In depth analysis. I tried my best to limit spoilers, and no specific events are mentioned, but I’m not perfect.
I felt a little bit of trepidation before beginning this read, as I though “Who would be interested in reading about an OP farmer?” Turns out I am! For a little background, I am currently at about chapter 70 of around 90, (curse this lack of fast passes!) so I’ll update this review later. Secondly, I feel that the synopsis does not do this novel justice. It is about an OP farmer, but it is not just about farming. Without further adieu, on with the review!
Writing quality: 5 stars
Truly, the author shines the most in this regard. Errors are rare, in fact, I can think of only one or two errors in all of the chapters I have read. The dialogue is well written, descriptions feel smooth, and the writing is thoughtful. I have no complaints here.
Stability of Updating: 5 stars
Not really much to say here, delivers as advertised.
Story Development: 4 stars
Now we get to where I have some issues. My first issue is with characters. One thing that becomes prevalent in OP MC scenarios is reactive characters. The story progresses based off of external stimuli. Something happens to threaten the MC, and he responds accordingly. In this story, this is done quite well, with the author providing justification for why this is, which is my favorite thing in a book. Justification is important, and I feel that it is executed well here. With that being said, I’d enjoy the tiniest bit more proactiveness. The next thing, and the thing that is my main issue is that information is given via a need-to-know basis. In reincarnated-through-games novels, I like to think of the video game as a parallel to the old-mentor-who-knows-everything trope. They both teach and give the MC everything they need to know, and the power to use it, respectively. The issue is that the reincarnation version doesn’t give us a power-up montage where we and the MC learn about everything, thus setting the stage for the future. Information about things in the game is given as a justification for power used before the information is shared. If you’re familiar with Brandon Sanderson’s hard/soft magic systems, you’ve realized that this is a pretty big issue. This style bypasses this completely, and you end up with no rules at all. Anything can be justified, because it is always justified after the fact. There is no baseline of power or rules. In my own opinion, this might be the biggest issue with this story. With that wall of text out of the way, on to the positive! If you haven’t already guessed, there is nothing I love more than justification. Other than the aforementioned issues, the story progresses logically and smoothly. I know I just spent a ton of time talking about negatives, only to do a short section on the postives, but these issues are quite minor, and the positives really do outweigh them. The story development is strong, and you will only notice this if you nitpick like I do. Next!
Character Design: 4 stars
Same issue as with story development. Occasionally, characters act a certain way that doesn’t make sense to me, only to have it justified later. This usually happens with the MC, but it is mostly inconsequential. It is just annoying enough to warrant dropping a star. Other than this, the characters are strong, following their own ideals and goals. They have distinct personalities, and the internal dilemmas that the characters face, mostly the MC are probably some of my favorite scenes in the novel. Also, no harem (thank you).
World Background: 5 stars
Yeah, not much to say. Well fleshed out and interesting. The world is interesting and unique, and I think the author did a stellar job.
Conclusion:
Read it. It’s a very good novel, and I have no regrets about it. Other than the need-to-know information, which I think I’ve harped on about for enough time, there are pretty few criticisms I have for this novel.