I personally liked the story. I'm always in for some slow life.

But I have to say the whole divine protection system is shit. It's like god playing a strategy game.

The MC is was a little bit to easy to leave the party. But later I come to understand it a little bit (I wouldn't like to watch my sister living like this) . The only thing bugging me is how he could believe that his sister likes that Ares guy? When did it happen I mean he was the person... more>> holding the party together and should have at least seen signs of this happening. But in general I enjoyed the story so far and will continue reading it in the future. <<less

Reading the LN version, idk what the differences between the LN and WN versions are.

So the setup is guy gets kicked out for being useless, lives his slow life with an ally-turned-wife, while the old party fumbles around and realizes he wasn't useless.

In these three points, they're all done much better by other series.

Kicked out for being useless: He's not useless in combat, he has a defensive/positioning role. On top of that, the "useless" label would apply to all characters that aren't the hero, as she (the hero) apparently outperforms... more>> everyone and takes on all the difficult enemies, while the party just picks off the weak guys anyway.

ROLL OVER AND DIE does this way better, Flum is actually legit useless in combat before she realizes how to use her ability, and is only part of the hero's party by royal/divine decree, some mark designating a companion of the hero. Additionally, there is no single "hero" but rather "heroes", so everyone else grows at the same pace, with similar combat potential. It makes sense that everyone would doubt her usefulness in combat.

Ally-turned-wife: We don't actually get a good sense that Red and Rit had that close of a relationship prior the point that she shows up. Friends? Yes. Defacto lovers? No. She was saved by Red in the past, but we don't get the sort of internal perspective of that leading into a crush. Red himself doesn't really seem like he's actually all that in love with Rit. All very hand-wavy. With the personality he's given, he could totally be with any girl and it wouldn't really matter to the story (not that there is much of one anyway).

Unwanted Undead Adventurer does this dynamic way better, Rentt and Vivie are work colleagues that lived together long enough that they get accustomed to each other's company, and when Rentt gets turned into an undead, he relies on Vivie as does Vivie rely on him as a trusted member of the Guild, as a voluntary research subject, and as a good house husband (though they're not technically married).

The old party fumbles around and realizes he wasn't useless: Again, we don't get a good sense of how Red (Gideon) was actually all that helpful to the party outside of combat. It's mentioned in passing, but we never really get a good long scene that isn't just people talking about it. They say he's helpful with negotiations, and that he helped with food preparation (?) but the information is sorely lacking.

Both ROLL OVER AND DIE and Unwanted Undead Adventurer do this way better. In ROLL OVER AND DIE, due to Flum being actually useless in combat, there's a fair amount of time dedicated to portraying her as the moral support of the group, keeping morale high and any cooking/cleaning/grunt work that allows the others to work at full capacity. Somewhat demeaning, yes, but at least we see how the others are affected without her.

In Unwanted Undead Adventurer, he wasn't part of a party and subsequently kicked out, but he was considered the Eternal Copper-ranked Adventurer (second lowest tier) as he had no capacity for combat growth as a human. Instead, he focused on social connections, and information. He amassed vast knowledge on local herbs and dungeon mapping/locations, and also taught newbies for so long such that supposedly some higher-ranked adventurers started out learning from him. In fact, he was so valuable as a support asset that it's mentioned that the Adventurer's Guild would have offered him a position as part of the staff of the Guild if he was stuck at Bronze for another year or two, had he not been turned into an undead.

The one thing this does better, is actually showing the affection and loving relationship, after the setup. This is the kind of relationship that would occur after the main story, but it fails as a primary driving force of a story. <<less

This is really good. It's slice of life, but not pointless. Also, the MC was the utility character that allowed the party to function, but the sage cast him out because he wasn't on par with the rest of the party for combat (really because he wanted to monopolize his sister, the hero.) So the MC goes and has a happy, relaxing life while everyone else is hosed XD

This is Slice of Life done right.

Edit:
---Okay, if the spoilers I've been told about the LN are real, fck this novel, it isn't a monogamic relationship, and the obnoxiously annoying loli also enters in a relationship with the MC. Not worth it---

THIS IS A COMPLETELY BIASED REVIEW. Well, rather than a review it's a rant about how I hate certain aspects.

I love this. Finally a one-on-one romance. Finally no harem. Finally, an MC that is powerful, and smart but by any means OP. Finally, an MC that isn't dense.

If you want a novel with a diabetic-inducing type of love, with not too much action, it is a good choice. A breath of fresh air I would say.

That is until the hero meets the MC, that's when I started disliking it. I despise yandere characters, apart from finding her a hindrance in my enjoyment of having scenes with just the MC and the heroine. Why did the author decide to force a love triangle? Everything was perfect as it was. Love triangles are the most brain-dead resource someone can use. They are useless and always put relationships at a standstill. Now it's just a run-of-the-mill "rom-com". There's nothing of what made the romance aspect good. The relationship of the MC and the "third-wheel" better stay just as a "platonic love" from the yandere bro-con loli.

Apparently the WN is dead? I just hope that the MC will stay ONLY with the heroine until the end of the story. For once I don't want polygamy, I just want a wholesome love story. That will change my rating from 3* to 1*. And if the author were to cross the final line of the relationship the MC has with the Hero. I would give it a 0.

This felt good, sorry for wasting your time

Forced beginning without the MC even questioning the guy after his sister. Even worse is how nobody kicked him out, he just left because the guy after his sister told him he was a burden. He never went to say goodbye to his sister, instead, he gave up all his gear and watched the guy console his crying sister in his arms from a distance. Guy tries to hide his power while allowing everyone to take the credit so he can lay low, fine, but he also allows those same... more>> people who get the credit treat him like sh*t while also defending their personality. Maybe he gets better later, but the beginning is horrid. <<less

The MC is a typical beta Japanese protagonist, that is “smart, ” but dumb when the plot needs to advance forward. From the beginning, he was “tricked” to leave the party by one guy, and he left without at least proper farewells to the rest of the party. Then the cliche, MC decides to live a peaceful, slow life, but he is forced to be involved in events, one after another. No matter how many times MC proves himself, he continues to doubt himself, and it is not his Divine... more>> Protection, because he mentions he is able to deal with it. However, I continued reading, until the betrayal of one character and there were no consequences to that character. <<less

I tried to like it but just couldn't.

The people in this novel seem really s*upid, and the whole divine protection is half assed.

So Sage kicks out the MC to get to his sister (have not read far enough but it seems like it) our MC leaves without saying anything and crying like a fool cause he was told he was a drag by 1 party member, not the rest just 1.

MC: Nothing likable to be honest, just a typical dumb MC, He can multiply potions, cook, repair, manage finances, gather... more>> information for the party that others can't yet believes that he is useless. Supposedly cares for his sister yet didn't tell her he was leaving or anything, just saw the sage hugging her and left while crying.

Sage: A complete idiot that I would guess let his lower half run his thought process, Kicks out the party member that holds together and stabilizes the group.

Other Members: This is my assumption but I guess they are just as s*upid for not telling the MC thanks for all he does since if they did our MC wouldn't have left.

Just my opinion so based off what I read so far so The divine protection stuff may change but if not then it's a ok concept done wrong. <<less

Translation is excellent, as expected from Tseirp Translations.
Somewhat intriguing synopsis.
Has the potential to be an above average fantasy story.

But the story content, atleast the volume 1, failed to achieve anything grand to separate itself from other jp isekai stories. The content might look packed with potential but felt bland after a throrough read. It's not bad but it's also really not that good. It's full of these mini events that advance the story tiny bit at a time. But as whole, it served as a fine foundation for what's to come in the future, some character relationships are developed and mc's life in the frontier has been established.

The volume 1 might have these flaws but it's not worth dropping the series. I look forward to reading more of it.

I think this is a 2.5/5 work overall.

It follows our main protagonist who was "banished" from the heroic party of his younger sister (who is the hero). His class (yes it has a generic class system), "guide" just doesn't have any room for growth despite starting him out at a high level. So basically he's (using a DOTA term even though I suck at it) like an early game carry to get them going, but mid-late game he proves useless. Ultimately at the behest of just one party member--this isn't... more>> a spoiler as it's pretty clear pretty early in that he's the only one that actually wanted the MC gone, he gets "banished". Yes it's in double quotes because as you read this you'll realize that it's pretty absurd for the MC to think he was useless to begin with, and it kind of contradicts with his characterization... but it's still... somewhat plausible. So let's just throw that aside.

You'll notice that I'm throwing out some game terms here rather than expositing on the nature of it. That's because as of the entirety of volume 1 and then some of volume 2... that's all there is to this to begin with. This is a very empty work. I will revise my rating if it gets better, but while pages are wasted on talking about the skill system and that everyone is born with a different blessing and etc etc. Except you've seen this probably over dozens of times across basically every recent RPG-esque fantasy novel in recent times. It doesn't make excuses or give you any deep reasons for the system existing, or add any real mystique to it. It just tells you this is how things are and that's it. Not to mention it's very barebones to begin with, it's hardly even much of a "system". Nothing is interesting about it.

Arguably we can say that this is because it's faithfully following the main protagonist as a first person story. And that's fair. But while that's a decent excuse, it doesn't hold much water when accounting for how weak that perspective makes this as a story. For instance, in volume 1 we see him casually reading a book that he "borrowed". Now this might be me being biased because of how much Ascendance of a Bookworm I've been reading where why is a guy in a medieval-ish world treating a book as a casual thing. No mention of printing presses. No mention of sewage systems. No mention of the infrastructure that gets him his potatoes, mayonnaise, eggs, etc. for his casual modern-style breakfasts and lunches throughout the book. Nothing.

Let me explain how much of a mess and how disjointed this is technologically.. Later on we even see him reading newspapers. Newspapers are basically a modern era invention (1600s at the earliest, end of Renaissance era). He's in a hick country with basically no industry to speak of. A place where everyone is lazy... yet somehow it has newspapers. Okay. This is so disjointed it's absurd.

This is supposed to be a slice of life between him and a female companion that he saved in the past (but never was part of his party) and their more or less happy married life. But instead of a slice, you get like... crumbs and small bite size chunks of life. There's nothing to really bite into. His female companion essentially has passed over the initial hill of being a "tsun"dere and gone absolutely full deredere, and you just get small recollection chunks for justifying that. I'm having trouble keeping myself from dropping it, honestly. I normally don't do that within 1 volume if it's remotely entertaining but... this has to be one of the emptiest works I've ever read. I don't understand this rating. It's like reading Animal Crossing in an RPG world... <<less

I like slow life, the MC is not dense, there is conflict so the story could progress, resolving crisis need cooperation, not just by MC alone.

That is, until the arrival of little sister.

... more>>

Spoiler

Little sister is so OP but lacking in some aspect so okay, everyone is still needed. Pacing quite inconsistent but can be ignored.

But why oh why?

I'm fine with brocon/siscon if it's still normal love like want to protect them/ make them happy/ be with them. Heck, that's the ideal family anyway.

But when it progress to bath together, aware of her breast, compare to fiance breast, it's so disgusting. Drop immediately.

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I hate bordering in*est so, waste of time. <<less

The story was good at the beginning but it got repetitive after 100 or so chapters. Every scene where the main couple are alone together they flirt and at first it is sweet but after it gets boring. The aspects I hate the most is the brother complex and how much the MC dotes on his sister. It deserved a 3 but, the villain for the 3 arc, Leonor was very admirable, and the side characters like Dannan, and Tise were enjoyable, so it brought my rating up by 1... more>> star. <<less

Quick Rundown
In a world where people are designated a role to play from birth, it might be difficult to understand what could possibly be bad about being the "Guide" for the Hero, as well as the "Hero" herself.

This seemingly game-like mechanic plays a huge hand in how the dynamics between characters take shape, and even acts as commentary for the generic behavior we come to expect of certain stereotypes.

Why 4/5?
Cleverness aside however, the most glaring issue I've found with the story has is how it's continued past it's intended ending. The author had never expected the positive reception this has received, and while it's certainly a great thing to see something you love being supported, I definitely feel that the MC has been rewritten as fundamentally different character than that of the beginning.

Read It For:
- bold, pure, and clear statements of affection
- the usual cooking fixation
- characters who aren't necessarily as naive or as forgiving as you might expect

PS:
It really isn't that slow, and the action as well as the larger plot does pick up. Which might be a plus or minus in your book, just remember that you're reading something fundamentally different from either a slow-life series, or power-creep induced isekai.

Strong writing overcame a weak story premise. I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the cookie-cutter description. A weak MC gets kicked out of the hero party and goes into exile. Cue the violin. But as I read the chapters, I realize that my initial impression was dead wrong. The author sets up an interesting fantasy world where everyone possesses a "divine protection" from which society judges a person's worth or value. And the writer (eventually) explores the ramifications of this foundational idea for the world inhabitants.

Second, the... more>> MC has an interesting background which the author takes time to peel back like an opinion. And even though the protagonist chose to live in a frontier region, his past eventually catches up to him. While the direction of the story is predictable, the writer weaves scenarios involving the MC which are heartwarming, delightful, and inspiring. In this way, Slow Life Frontier as a Japanese fantasy webnovel stands above its peers. In my view, it's easily 5 stars. <<less

The Title and synopsis explain this pretty well already. There is very little action and a clear focus on Fantasy Slice of Life and Romance. Occasionally there is some drama and action but it's like 5% if I had to guess (for now, there is an underlying plot but since this is Slice of Life it's going to take a long time to progress).

Read it if you want something relaxing with some fluffy romantic moments and very occasional action and drama.

Okay ignore everything Sheet said. First thing, this novel is Slice of Life.

f*cking SLICE OF LIFE so if you want fighting and blood a slice of life story is NOT what you want.

The MC is not a Beta sh*t like he says. First the MC is not powerful, he is not bad ass and he is not confident. His situation is extremely realistic: in the beginning he was very strong but as time passes he becomes weak and he becomes sad because he didn't think he was deserved to be... more>> with the hero.

So he starts a new life, find a person he loves as continues he's life.

It is a very good emotional story with a good foreshadow for future more action situation.

If you like, emotional, romantic, heart-warming, and with good world and character development, this is the novel you want. <<less

This novel is good. Though the MC seems weak and kinda Beta, but he is a normal human. He is not dense, nor he act on impulse (wanting to create harem or destroying the world or being psychopath). He is strong but not the strongest, what he can't overcome with brute force, he uses his brain. The other characters are not dumb as one reviewer said. They just have their own motives and ... more>>

Spoiler

deceived by the sage which motive was not that pure

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. Also, as you read more, each companions has their own personality that made the feel more alive. So, I don't think that the reviewer who said they're dumb really read the novel.

As the MC's "slow life" progressed, and so the plot that overshadowed the world. I think it's good enough to get 4 stars. I give it 5 because of the MC and his companion, also his little sister. <<less

Translation so far is great. There's a lot to like in the world and characters. And it does some interesting stuff with the concept of fantasy worlds with Jobs/Titles that not many other series with similar titles have touched.

The only thing that really keeps it out of a 5-star rating is that there are some plot holes that were very obviously ignored for the sake of setting up the story. To justify the whole premise, we're given a scenario where the MC is tricked by one of his companions. Which... more>> is kind of dumb when every single thing the MC does from his introduction on shows him to be a brilliant and capable tactician and perfectly capable of reading other people. It 100% feels like the author just hoped nobody would question why this guy would just outright believe the lie, when it's then also revealed that pretty much everyone else in the party was aware of the fact it was a lie. So we have that problem of a smart protagonist being dumb when the plot dictates it because the author couldn't be bothered to come up with something more elaborate.

Otherwise though, it's been consistently enjoyable so far. It's a little light on action so if that's what you're looking for, go elsewhere. I'll also say that the way romance is handled is great. It's tame and somewhat innocent, but it's sweet and it's nice that they don't make the MC romance blind, and the heroine comes off strong at first, but after they've established the romance to an extent, she doesn't get stuck in that annoying role of constantly trying to throw herself at badly written MC.

You know you've found a good series when you've caught up and didn't realize you were so far in, and are annoyed because you really want to know what happens next. <<less

I've really enjoyed this so far so this may be biased. In summary: if you can enjoy fairly mundane activities that are written to be interesting, in my opinion, then you will probably enjoy this novel. If you want flashy fights and cataclysmic events, I'm not sure this is the novel for you

Something interesting happens in every single chapter I've read, even if it's not something super important to the events of the world. The translation quality of Tseirp is great.

There isn't a harem, which I think it a positive.

I've... more>> found most of the characters to be pretty interesting as well, though there are a few that, despite being in quite a few chapters, are not really that fleshed out in my opinion, though they serve their role as background characters fine. <<less

Comfy and cute for the most part. Very much a slice of life novel that's slow moving.

I really liked how the MC is powerful, but only compared to normal people. He's still far below any of the heroes party. And his attitude is even better, he fits his role of being a guide to a T. The relationship he builds is great and is just fun to read.

Plot spoiler below. Basically worrying about a potential tonal shift that might happen.

... more>>

Spoiler

I'm rather worried about what's going to happen when he gets found by the hero party. He loves and misses his sister and she legit needs him since the hero trait has killed most of her feelings. Most of them didn't even want to kick him out and/or knew he was the glue that kept the party moving and want him back. But doing so will ruin his shop and probably screw up his budding relationship and kill most of what makes this series fun to read. Hopefully the author has this planned out and isn't just making things up as he goes.

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On a random note I'm not sure why the synopsis even mentions "Together with the Half-Elf Carpenter living downtown", since he's just a friend that reappears several times and I wouldn't call him a main character by any means. <<less

For those of you wondering whether or not you’ll get bored with this novel because it’s a slow life novel, the answer is most likely not.

It feels like the author adds new information and new dynamics to the story after every chapter. There’s action, suspense, and mystery; characters have consistency in their actions and reasons for doing them.

The author balances the slow life aspect of the novel by inciting incidents in the territory red lives in, and by periodically cutting back to the hero and her companions.

the world is vibrant... more>> and alive, monsters are dangerous, and the divine protection system is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

Translation is great and it updates fairly regularly.

things that could ruin this novel:

• Harem
• Author gets lazy
• Spoiler

  red is forced to go with the hero

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• dragging on for too long

Seriously though, I’ve seen so many great novels get caught up in success and “keep it alive” only to kill anything that was awesome about it in the first place. Fingers crossed on this one. <<less