Typical Japanese power wank. Op as balls MC who is the stereotypical passive Japanese b**ch boy.

Chapters consist solely of

1. Problem

2. Problem solved instantly by mc

3. Every one says MC is genius

4. MC says not a big deal cya tomorrow.

Good start, nothing special but at least we don't have the usual sissy protagonist that suddenly becomes strong. A little later we find out that a sissy that suddenly becomes strong is not the only thing that can destroy a novel. Nope, a story where ... more>>

Spoiler

We have to deal with an MC that has absolutely everything from best parents that are recognized everywhere as the strongest to friends that are closer than siblings and beautiful girls with no backbone

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can become equally boring. Once again we have an author that doesn't understand the difference between creating interesting characters and self imposed ideals. <<less

Shameless ego wank. Basically, the MC is trained by his grandfather in magic and by... well a family friend (don't wanna bother with spoiler tags) in swordsmanship. As he reaches the age of independence the grandpa realizes he's OP but wasn't taught common sense and because of that might be used as a tool for war by another country, so the MC gets sent to the Academy to learn. The start is actually somewhat fun but poor characters, generic world, and generic plot quickly drag this down. And, the thing... more>> that drags this down to a final score of 1 out of 5 is that the author can't STFU about how awesome the MC is. Every time the MC does something he gets praised... EVERY SINGLE TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS. I swear, the author must've created half of the characters just so that he'd have people telling us how great the MC is. Hell, if the MC publicly took a sh*t I'd bet there would be people telling us what a well-proportioned turd it was. <<less

Not recommended. I regret having gone through volume 1.

1) MC is basically OP Wimp Lo from Kung Pow but significantly less funny (yet still a huge joke). He was intentionally taught wrong as a joke but somehow managed to become overpowered.

2) Entire series is just fanwank. MC is s*upidly OP & moronic right off the bat. Reads like a bad Dragon Ball fanfic except with a magic premise instead of aliens. Also veering heavily into the Harem route. 9 to 1 ratio my arse.

3) MC is literally... more>> ret*rded.... in two lives. Sadly reincarnating didn't solve that problem for him. MC is so dense that he can't figure out the violence/war potential of pretty much >everything< he thinks up.... even after being warned dozens, if not hundreds of times. Officially listed as "lacking common sense" which I guess is more PC than calling him ret*rded out right.

4) Entire universe is also "lacking common sense". Practically nobody in universe can follow their own rules of magic which is simple enough that a toddler can understand (imagination + some vague mp requirement which is just ignored by everyone). Heck magic rules are so lax that everyone is basically a low power reality warper but are too moronic to actually utilize their powers effectively. (Just look at Shin's "fire bullets" the author tries to explain it pseudo-science but will annoy anyone with even a middle school understanding of science.)

5) Moronic plot that gets plowed forward awkwardly and painfully just to create scenarios/situations for everyone to praise the MC further. <<less

Zero plot, this novel is a fan service novel... MC is too OP from the start... kicks bad people with ease... gets the girl by first impression... no hurdles for MC to learn or develop. No future expectations to get it developed... I almost feel like a novel that is about to end yet author is just dragging story to keep it alive

It's basically something like this:

Villans: "I'm evil! Everyone must bow down before me! You are all inferior!! All the wamens are mine! They are all tools for my pleasure!! Muhuhahahha!"

MC: "I'm really powerful? But I don't think what I'm doing is outrageous? Why is everything so weak? All these stares are an annoyance, oh well I must protect the wamens!!"

Everyone else: "Oh god MC is so powerful! MC is such a good person! MC is a saint! As expected of MC, defeating all the evil bad guys instantly! I want... more>> to suck MC's dick!"

Well, that's more or less the entire story, rinse and repeat. I almost thought it was a parody. Maybe I'm just too old to be reading something like this. <<less

Another generic reincarnated snooze fest that'll have you dropping the series faster than Donald Trump's approval ratings. If you've read several fantasy reincarnation novels, you might as well just skip this one since there's literally nothing new it brings to the table. To summarize this rather bland and unoriginal story, another passive beta male Japanese man gets somehow transported to a fantasy realm where he ends up reincarnating into a baby but with the mental state of an adult. After that, he's taken under the wing of a famous old... more>> magician called the "Magi" who raises Shin (the MC's name) as his grandson, teaching him how to use magic that of course Shin masters because's OP. After Shin grows up, it then comes to light that he lacks (bear with me on this one) "common sense" and has to basically go to school and meet some friends to "enlighten" himself on how utterly clueless he is. That's basically the main plot right there. There is no other goal/dream that the MC has in mind for himself except going to school and living his perfect life with is perfect waifu and friends while occasionally fighting against forgettable villains (if you can even call a bunch of fodder demons villains) that the MC wipes the floor with bar no struggle. Shin is probably one of the most uninspiring reincarnated characters you'll ever find as he has no aspirations of traveling this new and unexplored world and is contempt with staying in one city and wasting his time showing off to his useless schoolmates and learning things he already should know. So as you can see, the plot's pretty terrible. Let's talk about the characters in the story and how copy and paste they are of the common tropes. You've got Shin, your typical Japanese beta male who is supposed to be mentally an adult but you'd never guess that simply by the way he talks, acts, and thinks. The question of why the author even bothered to mention him being reincarnated in the first place starts to pop into your head as we practically never see Shin use his mental advantage except for when he's creating/using his OP magic with modern science, things that don't exist in this fantasy world. Aside from Shin, you've got the Grandpa and Grandma who surprisingly aren't that bad of characters but essentially do nothing the entire story except watch Shin go to school normally while trying to hook him up with Cecily (and I'll get to this train wreck in a second). Now, let's talk about Shin's "friends" or his classmates that are supposed to be the ones to help him learn common sense but end up as cheerleaders that have no existence other than praising the MC whenever he does something amazing. This isn't mentioning that each of them are utterly incompetent despite being in the famous S class and sponge off the MC's OP magic because they can't do anything on their own. Let's of course not forget Cecily, the MC's fated love interest who has the personality of a box of nails. She has no back story, no development and no personal goals outside of loving Shin. She's just your stereotypical damsel in distress that needs Shin to rush to her rescue and protect her as she hides behind him and never faces her own problems, such as that douchey noble kid who was threatening her to be his fiancee otherwise his family would put pressure on Cecily's father. The fact that Cecily doesn't talk to a reasonable authority figure but instead asks Shin, a person she has known for a grand total of 24 hours to get involved had me scratching my head in utter frustration. Yes, I'm aware that it was Maria's idea to "manipulate" Shin to get him to help but that still doesn't make it any less dumb, especially on Shin's part who didn't even question the matter. On the subject of Maria, Cecily's close friend, she's just as worthless to the story as Cecily is. While she has more of a personality than Cecily, that doesn't exactly mean she's a well rounded character as her annoying habit of always pushing Cecily's problems onto Shin becomes rather tiresome to read. Also, what was the point of her being in the S-Class if she's never even shown her skills at all? She and Cecily were being pestered by a bunch of dumb thugs who clearly can't fight and she doesn't even bother to take them out, instead waiting for Shin to come to her rescue as per ever female character in this story. What's worse, the way the author tries to shove this poor excuse for a romance down the readers throats is laughable. Their entire relationship can be summarized as "I'm attractive, you're attractive, let's make babies" as they go through 0 development and practically fell for each other because of the others looks. It becomes very obvious that this story is simply the author projecting himself as the MC of wanting to live in this world and have a perfect life, and we as the readers have to read through a story that wasn't given much thought or time (but because there are cute girls and its fantasy, still becomes popular). There's nothing else left to say about this cluster of cliche's except that if you found this story enjoyable and disagree with my points, good for you and I hope you can somehow teach me how to enjoy stories like these that clearly where made as self insert. <<less

Have you ever wanted to go to a kindergarten to show those weaklings how strong and wise you are? That is probably why you like isekai's :-))))) In case of Magi's Grandson we go deeeper to a hospital with newborn babies. Author wanted to create a comedy or maybe a parody but the one failed. Anime producer used tricks what can be used in a movie only so it looks sometimes a bit funny. In WN I found maybe two sentences in 82 chapters that made me laugh.

Despite being rather... more>> bland I continue to read this novel so to some extend I understand why it is so popular. Well I was looking for something very light after reading "Summoned Slaughter" and I found it. What is good in "Magi's Grandson" is monogamy. There is no harem what is unique in Japanese LN's. I like that romantic plot is strong here.

We can rest in peace as we are sure that nothing wrong will happen to anyone in this story. There is some crafting and a recipe how to create a big company in an easy environment. There are two realistic things in WN. MC power and abilities are growing. With time his companions are reaching a level close to him.

There is no challenge, no obstacles, no plot twists, nothing that can be a problem to MC or other people in his surrounding. Background of a story is too perfect for its denizens and to Shin. Btw mentioned by me romantic plot is too easy. There is no logic in almost every aspect of a story. To give all examples I would need to write another LN. Villain characters are created very forcibly and artificially.

When I started to attach logic to "Magi's Grandson" I realized that unintentionally writer created one of the most evil antiheroes ever. There is a demon who slaughters about one million of people in a neighbor country. His power is increasing by changing some humans in so called devils. What our super overpowered hero is doing???.... He is going on a trip with his friends... He is flirting with 15 years old busty girl. He earns a mountain of money. And when all people in attacked country are slaughtered he plays a hero who is fighting with a danger while slaughtering devils who are no match for him...

First 45 chapters are decently translated. Unfortunately previous translator dropped this WN. Next translations are a bit worse. Few chapters (maybe four??) are barely readable.

This LN can be good for you if you want to read very very naive fairy tail. If you want to find challenging and quite logical story with overpowered main character named Shin then better switch to "The New Gate". If you want fantasy comedy then try "Kono Subarashii Sekai..." or funny story with strong MC then try "Beelzebub".

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Real bad... too boring... too cliché... too op... comedy part are just the same idea that keep repeating itself over and over. Every one keep saying that MC is a genius, but you won't feel that way. Heroin is just one of those weak girl (that not too weak for the story standard) that wait for MC to show off. The worse part is MC's personality, which is simply too plain. I understand what writer try to do, but without good development, that kind of personality is just boring.

On the contrary of the other comments, I don't mind MC being OP, there's excellent story with OP MC around as long as the story and the world is interesting. I really like how he uses modern knowledge to be stronger with his magic.

Although there's some s*upid, illogical stuff I don't like. eg: MC teach the mages that to become good at magic they have to improve their magic power and control, they didn't know that before *facepalm*

MC has a brilliant idea to invent a sword where you can change... more>> the blade during the fights and everyone is so impressed, the kingdom wants all their Knights to have it but what's the point when you have to carry the blade anyway, just change the damn sword. Despite that their's a nice plot going on so far, so I'll wait and see. <<less

Magi's Grandson actually built on nice premises. It also narrated very well. However, so far the character development was rather shallow, so was the joke which frequently touch upon the same theme (the MC OP-ness).

The MC was the embodiment of a Riajuu and there'll always be exclamation from people who are surprised of his prowess in every chapter or so. Meanwhile, side characters are cliche, and I can't even get what was the distinctive character of the MC's love interest apart from the fact that she's beautiful, an aristocrat, and... more>> loves him.

If you are looking for relaxing read, then Magi's Grandson will suit you very well. But if you are looking for some depth, there are many others that will suit you better. Still, there's many things hidden in the dark now, and I expect it to improve in future. Some plot twist may be able to incite me into hiking this novel's rating. <<less

Grammar: 4/5 (2.5/5 from AbsurdTL, but it's understandable considering neither Japanese nor English are his/her primary language)

Story: 3/5

Writing: 4/5

This series is a comedy piece. That said, I have been smiling and laughing throughout the whole piece. The early chapters are pretty much just slice-of-life and comedy mixed with fantasy. The later parts add a bit more action and some meandering attempts at drama, but mostly stick with the comedy it does so well. The grammar is fairly well done throughout, occasional awkward wording/phrasing appears but does not cause the... more>> series to stumble (my regards to the translation team on their excellent work). The story is fairly standard, but also almost self aware in it's use of the source material as parody/comedy. The writing is excellent, lending to an almost idiotically intelligent MC (Has modern knowledge, but seems to lack in basic human empathy, quite often confused about what should be normal). I love this series and have thus far read it twice over to it's current chapter.

I'll definitely be following this series closely, and even should the quality drop I imagine I'll just reread the earlier chapters to find some joy in it. <<less

I figured ch. 50 was a good point to stop and write a review.

If you haven't read this series and are interested by the summary, go for it.

Don't waste your time reading reviews by people pissed off by the MC's "s*upidity."

Yes, "Lack of Common Sense" is one of the tags. No, it doesn't really affect the story greatly.

1. 1. The MC doesn't have much common sense. However, this is explained and justified. He lives with the greatest mage in this alternate world and doesn't interact much with the outside world. Of course his idea of "normal" would be way off. Living alone tends to do that.

1. 1. The other characters rely on the MC too much. (I noticed people complaining about this in other reviews.) First, which light/web novel have you... more>> ever read where characters don't rely on the MC to some degree. Second, this is a fairly generic reincarnation novel. Of course the other characters are going to be impressed, shocked, or awed by the MC's "otherworldly" powers. Of course they're going to "depend" on him.
      1. 1. Think about it like this: You're struggling with math homework and notice that the person next to you is blowing through problems like they couldn't be easier. You ask that person to explain to you how they did it so quickly and easily. They do (Because why not?). The next day, you're struggling with homework again. Easy solution: ask for help again. If you keep struggling, you're going to keep asking for help. That's the relationship the other characters have w/ the MC.

In general, I enjoyed this series. It wasn't incredible, but it was funny, interesting, and entertaining. I think it has the potential to develop a bit more, but it isn't "slow" or "boring" at the moment. Definitely give it a try if you feel like it. <<less

Yet another generic "reborn into new world" plot device where the MC was and adult in his previous life yet doesn't act anywhere near his age but instead acts his reborn age, but as some totally clueless, moronic and naive child, the MC is also 1 of those MC's that seemingly is on train-tracks, stuff happens around him and he just reacts as expected or people ask him to do things and he just blindly accepts it and does as he is told/suggested, he is 100% on auto-pilot.

The biggest joke... more>> is the running gag that his adoptive grandfather didn't teach him common sense of any kind, yet the MC is from another freaking world and remembers it all, yet because reasons he seemingly has forgotten all that and is a dumb clueless child all over again.

Not a fan of the writing style of this novel either, does not feel like a real story and instead it is written more like some unemotional machine is just reciting someones drab and dreary diary entries... <<less

Inoffensive and utterly boring wish-fulfilment

I read up to the end of the translations of vol two.

And I don't know what I was expecting after the first one, but gosh darnit, I certainly got it.

Kenja no Mago is one of those boring wish-fulfilment novels. Super-boring, in fact. The MC is ridiculous perfect, even by WN standards, and half the pages are dedicated to a greek chorus of secondary characters singing his praise. Every other character is relegated to a praise-dispension machine, either obliquely ("Shin! You fool! You are too awesome, you... more>> should stop being so awesome for a while!") or directly. There is no buildup, no growth, no reward for doing the work because Shin doesn't do the work, he just gets everything, and stays ahead of everyone and everything forever.

The whole thing has to be a parody, or it's actually a story about a "reincarnator" who is actually having delusional dreams in a coma.

The only redeeming quality is that the story and world are super-benign. The word "s*ave" is never mentioned, no overdone angsting everywhere and people are constantly crying tears of sappy happiness because someone else said something nice to them.

Repetitive, bland, boringly OP, no struggle or conflict, pure and saccharine wishfulfilment without any substance and 500% more cleavage and b**bies in the illustrations than the puritan story even implies. I get it, I understand why the editors decided to go that way, because I would have done the exact same thing to try to sucker some lonely otaku out of their money. <<less

good action fantasy with OP MC, potentially he will become more and more OP. MC is cool, smart, not wimpy or annoyingly dense. Action and fighting parts are entertaining to read. For now I read about 20 chapters.

I'm writing this review in response to Xenagos' review.

First of all, yes, the other friend characters like to tease on and make jokes on the MC, but I find it a refreshing new take on Light Novels, as I have always read most harem LNs where the female cast always makes fun, tease or bully other male characters not the MC, especially MC's best friend, so I find the story here a nice change from those other stories I read where other male characters who're not the MC are always... more>> dissed and portrayed poorly by the author just to make the MC look better. An example is Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou, where there is no other male character that acts as a stopper for the MC like the prince here, which I like very much. It creates a good balance in the interactions involving the MC.

The MC here in Magi's Grandson is quite OP enough, but his being teased on by his friends makes for good comic relief and creates good balance in the character interactions, as it's a change from the usual LN formula where other male characters not the MC acts as comic relief instead. The story here is a good stress-reliever for those tired of other LNs where the MC is the only male character portrayed positively with the other males looking useless. In Magi's Grandson, even though the MC is OP and is the main tutor responsible for making all of his comrades stronger, it is balanced well by other characters, such as their political leader the prince, and the MC's grandma, so it makes for a good realistic portrayal of human relationships (as there are many of us who are geniuses or good at something specifically but despite that, there are still other people higher in our own social strata that we can't seem to defy against)

So I highly recommend this story to people tired of MCs from other novels who are aware that they're OP but act arrogantly and condescending towards other male characters. In contrast to that, Magi's Grandson's MC is unaware that he's OP and acts cool and ignorant about what he thinks is normal due to his lack of the world's common sense, so that makes him more likeable for me, as even a Superhero needs to have some psychological or mental disadvantages/weaknesses to balance out his own Overpoweredness in comparison to other magic users, as such contrast makes the MC seem more human and relatable to. So the MC here getting easily irritated, angry and annoyed at being teased and joked on makes him seem quite human compared to other OP MCs from other LNs that act like totally emotionless people that don't care what others have to say to him, like as if he thinks he's too superior and arrogant that he doesn't need others to understand him (Examples are the MCs from Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Mahouka Koukousei no Rettousei, where they are all emotionless and don't show much of their emotions freely).

Shin's catchphrase, as popularized in the Manga, "Have I done it again ? ", Is quite relatable, as I too have complained and b*tched with that phrase many times when I did a careless mistake that I'm unaware of, and when my dad calls me out on that mistake, I usually make an annoyed and irritated face along with thinking that phrase in my mind. Therefore, if you're an emotional person, you can relate quite well to Shin Walford, as unlike most other Beta MCs from other LNs who's afraid to express their emotions and true feelings and thoughts, Shin can be very vocal at times as he expresses his emotions freely and is not afraid to complain and bit*h about it if other characters tease him, so I find him quite relatable and very human, compared to other robotic MCs from other Japanese novels. I guess that's why some Japanese readers posting on some of their threads discussing about the manga version find this MC, Shin, repulsive, as Japanese society values people keeping their true emotions hidden from other people so they dislike this MC who's too expressive for their culture to tolerate, perhaps ? I'm not Japanese, so I find this MC highly relatable, as I'm a Westerner and prefer MCs that express their emotions freely and openly. So his expressing his emotions openly when engaging in a banter with the prince is something I find very entertaining and relatable, as I too had many quarrels and fights with my best friend but despite that we still get along well in the end. With that being side, Shin is also a very nice person who cares much for his girlfriend and other friends, and I like that about him. He is very strong, but has lots of human qualities expressed from his personality and emotions, so I recommend this novel to anyone tired of the standard "Typical timid Japanese MC afraid of expressing his opinions and feelings". <<less

I can tell the first part is interesting. As we get new chapter MC always have benefit from his grandma and grandpa reputation.

People gather around him, and he teach all his friend magic and give clothes like national treasure to protect his friend.

Maybe this one make me boring to read.

MC are you not know about dauble edge sword, thats is your friend, because your friend is too much maybe one or two will fight you in future.

it is possibility that author will have MC fight his friend.

I'm a sucker for reincarnation stories, so I really liked this. Notice the past tense. The beginning was great, MC powers up from a young age, with the advantage of his past life-modern world memories. He quickly overtakes his grandfather because of his knowledge of physics, kanji, and "imagination" from RPGs and the like (not clearly stated, but you basically assume it).

Despite my sarcasm, there IS a plot, and I can't say it wasn't unpredictable but it made me feel something like "the action I was looking for has finally appeared!" I guess it 'officially' starts around the 20s. One of my main complaints is that the people he becomes friends with are SO dependent on him.

Anyway I'm gonna leave this unrated for now till I muster up some time and the will to pick this up again. I'm feeling around a 3/5 right now though.

Started out fun but got mediocre 20 chapters in or so. Some people might get annoyed with how women are portrayed in this LN, "Girls likes dresses and shinies and men enjoys swords and armor" that kind of thing. My biggest beef is how shallow all the characters feel. Will continue reading it though in hopes that it will get fun again.