Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

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“O, Hero!” With that cliched line, Kazuya Souma found himself summoned to another world and his adventure–-did not begin. After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and militarily, the king cedes the throne to him and Souma finds himself saddled with ruling the nation! What’s more, he’s betrothed to the king’s daughter now…?! In order to get the country back on its feet, Souma calls the wise, the talented, and the gifted to his side. Five people gather before the newly crowned Souma. Just what are the many talents and abilities they possess…?! What path will his outlook as a realist take Souma and the people of his country down? A revolutionary transferred-to-another-world administrative fantasy series starts here!

Associated Names
One entry per line
Genjitsushugisha no Oukokusaikenki
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
現実主義勇者の王国再建記
現實主義勇者的王國再建記
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Release that Witch (35)
Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter (13)
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha (8)
Sevens (7)
Tales of the Reincarnated Lord (7)
Hail the King (6)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Isekai + Civilization building + Adventure
  2. Isekai Fantasy | #1
  3. Enjoyable read
  4. Win Life with War Strategies
  5. Jnovels

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/15/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c6 part3
09/15/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c6 part2
06/10/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c6 part1
06/10/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part6
05/06/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part5
04/18/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part4
04/16/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part3
04/03/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part2
04/03/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c5 part1
03/25/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4 ss
03/25/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4 interlude 7
03/13/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4 interlude 6
03/08/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c4 part5
01/25/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c4 part4
01/25/18 Yukkuri Free Time... v4c4 part3
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154 Reviews sorted by


tallrice
tallrice rated it
November 13, 2016
Status: --
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this novel at all, despite it being the style I usually enjoy (e.g. Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter, Ascendence of a Bookworm, Release that Witch, Reincarnated Lord etc. If you prefer the advanced economics premise rather, then Wolf and Spice or even Maou Maoyuu Yuusha might be rec's for you.)

The biggest issue is the characters. None of them have any depth of emotion or ties to the setting. They all act like 20th century Japanese manzai actors with anime stereotypes. The whole premise of... more>> the novel is based off a completely anachronistic behaviour of a royalty that apparently can just hand over a kingdom to some rando. The moe princess-knight falls into the MC's lap by the end of the 3rd chapter, and the various side characters spend all their time saying "kyaah, it's the amazing MC and his princess wife" or "well, they made a big music show with 20th century influences, must be good even though it has no connection with our culture, oh, and of course, it doesn't matter that they came and killed all our husbands in a big battle the other day".

I'm not sure I even have to mention that the setting is bad at this point. I don't usually mind if a setting is very similar to other novels in the genre. But the author doesn't seem to make any effort to give it any life. The whole world and all the characters are merely plastic props for the MC to display his "brilliance" (stated, not demonstrated). <<less
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swordnoob
swordnoob rated it
March 25, 2017
Status: v1c2
Its hard to get into. The author doesn't understand rudimentary supply and demand.

Spoiler

Take for example the country's famine problems. The author's explanation is that the increased demand for cotton caused by the Demon King's expanding territory resulted in a increase in the price of cotton. As such, farmers stopped producing grain and started producing cotton which resulted in a famine.


This is nonsense. As the supply of grain falls just as with cotton the price of grain would increase. The inverse would then occur with cotton. As the farmers flood the market with cotton the price would fall. When this happens the farmers would start producing gain again. Unless they're price controls on grain or the cotton is some kind of mythical giffen good I can't see how any famine would result because of an increase in the price of cotton.
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VanAlex
VanAlex rated it
May 5, 2016
Status: --
Instead of Overpowered Protagonist in Action, it’s a story of an Overpowered Protagonist in Mind, at the same time, it’s well balanced and the series overall is one of the best world transfer fantasy.
... more>>
Spoiler

First of all The story is really good, nice pacing and the arcs are well done, it’s a frame-up style which consist of at least 3 chapters to resolve a story, most of all the characters are interesting at the same time it’s one of the few unique novel out there which focuses on Domestic Affairs, Economy, Realistic Philosophy, Civil and World War, and many more, it’s not the same typical Weak MC gets Transfered and becomes OP, the best here is that It’s Realistic. The use of Literature techniques and the Individual Elements are well done, it’s almost Flawless since the only problem in this series was the slow release of translated chapters.

The Characters are all well rounded, most of them are not unique but they are exceptional to others. The Protagonist Souma can be considered a Cheat MC, despite of trying to have a chill life, he’s unexpectedly informative and probably the problem is that He’s too intelligent that supporting characters can’t compete against him, at least every character has its own spotlight. The Supporting characters are really good, not unique but also not flat one dimensional characters, they change too and they do unexpected things which balances the story, even the antagonist are well done and only few are foolish. Most of them are memorable and unpredictable.

Who can’t enjoy this one, if there are, then they are probably mindless people who enjoys typical series or the people who are trying to act intelligent that demands to nerf the protagonist, well the only problem that I’ve seen is the Overpowered Intelligent Protagonist, nothing more than that. This novel is not Flawless, but it was able to point out realistic development with the plot convenience of living in fantasy world. I’ve enjoyed this a lot since it’s really intelligent and there’s so much famous references made by historical icons.


[Post Review Edit]
This is my post review after reading up to latest chapter (c3c5). My overall impression didn't change that much from the beginning but it has become less impressive in the recent chapters as of this late, at the very least, the "Harem" genre was tackled in political way.
I will point out some flaws in this novel as of now since I was not able to point it before, first of all, it's the 'smooth' and 'flawless' easy way of story telling in which plot convenience was used too much, so many problems was solved easily, it was so easy that I don't expect any threats or suspense in this story. Well it's more of a "Slice of Life" with "Politics" not a "Practical Political Novel" (unless you want to see Donald Trump's action hahaha). But it does not mean it's not possible to happen since the smooth political story was actually happening in my country (the awesome mother freaking Philippines) So I don't think having a smooth easy way of telling a political story was a problem, but I don't think it's entertaining enough for me unlike in my country or some country who loves "populism" like USA, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary or others. The Second flaw was the shallow characters which is quite predictable in this novel, they may be not typical compared to other Japanese novels, but it does not mean they have a big difference. As of now the only unpredictable characters I know was Prince Gaius VIII of Amadonia Principality and General, the Lion-faced beastman, Georg Carmine. They are so Manly that their Deaths was too good to ignore, while Gaius was a fool most of the time, but his death was a philosophical one trying to become the sole villain to all the sins of his country to prevent the Wrath of the Empire, while Carmine died to remove corruption of the noble corruption with him as a criminal in the history, both died Protecting their country, and both branded as a villains of their country. Third flaw was the introduction of entertainment industry, communication and technological advancement, the story has so much moments about the entertainment industry copying the media system service like the television always do, and there's a big difference on developing the communications and technologies, not that it's a demand (since a demand in a story is not a criticism) but there was too much entertainment that even after the war, the entertainment industry has become the biggest priority in this novel (to be honest I don't know whether this is a political novel or an Idol Novel) that it was again tackled in the latest chapter (c3c5). It's not a problem for me though since this is the only novel I know that uses entertainment industry in a Japanese fantasy novel.
So far the 'realism' still in the element of the story, and the philosophical aspect of this story was still better than most of the novels (even the biggest classic novel "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" which was praised by the elitist of the Anime Community for its classic themes and Political views along with the military strategy and romanticize elements) and this novel relies heavily on some of the most prominent people in the history like the Machiavelli's philosophy and Sun Tzu's art of war. For now It still deserves '5 out of 5' stars as a recommended novel, but I will rate it as '7.75 out of 10' for my personal judgement (one to five stars is few for me to rate this novel) And if you're planning to read it, treat as a "Slice of Life" Novel not as a "Political Novel"

Totally Recommended along with Ookami to Koushinryou, Rakuin no Monshou, Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and Juuni Kokki, most of them are intelligent fantasy.

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keklel
keklel rated it
May 19, 2016
Status: v2c3
Unbelievably boring and inane. The main character's entire motivation is to not have to do anything. Essentially laziness. He hates action and hates having to go outside and hates working. His favorite activity is sleeping. His next favorite activity is paperwork. There is no action in this story whatsoever. These 2 things is literally all he does all day. Paperwork and sleeping. That's it. "Oh golly, whatever shall I do today?"
"OH I KNOW! LET'S DO SOME PAPERWORK!"
"GENIUS!!!"

Outside of paperwork and sleeping, the MC also likes to engage in... more>> discussions about politics and economics. Such EXCITEMENT! I just can't WAIT to read another chapter about fantasy world politics and economics. These are the contents of a typical chapter:

- Discussions between political leaders about such exciting topics as sustainable forest management
- Introductions to random side characters whom we do not care about
- Descriptions of picnics, particularly food and lap pillows (I sh*t you not)
- Descriptions of road construction

I can go on, but I think you get the point. <<less
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Dusk
Dusk rated it
July 7, 2016
Status: v1c5
I'm not saying it's bad, actually it's an okay kingdom building novel, an okay read but I really don't get the super high ratings. It's pretty interesting actually, the author puts in lots of knowledge from today's time, fully using the use of "Summoning from another world". But the thing is, the usual JP trope preetty much exists here too, although not too bad. Characters could have totally been fleshed out better, , few things are just too nonsensical (like the attitude of the people, character of the MC,... more>> etc.), this is what lots of JP novels are bad in, the nonsensical are soo bad.

The world feels like it is totally on the mc's hand and everything he would do will lead to a "right" decision, that's very bad too, and it's not like he's very smart either, I don't get it, the world doesn't play out like you think.

Then, I don't get why the author decides to tell the reader their future positions, to me it's a really.. Dumb move. It just takes the slightest bit of tension away, turning it into a completely 100% Slice of life easy read, I really don't get it. But anyways it's a good novel for those who can handle the few tropes and wants some kingdom building-slash-slice of life read. Not for me though, can't handle the trope >.< 6.9/10. This could have been a better read if the author has more common sense Intergated to the story. <<less
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Tian Long
Tian Long rated it
May 10, 2016
Status: --
Damn, Liecia in the cover is very hot. Kingdom Building, Politics, Management, and etc. What more could you ask for? And oh, not an OP MC. Just a smart one. BONUS!
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CockyBrat
CockyBrat rated it
August 9, 2017
Status: v1c4
This novel really has some issues.

One thing is that the author really wants the MC to look smart with extreme reactions but instead of that he only achieves to let everyone else look extremely dumb.
For example: ... more>>
Spoiler

The country is in famine and nobody knows why. Then the MC comes and tells that the reason for the famine is because they cultivate cash crops instead of food. The princess is extremely shocked, falls to her knees and realizes that the kingdom needs his wisdom and that she would offer him her chastity to bind him to the kingdom.

Another example is with the arrogant dark elf. The MC tells her that the dark elfes should thin out their forest so that the forest stays healthy. She immediatly prostrates before him and gives him her body and chastity.

The only moment I felt that the MC is smart was when he did paperwork offscreen.

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Another issue is the cringy moments. He refuses to behave like a king and does same lame speech and everyone is in tears and applaudes to him.
He uses the emergency communication device as entertainment tv for the people and everybody is extremely thrilled.
I don't even want to write about his evaluation about the fat guy who is supposed to be extremely important.

Seriously he is not fit to be a king. Maybe a good office worker but thats it.

In conclusion I would say that the main problem with this novel is that an average author wants to create a smart MC and his only mean to achieve that is to let the side Characters be dumb which lets the whole thing seems forced upon us. <<less
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Anomandaris
Anomandaris rated it
April 17, 2019
Status: v4c6
I made an account just to say what a complete garbage show this novel is.

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC is praised for doing the most simplest things. Like when he and Liscia were talking about the famine in the Kingdom. Setting aside the ridiculous explanation of supply and demand that the author gave us - that clearly demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of economics - Souma went on to unnecessarily explain what cash crops are to Liscia and how cotton is the result of the famine.

I'm sorry, but I just have to say... NO SH*T SHERLOCK. Anyone with a 2nd grade education could tell you that cash crops are used for their commercial value rather than to be used as food crops. Heck, I'd argue that even a 4 year old farmer's son who's never even attended school a day in his short life could tell you that. You can't eat cotton. The fact that the princess of said country never thought "Hmm, maybe we should grow food crops instead of cotton during this famine" is truly ridiculous, but the fact that the farmers and other commoners who are literally starving never thought that they should be growing actual food is absolute lunacy. This is insulting to those who lived in Medieval times.

What this novel does well at is political thinking and historical applications, which is both a pro and a con. It's a boon because it's intriguing at first, but quickly gets tiring after the author mentions it 400 times and you get the feeling Machiavelli is actually ruling the country and not the MC. The occasional battle stratagem put to good use is also quite entertaining.

The romance makes no sense and is totally forced. The MC went from wanting to abdicate to being un-"realist"-ically loyal to the Kingdom in the span of 1 chapter. It's absolute nonsense. If anyone was pulled from their own world and forced to be the king of a country on the verge of collapse (no matter if you're an orphan or not), no reasonable person would s*ave away for that country. I was hoping for a more reasonable and realistic approach where the MC would actually try and abdicate or maybe take a very prolonged break - i.e. outside the Kingdom exploring, not nonsensical romance within the castle or something. Because lets be honest, this type of author is totally the type to pull some lame 1-dimensional castle romance arc than an actually interesting, well thought-out world-building one.

The plot with the demon lord has me very interested but the MC is way to slice-of-life for me. Everything within the Kingdom is cookie-cut with perfect pre-set examples the MC has in his mind to counter the "disasters" that arise in the Kingdom. And what's more, there has never once been an attempted assassination or a point in time where Souma's life was in jeopardy. There's practically no struggle at all. It's ridiculous.

Also, in regards to the attempted "TV" programs... why- WHY does Souma have a microphone "prop"??? No one in this world knows what it's supposed to be and its very existence is redundant. Souma, are you aware of how much of an incredible dumba*s you look like to the people of the kingdom? When I read that, my brain splattered all over the back of my wall from the amount of force my facepalm had. Seriously, there should be a limit to the s*upid a*s sh*t the author can be allowed to pull. It's almost to the point where I'm beginning to think the author intentionally put these moronic segments in his story to spite his readers.

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Anyway, I never intended to go into a detailed review. This was just a rant. I'm fed up with the author's bullsh*t on this. Don't read this tr*sh, and for those brave enough to do so, I suggest you take a shower immediately afterwards to sterilize yourself. <<less
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Aoitenshi
Aoitenshi rated it
May 20, 2016
Status: v2c5
It's rare to see a protagonist referencing not only the Sengoku Era, but also Machiavellianism and Romance of the Three Kingdom. There is also a mention to Sun Tzu recently.

It really shows how hardworking he is despite self-proclaiming as an ordinary man with an ordinary life.

Oh, he is good at cooking, as well.
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TheJudge
TheJudge rated it
October 31, 2016
Status: --
Decent writing at certain chapters, but very slow and boring, and like almost all jp novels, MC is very passive and beta like.

One thing I can't stand is the author gave the MC a very strong ability, and even demonstrated in one of the chapters on how op it is, but refused to take advantage of it because it's "too powerful". Yes, basically the MC wants others to leave his little nation alone so he can move on with his life, living a pleb, but refuses to take the... more>> appropriate measures.

Not going to bother reading an half ass MC/author that refuses to take full advantage of the skills given to them because it makes them "op". Why bother even telling how op he could've been at all? <<less
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Isekai-Esaege
Isekai-Esaege rated it
August 28, 2017
Status: v3
I had high expectations for this work because it had a very high rating and was being translated by a group that translated another series I enjoyed. Unfortunately, this work did not meet anywhere near that expectation.

A lot, if not, all Isekai genre novels have an MC with a ridiculously OP ability that drives the story. So when this novel started by having a MC that wasn't OP, but a MC that had to rely on his knowledge and wits, I thought, 'Oh, this might be interesting.' Unfortunately, this novel's... more>> premise is its weakness.

Throughout the novel, the MC showcases his 'brilliance' and 'wisdom', but there is simply no depth to it. The MC only appears smart, because the other characters are not. In volume 2 and 3,
Spoiler

the author could have introduced an interesting 'antagonist' to oppose the MC - an antagonist that's smart and rational, but brings out an incredibly cliche hot-headed muscle head.

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To add on to the above point, the novel also has really stereotypical/cliche side characters. There's nothing wrong with having such characters, but the author never explores them. They are just there to serve as a cheerleader/sidekick to the MC - even characters who are supposed to be really smart.

To summarize - I started this novel, thinking it would be a different kind of Isekai where the MC would use his wits and knowledge to survive against other similarly brilliant minds. What I got was a painfully cliche novel that lacks in both depth and maturity. I really hope it improves from volume 4 where the MC can potentially interact with more nations outside and comes across smarter people/difficult situations because there's so much material in this novel's world. <<less
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spotmarkedx
spotmarkedx rated it
January 27, 2016
Status: --
Things I like about the series:

Hero summoning is certainly a common theme amongst web/light novels. I do enjoy the straightforward plotline where the world traveler gets embroiled into fighting the demon lord, or starting as an adventurer, or otherwise diving headlong into a standard role within the world (even if they fulfill that role in an exceptional way). Even more, however, I like stories where the MC uses their modern knowledge to such an extent that you can tell that the changes that they make will make long-lasting improvements to... more>> the lives of the citizens of the world. Not just through destructive means such as eliminating an evildoer that threatens the world, but through constructive means such as helping to eliminate famine, disease or poverty.

This is one of those such stories.

The MC is likable enough. Hard-working and humble, but he also does realize his worth to the world. He has a little of protagonist-blindness, but he isn’t 100% dense, so I can forgive him for that. The surrounding characters that he pulls together to assist him are also likable, and varied enough that they can give a number of fresh perspectives on the world. While it is still early in the series at the time of this review (Chapter 4), so far the world seems well built. There are a number of different countries that seem well rounded enough to be potential antagonists without being evil only for the sake of the story (i.e. They seem to have reachable goals and actions). Things I don’t like about this series:

The only very minor complaint that I have is that the harem candidates for the MC seem to be fairly standard. It’s not that they aren’t well written, but I would have preferred some more a little out of the mold.

Maybe I’m overreacting since there probably isn’t much in the way of harems that hasn’t been explored. Overall Evaluation:

Read this story if you are looking for a different take on the hero summoning tale. Be aware there is a scarcity of direct combat, so this is not going to fulfill any of your shounen needs. But, if you like politics, nation-building, and tales where a modern person uses their knowledge to their advantage, then this will be a perfect fit. <<less
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DDark
DDark rated it
January 17, 2017
Status: --
I tried. Quite a while back I read this novel, it was ok. It felt bland, I didn't get any character or personality from the people, they felt shallow. I decided to give this series another chance again now due to comparisons to "Release that Witch" (from here on RtW) a novel which I think has been written quite well so far.

With renewed expectations I went in and once again I came out disappointed. There is a little too much glorification of the MC, and the author seems to be... more>> a little too into replacing decent people with harem members instead of people. In RtW, even with the abundance of female cast it doesn't feel like a harem and those people are elaborated and given space to show character, they are just much more likable than the single trait characters of this novel. Here the harem and female cast feels forced whereas in RtW they are a natural fit, here everyone is forced into a defining trait whereas in RtW the traits fit the person naturally and they are more than just that trait.

The world building is quite decent, I was able to get some form of mental image of the rough position of the nations. Not entirely sure where the narrative arc is going, its filled with short-term goals rather than anything long term. The writing style is honestly quite bland and boring to read, its not compelling.

I don't know, I tried to like it but its very jarring for me. In the end the best I can call this novel is mediocre, its painfully mediocre. It stays in a realm where it wants me to take it seriously but it can't take itself seriously. All ratings are default at half value and depending on merits and demerits the scores are added or subtracted.
World Building: 7/10
Character/s: 4/20
Narrative: 17/40
Writing Style/Quality:9/20
Depth: 4/20
Rating: 41/100 <<less
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caveman
caveman rated it
October 24, 2018
Status: v4 ss
Translation deserves at least four stars, but this website doesn't offer a separate rating for that yet (please add).

Can this website please add a genre tag called "children's books/YA"? Or is Shounen the same thing? Explanation below.

I am a huge fan of Isekai/Out of place or time -stories. Quantum Leap deals with time jumps, Farscape deals with an Earther in a completely alien world. I don't see why Western Isekai stories are rarely mentioned on this site as a point of reference, they share similar premises and can offer great... more>> comparisons in execution. I feel This story would have been better as deliberately cheesy than trying to ride on the idea of being more realistic than other Isekais.

To my taste, a story as ridiculous as an Isekai/Tensei, should either show self-awareness and exploit the avenues for humor that the situation offers (Overlord, Farscape) or be serious about it (RtW). Self-aware stories can naturally contain this so-called Harem element, since they usually overturn the expectations of simple wish-fulfillment, and one can toy with the idea. In Overlord, the only character with multiple love interests is incapable of s*x due to being a skeleton, so nobody has to care whether the relationships are started or with whom. Even the love interests are either mentally children or brainwashed, so the story keeps the Harem delightfully ridiculous and even unfortunate for the MC.

Since Realist Hero chose the same approach as Release the Witch, it deserves to be compared to it. As much as I find problems with balanced tension in RtW, every author struggles with that. Instead, RtW succeeded in providing antagonists that can provide some foils to the MC. Meatheads kill dragons, smart heroes contend with intelligent opponents. Even if the MC doesn't have to always narrowly defeat opponents, why make the enemies so unrelatable and uninteresting that the MC has nothing to reflect? As an easy improvement, the story could have even made the dumb opponents so unreadable, that the MC could not anticipate their moves, after all misreading situations and culture clashes are the bread and butter of these stories. Isekai is a fish-on-dry-land setting, suggesting any amount of historical/theoretical knowledge would prepare you to understand the mindset in another world is insane. Are we so arrogant to think smart people didn't exist in old times? If this story is relying on using real history, then why manufacture a harem without the most interesting part of all harems that ever existed in 8000 years of recorded history? Scheming, assassinations, struggle for power, women manipulating the ruler to push their agendas? From a positive/happy angle, RtW has a respect harem, which is believable. I can't visualize a love harem being humanly possible no matter how awesome the ruler is. Also, you can produce an anime with a bunch of shallow eye candy, they have color, shapes, cute voices etc bringing them to life. But can you write 5 eye candy characters? There are meta challenges to story writing that deal with the narrative style, tension, climaxes, etc, but who has time to even try to analyse those elements in stories such as these? I am much more interested in hearing the author explain his characterization. Please add a genre tag called "children's books" just like libraries do. It is a real genre and helps adults avoid books that might not work for them (not to disparage the great authors who make books for all ages, such as Richard Adams or Brian Jacques, or even f*cking J.K. Rowling). So many authors here seem to write with a tiny audience in mind, but sadly are unable to advertise it.

Lastly, I feel many of these stories' numerous female characters were written with a manga/anime -adaptation in mind. So, following the mindset of many (see discussion on Steins Gate 0 -anime) perhaps it is unfair to review this as an independent work that could stand on its own legs.

P.S. Some 5 star reviews state that flaws are okay in a story, but unless you can provide examples of the good, what worth is your 5 star gushing review to anyone except to raise the average? In reviews I found more examples of the "realistic" kingdom management being illogical than examples of it actually making sense. I don't think it is rude to not give perfect reviews to even the greats such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, so I want to give the same treatment to these stories. Of course the cream of the crop deserve 4.5 stars, but I have not yet accepted that I have come across the best here. I find all writing brave because it is so hard to come up with a good story (watch Adaptation the movie). But let's not pretend that criticism is mean or praise is supportive (you wrote an Isekai? I love Isekais, please accept this participation trophy), reviews are for feedback, not a support group. These works are already published so the authors passed the biggest hurdle in self-doubt. To be honest, I am just selfishly motivated, I can't fulfill my wishes/fantasies through these stories if I can't visualize the characters/world existing. My second selfish wish is to find books here to share with my family and friends, or hell, my literature teacher. I know the old adage, anime is tr*sh and so am I. Is it also the fate of Isekai novels? <<less
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Liri
Liri rated it
January 29, 2018
Status: v4c4 part4
General verdict: Sure, the novel is not perfect, but it is brilliant.

First of all, I do not agree at all with all the negative reviews. I do not want to say that they are uneducated but maybe that they do not have the necessary understanding to appreciate the magnificence of the novel.

As a student of political and international studies, I am thoroughly impressed by the novel. Surely, perhaps it is not as entertaining as other novels because it focuses a lot on management and politics but for me,... more>> this is exactly where it shines and perhaps loses the general population's interest. It makes a wonderful job at describing and introducing complex political and philosophical ideas and interweaving them into the story and make it more accessible. This educative aspect often does not get enough appreciation, which is why I gave it such a high score!

Another plus point is that it is not solely focused on the "Eastern" history but also includes "Western" sociologies (histories, ideas, events, etc.), ideas from Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, Cold War, Yugoslavia, Oda Nobunaga and Cesare.

Therefore, I applaud the author for doing his homework. You can say a lot about the novel and of course, you do not have to agree with the ideas and ideologies, but you can definitely not say that it is s*upid. <<less
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shuiko
shuiko rated it
November 15, 2015
Status: --
Really really awesome story. It's also fun and light hearted with good comedy, and interesting mix of ideas with a magical world with modern ideas.

I Dream of this being Translated fast everyday... qq
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expensivepeanuts
expensivepeanuts rated it
October 13, 2020
Status: v5
Typical isekai light-novel. In order for the MC to shine, everyone else must be dimmed down. The author obviously wanted to write a more intelligent and interesting character but clearly had no idea how to do it. So here comes a Japanese university student, ready to wow these isekai peasants.

The characters are boring and yet also incredibly comical. The author's writing style is very odd, often exaggerating the characters' reactions and motions, often it felt like I'm reading a storyboard for an anime instead of reading a novel.
I... more>> understand that the MC is boring on purpose, with almost no discerning characteristic for the purpose of self-inserts so I'll let that slide but for the rest of the characters, the author basically just gave each a description of their appearance and a specific trope for their character and called it a day.

Also the MC is a huge creep, as well as the author. Every relevant girl introduced in this story is some really attractive young woman (or girl) and the author will go on to describe how curvy, cute or beautiful they are. The MC even goes to describe his mother-in-law (the queen) as a woman with 'sexy, mature, womanly charm' or something like that and he goes to think about whether the princess (his wife) will turn out like that and how he's looking forward for it.
There's also a lot of times when the author would write in comical fanservice during a very serious or bleak scenario, effectively breaking the atmosphere. ie;

Spoiler

In volume 4 there's a story regarding a s*ave trader and the s*aves. Dark topic. Then the atmosphere was broken when the s*ave trader asked the s*ave girl to put on clothes (she wanted to be punish but he's such a goodguy™ so ofc he disapproves of whipping her) :

With a little bit of pressure in my words, San-san timidly put her clothes on. Then I happened to catch a glimpse of something jiggly that was well shaped so I turned my face away at full force.

The s*ave trader and the s*ave girl start working together and there's a scene where she makes a mischievous quip at him, so she tells him to whip her if he is displeased. Goodguy™ s*ave trader refused again and asked her if she's a pe*vert and she replies with

"Perhaps it's just a question of who's whipping me."

She says this after they just had all this talk about buyers abusing and hurting s*aves so it was such a big oof.

And there's a lot of scenes like that in this story. Another example that happens around volume 3, the MC goes on a mu*der spree by having a dozen of the nobles in his country decapitated in a single sweep. Don't ask, Machiavelli told him to do it. He is clearly emotionally shaken, and requests to be left alone for a while. His two fiancées trespasses into his room dressed in skimpy outfits, breaking his angsty inner monologues. He is enticed by their appeal but also clearly states that he's not in the mood for it, but oh boy do they insist. (again, no one is allowed to have complex emotions in this novel.)

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All in all there are no intelligent life form here. Just a bunch of dumbed down idiots populating a whole continent, and the MC getting his ass kissed by everyone because of his big brain ideas. It's honestly stupefying how none of the kingdoms burned down the ground before the MC could even get there (on the verge, but still). None of the characters can figure things out, critical thinking is always thrown out the window, characters do ridiculous things 'just because' or cus of 'honor' or 'friendship', no army has any real strategy or cohesion but their commanders are admired and well-known for being brilliant, people accept their fate or punishment without any ill-will or bitterness against the MC, irresponsible and incompetent people in power are admired and loved, etc.
Spoiler

-In the beginning, MC claims that he'll drop the 'king-gig' after a year and the princess thought he was being ridiculous... Even though her father was the one who just nonchalantly tossed the crown to this stranger.

-The princess falls in love with the MC SOOOO quickly. By the third chapter, she's already blushing around his presence. (they just met btw no kidding) Also majority of her role after the first war was just her trying really REALLY hard to bed the MC. She keeps bringing up how she really REALLLLYY wants that baby. Also her sub role is to look dumb right next to the MC so that he can flaunt his brilliant mind even further by either disagreeing with her naivety or explaining things to her. (she's born and raised a princess btw. Only royal child. Possibly inheritor of the throne before MC arrived. yet knows next to nothing about economics, politics and etc)

-Julius, THE prince of Amedonia (enemy) has no basic knowledge of politics either. Despite the fact that he is groomed to inherit his father's position since childhood. He insists on taking his country back from MC but had to ask for help from another country to do it. Pathetic. Also he has absolutely no post-war plan cus I guess they just assumed their side will win or something. Yep, no one does Plan Bs here or think of what if's. Also he just assumed his people would accept him as a king I guess? Though honestly his father was a nematode and the fruit can't land too far from the tree.

-There's this doctor dude, Brad, who appears later on. Apparently he's some super doctor/surgeon who stayed in the country because only Friedonia accepts his medical skills (non-magic type). Author really wants us to believe a guy barely in his 30's learned on his own, successful surgery and complicated medical techniques? That would be possible sure, but it only sounds plausible on EARTH because here, even back then, medicine and surgery is composed of many studies from hundreds of brilliant minds, there are teachers and compilations of studies that students can just pick up but this guy really discovered things like how to deliver a baby by caesarean and the like on his own? Get out of here.

Honestly after the first war things kept popping out like now there's OB-GYN doctors even though no one believes in non-magic medicine and therefor was not a practice in their world. Somehow, in some way, within just a year, they discovered modern medicine and the like. Maybe not as good as modern medicine but decent enough that our modern man MC considers it is safe enough for his wives to bear children.

-MC sets up a children sentai-like show with a BD*M lady as an antagonist. The author cannot NOT be h**ny no matter what.

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MC ends up with a harem but none of the girls are interesting, none of the romantic subplots are convincing. They're all just super hot, talented and fulfil a specific type (the princess, the idol, the elf, the legal loli, etc). I know this is the bread and butter of harem lightnovels but is it a crime to have expectations?

World building is... Well it's the standard fantasy isekai world with magic, monsters and many races. Can't get any basic than that. Author doesn't try to write anything new or spice it up a bit either.
I thought the mystery of the demon king was intriguing and I wanted to learn more about that but after volume 3, I'm too exhausted to continue. I skimmed to finish volume 4 hoping that maybe it would be good soon but too bad. Dropped at volume 5. It doesn't get better. Maybe one day I'll finish it and take back everything I said but there's a lot of better kingdom building novels out there. I hate that the title says realist but the author will ask you to turn off your brain if you want to enjoy this.

I wouldn't say that the idea is bad, and the author clearly did a lot of research for this story but the execution is really terrible and the characters too plastic. I wanted to enjoy it because I like kingdom building but whenever I'm about to get invested, the author writes in some random comic relief/fanservice during tense and serious moments which breaks the immersion for me. I like gag, and fanservice? Sure, it's a harem manga after all, but please learn to put it where it should be.

But I will admit it is hilarious to read whenever the characters gasp in awe, shock and realization because the MC said things like 'oh gas has mass, don't you know?' <<less
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graydragon12
graydragon12 rated it
December 3, 2017
Status: v4c1
I have a love hate feeling for this novel. If I rate the novel without the tack on "harem" then it would make a 4/5. As other state before, this novel is good but not to the point of perfect. Some bash that "if you can't enjoy this novel then you have no brain and like to read novel with OP MC" which I wonder, is the name calling necessary ? I find this novel enjoyable because it did everything it needed to a mediocre level (minus the romance that... more>> is). Seriously though, those who praise the MC as "smart" and this novel has deep political stuff properly haven't read much novel resolving about said genre. The so call political stuff is dumb down to a level where kids can understand and hold no realistic value. It just the same old Isekai king and his band of dumb government board trying to tackle the evil noble trying to destroy the country. It is so bare bone that you would realise if you read similar novel or think about it hard enough.

The romance is pure BS. The author tack that on to just lure people who have no idea how romance work.

Spoiler

This girl is in command of 5000 harden marines who could order an ambush on an army of 30, 000 men and laying trap to hinder and inflicting massive casualty on their army flustered at a mere thing as a lap pillow and developed feeling for the person give her a lap pillow. She might have other interaction with said guy but I either don't see it or it is too bland to even considered it a "romantic" or "flag raising" interaction

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The reason I think this novel has many praise is mainly that it is an Isekai that done to a bearable level and that is actually an achievement considering how many sh*t isekai out there. An enjoyable Slice of Life as it is and don't let any body tell you otherwise. But bloody political struggle, war with demon, corrupt noble you said ? What ? The author granted us the "View and thought of the people in the future". I don't know why he think that is a good idea but that throw the risk out of the window. Oh the fight is getting bloodied, the enemy is charging at our MC ? Why should you care, the future vision said that he live happily and enact many policy that benefited the country so why should he died. Injured ? He live healthily AND happily AND died of old age, the future vision said so so why are you doubting ? An utterly s*upid decision.

All in all, an average slice of life novel that dumb everything down to a basic level to make the reader feel smug since "hey I can understand politic, its so easy". Really though, all the "politic" so far describe in the novel are child play compare to real politic. Go and read "Risou no Himo Seikatsu". That novel has an adult MC that at least understand real politic to a minimum level. Even your way of speaking and how you walk has to be considered when engaging in politic present or past, not a bunch of 16 yrs kids outsmarting old noble in a battle of wits. In real life, grand noble control young emperor/king/general not the other way around. Modern education doesn't teach you how to deal with noble politic back in the 1600s so don't think you can just run around doing everything you please. For real cut-throat politic, I suggest Dungeon Defense. The politic in that novel is just flat out better that this but more dark, gritty and realistic. <<less
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FatSoTranslations
FatSoTranslations rated it
August 18, 2017
Status: v2c4
Sometimes, I wonder if the people who only read novels are all in it just for the action...

This story, though it lacks in action, and can be a bit dull on the side as they say "too much of 'something' can be bad for oneself" or something like that.

I actually like this to be honest, only I didn't have much time to read it as I have other things I'm currently occupied with but seeing as there are too many people rating this series below 3 stars, I mean just... more>> seriously back off, if you can't take the story just leave, we don't give a crap about you and your preferences, if you don't like something then just leave as simple as that!

I don't know how to make a review but all in all this is the first novel i've read that tackled kingdom building to this extent, it's quite fascinating how the author does it and partially envious of it as well.

Very well, I shall take my leave. <<less
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Tasear
Dream Seeker rated it
May 19, 2016
Status: --
This an example of well written story that compels you to read and then read again. Worry not, The reviews here are not basis, the characters are somewhat life like even the tertiary ones and they don't flex to the hero nor plot, the plot is complex with more then one dimension to it. You don't fill like any of chapters are fillers even if they aren't epic or cliffs, so the pace is great. Only bad thing about this one is the premise or novel summary really doesn't do... more>> it justice. I recommend this to anyone slightly interesting in the concept. <<less
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