The Returner

Description

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This story is centered around the man named Yi Ji-Hyuk, who has spent 1000 years in a Medieval Western fantasy-like world before returning back to the modern-day Earth. When he returns, he finds that his home is facing monster threats, and that humans with superpowers have appeared to protect the innocent people of Earth.

The thing is, Yi Ji-Hyuk himself lived like a true, bona-fide Demon King in that fantasy world, and the only reason(s) why he returned home is to find some peace and easy going life. So, what will a man like that do?

Associated Names
One entry per line
Deo Li Teo Neo
더 리터너
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Seoul Station’s Necromancer (13)
Everyone Else is a Returnee (11)
The Second Coming of Gluttony (9)
The Lazy Swordmaster (3)
Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society (3)
I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!? (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Every Novel I've Read
  2. Action Novels
  3. another random list
  4. Apocalyptic Monsters and Hunters
  5. Senna's List (1)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
10/26/20 Creative Novels c465
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09/25/20 Creative Novels c452
09/23/20 Creative Novels c451
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90 Reviews sorted by


yellowcrusader
yellowcrusader rated it
August 10, 2018
Status: c58
I wasn't completely sold on the story as I felt like the call to action phase of the protagonist was getting a little dragged out. The humour, however, was pretty funny to me. The way the MC manages to get under the other character's skin is hilarious. I think if you get pass the call to action arc of the novel it gets pretty good. The characters introduced are quirky and entertaining.

I hope the novel continues being entertaining and shows more abilities of the MC.
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charioles
charioles rated it
August 7, 2018
Status: c56
Try to read up to chapter 10.

If you liked this sort of comedy-action genre, then you'll enjoy the novel.

imo this is 80% comedy, 20% action.

... more>> +) pros:

Funny and refreshing comedy/gag style.

Badass action.

No crybaby MC.

No s*x maniac and harem-pursuing type of MC *cough* chinese novels *cough*.

-) cons:

The website/translator often put a synopsis of their other works on the beginning of every chapter without a warning or a divider, so it can be confusing to find where the chapter's content actually starts at.

Low amount of action scene compared to the comedy skits. Not suitable for action-hungry readers. <<less
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NovelDevourer K
NovelDevourer K rated it
August 6, 2018
Status: c10
i love this scene:

There had been an increase of many somewhat ‘insane’ fools with the similar sort of ‘settings’ after the world went to hell in a handbasket several years ago. They all wanted to possess amazing powers, but since they didn’t, the only place they could were within their own delusions.

As the guy kept on saying “ah, ah, ah”, was he trying to shout out “Asmodeus”? Or “Astaroth”?

... more>> Not as common as “Diablo” or “Beelzebub” but still appropriate enough.

It seemed that this young man had come up with a pretty unique ‘setting’ for himself.

Which was unfortunate, because Choi Jung-Hoon’s expectations were completely off the mark.

“Ah... Ah, ah!! Asphalttttttttt!!!!”

The strange young man rubbed the ground nonstop, and then, proceeded to plant his face on the ground and began rubbing it passionately. <<less
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Ascension
Ascension rated it
May 29, 2018
Status: c9
As of ch 9, my review is very similar to BumChikiBum. The story is very very similar to Seoul Station Necromancer.

"The returner" is about a guy that is summoned to a different world, he becomes something similar to a necromancer... and he does anything to come back home.

... more>>
Spoiler

The small differences are the fact that in the world he was summoned, our protagonist has lived hundreds/thousand years. As well as the fact that at the end right before he came back to earth he has slaughtered the entire continent/world.

When the story shows this final showdown, when I first read I felt it was kind of a ret*rded conversation. This part of the story felt awkward, they were trying to stop him from getting a jewel, but their reason was ret*rded/unfounded. He tried to explain that he just wanted to go home, they were saying that he will not get it, that he's the apocalypse bringer, and that he will not get it even if he kills the entire lot of them. Anyway the story was weirdly explained at first. We'll see when we get more chapters, but I believe there's something else there that we don't know about yet, so I won't comment too much on this.

[collapse]

Another big difference from SSN is the fact that since he has been transported back, he's a very chill/mellow funny guy, something SSN didn't have as much. There was comedy there but only from the absurd point of view of someone seeing life as something like a pebble on the road, easily discarded.

Anyway the second thing I felt awkward in the story is the fact that at first he's a maniac that slaughters an entire world, and then he comes back and he's a funny little sheep. <<less
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druiseeker
druiseeker rated it
May 27, 2018
Status: c6
While it has an abbreviated first couple chapters, it has a little something unique that gives me hope for the future of the story. I hope for more!! Thanks!!
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Haruko
Haruko rated it
May 27, 2018
Status: c6
So far so good.

First 3 prologue chapters feel kinda hard to digest because of the info dump and 3 chapters after that have completely different feel to them and are actually funny. I'm expecting author to explain the prologue settings bit more in the future because of how much (unneccesary?) info they already provided, hopefully it will be explained well. Otherwise I already like this story, allthough it is only in its starting phase, it made me smile and I look forward reading more.

Lets see how this develop ^.^
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Rlackbabbit
Rlackbabbit rated it
July 3, 2021
Status: c70
Not really a comedy.

Was not funny. Was it a parody? Yes. Was it badly done? Also yes. Did it try? Yup. Did it fail? Also yes.

This is just really badly written. I tried to give it a chance, 70 chapters worth of chances hoping, like some other novels, that the writing quality would improve. It didn't.
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Qwerty1123581321
Story doesn't make sense

The MC is a demon king who lived for 1000 years in another world and has returned to modern world.

Since the MC is an antihero, the normal plot should have been slice of life, kingdom building, comedy and world travel. The book fails in this aspect.

... more>> SPOILER

#For a charecter like this you would expect the MC not have too much attachment to the family (it's 1000 years in different world, he should have experienced a lot of heart breaks and deaths)

The MC is currently weak and needs to hunt monster to gain back his strength. Why the f**k does he not do that. Since MC returned to earth for peace, shouldn't he spendv some effort to realize his goal, now that the world has entered chaotic age.

For a 1000 year old demon king how can he still be interested with these immature kids as a harem members (I mean the previous works also had humans along with other race)

How can he still listen to his mother? The MC had no contact with her for almost 1000 years and has lived life of slaughter. It is absolutely impossible for him to still listen to anyone. Even a normal 40-50 tattoo old people rarely listen to their parents, if it's not beneficial to them, then what about someone with a 1000 years of living in hell# <<less
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ModernDayNEET
ModernDayNEET rated it
August 29, 2020
Status: c94
After reading many reviews, I was expected a bit of slog through the early chapters. I saw lots of extreme views about how it was relatable, while at the same time there was frustration at the humor not quite working for many people. As a comedy story, its worse than most cliche Korean novels. As a representation of what twisted personality's go through, I'd say it kind of works but the attempted comedy removes any sense of gravity or relatability. I'm not sure where the comedy comes from, because it... more>> just seems to be, "I'm lazy after a life of hell for years, now because I expect earth to become hell I should exploit as much for me as possible (while I can) ." The characters quickly become one dimensional, and even when I skipped to much later chapters (150, 200, 300, and 420) to see if there was improvement, there was none, which ultimately lead me to stop even wanting to read the later chapters. As more characters got added as I went further, it was clear that the author lost whatever direction or ideas they started with (if they had any at all). Not wanting to repeat what many others have said, I will say later chapters are more enjoyable to read, but that doesn't actually make it a worthwhile read until that point. <<less
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Blobina
Blobina rated it
August 18, 2019
Status: c17
Just read a few first chapters, I hope the story would keep the same quality or get better. There were no cows too sacred to not be lampooned: story cliques, human relations, habits, authority, even gods. The characters' tsukkomis and self-depreciations got me chuckle a lot. Quite like sitcom or varieties shows.
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Ixcez
Ixcez rated it
March 23, 2019
Status: c102
A bit on the fence for this one. On one part it tries way to hard to be funny at times and at the same time it has made me chuckle a bit. One thing it suffers fairly hard from at least in the start is that the author doesn't seem to have either thoughts things through or decided in advance how the story/world building should be. To give an example that is among the biggest of these.

About the MC's powers, fairly small spoiler for the first 20ish chapters.

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC is one of the greatest sorcerers ever and has even touched upon the "truth" which gives him godlike magical powers. However upon returning to earth he can't use magic. At first this is explained as his magic robe breaking so he can't insta-cast spells anymore but will have to do it the long way. Then it becomes he lost all his magic items hinting at magic needing a catalyst to be cast. Then it's because he was completely drained of mana from teleporting back to earth and has to recover. Then it's because he can't regenerate mana naturaly so he would open portals to other worlds and thus drain the incoming mana from the portals. Then he was getting mana through a contract that gives him unlimited amount of mana. The MC is like a rechargeable battery but without it's own charger so he starts draining mana from dead monsters, then he can drain life force, literately the author proclaims the MC can transform almost any energy into the kind of mana/magic power he needs/wants.

In short the way the MC can use magic/mana and how he would previously gain it or how he would from now on gain it switches almost every few chapters in the start of the novel. It would have really helped a lot if the author would have gone back to edit and change it all to be linear/streamlined instead of being all over the place.

[collapse]

There are also quite a few plot holes or points that the author simply never thought through before adding them in, some of which have been fervently added in other reviews on here :D. The MC is fairly childish and well the first part of the novel is basically about him not wanting to do anything except play league of legend, read webnovels, drink sodas, eat junk food, smoke and fap. Basically one of the first things the MC want's to do upon returning is watch p*rn and fap fap fap.

This part is fine if it wasn't for the fact that the story while trying to be funny tries to be serious at the same time so while some situations will give a chuckle, the funny parts are pretty much all the same and feel very forced at certain times. While some might say it's a way to show character growth and personality, writting almost 5 whole chapters out of the first 40 about how the MC is drinking cola, smoking, playing badly at LOL, get toxic comments, nagged at by family and pretty much being a full time NEET. Isn't in my book the best of choices to get an audience to stick around, what even makes it harder is the simple fact that a lot of the comedic parts are based on Korean culture or word plays which makes the funny parts drop quite a bit when translated to english for non-koreans to read.

Now don't get me wrong some of it is really funny the first time I read it but at least in my situation where I read some 30-40 chapters in an afternoon the comedic effects grew stale pretty fast, might have been better effect if I read 1-2 chapters every 2-3 days.

At the moment I will keep reading a bit further before I give my final opinion <<less
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Kosmiko
Kosmiko rated it
January 16, 2019
Status: c127
What to say... Well, I can't find a way to relate to the lead character due to ingrained avoidance of haughty characters, anyway I laughed a lot unfortunately due to the mishap of the secondary actors, which seems to be the norm for the comic reliefs. I'll rate it average 3 stars for I felt totally against the MC personality. I think moderation would be winner choice instead of what was presented, then again, that's my own opinion and I know I'm not a good judge but I like what... more>> I like and avoid what I don't. <<less
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Sludgy
Sludgy rated it
September 13, 2018
Status: c77
I can understand the poor reviews because of the reasons they’ve stated, but I still like this novel. It’s easy to read - something to veg out to if you don’t mind that there isn’t any complex plots or deeper meanings to the characters actions. It’s mostly comedy, although the part about the MC avoiding his work does get dragged out multiple times.

The MC is basically a thousand year old demon king who returns home to his dysfunctional family and is determined to be extremely lazy when confronted with the... more>> Earth’s new monster crisis. There is a lot of humour thrown in it almost takes a slice of life genre, but there are monster battles that the MC crushes with OP powers because of his 1000 years experience.

Downside is that there isn’t much world building and almost none of the side character’s abilities are explained. MC’s powers are “explained” by his 1000 years of being a demon lord as an excuse, which feels a bit thin.

The novel feels like it’s building up to a more serious confrontation between the monsters and the MC, so I can only wait for that to happen. We are starting to see some hidden meaning to the MC’s actions too, so I have my fingers crossed that the lazy MC starts to show a bit more intelligence. I hope to increase my rating when that happens.

10/10 to the translator, they are pretty much perfect with English grammar and spelling. <<less
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pomoli
pomoli rated it
August 29, 2018
Status: c69
Entertaining.

Pro

  • Interesting setting.
  • Interesting MC.
  • Side characters are developed.
Con

  • MC is somehow too dumb for a 1000 year human.
  • The ratio comedic/serious story is kinda too skewed toward comedy. At least for now.
  • I wish the past life was a little more developed.
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Raneday
Raneday rated it
August 2, 2018
Status: c52
While I do agree with other bad reviewers saying that Mc's character is really bad, but hey have they ever thought that if a person was given a blessing/curse to not die even if he was eaten alive again and again, been experimented, put in a dark prison for ages and many more, would that person's personality still sane? For me I certainly doubt it. And also as of recent chapters Mc's character is progressing to somewhere not annoying anymore.
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Silver Snake
Tycheri rated it
July 1, 2018
Status: c34
Within the first arc is a grand fantasy world with a myriad of monsters and magic described in a fantastical way. While the first arc was more serious than silly, the second arc is the opposite.

The second arc is about the actual return of the returner. I was amazed by the sixth chapter as I had almost laughed out lout multiple times while reading it. This MC is one of my favorites in a long time, a guy who does not a give a single care and loves to mess... more>> with people when he knows he can.

While the third arc is mostly about his deranged and somehow at the same time not at all deranged family. It wasn't nearly as gut-busting funny as the previous arc, but I would certainly still say it was entertaining, especially with the interludes from the people of the organization.

Read it, you'll have a good time. <<less
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KrispyKrem
KrispyKrem rated it
June 2, 2018
Status: c211
Lol following the concept of evryone one else is a returnee? Might worth a read.

Edit: Not worth a read at all, tried to love it but its not giving back. The author doesn't know how to keep his audience engage but instead just right out everything on his own without a doubt of a thought. The characters don't have any depth and the author just keeps on bringing female characters for that harem. MC doesn't do sht that he wants and just keeps on being pushed around, sure 1000... more>> years is a long time without your family and he was even at the lowest of the low when he was on a different planet but what does he do on earth? He's being pushed around and says I want to live free but his actions says other wise. I wanted him to be ruthless, a little bit cold like how his enemies says but its so different. The premise was good, the novel is not. TLDR; not worth it at all. <<less
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ArcaneDragonLord
ArcaneDragonLord rated it
May 27, 2018
Status: c6
Looks similar to Seoul Station's Necromancer so far, but instead of a twisted personality, it's an even more twisted personality brought on by living for hundreds of years without any form of comfort or release. Seems interesting, and I hope it stays that way without any "magical science" BS that personally ruined SSN for me at the end.
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leo12345
leo12345
March 23, 2023
Status: --
There are many things that I find annoying about this novel but the main thing for me is why, with all his magic and ability and 1000 years of experience in a fantasy world where he committed mass genocide to get back to earth, why upon all that can MC not stand up to his mother.

I mean he really doesn't have to take all that sh*t from her, he could just move out of the house if he really wanted to laze around all day without trouble. Or did the... more>> author just make him stay so the unfunny and stale scenarios of the family could be set up.

Also, why do all the female characters annoy me so much when reading them.

Dropped it after the yandere succubus queen appeared (i think it was a succubus, it's been a while that I've read it) because in my mind I was thinking that this will just be another female character to push the MC around.

I really hate when protagonists can't take command of their "harem" and get b*tched by each female as well, as the female's ridiculously high lack of sense in most occasions.

A good example of this would be villains diary: the heroines character crumbles <<less
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malodi369
malodi369 rated it
July 11, 2022
Status: c33
The first few chapters were an interesting read, the time when the MC is still in the other world. But when he returned back to the modern world, he had become more arrogant and dumb. With all the thousand years experience in the other world, he should have already matured. He should already have the ability to make wise decisions rather than reverting back to a childish mindset and throwing a tantrum every time an issue or conflict unfolds.

What also put me off are the forced comedy the author has... more>> added in the novel. It’s not even funny. <<less
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