volume 3).
Anyway, instead of infite day loop, this time our main character, Kazuki Hoshino gets his body hijacked... by none other than "himself". Or, shall we say... an unknown person who used the wish of the box to become Kazuki Hoshino and now shares the body with him. Except, Kazuki has only 7 days left until the ghost inside his body takes over completely.
It was more psychological than the first volume and i loved it, so why the heck not.
Anyway, this series is addictive, but still nothing special yet. At this point i'm just reading to find out the truth of this mystery and boxes.
February 10, 2017
Review for the prequel: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It's an interesting sequel. This time after breaking up the inescapable 'Classroom of Rejection' (where everyone in the class is doomed to relive the exact same day endlessly), the main characters are back to their normal life--just for a while until someone takes over the narrator's body and threats to replace him perpetually by the end of the week. Now the main characters must find out who is the impostor and how to stop him/her.
In fact, I figured out who is the impostor half way into the story, still the concept is still interesting and the ending is pretty much okay. So, 3 stars.
It's an interesting sequel. This time after breaking up the inescapable 'Classroom of Rejection' (where everyone in the class is doomed to relive the exact same day endlessly), the main characters are back to their normal life--just for a while until someone takes over the narrator's body and threats to replace him perpetually by the end of the week. Now the main characters must find out who is the impostor and how to stop him/her.
In fact, I figured out who is the impostor half way into the story, still the concept is still interesting and the ending is pretty much okay. So, 3 stars.
May 22, 2020
As ideias dessa Light Novel são no minimo peculiares. Acho que estou lendo só pra ver onde isso vai parar.
March 1, 2018
A few months have passed since Hakomari Part 1, and Kazuki's life is approaching normal again. Except that Maria is still around. She knows that the mysterious 0 still has an interest in Kazuki, so she's not going to leave his side until they have a chance to defeat this enemy once and for all. Of course, sticking close to him creates all kinds of rumors that Kazuki would rather avoid, but what choice does he have.
His life suddenly deviates from normal again when both Maria and Kokone receive texts from him professing love. Maria quickly deduces that this is the work of 0 -- he's given someone a new Box and they're using it to take over Kazuki's body. Too bad Kokone didn't get the memo. This new User soon manages to alienate all of Kazuki's friends, and though Maria remains on his side, even she can't trust him when she doesn't know if she's speaking to the real Kazuki or the User.
This volume isn't nearly as claustrophobic as the first, which felt as though it was taking place entirely within a small room, even when characters were outside -- which makes perfect sense given the nature of the Rejecting Classroom. This time the world is more expansive as the characters aren't so constrained in their options. But that doesn't mean the story is any less creepy. But instead of Kazuki being trapped by the Box, this time the uncanny sensation comes from his body being possessed by an unknown force and used to destroy his life. There's one point when the User does ... something to Kazuki's sister and then sends a voicemail of her crying in an attempt to get Kazuki to cooperate.
My only complaint with this installment is that it falls prey to the Law of Conservation of Characters, which is odd in that it normally only applies to movies and TV shows where additional characters cost money. Here Mikage doesn't create enough new characters, so the number of suspects is limited; whereas the User in the first book was a surprise, I figured this one out before I even got a quarter of the way into the story. I'll admit that Maria's investigation was nothing short of brilliant -- the way she manipulates the User-possessed Kazuki is amazing -- but the way the story's structured made it redundant: the culprit can only be [SPOILER] or Sir Not Appearing In This Story; and, surprise, it turns out to be [SPOILER]. There's enough good stuff in this book to counterbalance this complaint, but the story would've worked better with a few more suspects.
His life suddenly deviates from normal again when both Maria and Kokone receive texts from him professing love. Maria quickly deduces that this is the work of 0 -- he's given someone a new Box and they're using it to take over Kazuki's body. Too bad Kokone didn't get the memo. This new User soon manages to alienate all of Kazuki's friends, and though Maria remains on his side, even she can't trust him when she doesn't know if she's speaking to the real Kazuki or the User.
This volume isn't nearly as claustrophobic as the first, which felt as though it was taking place entirely within a small room, even when characters were outside -- which makes perfect sense given the nature of the Rejecting Classroom. This time the world is more expansive as the characters aren't so constrained in their options. But that doesn't mean the story is any less creepy. But instead of Kazuki being trapped by the Box, this time the uncanny sensation comes from his body being possessed by an unknown force and used to destroy his life. There's one point when the User does ... something to Kazuki's sister and then sends a voicemail of her crying in an attempt to get Kazuki to cooperate.
My only complaint with this installment is that it falls prey to the Law of Conservation of Characters, which is odd in that it normally only applies to movies and TV shows where additional characters cost money. Here Mikage doesn't create enough new characters, so the number of suspects is limited; whereas the User in the first book was a surprise, I figured this one out before I even got a quarter of the way into the story. I'll admit that Maria's investigation was nothing short of brilliant -- the way she manipulates the User-possessed Kazuki is amazing -- but the way the story's structured made it redundant: the culprit can only be [SPOILER] or Sir Not Appearing In This Story; and, surprise, it turns out to be [SPOILER]. There's enough good stuff in this book to counterbalance this complaint, but the story would've worked better with a few more suspects.
December 5, 2018
This was a step down from the first volume. The mystery was purposefully easy to solve. I don't consider it a point of pride that you can solve it as soon as its introduced. I consider it a serious flaw with the book. I do think it was done on purpose by the author. Instead of satisfying you with the mystery they set out to do so with character development. But it falls flat. The most interesting character in the series, the titular Maria, gets sadly little screen time and the other main character's defining trait remains that they don't change. Which makes any development feel illusionary at best. On the upside I think the actual quality of the writing has improved which is nice. I don't wish to sound entirely negative as there are several very entertaining scenes in the book but overall it certainly felt like a "lesser" book than its predecessor. It also did one thing which I find personally aggravating. It built up a characters transgression as being something truly awful and then when its finally revealed it turns out to be absolutely nothing. Even within the context of the novels world it was nothing.
September 22, 2018
The first book's mechanic was all about a day that kept repeating itself for years and years. I was really glad to see the author decided to go with a different mechanic for the second book: in this one the MC loses control of his body for some hours a day and another personality takes over.
While the mechanic was good, the villains were idiots, with idiotic motivations and idiotic plans... which ruined what would have been an awesome book.
Keen to see where the series goes and which gimmick gets picked next :D
While the mechanic was good, the villains were idiots, with idiotic motivations and idiotic plans... which ruined what would have been an awesome book.
Keen to see where the series goes and which gimmick gets picked next :D
September 9, 2025
I liked the first one better but i dont think this was the worst one. Im kinda shipping Maria and Kazuki but anyways the story was kinda weak but i will read the rest of the series.
May 15, 2020
My journey to finish my first light novel series continues slowly as ever, but so far Empty Box has been pretty good! With the work of introducing the characters, at least to some degree, complete, the new volume took a somewhat different approach, one that I liked when reading it but I have mixed feelings about when looking back at it as a whole.
The biggest issue I felt, was that they rarely present you with more information than is relevant to what the end of the story has planned. Now, there are several positives to this; for one, it didn't feel like there was very many excessive elements or loose ends left in the story, it was relatively self-contained, and like in some mystery novels, you can figure out some of what is going to happen based on your own intuition because the characters have the same information as you. The only downside to this is that, after the size of the plot twists in the first volume, you kind of have some idea of what to suspect. I think it makes for efficient storytelling albeit a little spoilery.
On the other hand, another fun introduction of a new sci-fi concept with good pacing! Neither Hoshino nor Maria ever feel too overdone (especially since Hoshino's whole concept is being particularly ordinary) but it's interesting seeing them actually evolve a little bit over the course of the story. Excited to see where they're going from here!
Might be a while until the next ones. The Grisha and Throne of Glass series are waiting xD
The biggest issue I felt, was that they rarely present you with more information than is relevant to what the end of the story has planned. Now, there are several positives to this; for one, it didn't feel like there was very many excessive elements or loose ends left in the story, it was relatively self-contained, and like in some mystery novels, you can figure out some of what is going to happen based on your own intuition because the characters have the same information as you. The only downside to this is that, after the size of the plot twists in the first volume, you kind of have some idea of what to suspect. I think it makes for efficient storytelling albeit a little spoilery.
On the other hand, another fun introduction of a new sci-fi concept with good pacing! Neither Hoshino nor Maria ever feel too overdone (especially since Hoshino's whole concept is being particularly ordinary) but it's interesting seeing them actually evolve a little bit over the course of the story. Excited to see where they're going from here!
Might be a while until the next ones. The Grisha and Throne of Glass series are waiting xD
Read
December 16, 2020Do đọc tập 1 rồi nên cũng bắt đầu quen cái kiểu dị dị của tác giả luôn =))). Điều ước lần này xuất phát từ bi kịch đau lòng vl. Plot twist tập này không gây lú với nhiều bất ngờ như tập 1 nữa (hoặc do mình quen cmnr nên cảm thấy không bất ngờ nữa?). Cơ mà vẫn đủ hấp dẫn để đọc một mạch. Đến dòng cuối cùng làm quả bẻ lái không ngờ được làm lại phải hóng tập 3. Huhuuu
Đọc xong tập này chợt nghĩ ra nội dung cả series là "hành trình crush của O với Hoshino" thì đúng hơn =)))
Đọc xong tập này chợt nghĩ ra nội dung cả series là "hành trình crush của O với Hoshino" thì đúng hơn =)))
February 18, 2025
this was defintely a letdown from the first book, and the mystery was ever so confusing.
I was ready to drop the series, but that final line got me hooked, and I'm hoping the mystery in the next book is better.
I was ready to drop the series, but that final line got me hooked, and I'm hoping the mystery in the next book is better.
February 22, 2022
Not as exciting as vol 1 but am still very curious about the world so I'll keep reading
August 4, 2024
Interesting concept, so-so implementation... might be tied to a short runtime as a light novel instead of a fill length book. While Vol. 1 really gripped me from start to finish, Vol. 2 took a bit more effort to get through.
Figuring out who the enemy Box owner was was way too easy and honestly there wasn't much world or character development outside of our two main characters. Of course the highlight of this book was Maria being amazing and knowing if Hoshino was himself or possessed in seconds.
The level of power of a "Box" still confuses me. They can be used to manipulate space-time (Like in Vol. 1)... but now can also manipulate souls (were two souls in Hoshino or was the second one a clone)? What is O???
And that ending cliffhanger blew my mind. HUHHHH???
Figuring out who the enemy Box owner was was way too easy and honestly there wasn't much world or character development outside of our two main characters. Of course the highlight of this book was Maria being amazing and knowing if Hoshino was himself or possessed in seconds.
The level of power of a "Box" still confuses me. They can be used to manipulate space-time (Like in Vol. 1)... but now can also manipulate souls (were two souls in Hoshino or was the second one a clone)? What is O???
And that ending cliffhanger blew my mind. HUHHHH???
March 3, 2022
So the curse of the second volume comes back to haunt the authors again, no? I think there are two main reasons that lead to an author's failure to produce his post-start volume.... The first is the most obvious, anxiety and the fear of repressing himself, since it is in the first 3 volumes that the reader normally feel what the work plans to convey, so they are of paramount importance. The second is the big problem with the publisher, as it is very common to demand more work from new magazines that may have the potential to become famous or at least make a quick profit.
Hakomaria was another one of those affected and given how much the quality has dropped, I can really predict a double attack from these two sides...
First the quality of the writing... It's still decent, but the amount of metaphors drops drastically and it becomes a lot more boring conversation with a little logic, but almost no poetic license. Fortunately, when some visions and narratives are exchanged, especially between the heroes and villains, a poetry to walk sideways with human complexity is given to us and to close we have some wordplays in conjunction with such narratives, where they seek to make a certain joke. between lies and truths
In the end, the walk on this literary road was a little rough around the edges, but it served its purpose of guiding its reader without too many setbacks.
Oh, and the narrative... Damn, as much as it can benefit from the little game of "who is really the bad guy" that likes to oscillate between lies and truths and could really make a good complex game, but dude, this is rotten !
So, as if I were to be the fan that will throw this disgusting and greasy air, I will start throwing them to you in order to let the air around me ventilate in my favor.....
This very narrative between "heroes vs. villains" is flawed. The lies are extremely obvious and unfortunately they were not purposely put there, as a parody to show ridicule. It has reached a point where 90% of the revelations are almost all predicted by the reader. It was such a ridiculous level that I was able to figure out who was responsible (I believe almost everyone predicted it) in less than 50 pages of reading. This means that the author puts the reader in a level of knowledge MUCH higher than the characters and he seems to underestimate us so much that it works similar to the cliché shounen story of the villain (author!?) underestimating the protagonist (Wait... READER!?) even that we pulled his foot off his pedestal...! And you know what annoys me the most!? That this should NEVER happen and it seems as unrealistic as fire putting out water, but guess what, this theoretical piece fits perfectly into this runaway volume, like trying to shove a square into the place of a circumference only to find it was so misconfigured that they fit together. , even though they shouldn't!
The interesting thing about volume 1 was how much he could take a cliché concept and expand it infinitely until he got the number he needed and sometimes even managed to get rid of the number bubble of complexity, like the fight between real and complex numbers
But in this volume, as much as it has some creative aspects, nothing can overcome how erroneous its script and narrative is.
And now I feel I've pushed that putrid air away a little, I can breathe the oxygen better and get my mind to work... So I close my fan and put it to my lips, like an elegant lady with her seductive voice giving her verdict manipulator. I say this because do you remember how I said that the author expands the infinite concept until he reaches the result he seeks? Well, it seems that he managed to achieve something, even if he took other undesirable numbers with him, such as pulling a specific garment from the pile and ending up lifting other undesirable ones on the way, most likely because of his haste (As I said before, anxiety or would it be the publishers?)
The narrative revealed to us the complexity of the villains and their motives amidst several obvious lies.... See how the author can use good poetry again in the midst of despair or how to generate a good feeling of empathy, really made me happy, even though the real characters were weak
Oh, and it looks like I'll have to go back with my fan..... This rotten smell could only be eliminated with a strong detergent, but I'm a stubborn person, so I'll keep expelling this nasty air as I go along.
And the characters... Talking about them, it would be nice to also talk about how much the script forces them to become idiots. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty dumb, but Hoshino is a yellow monkey that escaped from the zoo and is heading towards extinction driven by his own idiocy.
You see, the script tries to force a kind of interesting tension that touches on several limitations, but poorly realized, since the problems could be solved much more easily, even in the midst of despair. In the same way that the heroes, or rather Hoshino, forgot simple things and reasoned like a naked ass orangutan, certain villains of this arc had the complete ability to prevent certain actions or events, but they don't.... I understand that many works like to do this, but the question in particular pissed me off here as I was deeply annoyed about how much they pushed the bar for the script to proceed.
In the end, we had more negatives than positives and the ending was too disappointing. To sum it up without spoilers, the author subtly builds on the invigorating power of "everyday" and makes some settings for it and he really tries to take a deep path to it, urging the reader on the depth of the problem, but.... IT IS SOLVED FROM A COMIC AND TOUGH WAY!? This is cruel, so cruel that it seems to laugh at everything Hoshino was protecting! I understand that here he was an idiot, but this is still cruel and pointless! The author decides to solve his seriousness with a harem!? HAHAHAHAH! I am getting crazy!!!!!!! It is as if an extremely melancholy end of a dramatic play turns out to actually be a dream of the protagonist!!!!!!! RIDICULOUS!
That said, I still don't think it's a bad volume, even if it has the aesthetics of one, because...... I could appreciate SOME logical decisions in the script and the kind of mystery developing with ongoing illustration work in relation to the narrative and decent writing. And surprisingly I really liked the philosophy here and the setting..............
After all, what defines who you are? Your actions? The people around you or your heart? If it's a paradoxical question, what conflicting resolutions does it cause?... It's as if you were Schrodinger's cat, the observed. The box delimits its carcass, the observer is those who don't know anything but still try to guess its state from the inside, even without any scientific basis. You are the experiment, the greatest scientific basis of the paradoxical theory, but that does not demarcate any fact, you only open the possibility of speculation, since you will never be able to get rid of the box, no matter how hard you try.
The most significant affirmation comes not from the world, but from yourself. You can be right or wrong, this is the paradox of a box that will never open, but that will still try to provoke the people around you to notice your state.
The author doesn't come to any conclusions here, but still shows his work as a questioner by presenting common terms in our day to day used in a more somber way, which seems to resonate well with Hoshino's "everyday" aspect.
EXTRA COMMENT... In this volume the author did not know how to coordinate the beast of literature. It was like a beast tamer putting on his show at a circus...... He underestimated the enemy and sinned by showing his fear and insignificance in the midst, proving to be easy prey. He was caught by the creature and had his arm ripped off... Now it is the author's duty to pick up the brush in order to fix his mistakes, even if he has lost a part of himself and the respect of the audience
Hakomaria was another one of those affected and given how much the quality has dropped, I can really predict a double attack from these two sides...
First the quality of the writing... It's still decent, but the amount of metaphors drops drastically and it becomes a lot more boring conversation with a little logic, but almost no poetic license. Fortunately, when some visions and narratives are exchanged, especially between the heroes and villains, a poetry to walk sideways with human complexity is given to us and to close we have some wordplays in conjunction with such narratives, where they seek to make a certain joke. between lies and truths
In the end, the walk on this literary road was a little rough around the edges, but it served its purpose of guiding its reader without too many setbacks.
Oh, and the narrative... Damn, as much as it can benefit from the little game of "who is really the bad guy" that likes to oscillate between lies and truths and could really make a good complex game, but dude, this is rotten !
So, as if I were to be the fan that will throw this disgusting and greasy air, I will start throwing them to you in order to let the air around me ventilate in my favor.....
This very narrative between "heroes vs. villains" is flawed. The lies are extremely obvious and unfortunately they were not purposely put there, as a parody to show ridicule. It has reached a point where 90% of the revelations are almost all predicted by the reader. It was such a ridiculous level that I was able to figure out who was responsible (I believe almost everyone predicted it) in less than 50 pages of reading. This means that the author puts the reader in a level of knowledge MUCH higher than the characters and he seems to underestimate us so much that it works similar to the cliché shounen story of the villain (author!?) underestimating the protagonist (Wait... READER!?) even that we pulled his foot off his pedestal...! And you know what annoys me the most!? That this should NEVER happen and it seems as unrealistic as fire putting out water, but guess what, this theoretical piece fits perfectly into this runaway volume, like trying to shove a square into the place of a circumference only to find it was so misconfigured that they fit together. , even though they shouldn't!
The interesting thing about volume 1 was how much he could take a cliché concept and expand it infinitely until he got the number he needed and sometimes even managed to get rid of the number bubble of complexity, like the fight between real and complex numbers
But in this volume, as much as it has some creative aspects, nothing can overcome how erroneous its script and narrative is.
And now I feel I've pushed that putrid air away a little, I can breathe the oxygen better and get my mind to work... So I close my fan and put it to my lips, like an elegant lady with her seductive voice giving her verdict manipulator. I say this because do you remember how I said that the author expands the infinite concept until he reaches the result he seeks? Well, it seems that he managed to achieve something, even if he took other undesirable numbers with him, such as pulling a specific garment from the pile and ending up lifting other undesirable ones on the way, most likely because of his haste (As I said before, anxiety or would it be the publishers?)
The narrative revealed to us the complexity of the villains and their motives amidst several obvious lies.... See how the author can use good poetry again in the midst of despair or how to generate a good feeling of empathy, really made me happy, even though the real characters were weak
Oh, and it looks like I'll have to go back with my fan..... This rotten smell could only be eliminated with a strong detergent, but I'm a stubborn person, so I'll keep expelling this nasty air as I go along.
And the characters... Talking about them, it would be nice to also talk about how much the script forces them to become idiots. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty dumb, but Hoshino is a yellow monkey that escaped from the zoo and is heading towards extinction driven by his own idiocy.
You see, the script tries to force a kind of interesting tension that touches on several limitations, but poorly realized, since the problems could be solved much more easily, even in the midst of despair. In the same way that the heroes, or rather Hoshino, forgot simple things and reasoned like a naked ass orangutan, certain villains of this arc had the complete ability to prevent certain actions or events, but they don't.... I understand that many works like to do this, but the question in particular pissed me off here as I was deeply annoyed about how much they pushed the bar for the script to proceed.
In the end, we had more negatives than positives and the ending was too disappointing. To sum it up without spoilers, the author subtly builds on the invigorating power of "everyday" and makes some settings for it and he really tries to take a deep path to it, urging the reader on the depth of the problem, but.... IT IS SOLVED FROM A COMIC AND TOUGH WAY!? This is cruel, so cruel that it seems to laugh at everything Hoshino was protecting! I understand that here he was an idiot, but this is still cruel and pointless! The author decides to solve his seriousness with a harem!? HAHAHAHAH! I am getting crazy!!!!!!! It is as if an extremely melancholy end of a dramatic play turns out to actually be a dream of the protagonist!!!!!!! RIDICULOUS!
That said, I still don't think it's a bad volume, even if it has the aesthetics of one, because...... I could appreciate SOME logical decisions in the script and the kind of mystery developing with ongoing illustration work in relation to the narrative and decent writing. And surprisingly I really liked the philosophy here and the setting..............
After all, what defines who you are? Your actions? The people around you or your heart? If it's a paradoxical question, what conflicting resolutions does it cause?... It's as if you were Schrodinger's cat, the observed. The box delimits its carcass, the observer is those who don't know anything but still try to guess its state from the inside, even without any scientific basis. You are the experiment, the greatest scientific basis of the paradoxical theory, but that does not demarcate any fact, you only open the possibility of speculation, since you will never be able to get rid of the box, no matter how hard you try.
The most significant affirmation comes not from the world, but from yourself. You can be right or wrong, this is the paradox of a box that will never open, but that will still try to provoke the people around you to notice your state.
The author doesn't come to any conclusions here, but still shows his work as a questioner by presenting common terms in our day to day used in a more somber way, which seems to resonate well with Hoshino's "everyday" aspect.
EXTRA COMMENT... In this volume the author did not know how to coordinate the beast of literature. It was like a beast tamer putting on his show at a circus...... He underestimated the enemy and sinned by showing his fear and insignificance in the midst, proving to be easy prey. He was caught by the creature and had his arm ripped off... Now it is the author's duty to pick up the brush in order to fix his mistakes, even if he has lost a part of himself and the respect of the audience
May 17, 2018
Perhaps a little less "fun" than its predecessor, the fact remains that this series is significantly stronger than many others in the medium. Little attention is paid to the generic sort of high school hijinx common to other light novels, instead focusing on the strength of this volume's narrative from the get-go.
As with Volume 1, the premise of this book centers around a reality-altering "Box" gifted to someone close to Kazuki Hoshino, for the sole purpose of entertaining "O," the being in charge of the Boxes. In the previous novel, the Box (the "Rejecting Classroom") was a pocket dimension of a sort, in which Kazuki and Maria/Aya Otonashi were trapped. Here, the Box (the "Week in the Mud") exists in reality, not in a separate dimension, with the Box's owner threatening to take over Kazuki's body. The Box's owner, going under a false name, seems to want to take over Kazuki in order to get close to Maria, whom the Box's owner idolizes. In so doing, the Box's owner, who has occasional control over Kazuki's body for much of each day, seeks to ruin Kazuki's precious "normal life," shitting on his various friendships as a means of convincing Kazuki to give up on his life, ceding his body to his enemy. As expected of the series, as established with its first volume, this novel goes through a series of twists before we discover the true "culprit" behind the case at hand (about 75% through the novel) and the rest of the thing is focused on fixing everything, until O shows up and offers an apparently easy fix.
Unfortunately, in part due to the structure of a generic light novel, much of the book's mystery is ruined too early. That is, the color illustrations in the beginning of the book suggest too strongly that class representative Ryu Miyazaki has some role to play in the novel's narrative, being at least somewhat associated with the antagonist. And in the very beginning of the text, the character of Riko Asami is very clearly suspicious, to the degree that it's plainly obvious she's related to the culprit, if not the culprit herself. And then there's the reveal that Ryu (who is indeed "in" on the issue) has a sibling who is the Box's owner, taking care not to mention gender until Kazuki assumes it is a brother. It isn't too hard to connect the dots between suspicious Ryu and suspicious Riko, though their relationship isn't visible at all at that point in the novel. Regardless, being able to guess the relation so soon (less than halfway through the book, IIRC) probably isn't ideal for a series such as this, giving the reader too long a "climax denial." And the fact that O doesn't give a shit about anything except fucking with Kazuki kind of sucks the weight out of much of this novel, with the only remaining consequences (Kazuki's severed relationships) getting resolved far too easily. Interestingly, Kazuki mends his friendship with Kokone (to whom Riko-as-Kazuki falsely confessed love, in order to fuck with her feelings) by having Maria pretend she was dating him, got dumped by him, and had her force him to say who he really loved (well, it was all Maria's plan), when the whole conclusion seems to suggest the two main characters had just begun actually dating. (Also, the fact that a vague LN-style harem kinda-sorta exists [or that status quo is resumed] near the end seems like an egregious way of adhering to light novel norms.)
As with Volume 1, the premise of this book centers around a reality-altering "Box" gifted to someone close to Kazuki Hoshino, for the sole purpose of entertaining "O," the being in charge of the Boxes. In the previous novel, the Box (the "Rejecting Classroom") was a pocket dimension of a sort, in which Kazuki and Maria/Aya Otonashi were trapped. Here, the Box (the "Week in the Mud") exists in reality, not in a separate dimension, with the Box's owner threatening to take over Kazuki's body. The Box's owner, going under a false name, seems to want to take over Kazuki in order to get close to Maria, whom the Box's owner idolizes. In so doing, the Box's owner, who has occasional control over Kazuki's body for much of each day, seeks to ruin Kazuki's precious "normal life," shitting on his various friendships as a means of convincing Kazuki to give up on his life, ceding his body to his enemy. As expected of the series, as established with its first volume, this novel goes through a series of twists before we discover the true "culprit" behind the case at hand (about 75% through the novel) and the rest of the thing is focused on fixing everything, until O shows up and offers an apparently easy fix.
Unfortunately, in part due to the structure of a generic light novel, much of the book's mystery is ruined too early. That is, the color illustrations in the beginning of the book suggest too strongly that class representative Ryu Miyazaki has some role to play in the novel's narrative, being at least somewhat associated with the antagonist. And in the very beginning of the text, the character of Riko Asami is very clearly suspicious, to the degree that it's plainly obvious she's related to the culprit, if not the culprit herself. And then there's the reveal that Ryu (who is indeed "in" on the issue) has a sibling who is the Box's owner, taking care not to mention gender until Kazuki assumes it is a brother. It isn't too hard to connect the dots between suspicious Ryu and suspicious Riko, though their relationship isn't visible at all at that point in the novel. Regardless, being able to guess the relation so soon (less than halfway through the book, IIRC) probably isn't ideal for a series such as this, giving the reader too long a "climax denial." And the fact that O doesn't give a shit about anything except fucking with Kazuki kind of sucks the weight out of much of this novel, with the only remaining consequences (Kazuki's severed relationships) getting resolved far too easily. Interestingly, Kazuki mends his friendship with Kokone (to whom Riko-as-Kazuki falsely confessed love, in order to fuck with her feelings) by having Maria pretend she was dating him, got dumped by him, and had her force him to say who he really loved (well, it was all Maria's plan), when the whole conclusion seems to suggest the two main characters had just begun actually dating. (Also, the fact that a vague LN-style harem kinda-sorta exists [or that status quo is resumed] near the end seems like an egregious way of adhering to light novel norms.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
Well , what to say ? It was a very good read . I was really hooked with the story . The book cativated me with the mystery . The humors caught me off guard . The story telling in this one isn't as unique as the 1st volume although it was really great . The theme with the box was just too good .
Now then , there's also some things in this book that I didn't found interesting though . The story up until they discovered the perpetrator was just too...good . But then the siblings emotional things was the part that I didn't like .It was like hanging in the throat of the story .
Well , there are many readers and authors out there who likes to keep there storie's perpetrator in the clear with some emotional back story . I find this particular things as annoying most of the time . If the author made the story with it's main theme and kept the perpetrator in the blaming position , I would've liked it even more . It's just my opinion . As I said , there are many readers out there who likes the criminal in the clear as well . So , no offense there .
Now I'm very interested in this series . I've found many readers of this series saying that volume 2 is the weakest volume of the series . Now I wonder what's there up ahead waiting for me . Can't wait to start volume 3 .
Now then , there's also some things in this book that I didn't found interesting though . The story up until they discovered the perpetrator was just too...good . But then the siblings emotional things was the part that I didn't like .It was like hanging in the throat of the story .
Well , there are many readers and authors out there who likes to keep there storie's perpetrator in the clear with some emotional back story . I find this particular things as annoying most of the time . If the author made the story with it's main theme and kept the perpetrator in the blaming position , I would've liked it even more . It's just my opinion . As I said , there are many readers out there who likes the criminal in the clear as well . So , no offense there .
Now I'm very interested in this series . I've found many readers of this series saying that volume 2 is the weakest volume of the series . Now I wonder what's there up ahead waiting for me . Can't wait to start volume 3 .
July 15, 2019
I flew through this one. It was certainly less convoluted and maybe that is why some people don't seem to like it as much. *shrug* I found myself just as involved and entranced by the mystery as before. The concept of what really makes you *you* was interesting to look at this way.
I felt the resolution worked out fairly well and the aftermath wasn't just swept under the carpet, there were consequences to what happened. I didn't mind the time loop and everyone forgetting in the last volume, I'm just glad to see that the same mechanic wasn't used to sweep everything away.
Verdict: I found it to be a solid entry, the ideas and concepts were interesting and the mystery was pretty decent. Certainly more "linear" than volume 1, but that does not make it bad. If you like the mystery-thriller-suspense genre(s) you should probably at least enjoy this.
I felt the resolution worked out fairly well and the aftermath wasn't just swept under the carpet, there were consequences to what happened. I didn't mind the time loop and everyone forgetting in the last volume, I'm just glad to see that the same mechanic wasn't used to sweep everything away.
Verdict: I found it to be a solid entry, the ideas and concepts were interesting and the mystery was pretty decent. Certainly more "linear" than volume 1, but that does not make it bad. If you like the mystery-thriller-suspense genre(s) you should probably at least enjoy this.
September 6, 2020
Dove straight into volume 2 after the first volume and this time around I got hooked immediately. A lot of people say that it's the weakest entry of the series, I can't agree or disagree since I've yet to finish the series but to me, it was still a satisfying read. I tore through the book and finished it within around 3 -4 days which was new, even to me. The protagonist this time around got some development but I hope to see more growth in future volumes. Of course we got to know and understand more about the mysterious Maria. However, the mystery surrounding the box this time around got tone down quite a bit. In other words, it's not hard to guess who the culprit is. The new characters were okay and the plot was good enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. All in all a good and satisfying read.
June 11, 2021
Content Warning: death, violent assault, family issues
While the plot of this novel isn't quite as strong as the first book for me I still enjoyed seeing where the story went.
This novel teaches more about boxes and what they are capable of. Unreliable narrators continue to be an important and interesting theme in what's going on. While it wasn't too difficult for me to figure out who was behind everything, the way the story came to that conclusion and how things ended still made for an exciting and tense ride.
The growing relationship between Kazuki and Maria is a great highlight of the book. It's easy to see how their time in the Rejecting Classroom has changed them (even if Kazuki is still largely clueless at times), and also brought them closer together. Kazuki feels like a much stronger presence in this book and we see more of Maria now that she's free of the Classroom loop and back in the real world.
Not too many surprises in this book but still plenty of tension!
While the plot of this novel isn't quite as strong as the first book for me I still enjoyed seeing where the story went.
This novel teaches more about boxes and what they are capable of. Unreliable narrators continue to be an important and interesting theme in what's going on. While it wasn't too difficult for me to figure out who was behind everything, the way the story came to that conclusion and how things ended still made for an exciting and tense ride.
The growing relationship between Kazuki and Maria is a great highlight of the book. It's easy to see how their time in the Rejecting Classroom has changed them (even if Kazuki is still largely clueless at times), and also brought them closer together. Kazuki feels like a much stronger presence in this book and we see more of Maria now that she's free of the Classroom loop and back in the real world.
Not too many surprises in this book but still plenty of tension!
October 19, 2022
“Don’t lose sight of me”
Esse livro muito interessante é uma das leituras de sagas iniciadas há bastante tempo. Lembro-me de ler o primeiro volume do ano retrasado para o ano passado, e prosseguir a saga foi algo muito significativo, de reconexão com outros momentos da minha vida. Essa Light Novel tem uma particularidade por ser relacionada a umas questões de desejos, paradoxos temporais e neste volume em específico, “possessão” e o que define a nós mesmos, o que faz a nossa identidade. A escrita é meio confusa em alguns momentos e acredito que isso reflita a incerteza dos personagens sobre o que está acontecendo no momento. Para quem tem interesse por animes, conteúdo oriental, parece ser uma ótima opção, dentro das temáticas citadas mais acima.
Esse livro muito interessante é uma das leituras de sagas iniciadas há bastante tempo. Lembro-me de ler o primeiro volume do ano retrasado para o ano passado, e prosseguir a saga foi algo muito significativo, de reconexão com outros momentos da minha vida. Essa Light Novel tem uma particularidade por ser relacionada a umas questões de desejos, paradoxos temporais e neste volume em específico, “possessão” e o que define a nós mesmos, o que faz a nossa identidade. A escrita é meio confusa em alguns momentos e acredito que isso reflita a incerteza dos personagens sobre o que está acontecendo no momento. Para quem tem interesse por animes, conteúdo oriental, parece ser uma ótima opção, dentro das temáticas citadas mais acima.
September 22, 2018
I believe the novels are set to test different characteristics of Kazumi, like this one tested the trust factor between Kazumi and Maria.
The story is not as cryptic as the frist one but rather predictable. What was great about this book was how Maria and Kazumi developed the bond between them once again through new means. While Maria was already aware of everything, it's Kazumi who had to remember and re-establish the faith once again on Maria.
Maria as always breathtaking no matter at what she does, she is just too lovely and fierce at the same time.
Ending was not upto the mark, with loopholes though.
The story is not as cryptic as the frist one but rather predictable. What was great about this book was how Maria and Kazumi developed the bond between them once again through new means. While Maria was already aware of everything, it's Kazumi who had to remember and re-establish the faith once again on Maria.
Maria as always breathtaking no matter at what she does, she is just too lovely and fierce at the same time.
Ending was not upto the mark, with loopholes though.
October 16, 2023
This was not an easy book to read. It's my second time reading it, and it's still not easy. The reason has nothing to do with the complexity of the text--as a light novel, it's not all that hard to grasp compared to a really challenging adult novel--and everything to do with the story itself. This is an emotionally painful story that will plunge you into the depths of despair before drawing you out and letting you see the light, only to do it all over again. If that doesn't sound like your thing I totally understand, but if you can handle it the journey is oh so worth it for the hope that shines through in the end.
December 31, 2023
Chociaż historia w tym tomie nie jest tak ciekawa jak w poprzednim to całość czytało się lepiej. Styl pisania się trochę poprawił i przede wszystkim poprawiło się też tłumaczenie - mniej błędów i rzadziej musialam czytać zdanie kilka razy żeby zrozumieć jego sens (jednak nadal nie jest dobrze).
Bardzo podobał mi się pomysł z rysunkami zegarów na koniec każdego dnia i sam zamysł działania pudełka jednak dobry pomysły to za mało bo całość napisana jest nadal słabo a zachowania postaci zbyt często wynikają tylko z potrzeby popchnięcia fabuły do przodu a nie ich charakteru.
Ocena 2,5/5 za ciekawe pomysły.
Bardzo podobał mi się pomysł z rysunkami zegarów na koniec każdego dnia i sam zamysł działania pudełka jednak dobry pomysły to za mało bo całość napisana jest nadal słabo a zachowania postaci zbyt często wynikają tylko z potrzeby popchnięcia fabuły do przodu a nie ich charakteru.
Ocena 2,5/5 za ciekawe pomysły.
January 3, 2023
Re-reading this book but with the official translation instead of the fan translation. Just as strangely written as I remember. I like the vibe of this book but Kazuki is an idiot and relies on Maria for all his decisions making. He makes critical discoveries by the end of the book but there's never any lead-up to them, he just knows all of a sudden. I also can't get over the writing style. It's so abstract I can barely follow the character's motivations. Like no one talks or thinks like that. I still like it for some reason though. Maybe its the nostalgia or knowing how it ends.
July 7, 2025
Solid read, light romance which was done well. Main plot was not too interesting but still enjoyable mostly. No plot twists and nothing too different from volume 1. If you enjoyed volume 1 then reading volume 2 might dimmer your motivation to continue but it wasn’t the worst. If you’re reading for the romance between Maria and Kazuki then you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re reading for the mystery/problem solving aspect you might wanna skip the volume.
Edit: Some say this is the weakest volume in the series, trying to find motivation to continue and read volume 3…
Edit: Some say this is the weakest volume in the series, trying to find motivation to continue and read volume 3…
March 7, 2024
2.5 stars
I’m not sure if I enjoyed this one as much as the first book. It doesn’t seem realistic that two adults died and no one from their work asked about them or checked on their kids. Also - how could they keep the bodies there and make it so that no one complained about the smell? I do really like the ending and how Riko Asami managed to find hope despite it all. Also - the last line from Daiya was crazy. It definitely hypes up the next book.
I’m not sure if I enjoyed this one as much as the first book. It doesn’t seem realistic that two adults died and no one from their work asked about them or checked on their kids. Also - how could they keep the bodies there and make it so that no one complained about the smell? I do really like the ending and how Riko Asami managed to find hope despite it all. Also - the last line from Daiya was crazy. It definitely hypes up the next book.
November 13, 2024
Easily the weakest in the series. I still really enjoyed it, but it seems almost out of place once you read the rest of the books. It feels like Mikage might've intended the series to be somewhat more episodic at first, then settled on having an overarching plot afterwards.
It's not like the events of this book didn't matter later, but I feel like if you skipped it, you wouldn't be missing out on much.
However! I promise you, the plot is still really intriguing. The mystery this time has to do with body-snatching used in a very awful way I'm surprised I haven't seen before (though it's probably common and I just missed out lol). So give it a read, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
It honestly just suffers from being a good book in a series of amazing books.
It's not like the events of this book didn't matter later, but I feel like if you skipped it, you wouldn't be missing out on much.
However! I promise you, the plot is still really intriguing. The mystery this time has to do with body-snatching used in a very awful way I'm surprised I haven't seen before (though it's probably common and I just missed out lol). So give it a read, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
It honestly just suffers from being a good book in a series of amazing books.
September 10, 2017
Talking about the plot would spoil key elements, so I will only say that I have guessed the culprit and the motives early on, as opposed to the first volume which had many surprising and interesting plot twists.
Overall, a nice read.
Overall, a nice read.
September 8, 2019
I really liked the pacing of this one. The story was good, and even though I kind of expected who the main antagonist was going to be, it was still full of surprises, plot twists and a very satisfying and curiosity-pique-ing ending.
November 27, 2019
Another nice read. The writing and plot devices style feel similar, always a little over the top, but nevertheless highly entertaining.
The relationship between Kazuki and Maria deepens with good character development. Makes me curious to see what will happen in the next volumes.
The relationship between Kazuki and Maria deepens with good character development. Makes me curious to see what will happen in the next volumes.
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