ISEKAI’D BY:
Illness 🙁
I Reincarnated As The Evil God Of My Favorite Civilization.
Takuto Ira succumbed to illness at a young age and ended up reincarnating in a world that resembles the fantasy turn-based strategy game Eternal Nations. Not only did he reincarnate into his favorite game, but as the god who commands the evil civilization Mynoghra. With Mynoghra’s beautiful hero unit, Sludge Witch Atou by his side, not even legendarily difficult race traits will stand in the way of restarting their civilization!
“Lord Takuto…won’t you start over with me?”
Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate! A tactical fantasy world is waiting for heroes like you! Join Eternal Nations today!
I’ll start this LN report as always: “I read the manga and then I picked up the book”… yep. I actually keep up with the manga well enough, so this time I just got eager to know what was going to happen and thought the perfect time to pick up the books was while I was waiting for the next chapter. I may even be able to catch up to the point I left off in the manga if I read fast enough.
One of the things that makes the Mynoghra series stand out is that the main character is not the only one to have been isekai’d. Certainly there are others (Overlord, I believe?), but I found this one rather interesting. Takuto and Atou isekai’d together from separate worlds but have known each other for a long time. They already are very close— Takuto because he spent his illness speaking aloud to Atou as he played his game, and Atou because she somehow remembered these conversations and was a consistent being in the games he played.
It’s this prior mutual relationship that I like. They both adore one another with good reason and behave like a couple. Granted, a couple with an interesting power dynamic— he has player abilities, which gives him a measure of control over reality while still having a weak body; she has Hero powers from the game she originates in, where if she so chose, she could kill him in an instant and he would not be able to do anything. There is a line later in the book, though, that suggests there may be an unknown influence making Atou more subservient to him in some way. Takuto notes this, but little more is mentioned.
Before Takuto realized this was the Atou who knew him, he was terribly nervous and this line is terribly funny to me.
Honestly, it’s really funny to think that a character isekai’d from a game could only see things as they were rendered in game, so things being “real” is completely new for them. Being shocked by what the things that were rendered in pixels now in reality is absolutely valid. Also, they’re both teenagers— Takuto died at 18 and Atou at least has the appearance of a teenager and will presumably age along with Takuto from now on. They pretty much nail the teenage lovebird thing here.
It’s rather cute.
Though, now we approach one of the shortcomings of the writing. There is a lot of “telling” rather than “showing”— telling is not always a drawback, as these two sentences are rather succinct and added to the relationship. However, you’ll find in the next screenshot that it does a lot of heavy lifting. Character actions are relegated to a sort of space where you’re being told by a third party, as if someone is communicating the events rather than being there to see them yourself.
That said, I will mark it up to the style. I actually don’t fault it terribly for the writing style, as even if it is blunt and often analytical of itself, it’s an interesting change from a lot of light novels I’ve read so far. It has a slightly more literary feel to it, though it sacrifices atmosphere and subtlety.
Damn ain’t that the truth, though. These two being young and dumb and full of pixels is a vehicle for comedy all on its own.
Put this on a billboard. USAmerican youth need to learn this more.
Changing alignment to evil while having some common sense ethics is hilarious.
This dude is gonna die.
We don’t know if that could happen, but it’s interesting to me that Atou can remember such a thing despite being one of those frozen by the slow speed of the computer.
I honestly feel a lot closer to Takuto re: disability than I did when I read Violet’s struggles in Fourth Wing. He’s recovered his physical health thanks to reincarnation, but he holds sympathies for those who are at risk of losing theirs, and he still is scared to push limits he isn’t sure of. I have recovered for the most part from my own issues (though some persist to this day), but as a result, I worry more for others and I’m wary of pushing myself too far and suffering the consequences. They don’t make it a cartoonish montage or conveniently forget about his illness, even if he doesn’t have it any more. It’s a fundamental part of him and the cause of his current problems— being isolated in his previous life, without the opportunity to bond with others has led him to have massive social anxiety.
Me
Have I mentioned how much I like the art for this series? The designs are solid and the composition is strong. Honestly I really admire it! I want to be able to make such stunning pictures for my own writings! This is my favorite image from this book and I thought I would share. Atou looks so cool.
Now this I like. Takuto has transmigrated and become something different. Atou, formerly an unfeeling Hero, has to grapple with new emotions and a fondness for him while wondering, constantly, if he is the same person that she knew. She holds herself back, she tries to serve him to make up for his weaknesses, and she derives comfort from his presence. She remembers him as a normal guy. It says it plainly here and presents the question very bluntly to the reader.
I personally wonder if Takuto’s viewing the world as being part of a game for him, especially after already having died once himself, is stunting him. It’s shown that being “evil-aligned” also can shift one’s outlook in small ways that domino into larger issues down the line. He watched regular humans get slaughtered and heard Atou deliver threats targeted specifically to taunt and break a man seconds before his death, including threats to his baby daughter and his wife. He doesn’t even blink.
Is it because he shares a solid mental link with Atou? Is it because he is fundamentally changing? Did he truly cross into this world, or did some part of him get left behind? Hopefully we find out.
While Takuto is the main character, his worries are very physical. Are the Dark Elves able to work without worry? Is the empire functioning correctly? What threats are around? How will we solve this problem?
Meanwhile, Atou struggles with the above. Why is she there? Is she real? What kind of relationship is she supposed to have with the king, who she assumed as her dearest companion in the same way he accepted her wholeheartedly? Is it the strength of their relationship that binds them, or is it the fact that the system has bound her to be subservient to his wishes in the same way that the Dark Elves became fanatically devoted to his well-being?
I actually favor watching Atou’s development. She literally consumes abilities and memories when she fights, and she hasn’t actually ever had to think for herself before. Oftentimes she deflects the thoughts that plague her by going overboard in acts of service, but sometimes when she has an idle moment, it brings up these thoughts.
I think with her, through her, we’re going to gain an understanding of the story and the true purpose of the isekai.
In any case! On to book two!
