koopalings ludwig

Reborn in 1830 as the second son of King Ludwig I, Otto Friedrich Ludwig! Armed with knowledge of the future, he will reshape the destiny of Greece—and all of Europe!

To me, the story strongly reminds me of Harry Potter—albeit for a slightly older audience and with a darker edge. Ludwig, the protagonist, loses both parents and dies himself, only to be reborn as a skeleton; he then trains under the most powerful dark mage and attends the Dark Tower Academy. There, he meets two friends, Kassandra and Hojo (essentially Ron and Hermione). The story chronicles the adventures the trio—but primarily Ludwig—experience there. As an Apostle of Deus Necros, his mission is to capture the seven Usurpers (representing the Seven Deadly Sins) and bring them back to Deus Necros. It is an enjoyable story in itself, though the author unfortunately squanders a lot of potential. For one thing, the supporting characters remain completely flat, serving only to make Ludwig stand out. For another, most interactions involve Ludwig and countless women—women who prove useless in dangerous situations. I was also bothered by the inconsistent descriptions of Ludwig: at times he has feelings, then he doesn't; there are countless reminders that he lacks a heart, muscles, eyes, and so on, yet the text repeatedly mentions things like "his breath catches," "his muscles burn," or "headaches." It just doesn't work; he is undead, and it would have been enough to establish that fact once at the beginning rather than constantly bringing it up again and again. Finally, things go a bit too smoothly for Ludwig. Whenever he desperately needs something, he manages to get it somehow, turning what should be dangerous situations into easy ones. Still, since I really liked the Harry Potter books (except for the fifth one), I find this series quite alright, too.

Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present. -Ludwig Wittgenstein

Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present. -Ludwig Wittgenstein

It really is a brilliant Re:Zero's story. But there are a few plothole here and there. For example, in the latest chapters, when Leandro and Echidna are in the garden and the other witches turn up uninvited, the narrative cuts away from what’s happening with the others, and we don’t know what happens next with the witches before Ludwig wakes up. Then, Satella is on the cover, she’s mentioned loads of times and Ludwig seemed to have a crush on her at the start, then there was a mention that he’d had something going on with her... and then nothing. Not even a cameo with the other witches.